The first days were a struggle. Emotions ran wild. Desperation settled on some, and tempers flared over small mistakes. Each day, we made the final trek up the road to the Academy with ragged bodies and cursed that damn hill. We were either scavenging or sleeping like the dead, so there was no time to think.
At long last, we did feel safe in our collected supplies. We could breathe a sigh of relief. And doubt darkened my thoughts once more. The Academy was not exactly hard to find, and we could be clearly seen entering and leaving. Yet no one had approached us. No enemies. No more survivors.
Certainly not my family.
I would not judge them for thinking me dead. I had expected to die. Yet, did they not seek news of the surface? Were they afraid the Frenzied Flame still burned? Had the old magic of the Nox lifts failed? Or had they fallen to the dangers below?
The remnants of the Nox? Some creature of the Stars? Had the Frenzied Flame burned that deep?
I focused on my work.
By now, the soldiers and knights and even some of the sorcerers had come to accept me. True, I had been an enemy before, but I had walked the frozen wastes of the north. Ash and snow weren't so different, and I shared the skills needed for survival.
I was an outsider, but in that, I was trusted to be impartial in matters of strained resources and lingering politics. The knights especially appreciated my experience in leading small groups. Scavengers and guerilla cult cells behaved alike. The academics and nobles could make plans, and I would make them work.
I thought to search for my family sometimes, but there was always more to do. Before long, some of the knights were like the sons I'd never had. I still thought of my wife and daughters but began to wonder if I could even reach them. Should I take some men with me? What would happen if I couldn't find them? What would happen if I could?