Chapter 2: The Hag

The light snow bathed him but never blanketed the man, for he kept moving in a quick pace. But Wintertime quickly outpaced him, and all his knowledge and all of his skill is helpless against him. And so he searched for shelter, but all before him was the whiteness of the ground, the wisps of the snow being blown by the wind, and the grey skies of Wintertime. Now the twilight was nearly upon him, and there was no shelter to be found. He came into the dead wood, whose still and lifeless bodies hung as gloomy pillars for Wintertime's clouded skies. There, he heard baying of wolves. It was a war horn, and it's bellowing soon followed by howling winds that battered his body, and would soon take up his feet from the ground. He was blinded by the storm, and his feet moved on its own to avoid it. The man knew that if had allowed the wind to continue on, then his fate would be sealed, and Wintertime would capture him into her cold and unending touch. Just then, the man noticed a flicker of light, and gave strength back to his feet, for there was not time left before he falls before the might of the wind. As he flew towards the light, the man looked back and saw that the wind seemed to follow him. He knew not how it was, for even he, one of the great minds of the White City, could not explain it. And so, without much choice in the matter, he kept on flying along, as if being chased as a wild animal. He in between the trunks of the dead trees of the wood and swirled around them, as a feeble hare would do when chased by a wolf in the wood. And when he looked back it again, he felt that it worked, for he had greatly outpaced the queer draught. There was no way he could explain this, only his belief that he had done something.

The man came near to the light, and came upon an old wooden shack. There were lights in the cottage, and the silhouette moving around betrayed the presence of a living soul. Without much hesitation, the man knocked and knocked upon the door, where strange markings have been carved upon every plank, believing that the wind will not cease pursuit.

The door then opened, and before him stood an ugly hag, but the man cared not for he was not vain, and there were much more pressing matters. The hag was aware of the man's plight, and took him into her shack. The man breathed a sigh, and sat down upon one of the chairs the hag offered him. He took off his coat as there were a fire in hearth, where a big cauldron where a wonderful scent wafted from. As the calmed down, the wind wailed even louder outside, and seemed to circle around the shack for an immemorial amount time. As it waned, from the distance they heard the baying and growling of wolves, fading into the oblivion of the night. With all the commotion over, the man thanked the hag for his help.

However, the hag said, "Do not thank me yet," showing her ugly teeth as she looked upon the cauldron with her ladle. "Who are you, and why does a man with such strange attire come this far into the North."

"I am just a man from the East, and I only intend in expanding my horizons Madame," said the man, "For I am man of science, and it is only in my nature."

Silence fell, and the woman narrowed her eyes, taking a jug and pouring a spirit into a cup. "No one with fierce eyes such as yours would ever come this far for the sake of something of such nobility. I will ask of you again."

The hag then offered the cup with the liquid in it to the man. The man did not want to insult his host, took the cup and drank it one gulp. Yet, he also did not want to reveal his true intentions, for no ordinary folk would want a man who seeks vengeance in their own home. So, the man said his lies once again to the hag, and as the hag narrowed her eyes at him, a fire ignited in his throat. It was like hot metal being poured from inside of him. Never before has any spirit prompted such effect on him. The man grabbed his chest because of the pain, but looked upon the hag with his fierce eyes.

The hag then said, "I will ask you again," and poured another cup from the same jug. "Deceive and be burned in flames, or tell the truth and feel no shame. First tell me your name," said the woman, offering him the cup of the same spirit.

As the man's countenance can no longer hold dignity, the man touched the cup, whose liquid was no longer of the same hue. Seeing this, he drank it once again in one gulp. But his body was worn to the very brink by this event, and fell to the floor. Before Sleep took him into the land of dreams, the man whose fierce eyes were now tamed said to the hag, "My name is Kihara Kagun, and I seek magic." And he fell asleep before the warmth of the crackling fire of the hag's hearth.