A quick formatting note before starting this chapter. As just mentioned in Chapter 12, Tolys can speak to birds, which means this story will have full conversations with birds. When the birds are saying something that can be understood by that chapter's POV character, the dialogue will be italicized within its quotation marks.
Technically Lilli's first chapter could've had this too, but the reason it doesn't involves spoilers. There's only one more future chapter like that one which breaks the rule.
Tolys rode his horse past the trees into the clearing, where a frozen creek streamed down the hill from the mountain above. Deciding that this creek would work, he dismounted his horse and tied its reins loosely to a nearby tree, giving the creature a few gentle pats with his hand. He then pulled out his empty waterskin from his bag, and approached the creek.
As he knelt to his knees, Tolys pulled out his dagger, and banged the handle against the ice. After a few strong blows, the ice cracked and fell apart, revealing the cold stream below. He put away the dagger, then dipped the waterskin into the stream to refill it. As he looked out into the distance, he could see all the way out to the snow-covered fields and the village below, while Naktakė soared through the air just above him.
It had been several weeks since Prince Alfred had sent rangers throughout the kingdom to search for Princess Madeline and, if possible, bring her back to Primgate. Tolys was one of the few rangers who knew the northern duchies and the Raevellian mountains well enough to search this area. So far, there has been no trace of her.
A small blue bird zipped into the clearing on its tiny wings, and approached Tolys to flit around him and look at him.
"Hello there," Tolys greeted as he gently held out his left hand, "Here, take a rest."
"Thank you, thank you," the bird said as it sat on his fingers, "Do you have any food on you?"
"I'm sorry, I don't have any bird-friendly food," Tolys denied as he pulled the waterskin out of the water, "Only human food."
"I must find food," the bird insisted, "My chicks are starving, it is hard to be a mother."
"I understand your troubles," Tolys sympathized.
Naktakė suddenly squawked loudly just above them, making the little bird jump in her spot on Tolys's in surprise, only to settle down again. Tolys looked up in time to watch the raven glide down to him, landing on his arm beside the little bird.
"Naktakė, behave yourself," Tolys scolded, "You nearly scared this poor mother bird to death."
"There's a human watching you," Naktakė reported, pointing her beak ahead of them, "She is hiding behind that tree trunk over there."
Tolys glanced in the direction Naktakė was nodding, watching the trees closely for anyone trying to hide.
"Friend or foe?" Tolys inquired.
"Don't know," Naktakė replied, "She's acting shy."
Tolys's glance stopped as he spotted what looked like the edge of a skirt that was not completely hidden. Keeping his eyes fixed on the tree, he slowly rose to his feet, both birds still precariously balanced on his left arm.
"Hello there," Tolys called, "You can come out, I will not harm you."
The edge of the skirt shuffled behind the tree, only for a young woman to slowly emerge from the hiding spot. Long golden blonde hair was loosely tied behind her head with a few strands draped past her shoulders, framing her fair face with indigo eyes. Her dress and cloak were of sturdy cloth, which must have once been of good quality but was now weathered with extended wear.
"Don't worry about me, miss," Tolys addressed, "I'm just fetching water from this creek here."
"I wanted to do the same," she spoke, coming fully out from behind the tree and revealing the waterskin in her hand, "I was going to wait for you to leave first."
"You can join me here, if you like," Tolys offered, "I've already cracked the ice open and collected my water."
He stepped back to give her space as she silently accepted his offer and approached the creek.
"She's quite pretty for a human," Naktakė remarked, "She could be planning to kill you."
"Behave yourself, Naktakė," Tolys hissed, "There's nothing to worry about here."
"Would she have food?" the mother bird asked, "Can you ask her if she has food?"
"I don't think she does," Tolys answered.
"Pardon my intrusion," the woman interrupted, "but are you actually talking to those birds?"
"Yes, that's my birth spell," Tolys confirmed, "I can talk to birds and understand them."
"That sounds quite interesting," the woman remarked, "What do they tell you, if I may ask?"
"Well, Naktakė tells me lots of things," Tolys elaborated, "She's the raven, my travelling companion. She spotted you hiding behind the tree, and was wary of you causing trouble."
"Well, you can tell Naktakė that I mean no harm," the woman assured, "Or can she understand what I say?"
"I'll have to translate that for her," Tolys amended, "I've taught her some basic human commands, but she only fully understands words spoken by me."
"What did she say?" Naktakė immediately demanded.
"She said she means no harm," Tolys told the raven, prompting the young woman to chuckle and smile.
"That must be interesting, having a raven talking to you all the time," the woman commented, "What about the smaller bird, does she travel with you too?"
"No, this other bird is just a friendly visitor here in the forest," Tolys explained, "She is struggling to find food to feed her starving chicks, and wanted me to ask if you had anything for her."
"No, I don't have any food on me here," she replied, "Is it that hard for her to find food right now?"
"It's been hard on the birds for five years now," Tolys elaborated, "This eternal winter makes it quite difficult for any animals that depend on fruits, berries and other summer bounties."
"Oh, I see," the woman sighed.
As she rose from the creek, Tolys noted that the woman suddenly had a very concerned look on her face, along with signs of contemplation and guilt. She glanced around them, looking for something, before focusing on a frozen bush a few feet away.
"I wonder," she muttered as she walked over to the bush.
Tolys kept his eyes on the young woman as he followed her over to the bush, identifying as he got closer that the bush was covered in frozen leaves and what must have once been blueberries. The young woman stared at the bush as she raised her hand to a small branch, a small circle of glowing magic circling her fingertips as she touched it.
Upon contact with the magic at her fingers, the branch suddenly sprang back to colourful life. The berries immediately turned dark blue, the leaves turned green, and the twigs turned brown before their eyes. Tolys felt his jaw drop in shock as the effect of the magic spread across the bush, defrosting the entire plant and revealing the bounty of fresh blueberries.
"Food?" the mother bird chirped as she flew into the tree to look at all the berries.
"It actually worked," the woman rejoiced as she pulled her hand away to finish casting the spell.
Tolys immediately reached out to the bush, and pulled off a couple berries. As he inspected them in his hand, he noticed they looked as fresh and juicy as they must have been on the day they were frozen over. Squishing one of them between his fingers, the inside looked like a perfect berry with no sign of spoilage. He then popped one into his mouth, noting immediately how he hadn't tasted anything so deliciously fresh in five years.
"That's incredible," Tolys admired, "It's like they were never frozen at all. How did you do that?"
The woman did not answer his question, focused on watching the mother bird cheerfully prance around the berries, obviously trying to choose which ones to pick and take back to her chicks. Her eyes were lit with wonder and fascination, and the smile on her face created an expression that Tolys found appealing.
"Do all animals feel this way about the eternal winter?" she suddenly asked, the wonder on her face suddenly dropping away to concern, "Would they prefer for the winter to be gone?"
"I can't speak on behalf of all animals, but I know the birds would appreciate it," Tolys replied, "Is that something you're able to do?"
The woman walked a few feet away from the bush, once again not answering his questions, and kneeled to the snow-covered ground. Tolys watched as she sat on her knees and pressed her palms to the snow, and he wondered what she was doing. A few moments later, her hands were surrounded by the same magical glow, this time being channeled into the snow below.
Almost immediately, the snow underneath her vanished away, revealing the dirt and twigs of the cleared forest floor. The area under the control of her magic quickly expanded around her, and Tolys carefully watched his steps as the snow underneath his feet also vanished away. Once he had his bearings on the clear ground, he saw that the creek was no longer frozen and the water now flowed freely. The magic was now shooting out in all directions into the forest, defrosting the trunks and branches of trees and revealing the lush green leaves.
As he glanced out to the valley, Tolys could see the extent to which the spell was being cast. The frozen fields were gradually melting into yellow fields of wheat, and the colours were returning to all the trees and plants. The line dividing the frozen winter and lush summer kept pushing further and further away, to the point where there was no longer any visible trace of winter on the horizon.
"You're lifting the eternal winter," Tolys praised, "It's amazing!"
He turned back to look at the woman, only to pause in alarm. She was still casting her spell, but the expression on her face had turned to exhaustion. Past the glow of the magic, he could see that her fingers now looked as if they were freezing over, before the same effect crept above the collar of her cloak and streaked lines of frost up to her head.
At that moment, her face went blank as she collapsed and fell sideways to the ground. Seeing that the spell-casting was halted by her fainting, Tolys immediately dove to the ground to check on her. As he pulled her into his arms and turned her face towards him, he saw that the frost had completely claimed her face. He placed his hand by her neck, noting the freezing touch as he searched for signs of breath or a pulse.
"Is she dead?" Naktakė asked as he found the very faint signs of life.
"No, not yet, at least," Tolys answered, "but she's barely breathing, and there's hardly a pulse. She needs healing magic immediately."