"In the genesis of every journey lies a pivotal moment, whether bathed in joy or shrouded in sorrow, a catalyst that molds the essence of one's being."
- Kail'is Iceheart
It was a very cold evening in the leader’s hut. The room bathes in silence as the tribe loses its leader from a battle that will never be forgotten. The walls are full of scriptures and carvings of their history, the Iceheart family. Kael wandered around the room looking at the weapons the tribe forged for battles, for hunts, and for survival. Kael found a passage at the end of the very room which he enters, revealing a long hallway into the darkness. Kael felt really cold entering the hallway, he was shivering cold as he walked slowly into the darkness.
He covered his eyes from the suddenly glowing object at the end of the room. He looked back and saw darkness as he thought to himself there is no turning back. Kael walked closer into the object revealing a glassy ice dagger blade floating on a pedestal and sending whispers across the room.
“Arash neraj, arash neraj kaja”. Kael looked around the room as there was someone whispering right into his ears. “Who’s there?” Kael asked with a stuttering voice even panicking. “Arash neraja, arash neraj kaja”. The whispers suddenly become louder and louder as Kael walks closely to the pedestal.
“Pick it up”. Someone whispered with a powerful voice with Kael suddenly holding onto the blade unconsciously. “Who’s there?!” Kael swung the blade violently around him as the pedestal strays further from him. Kael looked at his hand seeing the cursed blade glowing in ice blue. “When did I-” Explosions occurred from the outside as he rushed at the other end of the hallway.
“He is not ready yet”.
Kael rushed outside only to see his tribe under attack by raiders holding a black flag with a yellow star so called the "sun". He was attacked by a man holding a mace and smacked him right into his abdomen forcing him into a wall. Kael picked up his blade and stabbed the man right into the man’s throat and pulled it away with blood on his face.
“You mongrels! I will avenge my people!” Kael rushed to the raiders with pure anger, stabbing and slicing their leg off one by one and blood spilled everywhere on the snowy floor. The music intensifies as Kael goes through a killing spree killing everyone on his sight and eventually halting as he sees an armoured man with a greatsword looking menacingly at him.
Kael rushed to him swinging his blade violently and randomly at the man, but the man was unfazed and instead swung his greatsword and severely wounded Kael immobilising his right arm. Kael screams in pain as he foresaw a sword piercing through a woman’s chest. Kael picked up his blade and looked at the man.
“Puny tribesmen. The might of the Dragonknight will dominate Crionix!” The man swung his sword with Kael barely dodging it. Kael swung his blade and stabbed the man’s leg but it only shattered and the man kicked him in the face. Kael is severely wounded and he tries to sit up but his broken bones keep him immobilised. The man walked into a hut and picked up a woman who is Elara, Kael’s mother– stabbing her right unto her heart with a greatsword.
“NOOOOOOOOO!” Kael yelled with such anger and got up and immediately rushed to the man, picking up his blade once again glowing bright, slicing into the man’s neck. “You–!” Kael stabbed the man many times as he grieves in pain of losing his mother. A loud roar was heard and he immediately looked upon the sky seeing a large ice drake covering the clouds.
“It’s Theriritas, I must flee already”.
Kael fled his town and climbed up on a snowy hill and looked at the view covered in dark clouds. The clouds disappeared later on revealing the ice drake destroying his town and freezing many raiders and tribesmen with its shivering breath.
As the town pyre dwindled to a smouldering heap of ash, Kael found himself drawn to the edge of the snowy hill, his heart heavy with grief and his mind clouded with memories of happier times. The biting chill of the frozen wasteland clawed at his skin, but he paid it no mind as he trudged into the desolate expanse, his footsteps echoing in the eerie silence of the night.
With each step, memories of his parents flooded his mind—flashes of laughter and warmth amidst the icy wilderness of Crionix. He remembered the way his father's eyes would light up with pride as he taught Kael the ways of their people, and the gentle touch of his mother's hand as she comforted him in times of sorrow.
But now, their voices were silent, their faces nothing but ghosts of the past. And as Kael stumbled through the snow-covered landscape, the weight of his loss threatened to crush him beneath its icy grip.
Falling to his knees in the snow, Kael cried out in anguish, his voice echoing into the frigid night.
"Why?" he demanded, his words lost to the wind. "Why did you take them from me? What have I done to deserve this pain?"
But the frozen wasteland offered no answers, only the cold embrace of the night and the distant howl of the wind. And as Kael cursed the world for its cruelty, he felt a flicker of something deep within—a spark of anger and defiance that refused to be extinguished.
Kael found himself face-to-face with a tribesman unlike any he had encountered before. The man's eyes bore into Kael with a fierce intensity, his stance rigid with hostility as he brandished a crude weapon.
But as the tribesman drew near, a strange sensation washed over Kael—a vision, fleeting yet vivid, of a man being praised by his peers. Clutching his head in pain, Kael stumbled backward, his mind reeling with confusion and uncertainty.
To his astonishment, the tribesman's hostility seemed to evaporate like frost beneath the midday sun. With a solemn nod, the man gestured for Kael to follow him, his movements fluid and purposeful as he led the way into the depths of a nearby cave.
Inside, the air was thick with the scent of herbs and smoke, and the sound of chanting filled the cavernous chamber. Kael watched in awe as the tribesman tended to his wounds with skill and precision, his touch gentle yet firm as he worked to ease Kael's pain.
As the healing herbs took effect and Kael's vision cleared, he found himself filled with a newfound sense of gratitude toward his enigmatic saviour. In that moment, amidst the darkness of the cave and the echoes of ancient rituals, Kael realised that perhaps not all strangers were to be feared—that sometimes, even in the harshest of environments, kindness and compassion could still be found.
Amidst the hypnotic dance of flickering torchlight, the tribesmen chanted in unison, their voices rising and falling in a mesmerising rhythm as they paid homage to their deity, Hual'kan, the God of flames.
"May the flames of Hual'kan guide us through the darkness," one of the tribesmen intoned, his voice reverberating off the cavern walls.
"Grant us strength in our time of need," another added, his words filled with a fervent devotion.
But amidst the fervour of their prayers, Kael stood apart, his brow furrowed in confusion as he watched the ritual unfold.
"What is this?" he whispered to himself, his voice barely audible above the chanting.
Sensing his uncertainty, one of the tribesmen approached him, his eyes alight with fervour. "Join us, brother," he urged, his voice resonating with conviction. "Let the flames of Hual'kan cleanse your soul and light your path."
Kael hesitated, his gaze darting between the tribesmen and the dagger in his hand. "I... I don't understand," he confessed, his voice tinged with uncertainty. The tribesman's expression softened, his eyes filled with understanding.
"All will become clear in time, brother," he reassured, his voice gentle yet resolute. "Trust in the wisdom of Hual'kan, and he will show you the way."
With a nod of gratitude, Kael turned away, his mind ablaze with questions and doubt. As he wandered through the cavern, his fingers brushed against the familiar hilt of his dagger, a silent reminder of the choices that lay before him. And as he grappled with the weight of his decisions, he knew that the path he chose would shape the course of his destiny for years to come.
As Kael wandered in search of answers amidst the eerie silence, a figure emerged from the shadows—a woman whose presence seemed to illuminate the darkness around her. Her eyes, a piercing blue that mirrored the icy depths of Crionix itself, held a hint of curiosity as she approached Kael with cautious steps.
"What are you doing here?" the woman asked, her voice soft yet firm, betraying a hint of suspicion. Kael started at the sound of her voice, his hand instinctively tightening around the hilt of his dagger.
"I... I'm looking for my belongings," he stammered, his gaze darting nervously around the cavern. The woman's eyes narrowed slightly, as if she could sense his unease.
"Your belongings?" she repeated, her tone laced with scepticism. "And what brings you to this place, alone and unarmed?"
Before Kael could respond, the woman stepped closer, her presence commanding yet strangely comforting. "I am Eira," she introduced herself, her voice carrying a note of authority. "Eira Frostborne. And you are?"
Kael hesitated, unsure whether to trust this stranger with his name. But something in Eira's demeanour put him at ease, a sense of familiarity that he couldn't quite place.
"I am Kael Winterbourne," he replied at last, his voice steadier than before.
A flicker of recognition flashed across Eira's face, her eyes widening with surprise. "Winterbourne?" she echoed, her voice tinged with disbelief. "You're the one they found wandering in the snow, aren't you? The one the tribesmen brought here?"
Kael nodded, his mind racing with questions.
"Yes, that's me," he confirmed, his curiosity piqued. "But how did they find me? And why did they bring me here?"
Eira regarded him thoughtfully, her gaze searching his face for answers. "I'm not sure," she admitted, her tone tinged with uncertainty.
"But whatever their reasons, it seems they believe you have a part to play in their rituals. A role that may be more significant than you realise."
As Kael pondered Eira's words, a sense of unease settled over him—a feeling that the events unfolding around him were far more complex than he could ever have imagined. And as he looked into Eira's eyes, he knew that their fates were intertwined in ways he could scarcely comprehend.
Kael and Eira walked in silence, their footsteps echoing softly against the ancient stone. The air hung heavy with an unspoken tension, each step bringing them closer to the heart of the tribe's rituals. As they traversed the winding passageways, Kael's mind buzzed with the weight of his secret, the burden of his visions pressing down upon him like a heavy cloak. With a hesitant glance at Eira, he knew he could no longer keep the truth hidden.
"Eira," he began, his voice breaking the silence like a crack in the ice, "there's something I need to tell you. Something about me, about... my visions."
Eira's gaze flickered with curiosity, her expression guarded as she regarded him. "Visions?" she repeated, her tone betraying a hint of scepticism.
"What do you mean?"
Kael hesitated, the words catching in his throat as he struggled to find the right way to explain. "I've been seeing things," he confessed, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Flashes of the future, glimpses of events yet to pass." Eira's brow furrowed in confusion, her eyes searching his face for any hint of deception.
"And you're just now telling me this?" she asked, her voice tinged with disbelief. Kael shook his head, a pang of guilt gnawing at his conscience. "I didn't know who to trust," he admitted, his words heavy with remorse. "But now, with you... I felt I had to tell someone."
As they continued their journey through the labyrinthine corridors of the cavern, Eira fell silent, her thoughts racing like a blizzard in her mind. The revelation of Kael's visions left her reeling, her scepticism warring with a growing sense of unease.
"Kael," she began at last, her voice tinged with uncertainty, "I don't know what to make of this. But if what you say is true, then we must proceed with caution. The tribesmen's motives are unclear, and the path ahead is fraught with danger."
Kael nodded in agreement, a flicker of determination igniting in his eyes. "I understand," he replied, his voice firm with resolve.
"We'll watch each other's backs, Eira. No matter what."
“Huh?” Eira was left confused and instead entered her room and closed the door.
As Kael watched Eira's retreating figure disappear into the shadows of the corridor, a sense of unease settled over him like a heavy blanket of snow. He had expected her to react with scepticism, perhaps even disbelief, but her response had left him feeling more isolated than ever.
With a heavy sigh, Kael turned away from Eira's closed door and made his way deeper into the cavern, his thoughts swirling like snowflakes in a winter storm. As he climbed higher and higher, the air grew colder, the sound of his own breath echoing in the empty silence of the cave.
Finally, he reached the top, where the cavern opened up into a vast chamber that seemed to stretch on for miles. And there, suspended from the ceiling like a frozen jewel, hung a massive iceberg, its edges shimmering in the dim light like shards of crystal.
As Kael approached the iceberg, a sense of awe washed over him at the sheer magnitude of its size and beauty. But beneath the surface, a feeling of unease lingered—a sense that this towering monolith of ice was not as stable as it appeared.
With cautious steps, Kael circled the iceberg, his eyes scanning its surface for any signs of weakness. And then, he saw it—a hairline crack running along its edge, barely visible to the naked eye but unmistakable in its significance.
As he reached out to touch the ice, a rumble echoed through the chamber, the sound reverberating off the walls like a warning. With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, Kael realised that the iceberg was on the verge of collapse.
With a surge of adrenaline coursing through his veins, Kael sprang into action, his movements swift and sure as he scrambled to find a way to shore up the iceberg's crumbling edge. With each passing moment, the ice groaned and creaked beneath his weight, threatening to give way at any moment.
In the cavern's zenith, where the frigid air held secrets whispered by ancient stones, Kael's ascent was a solitary pilgrimage, his thoughts a tempest of uncertainty amid the icy silence. There, atop the world's frozen crown, visions seized him with the ferocity of a desert storm, painting a tableau of impending doom upon the canvas of his mind.
Before him, a woman, her features veiled in shadow, fled with the desperation of a hunted creature, her footsteps a frantic rhythm upon the icy floor. Behind her loomed a figure cloaked in darkness, a spectre of menace and malice that pursued her with unyielding determination. And in the wake of their tumultuous flight, a once serene place erupted into chaos, the detonation of violence tearing through the stillness with a force that reverberated through the very soul of Crionix. As the vision released its grip upon him, leaving Kael gasping for breath and grappling with the harrowing reality of what he had witnessed, a sense of foreboding settled over him like the sands of time shifting in the desert winds. He knew that the future he had glimpsed held dire consequences, and that the weight of preventing the impending tragedy rested heavy upon his shoulders.
With resolve as unyielding as the bedrock beneath his feet, Kael descended from the cavern's lofty heights, his mind ablaze with thoughts of the woman in his vision and the cataclysmic event that threatened to engulf them all. In the crucible of Crionix's icy embrace, he understood that the sands of fate were shifting, and that the survival of his people and the salvation of their world depended upon his ability to decipher the cryptic messages hidden within his visions, and to act with swift and decisive purpose before it was too late.
To Be Continued...
Replies
Holy cow. Wow. Also, this feels very dune inspired