A hilltop in the north
‘Fire… and ice’ he whispered. His eyes observed the hungry flames as they consumed the frozen pieces of wood from the pile that served as a campfire. 'Fire and ice indeed', she answered. Actually it was more like fire and steel, but that didn't matter. She softly smiled while looking at his face. She could tell he was lost in thoughts, and he probably didn’t hear her reply at all. For another hour they were silent as they watched the fire slowly burn out. Yet, without the fire, it wasn't dark, for the stars shone upon them and their pale faces were frequently lit up with green flashes of the northern light swimming through the skies above the endless white plains of snow and ice. Only distant howls of wolves echoed through the night, and their growls were grim and desperate. Their pack was thinned, and no longer did they dare come up the hill where the two lonely figures sat side by side, seeking shelter from the wind near to a big rock.
She stood up and caused a new fire to burn using the last blocks of wood they had available at their campsite. Their eyes met in silence and after a few moments she replied by nodding her head. They were running out of supplies. It was indeed time to break up camp and continue their travels. He started cleaning and oiling his silver-inlaid knife, while she checked her hunting bow and spear and their other equipment to make sure everything was in good shape. They spoke no more until the late dawn crowned the landscape with rays of white-gold sent forth by the cold sun. It was only a couple of weeks before it would be summer, and during these late winterdays the sun stood just above the horizon. The beams reflected on the ice crystals and sometimes blinded their eyes. Yet it was a beautiful and pure landscape, and their faces were touched by the freezing cold air, and their lunges were refreshed as they took a deep breath as a greeting to daylight.
After they had eaten the last of their dried meat, they packed their bags and started walking down the hill towards the southeast. Scattered across the slopes there lay the bodies of half-starved snow-wolves. The stench of burned fur still filled their noses, but most of them were killed by arrow and knife. As they walked down, Skadis stopped at a few of the bodies to recover some of the arrows that still seemed usable and put them back in her backpack.
There was plenty of snow in the valley and it was caused by multiple snowstorms that terrorized the area in the last few weeks. Even though they wore snowshoes the snow came up as high as their knees. Other than a lone moose walking in the distance, there was no sign of any animals, let alone wolves or other predators that might try to hinder their journey.
At the hunting camp of Pynti-Peldot
They walked for a few hours towards the southeast and reached the shore of the ice-bay. There they stopped for a while, but when they were unable to catch some fish in the cold water they followed the shore until shortly before sunset they reached a permanent hunting camp called Pynti-Peldot. It was a camp situated on a mountain ridge on the crossroads between the northern ice-shores, the western ice-plains and the road into the south. Skadis was a frequent visitor of this village and well-known among the hunters, and so they received a warm welcome. They asked for the news and talked to those who were preparing animal hides and drying meat. They were assigned a tent and stayed for the night. When the hunters stopped working they gathered around the campfire and ate roasted moose-meat while they sang the traditional ballads of their ancestors. The campfires burned all night long and all tents were centered around these, with the tent openings positioned towards the fire. Both the tents and the snowmen's clothing were made of the same materials: brown leather and stitched furs attached to animal bones using cyan-dyed ropes for both keeping the clothing together as well as decorating their chest. The largest tents were built using large mammoth tusks for the frame and were strong and sturdy to ensure long usage through the years.
While talking to the snowmen they learned that the next transport they could use would arrive in about four days, so they decided to stay in the hunting camp until then.
Wolves in the night
The next morning Skadis left with five snowmen for a two-day hunt into the forests in the southwest to stack the hunting camp's supplies. Meanwhile, the dark-haired elf who accompanied Skadis remained in the hunting camp and spoke to the village elders about the latest news and situation of the lands in the north. The following day he accompanied the villagers to the ice-bay to catch enough fish for that day's meals. He was no stranger to these hunters and fishermen, but still not as close to them as Skadis was. He wore a casual outfit of one of the clans of the area. It was a common combination of cyan-dyed leather and brown and orange furs, but still one could easily see he was not one of the villagers. The way he stood and walked was different and apart from a navy-dyed thick woolen cloak none of the villagers used he wore a royal emblem on the left side of his chest. It was a dark blue piece of embroidered sturdy cloth on which four silver stars were stitched. And though his pale face was fair and young, between his dark hair two blue-grey eyes glared into the world. Both eyes were both friendly and cold, and those who looked into them closely risked sinking into a bottomless pit of sorrow and wisdom, granting a vision of thousands of years of experience of when the earth was young. Eyes that mirrored both Void and Starlight. The snowmen however were well-acquainted with him due to his friendship with Skadis. Despite the fact that they both weren't of their people, she was considered a near-kinswoman to them, and the great help he proved himself to them in previous winters made them accept and trust him in most of their matters. They were called the ancient star-people, due to the fact that they did not require sleep, often kept watch underneath the stars when the snowmen were asleep and that they were already befriended with their fathers before them.
It took an additional day before four hunters returned to the camp, and their faces were grim when they arrived late in the evening. One of them was wounded on his arm, and their backpacks weren't filled with hides and meat. The villagers were disappointed, but it was not something unusual, as the last few years the beasts of the wild became rare and shy, and the food supplies weren't as rich as previous years. The wolves were more aggressive and several packs were spotted roaming the plains in bright daylight, and a lot of them were half-starved.
Still, the hunters were eager to speak with the village elders, as something had stirred them and kept them in unrest. The villagers gathered in the biggest tent of the hunting camp and the hunters told them what had happened during the hunt in the last three days.
The wounded hunter who sat closest to the fire was the oldest and most experienced of the snowmen who participated in the hunt. His wound was cared for and he wore an extra thick cloak to make sure he would not loose body warmth too fast. He opened his mouth and began to speak: "alas brothers, it was on the evening of the first day that we marched in the forest that we set up camp in a forest clearing. Fire strengthened us and kept the wolves at bay. However, it appears that the foul wolves that are told of in our ancient legends have returned to our lands. During the late night watch Skadis sounded the alarm while suddenly loud growls filled the sky and from all sides black wolves stormed into our encampment completely ignoring our campfire. One of them managed to catch my arm between his jaws and wounded me severely before we all could get up and arm ourselves. I saw it was a large black wolf with furious eyes and fearsome teeth. Its appearance was exactly as the old tales describe them." He fell silent and stared into the campfire. It was clear for all to see that the wound on his arm caused him great pain, probably caused by the herbs that were put on the wound by the village healers to cleanse the wound.
The dark-haired elf was also present at the gathering and wore a hooded cloak. He sat in a corner of the tent, listening closely to the hunter's account, patiently awaiting the hunters to continue their report. He did not move and his face didn't betray what he was thinking, but in the depths of his eyes a fierce fire began to slumber when he heard the hunter mention the old legends telling the tales of the black wolves their ancestors fought against. He had already noticed that Skadis was not among the hunters who returned, and so he patiently waited for them to continue their story.
The village elders were visibly concerned as one of the other hunters continued the story and told about how they needed all the strength to fight off the large wolves. They managed to kill one but then three other creatures attacked Heri, one of the other hunters, and dragged him into the dark night. With respect and admiration they told how Skadis roared violently when she saw Heri being dragged away, and a bright blue-white light appeared around her when she whirled her hunting knife around to kill two of the wolves with just one swipe before storming into the dark night wielding her spear in order to cut off the wolves dragging away the hunter. She managed to chase away the wolves, but not before the hunter was badly wounded with severe bite wounds in shoulder and leg. Skadis managed to bring the hunter back to the others and made sure that they were set up safer in case of a new attack. It was best to directly retreat to the hunting camp but for the moment it was not safe to leave the camp. Also, Heri was in such a bad shape that he couldn't be properly moved over long distances. "And so we stayed at the camp for another day until Skadis considered it safe for us to go back to our village," the fourth hunter added, "however she stayed behind to care for the wounds of Heri until he could be moved. So we made ready and traveled here as fast as we could to warn the camp for a possible threat of these terrible wolves", he concluded.
All four hunters now had told their stories, and several of the villagers whispered to each other and turned their concerned faces towards their elders to hear what they had to say. For several minutes all people that were gathered in the tent were silent and thought about what the hunters had said.
The elf then rose up his feet and slowly walked outside to stand on the outer edge of the hunting camp overlooking the valley ahead, as if he tried to see if there was movement on the plains. Inside the tent the elders talked to the villagers and decided to put extra guards on duty and send word to the main city of the snowmen on the other side of the ice bay. Whatever the black wolves were doing that night, nothing happened at the hunting village. All was quiet and remained silent.
The next morning the dogsled transport was expected to arrive at the village, and the guards watched out for them. However, all that arrived were hunters and fishermen returning to the camp at nightfall that day. The transport didn't arrive. Normally this would not be a problem, as it happened more often that the transports were belated due to bad weather. This time the village elders however were worried, as the road to the south skirted the forests in which the hunting party was attacked by the large wolves. That night, most villagers stayed awake and sitting around the campfires.
Of wolves and warning
The new day came, but it was already noon when dogsleds were sighted coming from the southeast.
At the call of the guards all villagers left their tents to welcome their kin from the north and when the sleds were close by all dogs in the village started to bark and howl to greet their fellows pulling the sleds. It was a happy meeting of both dogs and snowmen. The sleds came from the trading point in the pinetree forests in the southwest, and brought news and supplies from the southern lands. The transport should stay in Pynti-Peldot for the night to give the huskies some rest. Then they would travel north to the main city of the Snowmen, far north of the icebay.
The Elf did not join the snowmen in their meeting rituals, but stood aside standing on the ridge facing south again.
He already sensed Skadis accompanied the sleds, but did not approach to greet her. He stood aside and stared over the plains, listening to all sounds around him. Meanwhile, the dogs were led to rest and the supplies taken care of. After the work was done he heard soft footsteps crushing the snow, coming towards him. Skadis came to stand next to him overlooking the plains as he did. After a short moment she spoke: "the wolf-people are at unrest, Fealinwë. Something stirred them and reminded them of their hatred towards the snowmen". Her long black hair moved in the wind as she put her right foot on a piece of wood that marked the edge of the ridge. One more step and she would fall down about sixty feet. She turned around and looked directly into his eyes: "I hunted the wargs through the forest all the way to the trading village, and they are led by the wolf-people. Too far they stray now from the western plains". She sent a messenger to Imladris to report the movements in the north. "I must now go to Suri-Kyla to inform all clans about these things. Will you come with me before you return to Imladris?". There was a twinkling light in her eyes, and for a moment she hesitated before she softly whispered: "I have a gift for you". Fealinwë looked to her blue-twinkling eyes and gently touched her pale smooth face to move several dark hairs aside and smiled sadly. "Surely I will come with you. Have I not traveled from the horsemaster's plains to the ice just to be with you once more?" She smiled and moved closer towards him and both bowed their heads so that their foreheads touched each other for a moment.
She then gave Fealinwë a friendly punch in his stomach and they walked into the village towards the dogsleds. Fresh dogs were already lined up in front of the sleds. The plan was to directly travel north to Suri-Kyla instead of waiting for the next morning. Bad weather was expected and they wanted to stay ahead of the approaching snowstorm. With commanding shouts and throwing snowballs at the dogs the sleds were put on the move, and both Skadis and Fealinwë were on the middle sled as the transport rushed out of the camp towards the northern ice-shores.
To Suri-Kyla
For three days they traveled, day and night and without rest. On the fourth morning the silhouettes of the big city's tents painted shades on the horizon, and the dogs barked enthusiastically. They had their destination in sight and quickened their pace. Meat and rest awaited them, and they knew it. The sleds now raced over the ice and sliced through the snow with high speed. On both sides of the road there were frozen lakes on which several of the snowmen, both men and women, were skating on bones tied to their shoes, and some of them tried to skate alongside the sleds, but the dogs were faster now that the end was near. Without a sweat they ran as if they were not tired at all. Fealinwë stood high up on the sled like a statue gazing towards the city, but Skadis hung on the side of the sled, her hair blowing in the wind and she laughed and shouted while throwing snow to the dogs and the other sleds. The snowmen were happy as well, and they sung and shouted in joy, encouraging the dogs to even higher speed. Filled with fun and full of laughter they approached the city and from the distance they already saw a crowd gathered at the city gate, waving and shouting.
Without stopping the sleds rushed through the gate and for a moment it seemed the dogs would continue to run and the first sled almost rushed into the cold water of the icebay but just before that happened the dogs made a sharp turn right and halted near several campfires at the shore of the blue-white lake, forming a circle around the fires. The greetings were as warm as the campfires, since most of the travelers lived in this city, or had relatives among those who resided here.
Both Skadis and Fealinwë jumped off the sled and walked into the camp, crossing several bridges to reach the Council hill. They greeted the guards standing on both sides of the stairs and walked up, entering the tent.
It was a large tent, and there was space for at least a hundred snowmen. It was large enough to even fit a forge and several workshops. As the tent was built just below a large mountain, the snowmen also made tunnels and dug large storage rooms in the iceberg. These could be reached through doors at the back of the tent. On the left was a large straight stairway that led to the high-council's seat. Skadis walked up and talked for a while with the leader of the Snowmen. These snowmen called themselves the Lossoth and lived for many generations around the icebay in the frozen north of Forodwaith. They were sturdy men and women and they lived of the fruits of the lands which were mostly fish and herds. Both men and women were equal in status, and only great courage, valour and knowledge of the lands distinguished those of the Lossoth. Great deeds were highly valued, and those among the Lossoth or their closest allies who achieved status and wealth were held in high regard.
When Skadis walked down to Fealinwë she told him that the news they brought to the Lossoth's seat of power was already known. Many things had happened and the threat of the wolf-people wasn't the biggest concern. Darkness stirred in the east, and many dangers were upon the snowmen, but luckily they received help from strangers from the south. Both those of the Dunedan as well as brave warriors and travelers from the southern lands gave aid and did many great things to hold off enemies from coming through the gap in the east. Their help wasn't needed at this moment, and so they went outside and were appointed a tent. It had been a long and tiring journey, and so they rested well for a couple of days and after that spent a couple of weeks in the major city crafting weapons and jewelry both for themselves as well as gifts for the Lossoth and those helping to fight off the servants of Angmar that tried to establish a camp near the bay of Forochel.
A gift of merciless love
Then at the end of the winter season there came the feasts and celebration of the Lossoth to greet the summer sun, marking the end of the terrible snowstorms that crippled the area during the months of winter. It was celebrated with fishing contests and sledraces, and the latter were a true delight to see. Sleds decorated with the finests skins and bells would race over the icy plains in front of the big city and all of the citizens of the major settlements of the Lossoth would send a sled representing their village in the race, hoping to receive the great prize that they would be honoured for a year until the next race at the next summer's start. The feasts were merry and lots of fish was on the menu.
That night, Fealinwë stood on a hill on the edge of the settlement and looked towards the ice bay, where green-red lights were reflected by the endless waves. Skadis stood next to him and as usual they did not speak much, but merely stared into the night bringing back memories, reflecting on the past. Fealinwë felt the cold breeze around him and saw the silhouets of the shores filled with icy plates, sharp and full of edges. Directly his mind flew back in time and he found himself young, standing knee-high in the snow again, a thin woolen cloak wrapped around his shoulders, standing at a shore similar to the one in Forochel. His face was grim and his hands were bleeding. In front of him there was a gap in the ice and in his right hand there was a sapphire ring, tainted with blood. The wind shrieked past the ridges of ice and snow, and he just stood there, unaware of the others that stumbled around and trying to convince him to move on. But he just stood there, his mind connected with hers. He felt the cold water around her, her will fading, crying out in pain and despair as her limbs slowly froze and she lost the power to fight death. Slowly she suffocated while her dying eyes stared through the tainted glass of the ice to the silhouet of her beloved who stood helplessly watching her die. His tears directly froze in his eyes but he didn't feel the pain, as all he saw was his fading wife, sinking into the dark water, moving out of sight. Darkness surrounded him like a white fog in the endless snow.
Suddenly a soft grip on his arm brought him back to reality and when he looked to his side he noticed Skadis was looking at him with concern in her eyes. 'Don't let the past take control', she whispered. Fealinwë nodded and sighed. Skadis now stood before him and smiled. 'I have made you a gift, my friend', she said, and her hands were unfolding a small leather jar which she had taken out of her backpack. Fealinwë closed his eyes and felt that Skadis put something around his neck. A small stone fell down until a small leather rope stopped it from falling down to the ground, and she pushed it softly to his chest. 'May it protect you from harm and give you strength to bring fury upon your foes', she whispered. After a few moments of pause he felt her fingers touching his forehead for a second. 'Until we meet through fire and steel, may your fire burn bright', he heard Skadis whisper in a long forgotten tongue of ages past. Words from an old Noldorin dialect that Fealinwë himself once wrote down for a loved one. But now silence fell, apart from soft feet crushing the snow. Feet that went further away and when he opened his eyes, she had disappeared. He knew he wouldn't see her again while he was in the frozen north. He touched the rope around his neck and followed it down towards his chest. It was a cold stone, and richly decorated he noticed when he touched it with his fingers. He went to his tent and started a fire. He then looked down to examine the gift Skadis made for him. It was a silver necklace with a sapphire ring embedded within. There was a rune inscription in the silver, and circle decorations around it. It was no elvish rune, nor did a dwarf know its meaning. The necklace was definately made by Skadis, and with a surprised light in his eyes he realised it was an old rune used in very old traditions of the horsemasters in the south. Traditions now long forgotten and out of use but both Fealinwë and Skadis had spent several hundreds of years among an isolated clan in the snowmountains of Rohan. Then suddenly he stared at the embedded ring and recognised it. It was sapphire ring engraved with Noldorin inscriptions. He grabbed the necklace and filled his hand with it, closing his eyes for a moment. He meditated the rest of the night staring into the fire. He thought about Skadis and the gift she had made for him, and he thought of the journey he was about to go on.
'Through fire and darkness we've gone, what will fate bring next?.
