Tower of Thorns Tower of Fangs Volume 4 The White King chapter 5

 

Volume IV  The White King

ARC I  THE LAND OF ETERNAL WINTER

Chapter 5  Frozen Memories

The farther north they traveled the quieter Moon became. At first only Toivo noticed. Then Gret. Then Kev. Moon had never been talkative. The celestial god often spent entire days speaking only when necessary. Silence suited him. It always had. But this was different. This silence felt heavy. Distracted. Like someone listening to a distant voice nobody else could hear. The frozen forests stretched endlessly around them. Ancient pines covered snow-covered hills. Frozen rivers glittered beneath pale sunlight. The Frost Death Reapers continued their silent escort ahead. Always visible. Always distant. Never interfering. Yet somehow always present. The days passed peacefully.Too peacefully. Even the monsters avoided them. As though the White King's servants had declared them untouchable. Toivo should have been happy. Instead worry slowly settled inside his chest. Because Moon looked increasingly lost. The first sign appeared three days after meeting the Reapers. The group stopped beside a frozen waterfall. Thousands of icicles hung from towering cliffs like crystal spears. The sight was beautiful. Almost unreal. Toivo and Gret prepared lunch. From a small black cat Kev had transformed into his human form. Pale skin. Short red hair. Crimson eyes. He sat atop a boulder lazily tossing small stones into the snow. Moon stood near the waterfall. Alone. Watching the frozen water. For a very long time. Long enough for Toivo to notice. Long enough for Gret to notice. Long enough for Kev to stop pretending not to notice. Moon eventually reached out. His fingers touched the ice. Then he smiled. A small smile. Soft. Almost nostalgic. The expression vanished immediately. But Toivo saw it. And for some reason that bothered him more than anything. Because it wasn't a smile meant for the present. It belonged to a memory. Later that evening the fairies behaved strangely. The tiny winged creatures gathered around Moon in larger numbers than usual. Hundreds. Perhaps thousands. They surrounded him in glowing silver spirals. Like stars orbiting a forgotten moon. Moon sat quietly beside the campfire. Jet-black eyes reflecting the flames. The small winged fairies made of light drifted around him. One landed upon his shoulder. Another settled in his long black hair. Several rested in his lap. They looked almost protective. As though comforting him. Toivo sat nearby sharpening Frostfang. Though his attention remained entirely elsewhere. Moon eventually lifted one hand. A fairy landed upon his finger. The celestial god stared at it silently. Then whispered something. Too quietly to hear. The fairy glowed brighter. For a moment Moon's black eyes turned silver. Pure silver. Like moonlight reflected upon water. Then they returned to black once more. The sight sent a strange ache through Toivo's chest. He couldn't explain why. Only that it hurt. The next morning things became worse. The group crossed an ancient road buried beneath centuries of snow. Broken statues lined both sides. Dozens of them. Perhaps hundreds. Frozen kings. Forgotten warriors. Lost saints. Most had long since crumbled. Only fragments remained. Moon stopped walking. The fairies fell silent. The Frost Death Reapers ahead paused too. Toivo noticed immediately. Moon stood before one particular statue. A young man. Beautiful. Handsome even in ruin. The statue's face had been destroyed by time. Yet something about it seemed familiar. Moon stared at it for several moments. Then quietly brushed snow from the broken stone. His expression became distant. Sad. Almost painfully so.

Toivo approached carefully.

"Moon?"

The celestial god blinked. As though waking from a dream. Then calmly stepped away. Nothing was explained. Nothing was said. But Toivo noticed the Frost Death Reapers watching. The female spear wielder lowered her eyes. The giant halberd warrior looked away entirely. As though even they found the moment difficult. 

That night Toivo finally asked Gret. The giant Northman listened quietly. Then sighed.

"I've seen warriors look like that before."

Toivo frowned.

"Like what?"

"Men returning home."

The answer confused him.

"That doesn't make sense."

Gret stared into the fire.

"It does."

The old warrior's voice softened.

"Sometimes a place remembers you."

The crackling fire filled the silence.

"Sometimes you remember it."

Toivo looked toward Moon. The celestial god sat beneath a pine tree surrounded by fairies. Alone. Again. Gret followed his gaze. Then added quietly:

"And sometimes those memories hurt."

Toivo didn't sleep well that night. The dreams began shortly after midnight. Snow. Endless snow. A frozen forest beneath silver moonlight. Someone laughing. A voice. Warm. Familiar. Then another voice. Moon's voice. Young. Happy. The sound felt impossible. Toivo had never heard Moon laugh like that. Never. The dream shifted. A frozen lake. Two figures standing upon the ice. One wore white. The other wore silver. Both smiling. Both young. Both looking at each other as though the rest of the world didn't exist. Then everything shattered. Ice broke. Snowstorms screamed. The figures vanished. Toivo woke suddenly. Breathing hard. The camp remained quiet. Everyone slept. Everyone except Moon. The celestial god stood alone beside the frozen lake nearby. Moonlight illuminated his pale skin. His long black hair drifted softly behind him. The fairies circled overhead like a living constellation. For a moment Toivo thought Moon looked lonely. Not the loneliness of being alone. Something deeper. The loneliness of losing something irreplaceable. Someone irreplaceable. Moon slowly lifted his gaze toward the northern horizon. Toward the lands still waiting ahead. Toward the White King's domain. Then for the first time since entering Everfrost Moon whispered a name. So softly that only the night heard it. Only the snow. Only the stars. Toivo couldn't make out the words. But he saw the expression. And somehow that was worse. Because Moon looked heartbroken. The sight lingered in Toivo's mind long after he returned to sleep.

Far away beyond mountains and frozen forests inside a castle carved from eternal ice the White King sat alone before a crystal window. Snowstorms danced outside. His silver-blue eyes remained fixed upon the distant south. Toward the place where Moon traveled. Toward the place where old memories walked once more. The ruler of Everfrost slowly closed his eyes. And for the first time in centuries he dreamed. Not of kingdoms. neither of wars nor of power. But of a young celestial with long black hair. Smiling beneath summer sunlight. A memory frozen in time. A memory neither frost nor centuries could erase. Because some wounds never healed. And some hearts never forgot.