The Heart of Winter

'Follow the blue star, on the ice dragon and you will find the heart of winter' that was what Mance had said to them as one of the indications to find the lands of always winter after they had crossed the Frost Fangs.

"I don't think, he realizes how literal that becomes out here in the lands of always winter!" Mimir shivered.

The dark clouds shrouded the sky as Kratos and Freya walked under the shadow of the icy glacial mountains, inside the cold labyrinth of giant stalagmites of ice, slowly making their way to the temple of winter.

"There should be thirteen. The constellation he had shown us had thirteen stars, the northmost being the blue star. We can only see twelve." Freya pointed out.

"Then we must keep our guard up," Kratos said as used his axe to cut through a chunk of ice that hid an opening they needed to crawl through.

"Aye, one of them is missing. Even as it is, this land is prepared for war. Keeping your guard up will help us one way or another." Mimir commented as the narrow tunnel led them to an opening that once again gave them a clear view of the temple.

"The cold here is almost like the gates of Helheim itself have opened here to the mortal plane," Freya said, as she failed to keep a magical fire going for longer than a minute.

"It is fortunate that Kratos' blades can get a fire going should we need it," Mimir said gratefully as Kratos grunted.

Far above them, just beneath the dark cover of the clouds, twelve ice dragons patrolled the skies. Their pale blue eyes shone like dim stars, that could see everything that happened on the surface of their land.

Thirteen stars were the legend around Westeros. The bright blue star was said to always point to the North, to the heart of winter. The stars together were shaped to form a majestic ice dragon with wings spread wide as if they were meant to cover the entirety of the night sky under its grace.

"The temple grows closer," Kratos said, in a way of getting his companion's focus back on the task at hand.

They had been traveling through the icy labyrinth for over two days, relying on the shine of the temple to guide them through the maze of befuddlingly crisscrossing icy structures.

He was right, for into the north, just above the pointed edge of the spear-like ice mountain, they could see the majestically dark temple. The blue fires on its towers illuminated the structure in a pale hue, and to them, it almost felt like instead of giving any warmth, the fire ate the warmth from around it.

They had avoided enemy patrols using the cover of the icy labyrinth as it had seemed unlikely that any creature living or dead was going to patrol the depths of the icy chasms.

They had used the cover as much as they could, and now their inevitable climb toward the more hostile and well-patrolled levels of the land was upon them.

Kratos, being one to not waste around with his words immediately began the climb finding a suitable ledge on the icy structure, Freya following just behind him.

"The ice walls have a bite to them," She observed. The cold from the ice that they were climbing would have hurt would they had been mortals. "Helheim had ice that burned. This is similar to an extent."

"Tell that to my stump!" Mimir shivered again, "I don't think it has ever been as frozen as it currently is. You could preserve me for centuries more at this rate, just with this ice alone. I feel nothing below my neck!"

"Do you ever feel anything below your neck?" Freya asked teasing him a little.

Mimir spluttered, "As a matter of fact, I do! But, right now, my stump is as sore as a freshly popped blistering boil!"

Freya snickered, and Kratos grunted in amusement.

"This ice is of a baser nature. Helheim had ice that belonged to the realm. This one is similar, but it does not belong here. Its power is muted." Kratos said as he jumped a narrow ledge, finding a hand hold onto the icy ledge with a surprising deftness that one wouldn't expect of a being of his size and stature.

"Maybe, that is their goal?" Mimir observed. "To forcefully make this land of mortals similar to that of Hel?"

"Then why wait?" Freya asked. "They have twelve ice dragons. Why do they wait here far into the north? Why not fly down south on their dragons and take what they want?"

"And there lies the mystery, doesn't it?" Mimir remarked.

They were quickly ascending the wall of biting ice, and their chances of being attacked by a patrolling guard of white walkers were also increasing.

Kratos and Freya bounded one after the other, across the narrow gaps in ice they could find. Both of them made certain that their friend found their footings correctly, and was not in any danger of falling into the chasms below from which they had come.

"If we are to fight dragons, especially ice dragons, like that one we fought in Vanaheim, I may need to fashion myself a new bow to cast sigil arrows again," Freya said as they reached a part of the wall that they could walk across on foot before they had to climb again. "The fire from your blades will be amplified with my sigils."

"We will make do with what we have. If we find a good tree in this region, you can carve your bow. Till then we keep moving." Kratos grunted as he looked at the formation of the twelve ice dragons high up in the sky. While Sigil arrows would have been of use against those creatures, should it come to that, he would make do with what he had.

They climbed for another few more minutes, their bodies straining and working their muscles into action as the gods reached the plains that led to the Temple that was the heart of winter.

The plains around them looked worn down as if a very large settlement once resided there. Dark dilapidated structures of rotten wood covered the plains, and they got the feeling that ghosts of times long past watched them in a silent plea to free them from their eternal unrest.

Most of the small broken houses were covered with ice, some even looked to have been perfectly preserved as if life from at least a thousand years ago had frozen in time. Only, there was no soul in the frozen icy picture.

"People lived here?" Mimir questioned.

"Looks like it," Freya answered as she started walking behind Kratos. There was a certain beauty in the scene before her, no matter how much she tried to not admire the darkness and ice, it had a regal majesty and elegance that was uncanny and beautiful to her. The pale blue ice had a greenish tint to it, that seemed to shine under the light of the blue fire of the temple that was their destination. "The First Men, perhaps. Mance did say something about them living throughout the North. Maybe they once lived here too. What do you think happened here?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, your highness," Mimir replied.

Kratos led them to the end of the town, the gates to it were closed shut with large iron doors. Ice had grown over the gate as well, as it worked to add another layer of barricade between them and the road that would lead them to the temple.

He unsheathed his blades from his back, the cursed fire coming to life immediately as Kratos willed them to burn as hot as he thought would be necessary to melt the ice on the door. Plunging the blades into the giant chunk of ice, that embalmed the gate he started to melt the ice down.

The cursed fire worked through the hellish ice, as termites ate through wood, and the ice instantly sublimed into hot mist which was quick to flow down again as soft snowflakes.

With a mighty push on the old rusted iron gate, and with a loud and shrill creak he swung it ajar. Just enough for them to squeeze through the gaps leading to an old icy and slippery, once a stone cobbled road, that led to the entrance of the temple they were heading toward.

It seemed that their luck had finally run out. They hadn't run into any white walker patrols this far into the Lands of Always Winter, having made efficient use of the depths of the icy chasm as a cover from watchful eyes, both high in the skies and the ones that frequently guarded the lands.

"Ready yourself!" Kratos commanded as he sensed a presence behind them, as he turned to look at the town from which they had come.

A gigantic spider, with pale blue eyes, had crawled up behind them. Its large eight legs had fur that looked more like razor blades. Eight frigid icy blue eyes stared at them, and in front of its maw were four pincers that looked more like jaded daggers. Sat atop its back, was a white walker who was assessing them with a curious but angry expression.

Behind him, was a company of at least a dozen wights, led by two more white walkers on foot.

The pale ice soldier, that rode on the back of a spider, apparently found them wanting as spoke in a harsh tongue that the gods did not understand, and as one their icy company charged at them.

"I will take care of the Spider!" Kratos said as he unsheathed his blades again, the cursed fire burning brightly on them.

Freya nodded as Thrungva was ready in her hands, as she focused on the oncoming onslaught of wights that swiftly moved toward her.

Kratos refocused his attention on the Spider that was moving toward him with surprising agility. It leaped at Kratos preparing to pierce him using its sharp front legs.

Kratos rolled to his left, farther away from Freya to get him some ground as he launched his blades at the creature. The right blade wrapped around the two front legs it had used to attack him, while the other whirled past its rider's head. The fiery chains that blurred past the rider's head, were still hot enough that even having missed the ice on his body sizzled to steam for a few moments.

Kratos pulled the chain that was wrapped around the spider's front legs, as it tightened and the hot blade at its end dug into the legs. The spider was not immobile yet, as it thrashed around trying to move Kratos using the chains against him as a whip, but it was for naught.

Kratos tugged on the chains with monstrous strength, causing the spider to momentarily lose balance as its pincers dug into the ice on the floor, and its pale eyes closed shut in pain. The spider gave a shrill scream, as the hot blade cleaved straight through its front two legs.

Kratos immediately began to run at the downed figure, before it could recover and spun the other blade in his hand, as he heated the blade to sizzling fiery life. Leaping into the air, Kratos flung the blade using his left hand, and cleaved straight through the rider's heart and the Spider's head, the hot blade moving through them like butter.

He landed opposite the dying and quickly vaporizing figures behind him, as he reassessed the battle. Freya had the fight under control, as she fought a dozen wights while the white walkers kept their distance, seemingly content in attacking her using cursed ice projectiles.

Seizing the opportunity, with a mighty roar, Kratos pulled on the left blade that was wedged into the rider and the best with both his hands and flung the carcass across the distance between him and them.

The sudden attack from Kratos went unnoticed till the walkers heard his sudden roar, and they attempted to erect an ice wall to protect themselves. But the weight of the spider and the sizzling hot blade wedged in its head was enough to barrel through any defense they eructed.

The spider crushed them, its dagger-like pincers, along with the sizzling hot blade that stuck out of its gaping mouth skewering the walkers, killing them instantly, just as Freya finished her last opponent as well.

They did not have time to collect themselves from the battle, however, as a deathly loud screech rang through the skies. It sounded like thunder itself, and both Kratos and Freya looked to the skies.

The twelve dragons that guarded the skies of the Lands of Always Winter, were swiftly thundering toward them. Their massive wings were wide apart, and their icy blue eyes were locked onto them as they flew to them like an arrow through the sky. The dark black scales that covered their body gave made them look like blue death itself.

"Oh, bugger!" Mimir cried.

"To the temple!" Kratos commanded as both he and Freya quickly began to sprint across the narrow road to the vast gates of the Temple of Winter.

The Icy Dragons behind them gave chase, as they opened their maws preparing to send forth a burst of blue cold fire.

Freya ran deftly, a few paces ahead of Kratos. Her light figure gave her more speed than her burly friend.

"Brother! Watch out!" Mimir cried as he saw the dragons, as if they were one, launch their icy attack at them.

Kratos quickly unfurled his shield, as he kept running at the gate, preparing to defend himself from the cold fire. The road was too short to dodge.

Freya reached the gigantic doors to the temple before Kratos and chanted "Ϸola", as she worked her magic on the magnificent silver doors and wrenched them open.

She was first inside the massive building and turned to help her friend through.

"Kratos! Quick!" She shouted as she held the doors open.

Just as the icy fire of the dragons reached Kratos, he turned around, planted his feet on the ground, and used his enchanted shield to bear the brunt of the icy fire. His axe immediately flung to his hand as well, as the Dragons kept on their onslaught, electing to keep sending the icy fire, and using what strength he could muster, Kratos raised the axe over his, while still holding the shield in place, and with godly accuracy, he sent the cold axe through the even colder fire and like as if flew through the air, ignoring the cold fire around it, the axe struck the Dragon that led the charge, causing it to barrel into its companions, as they lost their focus on their attack.

But as it did so, the combination of the cold ice of the axe, and the cold fire of the twelve dragons, amplified the strength of the beam of fire that was attacking Kratos, causing him to fly through the open doors of the Temple.

As he flew through the air, Kratos recalled the Axe back to him, just as Freya closed the doors of the temple, and Kratos wedged the axe into the ground, to slow himself down.

The axe cut open the floor halfway into the giant hall they had found themselves in as Kratos caught his footing.

He stood finally in the center of the Temple of Night, the Heart of Winter.

ჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲჲ

A/N: I'd appreciate criticism of this chapter. It was a fun chapter to write! What did you think about the twelve Ice Dragons?