Chapter 2: Wandering Wastes
To journey without a magical source of heat in Nortrieln could only be called madness. Even beings that in some ways are resistant to the cold have difficulties, such beings may survive encased in ice, but few can get anywhere very fast while in such a state. Apart from the dangers of being frozen, alive or otherwise, the winds are of such a strength that makes navigation particularly hard, the chilling winds rob most of sight, hearing and direction, tossing one back and forth with not inconsiderable force.
The land of Cahrissia to the south of Nortrieln is said to be colder, but it does not have the howling winds, treacherous ice floes and sheer volume of snow that Nortrieln has. Landmarks are hard to find, covered in snow as they are. The winds and snows of Nortrieln alone would be danger enough, but Kigan is a world of peril and magic!
It is said that some winds are different to others, sapping the spirit of those blown on, spreading discord among groups of travellers and leading people to dark forgotten places, like remnants of the Eclipse War, the first conflict of Kigan, When the Shyndl and Shydhu clashed. Many strange beasts wander the land of Nortrieln and many an adventurer or traveller has met their end by crossing paths with some nameless shaggy behemoth or falling into the hidden lair of some kind of subterranean lurker.
Not only that, in the depths of swirling blizzards such things as elementals of cold exist in their own frozen realms. They may not always be of ill intention, but their existence is that of freezing and little can stand before them without the root of their being, the heartflame being frozen.
Then, there is the utter fear that the denizens of Nortieln have for the Kyalth, the wintertaken, Those who have become one with the cold, and are said to be ruled by their Snow Queen, who is Skaillakh the Aryaith of Winter and Cold. There are even rumours that the Kyalth worship something other than Skaillakh, and that she worships that with them.
So then, one might wonder how anyone travels in Nortrieln. People however, do travel. It is by the artefacts named hearthstones that travel is made possible. Hearthstones come in many forms, shapes and with many powers, there are however a few things all hearthstones have in common.
Hearthstones consume cold and produce warmth, the amount and rate of this conversion varies, but this is the base effect. They also calm winds. So in effect a hearthstone creates an area of warmth and calm. They work best when placed immobile in a bronze stand. Unfortunately such magic requires power and most hearthstones need recharged or re-enchanted.
Eventually a hearthstone will die and in that moment, release all the cold it has consumed. Anyone who holds a hearthstone while it dies will die and become a frozen remnant a being that seeks only to drag others into cold abyss. Disposing of a dying hearthstone is vitally important to avoid tragedy. There exists hearthstones that never die out or need replenished. These stones are called everardent hearthstones. To steal or destroy a hearthstone is considered as vile as well poisoning in Nortrieln.
Most navigation is done by diviners looking deep into a hearthstone’s depths to find the location they are heading to. Magic maps and compasses are also used to find one’s way in Nortrieln.
Leshac, had two problems, quite apart from the issue of being cursed.
Leshac had a hearthstone, in fact he had a special everardent hearthstone in a bronze staff with inset fiery opals, that, when shoved into the ground would make a small tower out of it’s surroundings, it was really quite handy, which was a pity since it was in his home. The same home that was cursed with shadow in Kigan and light in Awarth. The home that he couldn’t get into.
This was a problem. Magical being as he was, Leshac had no special resistance to the cold, and his clothes could only keep so much out before the enchantment on them would give into the chill.
Leshac was freezing.
The second problem was… Leshac’s divining orb, which was attuned to most of the places he had been, and could guide him to where he wished to go, was also in his house. This was really quite unfortunate.
Leshac was lost.
So lost and freezing, Leshac pressed on, though on to where he had no idea. If he didn’t find somewhere to hide from the swirling maelstrom of snow and ice that surrounded him he’d die. He couldn’t even take shelter in Awarth, there were no fixed shadows large enough to slip through. So Leshac moved onwards, though he could feel his feet and hands no longer. One foot after the other, he trudged on, never halting for a moment, his cloak pulled tight around his body as the life was slowly sapped out of his form.
It was when he was at the limits of his strength that he spotted them – tinuach!
Tinuach have been the end and salvation of many a traveller in Nortrieln. They are large beasts, rather than animals. They are covered in a thick brown-grey wool. They have four thin as sticks legs which end in scaly feet with wicked talons. A long trunk extends up from their long thin horse-like head, below their single green eye and above where their mouth would be, if they had a mouth. tinauch are magic beasts that live by sucking up snow with their trunk. They then changes the snow into magical flames that reside within their bodies. These magical flames are what give them true sustenance.
The better fed a tinuach the larger its bulging flame sac is, and thusly the larger its flame is. Some tinuach have flame sacs that are so big that they hang out from below their wool. The fact that this beast changes a thing of water into a thing of fire make it extremely valuable to magefolk, alchemists and most people living in Nortrieln.
They would be farmed, but nobody has figured out how to stop them exploding when placed into captivity. Various nomadic tribes or opportunists make a living by following large herds of tinuach and harvesting materials from them, while protecting them from other predators. Tinuach have been noticed to find lost travellers and sleep next to them. This has saved many people as the heat from tinuach is quite strong.
On the other hand, tinuach apart from liking to sleep around other sleeping creatures will react violently to those that move much more than a sleeping body. Many an adventurer has had their life saved by a tinuach’s warm body only to lose it when he wakes up startled, thus startling the tinuach and losing his life to those wicked talons they have.
Tinuach also have the dangerous habit of exploding when mortally wounded or when they think death is upon them. The explosion is fatal for both the tinuach and whatever is unfortunate enough to be near them when it explodes.
Leshac however, didn’t care that the beasts could explode, Leshac knew that if he ate some, he would partially change form to similar to a tinuach, which would in turn save him from the cold as tinuach feed on snow and sometimes accidentally suck up icey sprites. A beast that could covert lesser elemental spirits to fire is in no danger of being frozen by cold air.
So Leshac crept silently towards the tinuach that were slurping up snow, puffing out fiery sparks on occasion as they peacefully turned snow to flame, Wuffing to each other in strange fashion that tinuach do. Being in part a being of shadow, and generally connected to the element of Phantasm, from which shadow and many other things sprout, Leshac was quite skilled at stalking un-noticed, more than that, shadows were, generally his ally.
His chosen prey then did not see Leshac leap from the ground beneath it, after having entered its shadow, and quickly ending its life with a quick bite on the back of the neck. The other tinuach did notice this strange thing suddenly kill one of their number and fled in a panic from the mysterious being. Leshac counted himself fortunate that none decided to explode out of simple shock.
He got to eating the tinuach just as its flame began to burn up the cadaver. After he had finished the meal (tinuach taste bad, like damp, burnt toast in meat form) his body shook and shuddered, warping and twisting and turning, until finally it settled down and Leshac felt a trunk unfurl from his faceless head and wool bursting forth from his body. Finally he felt a flame ignite in his belly. His hands and feet change to be scaly and taloned, and his eye became one eye.
He no longer felt chilled, in fact he felt warm and comfortable, feeling a bit hungry he sucked up some snow from the ground and went on his way, no longer in danger from the cold but still quite lost.