Chapter IV

I walked through the door, entering a building full of Demacian soldiers. I knew no one there, for I grew up on the outskirts of the renowned city. I knew that I would have trouble making friends, so I was reluctant to even try. However, I realized that I didn't really have to.

She had walked up to me just as I was settling in.

"Are you a human?" She asked.

"As much as I can." I replied. Admittedly, I was frightened of her at first, because I had never seen a half dragon before.

We were still at most teenagers, and became friends in the awkward sort of way most people our age did. And come to think about it, I was very glad that we did. The Demacian army was a majestic thing to be part of, but it's no more than that, unless you have a sense of belonging, which was what she was always worried about.

"I just want a place to call home. Not just as in a place to live, but the first thing you think of when you're in trouble. Like as soon as you're there, at home, no harm in the whole world could get to you." That was what she'd say, and she'd say it so often, I came to remember it word by word.

I guess the true reason I was reluctant to making friends was because I knew I'd loose them, the way I'd lost Caleb. My heart broke into a million shards, which no longer work the way they should. It's as if a completed puzzle was torn apart, and some of the pieces removed so that it could never be put together again. Removed by the loss of my beloved brother, the very person I see whenever I close my eyes to sleep and whenever I open then to wake.

But I had to be friends with Shyvana. It just seemed like we were after similar things, so our friendship came naturally. I had lost Caleb, and there was no way I was losing Shyvana.

I awoke with a horrible head ache, and a horrible feeling of paralysis. My muscles were ignoring me completely. However, I had to force my eye lids open as I heard the sound of footsteps, and shortly the sound of someone breathing. As my eyes adjusted to the sudden light, I almost jumped as I saw someone towering over me.

"W-who are you?" I asked, my voice not coming out right and it squeaked awkwardly. This didn't seem to cause any expression to be displayed by the observer.

"I was gonna ask you the same thing." She said, her voice cold like the snow and unforgiving like the wind.

I hesitated. "I asked you first."

"Yeah, but I'm the one standing with a weapon while you lie there on the ground. Who's gonna batter who?"

My eyes drifted to the bola she held in her right hand. Suddenly, I felt obedient.

"I'm one of the Demacian soldiers, sent here to help the Avarossan. I'm Quinn."

Her face darkened. "Why are you helping them?"

"You still haven't told me who..."

"Answer me!" She yelled. Her voice felt like an earthquake, shaking everything around it.

"They were attacked and needed help."

"By who?"

"I don't know... dark creatures like nothing I've ever seen before."

She lowered her gaze onto the ground. "Sejuani." She said.

"What?"

"My name, stupid." She paused as she looked at me, her eyes piercing mine. "I lead the Winter's Claw."

I was taken aback by her rank, but felt better as soon as I heard a familiar shriek. Valor descended onto the ground besides me and pinched my nose with his beak.

"Is he your bird? The damn thing. He wouldn't leave us in peace till we came and found you and the dragon."

Shyvana.

My head jerked to one side then the other, looking for her. All I could see was plain white snow and a low cliff above us. I realized that must have been the place we fell from, and felt grateful that it wasn't a big fall. Despite that, my eyes still searched for the dragon born.

"Relax, Demacian." She pointed behind her and I stood up so I could see the ferocious boar with a feeble body strapped to it. It all made sense to me. Her weakness was in no way caused by the lack of rest. Something was actually wrong with her. "We're taking her back home to help her, and we were gonna do the same to you. Luckily, you woke up just in time."

I let out a sigh of relief. As I stood up, I overestimated the power of my joints and fell forward as my knees deceived me. I braced myself for the impact that never came, as a pair of arms held onto to me, returning my balance. She let go as soon as I was steady.

"Thanks..." I said gratefully.

She avoided my gaze as she headed towards the boar, mumbling something about weakness. I followed her to the animal and watched in awe as she mounted it without effort, as if gravity was nonexistent. Behind her wide saddle was Shyvana, tied loosely as if she was a piece of luggage. All I could do was hope that she'd be alright.

"Come on. You forgot how to move?" Sejuani gestured for me to climb up. "D'you want your friend to survive or not? If it calms you down, there's someone in my tribe that's dealt with something like this before." She waited as I tried to figure out how to get up onto the saddle, which was almost higher than my head. "Just move your damned ass!"

I took a deep breath and sprung forward to grab the edge of the saddle, trying to pull myself up. I would have been successful, but my muscles still felt numb and rigid and I ended up dropping back down simultaneously as Sejuani's sigh of frustration. Valor let out a mocking shriek. She gestured for me to do it again, so I did. This time, she grabbed my arms and hauled me up, her unexpected strength almost making me fall off the other side.

"Hold onto the back of it." She said, and after noticing my puzzlement she added, "The saddle. The back of the saddle."

Shortly, she gave the boar a kick to get him moving. I turned round to make sure Shyvana was alright and it seemed that the tribe leader had done a good job when she tied her down. I noticed the straps weren't too tight to cut off her blood flow and not too loose as to let her fall.

" How far is your tribe?" I asked.

" On foot, it would have taken half a day, but Bristle here makes the journey easier. He'll get us there in a couple of hours. Deep snow was never a problem for him."

The journey as a whole was tiring, not because of the cold or its length, but simply because it took me a while to get used to the way Bristle walked. His stride was heavy, much like his owner's, and with every stomp of his feet I felt myself lose my balance, again and again and again, which always brought some sort of humorous comment from Val.

" How can you understand that bird?" Sejuani asked me at some point.

" His name is Valor. We grew up together."

"The half dragon - is she your friend?"

"Yes. When I joined the Demacian army, she was the one that always helped me and guided me through all the confusing conduct." I replied.

Sejuani nodded.

"What's with all the questions?" I asked her.

"I don't like strangers coming into my tribe."

We finally came to see them - small huts, each one belonging to a member of the Winter's Claw. As we neared them, we dismounted and continued the last few steps on foot, as Sejuani insisted.

Surprisingly, we were greeted by an old man with a crooked walk, who came up to me in a hurry. He attempted to speak but all I could make out were mumblings. He pointed at one of my arrows and seemed fascinated by them as a reflection of the gleaming metal sparkled in his eyes.

I reached and grabbed hold of one of the arrows and was about to hand it to him if it weren't for a firm grip on my wrist.

Sejuani shook her head, giving me a disapproving look. "Don't give him that 'cause he's stupid and puts it in his mouth." She paused and glanced at the man. "His name's Makechau. Ignore him. He should have died long ago but somehow never did. Damn man must be made out of the devil's steel."

She led Bristle forwards, allowing him to almost trample the madman. I followed them patiently into the tribe, receiving a few odd looks from the people. Something told me that they didn't have many "tourists".

"Come on." the tribe leader said, " She's in here." She pointed towards a hut decorated with the skeletons of various creatures and animals. I was reluctant to follow her inside, but the urge to help Shyv dragged me on.

At the far end of the single room stood an elderly woman, dressed in dark long robes with bones of different sizes carefully sewn onto the sleeves and collar. She looked up warily as we walked in, and upon nearing the center of the room, Sejuani kneeled down, gesturing for me to do the same. It was odd that the tribe leader would have to show such respect for an old woman. If anything, this reinforced my hopes for the half dragon.

"We have a half dragon. She's just like the last." said Sejuani.

"Bring her in."

The tribe leader stood up and headed outside. I followed, willing to help her carry Shyvana, but once again, she gave me a disapproving shake of her head and I remained with the old woman.

I got a good look at her and realized that one of her eyes was too cloudy to be functional, while the other darted around in its socket. I was relieved when Sejuani returned, as the woman had started to scare me.

Shyvana was placed onto a bed in the corner of the room, and the woman looked over her, running her hand above her body, stopping once at her head and then at her feet. She mumbled something.

"She is worse than the last one." She said. Her voice stung my ears. "I fear we may be too late. The antidote I have only worked because the individual had some strength left. This one... this one is too weak."

Suddenly, I felt my knees melting away beneath me.

"Well what's wrong with her?" I asked, desperate for an answer.

"The disease is only present in people like her. Half dragons. We don't know the cause, but we do know it kills them." She looked into my eyes, stabbing my skull with her mind. "I'm sorry. I will look after her, but I can't promise a life."

"Come on." Sejuani whispered, heading outside.

I remained, frozen, my eyes glued on Shyv.

"Demacian, we have to go." She repeated.

Slowly, I stood up and headed towards the door. I took one last look at the dragonborn, hoping for a last minute miracle. Nothing happened.

I followed Sejuani outside, choosing to trust an old woman with bones around her neck.

"I... I can't believe it." I whispered, tears threatening to escape my eyes. "After everything that's happened... one stupid disease..."

"That's how it works. That's how it should be. Fight, or make room for those who will. Shyvana could no longer go out on the battlefield, and this is faith." I couldn't make out if the tribe leader wanted to comfort me or upset me.

I sighed. "That's not how it is. Sometimes you can't let a person go just because they're weak. You hold on to them, no matter how much they drag you down, and you try your best to pull them back up."

"Well, you've gone a long way down trying to get her back up."

"I know."

Sejuani paused, as if she was thinking. "You need someone else to pull you and her back up." She looked straight into my eyes. "We're gonna find a cure."