Till the Dark of Winter

by Kate Trinity

Dark of Winter

  By Kate Trinity

  Published by Kate Trinity on Lulu.com

  Till the Dark of Winter © 2011 by Kate Trinity

  Lulu Edition, License Notes

  Till the Dark of Winter

  A dusting of snow across the frozen ground greets me as I wake; it has been a cold night sleeping by the lake. I am only four days ride from home and already the winter is closing in. I stoke my little fire and add more logs to heat my breakfast before curled up in the shelter I built to protect me from the weathers worst. My horse is under his own blanket beneath the trees, he has the added protection of a very thick winter coat to keep him warm.

  When I have eaten and fed him I pack up and put out the fire. I am trying to get home to see what Saint Nicholas brings. As I mount up the snow begins, and I glance up to see the thick pale grey clouds, I will be surprised if I see the sun at all today. Around my shoulders I wear a hooded long mink coloured cloak like coat that covers me to my ankles and most of my horse’s back. It keeps us warm and camouflaged against the snow. My horse is a dapple-grey destrier that I raised from a foal, we have trained and worked together for years and have built up a trust and understanding. He is named Frost and stands eighteen hands high.

  Together we work through day and night to protect the people and lands of our Lord Bartholomew. Ever travelling from one area to the next, until the weeks of silence in the dark of winter, when the snow is constant and temperatures so low that anyone outside will freeze within an hour. Our people retreat to our homes within the main defensive walls around the castle, where we stay until dark of winter’s end. There are demons that emerge to enjoy the frozen lands in that time and their favourite meal is meat. They are not easily fought and it is better to keep out of their way. These demons are called Iclings as they only come out when water begins to freeze on the surface, when winter is over they return to the dark depths under the mountain.

  The first to emerge are small creatures, no higher than your knee, covered head to toe in pale blue fur. Ears high on the head and pointed to help them detect their prey and eyes of such huge proportions that they see in almost every direction without turning, their eyes are usually icy blue but on occasion you get an unusual coloured coat whose eyes are different too. They eat in a swarm and rip and tear until the bones are bare.

  Frost’s hooves send up little powdery clouds of snow as he moves steadily across the ground. And as the snow continues to fall we move to higher ground and encounter more snowdrifts that must have been from an earlier fall. We stop once to eat, drink and rest before moving on with our personal quest. My intention you see is to make it to the safety of the small cabin named Number Three. Built for the weary traveller or hunter there is room for the horse in the adjoining stable, and inside the main room is a fireplace and bed for me. I waste no time warming the place up and putting on some snow to melt for a drink.

  The next morning is crisp and frosty and the top of the snow has a crunchy layer that cracks as I step in it. The temperature has dropped so much through the night that it is almost painful to go outside.

  Back on the trail I see something grey trailing us to the right and behind, not close enough to see faces yet. Sometime around noon it was joined by another two and now I see that I am the prey they have in sight. Now racing alongside I can see these three grey beasts are Tanglavites, demons ridden by Bolgaris Knights.

  Old Lord Bolgaris rules the adjoining lands to Lord Bartholomew’s and he tries often to take more land from us. So during the first days of winter he sends out his knights to pick off strays like me trying to get back home.

  Tanglavites run faster than any horse and give out steam that keeps the knights from freezing in their armour. I am not dressed in full armour, rather the metal plates strapped to leather padding on arms and legs, chest and back. Basic protection against an attack but it is impossible to spend all of your time in full armour, as it is too heavy and cumbersome. We rarely wear it when not in wartime. My advantage is a better knowledge of the land and a horse that knows me and is quick to react. I have my sword on beneath my cloak in a fur-lined scabbard to protect it from the cold.

  The first makes a loan attack and my sword swings around in my hand to meet him. The demons head hits the floor and the body just stands there as it bleeds on to the white of the snow. The knight makes a desperate leap from its back to my horses, but Frost reacts quickly planting both of his rear dinner plate sized feet into the knights head and crushing the metal helmet into the knight’s face. He won’t be getting up any time soon and the other two keep their distance, sizing me up and deciding on their next attack.

  Frost shifts gear and propels us up the approaching slope, it drops away to either side leaving the knights following at a lower level, losing me as I disappear behind the tree line. I knew they had two options, follow or ambush. It would take them awhile to get to an ambush point and probably the same amount of time to back track and follow me up the path, even on the Tanglavites.

  I decide that I have time to set up my own ambush and know that the best place is where the route breaks from the tree line and meets the level ground once again. The ground is not so covered with snow here and we are able to move quite swiftly to set up my deception. My cloak placed carefully on the tree branches looks like I am hiding behind a tree and watching for their approach. I know I should expect them from either direction so I set it up accordingly, then lead Frost a little further into the tree line on the left of the trail so that he can be seen but not right in their path.

  I pull on the darken mask I carry in my pack, this is designed to cloak the wearer in shadow like properties, making them more able to camouflage or hide; it also makes them slightly more difficult to see or pinpoint. There is a similar one for Frost but he needs to be visible for this to work so I do not put his on. I pull my sword from its scabbard and my double bladed axe from its loop on the cantle. Then back away into the trees a little further along to wait their approach.

  The snow was driving down now, even through the trees, the wind drove it howling around the trunks and I regretted the loss of my mink coat. I listened to the sounds around us hoping to work out which direction the heavy footfalls were coming from when I could hear them past the wind but it turned out that they had planned their approach and split up to come at me from both directions at once. It’s fair to say that I was distressed to see the mess they made of my coat and knew that the next few days would see me wrapped in a horse blanket whilst I rode.

  To my left the Bolgaris Knight slashed at my coat and then the Tonglavite joined in and ripped at it with teeth and claws. The pieces got caught up in the wind and were whipped away. As the knight to my right was distracted I swung a fatal blow, it was unfortunate that the armour was thicker than any I had ever known and I simply left a dent. I swung again and the Tonglavite fell wailing to the sky, its form steadily melting back through the frozen ground. They could only do this if they were wounded, if they were dead well that was it, they were dead. Stunned by the hit and by his fall the knight lay motionless on the ground and so I could turn my attention to the other knight, the destroyer of cloaks. I met the oncoming rush with all the force I could muster, running towards my attacker as he raced towards me on the Tonglavite. I used my momentum to leap from the ground, placing one foot on the Tonglavite’s nose as I leapt and twisted up and over the knight. As I did I drove my sword down and around, and having learnt from my first attempt I dropped the Tonglavite to the ground.

  The knight rolled free and turned to face me drawing back his sword, we had landed near Frost who was snorting viciously and stomping wanting to join the fight. The knight came in fierce with his sword and the crashing of metal on met
al resounded around the trees. I tripped on something hidden in the snow and fell back, leaving myself wide open to the knights sword but he wasn’t fast enough, Frost span and kicked out with his hind legs, planting them both very firmly in the chest of the knight, sending him over the edge of the ridge on the other side of the trail. His screams rent the air as he fell to the river below. I wondered if it had frozen yet as I stood up and brushed myself off. I got my answer in a distant splash as the knight in his heavy armour hit the water below.

  I stood a minute assessing the damage and absently scratching Frost’s withers before remounting and pulling out the horse blanket to wrap around me. Not so well camouflaged now we continued on our way. We needed to get to cabin Number Two