Everything was set for the trap. The archers positioned themselves on the high ground, while the warriors with swords hid behind the rocks in front of the cave entrance. All that was left was to wait for the predator to emerge.
Oink-oink.
A sound echoed from deep within the cave. The male boar started to emerge. His instincts were well-honed, and he sensed danger. He began to look around cautiously, turning his head from side to side. He struck the snow with his tusks, emitting low growls. However, as he gradually moved away from the cave, stepping fully outside, an ice wall immediately formed behind him, blocking the entrance. Spinning around, he tried to break through, crashing into the ice. Cracks spread across it, but the ice held firm.
Arrows sliced through the air, aimed at the boar, piercing his hide, though only to a shallow depth. This only enraged the beast, and identifying the source of the shots, he snorted and charged forward. The warriors had laid a rope on the ground, and as the boar stumbled over it, he tumbled head over heels in the snow. The rope yanked with such force that it pulled the warriors holding it down as well, causing them to fall.
The archers continued to rain arrows upon the creature, embedding numerous shafts into its body. But still, it was unstoppable. Rising quickly from the ground, the boar charged at the warriors who had held the rope. They drew their swords, but the massive beast was undeterred, barreling toward them.
Kailen rushed to their aid, raising an ice wall in front of them. But the boar simply smashed through it without slowing down. Using an ice path, Kailen quickly approached the hunter who was in the boar's path and shoved him aside, taking the full brunt of the boar's charge. The powerful tusks drove into Kailen's abdomen and flung him high into the air.
His body landed several meters away. Kailen's head spun, and blood spurted from his mouth. His side throbbed with excruciating pain. He felt horribly weak as blood streamed from his wound. With sheer force of will, he conjured ice magic in his hand and pressed it to the wound, freezing it shut. Struggling, he rolled from his back onto his stomach and managed to get onto all fours, coughing up blood several more times.
His hearing became blurred, the sounds around him mingling together. He looked up at the battle and saw his comrades struggling to bring down the predator. Their swords struck the boar's hide, but only inflicted minor wounds. Kailen's eyes began to glow with a blue light as magic answered his call. The wind picked up, snow swirling into the air. He stood more steadily now, spreading his arms, with ice magic swirling in his palms. Countless ice spears formed in the air.
With a wave of his hand, the spears shot towards the beast with incredible speed. The spears pierced the boar's hide, spilling blood. The boar was covered in arrows and ice spears, yet it still fought on with its last bit of strength.
Kailen approached the still-living boar and, forming an ice sword, drove it through the creature's skull via the eye socket. With one final squeal, the beast went still. Kailen collapsed onto the snow, the glow fading from his eyes. Weakly, he clutched his abdomen, searching for his pouch.
"Here, drink this," said Yorund, helping him drink a healing potion.
"Ugh, where does such toughness come from? It would've made excellent armor, but the material is beyond salvage," Bjorne commented. He was limping slightly on his left leg. The boar had managed to kick his leg, and now it hurt too much to walk properly. "Good thing everyone's alive," he added, sitting down on a rock.
Kailen managed to recover a bit, but his side still ached. As he was regaining his strength after the fight, a menacing grunt suddenly echoed through the air. The female boar emerged from the cave. She was slightly smaller in size but no less dangerous.
"To arms!" shouted Bjorne, leaping to his feet.
Kailen, not wanting to be left out, also rose. Bringing his hands together, he began to channel his ice magic and immediately fired a freezing beam.
The ice encased the boar's front legs, causing her to collapse into the snow, struggling to get up but flailing helplessly.
"Pile on!" Bjorne bellowed. The warriors began striking at the boar's weak spots, and she gradually weakened, offering less resistance until she bled out. This battle was much easier; her hide wasn't as tough, and steel easily penetrated it.
Deciding not to leave the spoils behind, some of the hunters stayed back to butcher the carcasses, remove the tusks and hides, and set up camp: building a fire and preparing dinner. The rest ventured deeper into the cave, where it was quite dark, so they lit a few torches. The deeper they went into the cave, the colder it became. This was strange, as it was usually warmer inside than outside.
As they moved further in, they came across several animal bones, likely the boars' prey. Following the trail, they arrived at the boars' den. The area was filthy and had a strong, unpleasant odor. But the grunting of their offspring could be heard. The young were small, lacking the massive tusks, and their hides were not yet as tough. There were five in total, meaning the hunt had paid off.
Kailen felt a chill, which was unusual since even the coldest days didn't affect him. Here, however, he felt a distinct draft of cold. Following his instincts, he noticed the temperature around him was dropping significantly.
His search led him to a glowing corner, where numerous tiny ice crystals jutted out from the rocks. A biting cold emanated from them. When he touched one, he felt a tingling sensation on his palms.
"Amazing," he murmured. For the first time, he encountered something colder than his own magic.
He broke off one of the crystals, intending to show it to the others. As he held it, his hand began to be covered in a strange ice that he couldn't control.
"Kailen, where have you been? The food's ready, come eat," Yorund said as Kailen emerged. Everyone was now outside, eating meat roasted over the fire. The exhaustion from the battle was particularly palpable. The boars' bodies were covered with snow to prevent the scent from spreading.
"I found this ice," Kailen said, showing a small crystal. Most of the group thought it was just regular ice, but Bjorne immediately recognized the rare resource.
"That's True Ice," Bjorne said, his gaze fixed on the crystal.
"True Ice? Isn't that just a myth?" someone asked.
"No, this ice is so rare that finding it is a stroke of incredible luck. It's the very embodiment of Freljord's nature: its fury, its cold, and its death. Only the Frostguard have significant reserves of this resource," Bjorne replied, his eyes reflecting a mix of sadness and joy. "Where did you find it?"
"Deeper in, I felt cold air coming from there," Kailen answered, deciding to put the crystal down as it became difficult to hold.
"We don't know how to work with it. We don't have mages or smiths who can forge it into weapons; for the most part, it's useless to us," Bjorne said.
"Understood, but I'll take a few with me," Kailen replied. He wanted to study the crystal, hoping he might learn to control it.
"We'll stay in the cave overnight and head out in the morning," Bjorne announced.
The hunting party rested, satisfied with their successful mission. All that remained was to return to the settlement, where they could fully recover from the journey. The wounds on Kailen's abdomen healed quickly under the healer's concoction, leaving only one side effect—weakness and a heightened appetite.
Now, with the additional load on their sleds, their pace slowed significantly. One sled carried Tormir, covered with a cloth, another held the boar's hide, and the last one carried the offspring. Two people pulled each sled, while the others took turns.
By evening, they had only made it halfway along the Dragonspine Ridge. They had to camp on the slopes for the night. However, a problem arose: the young boars began to whimper pitifully. They were hungry, and the hunters didn't have the right kind of food for them. The boars couldn't eat meat yet and could only drink their mother's milk. This attracted the attention of mountain predators; the hunters could hear howls echoing from various directions.
"We need to quiet them down, or every predator in the area will come after us," Bjorne acknowledged.
"Maybe we can wrap their mouths with cloth? That might muffle the sound," Folkar suggested, tearing a piece of cloth and wrapping it around one of the young boars' snouts. Unable to open its mouth, the boar whimpered softly, but the sound was noticeably quieter.
"That won't solve the problem. They need food, and they might die if they don't get it," Bjorne said. The journey would take at least two more days.
"Let's make a broth from finely chopped meat. Maybe they'll be able to drink it," Folkar proposed.
"We can only hope it works, otherwise, we'll have to hope they survive the trip," Bjorne added.
The hunters followed through, preparing a soup. They fed it to the young boars. At first, the boars were reluctant to drink the liquid, but after a few moments—perhaps out of hunger or because they liked it—they began to consume it eagerly, which wasn't surprising. According to stories, these creatures were omnivores and could eat just about anything.
Having resolved their issues, they managed to camp for the night and set out again in the morning. After several hours, they successfully crossed the ridge, but now they faced a very difficult route ahead, made even harder by their load. They lengthened the ropes and increased the distance between the sleds by several meters. The free members tied themselves together and cleared the path. There were no landmarks here; the terrain was affected by strong winds that altered the landscape. While they safely navigated the path once, the next time could be the most dangerous route.
Fortunately, they encountered no problems and reached the bridge, which still stood there. Part of the chasm had already begun to fill in, and soon this gap would likely disappear again, posing a danger to travelers.
Kailen went ahead to check the bridge's stability. Adding additional supports underneath and reinforcing the ice on the bridge, they managed to safely cross to the other side.
Less than a day's journey remained until home, but they wouldn't make it by nightfall and would have to camp, waiting for dawn. Finally, they passed the last dangerous area, and familiar territory began. The home was closer and beckoned, yet they had to make one last camp.
This night, Kailen couldn't sleep at all. Stepping out of the tent, he relieved the patrolling hunter. Sitting on the snow, he took out a true ice crystal.
"So, what secrets do you hold?" he asked, looking at his reflection. The crystal was perfectly clear and reflected like a mirror.
Kailen's hands glowed; his magic began to interact with the crystal. The cold of the crystal intensified, but the youth didn't let go. His eyes shone blue. Whirls of magic began to lift snow. The wind, which had recently been gentle, became aggressive. Like a sword's edge, the wind began to cut through tree bark. The sky clouded over.
Kailen felt he could control the cold, but he hesitated, noticing how drastically the environment around him was changing. Ceasing his interaction, he saw a thick layer of ice around him, and all the nearest trees were stripped of branches and died in an instant. The air was as cold as his breath, freezing the space.
Deciding for himself that it wasn't worth pursuing further, he didn't know how much damage he could do to everything around him if he fully mastered this magic. Though he didn't admit it aloud, he was afraid of the power he could gain. It was ruthless, sending shivers down his spine.
Sighing, he looked up at the vast sky, as beautiful as his home, yet equally dangerous. He had heard countless legends about the gods, those who overthrew them, about the catastrophe that nearly destroyed their continent. Even wars that occurred before his birth. Just think of the War of the Three Sisters. Remember just two sisters who wanted to bring into their world a children of the Void, and only thanks to Lissandra was there invasion.
[GIF]
His contemplation was interrupted by a warmth that appeared near his hand. Looking down, he saw a boar rubbing against him.
"You know I killed your parents, right?" Kaylen asked. The beast said nothing, continuing to nuzzle his hand. It seemed hungry but remembered who fed it before and was now asking for more. Stroking the boar's head, Kaylen found some dried meat and gave it to him. "This is all I have."
The boar sniffed the offered food, licked it a little, then grabbed the entire piece with one bite and began eating with satisfied grunts. After the broth we gave them, they suddenly started eating everything we offered. Maybe it's some kind of survival mechanism? Kaylen thought.
"It's settled, I'll take you with me. Your name will be Dragal," Kaylen said. He then used cold magic to freeze a small patch of fur on the boar's head, turning it white.
Unable to sleep, the young man sat awake until morning. The group made one last push towards home, and almost reaching it, they met the sentinels. Taking the burden from the tired hunters, the sentinels accompanied them to the village. Moments later, they finally saw the fence of their home village and the smoke rising from the chimneys.
[GIF]
As they passed through the gates, people immediately began gathering, welcoming them. Kaylen was met by Ingun, who stood beside her mother. She ran up to him and hugged him tightly.
"I was worried," she said with a smile.
"I'm glad to see you too," Kaylen replied.
His gaze caught his parents waiting nearby. Letting go of Ingun, he approached his mother and saw deep concern in her eyes. She immediately examined his body, noticing the torn clothes around his stomach.
"Were you injured?" she asked anxiously, inspecting the area.
"It's okay, the journey wasn't easy," Kaylen replied. His mother only hugged him tightly in response.
Releasing her, he turned his gaze to his father, who simply placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Well done, son. You've brought honor to our village," he said.
"Where's Tormir?" came a hysterical cry from a woman.
All the villagers turned their eyes to Bjorn, who was holding a woman as she cried out her husband's name.
"Forgive us, we couldn't save his life," Bjorn said, averting his gaze.
The widow began hitting him in the chest with her fists.
"No, you're lying. He just fell behind and will catch up soon," she said, weeping, trying to deceive herself.
Deciding it was better to do it now rather than later, Bjorn approached the sled and, lifting the cloth, revealed Tormir's body with a frostbitten face. The woman screamed in anguish and collapsed beside her husband's body, crying loudly.
"What happened, Kaylen?" his mother asked.
"Bandits. They ambushed us; there were twice as many of them as us," Kaylen replied.
The joy turned to sorrow. They had lost another brave warrior. The village decided to bury him as soon as possible since the body had been in this state for many days. His body was carried to a high peak and placed on a bed made of wood. According to their traditions, they burned the bodies of the fallen so their souls could spread across the world and not linger, turning into vengeful spirits. If the gods willed it, the soul would be reborn and live again.
"You were a brave and strong warrior, Tormir. Your valor will not be forgotten, and your memory will live on in our minds," the chief said, setting the wood alight.
The fire roared to life, and the flames began consuming the fallen warrior's body. Ashes soared into the sky, carrying his soul away. The widow could only weep bitterly, for now she was left alone with her children. He had given his life for the future of his tribe, for with the new companions, there was a chance for a better future.