by Alex Alcasid
Loren set off for the gap in the ruined wall of the outpost without waiting for Kaiten’s reply. Kae and Ma’trii followed her quickly, with Cassendir bringing up the rear. The mage hesitated and glanced back at his new friend, but he had promised Loren long ago to see her adventure to its end. A blue light shone from inside his sleeve as he used some magic to keep himself warm, and disappeared into the snow, following the girls.
“Do you actually think he’s going to join us all that way?” Loren asked Kae once they were some distance from the outpost. The three of them had stopped by a large snow-covered rock while Ma’trii wandered in a wide circle to try and pick up Seraphis’s trail.
Kae shrugged. “He has to. No one in their right mind will go back through the Plaguelands, even if they survived it once. Besides, we have the rest of the deer meat. He’ll have to find his own rations if he’s going to go on his own.”
Loren sighed and adjusted the furs over her travelling cloak. The biting chill of the northern winds still seeped through the many layers of clothing she piled onto herself. “I just hope he’s not too stubborn to try anyway. He is still my friend and I do want to see him home safely. Especially after all he’s been through.”
“It’s alright. We can bring him to Hardwick and drop him off at the Beastman garrison he said is there.”
Cassendir politely cleared his throat, and Loren nodded to him, giving a signal that he may speak. “I believe leaving Prince Kaiten at Hardwick is a bad idea.”
“Why do you say that?” Loren asked.
“If I am correct, the Beastmen are still ruled by the usurper Doreos. That would include the Beastmen army, all its soldiers and spies and whatnot. If we turn over the rightful heir…” Cassendir trailed off.
“…And they turn Kaiten over to Doreos, and Doreos has him killed to remain the ruler of the Beastmen…” Loren picked up, eyes wide.
Silence fell between them as they realized the gravity of the situation. It seemed that no matter which direction Kaiten were to go, there was a high likelihood of him ending up dead. Kae swore loudly in frustration, startling a few birds from their roosts. A shower of snow fell on Loren and the huntress, and the two broke out laughing.
“What are you on about now?” a miserable sounding voice said, and once Loren had wiped the snow from her lashes, she saw it was Kaiten. The Beastman had emerged from the ruined outpost wearing a padded jerkin and leather trousers, ill fitting with his fur, but an added layer of protection from the cold all the same. “Are you making fun of me?”
“Kaiten! No, not at all. We’re glad you decided to join us!” Loren beamed. “Where did you get the clothes?”
“I took them off a Sagnian soldier when Seraphis and I were close to the border of the north.” Kaiten explained. He dug a claw into the neck of his jerkin and tried to loosen it from where it was tight around his mane.
“What happened to the soldier?” Kae asked.
“He died. Along with all the rest.” Kaiten shrugged. “Couldn’t be helped.”
“You see, that is why going back through the Plaguelands is a horrible idea.” Kae said pointedly to the Beastman prince. Ma’trii bounded up back to the group and nudged Kae in the leg before jerking his head towards a line of trees.
“Ma’trii says he found Seraphis and Duro’s trail. Great work, Ma’trii! Thank you for your dedication.” Kaiten said with a smile, bowing slightly to Ma’trii. Both Kae and Ma’trii himself stared at him.
“You can understand him?” Kae said in disbelief. “And you don’t think he’s am abomination?”
“Why on earth would I think that? He’s a Beastman, just like me or any other.” Kaiten said matter-of-factly. “The circumstances of his birth don’t make him any less one of my people. Honestly, having ferals be accepted into Beastman society was one of the things I wanted to change once I took the throne. But my father…” he trailed off with a shrug.
Beside Kae, Ma’trii dipped his head and whined, shy and grateful. Kaiten smiled in return.
Loren shifted her furs over her shoulders again and wrapped the end of a length of Kespian silk around her face. “I truly hate to interrupt this moment, but it is freezing, and we have to get moving before the scent fades. Ma’trii, if you would lead the way?”
Chapter Sixteen
The trudge through the north was spent with heads bowed against the wind. The cold was inescapable, seeping into their clothes from every possible gap, settling into their bones and freezing even their spirits. No words were spoken for hours. Speaking would have expended energy that was sorely needed, and would have exposed their faces to the elements even more. Loren began to wonder if she would ever feel warmth again in her life.
Their boots trudged a line through snow and withered grass as they moved — single file — and followed the gray wolf through. In time, they emerged from the trees and into a clearing. It was a flat expanse of pristine, untouched snow stretching for miles in one direction. Ma’trii huffed and snorted, shaking the snow off his nose, and bounded down onto the snow-covered plain.
“Ma’trii!” Kae called after him, unsteadily forcing her way through knee-high snow. “Damn you, Ma’trii! Wait for us!”
The princess was about to call Kae back, to tell her not to split up, when Kaiten laid a heavy hand on her shoulder. His face was covered in a heavy wrap of silks, but he pointed to a spot in the snow. Loren squinted at the mark in the snow. It was faded from time and covered over with fresh snowfall blown about on the wind, but she saw it. And another one just like it not a foot away. Then another.
“Footprints?” She asked, looking to the Beastman prince. Kaiten nodded in return. “It must be Seraphis. We’re on the right track, that’s good.”
“If we continue on this way, we’ll be on the other side of the mountains and can work our way down to Hardwick.” Kaiten said, his voice muffled by the silks.
Loren sighed, and nodded. It was a long way to make on foot, but they had come so far already. There was nothing left to do but continue and hope for the best.
The setting sun cast a golden glow upon the snow, but to Loren and her party, it might as well have not been there. She was tired, everyone was miserable, they had not found a good place to camp. The frozen plain stretched out for many more miles than she thought, with only scattered rocks and dead trees dotting the landscape. There was no protection against the elements out on the plain, nothing to block the whipping wind.
The sun dipped below the horizon and the sky began to darken. With the barest glimpse of stars in the clear sky came an even deeper cold. As she walked, head bowed and eyes closed, Loren heard a thud in the snow. Her thoughts were elsewhere, already far in Sagna and thinking of how to solve her problems, so the noise was left unnoticed. Until panic rose.
“Loren!” Cassendir called from behind her. Loren whipped around at the sound of her name and was running to Kae before Cassendir’s panicked voice stopped ringing in her ears.
Ma’trii began to howl and pace. The wolf restlessly circled Kae, who had fallen into a heap on the snow. The huntress was huddled in on herself, arms clamped around her shoulders in a frozen embrace, shivering violently. Her breathing was erratic, and her skin was a tinge of bluish-white.
Loren knelt at Kae’s side and touched her skin. “She’s as cold as the ice.” She muttered. The princess’s hands weren’t shaking from the cold, but from rising panic. Ma’trii rushed to Kae’s side, pushing away Loren’s hand and huddling up to Kae as close as he can and covering her with his body.
“She’ll die in this place. We all will.” Kaiten’s voice was muffled, but the resentment in his voice was clear. The Beastman prince didn’t have to say the words, but Loren knew what he really wanted to say. That it was all her fault for leading them. Loren would lead them to their deaths, far away from home and family.
Loren shook her head. She fiercely brushed back hot tears from her face that froze rapidly on her skin. “No! I won’t let her die here. I won’t let her… Help me, w
e have to move her.”
“Move her where, Loren?” Kaiten shot back. “There’s no shelter for miles! She can’t even stand to walk and help us. Just leave her, or else we’ll all die!”
Loren glared back at Kaiten. Her eyes shimmered a defiant gold, but she knew he was right. Without shelter, without even a fire, they would all die if they stopped before finding safety. A painful knot formed in her chest. She couldn’t bear to leave Kae either. Not after all they’ve been through. She tried to tug at Kae, but the huntress was heavy. Her furs and wrappings were weighed down by the snow, and Ma’trii didn’t shift or lift his head. Loren slowly shook her head, fatigue taking over. She had to find some way to help them, or at least do something. Come to an agreement, perhaps. Anything.
The decision was taken out of Loren’s hands as the temperature dropped even lower. The princess was lying on the ground beside Kae and Ma’trii before she knew it. Her thoughts slowed, she was sure she was still mad at Kaiten about something. It was an abstract thought now. The idea of sleep sounded wonderful. Ma’trii’s fur was coarse against her nose, and she briefly thought of moving aside. Her limbs felt too heavy, her head was like a stone perched on her shoulders. Maybe she would move in a little while, after a quick nap.
Distantly, she heard the boy’s voices. Cassendir, shouting and waving his arms, with a dull blue light coming out of his sleeve. He knelt beside her and Kae, shining the blue light of his magic on them. Loren didn’t feel anything, nothing had changed. There was Kaiten, whipping this way and that, trying to find some place to hunker down out of the wind. Loren smiled. As contrary as Kaiten was being, she knew he was a good man. He had a good heart, under all that lion pride. He wouldn’t let them freeze to death, he would see them all get home safely. Everything would be alright after a quick sleep.
Loren’s eyes fluttered closed. The last thing she saw was a flicker of orange and yellow light on the horizon, and a swirl of ice and snow accompanying it. Cassendir and Kaiten’s voices rose in alarm, but Loren didn’t hear them.
She was surprised to wake, and to wake somewhere warm. Loren groggily turned her head, her vision still blurry. To her side was Kae’s sleeping face; the huntress’s skin was still pale, but no longer in danger of frostbite. Loren smiled, then tried to move. Her body was weighed down with something, and her arms were pressed close to her sides. She struggled and wiggled, and the weight shifted. Ma’trii lifted his shaggy head and looked over at Loren from where he was draped over both her and Kae. The wolf licked her face once, causing the princess to giggle.
“Oh, you’re awake. That’s good.” An unfamiliar voice said. It was male, that much Loren could tell. It also sounded thin and immaterial, like wind. Hide boots crunched against snow, growing louder as the man approached Loren, and stopped by her side. A gaunt face filled her vision, drawn and tired, with aged and wrinkled skin tanned dark from strong sunlight bouncing off the snow of the north. “You seem well.”
“Who are you?” Loren croaked, her voice hoarse. A flickering orange and yellow light fell on her eyes, and she squinted against it. “Where are we?”
“You are exactly where you fell, little dragon.” The old man said. “In the snow, beside your lover and with your wolf.”
Loren’s cheeks burned. “She’s not my lover!” she stammered. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she felt a tang of regret for saying it.
The old man only smiled. “My apologies then, I must have read the situation wrong. Your friends, the mage and the lion, are also here. Now, don’t struggle so hard, you might unwrap the furs. Just stay still and rest. I understand you have a long journey.”
Loren did stop struggling and had to take the old man’s word at face value. Neither she nor Kae were dead or injured, and Ma’trii wasn’t alarmed. He had fallen back to sleep on top of them, keeping them warm with his body heat. Loren craned her neck this way and that to try to see where Cassendir and Kaiten were, when she suddenly caught sight of something and stopped.
“Sir,” she started. “If we are where we’ve fallen, why is there a roof of snow above us?”
The old man laughed, it was like the tinkling of icicles in the wind. “That would be my doing, little dragon. I built this igloo around you, as I am far too weak to move anyone physically. We had to get you out of the wind, and my companion would rather not touch anything at the moment.”
“Thank you so much for saving us. I only wish I could stand and thank you properly.” Loren said, trying to see. “What is your name, kind sir?”
“I am Gershwin, little dragon.” The old man said with a polite nod. He kept his hands behind his back. “First Son, and pale star of the North.”
“A Son? You’re a mage?”
“Yes, though my markings cover my back and legs. I’d rather not have to disrobe just to prove to you.”
“Oh! No sir, no need for that.” Loren stammered. “I suppose I was surprised. You’re the first person truly from the north we’ve seen this whole time.”
Gershwin nodded patiently. “Understandable, little dragon. The people of the north are reclusive and nomadic. As no crops grow, they have to travel constantly to find food.”
“I have to ask, kind sir, how did you find us? Why do you keep calling me little dragon?”
“By your magic, of course.” He smiled. “Dragon magic has a specific energy to it. You do not need to have been born with markings like all mages to use it. You need only a catalyst — your pendant, as I understand — to be able to use it. And it is unique in that only those of the chosen line could resonate with it. I felt that unique energy spike earlier upon these fields, and my companion knew exactly what was happening.”
Loren attempted to crane her neck again. “Who are they, your companion? I would like to extend to them my thanks as well.”
She heard a laugh, and the light flickered again. “You already know who it is, princess. Don’t bother getting up. Sorry for being unable to go over there, I might melt the igloo, you see.” A voice said from the source of the light.
Loren gasped. “Seraphis? You came back!”
“Well, I ran into Gershwin on the way, and he said he felt some magic pulling at him, like a distress beacon. So we turned back and found you passed out in the snow.” Seraphis chuckled. “The mage looked about to keel over as well, and Kaiten explained the whole thing. What made you think this was a good idea?”
“Honestly, we were following your tracks.” Loren muttered. “How did you get so far?”
Seraphis shifted from where she sat, moving slightly into Loren’s field of vision. Fire flickered all over her skin and hair, enveloping her in roaring flames. Loren gasped, stunned at the sight. Seraphis herself was set completely ablaze. “Magic borrowed from my dear sister,” she explained. “Complete self-immolation. It’s only because of her magic that I’ve not burned to death. Honestly I wouldn’t mind, but you know. There are still things to do and people waiting for me.” She laughed, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I’ll just be over here to warm things up for you till dawn. You’re very lucky, princess. This is a horrible place to die in.”
Loren settled into silence after a while, giving up the struggle born from her curiosity. The more she struggled, the more she dug herself a little indent in the snow. Gershwin was telling the truth when he said that she was exactly where they fell; with each wiggle of her back to see the mage or her friends, some snow would fall into the neck of her surcoat and leathers. She lay staring at the snow ceiling overhead for a while, listening to the sounds around her. Gershwin was muttering something to Seraphis, their voices low enough to be inaudible to Loren. Someone else was snoring loudly out of sight; Loren suspected it may have been Kaiten. Right beside her ear was Kae’s steady breathing. It was slow and soft, and the huntress still looked pale, but she was alive. Loren permitted herself a small smile. It was enough for her.
An hour passed, and still the princess couldn’t go back to sleep. Now that she was somewhere safe, and warmth
had returned to her limbs, her body was filled with a restless energy that she couldn’t get rid of simply lying still in the snow. She craned her head again and caught sight of Gershwin’s hide boot illuminated by Seraphis’s flames.
“Sir Gershwin!” she said. “Sir, do you have a moment?”
The old man chuckled, and slowly stood from the little snow mound he had made for himself to function as a chair. He came and sat beside Loren so that the princess no longer had to strain. “Yes, little dragon? You need not call me ‘sir,’ I am not a knight.”
“I’m sorry, sir just seemed proper.” Loren stammered.
“Still cannot sleep, I see. What is on your mind?”
“How does magic work?” Loren asked, eyes wide and curious like a child. ”The Spellmaster of Aldoran explained it to me as…well, mages are born with the markings, and that gives them control over certain things?”
Gershwin blinked, startled at the simple and straightforward question. “Well, yes, that is essentially how magic works in people.”
“In people? That includes Beastmen, right?”
“Ah. Unfortunately, no. Beastmen are never born with the aptitude towards magic.”
Loren frowned and was silent for a few seconds. “So someone must really be born with markings to be able to do magic? If you don’t have it, you cannot learn it?”
“A mage can teach all they want, but without the connection to a higher plane — it is known as the spirit world, the Aether — to the elements and the earth, nothing will happen. That is simply a truth of the world.”
“Then what about the Aldoran dragon magic? I wasn’t born with markings, my mother and most of my ancestors were not born mages. How come the pendant works for us?”
