Ananiel

We arrived back at the camp and we both worked towards relighting the campfire. A spark became a small flame which engulfed the laid out kindlings. Sitting around the campfire, the Coachman gazes off at the honey. The syrupy liquid reflected a tint of red as it glowed in front of the campfire.

“How beautiful…”

Admiration filled his eyes as he flicked the jar and looked towards me. I looked off at the ground and brought my knees close.

“What were those statues?”

“I wouldn’t know, but if my guess is correct. Bone golems, probably.”

He shrugs and pulls out a small picture. His eyes glimmered very brightly against the campfire.

“Laurel, I finally found it…”

He mumbles as I tilt my head in curiosity.

“What are you staring at?”

“O-oh, it’s a picture of my daughter, Laurel”

“What happened to her?”

The Coachman tenses up and puts the picture away,

“My Daughter’s expected husband, Decius, was shoved into a Canal by a group of jealous bastards”

He whitens his knuckles and slams his hand on his thigh,

“And they dare torment her. She hardly ever goes outside anymore because of those scum”

His angered face quickly subsides as he stares at the jar of honey,

“It’s all in the past now. I finally found your cure…”

The wind directs smoke towards him as he glances to the side. Tears start to wallop in his eyes as he rubs his runny nose and sighs.

“So, you got anything you want to talk about?”

He glances up towards me as I catch myself nodding off,

“Uh, I saw you let out a soul flame. Are you perhaps a mage?”

The Coachman chuckles and tosses a firewood at the campfire.

“No, it’s the only spell I did manage to learn. Sadly, tuition got expensive and I had to leave the Beldonian academy of magic.”

I ponder and ask,

“Can you give me some tips? I can’t seem to stabilize the soul flame.”

“Sure, but maybe in the morning. Go get some rest”

I nod and the Coachman goes back to daydreaming. Rolling around, I found a rather comfortable position on the ground and quickly fell asleep.

Pillars rained from the heavens

Scorching the lustrous lands below.

A sea of flames carried by the wind

Purified the undeserving creatures below.

But what can I say

To the boiling skies that rumble and crackle.

To the cowering earth that hides itself with sand.

My eyes shot open as hazy sunlight bounces around the trees glazed with snow. I shook under a warm, and heavy blanket. Raising up from the ground, the Coachman was asleep, and the morning was calm, with the occasional bird song. I gave my weary eyes a rub and propped myself up with the spear.

“Maybe I should practice”

The cold air leaked past my clothes as I stood in a stance. One thrust became 2, which became 20, and then 100.

huff*

I set the spear down and caught my breath before giving my arms a stretch. Warmth started to flow through my limbs.

“Alright, let's go for 100 in a row”

Soon, 80 thrusts pierced through the quiet air and the spear tip became too much to bear on my arms. I let out a sigh and rested against the spear

“Guess I can do 20 later”

I hear the Coachman letting out a yawn as he raises from the ground and stretches his neck.

“You’re up early”

I nod in response and walk back to the Coachman.

“So? Let’s get some kindling. It’s going to be a long day of travel. We are already a little behind schedule, you know?”

He taps on his marked calendar and gets up to leave. Exhaling some frustration, I get up and start looking around the area for kindling. The area was wet, and available kindling was lacking. Soon, my searching went further and further into the forest. Looking back, horror fell upon me as I found myself lost. I hugged the kindlings close and traced my steps on the snow. The winding, and branching footsteps ended up towards many deadends.

“I crossed this tree before, right? Do I recognize that tree over there?”

These thoughts hung around my mind as the snow slowly became covered in footsteps.

'...Where are you?...'

I hear in the far distance to the right side of my ear.

“Over here!”

Answering. I started picking up my pace as hope filled my heart. Soon, I found myself dashing past an unmarked land of snow and towards the unknown.

Each breath felt stale. My lungs burned from the dry winter air, but my steps did not stop. The thought of a campfire gave me reassurance to follow this voice. With each step, I felt my shoes getting heavier and heavier. Looking around, the dead trees danced along the harmonious wind. Tree after tree, my beating heart pumped louder and louder.

'Where are you…?'

I flinched at this odd voice as chills crawled down my spine. Keeping quiet, I closed my eyes and listened keenly to the wind.

'Where are you?'

Again, the voice calls out and I start walking towards the voice. An open field stretched past the treeline as the scent of blood filled the air. My heart tightened as an unfamiliar presence stood in the distance. A white haired man crouched above a rotting corpse. his pale, and twig-like arms held a very slender sword; almost like a rapier. The figure glances towards my direction as I let out a gasp.

'You'

His overbearing eyes glare past the tree I cowered behind. Suddenly, after a flash of silver light, the being stood in front of me.

‘Disciple of the forgotten. You are not my target,’

He aims its sword at me

‘But are you worthy of remembering “that” world?’

Suddenly, he kicks me aside and I tumble on the snow.

‘Come, show me your worth.’

Gasping for air, each breath taxed my aching bruise as the figure slowly approached. Keeping its sword low, the figure’s posture awaited my first action. Propping up with the spear, I glared at him and ran forward for a thrust. Jumping above my thrust, he twirls around and kicks me in the face.

‘That can’t be all you got?’

He sprinted towards me and weaved from side to side. Panicking, I avoided a few slashes and felt a low kick to the chest. Barely maintaining my posture, I quickly trace a circle in the air. I noticed him flinch, but disappointment filled his face.

‘Are you really that disciple?’

“Shut up!”

I took a deep breath and felt the soul flame burst awake. Weakly sustaining itself, I closed my eyes and willed it into a form. A small pillar flickered a light blue and started tracking his movements. The figure sprinted to the left as I took in a deep breath.

“And… Fire!”

He quickly hops to the side,

‘Crafty, but not enough’

I smiled and shot out the pillar. A blue light streaked through the air, but his sword dissipates the flame. Suddenly, a blinding silver light dashes in front of me as he kicks me in the air. Blinking again, the figure raises into the air and axe kicks me into the ground.

‘I guess my eyes deceive me’

The figure’s flowing white hair turns around and tucks away his sword. Pain aches all over, my eyes start to haze as I reach my hand out towards the sun. The winter snow flickered black as the sun wavered its encompassing light. I closed my eyes and listened to my heartbeat. Thump, thump…thump*.

Envelop me, o’ fleeting wind.

An unknown wind twists around me as the figure turns around and smiles.

Harrow the forgotten land,

The snow rises from the ground as a sudden snowstorm envelops the surrounding forest. He quickly draws his sword as the unknown storm slowly compresses around my body. My hazy eyes became clear as a desert covered the ground. Looking at my palm, I push my hand as a screeching howl shoots forward.

Millions of snow, become one

He slashes downward as its blade sings like a ringing bell. A glint of silver flashes in front of the blade, cutting through the harrowing wind. Blood splurts out my palm as I collapse onto the snow. My consciousness was slipping away from my grasp as his footsteps stop in front of me,

‘I am mistaken yet again! You are indeed “that” disciple.’

The figure tosses something frigid on me and covers it with my hand.

‘I, Flindyr. The wandering deity of snow. Acknowledge your disciple’

He lets out a laugh as a distant roar shakes the air. Flindyr turns around and vanishes amongst a flash of silver light. Closing my hazy eyes, exhaustion overcomes me and I fall unconscious.

The starless sky loomed over the city ruin as the lonesome pillar stood before me. I looked up, as the pillar stretched above endlessly. Reaching my hand out, snow crept around my palm as a sharp pain burrowed into my forearm. A faint wisp of light danced along the harsh desert wind and lifted itself into the pillar. Suddenly, the pillar shined a brilliant light and started deteriorating .

O’ offspring of the forgotten land

May the gift of snow pour down on that lonely world.

Flakes of silver snow drifted down from the sea of darkness above. A twinkling star glimmered beside the faint light of the distant moon that was hidden behind the pillar. Closing my eyes, I felt the essence of snow brushing along my face. Looking around, melancholy fills my heart as layers of snow cover the abandoned ruins. I turn away as a faint voice drifts along the winter wind.

…

“I found him!”

Lily’s worried voice forces me awake as I gaze off at the midday sun. The pure blue sky glinted off my heavy eyes as she tugs on my shirt.

“Come on. Get up or you will catch a cold”

Blinking twice, I gasp for air and prop myself up. Looking around, the snow was covered with scratches and loose sticks. Lily gently taps me on the face,

“What happened here? Are you alright?”

I look at my palm and notice a large scar with a faint silver glint in the middle. Nearby, my spear rested in the snow. Letting out a groan of soreness, I rubbed my stomach and leaned forward.

“I think I'm fine.”

I shake my head as Lily gives me a hand. My frigid palms grasps her rather small hands as she pulls me up.

“Are you sure you’re alright? Did a storm passed by here?”

I scratch my head and let out an awkward chuckle,

“He he… maybe it did?”

She gives me a side eye and sighs,

“Don’t get lost next time. I wouldn’t want to lose my first student to wolves.”

She pouts and walks ahead. Leaning forward childishly, she turns around and smiles at me,

“Hurry along now! Or do you want to stay outside?”

I rhetorically shake my head and retrieve my spear off the ground. Tracing back the jumbled footsteps, we start trekking our way back together.

The scent of smoke drifts around the approaching campsite. I give an awkward wave towards the Coachman as he gives me an uplifting smirk.

“Let’s get going”

He slaps his knees and shoots from his seat. I let out a weak chuckle as we walked back into the carriage. Soon, with a slight bump, the carriage starts pulling forward.