Volume IV The White King
ARC I THE LAND OF ETERNAL WINTER
Chapter 1 Into Everfrost
The frost arrived long before the snow. Toivo noticed it first. His blue eyes gazed at something. Not upon the ground. Not in the air. But inside his lungs. Each breath felt sharper than before. Colder. As though winter itself had begun creeping into his chest. Cold wind blowing on his short blond hair. The forests of northern Elyria stretched endlessly before them. Ancient pines covered distant hills. Silver rivers wound through valleys frozen beneath sheets of ice. The sky remained pale even at midday, sunlight weak and distant behind layers of gray cloud. It felt like another world. A world abandoned by spring. A world where winter had won. Toivo guided his marble horse along a frozen trail. The creature's smooth white body moved silently across snow-covered stone. Though shaped like a horse, it possessed no breath. No heartbeat. No warmth. Only Moon's magic animated it. Beside him rode Gret Ironwolf.
The giant blonde bearded Northman looked completely at home. Heavily muscular under warm clothing, Wolf-fur cloak. Runic armor. Massive greataxe resting across his shoulders. The old warrior breathed deeply.
Then smiled.
"The air tastes right."
Toivo laughed.
"It tastes like death."
"It tastes like home."
Gret's grin widened.
"There's a difference."
Toivo shook his head. He would never understand Northmen. Not completely. Ahead of them floated Moon's palanquin. A palanquin pulled by small, winged fairies made of light, using strands of magical silk. Morning sunlight filtered through silver curtains. Moon sat quietly inside. The celestial and an old deity of East Azura in his Child form. Long jet-black hair spilled over cushions like silk. The celestial god appeared no older than twelve. Yet even now he looked impossibly beautiful. Too beautiful. Toivo quickly looked away. Then immediately looked back again. Which only made things worse. Because Moon had noticed. Silver-black eyes lifted from the book resting upon his lap. Moon had jet-black eyes that would turn silver every now and then. Their gazes met. Toivo's blue eyes like the Northern clear skies. Toivo nearly fell off his horse. Moon blinked. Once. Then calmly returned to reading. Nothing else. No reaction. No comment. Toivo's ears turned red anyway. Gret noticed. Of course he noticed. The giant warrior hid a smile beneath his beard.
"You stare too much."
Toivo nearly choked.
"I do not."
"You do."
"I don't."
"You absolutely do."
Toivo glared.
Gret laughed. The sound echoed across the frozen hills. Inside the palanquin, Moon pretended not to hear them. Which somehow felt worse. Far above them, hundreds of tiny winged fairies made of light drifted through the air. Creatures of moonlight. Dragonfly wings made from living silver light. They pulled Moon's palanquin forward using strands of glowing celestial silk. Their tiny voices sounded like distant bells. Beautiful. Gentle. Otherworldly. The deeper they traveled north, the brighter the fairies became. As though responding to something unseen. Something waiting. Kev noticed it too. The black cat sat comfortably atop the palanquin roof. Green eyes that changes colour into red. Crimson eyes narrowed. Tail flicking slowly. Watching. Always watching. The former demon steward had spent most of the journey unusually quiet. A dangerous sign. Kev only became quiet when something bothered him. After several hours the landscape changed. The trees grew larger. Older. Stranger. Massive evergreens towered toward the sky like pillars supporting heaven itself. Their branches glittered beneath layers of frost. Ancient stone ruins appeared among the snow. Broken roads. Collapsed watchtowers. Forgotten monuments. Signs that civilizations once existed here. Long ago. Before being swallowed by winter.
Toivo rode beside Gret.
"Was it always like this?"
The giant warrior frowned.
"No."
"What happened?"
Gret's blue eyes drifted toward the horizon.
"No one knows."
The answer surprised him. Even Moon glanced up briefly. Gret continued.
"The old stories say winter wasn't supposed to reach this far south."
The wind howled across the hills.
"The White King changed that."
Silence followed. Nobody spoke his title lightly. Not anymore. Even hearing it felt strange. As though the land itself listened. Moon lowered his eyes. His expression remained calm. Yet something about him seemed distant now. Sad. The same sadness Toivo had seen whenever old memories surfaced. The same sadness he had witnessed when Moon spoke of his daughters. Or ancient friends. Or vanished kingdoms. The White King belonged to that category. A memory. One Moon never discussed. The road climbed higher. Snow deepened. The air grew colder still. Then suddenly all the fairies stopped. Every single one. The tiny creatures froze midair. Their wings still glowing. Their faces turned northward. Moon slowly closed his book. Kev stood. The black cat's fur bristled. Gret's smile vanished. Toivo gripped Frostfang instinctively. The world became silent. No wind. No birds. Nothing. Only silence. Then something enormous moved beyond the distant trees. A shadow. Far away. Too large to be human. Gone an instant later.
Toivo felt his stomach tighten.
"What was that?"
No one answered. Even Moon seemed uncertain. The fairies resumed flying. The wind returned. Yet the atmosphere had changed. Something had noticed them. Something ancient. Something watching.The group continued north. Toward the lands of eternal winter. Toward forgotten memories. Toward the White King. And high above the frozen wilderness, unseen eyes followed their progress through falling snow.
Waiting.
Patient.
Watching.
As they had for centuries.
The frost remembered.
And soon
so would they.
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