The storm wasn’t a kind one.

The wind it roared wasn’t just cold, it bit. Its rain felt like heavy blows from a hammer. When combined with the wild gusts, the raindrops sliced and tore anything it touched.

I could feel the thick leather wrapped around my arms, and the even heavier fur on my shoulders, being torn and shred with each droplet as I ran.

A good amount of the warm liquid upon my body was something far thicker than mere rain. I didn’t need the bright bolts of color lighting up the world to tell me how badly I was wounded.

“Krift!”

The shout of pain spurred me forward, ignoring the hundreds of tiny knives pelting my body.

“Almost there!” I shouted over the storm.

A fresh wave of color illuminated the world around me but even if it hadn’t, I would have been fine. We were close. I could see the wall just over the next hill. It glistened and gleamed in ways nothing else did. It was unmistakable even in this chaos of darkness and death.

Pushing the woman ahead, I did everything I could to guide her carefully. Through the pain, and the darkness, it was difficult to see anything in the knee high grass.

One wrong trip or stumble now, and we’d all be dead.

There was no way I was going to allow us to die here. Not after all this. How many weeks have we spent in the Rift? How many bodies were littered behind us? If we fell here, what would my betrayal have accomplished?

To come all this way, only to let their bodies join that pile? To just roll over and let them die? To do all this for naught?

I’d not allow it.

“Almost,” I groaned, hoping the sharp pain in my upper left shoulder was just because I had stretched too harshly as to push her a little to the left. Otherwise one too many droplets had landed in the same spot, and I was in trouble.

With the pain, I flinched. Just enough to miss it.

She stepped on it first. And I hit it with my left foot as it scuttled away in shock. Something hard, but not big.

Thanks to her stumbling in front of me, I was able to catch myself in time. Even with my exhaustion, it had been enough of a warning.

Luckily whatever we had tripped over only ran off. In the corner of my eye I watched it dash through the wet grass, a blotch of darkness in the rain.

For it to flee instead of attack, during this storm… We were lucky indeed.

But such luck didn’t go far in the Rift.

She was not as used to the Rift as I, and this journey hadn’t been an easy one. The woman wasn’t able to recover from her misstep. Her fumble turned into a full blown fall.

With a stumble, I panicked when the tightly wrapped bundle rolled from her arms. “No!” she screamed.

It landed as harshly as she in the tall grass, and I knew the grass wasn’t going to be a soft fall. These blades of grass cut just as deeply as the wind and rain.

Ignoring the woman who was struggling to get up, I hurried to grab the bundle. For the tiniest moment I faltered, when I couldn’t feel it squirm or wiggle… but I knew even if the child within thrashed violently, I’d not feel it.

Not just because of my wounds either. The many layers of leather and fur I had wrapped around her just before this storm had started made it impossible. I couldn't even hear the child's cries, and I was sure she was screaming something fierce right now.

“Krift…!” the woman clawed herself back up, and into my grip. I once again tried to shield her with my body from the rain, but I could only do so much. After all the rain fell as much sideways as it did down.

Odd, considering the wind seemed to be only coming up from the ground.

Another wave of color shot through the sky overhead, and I saw the bolts of lightning connect with the wall. A flash scattered the darkness, and for a moment the whole world was lit alight. Not a shadow to be found anywhere.

Nearly blinded by the flash of light, I groaned at the sight of the lightning webbing its way along the wall. Dancing in all directions, without rhyme or reason.

Just what I needed. For the wall to open. For a door to open right before us. I hadn’t wanted a door. Since it was impossible to tell just where it’d take us.

But they had no choice.

“Come on!” I shouted, trying to once again force her forward. But she couldn’t. She stumbled, more so into me than not.

Before even verifying her injuries, or if she could get back to her feet, I grabbed her.

Wrapping my arm around her waist, I was glad she was wrapped as thickly as the child. It allowed me to squeeze her tight without worrying over breaking bone.

Carrying both the woman and the bundled-up baby, I did everything possible to ignore my limb’s protests. Against my wishes, both of my knees felt numb. The two I carried couldn’t afford for me to fail them now.

With the wall so close, I could smell the magic that swirled within it. Even through the blood and salty rain, I could smell the vibrant power.

It terrified me. An instinctual fear I’ve not been able to defy yet. Even after all these years. Almost enough to make me want to stay out in the rain that was chipping away at my body.

But neither of the ones I carried could afford my hesitation.

Running into the wall, then through it, I thanked my steadfast will. The wall looked solid, and it was. Even as it swirled with color. Looking more like a whirlpool of water than not.

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To run headfirst into it… sometimes was…

Breaking into the wall was easy, as solid it as it was, but the next few steps were rough. Sluggish. As if I was suddenly wading through thick marshes.

The world around me became warm, as the colorful lights of the Rift Wall began to fade into darkness.

No longer did the rain pelt me. No longer did I hear the roar of the storm, or the crashing of the magic.

Within the darkness there was nothing. Not even sound. Not even the ringing of strained ears could be heard.

All that existed was me. The child I held close to my chest. The woman squirming as I carried her.

Us and sudden warmth. Far from cold, yet not hot. It was a calming temperature… soothing.

With the warmth, came the realization I wasn’t hurt as badly as I had thought. The magic wading all around me as I hurried along the ever darkening corridor was tickling and tugging at my wounds. Although many, I could tell by the burning sensations that none were… too worrisome.

But I was a grown man.

A man of power.

The two in my arms were also people of power, but they were…

Squeezing the woman in my left arm, I got a strong wiggle back. My squeeze had hurt her. If sound could exist here amongst such thick magic, I knew I’d have heard her curses.

Good, it meant she was still alive.

Too bad I couldn’t squeeze the baby to check… but…

I flinched as a bright white light appeared at the end of the darkness. It was growing larger with every step towards it.

Good. A short door. That meant my rushed choice of an exit hadn’t been wrong. Any further north or south and this could have gone badly.

“Krift?” the woman spoke in fear, obviously noticing the approaching door of light in front of us.

With the return of sound, came the confirmation that all was well.

“Almost,” was all I said. Hopefully the baby had both survived the storm… and also hadn’t suffocated…

If it died here, at the end… after all this…

Exiting the Rift, I flinched at the sudden heat. Real heat. The sun was bright overhead, showcasing the wide empty sky of blue.

Daytime. During the summer. Without a single storm cloud in sight.

“Oh praise the powers!” the woman cried out as she quickly found her footing. Releasing her, I didn’t argue or fight as she snatched the bundle from my grasp.

Doing my best to ignore the blood on both me and her, I helped her unwrap the tight leathers. It took a little longer than it should of, what with us being so exhausted, but we eventually heard the cry of the small baby.

“Hush, hush, my sweet little power,” the woman whispered as she continued to unwrap the child.

The child’s cry became a tad bit louder as her head appeared. I pulled the last bit of leather strip off the child’s head, making sure it didn’t get stuck to her horns.

At this age the small horns were fragile. It was relieving to see both of them intact, even after the earlier tumble.

A miracle for her to not only be alive, but in one piece.

“Oh, dear power! I’m here. I’m here,” the woman calmly hushed the baby as she checked for any wounds.

Quickly she looked the kid over, and I was glad to see the woman relax with relief as she did so. Nothing worrisome. No blood, no wounds, nor bruises. Sleight rashes from my quick and rough wrapping earlier, but nothing serious… and most importantly, no cuts from rain or grass.

“She all right?” I asked, just in case I didn’t see something obvious.

“Seems so… She’s shaken, but…” the woman relaxed a little, and I had to grab her as she nearly fell to her knees.

Although weary, she seemed to steady herself. A moment of exhaustion, after confirming the child had been fine.

“How about you? You’re bleeding, but not… too badly, it looks,” I said, glancing to her back. Small blotches of black could be seen amongst the drenched leather.

“I hurt. And am exhausted, but I will heal. What now, Krift?” she asked, looking around.

A quick look revealed a familiar sight. Far off in the distance, a few hours to our west, were bright colors. Opposing those colorful houses, looming over us was the Rift Wall. We had emerged farther than usual from the Rift, but in all honesty in a good location.

“There’s RiftWarren. Our destination. Hard part’s over. In a few hours you’ll be safe and able to rest,” I said with a point.

“Then let us hurry. I want… I need to ensure she’s all right…” she said, finding a surge of energy that she didn’t seem to have moments ago. She immediately stepped away. Heading off towards the town, without even a glance to me. I hurried to follow her.

Normally I’d sit and take a breather… and I’ve done this many times. I had stopped counting my trips through the Rift a few years ago.

Yet here was a young woman, who had never been in the Rift before, able to keep going. Where I wanted to sit and rest, she charged onward.

Was it her own will, or was this strength coming from the child in her arms?

A drop of blood forced my right eye closed, and I had to wipe it away. The blood stung, but luckily wasn’t flowing too freely.

Damn rain. Of all the storms to have encountered, it had to have been that one.

Considering we just ran a whole hour through such a storm…

The woman in front of me had picked up her pace, as if the sight of other people off in the distance spurred her forward.

A quick glance told me they were just workers. Even from here I could make out the outlines of the base of a new building. Ever expanding, RiftWarren.

After a moment of making sure we were indeed fine… I startled at the sudden cry.

“Hush, hush… I know,” the woman went to calming the baby, and I forced my heart to calm down.

Such a cry was obvious. Hurt. Tired. Hungry.

But I had instinctively interpreted it as something else. Something worse.

Yet…

With its cry, I smiled. We were close. In not even an hour, I’ll have completed the job.

And what a job it was.

A job well done.

Battered. Bruised. Broken. Bloody.

But I got both of them here. Alive.

Considering the circumstances and how harshly we had been chased… even into the Rift…

A job well done, indeed.

Their names would now get added to the very, very, short list of individuals to survive a trip through the Rift.

A great deed… mighty and well respected. Especially for the little one.

Surviving the Rift… what more did the little child have to live for? She had already accomplished the impossible.

“We made it. We made it, little one,” she whispered to the child, still trying to calm it. “We survived,” she added, her own astonishment was daunting.

“Indeed you did,” I whispered. But she hadn’t heard me. I wasn’t too far behind, but enough so that my whisper was eaten by the hot summer wind.

Looking down at my arms, and the shreds of leather and flesh that hung from them… I wondered how many more trips I’d survive.

Rather, would I survive the return trip, after what I had just done?

We’d find out soon… I would venture back into the Rift in a few days. Once I saw these two walk through the door of a certain company.

Once they did, my task was fulfilled. I had helped them do the impossible. I had gone against all conventional wisdom... I had done the unthinkable, even for me.

Yet this was where my transgression ended.

If they could survive any longer would be up to them.