Battle of Eagle Keep

I can't quite wrap my mind around what happened. It should have been an easy fight. Kimbra should have been able to take those blasted elves out with ease. Especially with the Captain of the Elite Guard by her side. Her Blade. I vaguely remember the war, the tales of the battles they fought. It always seemed like nothing could stop them. As long as Kimbra and Armela were side by side, nothing could stop them.
 
Not this time. As I walked the Keep, searching for answers, I had this feeling of a job unfinished. All those lives, cut short, many of them in their prime. Magic hovering in the air, shivering along my skin. When I found Kimbra and mother frozen in the act of dying, my world shattered. They were not the epic heroes of my childhood. We could see how badly the battle was going. They were surrounded. My mother was seconds from death, enemies were about to get Kimbra.
 
And then something happened. Whatever spell Kimbra used went wrong. But exactly what the hell was she casting? There's no spell I know of that would do what she did. Only it wasn't her. We found out later that there was a half-Shilen in the woods nearby that was attempting to cast a spell to drive the Shilen from our land. Her spell collided with Kimbra's, whatever she was attempting to do, and the result was every living creature within a certain range being turned to stone. All except the Shilen, who crumbled to dust.
 
No one knows exactly what happened to all the others. Are they dead? Frozen? Can we reverse the spell and save them? That's what everyone hopes, especially Amelia. But the one mage in the queendom who might be able to find the answer has crawled into a bottle and refuses to come out. I don't know what to do about my father. He's not mourning. Not really. He's hiding behind the haze of alcohol and I can't reach him. The princess has responded by ducking her responsibilities whenever she can. Poor Conrad seems at a loss for how to deal with her, but is stepping into his role as her adviser beautifully. I can focus my attention on keeping the two most important people in my life from completely falling apart.