FROST MAW — BATTLE BEGINS ?

  Where snow becomes glass, reflections rise, and Elyra’s legs betray her.

  The first mirrorborn tilted its faceless head toward Elyra—

  and the world seemed to tighten around her.

  Something inside her lattice pulsed.

  Her left thigh spasmed—

  then her shin—

  then her foot jerked violently against the stirrup.

  Elyra (whisper):

  “…no, no, not now—”

  Her right leg locked straight like a carved piece of ice.

  Her left twisted inward.

  Her boot heel ground into the snow—

  And suddenly—

  She was moving.

  But not by choice.

  ? ELYRA WALKS WHEN SHE CANNOT ?

  Sereth sucked in a sharp breath.

  Sereth:

  “ELYRA—!”

  But Elyra had already slipped from Rowan’s saddle, her body landing with unnatural grace—

  Her legs moving with smooth crystalline precision.

  Step.

  Step.

  Step.

  Straight toward the nearest mirrorborn.

  Her hands shook, but the bow rose all the same—

  as if guided by muscle memory instead of her own will.

  Elyra (strangled):

  “Get… away… from me—”

  TWANG.

  Her first arrow hit the mirrorborn dead center, splintering a spiderweb fracture through its chest.

  Second arrow—

  TWANG—

  shattered the crack, slivers of glass exploding outward like frozen petals.

  The mirrorborn’s torso collapsed inward.

  And then—

  Her legs stopped.

  All movement shut off.

  Her knees buckled.

  The numbness slammed through her again like an avalanche.

  Elyra dropped to the snow hard.

  Elyra:

  “Agh—! I can’t—I can’t move—!”

  Her thighs felt like solid crystal.

  Her calves like dead stone.

  Her feet—nothing.

  ? THE DICE MOVE AS ONE ?

  Sereth was at her side in an instant.

  She slid across the snow, scooped Elyra under the arms, and dragged her back as Garruk, Kaer, and Borin stepped forward to form a wall.

  Her voice was low, trembling, furious.

  Sereth:

  “I’ve got you, little hawk. I’ve got you.”

  Elyra’s fingers clawed weakly at her cloak.

  Elyra (panicked whisper):

  “It wasn’t me—I didn’t move—Mum, my legs walked on their own—”

  Sereth:

  “I know. I know. You’re alright. Stay with me.”

  Behind them—

  The mirrorborn advanced.

  Glass feet cracking through the ice, limbs shifting and reforming with every step, reflections rippling across their surfaces like trapped memories.

  Vex slid beside Sereth and Elyra, daggers drawn.

  Vex:

  “I swear, if Silvenna is puppeteering your legs—

  I’m turning her into a chandelier.”

  Laz appeared beside her, fire twisting around his hands.

  Laz:

  “Preferably an ugly chandelier.”

  Kaer glared, shield raised.

  Kaer:

  “Focus, you two!”

  ? ELARIS MOVES ?

  Elaris stepped forward, staff igniting with green flame.

  He spoke through clenched teeth, voice reverberating with necrotic resonance.

  Elaris:

  “You. Do. Not. Touch. My. Daughter.”

  He slammed the staff to the frozen ground.

  A shockwave of green-black light rippled through the frost, cracking the ice in a wide arc.

  Two mirrorborn staggered—

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  fractures running up their legs—

  their bodies flickering like reflections in rippling water.

  Arden followed, sunlight spilling from her palms as she invoked a warding prayer.

  Arden:

  “By Saren’s light—

  away from them!”

  Golden radiance carved a protective halo around Elyra and Sereth, the snow around them melting in a perfect circle.

  ? THE CLASH BEGINS ?

  Garruk roared first—

  a primal avalanche of fury and momentum.

  He barreled into the nearest mirrorborn with his axe—

  KRRRAAAASH—

  Shards exploded outward, glittering through the air like lethal snowflakes.

  Kaer followed, blade flashing, shield smashing glass limbs aside with disciplined precision.

  Borin charged with a bellow, hammer swinging like a falling star.

  Vex and Laz darted in and out, carving cracks and fault lines into the mirrorborn forms.

  Sereth never left Elyra’s side—

  but her bow fired over her daughter’s shoulder with deadly accuracy, splitting through mirrored heads, shattering torsos.

  Each arrow was protective.

  Possessive.

  Terrifying in precision.

  ? ELYRA WATCHES, HELPLESS ?

  She struggled—

  tried to roll—

  tried to push—

  Her legs remained dead weight.

  Cold.

  Heavy.

  Unresponsive.

  Tears filled her eyes.

  Elyra:

  “Mum… I—I hit them, I helped, but then it just—

  my body just stopped—

  I can’t—”

  Sereth (cupping her cheek):

  “Listen to me.

  You did more in two arrows than most soldiers do in a lifetime.

  You’re not useless.

  You’re not broken.

  You’re fighting.

  And you’re not alone.”

  Elyra’s breaths steadied.

  Barely.

  ? THE MIRRORBORN’S CALL ?

  As the last mirrorborn wavered under the barrage, it raised one hand toward Elyra—

  Cracks spreading across its face.

  A voice—

  Silvenna’s voice—

  ghosted through the air

  Silvenna (echoing, distant):

  “Little Light…

  I see you in every reflection…”

  Elyra’s eyes widened—

  Her legs twitched again—

  but Sereth slammed her hand onto Elyra’s lattice mark, forcing grounding warmth through her, stopping it.

  Sereth (snarling):

  “Not today.”

  And with a final snap—

  the mirrorborn shattered.

  Silence.

  The shards settled around them like glass snow.

  The first battle in Frost Maw was over—

  but every one of them knew:

  It was only the beginning.

  THE CIRCUIT OF GLASS ?

  Deep beneath Frost Maw — where reflections hunt and legs betray.

  The blizzard swallowed the world above.

  But here, beneath the ice, it was silent.

  Cold.

  Wrong.

  The Dice moved fast, weapons drawn, breath steaming in sharp bursts as they descended into the stairwell Elaris had spotted — a black wound in the snow, swallowing all sound.

  Elyra sat atop Rowan, trying to appear steady, but her legs…

  Her legs had taken on a faint sheen.

  Not frost.

  Not sweat.

  Glass.

  Sereth noticed instantly.

  She slid her cloak over them before Elyra could look.

  Sereth (quiet terror disguised as calm):

  “We need to hurry.”

  Elaris nodded once — sharply — and pushed ahead.

  ? THE CHAMBER OF THE CIRCLET ?

  The staircase spat them out into an enormous cavern of ice and mirror.

  Pillars of crystal rose like frozen fangs.

  Reflections warped on every surface — some beautiful, some wrong, some subtly alive.

  And at the very center—

  **A pedestal.

  A halo of blue-white light.

  And atop it, the circlet.**

  Silver.

  Pristine.

  Untouched.

  Elyra gasped, pointing.

  Elyra:

  “It’s there—! The circlet—!”

  She swung one leg to dismount—

  It didn’t move.

  She tried the other—

  Nothing.

  Her calves twitched once, then locked like marble.

  Elyra (panic rising):

  “Mum—Dad—my legs—!”

  Sereth was off her horse before Elyra even finished speaking.

  Elaris reached her a half-second later.

  He tried not to show fear.

  He failed.

  ? TOO EASY ?

  The chamber felt… staged.

  Placed.

  Prepared.

  Every member of the Dice felt it.

  Their steps slowed.

  Their breaths tightened.

  Even Pancake’s fur bristled.

  Kaer (low):

  “Eyes up. This is wrong.”

  Borin:

  “Traps everywhere. Smells like magic and trouble.”

  Garruk:

  “Good. I was gettin’ bored.”

  But Sereth didn’t hear them.

  She was watching Elyra.

  Watching her daughter’s face pale as she stared at her own useless legs.

  Sereth (to Elyra, soft, fierce):

  “You won’t walk to it. We’ll bring it to you.”

  Elyra nodded, swallowing hard.

  Then the sound came.

  A crack.

  A shimmer.

  A ripple — like glass sighing.

  And suddenly—

  Dozens of mirrorborn slid from the walls, the floor, the pillars —

  pulling themselves free of their own reflections.

  ? THE FIGHT ERUPTS ?

  Steel rang.

  Arrows sang.

  Spells flared.

  Every Dice member launched forward with full force.

  Sereth spun through the fray, blades slicing through glass torsos in glittering arcs.

  Garruk roared, cleaving mirrorborn in half, shards exploding around him.

  Kaer shield-charged two at once, his blade moving with military precision.

  Arden lit the cavern in gold, each burst of divine fire turning mirror into vapor.

  Vex and Laz blinked through shadows and flames, cutting fault lines through crystal bodies.

  Borin’s hammer shattered mirrorborn as if breaking stone.

  Elaris stood in the center, staff alive with green fire, shattering every reflection that dared inch near Elyra.

  They carved a path toward the circlet.

  For a moment—

  It seemed possible.

  ? SILVENNA’S WHISPER ?

  Then Elyra froze.

  Not from fear.

  From command.

  A voice poured through her mind like cracking ice.

  Silvenna (inside her head):

  “Your legs… are mine…”

  Elyra whimpered.

  Her ankles twisted.

  Her knees unlocked.

  And then—

  Her right foot stepped forward.

  Elyra:

  “No—NO—stop—!”

  Another step.

  Then another.

  Her gait was smooth, perfect, crystalline.

  Her legs glimmered faintly under Sereth’s cloak.

  Mirrorborn turned to look at her—

  And ignored her completely.

  Silvenna was guiding her like a marionette.

  Elyra reached for her bow—

  A mirrorborn knocked it from her hand.

  She lunged for it—

  Her knees would not bend.

  Another step

  another

  another

  toward the circlet.

  Elyra (voice breaking):

  “Mum!! Dad!!

  I can’t stop—HELP—!”

  Sereth screamed her name and tore through two mirrorborn at once, sprinting.

  Elaris’s staff exploded in necrotic flame—

  But Elyra was already there.

  Just out of reach.

  Her fingertips hovered a hair’s breadth from the circlet.

  Silvenna (honey-sweet, cruel):

  “Go on, little hawk… touch it.”

  Elyra flailed desperately at it—

  Her fingers scraping the air just shy of metal—

  ? THE GIANT MIRRORBORN RISES ?

  The floor convulsed.

  A column of shattered reflections erupted upward, fusing, twisting—

  Forming a titanic mirrorborn, its core made of swirling impressions of Elyra’s face trapped in glass.

  It roared.

  The Dice charged as one.

  The fight turned brutal.

  Elaris blasted chunks from its chest.

  Sereth leapt for its neck.

  Garruk hacked at its legs.

  Arden’s light scorched its arms.

  Borin crushed its left shoulder.

  Vex carved its eyes.

  Laz seared its spine.

  Elyra watched, helpless—

  And then she felt it.

  The numbness rising.

  Her stomach tightening.

  Her hips trembling.

  The glass corruption was creeping upward.

  Elyra (screaming):

  “PLEASE—! HELP—! I—I CAN’T—MOVE—!”

  Her voice cracked into a sob.

  Sereth turned—

  And saw Elyra’s midriff glowing faintly with crystalline shimmer.

  Sereth (horrified):

  “Elyra—NO—”

  She sprinted—

  ? TOO LATE ?

  The Dice moved to reach the circlet at the same time—

  And all of them stopped.

  Not from fear.

  Not from hesitation.

  Because they literally couldn’t.

  Each one looked down—

  And saw glass hands erupting from the ground, gripping their ankles.

  Hardening instantly.

  Freezing them in place.

  Sereth.

  Elaris.

  Garruk.

  Kaer.

  Arden.

  Vex.

  Laz.

  Borin.

  Even Pancake froze mid-lunge, tiny glass fingers around his paws.

  They struggled—

  nothing.

  The glass tightened like iron.

  A laugh echoed through the cavern.

  High.

  Smooth.

  Cracking like fractured crystal.

  Silvenna (everywhere at once):

  “Did you really think…

  she’d walk away from me?”

  Elyra screamed.

  Her legs — now fully crystalline to the waist — began to rise from the ground on their own.

  Her fingers stretched desperately toward Sereth and Elaris—

  Just as Silvenna giggled again