Bleached human bones jingled in the snowy wind whilst suspended from the equally white branches of a massive Weirwood tree.

Directly beneath the tree kneeled several Skagosi. All cloaked in rough-spun furs while possessing matted, dirty hair. The only one standing was an elderly woman with a face covered in ritualistic tattoos and markings. She held her arms aloft before the tree as if to embrace it.

Chanting loudly in old tongue without stop; she was seemingly heedless of the chilly wind. By the time she finished there was a light gathering of snow upon those not directly underneath the protection of the tree.

"Bring the offering!" She shouted as she retrieved a jagged Wightsbane knife from a pouch on her waist.

A group of large men hauled over a sickly man to her. The poor fellow in their grasp was wretched. Naked and exposed to the chill and ice of winter, covered in bruises and missing his left leg at the knee.

"Tsk!" The old witch hissed in anger.

'I told those fools not to start eatin' til after the old gods 'ave their due!' She was livid when the fellows from the tribe chopped off the offering's leg to eat.

They'd caught the man on the path from Crab Claw Point riding a sickly unicorn. The lad was easy pickings and the beast fed the tribe well for weeks.

It was a good thing she demanded the man be kept for sacrifice, if not then they wouldn't have found out about the black mountains and the fire wights.

The witch walked with the men as they positioned the offering over to the thick roots of the holy tree. Yet again she mumbled prayers in old tongue; asking the old gods for forgiveness and their blessings in the battles of the future.

She grabbed his yellow hair with her gnarled fingers and pulled his head back- exposing his dirty neck and bobbing adam's apple.

The black blade cut through the offering's throat as it would through goat fat. A pop and bubbling gurgle escaped the man's throat as air and blood sprayed from the opening.

It rained upon the snow - covered roots of the tree in a continuous stream until it trickled out from the offering. The snow melted away and if one looked closely, they could see the thin wisps of steam rising from the ground.

A great wind picked up as the bones and red leaves of the weirwood shook more violently. The old witch grin at the sight.

"The old gods are sated!" She shouted to the rabble gathered around.

The witch took an emptied skull and threw a few pieces of rune covered finger bones. She shook them around and observed them closely.

"Wot'd ya see witch. Wot'd the bones say?" The giant chieftain of their tribe asked.

See turned to look up at him with a gummy smile. "The old gods ave giv'n us their favour!"

(-)

Ulf watched the men and beasts walking unknowing of his presence. He'd never seen anyone like them, clad in strange wares and riding even stranger beasts. According to the man they caught the strangers seemed appear on giant ships weeks ago.

The captive didn't know much, only that fire daemons were near. From what he saw, these were no wights, nay, they were men which means they were made of meat!

It made no difference in the end. The gods were on his side.

'All o' them 'ill roas' up nice an gud...' He licked his chaffed lips.

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The winter gone was too harsh. Sickness and hunger served to kill many of his tribe. Now winter was yet upon them and they had nothing to survive upon.

They picked through all the wild game in the area and now they could only try to raid and pillage other groups. The only problem with that was his group wasn't big enough to do without restraint. The Styvals of crab claw point were far too big and too powerful to attack all at once, they could only watch and pick off any stragglers and hunters who wondered off too far.

His stomach twisted at the thought of the last meal they had. The offering from the Styvals and his weak unicorn were a good respite. But now there was nothing but broken bones.

It was time for some fresh meat.

He turned and carefully sneaked away, his group had been watching the men for some time now and learned their patterns. He would return to his tribe and gather the men.

'Time ta hunt!'

He reached made his way over to the small hide out and gathered the men.

Ulf opened a leather pouch and removed bits of strong heart mushrooms mixed with hensbane stems and stuffed them into his mouth.

Many of his other mates began doing the same.

When he first ate the herb, he got such a surge, he thought the old gods had blessed him. Now whenever he went on a raid, he would make sure to eat them.

His sight was cleared and focused and his strength doubled!

He looked around at the assembled men, some clutching clubs, spears and slings, all were red with power and rage. He took up his own stone axe and commanded them to move.

()

"Haaaaahh." Jozo sighed as he emptied his swollen bladder against a tree.

He righted his armour afterwards and made his way over to the small camp his squad had set up.

"When will this shift be over?" He asked.

"Soon, it's almost midday." Gizo his fellow private replied to him while holding his sun dial up.

"This damned island has nothing but Ice, snow, creepy trees and black dirt!" He grumbled. They'd been on perimeter scouting for weeks now, it was strange, they'd not even seen a scurrying critter or hear a bird's song.

'That's if this spirit-forsaken place even had birds.'

"Don't forget the native savages." Squad commander Tora added.

They all chuckled at that. As if those frightened dullards herded together back at the base could do anything.

"Lieutenant, I heard top brass are planning expeditions further inland soon. That true?" He asked.

The squad leader nodded. "I'm sure you'll be briefed on it soon. We'll be babysitting civilans and geographers."

'That'll be a pain...' He was about to speak when suddenly, he heard a whoosh sound, then a squad mate's unprotected face bloomed in blood.

"Enemy attack!" He shouted over the screams of natives emerging from the forest.

With no time to think, he grabbed the hilt of his sword and unsheathed it, just in time to slash at a barbaric man. He was too late as his swipe missed. The giant brute on the other hand, managed to glance his head with a wooden club.

"Urg!" The blow glancing and was softened by his helm, still it caused him to see stars in his right eye.

Recovering quickly, he quickly swung again! His weapon sliced through the furs of the hairy native, and made a deep gash on the beast's chest.

The attack didn't make the man pause. Instead the man began swinging at him more fiercely! He moved out of reach and defended himself as the the sound of fire blasts and the smell of burnt flesh tickled his nose.

The man advanced on him, pressing his attack with swing after swing of the club, constantly aiming to bash his head in. Jozo wouldn't allow the savage to do so.

The massive man seemed endlessly mighty to be swinging around a club and roaring that long. But the brute was slow, clumsy and predictable. Even more so than the tanned brutes of the Earth Kingdom.

That was his advantage. Jozo maintained a good distance, made sure the giant couldn't close said distance and punished the beast severely each time he opened his guard.

It didn't take long for the beast of a man to be covered in lacerations and bleeding heavily, yet it took quite a while to take the man down. With each strike landed; the savage would howl and swing even more fiercely...as if powered by some strange force. Jozo finally succeeded in slaying the brute with a well placed slash to the inner thigh, severing a major artery.

By the time he was finshed with the stubborn brute, the other barbarians were either fleeing into the hills or being finnshed off.

Though he was exhausted, Jozo and a few of his squad mates made to mount their ostrich-horses to give chase, but were restrained by Lieutenant Tora's orders. "No! Let them go! We can't split our forces!"

"Gather the wonunded and prepare for a retreat to the base!" The Lieutenant barked.

'Damned Savages!' Joza raged as blood trickled down his forehead and into his eye.

(-)

Hours later, Physician Xing held a flaming finger to the beared face of the new specimens that was carried in.

"Hmmm... abnormal pupil and capillary dialation... severe dental decay..."

There was a litany of evidence to support the theory of these new intakes being under the influence of some drugs. They had herbs and mushrooms in their possession.

From what he could see, they were under the influence of some unknown concoction. The symptoms exhibited were similar to that of Hemp-Poppy sap ingestion.

This was a indigenous plant to the Earth Kingdom Xu Dai mountains. When ingested by humans the chemical compounds caused peripheral inhibition and central stimulation, hallucinations, dilated pupils, narcosis, restlessness, and flushed skin as a result of increased heart rates.

Physiologically, the men of this savage group were of the same... Race as the natives. With heavy jaws and brows, wide eyes, coloured hair, large hairy bodies and tall statures.

Though the indiviuals who attacked the scouting team seem to be in far worse shape than the coastal natives of the land. Upon examination, these men were malnourished, dehydrated, poisoned from drug useage and broken from exposeure.

Many of them were missing toes, fingers and ears from what seemed to be frost bite.

'Just how rough is the envioronment out there?...' He pondered.

In his early years treating of people in the colonies, he had seen the most gruesome and grevious injures and conditions due to war, starvation and just deplorable living conditions. The Earth Kingdom territory is just too expansive and centralization non-exsistent. Most citizens live off the land with little to no aid from the government.

'But this... Is a step above that.' He marveled at the state of the natives and potential hostilites of the land.

However, it wasn't all grimm. Though he was stranded on some cold, rocky island in another world, he enjoyed the new discoveries he has encountered so far. The natives and their strange features, the animal life (limited as they were) and the flora though he was no botanist.

However, with the sight of these men he could help but wonder about the dangers here, ones that couldn't be nessecerily fought with fire and steel.

Head Physician Xing could only hope to examine the men and figure out the ways best in which to kill them. There was promise in the medical applications of the native herbs and plants of the island. It would all serve the Fire Nation well.