Frozen Wastes
The snow fell down from the sky like a myriad of ice demons clawing and biting at his flesh. He knew all too well how deadly ice demons could be. He'd dealt with more than his fair share. Clutching the edges of his fur coat he tried to wrap it more tightly around himself as if he could somehow bond it to his own skin and shut out the cold.
Blue eyes turned and glanced sideways at his companion. She seemed to be weathering the cold far better. Then again, Khaldiah was from a colder clime than he was and much better equipped for the harsh weather they were facing. Toregan was amazed at how she moved through the blizzard as though it were nothing more than a rain shower. He supposed that had something to do with her race. He still wasn't quite sure exactly what she was. There was something about her that was otherworldly and yet something terribly familiar. No matter what she was, he was extremely glad for her guidance.
Strands of long silver hair whipped around her face as she turned to look at him. "Are you coming, Toregan? We've still got quite a long way to go before we reach the cabin. We can rest there for the night. It's still at least a day and a half before we reach the summit. There you can talk to the Shaman."
He shook his head. "Well, then, let's not stand here idly chatting. We've got a mountain to climb." Toregan returned to the arduous task which had been set before him. It wasn't often that one of his village ventured this far north, but his quest was one of great importance. If he failed, the people back home would die.
Toregan tried not to think of home too much. It made his heart ache. His memories were filled with rolling green hills, bountiful fields, and the Andril Forest looming in the distance. Now, the fields were withered. The hills were brown, and the grass crunched beneath the feet of his people. The Andril was dead. No green could be seen for miles. The drought had just about killed everything.
That was why he was here. The village chief had sent him to seek out the legendary Shaman of the Dranek Mountains. It was said he could speak directly with the gods and knew everything that went on in the heavens. He would know how they could end this drought and save their dying lands. The chief had authorized Toregan to do whatever necessary to supplicate the god, goddess, or gods responsible for their suffering.
"Where are you," Khaldiah's soft voice with its strange northern lilt drifted through his haze. Seeing her companion's startled look, she laughed softly. "You were a million miles away, Toregan."
"Not quite that many," he joked in return, "but then again, it's quality not quantity that counts. The quality of those miles is unsurpassable in my own opinion. I guess I'm just feeling a bit homesick." The dark haired man smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Always in the back of his mind he remembered why he was here. "Let's hurry and get to this cabin. I'm near frozen, and the sooner we're asleep the sooner we'll be on our way again."
The young woman nodded and started back up the trail. Soft violet eyes had not missed the sadness lurking beneath the surface, but she was not one to criticize. Khaldiah had her own demons to deal with in every sense of the word. She wondered how her companion would treat her when he found out her secret. Most were not kind. She hoped he'd be different. Doubt was ever present, but she hoped he'd be different.
Slowly the cabin came into view through the falling snow. The moon provided just enough light so Khaldiah's eyes could make out the familiar shape in the darkness. "Here, Toregan," she called. "Let's head inside where we can get warm."
The cabin was a simple affair, but it had all of the necessities. A plain wooden chair sat at a table intended for one on the far side of the main room. The southern wall was consumed by a large fireplace and a rick of wood. Heading straight for these, Toregan hurried inside eager to rid his bones of the cold.
"I'll get a fire going. You should come in and make yourself comfortable," he told his companion even as he shed his heavy coat. "How did you know about this place?" Toregan was a curious man by nature and questions were often his best friends.
Khaldiah sighed heavily as she sat in the old chair and pulled off her fur-lined boots. "I live here," she replied simply.
Toregan pulled a flint and tender from his pocket, and with a single strike, he started the fire. "This is your house? I thought you lived in town," he remarked a bit puzzled. One dark eyebrow arched upward creating a series of lines and creases in his forehead that belied his age. He was only 25, but a life of stress and hardship made him look much older.
The young woman shook her head. "The villagers don't like me or my kind that much," she replied shrugging off her jacket and cloak to reveal a set of dark purple bat-like wings which she stretched out languriously. Khaldiah sighed at the simple pleasure. It was not very comfortable keeping her wings pinned to her back and hidden especially for hours at a time.
"You're an ice demon," Toregan blurted out before he could help himself as he sat gawking at her. That must have been the familiarity he had felt around her. It was also the obvious reason she faired so much better in the cold than he did.
"Half," she corrected, "and now you know what I mean. The villagers don't take kindly to ice demons even merely ones like me that are half." She ran he fingers through her long silver hair. It had made her life very hard. She learned very early that normal humans would not be kind to her. To them she was a freak, a monster, an abomination and could not be trusted. Most of them wanted her dead. They were afraid of her.
The farmer swallowed hard and fought down his surprise. Once that had passed he suddenly found himself hoping he'd not fought or killed one of her relatives. He had never even considered that possibility of a human and an ice demon. Curiosity began to get the best of him again. He wanted to know. "How does one end up a half-ice demon?"
"Quite simple really. My mother was human and my father an ice demon. I know it's unusual, but she found him wounded and dying in the snow on a night very like this one. She found this cabin and brought him here. My mother cared for him until he was well. It was no picnic. My father was a very difficult man, but in the end, they fell in love and had me," she explained nonchalantly.
"Rather an interesting heritage, and a slightly unbelievable story," he said with a broad smile as the fire crackled and seemed to laugh at him. "I'm just your average farmer from Andril. My parents met when they were young and stayed good friends. You know the tale."
Khaldiah laughed. It was a rich throaty sound, and it made him smile. "Indeed I do. I wish I could say the same. My father disappeared after a hunting trip. Mom could only assume someone killed him. She died when I was sixteen. I've been living here alone since."
"Sounds like you've had a rough time," he replied. Secretly he was glad her father had died years ago. That meant he couldn't possibly have killed him and that was quite a relief to the man. "I really appreciate your willingness to be my guide. The villagers didn't seem particularly fond of an outsider. Even a human one."
"They're rather small-minded I'm afraid, but they don't know any better. They're all taught the same thing. It's been this way for generations. Nothing in this town ever changes unless someone gets brave enough to leave."
"You're brave enough to leave," Toregan remarked as he stoked the fire. "Do you have a kettle we could put on? Something warm to drink will go a long way to warming us up."
The half-demoness wandered into an alcove at the back of the cabin and returned with a cast iron kettle full of water. "Just put it over the fire. I've put some tea bags in. Just a local herbal one. It will help us sleep and help us retain our strength. It will take us most of the day tomorrow to reach the summit and the Shaman."
Toregan just couldn't let his own curiosity go. "You're brave enough, Khaldiah. Why haven't you left?" He took the kettle and put it on a hook over the fire. It wouldn't take long to boil.
She shook her head strands of her silver mane spilling on to her shoulder. "I may be brave enough, Toregan, but this is all I've known. Besides, where in this world do you think I could go and people not treat me as a monster. I am what I am, and I'm content to live here in my cabin."
"Why? There's a lot of world out there to see. Surely, there's some place other than here for you," he insisted. The farmer didn't like to think of anyone having to spend their life alone because they were different.
"That's the other draw back to being a half ice-demon," she said with a sigh. "I can only handle certain temperatures. Living in a temperate climate would be nearly unbearable to me. I have to stay where it's cold. Of course, the human side of me can only sustain so much cold, so it's like being stuck between a rock and a hard place." Just then the kettle began to whistle loudly. "Sounds like the tea is done."
Toregan carefully pulled the hook out of the fire with a towel Khaldiah had handed him. She also presented him two mugs which he poured the aromatic brew into. The scent soon filled the small cabin.
"I hope you're ready for bed. This will put you out shortly after you drink it, and even more so since you're human. It takes a little longer to affect me. My system is a bit more complex." She flexed her wings to emphasize. "I have a spare sleeping bag that you can use. I'm afraid there's only one bed, and I must claim that for myself. It's nearly impossible to sleep on this floor with my wings."
Toregan nodded his agreement and understanding, and Khaldiah fetched the sleeping bag and a pillow for him. They talked for only a moment longer as they sipped their tea and then turned in for the night.
The farmer's sleep had been troubled. He wasn't sure what had spawned the strange images whether it was the strange tea or his own nerves, but they had been quite unsettling. He hoped maybe the Shaman would enlighten him about those as well. He didn't have time to muse long as they continued up the moutain slope.
They made better time today, or so it seemed. Perhaps it was because he knew he was so close and anxiousness for his journey to end speeded his feet or maybe because of the effects the tea had on his stamina. He really didn't know, but he was eager to reach the summit.
It took the better part of the day for them to reach their destination. The sun was well past its zenith as they neared a cave at the peak of the mountain. "Come in," called a strange male voice. "I know why you're here Toregan of Andril and Khaldiah of Dranek. Don't just stand there in the snow. Come in."
Toregan looked at his guide puzzled and shrugged his broad shoulders. "I guess we should go inside." He smiled quizzically and made his way into the cave mouth. The farmer was not prepared for what he saw there.
He had been expecting to see a wizened old man. That was what he had thought all shamans looked like especially the legend of the Dranek mountains. What he saw was a middle aged man with long black hair and a full black beard sitting near a fire with a broad smile on his face. He was dressed in a long brown robe and wore a hat that matched on his head. "Good evening, Toregan. Please come in and sit down. You've come a long way to see me."
The pair of travelers took a seat by the fire. Toregan was a bit surprised to see that Khaldiah was not phased at all by the Shaman's appearance or his manner of dress. Curiosity tugged at his thoughts and was soon dispelled by the Shaman.
"A pleasure to see you again, Khaldiah. I hope things are well down in the village," he said with his ever present smile.
"You know they are, Shaman, and I brought Toregan as you asked. You know why he's here, so we should probably get to the point," she said simply.
He chuckled. "Ever direct and to the point, my dear. Perhaps for once, I'll humor you and do just that. I know you have little patience for my round about way of doing things." His brown eyes turned to Toregan. "I'm afraid there's not much you can do to appease the gods, Toregan. They're planning on making the Andril a desert it seems. Your village has highly offended the entire pantheon."
The farmer's eyes went wide. "The entire pantheon?! How have we angered all of the gods? I didn't even think such a thing was possible! What did we do?"
"What was done is not the important thing. The important thing is the small chance of hope you have of making it right and returning your land to the way it was. It's not an easy thing they ask of you either, Farmer. I'm afraid Khaldiah that you must accompany him as well."
"What?!?!" They both asked in unison. This was not at all what they were expecting.
"You must accompany him. The gods demand it or they'll start in on your land next. They have decided they want to bring dragons to this world, but none of them want to take the time to actually create them. They plan to send the two of you to a place called Nidus Ryslen to obtain a pair of the creatures to bring back here to be used for their own purposes. If you refuse," he left the sentence hanging.
Toregan looked at Khaldiah a fire burned in her eyes. She didn't want to leave her world for a cause that wasn't even hers nor did she want to be some pawn for the gods. They weren't going to give her a choice though, and he didn't have one either.
"Will you go? Do you accept this decree of the gods," the Shaman's baritone interrupted his thoughts.
The farmer waited. Would she go? If she didn't, it would be a lost cause for him. Time seemed to slow unbearably before she finally nodded. "How do we get there?"
"Good. The gods are pleased. It will rain in Andril tomorrow. To get to Nidus Ryslen, just follow this cave all the way back. The gods will do the rest. May you be successful in your quest, so that the gods will be pleased and life peaceful."
Resigned to their fate, Khaldiah and Toregan left their gear with the Shaman. He was adamant that they'd not need it where they were going. With a last long look back at the fire, they took each other's hands and headed off into the darkness.
Toregan and Khaldiah are on their way to be Novos at Nidus Ryslen
