The ice breaks.

It is a Tuesday. The air is thin. I write this from the high desk. The view is clear. The sky is white. It is not a cloud. It is a void.

My name is Elias. I am the Warden. I wear the grey coat. The coat is heavy. It is cold. The cold is inside. It has been inside for years. It lives in my bones. It lives in my teeth.

I look at the glass. The glass is cracked. A fine line runs through it. It starts at the bottom. It ends at the top. It is a fracture. It is a map. I trace it with my finger. The glass is cold. My finger is warm. The heat does not last. The cold wins.

This is the Palace. It is not a house. It is a machine. The walls are stone. The floor is marble. The air is stale. We do not breathe. We only exist.

The Order is new. The High Council meets. They sit in chairs. They are tall. They are silent. They speak of the Frost. The Frost is rising. It comes from the North. It comes from the ground. It kills the crops. It kills the dogs. It kills the children.

They point at me. They do not shout. They do not need to. Their eyes are flat. They are stone. They are like the walls.

You are the cause, they say. Your blood is cold. Your mind is sharp. You see the pattern. You see the flaw. You are the crack in the foundation.

I nod. I am a good soldier. I am a good servant. I obey. I have always obeyed. I was trained for this. My father was a Warden. His father was a Warden. We are the shield. We are the wall.

But the wall is breaking.

I go to the lower levels. The stairs are steep. The air is thick. It smells of damp. It smells of rot. It smells of fear.

I find Thomas. He is small. He is young. He is my brother. We are not by blood. We are by choice. He is my anchor. He is my root.

He sits on the floor. He holds a cup. The cup is empty. His hands are shaking. The shaking is fast. It is a tremor. It is a signal.

Brother, he says. His voice is soft. It is like wind. The Frost is in the water. It is in the air. It is in us.

I look at him. I see the fear. I see the pain. I see the end.

We must go up, I say. I pull him up. His legs are weak. They are like wood. They are like ice.

We walk. The steps are long. The shadows are long. The light is dim. The light is dying.

At the top, the door is open. The wind blows in. The wind is cold. The wind is sharp. It cuts the skin. It cuts the soul.

The Council is there. The High Lord stands. He is old. His face is pale. His eyes are dark. He looks at me. He looks at Thomas. He sees the crack. He sees the weakness.

You bring the chaos, he says. You bring the end.

I step forward. My feet are heavy. The floor is slippery. The ice is spreading. It moves fast. It moves like water. It moves like time.

I do not speak. I do not argue. I am a Warden. I am the law. I am the order. But the order is dead. The order is a lie. The ice is the truth.

I look at the High Lord. I see the fear in his eyes. I see the doubt. I see the end.

He raises his hand. He points at me. He points at Thomas.

Kill them, he says.

The guards step forward. They hold their weapons. The weapons are cold. The weapons are sharp. They are made of metal. They are made of steel.

Thomas looks at me. He does not beg. He does not cry. He looks at me with love. It is a primal love. It is a wild love. It is the love of the beast. It is the love of the bone.

I understand.

I do not run. I do not hide. I stand still. I am the rock. I am the stone. I am the wall.

The first guard strikes. I block. My arm is strong. My arm is hard. The metal rings. The sound is clear. The sound is bright.

The second guard strikes. I dodge. My body is fast. My body is light. I am not heavy. I am not cold. I am warm. I am alive.

I move. I move like water. I move like ice. I break the guard. I break his balance. I break his will.

He falls. He hits the floor. The floor cracks. The ice spreads. The ice grows.

The High Lord screams. He screams for more. He screams for death.

I look at Thomas. He is standing. He is not afraid. He is calm. He is still.

He looks at me. He smiles. It is a small smile. It is a sad smile.

Let it go, he says.

I hear him. I hear the truth. The truth is simple. The truth is cold. The truth is clear.

I am not the Warden. I am not the Wall. I am the Crack. I am the Break. I am the Change.

I stop fighting. I drop my guard. I lower my arms. I open my hands.

The guards hesitate. They do not understand. They do not see. They are blind. They are deaf. They are dumb.

I look at the High Lord. I do not hate him. I do not pity him. I see him. He is a leaf. He is a dust. He is a shadow.

The ice is everywhere. It is on the floor. It is on the walls. It is on the ceiling. It is in the air. It is in us.

The glass on the desk shatters. It explodes. It bursts. It flies. It cuts. It stings.

I look at the shards. They are bright. They are sharp. They are beautiful.

I pick up a shard. It is cold. It is clean. It is pure.

I hold it to my chest. I feel the pain. The pain is sharp. The pain is real. The pain is mine.

Thomas steps forward. He takes the shard. He holds it. He does not cut. He holds it like a jewel. He holds it like a promise.

We walk out. We walk past the guards. We walk past the Council. We walk into the hall. The hall is empty. The hall is white. The hall is silent.

The door opens. The snow is there. The snow is thick. The snow is deep. It covers the ground. It covers the world.

We step into the snow. The snow is cold. The snow is soft. The snow is quiet.

I look back. The Palace is there. It is small. It is far. It is a speck. It is a dot. It is a memory.

The ice is in me. The ice is in him. We are one. We are the Frost. We are the Change.

I feel the cold. I feel the end. I feel the peace.

The snow falls. It falls on my face. It falls on my hair. It falls on my eyes.

I close my eyes. I see the light. The light is white. The light is pure. The light is gone.

The story ends. The ice remains. The silence holds. The truth is cold. The truth is free.

I am Elias. I was the Warden. I am the Break. I am the End.

The snow covers us. The snow covers all. The snow covers the past. The snow covers the pain. The snow covers the name.

We are gone. We are here. We are the Frost.

The glass is broken. The wall is down. The cold is in. The cold is out. The cold is everything.

I do not fight. I do not resist. I let it in. I let it take. I let it be.

The pain stops. The fear stops. The time stops.

There is only the white. There is only the silence. There is only the cold.

It is beautiful. It is terrible. It is true.

I am no one. I am everyone. I am the ice.

The shard is in my hand. It is sharp. It is bright. It is mine.

I throw it. It flies. It spins. It catches the light. It catches the sky. It catches the void.

It falls. It lands. It breaks.

The ice grows. The ice spreads. The ice wins.

We are the ice. We are the cold. We are the end.

The story is done. The page is white. The ink is dry. The words are gone.

The silence is loud. The cold is warm. The pain is love.

I am here. I am gone. I am the Frost.

The snow keeps falling. The snow keeps falling. The snow keeps falling.

It does not stop. It never stops. It is eternal. It is absolute. It is real.

I close my eyes. I feel the cold. I feel the peace. I feel the end.

The glass is gone. The wall is gone. The self is gone.

There is only the white. There is only the void. There is only the truth.

The truth is cold. The truth is clear. The truth is free.

I am free. We are free. The world is free.

The ice is the answer. The ice is the way. The ice is the end.

The snow covers us. The snow covers all. The snow covers the end.

The story ends. The ice remains. The silence holds. The cold is everything.

I am Elias. I was the Warden. I am the Break. I am the End.

The snow falls. The snow falls. The snow falls.

It is quiet. It is still. It is white.

It is cold. It is pure. It is true.

I am gone. I am here. I am the Frost.

The shard is in the snow. It is hidden. It is lost. It is found.

The light is gone. The dark is here. The cold is all.

The story is over. The ice is on. The silence is deep. The truth is cold.

I am the ice. I am the cold. I am the end.

The snow covers us. The snow covers all. The snow covers the name.

We are the Frost. We are the Change. We are the Break.

The glass is shattered. The wall is broken. The self is lost.

There is only the white. There is only the silence. There is only the cold.

It is beautiful. It is terrible. It is true.

I am no one. I am everyone. I am the ice.

The shard is in my hand. It is sharp. It is bright. It is mine.

I throw it. It flies. It spins. It catches the light.

It falls. It lands. It breaks.

The ice grows. The ice spreads. The ice wins.

We are the ice. We are the cold. We are the end.

The story is done. The page is white. The ink is dry.

The silence is loud. The cold is warm. The pain is love.

I am here. I am gone. I am the Frost.

The snow keeps falling. It does not stop. It is eternal.

I close my eyes. I feel the cold. I feel the peace.

The glass is gone. The wall is gone. The self is gone.

There is only the white. There is only the void.

The truth is cold. The truth is clear. The truth is free.

I am free. We are free. The world is free.

The ice is the answer. The ice is the way. The ice is the end.

The snow covers us. The snow covers all.

The story ends. The ice remains. The silence holds.

The cold is everything.

I am the ice. I am the cold. I am the end.

The snow falls. The snow falls. The snow falls.

It is quiet. It is still. It is white.

It is cold. It is pure. It is true.

I am gone. I am here. I am the Frost.

The shard is in the snow. It is hidden. It is lost.

The light is gone. The dark is here. The cold is all.

The story is over. The ice is on. The silence is deep.

The truth is cold. The truth is clear. The truth is free.

I am no one. I am everyone. I am the ice.

The snow covers us. The snow covers all. The snow covers the name.

We are the Frost. We are the Change. We are the Break.

The glass is shattered. The wall is broken. The self is lost.

There is only the white. There is only the silence. There is only the cold.

It is beautiful. It is terrible. It is true.

I am the ice. I am the cold. I am the end.