The Concept of a Heart-
Chapter Four-
Frozen Mountain

When the party started ascending off the valley and up the mountainside, the snow became shallower. But it also became windier. Xen was surprised how well the snowy shields held up at protecting them from this bitter cold Force. This must have been how the Guardians managed to survive such hostile environments. With that knowledge in mind, Xen felt steadily more confident that he would make it through this mission without too much of a hassle at all. Aerobolt also made a good point for using the Force of Fire to radiate warmth away from their bodies to help keep warm and melting snow in front of them without melting their snow shields. Xen felt a bit sorry that Aerobolt could not do it himself with his Bane of Fire, but Xen knew that walking behind him and the other two would help him.
Aerobolt estimated three days walking through these frozen mountains. Xen could not believe that their home was found so deep within these treacherous trials of tribulation. Even in the summer it snowed. And especially in the winter do the ridges get even more dangerous to cross. Aerobolt even said that day that they may have to take a new, safer route down into Empra instead of Thalda. The others agreed. It may take longer after getting out of the mountains, but at least they did not have to stay in the mountains quite as long. Xen was grateful for that idea.
The evening of the first day and the sun was hiding behind the tallest peak that sheltered Castla nu Craara’s western flank. In the darkened shadows of the foreboding mountains made Xen feel strangely lonely and isolated. He knew he was not and his companions were on either side of him, but he could not shake the feeling of loneliness and abandonment when the sun disappeared behind the mountains. Xen shook the thought out of his head. There can’t be any reason to feel that way could there? Yet Xen still longed for friendship and companionship. The mountains seemed to say that he could not prove he wasn’t alone. Xen wanted to tell them that his three companions were right there, but the mountains seemed o say, “That is not what we meant”. Xen could not understand why he was feeling this way all of the sudden. The intensity of that feeling was not even that bad, yet he could not pinpoint its origin. It was not until Aerobolt cursed ahead of him.
“Damn it!” he growled. Xen was shaken from his thoughts as he saw the hero looking straight up. Xen looked up and he saw two shadows of reptilian avian shapes above him circling the skies. “They are too active in the winter!” Aerobolt spat.
“What do we do?” Cloud said nervously.
“Try not to move much. With the snow in our fur, as long as we don’t move too much, we should blend right in,” Aerobolt said quietly and in such a tone that said “I told you so” to the previously reluctant apprentice.
Cloud nodded slowly. “O-okay…”
Xen felt something on his fur beginning to make him feel itchy. No not now! Now is not the time for that! He wanted to say to himself, but knew he should not almost too late. His muzzle was half open when the shadows fell on top of him suddenly. Did they seem bigger or was it just him? Xen fought back panic. He was overblowing this out of proportion wasn’t he? Xen had no way to tell for sure. He knew that looking up at this point would definitely give them away. He swerved his eyes towards Aerobolt, who held his head tilted slightly upwards. Touda had half buried himself in the snow. And Cloud stood there next to him with the same look of apprehension on his face as Xen thought he had.
The minutes ticked by and the longer they stood there, the more Xen’s heart beat strongly. He watched the lighting of his surroundings begin to dim and the shadows of the dactylons fade. He wanted so desperately to be safe, but the dactylons showed no signs of leaving. And then the worst thing happened. He felt a sneeze coming in. Xen gritted his teeth, determined not to let it out. But breathing in such bitter cold air made his nose intolerable. As he inhaled, he swallowed the impulse down and exhaled deeply. Too close. He turned his gaze to the skies a bit. The dactylons were still in the now pinkish orange sky. Didn’t Aerobolt or someone say that dactylons were not nocturnal? How come they were still here then!?
The skies turned purple. It was getting late, but still the all clear was not sounded. Xen was exhausted from standing up for so long. And hungry. Their hasty lunch of sandwiches did not go very far. Xen almost dared himself to attack the dactylons, but he knew that it took at least ten foxes to take down two dactylons. These monsters were absolutely tough. They were not sufficient enough to take one dactylon let alone two. All Xen could do was hope and pray that they would leave.
A shadow darted to his left. He looked up again and saw that there was only one dactylon in the sky. Had one spotted them!? No. It was too far to the left and over a large hillside several hundred yards away. It must have spotted prey. Good. It won’t be hungry enough to take him or the others. But what of the second dactylon? Still it circled overhead searching for its next meal. ‘Go away!’ Xen willed the monster. Still it swayed lazily overhead, taking no notice whatsoever of the dying daylight.
At least the second dactylon did not return. Must have flown home due to its fill. When the sky turned dark blue the dactylon screeched overhead. It sounded… almost melancholic. As if it were extremely disheartened by the fact it could not find food. Xen was almost shocked. These cruel birds have emotions? Xen would never have guessed. But eventually it did fly off. It left behind sounds of mournful and disappointed screeching. Wait. Or did its companion fall out of the sky, dead? Or BOTH? Xen did not care. As long as they left him and his companions alone. Finally the all clear was sounded from Aerobolt.
“That took forever…” Cloud complained, cracking stiffened bones in his back.
“Dactylons are more persistent in the wintertime, remember,” Aerobolt reminded him.
“I know… and I hate that!” Cloud complained again.
“Hey. At least they are gone. So Aerobolt. Where do we camp for tonight?” Touda asked.
“There should be a little overhang ahead we can use for shelter. It can’t be too much further ahead, now,” Aerobolt answered, pointing in front of them. It was there all right, about a hundred yards away.
“Good, because my paws hurt like crazy,” Cloud said, shifting uncomfortably on his feet as to emphasize what he just said. Xen nodded in agreement; his paws ached and longed for a rest.
“Just a little more then, Cloud. I don’t recall you being tired so quickly when you snuck out of Castla nu Craara as a cub with your sister,” Aerobolt said with a smirk. Cloud turned red.
“That was a long time ago!” He flustered.
“Six months was not that long ago…” Aerobolt countered.
“L-let’s just go already,” Cloud exclaimed, more flustered and impatient.
Aerobolt chuckled. “Alright then. Let’s move.”
The walk towards the overhang did not take long in reality, but Xen’s aching paws made it feel like an eternity. Each step he took was rather painful to make. Standing in one spot the way he did to hide from those dactylons took a toll on his paws. Stuck on frozen stone and ice, he wondered if they were actually frostbitten. Then he wondered the same about Cloud? He’d hate for them to have frostbite at a time like this. Then he sneezed for real this time. And a cold too? That would be terrible. But he was determined not to hold the group back.
The overhang was fairly low to the ground; setting up the tent was extremely difficult, especially in the dim light that Cloud provided with his Forces. Many times, Touda was cursing because the top of the tent kept scraping the stone on the roof of the overhang. Xen and Cloud both couldn’t help but smile at that. Xen had never seen Cloud smile before. He was pleasantly surprised when he saw the vulpine grin cross his face. He looked… almost cuter… smiling like that. Xen soon found himself shaking his head again. ‘Quit thinking about that and focus on the task in front of you idiot!’ he berated himself.
“Are you okay?” Cloud asked. “Why were you staring at me?” ‘Oh no! He noticed!’
“Oh um… I am just tired…” Xen replied uncomfortably. Cloud gave him a closer look that made Xen nervous then nodded. Xen wanted to change the subject. “Hey! Is the tent ready yet!?”
Touda was in no mood anymore. “It’ll be up when it is up, Xen!” he growled. Once again. No adequate answers. Typical Touda.
But Aerobolt elaborated. “It’s almost there! Just gotta get the damn thing tethered down! But doing this in this stone is arduous and annoying!”
It was pitch black outside by the time the tent was set up, and Xen could feel it. Crouching in the overhang, the snow shield on his coat was brushed off and he was fully exposed to the even colder nighttime on Myunae nu Eira. Such brutality made him wonder how the hell he was to sleep that night. But this was the price to pay for coming out here. He climbed into the tent first. It was set up all right. Four sleeping bags sat next to each other in the lantern that Touda lit after Cloud became too exhausted to sustain his own artificial lighting. It looked comfortable on appearance. But Xen knew the hard stone and cold air was much less to be desired. When he climbed into the sleeping bag on the end, he was surprised at how much warmer and softer it felt. And lying down after standing up for so long sent aching shockwaves through his spine that made him gasp out in pain.
“You all right, Xen?” came Aerobolt’s voice. “Did I set your bag on a stone?”
Xen’s voice was strained from the pain. “No. I was standing for much too long.”
“Ah… I know that feeling…” Aerobolt said. He climbed inside and got into the bag on the other end. “Time to get rest guys! Get in here!” he called to Cloud and Touda. Touda clambered in first rather clumsily. Xen felt apprehension rising in his throat like bile again. Was he going to have to sleep next to him? He hoped not. He relaxed and nearly breathed a sigh of relief when he went with the one right next to Aerobolt. So that meant he was to sleep next to Cloud that night. Xen liked that much more than Touda. He hated his mentor practically. He knew that Touda’s feelings were mutual. Cloud was a much better fox despite his somewhat haughty nature. But for some reason, Xen liked that about him. He could not explain why exactly. It did not take long for him to fall asleep with slight admiration for Cloud and contempt for his mentor on his mind.

Light filtered into the tent. Cloud turned over still half asleep. He wanted no interruptions of his last dream. But its images had already started fading. Cloud had a strange dream that night. It had involved him and Cloud, but he couldn’t exactly remember what they were doing together. He thought it was something like a training session or something. He could vaguely remember Aerobolt being there too.
Xen sat up and let the light penetrate his eyes. It was extremely cold after being in the warmth of the sleeping bag for so long. But oddly enough it did not bother him as badly anymore. He opened them to find that he was the last one to wake up. Suddenly nervous that he might have overslept, he jumped out of the tent gracelessly into the open. Touda was there preparing breakfast and Cloud and Aerobolt sat nearby talking.
“Did you really have that happen, Aerobolt?” Cloud asked, amazed by something.
Aerobolt nodded. “Indeed, Cloud. Storm was so shocked that he could not speak properly to me for a week!” he looked at Xen. “And there is the sleepyhead!”
Xen yawned. “Morning guys… What were you talking about?” he was curious despite feeling tired over it.
“When me and Storm were on a mission at the Sharra Cult with my apprentice, Eira. A rock fall nearly crushed Storm, and I had to save his tail,” Aerobolt said.
“I cannot believe my best friend was that close to death again… You’ve saved him again, Aerobolt… I cannot thank you enough,” said Cloud in awe.
“I do what any Guardian would do. But Storm is my friend too. I couldn’t do nothing…” Aerobolt said modestly.
“Wait. What is this Sharra Cult?” Xen was confused.
“It’s complicated. They are a spiritual bunch that worships a deity much like we serve under Iridescence. We are somewhat similar, yet different. They can be a great ally or great enemy depending on your beliefs. But they do help us when we need it most. They have an uncanny ability to actually wield what we cannot. The Hidden Force: Time. They stand as the Force Spirits of Time. For years this enigmatic Force was unknown, foreign to us. Until my apprentice came along and changed everything…” Aerobolt drifted off remembering his apprentice, and Storm’s sister, Eira Farus Tharo.
“Do you think we’d ever go there someday?” Xen continued, eyes sparkling.
“Maybe someday. But we must focus on getting to Hydyraen,” Aerobolt looked towards Touda. “Let’s get packed up and ready to go. If we hurry, we’ll reach Empra by sundown.”
Touda nodded. “Good. The sooner we get off this frozen rock the better. I might be starting to get sick from this,” he said with a cough. He turned towards the tent and, frustrated, started taking it down. “Damn overhang! It is too low to have a tent set up like this!”
Aerobolt looked at him. “Well once we get down the mountains we won’t have to deal with this! Only on the way back that is…” as he started to help Touda with the tent.
It took them several more minutes to get the stubborn thing undone. And many more minutes followed packing up the supplies. As the overhang became empty of any traces that they were there, Xen shivered. The cold wind was reaching under and clawing at him some more. The worst part is that there was not enough snow on this side of the mountain to disguise themselves from the dactylons and shield them from the ferocious winds. Aerobolt had shaken his head when he brought it up.
“We are far enough north and close enough to the end of these mountains so that dactylons do not travel this far. It is all downhill from here, thank Iridescence.” Xen had to accept what he said. He had faith that this hero is right.
Once a fourth of the day was gone, they had finally set off down the mountain again. Xen was starting to get sick of seeing stone wall after stone wall arching up on either side of him. His paws ached from the hard, cold stone. To make matters worse, after midday, the sun disappeared behind a sheet of white and white dots starting to float down to the ground.
“Damn it…” Touda hissed under his breath when a snowflake landed on his nose. He sneezed. “If this picks up…” he started but was cut off by another sneeze.
“We’ll be fine, Touda…” Aerobolt reassured the irritable and uncertain fox.
“We better be…” Touda grumbled as the snow picked up more. Xen shivered. The warmth of the sun was gone and it made it feel many times colder without it. After just two minutes, Xen was pleading to the sky silently for the sun to return, but instead, got snowflakes in his eyes. Any saving grace to be found was that the mountainside continued to go further downward. It had to be a sign that they were leaving the mountains. The snow picked up more, and wind was howling, propelling the little white projectiles from behind them. If they were going up the mountains in this mess, Xen knew it’d be a cold hell of a time. Despite that bright side, Touda was far from happy. “I hate the snow!” he snarled, his voice altered from a now obvious cold.
“Yeah well, we have to live where we live for a reason you know, Touda,” Aerobolt retorted. “And in the winter, do you really expect it to be all nice and warm? That does not even happen most of the time in the summer!”
“Whatever…” Touda’s only response came as half a sneeze, half a snort.
“Well you can breathe a sigh of relief then. We are almost there,” Aerobolt said. It was too foggy from the snow for Xen to see, but the ground starting to level out was the indication he needed to know that they were finally leaving the mountains. Xen even felt that the air was warmer than he was used to despite the weather.
“Good… I can’t wait to warm up in a nice cozy inn…” Touda said.
“We have to make it to Empra first. Unlike Thalda, it is not right up against the mountains,” Aerobolt replied. The sky was getting darker. Xen noticed a slight orange-ish tint in the clouds.
“But it is still very close is it not…?” Touda said, still holding a defiant tone. He sniffed up his runny nose.
“Yes. So enough talk; the sooner we make it there the better,” Aerobolt said.
As they left the mountains, Xen could feel that under the snow, the ground was changing from stone to dirt and finally to soft dead grass. It was such a pleasant feeling after endless days of nothing but stone. As they went the ground was not the only thing that transitioned. The sky was also transitioning. It was transitioning over to yet another night. Xen wondered just how much further it was until they reached Empra. He has not heard much of Empra except it is the main town where the Kobold Warriors, the Guardians greatest allies, held their base of operations, Ieron, just underground and into the mountains somewhere. He wondered if he would get the chance to meet these battle capable rat-wolves. Like foxes, their kind too has faced discrimination and stereotypes because of their evil counterparts, the Kobold Bandits, in the desert to the north. Xen knew that the Kobolds and Guardians needed to stick together in the face of opposition. Aerobolt’s voice shook him out of his thoughts.
“There it is. Empra.” He pointed to just ahead. In the fog of the snow, Xen could barely make out many tiny lights and dark shadows of buildings dead ahead. So finally his journey really begins now that he is out of those mountains. He could not wait to see what else Nyethra had in store for him.
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