Of the North Prologue

On the Frostwalkers from the North
Penned by the hand of Artheron Archwizard of the Northern Wall

Though to the men of the south, living in the secure comfort away from the great Northern wall, the
Frostwalkers are wraiths that slip past our walls to ravage the near land and vanish with the light of
dawn, this is not so.

In truth, even the great regiments of the Northern wall do not know the entire truth, seeing their
handiwork as sorcerous and even demonic. Stout men are these, holding the line against assaults by the lesser nomadic raiders. But superstitious. The commander Amadeus Thornshield himself was present with myself when a lone Frostwalker appeared. Amadeus sprang to his feet and readied his blade, keen and of the purest dwarvencraft known-a gift, but that is not the purpose of this missive-and made to attack the vague man-shape.

In opposition to the tales and songs long sung throughout the kingdom, the Frostwalker spoke simply and with reverence to Amadeus; quite shocking him. "Lay down your arms, brother. I wish you no ill." Thus he revealed his true nature, allowing his cloak of frost to fall away. He was of Elf-kin, such of which we have seen none for generations. His face was fair but terrible to gaze upon, for he held about him a presence of adamant will. Not like the frolicking forest folk we know and trade with.

"I come from far in the north, a secluded mountain city which none of our order may speak of. We come down to your fair kingdom and see, ranging for decades before returning from whence we come. It is now that we believe you may benefit our words without engaging in arms."

Amadeus flushed with fury, but I held out my staff and gently stayed his hand. "Please, good Frostwalker, continue." A flash of surprise crossed his fair features momentarily, but was gone in an instant. "We are, indeed, the Frostwalkers. We travel with cloaks of sorcery and alchemy to hide us from the sight of those we wish not to behold us. We mean your kingdom no ill will, this I sincerely swear." Amadeus, ever wary, continued to eye this Elf-kin with distrust. I do not blame him, for even I felt an air of palpable menace, though from whence I could not assertain.

Amadeus cried "Frostwalker, if you mean our fair holdings no ill then why do you come forth clad in frost and trickery? Your own tools bespeak mistrust and the same actions of the lowly Orcrind scout!" To this the Mistwalker simply laughed and shook his head, full of mirth it was. "Oh loyal and observant general... we must do these things because dark times have befallen us. Set upon by forces of evil, mayhap. Or simple greed drives them. We must come seeking your aid, for even our greatest sorceries are not capable of saving the fair city we now bitterly cling to. Long ago we were driven to our last stronghold when your race was but warring tribes. We have great magics at our disposal, but have lost many of the arts of war that your race has grown strong in."

Amadeus, though still distrustful, began to think. Pacing from one end of the room to another, his hand stroking his beard-grown after a long campaign with the Dwarves, I think-he finally faced the stranger. "If all you say is true, how have you not used your sorceries to obscure your movements and simply abandoned your holdings? There is no dishonor in retreat, for with great strength one may take back what was once lost!"

Sadly the stranger shook his head and sighed. "Though we have many magics, we could never abandon this city. It holds many things both wonderous and horrible. To let the Orcrind, or worse still those guiding them take the city would be a disaster. We craft weapons of war, still, though not like the weapons of war Men use, or truly our brethren would recognize." With this he produced a metal shape, with a hole in one end and a wooden brace upon the back. "This is known as a needle thrower. In the interest of goodwill, I will surrender this to the good wizard." A series of swift movements and a block of iron was removed, halfway along the great instrument. I knew as I took it into my hands it was of great power, but not of magic-not magic as I had ever seen. "This weapon alone may pierce the armor of a knight over much of a league. It uses not arrows, nor bolts, but blocks of a metal much akin to adamant." He shook his head once more. "I am to be the envoy. Before taking me to your king, send word of all I have said. On the morrow, the three of us shall away to a private location whence I may show you a demonstration of this power, to prove I am not simply spinning tales of danger."

We gave him lodging, hidden from the prying eyes of the men, and in the morning we went to a small copse far enough from the wall that I used the area often for practicing my own magics. With deft hands, he inserted the metal into the weapon, drew it to his shoulder as a man sighting along a plank to ensure evenness. There was a slight noise, as the exhalation of a breath, and a dead tree shattered amidst a small ball of fire. As quickly as before, he relinquished the weapon to my hands, for there was no longer a doubt as to its purpose. "This is the least of the weapons we use to defend our lands against the giant kin and Orcrind. Many are more horrible, or of much larger scale. Men may have a ballista, or firepot... but none surpass the powers we were forced to obtain at the end of our flight." His cloak of frost once again upon him, we made our way back much subdued and entered the chambers of Amadeus, who looked pale as death."We do not ask your aid lightly, nor expect it freely. We will not relenquish our weapons of war to you, however we will aid you in defending your border, and possibly grant knowledge of lost magics to your wizards. I do not expect an answer soon." He turned as to retrieve his weapon, then remembered his gesture and nodded to himself. "When you have word, light the sky and I will come." With that, his frost-cloak stole him from sight.

I counsel that we heed his words. If what he spoke rings true, then we cannot sit idly by as Orcrind ravage such a fair people, nor obtain weapons and magics of such power.

I await word, King Owen.