Chapter 8: The Council of Shadows
Frosthold's great hall was a place of banners and iron, built for feasts and oaths of loyalty. But that night, no laughter stirred beneath its rafters. The torches guttered low, shadows stretching up the stone walls like restless spirits. Every man in the keep had heard the stranger's warning, and it had spread like wildfire.
Lord Carrow sat at the high seat, shoulders squared, cloak heavy with frost. To his right, Captain Soren leaned forward, scarred hands pressed against the table. To his left, the old priest of the hearth-fire muttered prayers, his eyes darting toward Kael as if expecting him to vanish in smoke. Joran and I stood among the younger guards, watching the storm gather.
Kael stood unbound at the center of the hall, his staff resting at his side. He did not pace, bow, or show fear. The blue sigils traced across his pale skin seemed to catch the firelight and shift, as though alive. His mismatched eyes—one storm-gray, the other clouded white—swept over the hall like a tide measuring the shore.
"He is a spy," Captain Soren thundered. "Mark my words, Carrow—no clansman would walk alone into our keep unless he carried betrayal in his heart. Better we hang him from the gate than waste breath on lies."
"A spy with no weapon?" the priest countered, voice trembling. "No shield, no blade—only his words. Words are the devil's tools. Best we burn him and be rid of the temptation."
Murmurs rippled through the gathered men. Some nodded, others shifted uneasily.
Carrow's fist struck the table, silencing them. "Frosthold is not ruled by fear. He claims a warning—he will speak, and we will listen. Then judgment will fall."
Kael inclined his head, calm as ever. "Call me spy, prophet, or fool—it matters little. What stirs in the north will not wait for your verdict."
"Then speak plainly," Carrow demanded.
Kael's gaze lingered on the flames. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and steady. "The clans gather not for gold or vengeance. They are bound to a will older than kings. Beneath the deep snows, in places no sun touches, something wakes. Its hunger calls to them. They obey because they cannot resist."
A shiver ran through me. His words were not new—I had dreamed them. In my visions, men knelt before a shadow crowned with ice while voices whispered in tongues I did not know.
Soren spat. "Old tales for children. Ghost stories to frighten squires. Do you take us for fools?"
Kael's storm-gray eye met his without flinching. "I take you for men who have not yet seen truth. When the sky breaks and the dead walk, you will not need my words. You will know."
The hall erupted in shouts—some mocking, some fearful. Carrow's jaw tightened, his eyes like flint. "Enough. You speak of doom, yet give no proof. Why should Frosthold trust you?"
Kael turned then—toward me. His white eye locked on mine, and the ground seemed to tilt beneath my feet. My breath caught as the visions surged unbidden. The cracked sun blazed in my mind. I saw a frozen battlefield littered with corpses locked in ice, their eyes wide and staring. At the center stood a figure with wings of shadow and a crown of frost—and Kael kneeling before it.
I staggered, clutching the edge of the table. Joran's hand caught my arm. "What is it?" he whispered.
Kael's voice cut through the hall. "Because one among you already bears the mark. He dreams of what is coming. He sees as I do."
The chamber fell into silence. Dozens of eyes turned to me. My mouth was dry, my voice lost. Carrow's gaze burned into me, sharp and unreadable.
At last he spoke. "You dare bind my blood to your riddles?"
Kael did not flinch. "Not bind—reveal."
The silence was suffocating, broken only by the hiss of the torches. Carrow rose slowly, every movement heavy with command. "Enough for one night. The stranger remains under guard. At dawn, we ride to the outlying villages. If his words are false, we will see it with our own eyes."
Guards stepped forward. Kael offered no resistance, but before the doors closed behind him, his mismatched eyes found mine once more. A faint, knowing smile touched his lips—gone as quickly as it came.
That night, sleep was no refuge. The visions came sharper, louder—chains of fire binding me to a future I could not escape. Kael's voice rang through them all:
It has begun.
[End of Chapter]
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