The Frozen Village

A young Dieter walked through what appeared to be a deserted village.
The air reeked of blood.
Several houses had been burned to the ground, while others were completely frozen over. The village was eerily silent as Dieter carefully made his way through the destruction.
Then he felt it.
Mana.
Mana unlike anything he had ever felt before.
It was cold.
Not simply cold like the winter air. This mana seemed to sting his bones.
Dieter stopped.
His instincts told him to prepare for battle.
He slowly followed the source of the mana, keeping his guard up as he walked deeper into the village.
Then he saw her.
A young girl, no older than ten, stood in the middle of a pile of dead bodies.
Some were covered in blood.
Others were completely frozen.
Dieter stared at her in horror.
The girl slowly looked toward him.
Dieter, overcome by fear, took one step forward.
The moment he did, ice began creeping across the ground.
It reached his leg and froze it solid.
Dieter's eyes widened.
Without hesitation, he released a burst of fire around his leg and jumped backward, breaking himself free.
He stared at the girl in complete shock.
The little girl looked back at him.
"I will kill all of you..."


Dieter suddenly woke up.
His eyes opened wide as he looked around the chariot.
For a moment, he seemed confused.
Then he looked outside and realized he had been dreaming.
Dieter leaned back and quietly sighed.
The memory still felt disturbingly real.


Boreas Estate
The sun had barely risen when Sigrid was already outside.
She swung her sword at the training mannequins repeatedly, each movement precise and deliberate.
Boreas watched her from a short distance away.
"To become a true swordsman, you need to rely on your instincts more than anything else," he said.
Sigrid continued swinging.
"Don't think too much. Be like an animal."
She stopped for a moment.
Boreas continued.
"Do not give your enemy space."
Sigrid nodded and resumed her training.
---
Zelda woke up in her room.
She looked out the window and saw Sigrid practicing outside.
She watched her for a moment.
Then she remembered what Boreas had told her the previous night.
I will be teaching you swordsmanship starting tomorrow.
Her eyes drifted toward Sigrid's sword.
She remembered what had happened when her grandfather had given her the branch.
The way her mana had flowed naturally into it.
The way the wood had caught fire.
The way the flames had followed her movements.
Zelda looked at Sigrid again.
She still didn't understand why she had been brought here.
But she intended to find out.
She quickly got dressed and left her room.
As she stepped into the hallway, she almost bumped into Sebastian.
Zelda blinked.
Was he waiting for me?
Sebastian rubbed the back of his head.
"Sorry about what happened yesterday. I realized I only apologized to the old man you were traveling with. The thing is, I thought you were someone else."
"It's...fine," Zelda replied.
"The name's Sebastian, by the way."
He looked at her expectantly.
Zelda hesitated before realizing he was waiting for her to introduce herself.
"Oh... My name is Zelda Heinhard."
Sebastian's eyes widened.
"Heinhard?"
He suddenly became much more enthusiastic.
"You mean the legendary family of Sorcerers? I'm honored to meet you!"
"Yes," Zelda replied, with considerably less enthusiasm.
Sebastian smiled.
"So you're a Sorcerer too?"
Zelda hesitated.
The words I am going to teach you swordsmanship were still lingering in her head.
Before she could answer, Sebastian suddenly muttered to himself.
"Wait, so that old man was the Dieter? Wow, that's so cool. Why didn't Master tell us about this?"
He looked back at Zelda.
"Must be cool being the only Spellblade in a family of Sorcerers, right?"
Zelda froze.
Her expression changed.
"Well..."