Cavad stood next to Vüsal's yurt, his eyes and senses out, looking over the ?ar as they went about their day. The day was brisk, and a sharp breeze blew over the busy people, but the mood was high; they'd descended for the ?u?t-at, the ram's fall, and were preparing for the celebration at the end of the warmer season. Already, ?u?tan were being shorn for their wool, which was then dyed and woven into bright cloaks, to signify their thanks for the gifts the ?u?tan have given them. Cavad's post at this time, like any other warm time of the year, was more a formality than anything else. Nobody expected anything to happen today. Had their ?adar acted as soon as the screams began, maybe they'd have been able to defend more people as they fled.

  When it started, it was like a switch was flipped: calm cheer turned to horror as magic flames flew across the ground to swallow the b?wan and ?arc?aban, the ?u?tan and the ?uc?a?ran, and even the children, their eyes rolling back from the mind-swept flames. In moments, the majority of the ?ar was swallowed by the memory of flames, and before the ?arc?aban could solidify their reality, the enemy- raiders, painted black-and-red- swept in like they were possessed, adding their screams to the chaos.

  Cavad roared his challenge and ran forward with his hatchet, trying his best to stem the tide, but for every demon he struck down, two more took their place, until he was defending as if his life depended on it, desperately shielding himself from the endless rain of blows that battered his arms and back.

  Then his ?adar stepped out of the yurt, and cast the whole field in silence. Not a sound could be made, nor body could move, while he held them in his sway; his thoughts were being made reality, and his thoughts were not kind. Vüsal pulled out a shard of lightning-touched bark, held it above his head, and, with a river of mana, the whole field burned white-

  Cavad was gently shook awake. He swung his arm out on instinct, and heard an oof. He opened his eyes to Saul massaging his chest, wincing.

  "Sorry! Oh my- are you hurt?" Saul could feel Cavad's embarrassment without even reaching into his mana sense.

  Saul shook his head and raised his brow, sending his calm at Cavad. Words couldn't suffice, so emotions would have to do.

  Cavad relaxed, relieved, before getting up to take his turn at the fire. Saul laid down after taking a moment to catch his breath.

  It took a while for Saul to finally go to sleep; he spent a while just finding a position where his new feathers wouldn't bother him while he slept.

  Then Cavad was alone with his thoughts. Their camp for the night was in the shadow of one of the only trees above the treeline; he could see the view for miles, the forest stretching out to the horizon. He could almost see the fort from here, though it was covered by the last edge of trees.

  It was a view like this that calmed him before, when he was out on hunts. His mind kept turning back to the dream, to Vüsal, to their many years of peace brought to a sudden, jarring halt by the ?a?s?as-?u?s?. Why did they attack now, of all times, and why on such large a scale? And that's apparently not enough for them?

  Hiday?t didn't give him much more information than "Get the estimated time of arrival and number of raiders, and escort Saul to the destination." Had Cavad never been there, and never saw the pillar of golden flames firsthand, he'd have thought it was a cruel joke.

  Who knows. Maybe the gods were having their fun at our expense. As long as we end up alive at the end of this. ?rad?, for all her abrasiveness, was still a part of the team. He would need a partner when they traveled the mountainous portion of the journey; a second perspective was necessary.

  Cavad pulled his jacket tighter around himself at an errant gust of wind. Today would be cold, and possibly there would be snow flurries, if not a blizzard.

  He settled in with his back to the flames, and tried to think happy thoughts: He thought of their ?ar, and how they'd be celebrating a delayed ?u?t-at sometime this month.

  The time passed quickly with his thoughts on something brighter than the present.

  ---

  "You need to boil it more."

  "If I do, then the jerkey'll be mush!"

  "Better mush than chewy. What kind of soup has leather in it?"

  Saul woke to the sound of ?rad? and Anna chatting over a boiling pot of water.

  Anna turned and smiled at him. "Morning, ?adar."

  "Morning, Anna. How was your rest?"

  "My night was quiet, and I woke to a lit fire, so my morning was better." She turned to ?rad?. "You never greet us after morning. Why is that?"

  ?rad? shrugged. "We are here, we are together, and we are awake. Need I acknowledge what is clearly true?"

  Anna chuckled. "The one thing that never changes is your prickly personality, ?rad?. I hope your morning was good."

  Cavad looked back from his perch at the rest of them. "It's time we head out, the weather is turning foul. I'd expect a blizzard in the afternoon."

  ?rad? nodded. "Let's be off, then. We can chat on the way, yeah?"

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  And so they broke camp, and set off up the slope. Here, there was a light dusting of snow on the ground, but they had the feeling it would be much deeper come nightfall.

  Saul didn't slow down their pace at all now, so they made good time trekking through the rocky slopes. The grey sky already looked gross in Anna's opinion, but they could feel the breeze nipping at their ankles, as the weather began to turn to something more wet.

  Anna struck up a conversation with Cavad while they walked, and he was happy for the distraction. Saul and ?rad? took up positions at the front, keeping an eye out for any animals they could come across, so Anna took advantage.

  "Hey, Cavad, can you do any cool magic?"

  "You mean, can I cast spells?" His thoughts strayed back to his dream that morning, with Vüsal. "I can cast but small fakes; nothing substantial as a ?adar can."

  Anna nodded. "I can't either. It looks hard! How do they make the things they create do what they want?"

  Cavad chuckled. "It's a matter of will. If you will a memory to do what you want, then it will happen."

  Anna frowned. "If it was so easy to do, then why don't other people do it?"

  "Because it requires a great will, or a powerful dream."

  Anna nodded, and they talked about lesser things until their first break.

  Saul wanted to opt for an early break, but his escorts disagreed, pointing out the blizzard that's likely hitting them before nightfall, and Saul relented.

  They continued to hike on through a progressively colder climate. ?rad? hummed a little tune to herself while they walked, and Saul caught it. It was a tune his master used to sing when he'd cook. He started humming with her, and ?rad? paused in surprise. A human knowing her culture was not something she'd ever anticipated.

  ?rad? almost asked Saul in demonic if he knew the song, before she stopped herself. What a strange thing this human is, she thought.

  Other than Anna spotting a white fox, they didn't encounter anything of note until their afternoon break.

  The mountains that used to sit on the backdrop were now larger than life; they could see the white caps, and almost could spot some winged creature moving around at the ceiling of the world.

  Their break was in a semi-comfortable spot: there was a little divot in the earth where a boulder was moved recently that served as a windbreak.

  Cavad recommended them to put on their outer jackets, and everyone agreed. The shoes were a nonstarter, now that they were walking on snow and rocks.

  Cavad spent most of the break sharpening his knife, his eyes watching the rocks for any sign of the predators he remembered. Wolves, white bears, cougars, and whatever creatures that came to soak up the mana-rich air were common so high up. Emphasis on were, in this case. He didn't have trouble hunting for his ?ar down around Linwood, but up here, animals were surprisingly scarce for this time of the season.

  ?rad? caught his look. "You worried about it too?"

  Cavad nodded too. "When I was with Anna, I didn't think about it, but we haven't come across much game at all. It's strange how quiet the animals are here. Perhaps they seek shelter ahead of the storm?"

  ?rad? frowned. "The storm bugs me as well. It's out of season, isn't it?"

  Cavad shook his head. "Not if its being driven by something. I remember seeing storms like that during the past few ?u?t-at."

  "... And you're saying the storm heading over us is surrounding something?"

  "I'm trying not to think about mythical creatures I haven't seen in my lifetime, thanks."

  ?rad? chuckled nervously. "Then let's find a hole to shelter in before we get caught with out pants down."

  Cavad let the others know that this break would be brief to not get caught in the storm, and Saul agreed. They headed out, but this time, they spread out a bit, looking for a cave or deep overhang that could provide some shelter from the driving winds that would be in their near future.

  This is where Cavad's experience bore fruit: Within thirty minutes from the front of the storm, they found a suitable opening. The size of the shelter was five Sauls long, and two tall, and the roof was made from what looked to be two slabs of rock leaning against each other. The entrance was small enough that Cavad had to squeeze in, but they could all sit relatively comfortably inside.

  Anna rose her brow at Cavad. "How'd you find this hole anyways?"

  "There are some creatures that make homes like these to hibernate in when the winter comes; I simply like to take advantage of their habits."

  Anna's eyes shone. "You mean there's a chance we could see what made this home?"

  ?rad? looked at Cavad, then back to Anna. "Well, hopefully not. They aren't exactly friendly."

  Anna just shrugged. "Well, another thing that hopefully won't happen. I'll add it to my list."

  ?rad? chuckled. "It seems I'm wearing off on you. I don't think I like it."

  "You seem to dislike a lot of things. What things do you like?"

  "Sweets, treats, and song. Dawn on a warm day. I'm quite partial to birds."

  "So you *do* sing! Could you sing us a song?"

  ?rad?'s brow rose, though she seemed embarrassed. "Maybe when the weather masks my voice, but sound carries far in the mountains."

  "But we're in a cave... maybe you're too shy to sing." Anna gave her a sly look.

  ?rad? frowned, then chuffed. "Fine. If the mountain wakes and falls on us, don't blame me."

  She paused for a moment, searching her memory for a fitting song, then began a slow, haunting tune.

  ---

  Past frozen shores, out o'er the land,

  Snow-fallen hills, winter's hand creeps,

  What was, what is, what's here, what sleeps?

  Life's breath, but still, a mem'ry untold.

  What was, now is, what's here, what sleeps?

  Life's breath, reborn, a mem'ry remade.

  Sun's morning gasp, white turns from light,

  Green-laden hills, winter's hand flees.

  What was, what is, what's here, what sleeps?

  Night's breath, but still, a mem'ry untold.

  What was, now is, what's here, what sleeps?

  Night's breath, reborn, a mem'ry remade.

  ---

  ?rad? opened her eyes to three pairs of eyes staring back at her. "...Well?"

  Anna was the first to speak. "That was... beautiful. I was captured by the beat of your words. Is there more to it?"

  ?rad?'s brow rose. "There is more to it, but I'd rather not bring so much attention to us; caves have a way of making small sounds loud."

  "I'll have to bug you for the rest of it, when we get the chance."

  Saul sat back against the wall of the cave, thinking back to when he was getting tutored by his master. Though his master had a penchant for music, he never heard a tune of that cadence.

  They were getting ready to settle down when blizzard began in earnest outside. Saul distributed popbush berries to the other demons while he and Anna clenched theirs between their hands, and thought of warmer times.

  The blizzard began before the sun fell past the horizon, so they could see a little bit out beyond the entrance, but not far; and, with the sky getting darker, soon it would be a challenge to even see their friends nearby.

  Friends? To ?rad?, the thought of making a new friend out here- especially one as young as Anna appeared- wasn't even a possibility originally. Maybe she was getting soft. She chuckled at the thought.

  The rest of the day went without anything of note, as the blizzard raged outside. They set up a normal watch (even though the odds of something walking into their little cave were abysmally low) with Cavad taking first watch, and Saul with the second.