Chapter 43

The next day Alvar was sitting at a stone table at the side of the training grounds with a map of Hoelbrak and various books besides it, mulling over the previous night and how it could have come to the invasion in the first place.

Tracing a finger over the points on the map that had been ingulfed in the main battles Alvar's mind made the connection, he had already made last night, once again. The invasion per se was of a rather simple approach. Its figurehead was none other than Jormag himself that kept the biggest group of Norn that would pose a threat to his forces busy while his troops advanced towards the gates of Hoelbrak.

Once the sons of Jormag had reached a certain distance it would not matter how many arrows were let loose by the defenders as the number and equipment of the attackers guaranteed a breach of Hoelbrak.

In the end exactly that scenario had come to pass.Jormag's troops had breached their gates and streamed into Hoelbrak, one part of their forces staying to secure their point of entry while another ventured into Hoelbrak to hunt civilians who they would either look to turn to their side or kill them if they wouldn't join Jormag.

"Found anything interesting so far?" Sjorn asked Alvar as soon as he approached the studying lad who was promptly ripped out of his musings and nodded in response with a slightly frustrated expression.

"The enemies attack was very simple. Distract us while the troops charge our gates. What I noticed, even last night in all that chaos, is that we were sitting like a duck on a silver platter! Due to all the mountains surrounding Hoelbrak and only one entrance that leads in or out of the city we couldn't have escaped easily, even if we wanted to! It baffles me how our ancestors could choose such a dumb location for our capital, considering who our enemy is. I mean, it would make sense if we were fighting an even force of other Norn, Humans, Charr, Azura or Sylvari. But we aren't! We are fighting an ancient dragon who does not only have Norn under his command and I think we can consider ourselves lucky that he didn't send in those creatures last night… Which reminds me: Why didn't he?" Alvar let loose the tirade he had built up inside his mind ever since he started studying the invasion of last night though his narration lead him to a question that baffled him slightly.

After listening to Alvar rant without interrupting him Sjorn hummed to himself for a little bit. Of course the old veteran had noticed their precarious position long ago but it was one thing to see it before you and another to change it from one day to the next. At the very least they had been rather lucky in the last few years that Jormag hadn't reached out to them even once, thus granting them the opportunity to strengthen their forces. Unfortunately that time of semi peacefulness had come to an end at last. Over the years the Norn had grown and strengthened their forces, especially when it came to the magical professions in the believe that those professions could give them an edge over the ancient dragons. Ohh, how wrong they had been. Their arrogance nearly cost them everything. As they had found out last night all of their Havroune, the most powerful members in the mental arts when it came to their people, couldn't even push back Jormag's mind and Sjorn shuddered unconsciously when he began to imagine what would happen once the ancient dragon appeared before them with his body alongside his mind…

Returning his focus back to Alvar Sjorn spoke his mind with a clear voice, folding his muscled arms before his chest all the while.

"You are absolutely right, Alvar. I have had the same thoughts since I laid eyes on our location for the first time but thanks to a few unfortunate facts we are pretty much stuck to this place. Why do you think our people didn't venture out of the mountains in the first place but chose to settle here?"

"I don't know, honestly. Maybe our ancestors thought the mountains could protect us from Jormag somehow?" Alvar replied to Sjorn's question while whipping his face from top to bottom with his hand in an attempt to remove the frustration from his mind.

"You are thinking too strategically. Remember, when our ancestors came down from the far north in order to escape Jormag's reach the Norn were a lot more reclusive and ununited. What is located here that managed to attract all Norn and gave them the hope they needed to resist Jormag and form a capital as the last bastion against his forces?"

Sjorn's question caused Alvar to pause for a second. Maybe he had tried to understand the ancient Norn from the wrong perspective? After all the times were different now than they were back then. What could the ancient Norn possibly have in common? After mulling over those things for a second Alvar's mind came to an abrupt halt.

'I really am stupid sometimes. The patron spirits, of course!' Slapping himself on the forehead Alvar realised that back than only the believe in the spirits of the wild could have given the Norn the courage to stay and fight while uniting at the one point in the north where all four patron spirits had their shrines built.

"But you heard Jormag last night! What makes you think the patron spirits can protect us from Jormag's reach if their brethren are already under his control? I doubt our patron spirits are more powerful than the ones on Jormag's side!" Alvar spoke causing his teacher to frown in frustration this time.

"Yes, you are correct in your worry. I have had similar thoughts regarding our patron spirits. Maybe it is time for the Norn to look elsewhere for help…" Sjorn replied though his last words were barely audible but Alvar could guess well enough what his teacher had said. And yet he remained silent. After all it was never an easy thing to break with their oldest traditions and leave the patron spirits that had always been helpful and friendly towards the Norn to fend for themselves. But maybe that was the only way to ensure the survival of their race…

With a heavy sigh Alvar stood up and shoved those frustrating thoughts to the back of his mind before marching out onto the training grounds, all the while unsheathing his sword. If one thing had become very clear to him last night it was how unprepared he really was for a true battle but he had sworn to himself that the next time he entered one he would not be helpless anymore! Thus, student and teacher began to spar, both knowing that time was of the essence as their time of relative peace had come to an end without a single doubt in their minds…