When winter arrived it would reach far and wide with its icy breath, turning grasslands, forests, and mountains alike into frozen mirrors of their usual selves, clad in sheets of blue ice and garbed in mantles of white snow.
No different were the Hylands, blessed refuge that they were meant to be for the moon goddess's chosen people. Far above the clouds that governed the weather of the lands far below did both the mountainous crown and the huge valley it guarded succumb to the same beautiful yet deadly transformation of blue and white, the numerous sheets of ice and the mantles of snow sparkling brilliantly under the bright gaze of the warm sun during the day and the pale moon during the night.
Winter was always a time of trials and challenges, as reserves were stretched to the limit and even the simplest of tasks could be turned into life-threatening adventures. However, usually, these challenges were of a cold and emotionless nature: neither ice nor snow desired the death of those vessels of warmth and life that inhabited the lands, they simply came as winter did and left when spring arrived. That their presence could reduce that which moved and breathed into that which lay silent and motionless was merely fate, not malice.
But not all things that thrive in winter's grasp are without malice. As life and light were slowly driven out by death and dark some truly twisted and terrifying entities could be found wandering the land, reaping souls not through winter's might but through a cruelty much more vivid and intense than the grave's eternal promise.
Mizuki grunted as she heaved herself onto a small platform. Scaling the Hylands Ascent was always an adventure in and of itself. Close to the bottom, it wasn't that hard, as there were plenty of gentle paths and the weather was timid. But here close to the top the viable roads were scarce, narrow, and steep. At least the four of them hadn't encountered any earth elementals who might have objected to their intrusion, but even then she was pretty sure they'd have to take a break once they reached the top.
Turning around Mizuki kneeled and offered her hand to her lover and companion, the crimson lancer who went by the name Cleo Looker in this world. While she would never question the human's mastery of the arcane arts or her intellectual skills the reality was that Mizuki was better suited for this particular task, which is why she would be quick to grasp Cleo's hand with her own fur-clad paw and pull her partner up onto the platform with her.
Mizuki's packmates were also along for the ride, clearly having become more accustomed to the temporary transformation their pack leader gave them which allowed them to scale such hostile terrain. The first time she'd given them the claws and limbs needed to scale a mountain they'd been clumsier than even toddlers, but these days their agility and dexterity probably surpassed that of most inexperienced humanoid climbers, even if they still weren't entirely at ease with this environment.
Climbing the Ascent always meant having to spend at least one full day staring at a wall of stone which seemed to expand in every direction without limit: above, to the sides, and once you were far enough down as well. As if you were scaling the wall that formed the boundary of the known world. But the four of them had already come far enough that when they cast their gaze upwards they could see the mountain's expanse ending in jagged peaks, the smaller mountains that formed the crown of the Hylands.
Their reason for coming here was one of more urgency than what usually drove Mizuki: the Adventurers' Guild had received a request for help and a warning of an unusual threat. While winter's chill was always a threat one village had found that the nearby river had actually frozen solid, which was far beyond the norm. Furthermore there were claims of a strange fog covering the land, and some villagers hadn't been seen for longer than could be considered either normal or acceptable.
Mizuki's interest in the Hylands meant she was often the first to learn about any developments regarding the isolated land. While Cleo might not directly share her passion she knew that if people had actually gone missing Cleo's help was indispensable, and fortunately the lancer was willing to indulge the wildling's request.
@Cleo Looker
No different were the Hylands, blessed refuge that they were meant to be for the moon goddess's chosen people. Far above the clouds that governed the weather of the lands far below did both the mountainous crown and the huge valley it guarded succumb to the same beautiful yet deadly transformation of blue and white, the numerous sheets of ice and the mantles of snow sparkling brilliantly under the bright gaze of the warm sun during the day and the pale moon during the night.
Winter was always a time of trials and challenges, as reserves were stretched to the limit and even the simplest of tasks could be turned into life-threatening adventures. However, usually, these challenges were of a cold and emotionless nature: neither ice nor snow desired the death of those vessels of warmth and life that inhabited the lands, they simply came as winter did and left when spring arrived. That their presence could reduce that which moved and breathed into that which lay silent and motionless was merely fate, not malice.
But not all things that thrive in winter's grasp are without malice. As life and light were slowly driven out by death and dark some truly twisted and terrifying entities could be found wandering the land, reaping souls not through winter's might but through a cruelty much more vivid and intense than the grave's eternal promise.
Mizuki grunted as she heaved herself onto a small platform. Scaling the Hylands Ascent was always an adventure in and of itself. Close to the bottom, it wasn't that hard, as there were plenty of gentle paths and the weather was timid. But here close to the top the viable roads were scarce, narrow, and steep. At least the four of them hadn't encountered any earth elementals who might have objected to their intrusion, but even then she was pretty sure they'd have to take a break once they reached the top.
You all right Cleo?
Turning around Mizuki kneeled and offered her hand to her lover and companion, the crimson lancer who went by the name Cleo Looker in this world. While she would never question the human's mastery of the arcane arts or her intellectual skills the reality was that Mizuki was better suited for this particular task, which is why she would be quick to grasp Cleo's hand with her own fur-clad paw and pull her partner up onto the platform with her.
Mizuki's packmates were also along for the ride, clearly having become more accustomed to the temporary transformation their pack leader gave them which allowed them to scale such hostile terrain. The first time she'd given them the claws and limbs needed to scale a mountain they'd been clumsier than even toddlers, but these days their agility and dexterity probably surpassed that of most inexperienced humanoid climbers, even if they still weren't entirely at ease with this environment.
We're close to the top, at which point we can take a break before reaching the valley proper.
Climbing the Ascent always meant having to spend at least one full day staring at a wall of stone which seemed to expand in every direction without limit: above, to the sides, and once you were far enough down as well. As if you were scaling the wall that formed the boundary of the known world. But the four of them had already come far enough that when they cast their gaze upwards they could see the mountain's expanse ending in jagged peaks, the smaller mountains that formed the crown of the Hylands.
Their reason for coming here was one of more urgency than what usually drove Mizuki: the Adventurers' Guild had received a request for help and a warning of an unusual threat. While winter's chill was always a threat one village had found that the nearby river had actually frozen solid, which was far beyond the norm. Furthermore there were claims of a strange fog covering the land, and some villagers hadn't been seen for longer than could be considered either normal or acceptable.
Mizuki's interest in the Hylands meant she was often the first to learn about any developments regarding the isolated land. While Cleo might not directly share her passion she knew that if people had actually gone missing Cleo's help was indispensable, and fortunately the lancer was willing to indulge the wildling's request.
@Cleo Looker
