The Wastes Beyond The Wall
Prologue - Desperation
As his foot found the ground he heard a crack beneath him. It was barely audible over the howling of the winds, but audible nonetheless, and if Vaegar wasn't already freezing to his core, he may well have shivered at the sound. Another step resulted in nothing but the crunching of the snow beneath his feet and the winds whistling around him, and another step, and another until the wildling could feel the tension in his tired body subside slightly, his stride slowly increasing to a steadier pace, albeit still hindered by the thick layer of ancient snow that covered the harsh landscape. The grizzled veteran thought not of home and family, not anymore, instead he thought of warmth, or what little he remembered of the sensation. He knew he would probably never feel the glow of a fire on his thick, weather-worn skin again, but the hope kept his legs moving at least. The exhaustion had set in long ago and what replaced it now was a strange sensation, a lack of urgency and an incredible desire to surrender to the cold; but also an unwillingness to halt or slow his current pace, a last attempt at survival by what little remained of his resolve – a tendril, reaching out from the darkest, deepest and most desperate corners of his mind, clinging onto the concept of life, somehow, impossibly, despite all he had seen in the past weeks.
Vaegar's left foot fell into the snow, followed by his right, each step fighting every muscle in his battered legs, and every step beyond that defying the endless plain of white, the nothingness that sprawled out before him. Crack! This time the sound was unmistakable, and yet he had been mid-step when the sound sliced through the air to greet him. Surely not this far north he told himself, as he felt his grip tighten on the uneven pommel of his broadsword. He took another step, and his thick leather boots plunged once more into the snow, which seemed somehow sinister now, like each snowflake was watching him with dead, grey eyes as he cast his gaze over the wasteland. He suddenly became starkly aware of the silence that now permeated through the landscape, the wind had completely stopped and the only thing he could hear was his ragged breath and barely beating heart. Crack! This one echoed like a thousand drums all beat at once, it tore through him from the bottom of his soles to the tip of his head, and as the sound raced through his body, so did a terror like he had never felt before. It was an all-consuming, soul crushing, infinite kind of terror. They were here.