The attack continued till sun set.
The monsters got less and less, till only a little spawned out of nowhere and attacked us.
I looked through our lines, the soldiers looked exhausted and blood painted all of their armor and weapons.
But we arrived - we stood infringe of the lass riddle, the meter thick wall of the Centre palace.
It's high black and blue icy wall doomed down on us. My heart beat faster, maybe it's out of fear or excitement.
„Majesty, what now?"
I turned towards Orion who wiped blood splatters out of his face and let his horse rest on the side line.
My smile revealed that I had no idea too, this wall was so imposing and seemed unbreakable, as if even all of our power combined couldn't even leave a scratch - but we had to, no we must do it or else we die!
Yet before us loomed the wall, the wall wich rose higher than any fortress I had ever seen, smooth and flawless, without crack or weakness.
The soldiers, hardened veterans all, stared in quiet disbelief. Some dropped to their knees from exhaustion, others leaned against their spears as though the weight of the wall pressed down on their shoulders.
"Majesty, what now?" Orion asked again, quieter this time. His horse's sides heaved, its flanks slick with sweat despite the frozen air.
I forced myself to smile, though the truth was sharp as a blade: I had no plan. The wall was a riddle, an obstacle placed to break not our steel, but our resolve.
My gauntleted hand pressed against the hilt of my sword, the words ragnar called echoed in my mind since then, every minute and with suppressed action i said witch clenched teeth. "We break it."
Orion's brow furrowed. "This wall is no mere stone. Even if we brought the empire's war machines here, I doubt—"
"Doubt does not serve us, Orion." My voice came out harsher than intended. I pointed at the looming barrier. "If this is the last veil before the core, then there must be a way through. Everything else in this city was built to bleed us… this wall was built to test us. To challenge our resolve in the hardest time."
The soldiers stirred at my words, though uncertainty still shadowed their eyes.
My heart pounded harder, a mix of fear and anticipation. Perhaps we would die here, our bones frozen beneath this cursed palace. Or perhaps this was the moment our names would be etched into eternity.
I stepped forward until I stood in the shadow of the colossal wall, the ice-blue veins faintly pulsing as though a heartbeat ran through them.
My hand tightened on my sword. "We must do it… or else we die." I looked at Orion and commanded him to call every Officer to me.
"We break it," I said at last. "There is no other way."
The officers exchanged glances, and one — a scarred veteran with half a beard frozen stiff — spat to the side. "Break it? With what, Majesty? We've no siege engines, no catapults. Our rams splinter against this cursed ice."
"Then we make more," growled another, slamming a fist into his open palm. "The city's bones are all around us — timbers, iron, chains. We lash them together, build something that can batter this wall until it cracks."
"Suicide," Orion cut in. His voice was calm, but steel lay beneath. "We'd lose hundreds dragging a ram under arrow fire, if arrows even come. And if the wall does not fall?" He shook his head. "We starve before the Scalari even raise their hand."
A younger officer, nervous eyes darting, stepped closer. "Majesty… the wall is ice as much as stone. If we could heat it, then strike while it's weak—"
"Heat it how?" the scarred veteran barked. "Our fires barely warm our hands."
"Oil," Orion said, glancing at me. "Pitch from the city stores, resin from the ruins. We coat the wall in flame, then drive cold into it — force the stone to crack. It's brutal, but it may work."
I looked from face to face. Desperation and determination mixed in their eyes. Each man had already buried too many brothers in the ash.
"Or…" another voice rose, hesitant. "We dig beneath it. Undermine the foundations. If the Scalari built this wall to cage us, they built it fast. Fast walls have weak roots. Collapse the base, and the whole thing falls."
"Digging," Orion muttered, his jaw tightening. "It could take weeks. We don't have weeks."
Silence fell. The men looked at me, waiting, hungry for direction.
I let my hand rest on the hilt of my blade, the weight grounding me. "We try them all," I said, my voice carrying over the soldiers. "We build rams from the ruins. We set their false wall ablaze. We dig, if we must, and when their fortress shudders, I will strike the wound myself."
The men straightened, some with grim smiles, some with weary relief.
Orion bowed his head, though his eyes stayed sharp on mine. "Then we'll bleed the wall until you can kill it, Majesty."
Then a quit and shy voice made his presence known; „your majesty, there might be another and faster solution!"
The chaotic room froze and all eyes turned to a small girl with the robes of a wizard, her black hair and skin looked like ebony as her full red lips shaker slightly.
You could hear a rumor in the room; „Why is there a girl here?" but it got quit again as I raised my hands.
„If it's better than all of this, then come forward and tell me - what is your idea?"
The girl took small steps out of the background into the middle of the room, the old and stinky beards eyed her, as she clenched her stick in both hands. With shaking voice she then parted her red lips; „My…my team and I…we are testing a group magic at the moment…!"
My Patience melted like ice in the hot sun and I commander her to speak in full sentences.
She jolted together and continued; „ In short we can collect mana from a lot of people and…fire a massive magic beam…but…it's not completely refined yet…so!"
I cut her off, „ how powerful is it?"
„Like I said….its…not fully developed yet…?"
„And I ask you how powerful it is!" I said with an raised voice, the other in the room also listened with great interest and some even expressed their support with rude comments.
„I think…if we use around a thousand…soldiers…it can work…"
My fist thundered on the ground, „then it's decided!" I swirled with my finger through the air, „ we are going to try this first and if it doesn't work we have to try the others!"
The officers murmured, half in awe, half in disbelief. Orion's jaw flexed as if he bit back protest, but he said nothing. Only his dark eyes met mine, questioning silently if I understood the cost.
The girl bowed deeply, clutching her staff as though it alone kept her standing. Her voice trembled, but there was fire in her words now. "We will not fail you, Majesty.
As she retreated in the background again, the old veterans grumbled.
"A child's trick," one muttered.
"Better than waiting to starve," another snapped.
I raised my voice, silencing them. "The wall was built to break our resolve. Let us answer it with more than steel — let us answer it with unity. The strength of thousands hearts, bound into one flame. If that does not shatter their fortress, then nothing will."
„Yes your majesty!"
„now! Collect 2000 men with the most mana and you…" I pointed at the girl that tried to hide behind a big guy again, „you and your unit are going to perform this magic!"
Here eyes widened but she nodded, „2000?" she mumbled and held her fingers trembling to the mouth that stood agape, but I ignored her and left the tent.