Chapter 23: Wild Rivers and Still Waters

Mira groaned as she struggled to pull herself into the realm of consciousness. The back of her head felt like it was being stabbed by a thousand needles, and the pain was starting to creep around toward her temples. She forced her eyes open. Everything was blurry at first, so she blinked until her vision finally started to clear. Mira had expected to see stars in the night sky above her, but instead she only saw a rough, icy surface.

How could that be? I was just in the snow, she thought.

Feeling disoriented and unsettled by the sudden change in location, she turned her head to take in the rest of her surroundings in an effort to figure out where she was. A small campfire crackled nearby, and its light revealed icy, rough walls everywhere. There was no sky, and there were no stars. Somehow, she had fallen unconscious in the snow and ended up in a cavern.

Pushing herself upright proved to be more challenging than she had anticipated as the world spun around her. The pain flared up and covered the entirety of her head. She paused, took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly until the world settled and the pain subsided to a more manageable level. She reached a hand to the back of her head and pulled it away to inspect. Mira let out a sigh of relief; there was no blood.

“Mending Heart?” Mira called out weakly. Her mouth was dry and her stomach empty, but she wanted her friend before either was remedied. She put her hand down and braced herself on the edge of the makeshift cot she had been resting on. It had been framed out in roughly chopped pieces of wood and filled with a mix of twigs, leaves, and pine needles. A few animal hides had been spread out on top of the padding mix, providing a soft protective layer. Whose was it, she wondered. Or had it been made specially for her?

“I am here, Many Words,” Mending Heart replied. He stood up from his shadowed resting spot from the fire’s edge and shuffled over to her side. Letting out a gentle chuff, he knelt next to the makeshift cot and placed a paw on the edge. He leaned forward and sniffed in Mira’s scent. He could sense her growing anxiety caused by this evolving situation.

“What’s going on? Where are we?” Mira asked. Before Mending Heart had a chance to respond, she suddenly let out a shriek and stiffened. Her eyes went wide as she spied movement from the far wall. Something which appeared to be a chunk of the cavern wall broke off and was trudging their way. She pointed a shaking finger past Mending Heart, at the approaching grotesque. “Oh no! That’s one of them!”

Mending Heart reached out his paw for her to take. “Still yourself, Many Words. Things are not what they seem.”

“W-what? What are you saying?” Mira quavered. She refused to take his paw, and with a whimper, she slid off the cot and crouched down on the ground behind it until all that was visible were her eyes and the top of her head. “They kidnapped us and brought us here to this creepy cave. They’re probably going to eat us!”

“These beings do not hunger. Surely, they do not tempt imbalance by eating when not hungry,” the kodan proposed.

“Maybe,” Mira replied, her voice wavering, “but eating out of boredom is a thing, you know. My cousin used to do it all the time until his bed frame cracked right in half.”

“We will be all right. If they wanted to eat us, they would have already done so,” he tried to assure her, but all it seemed to do was feed her anxiety.

Mira raised herself a little to get a look at the creature behind Mending Heart. Their build had an imposing frame but not quite to the size of a norn. Firelight danced off of the dagger-like ice shards protruding from their broad shoulders. They were too far away to see the details of their face, but the lack of color in their skin seemed to glow in the dim light. They moved with an unnaturally stiff gait, as if their very joints were frozen. Nothing about them looked right to Mira.

She couldn’t take it anymore. Giving into her rising flight instinct, Mira leapt over the cot, past Mending Heart, and dashed toward the cave entrance. Her boots lost their traction on a small patch of ice on the cave floor. She had the foresight to put her hands out to try and catch herself as she fell forward. The rough texture of the ground clawed her arm, but her thick coat sleeves prevented tears in her skin, and her instinctive need to get away from danger didn’t allow the pain to register right away. She got her feet under her again and ran. She made it to the mouth of the cave before nearly colliding with a moving, icy obstruction just a little larger than herself. Letting out a shriek, she immediately back-peddled. Mending Heart rushed forward and took the young woman in his arms before she fell onto her backside.  

“A wild river causes damage when it unnaturally strays from its path,” the kodan said. “Still your waters, and return to your path, Many Words.” He patted the top of her head gently and stroked her golden hair with his great paw until the woman began to calm down.

“It is all right. We’re used to such reactions,” a lethargic voice said from inside the cave.

Mira glanced around Mending Heart to get a look at the speaker. It was the creature who had peeled itself off of the wall. She held onto her kodan friend tightly, hiding her face and sinking herself into his soft, white fur.

“What do you want from us?” Mira called out from the safety of her furry sanctuary.

“To help,” the other creature answered as they entered the cave behind Mira. Their voice sounded feminine, but also labored, as if they had just scaled the highest mountain in the Shiverpeaks.

Finding her courage, Mira pulled back out of Mending Heart’s fur and turned to face the speaker behind her. Their uncanny appearance gave her pause, and she couldn’t bring herself to look at them directly. Instead, she looked past them at the cave wall. “But you attacked our camp!”

“It was not us,” the first creature noted. “There are others like us, but dangerous.”

Mira furrowed her brow. “And you’re not dangerous?”

“They aren’t. At least not to us,” a familiar voice said. Azoricum emerged from behind the frozen creature blocking the way out. This one was petite with feminine features and long, earthen hair encased in ice. She lumbered beside Azoricum with a rope over her shoulder holding five rabbits ready to skin and cook. “They saved us from those frozen creatures who attacked the camp.”

“It did create some confusion, though, considering the similar appearance,” Alma added as both she and Ian entered the cave next. “We weren’t sure what was going on until the fight was pretty much over.”

“You’re okay!” Mira brightened when she saw her traveling companions safe, though not without injury. Alma had a bandage wound around her shoulder and a few scrapes along her cheek. Ian’s bow arm had been braced and wrapped, and he was favoring his right leg as he walked. Some of the leaves on Azoricum’s head had been torn, and the bark on her left cheek had taken on a darker shade where she was struck. Still, they were alive, and that was all Mira cared about.

“So are you, kid,” Ian said as he shot her a pained smile. He slowly lowered himself down to sit himself on a rock near the fire. “Hope you’re hungry. While you were taking your nap, we tracked down some dinner.”

“She was unconscious. It’s not like she had a choice.” Azoricum gave Ian a playful slap on the back of his head, and he retaliated with a swipe at her arm. With a disapproving grumble, Alma took the rabbits from the sylvari and sat down to skin them. The other two settled down and refrained from further childish actions.

A few more frozen creatures entered the cave: two charr and a sylvari, from what Mira could tell. They remained silent with their heads bowed, avoiding eye contact as they each sought out a place to sit around the fire.

“How many of you are there?” Mira asked, curious.

The female frozen set the rabbits by the fire and turned to Mira. “Only who you see here,” she replied and bowed her head slightly. “We were the only ones who­­—survived mostly intact.”

Mira frowned. “Oh, I’m sorry.” She looked down at her hands clasped tightly in her lap and wondered what it was they had survived. Curious, she opened her mouth to ask, but then decided it would be better to wait until they all had a chance to catch up. She made a mental note to inquire later.

They all sat around the campfire together, catching up on events after the attack at the camp while cooking their meal. Mira remained at Mending Heart’s side, stealing glances at their unusual rescuers. The campfire light illuminated their features, and Mira could see the strained visage framed in ice. It appeared to be a human man with angled features and dark, red hair. He sensed Mira’s eyes on him and looked up to meet her gaze, offering a crooked smile meant to put her at ease. It worked, and she relaxed a little.

The red-haired frozen creature turned to his fellow frozen. “Did you find her?”

The petite frozen woman shook her head. The ice crystals clinging to her long, earthen hair ground against one another. The sound made Mira wince. “No, but she’s nearby. I can feel it.”

Mira raised an eyebrow. “Who are you looking for?” she asked.

The two frozen individuals speaking looked at each other for a moment before finally exchanging a silent nod with each other.

“She would be a grown woman now with dark, red hair, who has the gift of Grenth,” the woman replied. “She carries something—special. Have you seen her?”

Mira shook her head and looked at the rest of her traveling companions. “No, I don’t think so. Have we?”

The others shook their heads.

“Who is this person you’re looking for?” Alma asked. “Why is she so important?”

A sad smile tugged at the frozen man’s frost-covered lips as he replied, “she’s our daughter.”