Inside a forest covered in snow appeared a sphere. From it came a vortex of ether that stretched towards the ground. When it hit bottom it disappeared and left behind Esh.

“Ahh, my eyes!”

He closed and covered his eyes from the blinding light. While facing the ground he opened them bit by bit, letting them adjust to the brightness. His huge pupils shrunk and he looked up. Still squinting, he observed his surroundings.

The ground was covered in snow except for the part where the vortex hit the floor. There the dirt and tree roots were exposed. The trees were five times his length and had azure leaves building its crown, a crown free of any snow. On every branch hung deep blue fruit. Through the patchwork forest ceiling in the clear sky hung the source of the blinding light.

The sun is much brighter than I thought. Will my eyes be alright?

He looked from tree to tree stopping at one that seemed higher than the others. He climbed it and viewed the area.

Around him was a sea of blue. In one direction a mountain range could be seen but it was too far away to tell much about it. In the opposite direction there was an unusual elevation. It looked as if someone put a gargantuan gray brick in the middle of the forest. Nothing else of interest could be seen. He looked back at the brick elevation.

I should try from there.

Knee-deep in snow, he walked through the icy forest. Cold winds blew between the trunks making Esh shiver and clutch his body.

How can it be this cold. Completely unreasonable. I underestimated the surface world.

He stopped and cupped his palms. A blue ball of ether formed between them, but, gradually, the color changed to red, and it gave of heat. He spread it across his clothes.

This should help for a while.

His shivering reduced and he continued his trudge through the still forest. Still it seemed, but now that the threat of cold lessened Esh began to notice movement among the branches. Most were too small and fast to make out properly, but some stood still and ate the trees fruit. Although it was his first time seeing them Esh knew them from books. Birds pecked at their food.

As he continued on his path the ether he used to warm himself diminished and his arms clutched tighter against his chest. When it was almost gone he cupped his hands once more but was interrupted by a wail.

He stood for a moment facing the direction of the noise and then moved towards it.

Soon he saw two creatures. One stood above the other. It had white feathers much like a bird, but instead of a beak it had a maw full of teeth and it had feathered arms instead of wings. While most body parts were covered in feathers, you could still see scales on its head and legs.

It was ripping apart the other creatures neck. This one was hoofed, was about a meter and a half tall, had brown fur, and had two horns on its head. It did not move and blood stained the snow around it.

He hid behind a tree and peeked at the beast. It was tearing of chunks of meat and swallowing them whole.

He pulled in what remained of his ether cloak and gathered it in his hand. He shivered, pressed his limbs against his body, and looked at the target.

He formed the ether into a oval shaped bolt with a sharp tip on one side. He stretched out his hand and aimed at the white feathered creature. A thud came from his palm and launched the projectile forward.

The bolt hit the head and pierced through it. The creature staggered and fell. With a few jerks of the leg it stopped moving. While hugging his body Esh moved towards the two carcasses.

He removed snow until he had a patch of earth and gathered a pile of wood. Most of it was damp. He sat down, folded his legs, made a circle symbol with his hands, and closed his eyes. He managed to gather enough to make a pebble of red ether.

Only this much left?

The gathered ether was then compressed until it set afire. Esh put it into the pile of wood. The wood dried and caught fire. Like that he sat and hugged himself until he stopped shivering.

The light around him darkened and turned an orange shade. He looked through the tree crowns to see the sun. It was bloated and its light diminished.

This must be nightfall. I wonder if the star sky lives up to the descriptions.

He took out his dagger and began cutting apart the feathered beast. Some of the meat he skewered on a stick and stabbed the other side into the ground to roast over the bonfire. The rest he moved away from the heat.

He took the seared meat of the flame and ate.

A sudden darkness fell upon the land. He looked up towards where the sun was. But it was gone and where it used to be were now stars. All bunched up and slowly drifting apart. When he was done eating the stars covered the night sky.

He sat cross-legged, forming a circle with his index and thumb fingers, and eyes closed. His hands became wrapped in a thin layer of blue ether. The glow spread over his entire body over an hour.

When he was done he added more wood to the fire and placed the brown furred creature behind him so he was stuck between them.

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Hopefully the fire will last.

His eyes soon shut.

Esh awoke to a screech. The sun shone bright stinging his eyes. Only charcoal remained from the bonfire. His limbs were stiff and the tips of his fingers were turning blue. A small white feathered creature was gnawing on the brown furred corpse.

It looked just like the one he killed yesterday only it was a hatchling. When he moved it ran away.

He rekindled the fire and grilled some of the meat while he warmed up. After checking his body he stood up and followed the little creatures tracks.

While leaving some distance between them, he traced it all the way to the nest. He looked around its surroundings. There was no movement around.

The nest was a mound of branches with an opening in the bottom. Inside he found two whelps. Both screeched at him and clutched the back wall.

He returned to the camp, broke the leg off of the brown furred animal, thawed it, and made his way back to the mound.

The two reacted to the food when he entered again, but they were cautious and only moved forwards bit by bit. He tore of a piece and stretched out his arm towards them. At first they backed off, but they couldn't resist for long and after some cautious sniffs one of them took the piece.

He dangled the whole leg in front of them, moved halfway through the entrance.

“Follow.”

They cautiously followed. Like this he led them to the camp. When they got to the fire he gave them a bit of meat then kept the rest away from them.

He used the brown fur skin to make a bag. The white feathered creatures body he left buried in snow and filled the bag with the others meat then he buried the rest. He looked at the two mounds.

Hopefully this is enough for the corruption not to appear.

He climbed a tree to find the right direction.

Judging by yesterday I should reach it before nightfall.

When he came back down the hatchlings were digging up the corpses. He moved them away and reburied the hole and then took out some bait for them. They followed the food obediently.

Their progress was slow and soon came to a halt when the two refused to cooperate.

They must be tired. Well I'm hungry too.

He cleared a patch of snow, gathered a pile of wood, and lit a fire. The two huddled together close to the fire and fell asleep.

While asleep, he drew an ether ring on their foreheads. Three rings segmented into four sections and several runes in each.

It took longer than I thought but this should help control them.

Then he began roasting meat. They woke up and began sniffing the air.

When they finished eating they moved onward. Along the path they met a herd of those brown furred creatures, which were tearing of bark from the trees and eating it.

When the small ones noticed them the two started screeching at them. The herd broke into a run.

“Hold!”

But he was ignored and they began to chase. Then the symbols on their heads showed turned a dim red and the two started shaking their heads.

“Hold!”

This time they quieted down and the markings disappeared. He gave them both a piece of meat.

They continued on their path. The sunlight turned orange-red when they reached the elevation.

He paced around and observed it. There were a lot of holes etched into the wall. Some were the size of a fist and some twice his size.

I wonder if we can climb it before darkness falls.

A fire was made.

Better spend the night on solid ground.

When he woke up it was still night. The forest was silent and snow was falling. He yawned and looked up into the sky where the stars were bunched up in one place. The stars were slowly crawling towards the same point.

A rather pleasant sight.

There was barely any black between them now. They were all pulled in with a sudden jerk. A flash of light dispelled the darkness. Esh averted his sight. He blinked to adjust his eyes to the sudden brightness. When he looked back up there was the sun.

He stood up and took a deep breath. The cold air stung his nose which made him sneeze. It was loud enough to wake up the hatchlings. They approached him with heads stuck out and sniffing the air.

“Hungry are we? Let's try something new today.”

He got out some meat, tore off a piece, and held it out above them so they could not reach. One jumped, but failed to reach it.

“Jump,” Esh said and let him get the piece.

Another chunk this time enclosed by his fist hovered above them and they both started hopping for it.

“Hold.” They both stopped and looked at him.

He opened his hand to reveal the chunk of meat, and said “Jump.” They both leapt.

It seems my intention is properly conveyed through the runes.

“What should I call you? I'm bad with names.”

He looked at their bodies covered in white feathers and scales.

“How about Is and White.”

He ate some himself, packed up the remaining food, looked up at the cliff, and began walking. Followed by his companions, they walked along the wall for a while until they found a ledge that ascended up along the cliff.

This seems man made.

Approaching the path Esh looked down. There were footprints in the snow coming from the forest and up the path. He traced the prints until they disappeared behind the corner where his gaze stopped for a while.

“Follow,” he said and began to move upwards.

On the way they passed several holes growing bigger as they got higher. They were all shallow and empty until they reached about half height of the elevation. There they found bones. Judging by them it was bigger than Esh, had wings, and a mouth full of sharp teeth.

The hatchlings gnawed on the bones which broke easily. The bones didn't hold their interest for long and they continued up the path. More skeletons were found along the way.

The small ones got tired and stopped walking while breathing quickly so they took a break.

“Eating the same kind of meat all the time is boring my tongue,” he said, sighed, and ate it anyway.

They made way on the last stretch towards the top. The holes gradually disappeared. The edge of the top was now visible. One last turn.

They found themselves before two pillars, a wall between them, and a wooden gate. The footprints went through a hole in gate. Esh knelt and looked through it.

It was flat land. There were ruined wooden houses towards the middle. The tracks led towards them. Another larger building was was in the center of the plateau. It had stone walls and was raised above the rest by a rock foundation.

The hatchlings started play fighting and making other noises but when he entered through the hole they stopped and followed him.

The houses were empty. The tracks led directly to the steps of the largest building. It had no windows and its roof was still intact.

At the end of the steps was a heavy looking door. He opened it with a creak. The inside was dark, but there was light in the middle of the hall.

A man carried a torch, in his other hand he held a long metal barrel with a wooden grip. It was pointing at Esh. The man had a surprised look on his face.

That looks like a weapon.

Esh raised his arm and molded an ether shield. The man flinched. An explosion filed the room. Is and White ran away. Esh griped his shoulder. Blood flowed between his fingers. He looked at the man who was pulling out another metal barrel. Esh stretched out his bloody hand. He took the ether shield and molded it into three bolts. He shouted and the bolts launched forwards. Two missed the target, the third pierced the mans chest. He fell on the floor.

Esh knelt down and clutched his shoulder. His breathing was short and quick. The smell of burning flesh emanated from the wound.

He molded strings and guided them inside the hole while wincing. With a tug on the strings a metal ball came out. Blood was still flowing. He gathered a ball of ether in his hand and focused on it until it got a green tint. He squeezed all of it into the wound. The blood flow stopped.

His breathing calmed. He looked towards the man who lay still in a pool of blood.