Chapter 17 - Submission of the North
Blood stained the pristine snow around Caspian and Malric like spilled ink. The battle around them had slowed to a stunned halt as warriors from both sides watched the clash between the two supreme alpha forces.
Malric scrambled back to his paws, his breath coming in ragged gasps, his dark magic flickering and dying out under the overwhelming radiance of Lyra's pendant and Caspian's presence. He tried to lunge forward one last time, driven by blind pride, but Caspian was too fast.
With a motion of terrifying precision, Caspian swept his massive paw out, knocking Malric’s legs out from under him, and pinned the rebel leader to the ice with a single heavy paw planted squarely on his chest. The force of it cracked Malric's armor and drove the air completely from his lungs.
"You fought for a tyrant, Malric," Caspian's voice resonated through the canyon, carrying the weight of a thousand judgments. "You chose chaos over honor. Do you yield?"
Malric choked, staring up into the blazing amber eyes of the true king. He looked around the gorge and saw his supply lines cut off, his warriors surrounded by the royal elite tracking units, and his dark magic completely neutralized. Slowly, humiliation washing over his fierce features, Malric let out a low, defeated whimper and flattened his ears against the snow.
"I... yield," Malric rasped.
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Across the gorge, every single northern warrior dropped their weapons, lowering their massive heads in unison against the frozen ground. The rebellion was over. The North was finally unified under the Blackstone crown.
Lyra walked up beside Caspian, her breathing steady, her hand resting gently on his massive white shoulder. Caspian lowered his head, pressing his warm snout against her palm as the northern wind carried a quiet, respectful silence across the conquered valley.
