ALIENA

There was a storm coming.

Though it was barely autumn, my brother always said there were only two seasons in the north: summer and winter. The only thing separating the two seasons were storms marking time. In 'summer' we would get heavy buckets of snow dumped onto us by the clouds. In 'winter' we received terrible winds and snowfalls hard enough to call ice.

These storms could kill you. Growing up in as blanket of white, it was ingrained in me to respect the dangers this simple and beautiful white could be hiding underneath. Even in the road, a familiar and well trodden path, the dangers lurked right there at the edges, ready to crush you under unimaginable weight, or to wallow you up in a terrible gulp. One wrong step and you could find yourself sliding down a deep slope you hadn't even known was there.

The storms were twice as deadly.

Along with the freezing temperatures that soaked through every fur you could wear, visability was almost none and wind could turn you around and change the landscape so quickly you'd find yourself lost without even moving your feet. Without shelter, fires were impossible to keep going for long, even with a stack of coal at hand. Even if you could keep it going, the wind would steal pieces of your fire only to fling them outward with no direction at all, setting you at risk of becoming aflame.

I had shelter, but I did not trust it not to be buried in the morn along with the dogs and the sleigh. In three weeks since I have stepped onto Ice Road, I have been through four storms just fine, but I could tell by the absolute stillness in the air and the discomfort of the wolves that this coming storm would be the worst yet. If I did not find a better shelter, I wasn't sure I could survive it.

With the wolves remaining in good health, we had made excellent time along the road and were nearing the tree line that would allow me to survive out here, at least I hoped. But still, we had to make it through the narrow mountains which were spotted with caves and crevasses. I left the dogs with the sleigh, took my crossbow in hand, and headed toward the cliffs with my snowshoes strapped to my feet.

I had to be careful. Not only was I in unfamiliar territory but this was a perfect home for wolves and snowbears. With the storm coming, others would be seeking shelter as well. Also, I needed a cave that was high enough I didn't need to fear being buried inside, and wide enough to get the sleigh in. More, I did not dare stay under a overhead covered in snow that could collapse on me at any moment.

So with my crossbow loaded, I carefully walked along the cliff, keeping my eyes on both cliff and the snow at my feet. I was just about to give up and head back when I caught a promising sight.

There was a overhang, but it was so far out that it could fall and still not bury the cave. Thousands of icicles a hundred hands high fell from it, creating a white and blue curtain. The cave was narrow, but not too narrow. I only had to keep an eye out for animals and see how deep the inside of it was, but I felt confidant that it would be perfect seeing as I hadn't seen a fresh print for a while.

I approached the cave cautiously and when I saw no fresh prints or scat in the snow at the mouth, I stepped inside quietly and faced the darkness.

I was snow-blind, so the darkness was absolute for a good while before I began to see through the dimness. I took careful steps deeper, just a few hands, then stopped again.

No prints. No fresh boulders that would hint the cave was unstable.

I took a few more steps inside and stopped again, just as my brother had once taught me. Widened walls, slated ceiling, no fresh boulders or rocks on the---

I was already frozen but my body froze further when I looked down to see several paw prints in the snow. I knew those tracks were from a snowbear, a big one at that. The wind must have pushed the snow in, covering the tracks at the mouth from my eyes.

I became hyper aware of the cave and as my eyes adjusted further, I was sure that there, in the back of the cave, there was the yellow-white of a snowbear.

The fact that it was clearly sleeping did nothing to calm me; I knew very well that bears could sense when danger was near and wake them even in their deepsleep. I silently begged the Mother to keep the snowbear sleeping while I retraced my footsteps, one at a time, keeping my breathing slow and even though all I wanted was to scream and run.

Finally, I was far enough out of the cave to dare turn my back to it and I felt myself calming as I concidered my options. I wouldn't dare move the wolves past this cave even if I found one past it to stay in. I could go back to where I'd started then search the other side, but I had chosen to go this way for a reason; the ground the other way looked as if something had shifted underneath the top layer. I assumed a hidden crevasse or pit. I wouldn't risk my life that way unless I absolutely had to and I would most definitely not risk my wolves.

So I was forced to make a shelter. I glanced at the darkening sky and hoped I had time.

I also hoped that I could managed to keep myself alive.

LORYN

"Get up, girl. We ain't waiting on ya!"

I shivered and managed to haul myself out of my huddled position against the tree. My whole body ached from being tossed about on the horses and my wrists were so raw they bled regularly and I feared infection.

Yet it was now becoming worse because the further north we went, the colder it became. For someone who had spent their lives in a permanent summer, even the slight chill brought me shivering.

I was also weak from both hunger and thirst. The Outsiders fed me, but barely enough to keep a bird alive and most of it, I couldn't bare to swallow --- rotting onions and meat dried tough enough to hurt my teeth. Water they offered me whenever they stopped to feed the horses, but after the first time going and having the fat man wiggle his fingers at me and offer to wipe me clean, I drank as little as possible.

I felt dizzy as I stumbled toward the horses and no longer struggled when I was tossed over one, only thankful for the warmth of the horse itself. I was sitting with the leader today thankfully, as he never touched me except when absolutely necessary. He even sometimes tossed the horse blanket over my back.

During the trip north, I'd learned the names of the Outsiders. The leader was Rojen and the fat man was Biddy. I recognized the name and accent of Rojen as one from Nascia, Biddy from Tark. The other three were Melwin, Cad, and the skinny one was Varger. Crad, I was sure was from Tark or nearabouts, the others had so many accents mixed into their speech it was impossible to tell where they were originally from.

I suppose it didn't matter. Be they from Tark, Nascia or any other, they belonged to no kingdom now. Thieves and rapists, murderers and traitors; they obeyed no law and bowed to no king. It was why we called them Outsiders.

King Tarry of Florn paid good money for an outsider to be captured and brought in. Though King Tarry refused to downright execute anyone (rumor was, Queen Fesia fainted at the sight of blood) he did often hang them in cages above the square to die from exposure after a few days.

The thought of Biddy in one of those cages made me grin against the horses hair for a moment, but then I remembered that King Perry was dead and so was my father. I remembered that I was alone with the Outsiders, travelling a few paces to the right of the Road of Thorns. We'd be nearing the Cove Road soon and that would be the halfway mark to the capitol city of Dargolyn, provided that they turned right, toward The T.

Halfway. I wasn't even half the way there and I was already shivering.

I started to cry again. I just wanted to go home.

"Hush, girl, or I'll have you ride with Biddy again." Rojen said impatiently with a knock of his leg.

I bit my chapped lips hard enough to make them bleed in order to stop myself from sobbing, but the tears continued to drip silently from my eyes.

I want to go home.

It's so cold.

ALIENA

It was so cold, even in my furs surrounded by nine dogs, I couldn't seem to get warm fast enough. The storm had come along faster than I had predicted and I'd been forced to improvise. I had stacked some snow up so they were similar to walls three hands high then built the shelter over that, supporting the walls with the bags and such from the sleigh which I turned upside down and leaned it against the opening, hoping it would be enough to keep the snow from burying us. With all the wolves inside, plus the bags, there was no room to lay down, however, I'd managed to cover the top and light a candle to see by. I'd have to continue dumping the snow from the top and allowing some air in if I wanted to stay alive, so I supposed not being able to lay down was a good thing as it would help keep me awake.

At least I had some distractions to help keep me awake as well.

"Here, Chia." I told her, patting the fur in front of me. She came obediently and I had her lay down between my legs so I could check her paws. The constant running had done a number on the pads and over half the wolves were getting raw, though none were yet bleeding. In a way, the storm was a blessing because they needed the rest.

   Chia's paws were all sore, but only barely. Still, I took some of the ointment made for this purpose and patted it on the pads, then put a cloth slipper on to keep her from licking the ointment off. She stayed steady in my shivering fingers and licked my own hands with her warm tongue when I was done. I rubbed behind her ear. "That's a good girl." I told her then looked around at the others as if hoping I had somehow missed one, but I knew I was only delaying the inevitable.

When I had removed my mitts earlier, I noticed my little finger on my left hand was turning black with coldsickness. Checking my mitts, I'd found a small rip that I hadn't known was there. I needed to sew it before I went anywhere else, but for now, I feared I may loose some of my finger.

Using my hunting knife, I carefully pressed the tip of the knife against the very tip of my finger.

Nothing. I felt nothing.

Oh no. "Mother, please no." I begged in a whisper and Dono, the youngest pup, lifted his head up. I held my hand out for him to sniff and after a few moments, he whined and put his head down, confirming my fears.

I forced myself to become calm, then continued to prick my finger until, just passed the first knuckle, I felt it. Dully, yes, but I felt it just the same.

To further delay the inevitable, I stood, hunched, in the shelter and dumped the snow off the top, then I found my needle kit among the bags as well as my iceaxe and another candle which I lit off the other once I sat again. Using snow, I balanced my knife so it hovered above the candle flames, then decided that I may as well check my toes while I was waiting.

It was ridiculous that I felt relief when I saw that they were blue, but after seeing the black and dark purple in my finger, that blue was as wonderful a sight to me as a rosy peach. I checked them anyway with the tip of my knife then, instead of returning them in my sealskin shoes, I pushed them into Chia's belly who watched me as if she already understood what I was soon going to have to do. She was so warm that it stung the tips of my toes but in the most wonderful way: pain meant I'd get to keep them.

Unlike my pinky.

"Alright." I said aloud and with finality.

I undid the thin leather cord holding back my hair and, using my right hand and my teeth, tied the cord around the base of my little finger until it was so tight that it hurt. I poured a few drops of whiskey over it to clean it best I could, then debated on chugging the whisky back myself. I decided against it in the end as I would rather my aim be steady. I did, however, leave the cap off for easy access once the deed was done.

I was unable to feel my finger at all now, not even at the base, so pressing my hand atop one of my last pieces of wood covered in clean linen, I raised the axe...

My breath was coming in pants, bothering my vision. Or perhaps it was the tears. I sensed the wolves watching me almost warily, more than likely sensing my absolute fear. I wasn't afraid of the pain --- well, I was, but that was not what made me hesitate, nor did I fear what would forever be looked upon as a defect by any highborn. No, my fear was that my aim would be off and I would chop off the wrong finger --- or too much of the right one. Perhaps I'd even go through my hand instead and---

"Stop." I said to myself and the calmness of my voice calmed me inside as well. "My aim is good." I said in the same tone and, like a blessing, my vision became clearer. "I can do this." The words were simple and relaxed. My face calmed and I slowed my breathing.

Here, poised to strike, sweat beading down my face, I went back in time to the first time I crossed the same ice I'd almost died under. I understand now that my brother had known what he'd been putting me through, but at the time he didn't show it.

We'd been walking and talking --- about what, I can't remember now --- when all at once, I'd realized where we were and began to panic. Aaren had kept walking as if I were right behind him still, chatting away casually as if I were still listening. I'd wanted to scream at him to come back but at the same time, I wanted my brother to look at me like I was brave. I didn't want my big brother, my idol, to see me afraid.

It had taken all my strength of mind to take that first step out onto that ice, and had taken even more strength to step across the very spot where I had gone under. It was the first time I had worked up my courage to do something that, to me, was truly terrifying. It was the first time in my young life I'd been truly brave.

I did the same thing now that I had done then to get me to take that first step. I allowed my shoulders to loose their tension as well as my face. I focused on every piece of my body to calm until even the grip on the iceaxe was gently but firm, like fingers holding an arrow in place.

I looked down at my fingers splayed on the linen as if they were not my own and let the axe drop down, hard and heavy and sure.

I let out a cry as I felt the pain of it despite the cord, but I didn't let myself think of anything else and grabbed my hat, shoving it into my mouth and biting down as I did what I knew would be worse.

I took the knife, now reddened from the flame, and pressed it down at what was now the tip of my finger.

First, I felt nothing. Absolutely nothing.

    I blinked in surprise.

Then there came a white, ragged agony and I screamed through the wool of my hat as my vision began to blacken, spots merging across my vision until there was no colour at all.

VENNY

Being a shipboy was not easy work. In fact, it gave me an all new respect for Hark, who did this every day of his life. There was no specific job to do except to do as I was told... which basically consisted of any job the crew didn't want to do themselves, from scrubbing the decks to unraveling tangled ropes. Harper, the first mate, even had me sewing his night socks.

Much of it was backbreaking work and my hands quickly blistered, but I knew I had it easy. The crew still knew who I was of course, though they never said it. Still, they weren't as tough on me as they were on Hark. More, I had Hark to share my duties with while Hark had never had anyone to share them with before. Hark was cheerful as ever with my help. To be honest, I didn't know how he could have done both our weight of work before, seeing as he was as small in size as I was.

But I was glad of the work anyway because it kept my mind off the pain in my heart at the loss of my family. Night was the worst as I lay in my hammock, waiting desperately for sleep to come. Out on the deck with the crew, it was easier to forget.

I was fixing a loose rail when I heard the call from Fredhi in the crows nest. "Seatus! Starboard!" Then: "Brace!"

He'd barely gotten the word out when the ship was suddenly bumped hard enough to lift one side of the ship nearly out of the water... and sent me flying into sea.

I hit the water and the shock of the ice cold nearly made me gasp in a breath of that very water. The cold instantly went into my bones and nearly locked up my muscles, but the need to breathe was stronger and after a disorienting moment, I started kicking my way to the sunlight, salt water burning my eyes. I broke the surface with a harsh gasp.

My first thought was: What exactly is a seatus?

"There he be!" I heard a distant shout and turned in the water to find the ship. How did it get so far away? A rope was tossed, but not far enough.

"Swim, boy!" I heard the voice, much closer than the ship. I looked around me and saw that I was not the only one in the water. Two others, one further than me and one closer to the ship was also bobbing around. The one nearest to me was the one who shouted it. I recognized him as Munni, a sailor that had come with the captain from his pirate days.

Teeth chattering, muscles straining with cold, I started kicking my feet and moving my arms, glad that I was one of the few royals of Tark that could swim.

"Brace!" I heard again and once more, the ship was knocked. This time, I saw it from the outside and was amazed that I could actually see the other railing it had been pushed so far up. I should not have been able to see the deck of the ship ever from my point of view in the water, but I saw it now. It was terrifying.

The wave that it caused came at me quickly and I held my breath just in time as it hit me like a watery hammer and I went under, spinning wildly. It took less time than before to find the surface, but another, smaller wave came at me right when I came up and I sucked in a deep breath of water instead of air.

Gagging, I locked eyes on the still-rocking ship and started toward it again, even as I coughed and sputtered.

"It's coming 'round!"

"Swim, boy!"

Coming around. The seatus --- whatever that was --- was coming around.

Cold completely forgotten, I swam better than I ever had before and when the rope was tossed out again, I grasped it and shoved my head and arm through the hole. I stopped swimming then, even with the seatus possibly under me, I was too cold and exhausted to help much.

I did look over in time, however, to see a massive, scaled head come up out of the water next to me.

A sea serphant. A seatus was a sea surphant.

The scales were and an odd grey-green in colour, like ancient clay painted with grass stains. Its narrow head formed a sort of arrow shape, with gills sharp and rippled behind as if they were ears. The fins at the side seemed almost comically small compared to its great width, and they were so thin that I could see the sunlight shining through them. They flowed down its sides like an eel, yet were too flimsy looking to properly compare it as such.

It had no teeth, only a great tunnel of blackness that would swallow me whole.

And it was coming straight at me.

On instincts alone, I ducked out of the rope and under the water at the same time. There was no pause before I was knocked roughly by a slimy, stringy muscle while the head of the monster scraped by me painfully. It felt like my skin was burning, but that didn't make sense; how could there be fire under the water?

At the surface again, I grasped the rope and shoved myself through it, this time I kicked as I was pulled. It was less than a few seconds before I was being pulled up and knocked against the side of the ship --- I hadn't realized how close I'd been.

Then rough hands were lifting me and I was laid out on the deck. "I got ye, boy." Said the captain. Then, to someone above my head. "Help me tie him up."

The rope was first removed, then I was sat up and the rope was replaced around my waist tightly and tied to the rail behind me. I wanted to help them, but I was weaker than I thought. I was a puppet with a mind, foggy as it was.

I hoped desperately that I wasn't being tied to the broken rail; I hadn't finished fixing it.

"Brace!" I heard again and then I was straining against the rope as the ship was lifted from this side. I was still shivering, but for some reason it was my arm that hurt the worst. If I wasn't gripping the rail above me with both hands as tightly as I could, I'd have thought it was broken, the pain was so sudden and terrible. More than likely, I was coming out of some sort of shock I hadn't realized that I'd been in.

When the ship leveled again, the captain immediately went back to shouting. "Hurry it up before she tips us! You! Get b'low and fetch the wrappin's!" He faced me. "You'll be fine, boy, the shiverin's normal."

"H-h-har-rrr-rk-k-k?" I studdered violently.

"He be fine. Up in the crows nest with Fredhi." He looked out over his shoulder. "Wait there you dumb jelly! Wait till the next knock a'fore ye---"

"Brace!"

The railing held me again, as well as the captain. Apparently, it was not the broken rail that I had been fixing. That did little to comfort me, however, when I looked down and saw the other railing was very nearly touching the water we'd been tipped so thoroughly.

Leveled again, a crew mate I'd never learned the name of was at my side. He and the captain started wrapping cloth around my chest and left arm, locking it to my side. I was too cold to ask what they were doing, but when I looked, my eyes widened at the blood seeping through from shoulder to elbow, soaking the cloth as fast as they could wrap it.

"Tis alright, boy. Looks worse than it is, aye." Said the captain. "Rubbed a bit a'skin off tis all, ye lucky lad."

Left arm completely immobile, my right arm gripped the rail even tighter than before, but the captain forced me to let go and tucked my arm against my chest, telling me the railing would hold. Then a wool blanket was tucked around me and another rope was tied and round that, keeping it in place before I was secured even further to the railing. Just when they finished, there was another Brace!

Not holding onto anything while the boat lurched was an absolutely terrifying experience. But the railing held and so did the blanket.

As the ship stopped tilting on its terrifying angle, I saw that ropes had been tied to both ends of the ship and men were running their way up next to them to the highest point. Then the ship went back to level.

On the next, they all did the same. Everyone, even the captain, running up to the highest point of the ship whenever the serphant knocked us even when it went around to the other side. When they did this, the ship didn't tilt nearly so much.

After several hours of this, when no one else fell overboard, the seatus gave up and went off in search of easier prey. I was untied, and though I kept the blanket around me, I was no longer shivering when the captain came and approached me. "You alright, boy?"

I was freezing, my arm burned, as did my shoulder, every muscle ached, and I was fairly sure I pissed myself at some point... but I couldn't stop the grin from coming over my face.

"I saw a sea monster!" I exclaimed in excitement and disbelief.

At that, the captain blinked in surprise at my enthusiasm, the let out a roar of laughter and clapped me on the uninjured shoulder. "Aye, boy, ye did at that."

ALIENA

It was day and the storm was finally calming. The wolves should have been getting restless by now, but they seemed to sense my state of mind and stayed mostly calm. Still, I knew they needed out so after checking each of their paws again and removing the silk cloths, I decided I'd let the wolves roam a bit and light a fire to dry out my clothing. It was warm in here now, but would cool quickly when I lifted the cover and removed the sleigh.

I stood weakly, mostly from exhaustion but a good part of it was the lingering pain in my finger. I double checked my newly sewn mitts, then braced myself and pushed at the top. For a moment, it didn't move, but before the fear of being buried alive could even enter my mind, it gave way and snow rained down on me with the wind pushing it inside.

The snow was about two hands above the top of the shelter, which meant it had snowed over elevens hands during the night. I winced at the work I saw ahead of me; I would have to somehow lift all the wolves out of here one at a time, then the bags, then completely disassemble the shelter from the inside, all-the-while hoping it didn't collapse on top of me. Once that was finished, I would hopefully be able to dig out the sleigh and maneuver it out of the snow with the help of the wolves.

All with an aching finger, no real sleep, and several weeks of travel.

Suddenly, I was overwhelmed with not only the work ahead of me, but with the entire situation. Since leaving the valley where I had been meant to meet with my brother, I had been focusing on simply surviving. It was easy to do that here, out in the wild, white lands where each step could be deaths entrapment. It was simple to keep my mind fully occupied while standing astride the sleigh behind the wolves across unfamiliar territory. But it seemed I could no longer keep my thoughts in the back of my mind.

I had lost my parents, my friends, my home, then after waiting for two days at the valley, I knew I had lost my brother as well. Now, I was heading somewhere south to an unknown location and I didn't even understand the reasoning of why I was going there in the first place. I was running low on food for the wolves and barely had enough for myself to last another day, even after all my rationing. To top everything off, my missing finger was somehow burning constantly though it was no longer even there!

I broke down, collapsing inside the shelter with great, heaving sobs that had not come out of my mouth since I was a babe wanting the teet. I stayed there like that for only a few minutes though, before Chia, licking at my tears, had me calming.

As if the sudden onset of tears and wails had strengthened me somehow, I felt better when I stood again. Refreshed. "Alright, Chia." I said with a determined huff. "You're not going to like this." I informed her as I locked my knees and picked her up so I could heave her out.

It was time to get back to work.