Alder stood at the opening to the pass, staring out at the vast expanse of land before him. On one side, the sea crashed and churned against the cliffs and on the other, the mountains stretched for leagues into the distance. The flat ground in the middle, seemed strange when compared to the powerful features of the landscape that it stood between. One feature of that bare ground however was one that Alder was not pleased about. The Valadorian army had arrived and stood menacingly in the distance. Seated on his horse, with Jarel by his side, Alder had insisted that he be at the front, despite the many protests of the generals and commanders, who had tried to convince him to remain in the command tent away from the lines. Alder had respectfully declined, saying that he was best put to use in the fight itself, rather than issuing orders from a distance. Raising his hand and slowly moving it forward, the combined forces of Arendelle and the Korun-Do moved forwards slowly, coming to a complete halt about five hundred metres from the Valadorian host. A white flag appeared on the Valadorian side and two men rode out on horses. Nodding to Jarel, Alder rode out to meet the men. As he confronted them, they both grunted in response to Alder's arrival from the Arendellian ranks.

"We wish to speak to the person in charge, not some peasant," the first man, which Alder identified as a general, spat.

"I am the designated representative of the joint forces of Arendelle and the Korun-Do. Anything that you have to say, you can say to me, although I would like to make a query as to why your King is not the one meeting us out here?" Alder returned with as much venom as he could muster.

"The King is eagerly awaiting the outcome of this meeting and as such must be in a position where he can relay orders," the second man finished.

Alder spared a glance at Jarel quickly before continuing.

"We ask that the Valadorian army leave Arendellian territory immediately, ceasing all hostilities and opening up a diplomatic channel of negotiation to resolve any grievances that may be had," Alder stated.

"Unfortunately we have been instructed to decline any and all of your requests. Our King feels that this is a dispute that can only be settled through combat and the forcible removal of reparations from Arendelle," the general replied, smiling smugly.

"So you will not even consider the prospect of settling this peacefully? You know that whatever the result of this battle might be, the lives of those lost will be on your conscience."

"We will not," the second man answered. "And I think that as much as you may like to think peasant, the outcome of this battle is more on your conscience than ours. You are the cause of this after all."

Alder winced. The man was right, however he was damned if he was going to let him know that.

"Very well. Then we have nothing more to say," Alder finished, turning his horse around and riding back to his own forces.

Jarel rode up alongside Alder, an attempt at a smile on his face.

"Well I think that could have gone better," he said.

"We knew Gratham couldn't be reasoned with. This only proves how hard we need to fight."

Reaching the front, he exchanged a couple of sad glances with the commanders in the front ranks. Quickly he rode from one end of the mass of people to the other. The faces of the troops contained a mixture of emotions. Fear, anger, sadness and to Alder's surprise in most, an almost calm expression. Coughing slightly, he prepared his voice, knowing that his next few words could make the difference between a victory and a defeat.

"As you may now know, our attempts to resolve this peacefully have failed and for that I am truly sorry. Now I must ask that you put your lives on the line to defend your kingdom from a cruel and vindictive tyrant. I ask that you not fight for me, or even Queen Elsa, I ask that you fight for those that you left behind to join me here. Fight for your friends, your brothers, your sisters, your mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. Fight for your wives, your partners and your beloved! Keep them in your hearts and today we will defeat the evil that threatens them and threatens your way of life! Although I have known some of you longer than others I consider all of you here my friends. At one point or another you have accepted me and shown me a life which I never thought I could have. Those of you from Arendelle, I am honoured to fight alongside you as you defend your home because as it so happens so am I."

A thunderous roar erupted and to Alder's surprise, both the Korun-Do and the Arendellian's were cheering. He had hoped they understood what Arendelle meant to him and he was sincere in calling it his home. He had found a place there that he never thought he would ever have, people he cared about more than his own life, people he loved and he swore then and there that until he drew his last breath, he would do everything he could to defend them.

Jarel returned to Alder's side.

"Plan B is prepped and ready," Jarel said confidently. He then looked out at the opposing army.

"Just like old times huh..." he said.

Alder smiled slightly and raised his arm, stretching out his forearm

"Once more unto the breach my friend," Alder said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

Jarel mirrored Alder's gesture, a move that they had done before every fight they had ever taken part in. Alder drew his sword and raised it into the air and with a booming voice that nearly carried all the way back to Arendelle, he screamed.

"FOR ARENDELLE!"

Urging his horse forward, he lead the charge, storming across the open expanse of land between the two armies in what seemed like no time at all and as the front lines met, the crash of metal and man filled the air and shortly after the shouts of orders and the crys of pain followed. Almost leaping over the front line of the Valadorian forces Alder crashed down with his horse, crushing three or four men beneath him. Riding forward, he leant down to his right, swinging his sword and cutting down another two. He glanced to his side and found that he had already lost sight of Jarel, although he knew he wouldn't be far away. They had yet to execute "Plan B". Plan B was something that Alder had come up with at the last minute. He knew that fighting would be fierce and he loathed to risk his peoples lives in a conflict that could last hours. So he decided that a small group of Korun-Do, Jarel and himself would push as far into the main force as they could, trying to break through the lines and make it to the staging area which would be the most likely place that Gratham, being the coward that he was would be.

Turning back to what was in front of him, his momentary glance caused him to miss the wall off Valadorian soldiers with their shields raised and unable to steer his horse away, he plowed into it, the sudden shift in his momentum caused him to be thrown forward off his horse. As he flew through the air, he spun, readying a ball of flame in his hand which upon landing he thrust into the ground causing a shockwave of fire to emenate outwards, knocking many of the surrounding troops off their feet and causing those unfortunate few closest to him to catch fire. Righting himself, he continued his dash forward, blasting fireballs and parrying blows as he went. He was far to quick for the soldiers to even have a chance at striking him and his powers made him almost untouchable. Fortunately for Alder, the troops seemed more interested in joining the main fight and actually living to potentially kill someone than take on the magic-wielding leader of their opposition.

There was open ground between the Valadorian host and Alder could barely glimpse in the distance, the staging area.

'Such a coward that you'd ensure you were far enough away from the fight that you could get away if anything went wrong. I am going to enjoy ending your miserable existance Gratham,' Alder thought to himself.

Breaking into a jog, he saw four Korun-Do members leaping off the small cliff to his right and amongst them he saw Jarel. Smiling he continued his run and when Jarel was close enough, spoke.

"What took you so long? Been that long you a bit out of practice?"

Jarel chuckled.

"Well we arrived at the same time you did and we don't have magical fire powers. Methinks that your little sojourn with royalty has made you lose your edge."

Alder returned Jarel's smile but then adopted his serious, battle-ready face.

"OK so that was the easy part. You all know who the target is. Get in, find him and then throw your marker into the air. When we see the signal, all converge on that point and wait for me. Then the real fight begins. All clear?"

Everyone nodded and the group made their way quickly to the staging area. The area itself was chaotic and seemed to be completely disorganised, which to Alder, indicated how rushed this campaign had been. The chaos allowed the group to slip in and split up and not long after did Alder see the signal in the air. He knew that others would have probably seen it to, though he doubted any of them would pay it any attention. Making his way to the signal, he saw the massive tent which clearly belonged to Gratham. When the group had reunited with a nod of his head, they all drew their bows and Alder readied flame in his hands. As he unleashed his power on the tent, quickly engulfing it in flames. The arrows then tore through the tent with two more volleys ensuring that most inside would either be burning or filled with arrows. Moving quickly to the tent, he extinguished the flames and move to lift the fallen bar that had blocked the entrance. As he made his way inside he was horrified to see two bodies inside, neither were the man that Alder had come here for. A sudden gust of wind blew Alder back and then a hideous cackling filled the air.

"YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD SURPRISE ME? I AM KING ANITOV OF VALADOR! I WILL NOT BE BROUGHT DOWN BY PEASANTS LIKE YOU!"

Growling Alder readied a fireball in his hand and prepared to throw it at Gratham, however, Gratham ran, moving with speed that could only be achieved through his abuse of magic. Heading towards the cliff nearby, he leapt off seemingly jumping into the ocean below. Chasing after him Alder and the rest of the Korun-Do, realised all to late that Gratham had not leapt blindly into the abyss but a ship and had used magic to break his fall. Gratham looked up at his pursuers and smiled evily.

"Good job coming out here to face me but I'll be sure to give the Queen your regards. I'm sure she misses her beloved peasant so!"

Gratham cackled and then focused his magic into filling the sail of the ship with a magical wind, which propelled it through the water at a speed that was seemingly impossible for any ship to attain. As he watched Gratham sail away, Alder cursed, falling to his knees and smashing his fists into the ground.

He screamed.

"This was all some elaborate ruse! Gods damn that monster he beat me again!"

Jarel moved to Alder's side and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"We'll get him Alder. We know where he's heading, we can just head back to Arendelle and face him there."

"We have to leave now," Alder replied quickly, standing up as he did.

Jarel acknowledge Alder's order and the group ran back towards the main fight. When they arrived however they were greeted by a most welcome yet unexpected sight. The Arendellian and Korun-Do forces stood proudly, surrounding what remained of the Valadorian host.

Jarel and Alder exchanged confused looks. Walking to the nearest Arendellian commander, Alder asked.

"What happened here?"

The commander shrugged.

"Not sure sir. One moment they were fighting like demons, the next they were throwing down their swords and surrendering. Some even began to run. I have no idea how but we won! We actually won!"

Alder wanting to smile, to celebrate but with Gratham heading to Arendelle, there was no time to lose. He turned to Jarel.

"I need you to stay here and assist with the reorganisation and the cleanup. I can handle Gratham, especially if I have Elsa's help. I have no clue whats going on here but I suspect Gratham's departure had something to do with it."

Jarel nodded and for a moment he seemed as though he was going to argue with Alder about not accompanying him back to Arendelle but time was of the essence and Jarel knew what had to be done.

"Got it. Now go, Gratham has a big headstart and you have a long ride. Go, go!" Jarel replied gesturing for Alder to leave.

Grabbing a horse from a very surprised and almost annoyed commander, he leapt onto it and urged it forward, quietly whispering to it in the hope that it would understand that he was sorry for what he was about to put it through. Flicking the reins he headed back towards where all this began, back towards Arendelle.

A/N: And that my friends is the Battle of the Southern Pass! The final battle is fast approaching and I thank you all for joining me on this ride! It has been an honour writing this story for you and know that whenever I felt like giving up I thought of all of you who followed/favourited this story and read some of your reviews and I knew I had to make sure I finished this! This chapter was especially difficult to write as I had a few different ideas of how I wanted the story to progress and couldn't decide so once again apologies for the delay! I hope you enjoy this and please leave me a review if you have the chance as I do appreciate your feedback!

Until next time,

Caedous