The mountains around Avalon's Pride, without any audible notice or without exuding any weird pulse, began to shimmer. It was almost unnoticeable for regular eyes, but for Lucca, who had the innate ability to use the energy in the air, to draw it in and through formations, mold it to his will, he could see it. He knew it before the reports came that the Gods' Formation stopped rotating... It was time for winter. By the end of the day, he could tell that the smell in the air had changed and that the wind had stopped. The clouds above the vast lands were darker than usual as their layers grew thicker, blocking out more of the sun's light and creating a dulled filter that had settled onto the world. It didn't take long, only a few hours before the first flakes began to drift from the sky, followed by millions more of them, sometimes clumping together, almost becoming the size of a berry before landing on the ground.

The sudden cold was noticeable, even under thick coats, as it wafted off the mountains' sides. Lucca could see that the rivers, which usually flowed down from the mountaintops, forming the streams and massive rivers, heading towards the forest, were about to freeze over soon enough. Maybe in a day or a week... Although this one was not looking to become a long winter, he could feel that it wouldn't be like the previous ones either. It felt much more... colder. From the command tower, Seltana leaned over the parapet at the top, her gloved hand gripping the stone, as the wind caught her hair, as if it was trying to yank her down from her spot.

"Cold..." Her breath turned to mist instantly, but she did not move away, her eyes narrowing a little.

"And it will be a tough one." Behind her, Lucca stepped up close, his black greatcoat slowly turning wite, letting the snow rest on his hat and shoulders.

"Are we expecting trouble...?" Seltana asked, getting to attention and saluting.

"That and more," He answered quietly, "The wind... It's heavy. I can feel it. Something weird is going on with this winter... It has a dangerous taste to it. Plus... I can feel weird magic in the air, probably the mountains' doing, as per the Sovereign's theory.

"I will double the patrols and tell the sentries to keep an eye open, especially at night."

"They shouldn't be able to sneak up on us." Lucca smiled, crossing his arms, "With all the mines we deployed from here to the rivers... They will activate them the moment they get close to the wall.

Avalon's Pride didn't need to wait for too long to test Lucca's theory. The very first monsters appeared on the third day, amidst the thick snowfall, as they trudged out from the dense forest.

"Energy spikes detected!" one officer called out, at once, "Far-range Imaginary feed is being generated... Something's moving!"

"Bring it up," Lucca turned from the window, holding a cup of coffee, walking up to the station from where the signal was coming, his eyes hardening. "Show me."

A sphere of light appeared in the center of the sensor station, and at first, it was nothing but static. Then, through the flickers and a very pixelated projection, massive shapes finally emerged. They looked like vague silhouettes, not only obscured by the weak signal but also because they were crossing through the snowstorm, which was constantly picking up in speed and intensity.

"Size estimates?" Seltana demanded, stepping closer, too.

"Between twenty and forty meters," came the reply, the officer's voice remaining calm and collected, "We can sense multiple heat sources, all belonging to different signatures, no uniform type. And they are not like our readings of the Vasa visitors..."

"So it begins," Lucca exhaled through his nose, his breath misting even inside the room, "How many?"

"Twelve... maybe thirteen," another voice answered. "But their readings are... the storm interferes with the magical waves. I can't be certain."

"Heading straight for us?" Seltana asked. "Or towards the mountains?"

While the Pride was being built, monsters did come, multiple times in fact. However, there were numerous moments where they just reached the mountains, as if drawn there by something, only to then fight to the death with each other, consuming the fallen's core... or dying from their injuries in the process.

"Yes," replied the officer. "Directly toward the Pride. No doubt about that."

"Sound the alert," Lucca ordered. "Load artilleries! Batter them and make sure to herd the bastards into the landmines. I don't want to see any of them reach the walls."

At once, the fortress came alive under his orders. Inside the walls, the red warning lamps began flashing, and alerts blared, while across the battlements, flares were shot out, their glowing arcs helping the artillery teams watch the ever-changing wind direction above the plains. Not even a minute later, massive gears began groaning as shutters opened on the wall, and the tips of the cannons slid out, taking aim. Meanwhile, on top of the wall, the biggest artillery pieces were rotated toward the approaching enemy, with dozens of soldiers rushing up from within to man their posts and prepare for this winter's first battle.

"All divisions, full readiness." Seltana spoke, her voice coming from the captains of the different squadrons, "We have a Category-B contact approaching from the east. Artillery stations one through twelve, you are to prepare for extreme, long-range engagement. Load cluster spells first to cover as much area as possible. Fire when ready and adjust aim as needed. We are going to feed you the refreshed readings from every ping as they keep closing in."

"Change in their magical signatures!" A sharp yell came from the sensor officer.

At the same time, the first of the beasts, shrouded within the growing snowstorm, had lifted its head and released a soundless roar that sent forth a magical wave, making Lucca furrow his brows as he felt it... There was no doubt about it... They had their own version of pinging them. Not that it mattered.

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"Sir?" Seltana asked, seeing Lucca's face change and knowing he was a mage, something had to happen that only he felt.

He didn't answer at first. Instead, he walked to the observation window on the command tower, placed a hand on the frosted glass, and summoned a small formation, causing the ice to melt away. With a deep breath, the formation changed under his palm, becoming the original Imaginary-spell as he used it on himself, watching as the creatures snapped at each other. They were clearly wild, without control... Or... Maybe it was the opposite... Because they weren't attacking their brethren. They were... just coming towards them.

"Interesting..." He muttered, making Seltana's brow furrow even more, not liking the situation at all. "Send the order to prepare the mechs we have in storage. Just in case."

"Yes, Sir!" Seltana nodded, already raising her communicator.

As the order echoed through the fortress's network, the present Knights in the deepest decks, where the workshops were located, climbed into their machines, activated them, and an internal lift system began whirring as it brought them directly to the top of the walls.

"Rook is reporting for duty." Polo arrived first, the cannons on his back flipping onto his shoulders, receiving the Imaginary's feed from the command tower.

"Rook," Seltana's voice came through his ears, "you will monitor their reaction. We suspect possible anti-magic capabilities. Coordinate with the physical cannons when firing the moment they get into range."

"Roger, Command Center." He answered, and not that far from him, another mech was lifted onto the top of the walls.

"Thunder is in place," Edrine joined the channel, "Charging."

"Seeker is online," Nathel reported, "Reinforcing visuals, feeding the coordinates to Thunder and the Rook. Let's give them hell!"

Back in the tower, a tremor rippled through the floor the moment the beasts had entered their artillery's range. The moment the first cannons fired, the rest followed in sequence, according to Seltana's orders, while a follow-up salvo was already being loaded in. At first, nothing happened as the spells disappeared in the clouds, only for them to come down a minute later, bombarding the beasts in the distance, still dozens of kilometers away from them.

"Direct hit!" Nathel noted it first because his machine could see farther than any of the others, "Report! They have shields."

"Of course they do..." Polo grunted, the Rook also taking aim, but they were still way too far out for him to join in on the battle. He had to wait until they were only ten kilometers away or less.

"Do we know their strength?" Edrine asked, receiving the answer from Seltana.

"The General is currently trying to measure it. Wait a moment."

Lucca, his eyes closed, still had his hand on the glass, trying to sense the enemy, using his magic. He was the best at defense because his spells were never really meant to be used on a single offensive spell. Instead, they allowed him to read even the most chaotic of situations and let his mind adapt to them, watching it from a bird's eye view. He could mold the landscape, he could transform the battlefield... and he could use it to their advantage, to let his troops win. But he was never the one to summon fire from the sky. Luckily, the artillery could do that for him.

"Their power, from what I can sense," He spoke after a minute of silence, "is equivalent to an Ishillian flying ship's shields. Base variant..."

"We can hammer that." Seltana nodded, pulling up her communicator to give new orders. "Artillery teams: Sequential fire, use the Beta-wave protocol. Keep the cannons from overheating. We are not in a rush, but don't let them regenerate."

From wall to wall, the batteries adjusted their elevation, receiving their orders, and seconds later, the entire face of Avalon's Pride erupted in a majestic fury. Every cannon fired in their detailed order, acting as if they were all one big machine or an entire warship. At their mouths, the snow burst upward with every discharge, making the spells and physical shells fly across the storm, many times releasing a thick trail of steam as they burned through the snow. The moment they reached their target, a fire-shaped flower bloomed at the spot, bright, orange, right before the secondary volley arrived, igniting the first spell's fire once more, turning it blue, and then scorching white. Even with their shields, the monsters staggered under the barrage... but they kept coming.

"Shields still up," Seltana announced over the comms. "Maintain Beta-wave intervals! Keep the rhythm!"

Avalon's gunners obeyed, and the entire fortress shook as they fired again... again... and again. The sound and shockwaves passing through the fortress were overwhelming, but, in a good way, making the gunnery teams feel they were the ones taking down Avalon's enemies... and even Lucca would agree with them. By the fourth barrage, the beasts got close... close enough for the mechs to join in on the fun.

The Rook's twin cannons on his shoulders roared first, launching two massive slugs at supersonic speed towards the still shielded bastards.

"Parry this, you filthy bastard!" he grunted as he watched it arrive just a few seconds later.

They cut through the air like whistling meteors, striking the lead monster square in the chest. The impact passed through their shared shield, followed by a loud, pain-filled roar... and then the shield shattered as the leading monster toppled, disrupting their flow.

"It's still alive, only crippled!" Nathel reported at once.

"Not for long!" Edrine answered, his Thunder already taking aim, and when his weapon fired, blue arcks spreading across the extended barrel of his gun, the projectile loaded in flashing through the sky, accelerated beyond the sound barrier even before leaving its choke. It hit its mark perfectly, shattering the beast's skull as a cloud of blood erupted on Nathel's Imaginary feed.

"Shields down! All cannons, fire!" Seltana's voice rang out at once at the same time.

As if on cue, every cannon on the wall answered her call. The sky itself seemed to light up with a new sunrise as the Pride unleashed everything it had prepared for the winter. It was not something the beast had even expected. As an instinct, one of them tried to attack too. Its chest heaved, the scales on its back splitting as red fissures crawled along its body, carrying its magic-filled blood to its throat. With a deafening roar, it opened its maw, releasing a torrent of energy that flew directly towards the walls, but it didn't get close. The spell had only hit the Pride's outer shield as it flickered to life, spreading the attack apart in a blaze of white heat, causing it to splash harmlessly against the transparent barrier before sliding down to the ground, causing the snow to melt.

"Outer ward integrity... eighty-eight percent," reported one of the engineers, remaining as calm as if nothing was happening outside. "General, we are holding steady."

The second monster joined the first in their attempt, then the third, the fourth... three more spells striking against the blue sphere of protection. Nothing. Well... almost nothing, because they arrived onto the minefield, beginning to blow up all around them, along under their feet. There was not even a chance for them as the cannon fire kept echoing in the blizzard, finishing them off, causing the monsters to collapse, one by one.

"Contact lost on all signatures," reported the sensor officer when the final beast fell over, their corpses being shredded by the still incoming artillery fire. "No survivors detected."

"Roger," Seltana exhaled slowly, "Cease fire. Begin cooling cycles and start preparing for sweeps! Collect their cores and whatever we can before dark. Maintenance teams, check the cannons' integrity, we can't allow malfunctions... the winter had just started."

"I will head out with the recovery team," Lucca turned from the window, his expression grim. "Don't celebrate yet. That was just the opening move... And if the first week is like this... I don't expect anything less from tomorrow."

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