Uther trudged across the snowy field toward the lava flows. While he planned to run away, he at least owed Syrath, the other wyrm herd, an explanation before he left. Uther sighed and looked back. Behind him, the village looked like a little collection of twinkling lights on a hill. Ahead of him lay the lava flows, a vast field of razor-sharp edges of hardened obsidian and ice, broken only by fresh lava breaking from deep beneath the ground. He had to navigate through the field of rock and snow carefully. The icy ground often concealed crevices hollowed out by the movement of the lava.

After skirting around the edge of a likely pit, Uther saw the herd in the distance. He counted the wyrms as he drew closer. 35...36...37...38. That’s all of them. Each wyrm was covered in its own color of scales and measured about ten feet long, with three limbs on each side of its body. The rear four were for propelling the creatures, while the front pair were used to more easily access the lava flows that they fed on. This gave the wyrms tremendous body heat, which melted the snow wherever the wyrms walked. Eventually, it would form ice, but there were just too many wryms about right now. Instead, the ground was covered in an alternatingly freezing and boiling sheet of glowing water. As he splashed through the puddles around the herd and greeted the creatures, Uther saw the wyrm-herder, Syrath, seated out of the water on a dorman lava flow.

She saw him approaching through the herd and waved. “No sun today, eh? I thought not. The Tempest and Phoenix are fighting more than usual, and that wouldn’t be the case if someone had freed her.” Syrath gestured at the sky. Uther hadn’t paid attention up to this point, but now that he looked, he saw that thick clouds filled the sky.

“Well, whoever was supposed to do that obviously didn’t get the message,” Uther climbed up to sit beside Syrath. “Do you think that the priestess misread the prophecy?”

“It would be the first time that I remember Nathrae proving false,” Syrath said. Her pale orange skin and black hair marked her as one born of the Solari. She had married into the tribe, but her husband, Belvar, had disappeared just after Uther was born, just like his mother. She had been allowed to live with the tribe regardless, but chose to spend most of her time tending the wyrm herd. She stroked her chin. “Perhaps we misunderstood the prophecy.”

Uther shook his head. “If so, I can’t imagine what the true meaning might be. She specifically said she saw ‘the Sun being raised as a bucket from the well’ and that today would be known as ‘the dawn of the new age.’”

“New age, eh? That could mean anything.” Syrath said wryly. “Speaking of which, don’t you become a man today?”

“Aye,” Uther said. “But I won’t be here to celebrate it.”

“You’re running away,” Syrath observed. “Well then, what was going to be your birthday gift is now a going-away gift.” She rummaged around in her pack until she produced a necklace and handed it to Uther. The string was of leather, and an obsidian disk hung from it. The middle of the disk had a glowing orange gem, and the edges of the obsidian were carved with runes. “A little something to brighten your day, quite literally.”

“Thank you,” Uther said, peering at the writing. “But what is it?”

Syrath smiled. “A gift fit for a chief’s son. It’s something my tribe would give the young ones when they came of age. Think of it as a campfire in a rock. All you have to do is press the center and set it down. It will burn for about four hours at a time.” Syrath smiled. “And when you’re not using it for a fire, it’ll make a fine piece of jewelry.”

He tested it out, and sure enough, it burst into flames. “What if I want to put out the fire before four hours?”

“Tap the center again. But be quick; the flames are still hot.”

He pressed the center again and hung it around his neck. Once the flames were gone, the stone was pleasantly warm against his skin. “Thank you, Syrath.”

“My pleasure,” she said. “Now, then, if you’re planning to run away I won’t keep you.”

Uther shook his head. “No, I’m planning to feed the wyrms another meal and then bring them back to the caves.”

“Very well,” Syrath said, rising to her feet. “I won’t refuse an opportunity to give these old bones a rest.” She gathered her things and slid off of the outcropping. “Before I go, there’s two things you should know: First, the Solari village I grew up in is on the coast, past the desert. If you tell them I sent you, you’ll receive a warm welcome. Second, I spotted some big bear tracks about a mile north, so be careful. It looks like the bear’s a loner, but I moved the herd here to be safe.” The elder wyrm-herd adjusted her pack and inclined her head. “If I don’t see you again, may Aeindarhu be with you.”

“And you as well, Syrath.”

***

As the day wore on the snow began to lose its glow, and light came increasingly from the reddish-orange lava, the intermittent lightning from the distant Great Storm, a few scattered stars, and the glowing underbellies of the wyrms. After the wyrms’ midday meal, Uther planned to herd them back to the fold. So, while the wyrms settled around a couple of fresh lava mounds and lapped up the magma, Uther decided to check for the bear that Syrath had mentioned.

In his experience, lone predators like the one she had described kept their distance, but when he had gone about half a mile north, he saw the bear’s tracks. His eyes widened and he fit a dart to his atlatl. The tracks were the breadth of both his hands next to each other. The tracks led east, away from the herd, but that didn’t make Uther feel much better. Clearly, the bear had followed the herd from where Syrath had them before and was looking to nab a wyrm for dinner.

That’s not going to happen. Uther thought grimly. He had taken down wolves and other predators seeking an easy meal in the past, though none had approached this creature’s size. But as long as the wyrms stuck together, even a bear this large would be foolish to challenge them all.

Uther made his way back to the herd as quickly as he could in the chaotic lava field. Once he reached the herd, he counted the wryms.

35, 36, 37… His brow furrowed and he counted again. Still, he came up short. Thinking that perhaps one of them had merely wandered behind one of the jutting rocks, Uther whistled for the wyrms to gather. Now, Uther was able to identify the missing creature; it was Jephis, one of the younger wyrms. She had a habit of exploring on her own, but she always returned when he called. Uther began circling the herd, looking for signs of the missing wyrm. Finally, he found wyrm tracks leading away from the herd and toward the northeast. Uther furrowed his brow. The tracks were alone, with no sign of a struggle.

Why would she leave? Surely Jephis smelled the bear on the wind.

Since the other wyrms were content to stay together, Uther felt confident enough to pursue Japhis. The tracks were easy to follow, even in the rapidly failing light, which allowed him to consider why she might leave the safety of the herd. Perhaps she was sick? But Syrath would have told him if she had shown any signs of that.

After tracking the wyrm for about a mile through the jagged maze, he saw a flickering light in a natural shelter formed by several shelves of rock that had been shoved together. About a hundred feet from the source of the light was the scene of a struggle. Droplets of wyrm blood were scattered about, mixed with giant bear tracks. Skid marks leading toward the light showed the result of the fight. Uther frowned. How did the bear lure the wyrm all the way out here? And why didn’t it subdue the wyrm earlier if it was able?

The light he saw ahead was likely a fresh lava flow, and it was likely the bear was near it for its warmth. Though he was downwind of where he assumed the bear to be, Uther moved cautiously. He readied his atlatl and with the faintly glowing snow crunching under his feet, climbed the outer ridge of the natural shelter to investigate.

What greeted his eyes was unlike anything he had ever seen. A huge humanoid, about two feet taller than Uther, was constructing a spit over the lava as he hummed a song. He wore a white and grey spotted fur cloak and fur trousers, but no shirt. His skin was a pale orange color, similar to Syrath’s. He had a wild brown beard, and a massive, stone-studded club leaned against the boulder he was using as a stool. A set of pan-flutes hung around his neck. The missing wyrm was laying at his feet, still moving weakly. When it brushed the giant’s leg, he kicked it derisively.

“I’ll take care of you in a minute,” he promised.

Beside him stood a massive white cave bear with brilliant blue eyes. It was almost as tall as Uther was while it stood on all four legs. It began sniffing at the wyrm as if it wanted to eat it, but the giant blew a soft melody on his pipes and the bear laid down obediently.

“A Harbinger,” Uther whispered, mind spinning with the knowledge that such a creature had ventured this far south. From what he had heard, these near-legendary creatures lived north of the Great Storm, hundreds of leagues from here. Only glimpses of them had been seen in the past, and then only for a short while before they vanished back into the snows. Given that no one from the village had a close encounter with one—and survived—the only advice Uther had ever gotten on how to deal with a giant was summed up in one word: run.

Stolen story; please report.

But his wyrm was still there, and if he did not act soon, it would be a giant’s dinner. Uther considered his options. His weapons would be no match for the Harbinger, even if he could defeat the bear with his darts. But perhaps there was another way. As the giant finished construction of his spit, Uther had an idea. It might allow him to get the wyrm away from the giant, but after that, he would have to delay the giant if they were to have any hope of rejoining the herd. Uther chewed the inside of his cheek as he thought of a solution, all thoughts of running away vanishing from his mind. The second part of his plan seemed too risky, but time was running out. The spit was complete, and the giant reached for the wyrm, knife in hand. It was time to act.

Uther took off his necklace and pressed the center button, and then fit it into his atlatl and threw it as far north as he could. He thought he could hear it land with a slight clink. Then he saw its bright flame reflected amongst the jagged ice about a hundred yards away. The bear perked up and looked in the direction of the noise.

The giant stopped and rose to his feet, reaching for his club. “Come along, Volgen. If we’re lucky, it’s Aresis.”

With that, they left their campsite to investigate the strange sound and light. Uther waited a moment to be sure that they were gone, and then slipped down the hill he had been hidden on. He rushed over to the wyrm and she gurgled happily as Uther approached. He shushed her and helped her to her feet. She held one of her limbs close to her body and limped along on the other three.

“Let’s go, Jephis.” Uther escorted her to the edge of the camp and urged her in the direction of the herd. “I’ll catch up in a moment,” he promised.

Then he returned to the giant’s camp. The giant had left behind a rudimentary shelter propped up with some strong reeds, a bedroll, and a pack of supplies. Quickly, Uther unraveled his lasso and lashed the supplies and bedroll to the spit and dangled some of the rope into the crevice before stretching the rest of it to the reeds. The dangling rope would catch fire soon and slowly burn the supplies before spreading to the shelter. Hopefully, it would take the giant long enough to put out the fire to get back to the herd.

Uther set off south at a run. He caught up to Jephis before long, which worried him. Uther glanced at the tracks they left that made them ridiculously easy to follow. Their only hope was to get away as quickly as possible. But Jephis’ broken leg was making that difficult. Though she was able to limp along on her limbs, she had lost a lot of blood already and was clearly in a lot of pain. Uther continued ordering the wyrm forward while he glanced behind for any sign of pursuit. He saw smoke. It wouldn’t be long before the giant returned to find his camp in flames. Just as they were about halfway to the herd, Japhis collapsed. With her sharp jaws flecked with foam and her whole body trembling, it would be a few minutes before she recovered, if at all.

Uther climbed a nearby spire to see if they were being pursued. He peered into the darkness and looked for movement. There! A flash of white fur, flitting between the volcanic hills. Uther muttered a prayer as he got down. They couldn’t rest any longer.

“Let’s go, Japhis,” he said, tugging at the wyrm.

“Go where?

Uther looked up. The giant had appeared from nowhere, and stood between him and the direction of the herd. The giant lifted the club and pointed at Uther. “You have something that belongs to me.”

Uther fit a dart into his atlatl and pointed it at the giant. “Who are you, and why did you steal my wyrm?”

The giant smiled and lowered his weapon, spreading his arms in introduction. “I am Cegvir the Hunter. I lured and caught it with the help of my bear, Volgan. If you do not wish to become my next prey, I suggest you turn it over to me.”

Below him, Japhis rose to her feet, chattering her teeth in warning. Uther glanced behind him. The bear had arrived. Swiftly, Uther pivoted and threw the dart with all his force at the animal. It roared in pain as the dart sunk deep into its flank. At the same time, Uther ordered Jephis to climb up the nearest lava hill. He fit a dart into his atlatl and turned to face Cegvir, but had no time to throw it. The giant stepped forward and knocked Uther to the ground with his club.

The bear leapt forward to tear out Uther’s throat. He was barely able to get his atlatl between his neck and the jaws of the beast in time to avoid being killed outright. As the giant bear’s teeth began to wear through his weapon, Uther scrabbled at his belt for his knife, but the bear’s bulk prevented him from reaching it. His mind raced. The atlatl was nearly worn through already. His ribs creaked under the immense weight of the bear. Then his hand brushed the dart that was still sticking out of the bear, and the animal flinched back slightly. That was it! Uther stretched to get a firmer grip on the dart and started prodding the immense weight of the bear off of him.

But then, just as Uther had pushed the bear off of him and began to rise to his feet, the giant stepped in again. Uther felt the ground shake behind him and turned just in time to catch a backhand slap from the giant that sent him back to the ground. Volgan prepared to pounce again, but Cegvir yelled something in a guttural tongue and the bear backed off. Uther rubbed his bruised jaw and started to rise again, but the giant shoved him down with his foot and kicked his weapon away.

The giant smiled. “I don’t want him to kill you too quickly.”

Uther tried to draw one of the darts sheathed at his side, but the giant stomped on his quiver, snapping the missiles. Then he reached down and grabbed Uther by the front of his shirt, bringing them face to face. Cegvir smiled cruelly. “I think I’ll start by breaking your legs to make sure you can’t run.”

Uther kicked at him and reached for his knife. Before he could draw it, Cegvir threw him onto the rock he had climbed. Uther’s head struck the hill and his vision blurred. He felt warm blood seeping from where his head had impacted the rock, but there was little he could do about it. Still he tried to rise, but his limbs refused to obey him. Uther was dimly able to see the giant raise his club and he closed his eyes, bracing for the blow. But instead of a crushing pain, He heard a hissing sound followed by the giant cursing. Confused, Uther opened his eyes. Jephis had leapt off the spire she had climbed and was wrapped around the giant’s shoulders, snapping and scratching at his face.

“Wretched creature,” the giant said as he wrestled with wyrm. Volgen growled, but from where he was, he could not attack Uther or Jephis. In the precious seconds Jephis bought, Uther shook his head to clear it and drew his knife. A moment later, Cegvir threw the wyrm to the ground. Seizing his chance, Uther stepped forward and stabbed the giant’s midsection with his obsidian knife.

It snapped off at the hilt, leaving no mark on the Harbinger. Uther’s eyes widened and he took a step back, discarding the useless wooden handle.

“Was that supposed to hurt me?” Cegvir kicked Jephis away and shook his head slightly. “We should have enslaved your tribe long ago.”

But just as the giant prepared to strike once again, he roared in pain and dropped to one knee. Behind him stood someone Uther had never seen before. He wore a dark, hooded cloak. In his left hand, he held a staff. In his right hand was something like a glowing, flat spear, and it dripping with silver Harbinger blood.

“Aresis!” Cegvir hissed, straightening up and turning about, blood oozing from a deep stab in his lower back. Volgen who had been content to lick his wounds until now, reared up on his hind legs and roared. He shuffled forward to flatten the giant’s attacker, but seemed to fall off balance. He knocked the newcomer to the ground and then lay still. A moment later, the newcomer climbed out from under the bear, clothes and weapon covered in red blood. He lowered his hood, exposing brown, leathery skin. His hair was grey and unkempt, matching his long beard. If he had ears, Uther couldn’t see them. But his eyes were the most arresting part of him, for they glowed with red, otherworldly fire.

“What have you done to my bear, Aresis?” Cegvir demanded, one hand stemming his wound while the other raised his club weakly.

“The same thing I will do to you if you do not stand aside, Cegvir,” Aresis growled, keeping his weapon pointed at the giant. “Leave, now.”

Cegvir’s lip curled. “You think a pair of lucky attacks is enough to send us home?”

Aresis’ eyes narrowed. “So be it.”

He stepped forward and raised his staff. Thunder rolled in the Great Storm directly over them. With a roar, Cegvir stepped forward to strike Aresis. Instead of trying to block or dodge, Aresis struck the ground with his staff. Lightning flashed, blinding Uther. When he could see again, the giant was on his back a dozen feet back from where he had been standing. Slowly, Cegvir rose to his feet, body covered in jagged red marks. Then he began to back away, hunched over. Aresis watched until he was certain the Harbinger was gone and then turned to Uther. A moment later, his sword and staff clattered to the ground, and he took a seat on a nearby boulder.

“Are you alright?” Uther asked, stepping forward. He winced as the ground spun beneath him, but soon it all stabilized. The old one shook his head and rolled up his left sleeve, revealing deep gashes on his upper arm. “That cursed bear took a chunk out of me. But I suppose I gave better than I got.”

“Here, let me help with that.” Uther dug around in his rucksack and produced a bandage and a few herbs. As he began dressing Aresis’ wound, Jephis began to stir once more.

“That was mighty reckless of you,” Aresis admonished. “Attacking a Harbinger with sticks and stones is a good way to die young.”

“Well, I had to get my wyrm back,” Uther said, tying off the bandage.

“And a wyrm is worth your life?” Aresis asked.

“I wouldn’t be much of a wyrm herd if I didn’t try to take care of it,” Uther answered.

Aresis grunted and reached into a satchel slung across his chest. He produced Uther’s fire pendant. “Since you’re the only other person out here, I suppose this bust be yours.”

Uther nodded and Aresis handed it over. “A handy little thing. Solari workmanship, if I don’t miss my mark. All things considered, I supposed I should be thanking you.”

Uther put the necklace on. As he did, his hand brushed the wet spot on his head where he had been gashed. He retrieved another bandage and began tying it on. “Why do you say that?”

“Cegvir and his bear had been following me for the past week or so.” Aresis said. “Tonight, they nearly caught up. With you and your wyrm distracting them, I was able to turn the tables and get a surprise blow in.” Aresis picked up his weapon and began wiping the silver and red blood off it.

“Where are you going?” Uther asked.

“I’m looking for a Lunari village. I have to speak to the chief there,” Aresis said. “Are we close?”

“Very close! I can lead you there.” Uther stood up. “What is that thing you used against the Harbinger?”

“This?” Aresis finished cleaning his weapon and handed it over. The weapon was long, flat, and sharp with a short handle. “It’s called a sword, and it’s made from a material called bronze. It was made in Tel Eramin, where Cegvir hails from.”

“It can kill Harbingers?” Uther said, wondering at the weapon. He handed it back to Aresis.

“Killing a Harbinger is a very hard thing, but this can certainly hurt them." Aresis sheathed his sword and flexed his wrist, grimacing at the pain.

“And what about that lightning?”

“Call it a blessing from Aeindarhu.” Aresis stood and gestured at Jephis, who had begun to lick her wounds. “How is she?”

“Wyrms are resilient creatures,” Uther said, kneeling down to pet her. “But we ought to get Japhis back to the village to have our medicine woman, Nathrae, look at her and you.”