Snow was falling from the sky, big snowflakes, big like white, fluffy gloves, hit the ground softly and covered it in white, shining snow. Clouds covered the sky, no grass or leaves in sight, making the village lose it charm it would have in the summer with the big, healthy trees with giant, green leaves that followed the light summer breezes. Bugs would fly around, landing on flowers, spiders made their webs and caught their food, would be covered in the morning dew. The ground would be covered in long grass that brushed against ones naked ankles. Now it was cold and have nothing of that, only snow and darkness. The man Siljas sat in one of the small houses in his village, told stories for the small ones while a storm was coming up outside, the hanging lantern by the door was hitting the wall thanks to the wind, the fire going out. The children sat close to each other as the listened to his stories, he was an old man with many stories to tell but the story he mostly told them was about how he meet the giant creature Trico and how they escaped ruins and caves together and they got a strong bond. Siljas voice were calm as he spoke but inside there was always that pain in his chest when he told them the story, he missed his old friend, has done it since the adults had chased him away when he was just trying to bring him back to his home. With his last powered he had to tell him to get away, which he did, and the big creature never came back, no other Trico ether, didn't have to kidnap more children anymore (if they still were alive out there in the valley), they were free now, nothing had control over them. Siljas was called a hero in the village by most when he had told them his story, how he really had been the right "chosen one", but there were some that didn't like him, thought the old man was crazy, that Trico was an evil being and not something you could be friends with. A few even thought he had lied about everything. Siljas didn't think much about it, they could think what they wanted about him, he knew the truth and most people was on his side. It had been about forty years since he saw his old friend. He wondered what he was doing right now when he was free from the control, did he have a family like Siljas? Was he alive? Had he found a new place to live far far away? He had thought about it for a long time and when the children asked him what happened to Trico, he didn't have an answer for that. All he remembered was the blurry vision of his friend flying away before he had passed out and never saw him again.

-I have no idea, dear children, but I'm sure he's living a good life with a mate." he would say and then they would take that answer even if they looked slightly disappointed but it changed when they started to look at his shield instead, he never thought he would see that again ether. But one day he had found it, half buried in the sand, he knew those symbols it had and had lifted it up. Was this a sign? That Trico was alive and waiting for him? He wasn't sure anymore. But as the days passed he thought he could hear his dear friend call for him in that familiar howling, he dreamed that his friend would come to his window, he would jump on and hold into the soft feathers on his back so he wouldn't fall as they would fly away. Siljas loved his family dearly but the need to see his friend again, to see if he was alright, became stronger everyday and he decided that he would get on a new journey to find him tomorrow before everyone else in the village would wake up and stop him, say good bye to his family. They begged him to stay, his wife Mira had tears in her eyes and his daughter and son wanted to come with him but he couldn't risk that, they were too young and he didn't want them to get hurt, it was a long way to the valley as well. They hugged, he took his biggest, most snow resistant leather boots he had and warm clothes, some food and lastly, the shield. The cold wind hit his cheeks at the first step out before he got used to in and began his walk in the deep snow, towards the woods, away from the village. He waved to his family that waved back.

-Goodbye my dear Mira, Brono and Maya, I will return, I promise." he said.

He walked for hours without stopping and the snow began to fall slowly again. He glanced up at the clouds, the naked tree branches above that reached the skies, the snow flakes that landed on his face softly, his clothes and the already covered ground bellow him. He saw tracks from a deer and what looked like a squirrel's. Barely any birds were singing but he still felt a calming feeling over being in the woods, the silence, the animals around him. An elk was visible further into the forest, away from the path Siljas was walking. It stared at him with its dark eyes, stood tall and majestic, his horns were gigantic and Siljas knew this was an old, wise elk. It didn't look scared, as if he knew Siljas meant no harm, and just looked at him as he walked by before he lowered his head again and continued his search for food in the snow. Siljas smiled. He eventually came out from the forest and out in the unknown, far away from the villages and he breathed in and out before he continued his walk thru other forests and mountains. He had to stop sometimes to rest and eat something. The dark soon came and he hurried to start a fire and rest, the winters quickly became pitch black. He listened to the howling from the wolves close by. He wasn't scared, no animal would hurt him. He felt calm and fell into a deep slumber after just a while of listening to them and the slight, cold breeze and the fire. He pulled his jacket closer and felt the flames give warmth to his freezing body. When he woke up, he was meet by a small vole that stood near the ashes and tree branches he had used, eating something, its nose were twitching and the big cute eyes looked into his.

-Hello, little friend." Siljas said softly and the vole stopped moving for a sec and looked at him, his nose were the only thing that moved, the whiskers were moving slightly as well by the movements and when the man rose up, it moved away quickly but not far away and continued to look as he ate his morning fruit. Siljas threw a small piece to the vole who quickly took it in its small paws and ate together with him. When Siljas was done he stood up on his feet and lifted up his bag and began his walk, he felt the small animal's eyes were looking at him still and when he glanced back, it was standing there and looked after him, even followed him as few steps, watching him until the man had disappeared from sight.