A/N: Many thanks to the wonderful MiiYuKira for making me want to write again. She is also an awesome beta and English is not my first language so if what you read makes sense is her doing! Reviews are apprecciated as well as feared.
The most tormented country of all
Prologue
Of these houses
nothing
but fragments of memory
Of all who
would talk with me not
one remains
But in my heart
no one's cross is missing
My heart is
the most tormented country of all
(Giuseppe Ungaretti - San Martino del Carso)
Life in the Frostback Mountains is not a easy one.
No home is safe and permanent, there is no birth-right, even your people's love is something that you have to earn. Nothing lasts forever nor is anything guaranteed. Not adapting to the constant change will just bring an inevitable death. It is a harsh lesson to learn- but that's how life is in this cold and hostile land; always moving, always fighting and always having to prove yourself.
You must stay vigilant, for when the worst happens you have to be ready.
The harsh climate of the mountain did not allow the survival of a wide variety of species, but for those who knew to look beneath the surface of that that frozen earth knew that it hid underground streams and the caves were teeming with vitality. Plants and animals that had adapted to that life and always fought to preserve it. There are no bright colors or loud sounds, no showy flowers or birds singing melodiously; but this doesn't makes the scenery dull, for every single sound and flash of color vibrates with a unique force and energy, that will melt the heart of the privileged few who are allowed a part of it.
The stillness of the forest that morning was unnatural and she could immediately sense that there was something terribly wrong with the earth. Cursing under her breath she got up from her bedroll wishing she could make sure everyone was ok, but already knowing she couldn't go back empty-handed. Being the Shaman's apprentice wasn't an easy task, she had a great power and it was her tribe's responsibility to make certain that she was able to carry that burden alone.
For this reason they were particularly hard on her, even with the numerous and difficult tasks her mentor assigned her she wasn't exempted from other daily chores; she learned from an early age to fend for herself and as the years went by more and more obligations fell on her shoulder to prepare her for the day when she would lead the tribe at the chieftain side. It had been a few days before when she had been sent to collect medicinal herbs to replenish their supply and had yet to return due to their scarce availability on the barren mountain. She knew that the village was well defended but there was still this wrong feeling in the pit of her stomach that would not go away.
