3-57 Out of the cold

EnroItzal

The cold returned as Erin set foot into the tunnel below the vault. The warming spell ended at the trapdoor. The tunnel belonged to the unforgiving climate of the mountain caverns. However, the cold no longer pricked her skin like a thousand sizzling hot needles. The cold couldn’t be said to be comforting but it was no longer freezing. With that feeling, Erin crossed the tunnel with a lightened heart. The only complaints she had from her body was her empty belly, growling louder and louder with every passing minute. In her past life, she would often go for days without food and her body gradually became accustomed to the abuse. But this wasn’t the body of Argon Raze. She was Erynthea now, a Fox-kin. This new body of hers was still from being tempered. She wondered how long would it take for this body to be as tempered as she once was as Argon Raze.

Erin was pulled out of her thoughts when a splash of chill hit her face. She looked ahead and saw light spilling into the tunnel. It was the exit. The lights filled her beaming eyes and she broke off into a sprint. The ground was buried in snow of two inches deep, so it was impossible for her to slip. She ran with her eyes fixed on the light ahead. A smile crept unknowingly to her lips. She ran and ran. Her belly growled even louder but the complaint didn’t even reach her sensitive ears. The run had been short but it felt like an eternity when she reached the exit. She plunged into the radiance, mixed of warm and cold swallowed her. She was out. She was finally out of the caverns and she burst into a guffaw of relief and various other emotions.

Erin looked around her new environment. The sun was still shining brightly in the sky but not for long. She ended up on a cliff, a small one. The cliff was around the midpoint of the mountain's height but there was still a long way down. Erin had half a mind to just toss her off this cliff and let Revenant revive when she hit the ground. She immediately banished that idea from her head. Her hunger was starting to mess with her thoughts. The cliff spanned only a quarter of a mile, or she estimated. The storm was milder but nevertheless, the winds still blew strong. At the very least, she could see what was in front of her. And her eyes turned wide. She saw figures in front of her. They were still silhouettes, masqued by the mellow blizzard. Although, she recognized two of the silhouettes. After all, those two silhouettes were always in her sight, rarely out of it. From the depths of consciousness, she streaked through the falling snow and hazing chill.

“Erin!” Lyra exclaimed. “I knew it was you!”

“Mistress,” Siv had a milder tone but her face lit up like the dawn of a morrow. “You’re safe.”

From thick snow, Erin emerged into the two’s sight. She was dressed in completely different garbs but her gainly figure and tails were too rare of a combination for her to be mistaken for anyone else. Lyra and Siv were dressed thickly in fur coats.

“Lady Erynthea,” Olivia spoke from behind the two. Her look was one of surprise. “You are… in good health.” She was in her robes, the same as the one Erin had last seen of her. The cold didn’t seem to be bothering her as her Cold Resistance was at level nine.

Lyra shot Olivia a glare. “You wish her dead?”

“You misunderstood me, human. I know this mountain. The caverns inside are treacherous. Dangerous monsters and even more dangerous traps, or that’s how the rumours went. Either the rumours are false or—”

“The threats are nothing in the face of mistress,” Siv boasted. Her face remained calm and her expression was tranquil.

“We can talk about my encounters and experiences later,” Erin cut them off. “For now, let’s get the fuck off this mountain. I’m hungry.”

“In what way?” Lyra asked, hopefully.

“In every way,” Erin answered.

Lyra tried to maintain her still facade but her shoulders betrayed her efforts by flapping as if they were a pair of wings taking flight.

****

With Olivia, they descended the mountain with ease but due to the strong winds, Olivia couldn’t descent too quickly or else Erin and the two would get blown off Olivia’s back. Erin took this moment to ask about their situation. She heaved a sigh of relief when she learned that nothing terrible befell on them in her absence. They were attacked by two more Apostles but Olivia swiftly dispatched the two with her overwhelming level and her repertoire of Arcane Arts. From then on, they spent the whole time searching for Erin but to no avail. As the snow was thick and the mountains were white, they could barely see anything from afar. Even with Lyra’s Eagle Eyes, she could barely make out anything with a great amount of snow hindering her sharp sight. And if they got too close to the peak, the winds became too harsh for Olivia to control her flight.

Olivia landed in front of the mountain’s passing. It was so narrow that it could have been a tunnel but there was no ceiling but the steep cliffs of the mountains on both sides. Therefore, it was counted as a passage at best. There was no snow at the foot of the mountains. The climate returned to its usual warmth.

There were only two hours before dusk and they decided to camp here for the night. There was a small river nearby, a string of bushes blossomed with cherries, and a natural shade formed from the queer growth of the trees. They pluck the berries and supplemented them as supper. They also went down to the river to clean themselves. The river was cold, to their surprise. As they followed the flow of the river, they realized the river came from the mountains. And so, they spent only a little amount of time in the river. The cold did not allow them the luxury to converse as they cleaned themselves. Lyra and Siv were too occupied with teeth chattering to the cold.

The sky had darkened and the orange glow had turned pale. The fire was ready and the four of them sat around it, each with a bowl of cherries in their hands and a cup of water by their side, fetched from the river.

“Sephrodia’s Tomb?” Olivia repeated Erin’s words.

“Maybe not a tomb,” Erin corrected herself. She was recounting her experience in the caverns over their meals and the fire. “It might not be a tomb. I don’t see any burial or coffin but there was a room full of treasures. It had everything. Gems, clothes, furniture, weapons… all sorts. Why would Sephrodia have a storage room hidden from the world in the recess of a mountain? Olivia?”

“Sephrodia was already a legend of tales when I was born. I’m afraid I don’t know much about her.”

“What about your elders or your kin who came before you?”

“They might know but they never told me about Sephrodia and I never thought to ask.”

“Of course, you wouldn’t,” Erin retorted in her heart.

“And it has yet to be plundered?” Lyra asked.

“People have tried but there were guardians. Remnant souls of some old blokes.”

“What happened to those guardians?” The question was from Lyra but from the way she was staring at Erin with gleaming eyes, she had already guessed the outcome. Everyone did. Otherwise, Erin wouldn’t have been here.

“I killed them.”

“You are truly remarkable, mistress,” Siv praised. She had said nothing but praises all this while. Her admiration for Erin had only soared into the realm of reverence. “Not only did you braved through such treacherous trials but you had acquired Spatial Magic.”

“And a Unique Talent too,” Erin added another item to the list of Siv’s praise.

Olivia and Lyra feasted their eyes. Siv was nodding in silence but proudly as if the achievement was her own.

“Will you be so kind as to show us, milady?” Olivia asked. Her eyes were glittering in anticipation. Unique Talent was true to its name. Not everyone could have one even if their levels were high. Olivia didn’t have one and she was a True Dragon. Her eagerness was rational despite a step away from her usual composure.

Erin set down the bowl of cherries in her hand and splayed open her palm. She recalled the feeling back then. She recalled the sword she had created from the Spirits. Cyan lights appeared and gathered around her hand, moulding into a shape of a sword that greatly resembled the sabre she lost.

Lyra gasped in awe. Olivia also gasped but she did so under her breath. Siv gave a look of deep reverence.

“What is it called?” Siv asked.

“Bespoke,” Erin answered. “I can create weapons using the Spirits and the Mana expenditure is quite generous. Although—” She held the sword close to her eyes. “—it’s not as strong as the one I conjured in the mountains.”

“Perhaps the quality of Spirits is taken into account,” Olivia said.

“Of course,” Erin blurted out as she remembered one of the significant encounters. “The Spirits were different in the mountains. Stronger, if that’s the word. They were very defiant. Those dead remnant souls said something about Exalted Spirits. Apparently, that’s what they are. You know anything?”

“Exalted Spirits…” Olivia mused. She had not touched her bowl of cherries. Erin wondered if she wasn’t hungry and she simply forgot to eat. “They are Spirits of a higher distinction. When Spirits remained in an environment, undisturbed for centuries, the Spirits would go through a phase known as exaltation. The Spirits will become known as Exalted Spirits. They lose their template favourability.”

“Meaning?” Lyra asked, blinking in confusion.

“They’re no longer necessarily positively predisposed to Fae. They gain sentience, some scholars suggested.”

Erin nodded in understanding and gestured for Olivia to continue.

“They are particular with who they listen to and they are known to be very particular. There were cases where the Exalted Spirits killed all those they deemed unworthy. An interesting fact about them was that Exalted Spirits of a different environment will have different preferences.”

“Well… that’s disappointing.” Erin sighed.

“Lady Erynthea, how did you manage to tame these Exalted Spirits?”

“I’m not sure…” Erin muttered. “I was angry. I was in despair. I was in over my head. And somehow, they just… decided to listen to me.”

“Did you not any spells then?”

“Did I?” Erin asked herself as she sifted through her memories. “Come to think of it, I was using Spatial Sense. It heightens my senses further and I was feeling everything at a very minuscule level. I think… I think felt their hesitations. I heard them talking. I commanded them to listen to me and they seemed to give in to me then. That’s all I remember.”

“This will be a fascinating subject for a scholar but it’s a shame, I’m no scholar, Lady Erynthea. I can’t figure out the turning point.”

“You don’t need to,” Erin said. “I don’t expect everything can be explained with logic. The possibilities of magic are endless and random. And most of all,” Erin sniffed the air, “we’re not out of danger yet.”

“What did you smell?” Lyra asked.

“Death,” Siv answered. “Death ahead. A battle has taken place ahead.”

“And how close is that to us?”

“Five hours’ walk,” Erin answered.

“Will we be safe for the night?”

“We will be if we don’t let out guard down and stay vigilant.” Erin turned to Olivia. “How much further is Sephrodia Valley?”

“Four days but the governed domain is only a day away.”

“The governed domain?”

“The lands some miles outside of the valley fall under the governance of Sephrodia Valley’s viceroy. Once we entered that domain, we will be safe from bandits, apostles, and others. The only threat left will be the wild monsters and the Lord Governor himself. Be careful of him, milady. He will court you and he will not let up easily.”

Erin grinned. “Then misfortune shall befall the valley,” she responded coldly.