Part One: Dusk's Dawn

Isen som brenner større enn brann er hemmeligheten av hjertet fylt med kraft.

An arctic chill flew along the wind with a stow away in tow; a stow away that pierced the chill with thick, metallic lore that simply spoke the world's history; a history always being continued with one simple waft:

Blood.

Kai sniffed the air sharply, her nose wrinkling at the scent that flooded her nostrils. A shiver wracked down her spine, even beneath the thick wrappings of fur she mummified herself in, and gulped heavily. Already? She thought, the metallic scent growing stronger around her. Do I even dare look back?

Sucking in a breath, she forced her eyes to cast over her shoulder and felt her stomach clench. Crawling across the night sky trapped under monstrous, black clouds, rose a frail wisp of gray smoke with a shadow of flames in its wake. Beneath it all laid flickering arms of crimson and orange that ravaged the bottom of the mountain with quick and precise fingers, crushing everything in its wake. Suddenly, the flames froze as a trail of blue slithered down their forms, casting dark shadows across the countryside while the snow whipped around the area. With an earsplitting swoosh flurries of snow and wind rose to the heavens, swallowing the inferno whole with a dull crumble. Silence blanketed the world for a mere millisecond before the wind howled once more, brushing flakes of snow across Kai's red cheeks as she let out a sigh.

From where she stood, the whole ordeal was like a canvas that had started weeping and didn't know how to stop, dragging its colorful glory into the ground as it was frozen over by the mountain side. Kai turned away; her tongue twisted into a knot as she marched through the mounds of snow.

After all, why was she to expect otherwise?

Kai gripped the knapsack around her tighter as the wind whipped harsher than before. With each stomp she made her boots were engulfed by piles of snow, anchoring her feet to the ground. She groaned, brows furrowing as she zoned in on the village in front of her. Shattered fractals of snow whipped its arctic fury through abandoned graves of huts and stone paths, leaving icy streaks of white to slither through cracks and break open new ones. Rooftops caved in on mud and brick as snow buried the huts' carcasses, driving them deeper into the shadows of the North Mountain; deeper until it wasn't even worthy of being a memory.

"Blasted winter!" Kai huffed bitterly, tugging her fur hat down onto her ears. "Blast it all!" Her footsteps littered the ground before they were devoured by the storm again. Her teeth grinded together while the cold sunk into her thick bones. "It's a wonder why I still serve it."

Kai picked her way through splintered bits of wood and brick as she moved through the village until she reached the end. Trees, parched from soil, yet monstrous in size, loomed over Kai, their branches winding blindly to the ground and up. Kai rolled her eyes shifting her hand into her knapsack and whipped out a short machete that a sickly gray in the snow light. With a quick flick of her wrist, the gate of thorns crumbled to the ground; the quick whacks of her blade and stomps flooding the forest. A low groan rumbled in the back of her throat as twigs clung to her hair and cheeks, leaving thin trails of red littering her pale skin. She stepped over another pile of broken branches and let out a sigh; the frozen beads of sweat along her brow seeming to sigh as well as they inched down her skin.

Through the sea of clouds devouring the sky, a ribbon of iridescent light glittered along the snow as it trailed up and lost itself along showers of ice whirling around the top of the mountain. Kai sucked in a breath, gagging on the hint of blood that still lingered in the air, and glared up at the wall of ice. She raised the blade up to her chest, capturing flints of the lurking moon within its silver grasp. Bowing her head, she hummed quietly.

"Isen som brenner større enn brann er hemmeligheten av hjertet fylt med kraft."

As the words rolled off her tongue like rich wine and fluttered into the air, the wind waned into a low moan around her. The ice splintering along the mountain froze, letting out a puff of white as it shifted its pale arms from the snow. Suddenly, Kai's eyes were staring straight into pale ivory ones as the snow rose from the ground. Its white fluff molded into slim curves of an hour glass until it resembled a woman. The creature blinked at Kai, an invisible smile roaming somewhere beneath the pack of white of her chin, and gently nodded her head at Kai. The howling wind gave way to swirl in a frozen time piece as the ice covering the cavern in front of her broke apart. With a rumble, a staircase of pale blue ice rose from the tunnel and spiraled up into the mountain.

Kai sighed, her muscles twitching under her furs as they ached to move to the stairs. She stepped forward and flinched. Her nose arched towards the sky, sniffing harshly until she flicked her blade out to her side. The snow creature tilted its head at her as Kai whispered, "We're not alone."

Kai whipped back towards the forest behind her, her blade slicing the air. An earthy aroma wafted its way into her nostrils. Kai's eyes bore into the maze of trees, scanning the dark titans with a hushed snarl. Her ears twitched at the sound of a snapping twig. She turned towards the trees at her side. Her heart thudded against her chest as the snapping came closer. Another snap and her heart raced quicker. And closer. Another snap and a bead of sweat clung to her hair.

And closer.

Then it stopped.

Kai arched a brow, steadying her hand as she cautiously crept towards the trees. Silence buzzed through her veins as the unnatural quiet roared on. The tip of her blade grazed the trunk of the tree and she let out the breath she was holding.

Just your nerves gettin' to you Kai, she thought to herself. She turned on her heel and began to walk back towards the stairs.

However, she didn't get far enough to avoid the stabbing pain in her shoulders.

Kai choked on a scream, sending her elbow flying back to knock against the body behind her. She staggered forward with a hushed cry and whipped around. Her silver eyes were lit with fury as she stared in pale yellow slits. The moon dribbled out drops of light to shimmer along the beast's dull coat of gray. The beast let his black lips curl back into a sneer, grimy dribble glistened along his fangs that nearly bulged out of its gums. It let out a low growl and circled around Kai agonizingly slow. Kai fought back the piercing pain that pierced her shoulder blades and gripped her blade tighter. Their eyes locked and the beast clawed at the ground as it lunged at her. Kai narrowed her eyes and jumped to the side, swinging her blade across the beast's cheek.

The beast wailed, crimson as dark as the night oozing from the slash across its face. It roared loudly and raced toward Kai once more. Kai raised her blade for another blow, only for the beast to jerk off to the side and swing his paw across her thigh. Kai gritted her teeth, letting out a roar of her own as she charged at the beast. Drops of crimson splattered across the ground, blooming across the crystalline ground like flowers as grunts and cries erupted into the night. The snow creature pressed back against the entrance, tilting its head curiously at Kai as she and the beast rolled across the snow. Deep scratches littered over both their bodies while the cold slithered into their wounds, nearly cackling against their bones as they fought off bitter shivers of pain that pulsed through them.

Kai raised her blade above the beast's head as the yellow slits watched her. Taking its jaws, the beast clamped its mouth over her wrist, its claws digging into the knapsack along her waist. Tears pricked the back of Kai's eyes, a cry wrenching itself from her throat at last as the teeth dug deeper into her wrist. Her breath hitched, blood dotting her face as she tugged her hand out of the beast's mouth. With a sharp gulp, Kai raised her leg and slammed her boot into the beast's stomach, sending it flying back with a whimper as she rolled onto her side. She panted, cradling her wrist as she reached out for her blade. She glanced down at her knapsack, the thick lining of fur torn as the snow buried the brown meat that had lied inside it into the ground. Kai's eyes widened.

"No." she groaned, crawling over towards the meat. Her fingers hovered over the thick slabs as they were coated by winter. The wind froze the fresh trail of tears pouring down her face with each gasp as she cried. "No!"

Three weeks. Three weeks of hunting wasted in a matter of seconds! Her hands trembled, her fingers digging into the ground. That was going to last us a month! A whole god damned month! At the sound of a quiet whine her head tilted up; her quaking and meat long forgotten. As the beast rolled onto its sides, paws trying to cradle is bleeding stomach, a lone bundle of brown lied along the snow, letting out quiet cries as it shuffled aimlessly in a circle. Kai's gashed lips pulled back into a sickly grimace, forcing herself up onto her feet with a groan. She glanced over at the large beast and swallowed thickly; rule five of the Mountain: Never lose your nerve.

She flexed her grip on the bloody handle of her blade and thundered over towards the tiny bundle, blind in its own folds of fur as it wallowed about in the snow. Her heart slammed against her chest crazily as she raised the blade over her head. She eyed the brown fur of the younger beast and clenched her eyes shut.

Rule one of the Mountain: Don't fight with what you're not willing to lose.

She plunged her sword downward as a high pitched cry pierced the air, silencing the roar of her heart. The blade sank deeper into the body beneath it, blood staining the snow with a dark pool of red. Kai let out a shuddering sob and forced her eyes open. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her skull as she gawked at body beneath her. The larger beast flopped to the ground as crimson poured out of its back and onto the ground. Kai's knees buckled, but she kept herself up right; her mouth going dry.

"W-what?" she gasped quietly. The yellow slits of the beast had been glazed over by a gray film, its pink, forked tongue frozen in its attempt to brush at the bundle one last time. Its paws curled around the tiny bundle, curling it away from the blade stuck within its back, and suddenly, a deafening wail shattered the silence. Kai snapped out of her daze and gazed back down at the bundle. The wails, though muffled by the fur, sounded vaguely like—

Crying? Beasts don't…cry?

Kai gulped, her hand jerking her blade out of the beast's back. The steaming blood dripping off the tip of the blade looked eerily like rust in the darkness, yet Kai carefully moved it towards the bundle. The wails caused the bundle to rock back and forth as Kai gently placed the edge of the blade at its side. Kai sucked in a breath and quickly nudged the bundle onto its side. Kai's blood ran cold as the blade fell to the ground.

And she wished to the heavens that abandoned her long ago that the beast had ripped her throat out.

Bundled tightly in the folds of the beast's spare fur, a child wailed into the night with streaks of tears nearly drowning it. Its hands tried to curl into fists only to pan out and settle for waving again. The moon soon let out its last drops of light onto the mountain and graced over the child. Its pale, tiny chest heaved up and down with each cry that tore out its throat while the light was tangled in the mesh of hair that might as well of been the moon itself. A deep, dark part of Kai was relit as the motherly instincts she hadn't used in ages urged her to grasp the child and dry its tears. Yet, Kai remained still, frozen from the harsh, bitter years spent in the mountain and the utter, unadulterated trepidation that pierced her to the core.

Children don't survive up here. They couldn't. They wouldn't.

They weren't supposed too.