by LJ Davies
With that, I gave a final nod and turned to the others. Before he left the soldier lifted his head high and spoke up.
"Good luck, and may the creators protect you."
Echo nodded in agreement before spreading her wings, and with a couple of powerful beats, they both took off into the air. The moment they left the others looked to me. No matter how much I denied I was leading, they all felt differently.
"Well?" Boltock asked, breaking the awkward silence. "Don't you think we should get going?"
I shared his sentiment, starting to walk down the riverbank. They all followed without question. This was it: another new, unknown territory.
*
The winding river led us away from the steep mountains. Its turbulent waters settling as they were relieved of the interfering boulders and rocks that had disrupted their flow upstream. Even the wind grew still, leaving the trees motionless as an increasing density of snow piled onto their frozen branches. With every step into the unknown, the atmosphere became colder, and the soft flow of the once gushing river began to solidify near the edges.
Days went by as we travelled further into the cooling wilderness, each waking moment blurring into the next. It was a cycle of the sun rising and setting, the night sky spinning by during the long, tiresome hours spent watching for danger.
The further we travelled, the shorter the days became. The cruel chill of dark nights and the equally bitter cold of the weak winter sun making the two almost indistinguishable. As we journeyed, I constantly checked the edges of the snow-covered landscape, my eyes scanning over the frozen river for any sign, smell, or sound of our hunters. I knew they were out there somewhere, now aware of what I could do and equally aware of our new vulnerability.
My constantly active senses were fuelled by nothing more than adrenalin pumping through my shivering body. Like a timid rabbit I reacted to even the smallest movement, unable to sleep after those monsters had managed to sneak up on us from nowhere.
The snow grew deeper, making the ground more difficult to traverse. The cold numbed my tired bones with every aching step and my mind became completely open to the possibility of something buried below the wintery coat, ready to eat me. Worried about every snowflake, I barely noticed when we finally reached the end of the river. Only the cry of Ember's voice drew me from the numbness.
"Look, there it is!"
Stretching before us over the vast horizon lay the endless expanse of the frozen sea. The forest’s sprawl stopped abruptly at the top of a sheer cliff marking the edge of the ice sheet, the river cascading over in a frozen torrent, creating a wall of ice. The weak sound of what little water could pass beneath, creaked and gushed, groaning like a dying monster.
"What do we do now?" Risha asked, stepping up to my side.
I looked down at the steep incline and out to the far edges of my vision, trying to identify a safe route down. Our only option was a rough pathway of ice-covered boulders beside the waterfall, barely visible under the snow.
"That looks like the only way down," I indicated, pointing towards the pathway.
There was no objection as the others crept to the cliff's edge with me.
"We'll have to walk down," I added, ruffling my wings in disdain.
Not like we can fly with the air this still anyway. I noted, the fact the coast was so calm unsettling me. I just hope Boltock can make it.
I stepped cautiously onto the first boulder, brushing off the covering of snow with my forepaw before following with the rest. With all my weight set upon the stone, I tried to judge its stability, and although slippery, it seemed stable.
"Seems pretty safe. Just watch your footing, it's slippery," I advised before stepping over a slight gap to the second boulder.
Peering ahead at the random sprawl of rocks, I attempted to map out a descending path, judging which ones appeared most stable. The others started to follow, albeit nervously.
"Best to go one at a time, I don't know how much weight they'll take," I shouted back to Risha.
She nodded, stopping on the first boulder and waiting for me to clear the second. The gap to the snowy surface of the next one was too far to step down. Pausing for a moment, I knew the only way was to jump – and that wasn't without some risk.
If it's not stable it could completely collapse the pile.
I searched for any other route, although my only other options left me with the same problem. I thought carefully about how I could get by; the only safe choice was to fly. I cursed myself for taking my wings for granted; even so, after all we’d done, I wasn’t going to let an icy rock defeat me.
A pulse of fear urged me on when an unmistakable howl ended my deliberation. I glanced back at Risha, her wide-eyed expression revealing the same dread. My heart began to race, making decisions increasingly urgent.
It's either jump or wait for those things to catch up with us! Every moment I deliberated I pictured their paws thundering through snow as they sped closer.
I drew back, holding a deep breath as I rushed across the slippery surface and leapt into the air, spreading my wings to steady myself. The boulder shunted sideways, fumbling and sliding, I barely managed to maintain my balance. My landing dislodged a small number of rocks, which bounced to the ice below with a rumbling clatter. Every sound forced me to wince as the noise echoed through the otherwise silent wilderness.
They surely know exactly where we are now!
My worries were swiftly redirected when the rock under me shifted. Whatever stability it once possessed was ruined by the force of my jump – and there was still three of us to go. The icy surface tilted forward, hanging precariously over the edge of the loose pile. I moved to balance out the weight, pushing myself up against the icicles hanging from the cliff behind me.
Looking down to the frozen sea I could see there was an obvious pathway over the remaining rocks. I glanced up to see Risha was now directly above.
"Where now?" she asked.
"Jump down and follow the path along there," I instructed, nodding towards the lower boulders. "I'll stay on this one to counterbalance."
She stepped back, while Boltock and Ember queued on the rocks behind her, anxiously awaiting their turn. When she leapt, the sudden shudder caught me unaware, the rock lurched and a few smaller stones fell away.
"What about you?" she inquired urgently.
"I'll jump off when you're all across," I reassured, gesturing for her to move along quickly as my back scraped the cliff face.
"Go! I'll be down right after you."
Lacking the time to question my decision, she carefully hopped over the rest of the boulders and onto the ice sheet.
Boltock was next, wincing slightly when the jolt of impact shifted his injured wing. I urged him on, and he hopped swiftly down to his sister. Ember was the last to jump, her weight putting even more strain on the increasingly unstable surface, leaving me the difficult task of getting off the crumbling boulder without bringing them all down. I tested the rock's stability by shifting my weight slightly.
As expected, any movement made it heave and tilt, pushing more of the loose rocks around it further over the edge. I weighed up my options: I was going to have to jump, that much was clear. I peered around, visualising my route and positioning myself to make a dash when an unmistakable smell caught my attention.
I looked up, the rock shifting while my eyes focused on the ghaul staring down from the top of the path, a menacing mass of fur, muscle and vicious teeth looming over me. From what I could see, it was alone, though I knew the others wouldn’t be far behind. It took a step onto the first boulder, which shuddered under its heavier mass. My eyes focused on its lumbering footfall, and instantly I had an idea.
Risha called my name, stimulating a desire to flee. But I focussed on the ghaul’s demonic eyes while it clambered down, falling rocks creeping out from under it. Remaining almost perfectly still, I spread my weight, keeping my perch perfectly balanced while waiting for the right moment. The ghaul stop
ped, shifting its paws as the rocks tilted.
Jump, come on, jump! I repeated to myself, watching intensely as it peered over the edge of the higher rock.
It was so precariously close that the stench of its foul, steaming breath stung my nostrils. A row of ferocious teeth loomed inches above my head, dripping shimmering strips of saliva.
Instinctively, I made my move, launching myself out over the frozen river. The ghaul's reaction was instant, its jaws snapping shut where I'd stood.
The world became a whirling maelstrom of noise, fur and teeth. The crashing rumble of boulders consuming a faint yelp, followed by the splitting sound of rupturing ice. A cloud of freezing dust blocked my sight as I awkwardly flared my wings and slammed into the frozen sea, sliding to a dazed halt.
My head spun and my ears rang as the rock and ice dust settled. From the din I heard something approaching at speed before suddenly colliding with my back. At first, I was terrified it was another monster, at least until a pair of wings wrapped around me, nearly knocking me to the ground.
"You're alive!" Risha yelled, releasing me from her grip.
I stumbled to my paws, stepping back to see her eyes blazing with relief. Two more shapes emerged from the dust plume, thankfully Boltock and Ember.
"That was amazing!" Boltock exclaimed, flaring his good wing.
It took a few seconds for my head to clear enough for me to realise the full extent of what had happened. The dusty gloom hid what remained of the cliff face, and surprisingly the ice hadn’t completely broken, although it was severely damaged in several places. My eyes settled on the ghaul’s crumpled body lying at the base of the collapsed mound. I cautiously nudged what was left of its head with my front paw, the subtle movement expelling a final whiff of its rancid breath.
My attention then moved to the cliff face, scanning every detail. There's certainly no way down now. Killing two birds with one stone. I thought with a hint of pride.
Then I noticed the line of eyes peering down at us. Five more ghauls judged the situation, the intensity of their menacing glares cutting through the air like knives.
At least they can't fly down either. I thought triumphantly. Though I wouldn’t put jumping past them if they're told.
Looking over the cliff face, I could see there was no sign of any other route down to the ice. Looking back at the pack, the lead ghaul appeared, its scars and collar making it instantly recognisable.
The dominant beast peered down, completely ignoring the others, a cloud of breath emerging with every one of its stomach-wrenching pants. I stepped back and it did the opposite, prowling up to the edge raising its head. The howl blasting from its mouth echoed for miles.
"We should go." I ordered as it lowered its head.
I turned to see Boltock and Ember ready to lead. Risha nodded and I was confident that, for now, the ghauls had no means of following. All they could do was watch us continue out to sea until, one by one they turned away and vanished into the forest.
*
For the next few hours, I periodically glanced back to the empty cliff, until the coast eventually vanished over the horizon, thankfully the ghauls were nowhere to be seen.
"It won't take them long to find a way down," Risha suggested, moving to walk alongside me.
"We'll be long gone by the time they do," I replied, turning my attention away from the increasingly small focal point.
The truth was, I had no idea how long it would take them to catch up again. For all I knew they were coming across the ice at that very moment.
Risha did a good job of hiding her underlying doubt, although I could tell she knew I wasn't sure about our situation.
"I–I'm just glad you're okay after that trick with the rocks, that's all," she admitted, lowering her head, appearing almost unable to look at me.
I struggled to understand. She knows about my healing, we talked about it. Her reaction had been similar to Ember's. But now she's shy. Why is this so confusing?
I was usually good at judging personalities. Perhaps the repetitiveness of recent days had blurred my senses. One thing that was clear, was that I still had little experience with my own kind.
My concentration was broken when a gust of freezing wind hit my snout, making my eyes water, the tears freezing seconds after they emerged. Black clouds gathered overhead, and the once bright, reflective ice dulled as the darkening sky concealed the sun. I peered out over the vast, icy wasteland, my limited view meeting an endless, white expanse in all directions, dotted by larger chunks of ice sitting like disfigured statues in the frozen desert. Each waved a trail of frosty dust from its tip, like a snake in the arctic wind.
The weather gradually grew worse. The wind's strength increased, turning the ground beneath our paws into a river of white dust, flowing like a torrent of water as it arched around our legs. Things grew darker still as night closed in, and the harsh environment consumed any warning signs we might have of our hunters' approach.
With the wind hammering at my scales I pressed on, forcing my eyes shut in a hopeless attempt to block out the cold. I raised my wing as a futile defence against the bitter onslaught, occasionally glancing back to the others. All three followed in a line behind me, only just visible through the storm and my narrowed vision.
Our progress became painfully slow, and the thought of giving up constantly crossed my mind, more so when I saw my friends struggling so much. After monsters and griffins, I wasn't about to let the fury of the elements beat me.
We can stop and wait out the storm. My mind insisted, only to be countered. Where? We're stuck in the middle of nowhere.
Another thought to cross my mind was that of my recent knowledge, recalling that dragons could control the weather. My theory evaporated as I woefully remembered that only those of the wind element could do so, and as far as I knew that was the only element not among us.
"We should stop!" Risha cried through the howling wind.
I looked to see they had all slowed even more, finally admitting to myself that she was right. That didn't change the fact that we’d nowhere to shelter.
"What do we do!?" she cried; her blue scales stained white by frost. "I can't stave off this much ice!"
I gazed into the white streams rushing across the ground, and battered by the roar of the wind, I began to doubt my leadership. Twice now I'd led my friends into deadly situations, but this time there really seemed to be no escape.
"I–I... I don't know!" I closed my eyes as my hope drained.
Even the roar of the wind wasn’t enough to block out the deep creaking sound that suddenly ravaged the ice. Risha and I exchanged strained glances when another deep groan bellowed, this time louder, as if the ice itself was in agonising pain. Before I knew it, the ground shook violently. Struck with fear and confusion I looked to the others, my gaze jumping from each pair of frightened eyes only just visible in the spinning shroud.
The ice shook again, but this time it didn’t stop. A sharp sound rang out as a deep crack ripped across the ground. With another tremendous shudder, the surface sank in front of us as huge geysers of air spewed out from beneath, the loud screams of escaping pressure adding to the howl of the storm. I watched helplessly as more of the ice ripped itself apart, breaking up and splitting into pieces that were drawn down into the hungry darkness of a newly yawning chasm.
More of the surface in front of us ruptured, vast chunks tilting upward like the teeth of a giant beast awakening from beneath the ice. The newly formed walls ground like shifting mountains as they slowly slid into the cavernous pit, and my paws began to slip when the whole ground beneath me began to tilt. Screams and yells met my ears as the walls grew steeper and I lost my footing. Sliding uncontrollably, I tried to dig in my claws, but the frozen surface refused to be broken.
Another deafening roar split the air and I frantically scanned the surface, fixing on the only thing I could see. Across the almost vertical icy wall was a frozen boulder. I regained my footing and bounded clumsily a
cross, grabbing the bastion of stability. A sudden tug at my side pulled me down, releasing my grip. Risha clung to my flank for dear life as I tried to steady our fall.
No, I must hang on! The more I struggled, the more hope slipped away.
Falling hopelessly out of control, the ice brushed past my almost numb tail, when the muscles instinctively contracted around another frozen boulder. I winced when my tail almost tore as it suddenly gripped and halted our descent with a painful jolt. While a final crack from the ice saw it grind to a halt, leaving us exposed on the vertical face.
Risha clung to my side, her claws digging into my scales. Shaking with shock and almost blinded by the storm, I peered down through the swirling murk, to see an open scar lined with precariously balanced sheets of ice torn open from the endless expanse. Thankfully, our anchor fell no further, while smaller blocks slid down into the depths with echoing clatters and rumbles.
"Are you okay!?" I shouted to Risha.
"I think so!" she replied, struggling to open her eyes.
She peered down, to where Ember was clinging to her webbed tail.
"Where's Boltock!?" she shouted.
"Down here!" a frail voice cried up from where he was latched onto the fiery-dragonesse’s tail.
Risha let out a noticeable sigh of relief. Meanwhile, the circumstances made it difficult for me to express the emotion in quite the same way. I turned to look up at the sheer ice face, its peak concealed by the storm. There was no way we were going to be able to climb, walk, or fly out. Exposed like this the maelstrom would surely freeze us in minutes.
"Blaze, what do we do now!?" Risha shouted, desperately trying to make her voice heard against the raging wind.
I take it this is still too much ice for her to manipulate? I thought hopelessly.
Collecting my thoughts for a minute, only one idea came to mind. The words were brief, nonetheless they flashed through my mind.
"If I am supposed to be a prophesised saviour, then in some way, if you're out there, please show me a way!" I called to the stormy sky.