Treason in the North (Book 4)

Cover of Treason in the North

## Description

**The campaign in the Frozen Continent has failed. War returns to Norghana, and with it death and destruction.**

King Uthar has been defeated in the Frozen Continent. Wounded, he retreats to Norghania to regroup his forces and shield himself behind the walls of the capital.

Lasgol and his friends will try to pass the fourth and final year of instruction and graduate as Rangers on their own merits. To do this they will have to take part in deeply dangerous missions and help the King against the invaders.

The companions are divided, they must choose between supporting either the Rangers and the King or Darthor and the Western League. If they decide to support Darthor, they will be committing treason and will pay with their lives if they are found out.

Darthor and the Western League make an alliance to defeat Uthar and attack the King before he can make himself strong once again. Lasgol and his friends will find themselves involved in the offensive to take the capital and dethrone Uthar.

Will the hosts of the Frozen Continent led by Darthor and the forces of the Western League manage to take both capital and crown from King Uthar? Or will it instead be Uthar who comes out victorious? Who will survive? Who will perish?

Will Lasgol and his friends unmask the true traitor? Will they survive the fourth year of instruction and the war and graduate as Rangers?

## Plot

Lasgol and Viggo go to Skad. On the way they see a battle between Western militia and soldiers from the East. Lasgol tells Martha and Ulf about Uthar's true identity (Shifter) and what has happened over the past year with the Western League, the alliance with the People of the Ice, what has caused the civil war and his Gift. Count Malason sends a messenger to tell Lasgol to come to Duke Olafstone's castle. Lasgol and Viggo travel to Estocos, along the way they notice that the people are much colder and more suspicious than usual. In Estocos they meet with Austin, Arnold and Egil, to make plans for the next move of the Western League. Austin decides to wait for Darthor's forces to be ready before attacking the capitol of the East.

Then the three Ranger candidates leave for the Camp. On the way, one night while Lasgol is keeping watch, Darthor comes to talk to him. She tells Lasgol that in the summer, the People of the Ice will invade Norghana. When they arrive at the river leading to the Camp, they have to use a small boat, as the Rangers have decided to take the precaution of not traveling in large groups to the Camp this year. At the Camp, Astrid and Lasgol share a romantic moment, which Viggo watches.

There is a lot of tension between the candidates who are from the West and those from the East, with Isgord in particular calling the Westerners traitors. In physical education training, Ivan, the instructor, sets half-wolves on them to bite them in order to make them run faster.  One day Lasgol meets Val, who tells him that her father is Count Olmossen, a Western noble who has sworn fealty to Uthar. She tells Lasgol that the Count has disinherited her in favor of her younger brother because he thinks women aren't fit to rule.

Later Isgord challenges Lasgol to a Rangers' Duel to "prove" that the Ranger candidates from the West aren't traitors. Egil tells Lasgol not to go, but Viggo tells Isgord that Lasgol will be there and tear him to pieces. At the duel almost all the Ranger candidates gather to watch. During the duel Lasgol is wounded in the arm and Isgord is wounded in the thigh. Val had gone to tell Oden about the duel and he arrives after it is finished, and takes Lasgol and Isgord to the Command House to meet with Dolbarar and the four Master Rangers. Dolbarar decides to punish them by the Scorn of the Ranger, which consists of stripping the candidates from the waist up, then hanging them by a rope tied to their hands and feet, and hitting them on the back with hard branches like whips, thorns, poison ivy, and other plants that cause pain or discomfort once an hour for a whole day and night. Astrid hides and stays to watch, which helps Lasgol get through it.

Then they start physical training again, with a different type of training, endurance instead of speed, though the half-wolves still bite them if they lag behind or stop to rest. Lasgol experiments with his Gift and manages to develop a new skill, which allows him to hit a single target with complete accuracy even when he can't see it as long as he knows where it is. Val ambushes Lasgol during Wildlife training at night and kisses him. The fourth year Ranger candidates are sent out on a mission to scout eastern Norghana to find out where Darthor's forces plan to land, as their Summer Test.

The Snow Panthers are sent to scout Killer Whale Bay with the Royal Ranger Mostassen, who is a Specialist with the specialty of Tireless Tracker. Astrid is sent by Royal Ranger Ulsen, who was assigned to lead her team, to ask if the Snow Panthers have seen anything after a few days. The day she arrives at the Snow Panthers' camp, Mostassen finds the trail of enemy scouting parties, and the army of the People of the Ice begin to land in Killer Whale Bay, meeting with troops from the Western League. Asrael and a part of the invasion force capture Mostassen, the Snow Panthers and Astrid. They meet with Arnold, who is leading the force from the Western League that has come to meet Asrael's army.

The Snow Panthers and Astrid are held in the camp of the allied forces. The Snow Panthers tell Astrid about Uthar's true identity as a Shifter and that they are working to end his rule of Norghana. Then Darthor comes to talk to them about Uthar again, and is going to kill Astrid, but Lasgol convinces Darthor to spare her life by saying that he loves her. Despite Darthor and Lasgol's attempts to convince her of the situation and why the Snow Panthers are fighting against Uthar, Astrid doesn't believe them and thinks they're all under a spell. She manages to escape from the tent the next night. The Snow Panthers alert Asrael, and he lets them go.

The Snow Panthers return to their campsite in Killer Whale Bay, where they find Mostassen, whose memory of recent events has been erased so that he doesn't know about Lasgol and Egil's true allegiance, though he does remember seeing the invasion force. They return to the Camp to tell Dolbarar, who says that the day before, Ulsen and the Owls had returned with the same news. All the other fourth year Ranger candidates have already left to assist the royal army in stopping the invasion, and the Snow Panthers are sent along as well, under the command of Royal Ranger Nikessen and Molak, who is now an instructor. Viggo is furious, since Ingrid likes Molak and Viggo likes Ingrid. While they are out scouting alone, Viggo tells Lasgol that he can't go back to his home city because he killed his mother's lover for abusing her. Nikessen tells them that they are ordered to help prevent Darthor's forces from getting through the Eastern Pass.

When the army gets to the eastern side of the pass, they see what they think is Darthor's army assembled there. In reality, it is a spell cast by the Glacial Arcanes, in order to draw the Norghanian army out of the pass so that two gigantic Creatures of the Ice can seal it behind them. Only the Snow Panthers, Molak and Nikessen see this in time, and they begin to ride south around the mountains to warn the King. In order to stop Nikessen from warning the King, the Snow Panthers decide to poison everyone with them to make them all sick so they have to stop. Egil does this, in a way so that only he and Lasgol are well enough to keep riding. Nikessen orders them to ride to Bergen, an Eastern city, and send a message to the capitol from there. Instead, they ride to the capitol to join Darthor's invasion forces besieging it.

Lasgol and Egil arrive just at the start of the siege of Norghania and are captured by Eilarson, leader of a Western scouting force. He thinks they are spies and is planning on executing them when Duke Erikson stops him. Erikson brings them to the command tent, where all the nobles are discussing strategies. They tell the nobles about the sealing of the pass, and that Uthar's three main armies are now trapped on the other side. The next day Darthor calls the Western nobles to a meeting to discuss strategy. The leaders of the People of the Ice want to attack the capitol right away in a frontal assault, which will cause massive casualties among the allied forces, while Duke Olafstone advises to use siege engines instead. They get into an argument and eventually Darthor orders everyone to stand down. They agree to use siege engines, and Duke Olafstone agrees to give up northern Norghana to the People of the Ice (since historically it was theirs).

For four days they bombard the city with siege weapons, then move to take the walls. Egil is forbidden by Duke Olafstone to take part in the battle. The walls are taken, though Count Bjorn and many soldiers are killed; two Ice Mages are killed by an Ice Elemental summoned by the Glacial Arcanes. Despite his brother's orders, Egil slips out of the camp with Lasgol to help fight. In the final attack on the keep, Darthor summons a massive Creature of the Ice named Gormir to break down the gates. Gormir burrows under the ground and breaks apart the gates from underneath, allowing the allied forces to enter the keep. Darthor Dominates Olthar and makes him kill himself. Darthor also Dominates Uthar and is about to make him reveal his true identity when Asuris kills her. Jurn then kills Azur, and Asuris wounds Asrael. Sarn and Thoran kill Austin Olafstone and the People of the Ice start fighting all the Norghanians, both western and eastern. As Darthor/Mayra dies, she gives Lasgol a pendant with an ice blue jewel. In the confusion, Uthar and Gatik manage to escape. Arnold leads the Western forces out of the city, and decides to retreat to Estocos. Egil and Lasgol rejoin the Snow Panthers and Nikessen, who have arrived outside the city along with the eastern Norghanian army.

The next day Uthar orders the army to retake the capitol. The People of the Ice have gathered outside the capitol, making it slightly easier for the Norghanians to attack. Both forces are weakened in the battle, and the People of the Ice retreat back to the Frozen Continent. The Snow Panthers are allowed to return to the Camp afterwards. They are very worried that Astrid will tell Dolbarar about their actions in the North. Lasgol tries to talk to Astrid but she tells him to stay away from her. Val tries to start a relationship with Lasgol, but he tells her it isn't the right time, since he is very depressed.

At the end of the year, Dolbarar tells the Ranger candidates that this year's Ceremony of Acceptance will take place in the capitol. At the Ceremony, Uthar orders Sven to take Lasgol and Egil prisoner and hang them at dawn. They are about to be taken when Camu reveals Uthar's true identity by blocking his Shifter spell. Thoran kills the Shifter and then orders the Snow Panthers to be taken to prison. Astrid, who realizes Lasgol was telling her the truth, stealthily takes Camu from Lasgol to keep him safe. Later Thoran sends Dolbarar and Sven to release the Snow Panthers from prison, as they helped his rise to the throne. Astrid gives Camu back to Lasgol, and they partially make up, since Lasgol tells her about his Gift. Then they plan to return to the Camp to test for the elite specialties.