Entry #14

The snowy fields stretched endlessly in every direction, a vast expanse of white silence broken only by the crunch of boots and the whistle of the wind. Louis and his companions stood in the center of it all, their breath fogging in the bitter cold.

Standing opposite them was Olentzo, staff in hand, his presence sharp and cold as the world around him.

"For demonstration," Olentzo said, slamming his staff into the snow, "you can create constructs using the ice element."

A swirl of snow lifted into the air and quickly shaped itself into a small snowman, its features carved with remarkable detail.

"But there's a catch," he continued, glancing at Louis. “You can give your constructs life.”

“Really?!” Mira's eyes sparkled. “That’s so cool!”

Louis nodded, his hand instinctively brushing the hilt of his sword. “Got it.”

Olentzo narrowed his eyes. “That’s all I’ll demonstrate. The rest… you’ll earn.”

He slammed his staff into the ground again, and the skies roared in response. A blizzard erupted across the field, snow whipping sideways in violent gusts.

Louis shivered. “A blizzard?”

His mind drifted to a different winter—Atrium, where his sister Celine lay sick in bed, weak from the Scarlet Fever. Winter was always cruel to her fragile lungs. The memory gripped his heart.

With resolve, Louis ignited his sword in flames, bathing himself in warmth. But Olentzo smirked.

Just what he wanted.

Olentzo’s voice rang out. “You rely on Ilazki’s flames. Clever. But fire turns ice into water, and water into vapor.”

He raised his hand and summoned a barrage of jagged icicles that shot toward Louis. The flames around Louis’s blade vaporized the attack, forming a thick mist.

“Mist is forming…” Louis murmured.

Suddenly, Olentzo was in front of him, his staff crashing into Louis’s shoulder. Louis stumbled backward.

“You still haven’t used my element,” Olentzo said coldly. “How do you expect to learn from me?”

Louis recovered, slashing through the mist with a burst of fire. “I’m waiting for you to show yourself,” he said, shifting his stance.

This time, he struck, conjuring his own icicles and hurling them forward—but Olentzo condensed the shards mid-air. They transformed into glowing ice butterflies that flitted toward Louis like a plague.

Louis exhaled. “Fine.”

He cleaved them one by one, sparks flying as his fire met their frozen forms.

From above, Olentzo summoned a massive ice construct and hurled it downward. Louis slashed it in two—and from the halves, he summoned two ice golems.

“You think those will defeat me?” Olentzo challenged.

“I do,” Louis said firmly. “Because I believe in them the same way I believe in my friends. I know I’m not alone in this fight.”

“Tch.” Olentzo raised his hand again. “I can do things my way.”

A dragon of ice erupted from the snow, wings spread wide, breath freezing the air. The golems didn’t hesitate—they launched themselves toward it.

Meanwhile, Louis sprinted across the battlefield to meet Olentzo.

“You realize you’re not alone, Olentzo,” Louis shouted. “You have a family.”

“My family is a mess!” Olentzo roared. “Our so-called ‘Mother’ tore it apart when she killed Ran!”

Louis’s jaw clenched. “I had a sister too. Her name is Celine. She’s gone now. You're not the only one who's lost someone.”

“And what do you know about rejection?” Olentzo growled. “Gabriel told you about Lamia?”

Louis’s voice softened. “She turned you down because you’re not honest—with her, or with yourself. You hide your pain. You lie about your condition. You push your family away.”

“Ever since Ran died, we’ve never been the same!”

“We’re all affected by tragedy. Not just you.”

Their clash escalated. The golems tore the wings off Olentzo’s dragon, shattering it. Enraged, Olentzo conjured ice wings for himself.

“Take this!” he cried, summoning a barrage of icicles toward Louis.

Louis raised his sword. Flames roared to life—and the icicles melted in midair.

“What?!” Olentzo gasped.

Louis charged.

“Let me burn that cold heart of yours,” he said, sword glowing brighter.

The fire swelled, melting the blizzard in a sweeping inferno of warmth, revealing the clear sky. The snow vanished. The cold withdrew.

The golems gave Louis a thumbs-up before they melted into the earth.

Olentzo fell to his knees.

Louis caught him before he hit the ground.

“You… defeated me,” Olentzo murmured. “But how?”

“Because I’m not alone,” Louis replied. “And I fight better when I let others in.”

Olentzo blinked, unsure of what to say.

Louis knelt and gently wiped the snow and ash from Olentzo’s robe. “Open up to the people around you. Stop hiding. Tell them how you feel.”

For the first time, Olentzo didn’t flinch from the truth.

“Perhaps my siblings are right about you, Louis Delacroix,” he muttered. He grasped Louis’s offered hand.

“I hereby grant you the Mastery of Ice.”

“You are worthy of wielding it as you have proved yourself by defeating me”

The elemental energy surged into Louis’s body like frost creeping across a window pane.

“Congratulations, Mister Louis!” Mira shouted as she ran up and hugged him.

Louis smiled, but his knees buckled from the strain.

“Alright, easy now,” Joaquin said, catching him. “Let me heal you up first.”

As Joaquin’s magic settled into Louis’s battered frame, Olentzo rose.

“The next post is far away,” he said. “But my brother Odei’s is closer than Vishap’s. I suggest you go there next.”

Louis nodded, eyes already looking to the horizon.

Later that evening, Olentzo soared above the snowy ridges on the wings of his ice dragon. Below, a cloaked figure passed through the ancient ruins near Tenebrae’s Bastion, clutching an urn.

He frowned. “Strange…”

Without a word, he veered his course toward Lamia’s post.

He landed with a gust of wind and melting frost. Lamia looked up from her parchment.

“What is it now, Olentzo?”

He stepped forward, quieter than usual.

“Hey Lamia…” he said, voice less sharp. “Let’s talk.”

Entry# 14 End