Icebound

Chapter 8

They left at first light. The blizzard had finally died some time in the night, and Anyu welcomed the sight of the sun. It made the frozen wasteland seem less frightening now that she wasn't imagining bloodthirsty creatures lurking behind every shadow. However Anyu was still on her guard. Although it was a comfort, she wasn't naïve enough to believe that the daylight would drive away every danger.

Kano led the way, Anyu following behind on Shesh. He didn't seem much worried about anything jumping out and attacking them, although somehow it didn't reassure her. When they'd emerged from the dark sphere and into the day, Anyu had gotten her first good look at him. His appearance was surprisingly ordinary. Anyu didn't know what she'd expected. Perhaps lots of scars, or glowing eyes, or even sharp talons for maiming and clawing. But his face and figure betrayed nothing supernatural. The only unusual feature was his hair; it was pure white, a color bright enough to compete with the freshly fallen snow. Anyu had never seen anyone with a hair color other than the rich black hue of her own, although she'd heard the occasional rumor of light-haired foreigners. Perhaps Kano was foreign born.

"You're sure this is the right way?" Anyu questioned him again. They had been walking for hours. Every now and then a large block of ice, the remnant of a dying glacier, had forced them to take a detour around it, wasting more of the daylight hours. Slowly more and more trees had appeared as they continued on, taller than any Anyu had ever seen before. They made her feel pressed in, like they were watching her.

"I'm sure," He replied.

Anyu glanced to the sky. The sun was now beginning its descent behind the mountains, and in a couple of hours they would be in total darkness. Even without a blizzard raging, Anyu didn't like their chances out here in the freezing night without shelter.

"How much longer until we get there?" She asked, voicing her concern.

"Not long. A few weeks at most, but if the weather holds up we should be able to make it in two."

Anyu tugged on Shesh's reins, pulling him up short. Kano turned around, wearing a confused expression.

"Two weeks?" Anyu stammered. "I only left my tribe two days ago! I certainly haven't travelled that far..."

Kano just shook his head. "I see you still don't understand," He said. "Distance here is not the same as in your land. The way back to Nenet territory has moved since yesterday, a three week journey across the tundra. In another month or so, it will move again." He turned on his heel and continued forward, trudging through the snow. "So I suggest that we pick up our pace."

Anyu remained frozen in place. Two weeks? And that was only if the journey was clear and uncomplicated. It was simply illogical. Anyu shivered, and not from the cold. This place... there was clearly magic here that she didn't understand, that she'd only heard about in stories and legends. She didn't know how she arrived here, but she felt an increasingly acute impulse to get out. Gritting her teeth, she urged Shesh forward to follow Kano.