Lady Fryida's Work Part 1

Poro walked next to Vidian as they walked on a singular, snow-covered, ice path over the Frozen Peaks. Poro looked very similar to the Icekin, except he didn't have the ice addition. He wore fur pants that had a silver belt with a blue steel. His body was a light shade of blue and had white markings all over his body. He walked with his hands behind his back, "The man you will face is powerful."

"Why is he that powerful?"

"Because he tricked Lady Fryida, he was one of her dearest followers, she is the Goddess of Ice Forming, and he was able to reach her power by stealing a kiss from her, while asking her for advice."

"And? How did a kiss make him powerful?"

"He used the frozen marking on his own lips to charm a mask, a mask that has retained her power of Ice Forming."

"Can I have a little insight of what that power does?"

"It allows the user to form anything from ice, controlling it like a living creature or as a dead object."

"Can he do the same things as Lord Glacial?"

"And more," Poro sighed, "I must say, when you face him, you will see how demented his mind has become from wearing the mask, the power wasn't made for Icekin, Earthkin, Seakin, Natura, Celenstials, Darkkins or Humans, only for gods."

"Why is he imprisoned in the high peaks of the Frozen Peaks then?"

"Lady Fryida used his insanity to trap him, to make him wait for her, to wait for her eternally, nothing will make him leave that place now," Poro looked up at one of the peaks that stood above the rest. Black clouds above it, burst to life with bolts dashing around them and whirlwinds of white snow spun at its foot, "The Eternal Peak, the highest point of the Frozen Peaks, he is there, waiting, not knowing that she doesn't care for him anymore."

"Isn't that a little cruel?"

"What did you want her to do? She couldn't kill him, she couldn't stop him now, it was too late, he is one of my creations, that I, that I didn't watch," He seemed to speak as a hollow being, nearly emotionless, "I care for all my creatures, I can't kill him either."

"And Lady Ventarial? Or Lord Glacial?"

"He overpowers them, they cannot."

"So I have to kill him?"

"Yes, you do, this isn't going to be a terrible work, but it might need more energy than you think you will need."

"How long has he been there?"

"Some 50 years, many people have forgotten him," He sighed once more, "He is the reason Lady Fryida doesn't want to be close to non-gods anymore, she is colder than she used to be, and she appears only to us, when we ask for her, like Glacial did for you, she doesn't show her face to mortals."

"Is he immortal?"

"His body is probably mostly frozen now, he is practically a walking skeleton, driven by the feint hope of Lady Fryida coming back to see him once more."

"I think I have an idea for how to kill him."

"What do you mean? Aren't you going to fight him?"

"I'll try, but I have a good idea for if it doesn't work," He shrugged, "Well, is he physically strong?"

"No, he is thin, he is only powerful because of his mask, nothing really affects him, but if he doesn't use his magic, he isn't very strong."

"And that is all I need to do?"

"You know, the works aren't only tests that you have to do, but also ways to show that you are worthy, not just by individual tasks, but also by testing your actual will to make it, to complete the task and then to face the next one, one after the other, all in order to die, saving this world."

"You fought the beast, right?"

"I did, why?"

"How did you kill it?"

"The 11 times?"

"Yes, the 11 times."

"That fight lasted weeks, as it never tired, and nor did we, we killed it with Lord Orn's Flames, Lady Fryida's Ice, Lord Boros's Sickle, Lord Krranus's Army, Structania's Power, Lord Inventaariy's Control, Lord Tardunus's Sons, Lord Temprania's Daughters, Lord Aquariusinarium's Water, Lord Fendian's Dark, Lady Dorana's Light," He spoke as they continued to walk on the windy path, "Lady Aniya doesn't have the power to kill, so she couldn't kill the beast in any way."

"Who are the Sons and Daughters you speak of?"

"Creatures and Plants, lifeforms that they create."

"All of that, and you weren't able to kill it, but why not?"

"Have you forgotten that the only creatures able to kill it are mortals that die with it? Have you forgotten why Lord Eternum sought you out, and not a god?"

"I forgot about that," He smiled awkwardly, "It is just, like."

"A lot to think about as a mortal knowing that you would have done so much to get to that point only to have to end your life there and only for the recognition of the Supreme Gods?"

"Oh, don't worry about that part, people will know my name, I intended on doing so, Lord Morrius has already allowed me to do that at one point, so I will."

"Ah, well, if it makes your task easier," He stopped walking, "Here is it, I shall wait for you, you will deal with him, head on in," He let Vidian pass and enter the small frozen entrance that lead into the heart of the mountain.

He moved quietly as he looked around the dark, frozen prison, "Fryida?" He heard a broken voice call, "Have you returned?" The voice was crackled and seemed as if the person was going to break down into tears, "Fryida? That must be my mind, oh, always does it play those tricks on me, twisting me past the point of insanity, only living me here to die, which I cannot do," He ended his thought with laugh that echoed violently around the room. Vidian soon found himself on a small path above a frozen room. Light flooded into the room through an ice-barred window. The feint light allowed Vidian's eyes to make out a few pieces of furniture, a table, a chair, a statue, then another, then another, then another, all statues of figures that resembled Fryida, the living figure stood in front of one. Vidian slid off the path and landed in the room, his landing making the live figure turn to him. A white mask covered his face, but time had seemed to wear on his body. Shattered nails capped his fingertips and long, twisted, tangled hair hung behind him. Ice shades stuck out from behind his mask, "Who are you? Who would come see a jester to the greatest goddess of the realm, the goddess that stole my heart, Fryida, her beauty as eternal as the eternal ice of these peaks?"

"I am Vidian, I came to see you, sent by Lady Fryida."

"She sent you? Why doesn't she just come to see me? She knows that I would wait for her, forever, and ever," He passed his thumb over one of the statues as if wiping a tear from its frozen cheeks, he turned violently back to Vidian, "So speak, why are you here? And not her? Have you done anything to her?"

"I am sent to see you, to tell you the truth."

"You haven't answered my question!" A pillar of ice flew towards him and shattered as he parried the blow one of his black wings, slicing the pillar down to its base, "You are strong, you remind me of myself, the way Fryida's power just flowed right through me, it was almost as if I could feel her within me."

"Why do you wear that mask?"

"This mask? To feel her lips, I enchanted it with the frozen residues of our first kiss."

"You mean only kiss."

"I didn't, I didn't say you could speak," He grabbed his head, "Let me finish."

"A kiss you stole from her," He fell to his knees and held his hair in the clutches of his hands, "Do you know why you wait? Do you think she is really going to come see you once more?" He fell to both knees, putting his hands on his mask and slowly began to cry, "Do you?"

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" Ice began wrapping around Vidian's body, "I know she will come back, she told me to wait for her, she said that she would, she told me that, I swore to wait for her, for her, here," The ice stopped after having covered all of Vidian's body, "Eternal Ice, eternal beauty," He caressed the cheek of one of his statues. Vidian's body lit up with markings and shattered the ice, "You broke it, you broke the ice cocoon that I made you, you must be here to end me, she has decided to not come back, has she? So she sent someone to end me?"

"No."

"You lie."

"I have an idea, something to offer you."

"Then tell me, my twisted mind will do what it wants with your words."

"I can bring her back here."

"You can?" He began pacing around the room, "No, of course he can't you idiot, he is only tricking you," He talked to himself, with a different voice, "Maybe he isn't, maybe you will be able to meet Fryida again, and not be trapped here," Another voice spoke again, "Tell me," He looked towards Vidian, speaking in the voice he had presented himself in, "I want to know."

"But there would be a small part that I need from you."

"Tell me, I'll do anything to see her once more, I want to see her beautiful silver hair, I want to see her ice blue eyes, I want to see her pale skin, I want to her whistling voice, I want to feel her cold touch on me once more, I want to see her again, please, tell me," He was on his knees begging, from attacking Vidian to this, his mind was clearly not very stable, "What do I have to do?"

"Give me your mask."

"What?! How can I trust you?"

"But then why would I trust you?"

"I see, you have a good point," He looked down at the floor and ice extensions to his fingers gripped the mask as he placed his hand on his mask, before slowly removing it, his face was nearly transparent. Black bags supported his snow white eyes, his eyelashes had fallen a long while before, his lips were black with frostbite and his cheeks bitten by hunger and age. He looked up at Vidian, clutching the deathly mask, "All I need to do is give you the mask?" Vidian nodded, "I need to see her."

"Then stay right there, I'll bring her to you."

"How can I trust you?"

"You took off your mask," Vidian used clawed hands to climb back to the small path that lead out of the mountain, "You have already trusted me once."

"I'll wait here, like I waited for her to come back," He left the mask in front of him on the floor, with his hand frozen around it.