Fan Fiction ❯ Warmth of Winter's Angels ❯ Default ( Chapter 1 )

Warmth of Winter's Angels

 

Summary:

 

Rating: PG-13+

 

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure

 

Man's sin shall awaken it's grief,

the world, painted white, will feel justification.

The cold shall reflect the living's soul,

and all shall remain until man achieves atonement.

All by the will of O Juge.

- Evlan Oremaster, Chief Priest of Jugeism -

 

The wind blew a might gust, forcing the man to grip the fluttering sides of his robe with both hands. It was not much of a cover in the deathly cold breeze but it was the only thing he could afford. Money was scarce these days.

 

His gray eyes skimmed the countryside but in the fall of snow, it was nearly impossible to make out anything that wasnt within two feet of oneself. All was white. Pure and blinding white.

 

It was unsettling not being able to see anything. Staying out in the harsh weather for too long could kill a man and Rellan Skirmash was never the kind of person to tempt the enviroment. He grew to know the endless winter. As much as he despised the cold conditions, he respected it's ability to take the life of a person who dared to tempt it.

 

Rellan tightened the folds of his red robe and cursed the visiblity. He would surely perish if he did not find a cave for shelter in time. Harsh words flowed from his lips as he expressed his anger not only at the weather but at his own stupidity. It was his own fault he was stuck in the drifting snow of the countryside. If he'd just done what the villagers suggested and stayed at the Inn for the night then he would not be in this predicament.

 

It was his pride that would be his death. His stubborn personality refused to beleive that he couldnt survive traveling over the unfamiliar plains. His father had always told him that attribute would be his death.

 

Now he was right and Rellan hated it. Even in death, Rol Skirmash haunted Rellan's thoughts and caused his body to tense in anger at the thought of his uncaring parent.

 

He'd always despised his father. Ever since he was a child and would play outside in the fair summer. Relishing the warm weather and daring to venture outside his village. That was before the Endless Cold had begun and before his father had met his untimely fate at the hands of the winter.

 

The day stung numbly in his mind. Ten years and Rellan could still feel the harshness in his father's raspy voice as he spent his final moments scrutinizing his offspring.

 

The deep snow underfoot felt the wrath of Rellan's angry as he remembered the day. For a moment, the wind and the cold couldnt touch Rellan.

 

It had been six years since the gods had granted their judgement upon the human race. Rellan and his father had made their way to the neighboring village to help his uncle modify his home for the harsh conditions. It'd taken a whole week to finish the job and Rol had decided to take another route home so they could survey the area surrounding their village.

 

It was a much longer route, and much tougher. While the two were still more than halfway home, a storm had began. The wind was destructive and a new kind of cold set into the land. Rellan, twenty-three at the time, had nominated to find shelter for the night. Rol immediatly shot the idea down.

 

"Sounds like somethin' you'd say." His father had said, "Always lookin' for the easy way out. If I wasn't here, you could never make it home." His deep laughter had topped it off.

 

So, he followed his father through the terrain. However, Rol's decision soon caught up with him.

 

The elder Skirtmash had decided that he didnt need to wear layers in order to cross the countryside. He instead wore only a light robe. The robe was no match for the winds as Rol quickly felt the results of the cold weather.

 

Several parts of the man's skin turned black and were hardly mobile. Rol also stated several times that he was growing weary and needed to sleep. Finally, Rellan's father laid down in the snow and curled up into a tight ball. Rellan listened to the man's final words.

 

"You could never survive this." He said in a raspy voice but still carried the pain it always had, "You're a disgrace. Good luck bein' a adventurer."

 

Rol fell asleep soon after and never again awoke. Rellan shed no tears and felt no remorse over the loss of his father and had vowed right there that he would prove him wrong. He would not let the dead man's treatment rob him of his childhood dreams.

 

Rellan returned to the village but wasnt finished there. He gathered the little things he had and set out to become the thing he'd always wanted to as a child. A adventurer.

 

A strong gust of wind cut Rellan from his thoughts and the man finally returned to reality. He gripped his robe and lowered his head, continuing on his journey to find shelter.

 

The leather sheath at Rellan's side continued to bang against his leg and he found comfort in the rythmical beating of the saber. Like the beating of a heart, it symbolized life. Something Rellan now prayed that he wouldnt be robbed of now.

 

Ever since the death of Rol, he'd seen the Endless Cold take many lifes. Many friends and strangers had died in the winter's white destruction. Every time, Rellan silently wondered when humanity would finally obtain atonement.

 

He'd heard the preachings and lectures too many times to count. Clerics and Priests alike had told him of the judgement of O Juge everytime he felt sorrow over death. They thought it was comforting to think that someday, O Juge would see the huamnity has seen it's mistakes and now vowed not to make the same ones over again. Rellan sometimes thought the mighty god to be blind.

 

Sixteen years the world had been suffused in this terrible winter. O Juge's punishment to man for his greed and pride. The Tomes of O Juge said that when man becomes as pure as the white snow that the winter would end. It almost seemed like a fairy tale now.

 

With a sigh of white breath, Rellan paused a peered the hardly visible countryside. It was almost impossible to see the horizon through the haze of white. Then, Rellan's gray eyes widened at the sight he saw.

 

It was difficult to see but he could make out the faint outline of a cave entrance. Rellan only thought a moment about how he didnt notice how close he was to the mountains before beginning his trek towards the cave.

 

He continued slowly, knowing better than to run. Running would take too much energy and Rellan would probably pass out before he even made it to the entrance of the shelter. So, he trudged carefully through the mounds of snow. The thought of finally finding a place to stay was what made him keep going.

 

Despite how close the cave appeared, it actually took a good fifteen minutes to reach the shelter. With a sigh, Rellan quietly entered the cave and peered around in the dimly lit area.

 

He was mildly depressed to see that the entire interior to the cave was encased in ice, but was hardly surprised. Everything was frozen nowadays. Rellan scratched his burly beard and began further inspection of the area, his free hand rubbing the pommel of his blade as he went.

 

It appeared to be a rather deep cave and Rellan was hopeful for a moment that it would be warmer deeper in. However, his hope vanished as he began his journey deeper into the cave as he slowly felt it get colder. It was strange that it would get colder further in but Rellan didnt linger on the topic. Instead, he made his way back to the warmer part of the cave and lowered his pack to the frozen ground.

 

He removed a few pieces of wood from his belongings and placed them carefully on the ground. Rellan then reached into his robe and withdrew a crimson stone. He clutched the rock until his knuckles grew white then lowered it down onto the sticks. After clearing his throat, Rellan mumbled the words he'd been taught to say.

 

Immediatly, the sticks and the rock burst into warm flames. They burnt his hand for only a moment before he withdrew it then smiled at the warmth.

 

The stone was a magical item given to travelers by priests. Although they disapproved of the idea of traveling through the winter, they decided to try and help the adventurers survive rather than attempt to persuade them to stop their journeys. So, the priests had created the stones and taught every traveler they met how to use them. Rellan had to admit they were a very helpful tool.

 

Rellan lowered himself onto the ground and let out a breath of relief. As much as Rellan questioned the teachers of O Juge, he thanked the god for giving him the shelter. He knew that if night had fallen, Rellan would had been as good as dead.

 

The fire crackled as Rellan fought the sleeping sensation that began to overcome him. He wasnt yet warm enough to safely drift off into slumber so he shook himself, trying to get the tiredness out of his mind.

 

His efforts did not work well as he found his eyes slowly closing and all conciousness slipping from his body. Just before sleep completely took over Rellan's mind, a sound woke him from his daze.

 

It was a thumping noise. Like the stomping of a giant but, somehow different. The loud crashes sounded more like glass being slammed onto the hard ground without breaking. Rellan lowered his head as he tried to figure where the noise was coming from and was not a little unhappy when he noted that it was definatly coming from deep within the cave.

 

The stomps were growing louder, causing the ground to shake in unison. Small bits of debris and ice fell from the cave's cieling, just barely missing Rellan as he sat on the ground.

 

Finally, Rellan forced himself to his feet and grunted as his knees cracked. It had been a long-time problem of his, doctors said it was caused by the combination of his traveling and the cold weather. Some priests even went as far as to say it was O Juge punishing Rellan's sins.

 

As soon as Rellan stood, a harsh coldness rushed over him and made his teeth chatter. It was just like it felt as he made his way deeper into the cave and Rellan now understood why it was like that.

 

The source of the noise emerged from the shadows and Rellan found himself backing away from the large beast. It was taller than most homes in the world, it's cyllindrical head nearly scraped the cieling of the cave.

 

The monster itself seemed to be carved right out of the winter. It's entire body seemed to consist of ice, making it difficult to distinguish any of the beast's traits. It definatly had two legs and two arms but both were roughly carved and huge. The arms did not move at all as the monster took a step.

 

It's toros was the smoothest part of it's body and Rellan could nearly see his own reflection in it's chest. The head was round and had a few dents in the front, resembling that of a human face. Two holes near the top, a sharp piece of ice protruding from the center, and a gaping hole near the bottom made up it's entire facial features.

 

The ice beast continued it's slow advance upon Rellan, who had finally turned and began to make his way out of the cave. He didnt even make it to the entrance before a sharp gust of cold wind nearly knocked th eman off his feet. It was obvious that attempting to brave the cold now would be just as deadly as taking on the dreaded ice beast.

 

Turning to look upon the nearing monster, Rellan scowled and once again found himself cursing O juge. He had began mumbling out loud when he caught himself and forced his mind to focus on the situation at hand; the beast that was now within a few feet of his location.

 

Withdrawing his sword, Rellan cursed the futility of the action. The dull blade of the sword would not be able to do anything against the monster's ice form. Still, it was more assuring to have a weapon in his hand than being defenseless.

 

As soon as the beast came within just a couple of feet from Rellan, it began to bend at it's 'waist' and swung one of it's massive arms at him. The sudden speed of the monster caught Rellan off guard and he was barely able to dodge a deadly blow. He landed a few feet away, closer to the western wall of the cave.

 

Rellan hopped from one foot to the other, a strategy he'd learn long ago. Keeping a constant movement going allowed him to keep warm and prepared while it may also be confusing a less intelligent foe. The ice beast seemed to know exactly were Rellan had landed and turned it's body to directly face it's target. Once again, the monster began to bend at the waist.

 

This time, however, Rellan was more prepared. As soon as he caught the movement of it's arm, he made a mad sprint right through the monster's spread legs. The beast seemed confused by Rellan's actions and began to turn to face the man. While the beast was making it's turn, Rellan made various futile attempts to hack away the it's leg.

 

It was as solid as concrete.

 

Backing away, Rellan surveyed the area around him. His fire still burned a little ways away, illuminated some of the inner caveway. Backpedaling down the cave, Rellan laid a watchful eye on the now advancing monster.

 

He stopped his backpedaling when he noticed the beast lumbering towards him, not even bothering to evade the course of Rellan's fire. He watched as the monster's large foot stepped on the flames and was awarded with a large amount of steam and a mind-wrenching screech that could only have come from the monster.

 

The ice beast stumbled away from the now dead fire and regained it's composure before once again advancing on Rellan. However, this time it walked with a limp as the fire had melted a bit of his left leg, causing it to be shorter than it's right.

 

Ideas began to run quickly through Rellan's head and he quickly lowered his pack to the ground. Rummaging through his materials, he grabbed as many of the fire stones as possible while keeping one eye on the limping creature. As soon as it came within range of Rellan, he abandoned the back and jogged a little ways away from the beast.

 

His hands were full of the stones when he stopped backing away and stood still, waiting for his moment to charge. He could feel the stones' magic surge through them, something he'd never noticed before. Sweat dripped down his forehead as anxiousness set in, causing Rellan's right leg to tap gently against the frozen ground in a nervous habit.

 

Finally, he saw his moment as the monster began to bend down for another attack.

 

Taking one last breath, Rellan sprinted foreward and saw his plan begin to unfold. While chipping away at the beast earlier, Rellan had noticed various notches and small cliffs running up the back of the monster. It would serve nicely as a makeshift ladder.

 

His observation worked out well as he began to climb up the beast's slick back, using just one hand to grip what he could of the monster's cold body. It only became harder when it stood straight and began trying to desperatly shake the human off.

 

Many times, Rellan nearly fell and he'd lost nearly half of the stones in the journey up the ice beast's body. However, he finally made it to his destination, it's shoulder.

 

Immediatly, Rellan shoved as many of the stones as he could into one of the holes in the monster's head, the one that resembled a mouth. Luckily, it's mouth was somewhat dome-shaped and held the stones perfectly. Rellan then took on the hardest part of the mission.

 

He shoved his hand into the monster's mouth until he could touch the center of the pile of fire stones. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the stones.

 

It didnt take long for a few of the stones to light into a blazing fire, searing his hand and burning away flesh. Yet, Rellan did not withdraw his hand but continued his chanting even as the ice beast began pounding at it's own shoulder with it's club-like hand. The majority of the blows hit Rellan around his legs and lower torso.

 

After a long while of chanting and terrible screeching from the beast, Rellan lost his footing and collapsed to the cold- hard ground where he fell into a limp pile. He didnt even get a chance to watch the results of his attack but knew from the abrupt stopping of the demon's screeching that it had turned out as planned.

 

He laid there for many moments. The cold had lessened a bit but Rellan still shivered as a breeze blew through the cave. He would have fallen asleep and slept all the way to his death had a strange warmness not suddenly tore him from his daze.

 

Forcing himself to look up, Rellan looked upon a shocking sight. Standing right in front of Rellan was a glowing silhouette. Warm light protruded from the figure and seemed to melt the snow and ice around it. Pushing himself to a sitting position and ignoring the terrible pain that seemed to tear his muscles right form his body, Rellan marveled upon the silhouette.

 

A sound began to come from the figure and Rellan strained to hear what it was saying. At first it seemed like some kind of foreign song but as it grew louder and more distinct, Rellan could tell that the figure was speaking.

 

"Formed from the cold hearts and brought to life by the greed and selfishness of the human race, the O Gallerweara. The very essence of the human race's punishment, put on display in the form of a frozen angel would roam the frozen land of man until O Juge found that they had finally obtained atonement."

 

The figure paused a moment before continueing, "Only then shall the angel fall by the hands of a human sinner, proving that man had been forgiven."

 

Rellan stared at the now fading silhouette but did not try to speak or touch the figure. It was obvious what the image was saying and Rellan could only gawk in amazement as it faded from all vision, leaving Rellan in the darkness of the cave with nothing but the snow and the remains of an angel to accompany his broken body.

 

However, one thing was different.

 

Everything was becoming warm.

 

fin