A chill wind flowed out over the waters of the south edge of the Haldrenian straight. It blew through the locks of Kata's brown hair, causing her to bring her fur cloak closer. She had let it fly free for a time; on Tanith's advice, she'd said it had looked better. And Tanith was glad she was taking the advice because without the braids...

If only Tanith could get some other kind of haircut. Something more foreign. Harlenorian long hair didn't really suit the dark skin. Maybe with some hair tied above her head, that would be nice.

Nevermind.

Elranor had seen a heavy frost over the land, distantly visible beyond the burgs. Kata said it got thicker the deeper in you went. Usually, Furbearers were the only ones to cross that far. More than a few caught their death fishing out here. They were beneath magnificent pillars of frozen water.

But first, they had to get past the bergs. Like long fingers of ice, they rose into the air. The breath came from Tanith's mouth in steam as they neared them.

Kata and Sokar were with her, clad in heavy fur as well. Kata looked around at the ice as they drew steadily through the bergs. The ship they were taking was a shallow-bottomed longboat Sokar had chosen. The oars groaned as they slipped between two great towers of ice.

Here lay the Incarnation of the Land in final repose. Waiting to return and deliver the people of the land true freedom.

Or so it was said. Tanith had never cared, having only heard the legend in passing. Her interest in the Incarnation died when Anoa killed him with his bare hands. He wasn't a threat after that. Neral Dinis had become the primary benefactor of the Furbearers then.

"We shouldn't be out here, Sokar," said Kata.

"What's the problem? We're making good time," said Sokar, honing his knife with a smile. "Kata and I used to sail out here all the time, looking for the Incarnation of the Land."

That old wives tale again?

"When was this?" asked Tanith.

"We were eight," said Sokar. "Though Tavish came out here fishing with us once. To get a look at things and learn our ways of passage."

"I meant when the Incarnation died," said Tanith. "There aren't a lot of specific dates." Very few historical documents mentioned specific dates from that period. William should have bothered recording time save in the most general of scopes. And some of the chronology was outright wrong when you read his documents.

The Khasmir Campaign had been much longer than he'd made it seem. He'd been very introverted during that period. Mostly, he had just focused on his job and done very well at it. Kusher had always liked him much more than the others. When they hadn't been discussing philosophy, they'd been killing demons.

And they'd been heroes to the people for it. Danger, blood, fame, and ale, everything a warrior needed. Those had been some of the happiest days of Tanith's life, but she couldn't go on fighting the way she had. It wouldn't work twice; that was a thing about magic.

"He didn't die," said Kata. "And I still believe in him."

"You're fooling yourself," said Tanith. "Anoa killed him in single combat on the edge of Qor'Dana. Everybody agrees they fought, and Anoa was on a rampage. He would never have let him live."

"The Incarnation of the Land won that fight," said Kata. "He saved Qor'Dana. Why do you think Anoa didn't burn it down? Because he couldn't."

"No, no, he did not," said Tanith, who thought it had been a bad move. "At best, he stopped Anoa from gaining total and final vengeance."

"The Incarnation was trying to save Qor'Dana," said Sokar. "And he did."

"It doesn't matter," said Tanith. "Anoa had already won by that point.

"He already ruled this whole place. He killed him and chose to spare them.

"You're talking about a later Incarnation of the Land. The one which came about after the fall of the Tarasifian Empire."

"There was more than one?" asked Kata.

"Yes," said Tanith. "Anoa killed one, possibly several times, and lost control of Harlenor. He was the elves' go-between, controlled opposition.

"He forced Tarasif into peace for a bit, was shot in the back to start a war, was reincarnated, and came here. If I have the time right. The records I got during my raids differed a lot."

"So... you mean he might be reincarnated instead of coming out of the ice," said Kata.

"I don't know or care," said Tanith. "He's not my god, just one of Anoa's enemies. Ancient history, really. I only know about him because I was researching the history of Saint Nendas of Tarasif and compiling it.

"The Incarnation of the Land is mentioned in many records, but he never takes center stage. That's never been how he operated. That is exactly why he could never win. If you, Sokar, had stayed in the background, you'd never be important."

"How do you know all this?" asked Sokar.

"I read books," said Tanith. "Why don't you visit me in Ran Telus is over. Or Carn Gable, we've got a lot of documents you could read there. Duke Vanion and my Father share a passion for history."

"I might," said Kata. "So, what do you know about the fight between Anoa and the Incarnation?"

"No idea," said Tanith, "Anoa the Bright has very few actual records on him. Most of our earliest sources date years after his death. And most of them are elven. Literacy was low when Anoa II took the throne.

"He was the one who built all the roads and really organized things. That's where our records start, and he rarely writes about his Father. When he does, it's always focusing on how he handled famines and logistics.

"Anoa's status as the ultimate warrior was undisputed. He probably didn't think it was worth mentioning. Anyway, you won't find the Incarnation of the Land here. The only thing you're going to see inside those icebergs is your own reflection."

"Well, I don't believe it!" said Kata. "Maybe things are that bleak in Harlenor, but my people have done pretty well so far. I'll bet he'll return any day now."

"Believe what you want," said Tanith.

She watched the rowers continue their work as they slipped on through large bergs. Sokar's plan was to get out near the Babarassian encampment here. He wanted to assess the defenses and take it if they could.

"Are you alright, Tanith?" asked Kata. "You aren't acting yourself."

"Because I've just helped foreigners assassinate a Lord of Harlenor," said Tanith.

"Rius deserved it," said Sokar.

"It doesn't work that way," said Tanith. "Yes, Rius deserved it, but taking him out could backfire for House Gabriel. That's why William wanted to keep the structure. You start knocking off nobles, and you get massive wars.

"It shouldn't have happened. We shouldn't have had to do it.

"If that idiot had just done his job, this never would have happened. He just took his bribes and invited other people in to fix his problems. He wasn't at his post. He abandoned his post and let the enemy in!"

"I guess we did something like that," said Sokar.

"No, you didn't," said Tanith. "You were stupid, but you were good. You didn't get what you were doing. You didn't know better, but Rius did know better or should have.

"You know what the difference between a stupid person and a simple person is?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" asked Kata.

"A simple person doesn't understand," said Tanith. "A stupid person refuses to understand.

"A simple person you can teach if you knock them out of their illusions. But you can't teach a stupid person. It doesn't matter what happens; they'll keep believing what they want to believe. And they won't care at all if it's true or not."

"Well, what would you call a person who chooses to believe in something to try and make it real?" said Kata.

Tanith shrugged. "A hero."

Tanith said no more and bowed her head to look at the boards of the ship. Every moment now seemed a funeral procession as the currents picked up and they have pulled away. The skies were darker than ever, and major rain would soon occur.

"Look..." said Kata. "We're being drawn by a current now.

"Something is calling us. Do you hear the wind and water?"

The wind was howling now, and Tanith remembered the snows of Ruscow as she saw villages burning. The smile of a skull-faced her as she saw only herself. Memories came to her of the good feeling she got when she saw blood on a cook's knife. She'd fallen in love with that feeling when she'd seen Agravain cut himself.

He quilled before blood and wanted not to enter battle. But Tanith had wanted it more than anything.

She'd watched Agravain, that spineless idiot, ask for his inheritance early. He had taken Father's money and spent it on frivolous pursuits. And he, the miserable wretch, had been accepted back. All while Sunthred, ever dutiful, was treated the same.

Ridiculous.

She'd have killed Agravain there if Mother hadn't stopped her. And other Lords had mocked Father.

Tanith had made it her mission to erase the shame of that spineless, effeminate weakling. And she had done so, initiating such carnage on the Calishans as would never be forgotten.

There were burial grounds for satyrs. Mass graves where they had all been exterminated, their bodies were thrown. Men, women, children, and even babies were all put to the sword by the people of the land long ago. She had spoken to some of those that remained as they lived a desolate life in the highlands.

They had worshipped Tamar once before the Urishia had wiped them clean. Whole families were slaughtered to the man by their people just in case.

All those innocent lives were twisted by things beyond their comprehension. Exterminated by spite by these brutal torture mongers. Baltoth had brought by shedding the blood of those who might disrupt order. And Tanith had avenged them, burning her way through the fools who thought they could escape it. As they had had no mercy toward the satyrs, so too had Tanith had no mercy toward them.

Perhaps the spirits of the dead had driven her to seek that vengeance. To make way for greater glories and bring order from chaos. Looking at the emblem of Kreshlak in her hand, Tanith laughed as she raised it upward to the sky. And for the first time in what seemed forever, Tanith felt true joy. Not mirth or enjoyment of beer, but genuine happiness.

Her cause was just.

She fought for the honor of House Gabriel.

Even as she did, their vessel moved fast until, at last, they crashed against the side of a barge. The ship did not break, but they were beach by chance. The force of it nearly threw Tanith from her feet. The wind howled ever worse as it grew dark and the snow fell in torrents.

Sokar was setting up a shelter, but Tanith stood her ground, and the winds gave way before her. The snow did not touch them while she stood among them. And high above the clouds, Tanith beheld a figure, armored and within a chariot with wheels of fire. For a moment, it raced across the sky.

"The spirits are trying to tell us something," said Kata.

"That's your imagination," said Tanith. "These spirits did not help you before; why would they help you now? What do you know of them, and what do they owe you?"

Now they stood in the eye of a great storm, and Tanith stood gazing upwards. Around them was an island of ice, slowly chipping the surface away. Kata stared up at her as the shelter was raised and the firewood was started.

Then, looking past Tanith, she saw something. "Look there..."

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

"What is it?" asked Kata.

"There's someone on the ice," said Kata before snatching up a club. "We've been drawn here to save him."

"You are wasting your time, Kata. He's dead," said Tanith.

"That may be the sign," said Sokar.

"No, he might be being kept alive by magic or have sealed himself within," said Kata, and she struck the ice. "We've got to at least try."

"Then do so," said Tanith.

So it was that the crew began to hack at the ice, trying to force their way through toward a vague figure. Tanith stood by, and the wind and snow did not touch them. Yet the ship was pulled away and broken. On and on, the Furbearers labored to retrieve a corpse, yet the effort was not in itself meaningless.

And then the ice broke.

Out of it came a skeletal, frozen corpse clad in ragged clothes that had once been of fine silk. The broken form of a dragon could be seen beyond. Then, in a moment, the snow and wind faded, and they were standing on a plane of snowy ice. An entire peninsula formed from the unnatural storm.

But Kata saw only the corpse. Her face was horrified, for she now saw in an omen of her own people. Or so Tanith guessed. But Sokar's eyes widened as one who had seen a vision of a legacy once glorious. A legacy that would soon come again.

"He's just a corpse," said Kata in horror.

"That is not our people, Kata," said Sokar with relish in his tone. "It is our salvation.

"The Harlenorians cannot be relied upon. But another power served us well in the past. A force by which we kept the Harlenorians at bay for an age.

"This body is between life and death.

"So we should seek power from Neral Dinis, our old companion."

Old companions? Was that some kind of term of endearment.

Tanith halted and saw a book, perfectly preserved. There was also staff to one side and a strange device. Quickly kneeling down, she picked it up. "...Look at these clothes and this book. These are nothing like you would see in Harlenor or Calisha. So it must have been the Incarnation from Tarasif." She looked at the book, opening it. "Perfectly preserved.

"Let me see...

This could be very helpful to my research. I know these letters. This is an account of the Incarnation of the Land's histories. It looks like it predates the fall of the old temple system.

"Apparently, he realized he was being used as a political tool and made a run for it to set up shop somewhere else. The land had become hostile to him. He realized he would have to initiate an unprecedented bloodletting to take it back. So he sought to go west, seeking a land without war. Rather like your people did.

"From the looks of things, he didn't find it.

"He tried mediating disputes, but no one acknowledged his authority. He tried making friends, but the land was torn by war. And people only respected warriors. Several times, he found people who asked him to mediate, but he always moved for compromise. As a result, many of his verdicts were unjust.

"He did strip an evil King of power and end a war in Calisha involving countries that no longer exist. But doing it made him unwelcome by both sides.

"His credibility destroyed, friendless and alone, he came here on the winds. He highly praises your people and how you cooperated to survive the God War's bitter aftermath. This must have been just after Zeya and Elranor killed Typhos; that's the usual marking place for the end.

"The Incarnation of the Land..." Tanith halted as she realized how utterly foreign this person was from him. "He was a monster.

"He abandoned his friends, nation, people, and honor. All for the sake of impossible dreams even he didn't believe in. And so he died alone in the ice, abandoned in turn.

"A fitting end for such a fool." But there was no venom in her voice. "Though I suppose he was an honest one."

Kata stared and looked at the handwriting. She looked to Tanith. "You can read that?! You're fluent in Tarasifian?"

"I learned to read it by threatening the priests to teach me," said Tanith.

"What will you do with the book?" asked Sokar, looking at her.

"Translate it, maybe," said Tanith. "If I ever have the inclination and the wars settle down. But I'm currently working on a different project, one much more interesting than his. So it'll take a lot of studying to figure it out."

"We can't just leave his corpse here," said Kata. "We've got to do something."

"We'll take the body to shore and bury him," said Sokar. "We're sure to have gotten attention after that. And the boat is done anyway. So take the supplies, and let's run for it.

"I will take the staff and give it to Father when we come to him. It will be given a place of honor."

And they did, hurrying along the thick ice toward the shore. Sokar knew the place well, and they got undercover when they reached the trees. They stole along the shore, carrying the body on a stretcher. Sokar held the staff close by, but he felt uncomfortable while Kata kept looking at the oceans.

The wind seemed to sing as it flowed through the ice, and Tanith thought the song seemed that of the merfolk. And it resounds through each of them in turn and settles on Kata the most. She listened keenly when Sokar turned toward war.

But the song never came to Tanith.

And at last, they saw their enemy.

The Babarassians had set up a very large compound. Many trees had been felled, and some were left lying. These had made a crude settlement where, even now, people were docking. Numerous well-dressed men were speaking on the shore and were very well-armed.

"Put the Incarnation down here," said Sokar. "We will bury him later.

"Tanith, can we raid that?"

Tanith saw the lack of walls on the inland side. "Yes, but we can't fight them all. Well, unless you want me to do all the work. If I were you, I would try to get your people out.

"Find where they are, free them, and get under cover.

"Find a safe place to hole up or make a stand and get someone to scout out where everything is."

"I already know," said Kata. "I can hear the spirits of this place whispering.

"They've dug a pit where they keep everyone waiting for the sale. But their plans to sell us have failed because of all the Harlenorian attacks. They've been fighting, and Father has beaten some of them. Many have released the slaves and fled; they say the Gods have commanded it.

"Some have left to seek different merchant work. But the rest are determined to keep fighting."

"How are you hearing them?" asked Sokar.

"Maybe some part of the Incarnation of the Land's power has rubbed off on us," said Kata. "Follow me. They say that doom is coming, and we must save our people soon."

"Do it," said Sokar to their men.

And they did follow, and the snows themselves seemed to conspire to let them pass easily over the land. The hills above them, hiding the way to Ran Telus, came nearer. And soon, Kata came to the pit she spoke of, completely out of sight. A guard was by there and looked about to speak, but Sokar bore him down from behind. Then he knocked him unconscious. Tanith broke the lock, and the cell was opened.

Beneath them were many people caked in mud and ankle-deep in water.

"Lower a rope," said Sokar. "Women and children up first. Come quickly; there's not much time. If anyone cannot come up themselves, we'll send someone down to get you."

"Prince Sokar, Princess Kata," said one. "You've returned to us."

"Just Sokar, please," said Sokar. "Tanith, keep watch."

And they did.

Wind and gusts began to kick up at that moment as the land itself conspired to their victory. The Babarassians were all drawn indoors. While other Furbearers kept as servants escaped outside doors. It was too perfect, too devoid of blood or pain.

And yet beautiful in a very childish way.

Now, how to slaughter Babarassians?

But they didn't do anything of the sort.

Sokar, Kata, and Tanith spent three days freeing slaves. Kata would know where the weaknesses were, and they would save the slaves. Over and over, it happened, and soon became known that Chieftain Osris Their Father had been fighting and retaking several villages from the Babarassians. House Kern had taken no action but was bolstering forces on the border.

"Why to take no action?" asked Tanith. "He could have finished you off in a day. No offense."

"Maybe he doesn't want our blood on his hands," said Sokar. "I doubt it was out of kindness."

The people were sent away as they continued. The Babarassians sent out many searches, but the snow kept them hemmed in. Their ships could not leave, so the land itself conspired to keep them in place.

For what?

"We should free everyone before we attack," said Tanith. "And the Babarassians might just kill them rather than let them recaptured. I would do it if I was sure I'd lose them."

"Are you serious?" asked Kata.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" asked Tanith. "I'm on my own, in hostile territory. If these slaves escape, they'll return and help my enemies either as laborers or soldiers. Killing them might also demoralize the people who came to rescue them.

"Our loss is their gain."

"Like the pirates," thought Kata, looking out over a frozen lake slowly thawing. "Could we call for help?"

"We could," said Tanith. "But I don't think that'd be a good idea. See, if you sort this out yourself, you'll be respected for it. If you have to call for help, you'll owe someone a favor, and people will think you're too weak to defend yourself.

"So they'll just try to bribe your protector or wait for them to be distracted and attack you again. And, if you do owe a protector fealty, they will want payment at some point. Probably a lot more payment than they bought you for.

"A day or two ago, I'd do it in a heartbeat?

"Now?

"I think you have a chance."

"It might be our only option, though," said Sokar. "We're stronger than we were, but I don't think we can fight a big war. More Babarassians might arrive. Heck, there might be more on the way. I'm sure my brother and Father have been fighting. And we could go to them for help, but...

"For all I know, they're already dead." Sokar slumped in seeming defeat, and Tanith wondered how to help him.

"You could go to my family, House Telus," said Tanith. "Father is an experienced warrior and ally of House Gabriel. He's rich and powerful and has recently viewed King Gavin as a rival. Especially since this move on the Furbearers could be considered a proxy war.

"If House Kern repossesses your land and gives it to veterans, it would put you in a bad position. William's home, Carn Gable has a western border with the capital, Carn Garsh. And they've pulled troops from it recently. There is yet to be a member of House Gabriel present there anymore. Gavin could lay siege to the place quickly enough if there was a full-scale war.

"If we were fighting a border war with House Kern, we wouldn't be able to help them."

"What does all that mean?" asked Kata.

"It means House Telus is interested in ensuring the Furbearers don't get wiped out," said Tanith. "And since you border House Kern as well as them, you could play one against the other.

"You don't want any faction to win here, Kata. Even if a 'good' faction won completely, they'd eventually become bad. They'd get complacent or corrupt, or an unworthy generation would succeed over a great one. And sooner or later, they'd conquer you simply because you were there.

"Nations don't have friendships. Only interests."

"Do you have friendships?" asked Kata.

"I have uh... friendship interests," said Tanith, shifting and feeling a blush on her face. "And William." William was special; somehow, he and Kusher.

"You love him, don't you?" asked Kata.

"What?" asked Tanith. How did that even begin to make sense?

"Well, he seems to be the only person you won't ever turn against," said Kata. "He doesn't really strike me as just a friend for you. At least not, in the same way you are friends with Farwa or Rius or... well, Suran."

"I guess," said Tanith. "I mean, I may marry him someday. I like the guy, I enjoy his company, and we play off one another well. Our houses are rich and respected, and it would be an ideal strategic alliance."

"Princess Kata," said a Furbearer. "A dragon is coming!"

Kata looked up. "Let me see."

They rushed to the top of the hill they were behind and looked out. Sure enough, there was a vast dragon with red scales flying.

It descended toward one of the Babarassian ports with a roar. A wave of flame utterly consumed the ships. Screams were heard as men chose between a fiery death and a freezing one. Darting above the arrows of the Babarassians, the dragon dropped like a stone. As she did, she torched a line of flame in the Babarassian houses.

The flames burst through frost as the dragon surged to other towns to do the same there. Men rushed out of the new construction, trying to put it out with snow as the wind picked up. Five Babarassian colonies were being made, and each one lit up. Soon enough, the flames surged high into the air.

Then, as the Babarassians fled out of them, now homeless and without escape, the dragon came. Her flames descended on them, burning them to utter ashes instantly. Their arrows bounced off her armor as she burned them all. Some fled, but none escaped, for she dove to and fro, obliterating everything. Then, landing momentarily on a hilltop, she roared triumphantly and flew off, her wings making a noise like thunder.

Everyone was dead.

The colonies were in utter ruins, and there was no sound save the crackling of burning wood.

Cheers resounded from the observing Furbearers.

"...I can't say that wasn't efficient, Kata," said Sokar. "But get off the high places! That dragon might come back. We must get to Father at once."

"No," said Kata. "First, we have a friend to bury."

"What the hell was that!" said Tanith. "After all the trouble, we went to train you into a decent troop of soldiers; a dragon wipes them out! There wasn't any carnage! You didn't do any of it for yourself!"

"What does it matter how we free our people?" asked Kata. "If it happens, it happens."

"But it does matter!" said Tanith. "The Babarassians were your nemesis! No one is going to remember a couple of skirmishes in Ascorn! A few years from now, people will say Prince Sokar assassinated Lord Rius. Then got bailed out by a total deus ex machina!

"There wasn't any buildup to this! No quest to get the dragon on your side!

"William just has tea with his Uncle, and they take the leash of their pet dragon to kill all their enemies!"

"They have a pet dragon?" asked Kata, voice dumbstruck.

"Varsus convinced one to start working for them," said Tanith. "Nobody knows where it lives. I wouldn't; they don't like me."

"Well, then it follows naturally from what came before," said Kata. "William saved us; we've freed everyone. So let's just let things go back to normal and-"

Wrong answer.

"Kata!" said Tanith. "This is what happens when you are good but weak!

"Just because you've survived this long doesn't mean it will last. You've got to prepare for another war."

Silence.

"Look, that's a good point," said Sokar. "But there is nothing we can do about that now."

"We'll bury the Incarnation of the Land, get in contact with Father, and see if we can avoid this ever happening again."

And so they returned across the snow. They were now trudging through them with greater difficulty. Their food supplies were still enough, but they were so tired. And at last, they came to the Incarnation of the Land.

Laying his body on a hilltop overlooking the Babarassians, they built a high cairn over him. The labor was long and difficult, for there were few here. But Kata prayed by his corpses as they did. And torches were lit by it while the fires of his final victory settled against the shore. As they did, they began a Furbearer funeral rite.

"The Incarnation of the Land inspired me," said Sokar. "He taught me that when you wait for another to save you, others pay the price."

"The Incarnation of the Land inspired me," said Kata. "He gave me hope when I lay in that cell. And that hope was answered."

This was an ancient tradition among them. One that Tanith had thought long since dead, but apparently, they were reviving. She'd never seen a ceremony like this in real life. And now she had to say something. But she was not his friend and had a very low opinion of him. But who else could serve in her place?

"The Incarnation of the Land was a great hero in his own way," said Tanith. "But of how he inspired me, I shall say nothing." It wouldn't be appropriate.

"That's probably for the best," said Sokar. "Now, we must at once meet with my Father.

"Our friends have secured our southern front for the moment. If we secure the one to the north, we may not need to fight a battle at all.

"Let's go."

And everyone sprang into action.

Tanith decided to just let things play out. These people had their own views, and she could respect that.