Meera shouted in excitement as she dashed through the air. She was traveling so fast that the winds made her eyes water something fierce. She eventually had to cover her head with a mirror helmet. If anyone saw her from below, she would look like a black and gold streak with no head.

She had left the capital city of Varitsa behind. It had taken her merely minutes to clear the city when it must've taken her hours on foot or horseback. Her thoughts wandered to Onyx, her ghostly stallion friend, who lay sleeping somewhere in her soul. She figured she could call him out when she was tired of the exhilarating experience of flying. And he did cost less Mana than flying.

Her Mana wasn't plunging per se, but it was in a steady decline. She wondered how many kilometers she could clear before needing to drink a Mana potion. Too bad none of her skills could tell the distance she had traveled. She wondered if that would even be useful unless she were a trader or a merchant woman.

Wouldn't that have been fun?

Recreating her father's company in this strange land. That almost put a smile on her face. For a moment, panic rose in her. So much time had passed that she figured there would be a manhunt for the missing brother and sister, but then the panic passed. Neel had been missing for a day, and six months had passed here. She figured not even half a day had passed back home since she'd been gone.

She didn't even want to think about home. It was triggering so many memories and left her with a dull ache and a longing to be back. So, she focused on her surroundings.

She was passing over some farmland and could see a collection of huts not too far away. She focused on the huts, and something glinted in the afternoon sun.

"Found you," she said.

She blasted off towards the Gateway Mirror. She landed beside the mirror, blowing up dust and scaring some chickens that were pecking at the ground for food. She placed a palm on the mirror, waved at the open-mouthed boy who was staring at her like she was an alien—which she technically was—and blasted off again.

She mostly followed the road south that Munral had marked for her. Every time she spotted a mirror, she would get down, touch it, and then blast off again, startling the locals. It was rather funny to see their comical reactions to seeing her. She wondered what sort of stories they would spread about her.

One time, she saw a mirror in a clearing in the middle of a forest. She slowed to consult the map, and this mirror was not marked on Munral's map. Meera figured that this mirror must not have been discovered yet, or this could be the site of a future village.

She started to descend but stopped. Silas had warned her that sometimes bandits would place mirrors in places such as this to attract passersby to loot them. She looked around, and there was nothing but trees around for miles. The road through the forest was far to the east. Meera had stopped following it as it would curve around to her flight path eventually.

It's not like I'm going to need to come to this random spot in the forest.

She figured it wasn't worth the risk and continued on her way. She ignored a few more of these mirrors, as it wasn't worth the risk. It wasn't like she was scared of some bandits, but she didn't want to waste the time.

Eventually, the road she had left behind curved around to her, and with it came towns and villages and, of course, more Gateway Mirrors. But the closer she got to the glacial wall, the colder it became, and she saw fewer and fewer settlements.

She placed a hand on the Gateway Mirror in what was marked as the last village before the Pale Mantle in the pitch dark of night, which, of course, was no problem for her. Thanks to her superior eyes and Ascendant abilities, she could see perfectly fine in the dark. She chugged another Mana potion, and she was good to move out.

She was about to take off again, but it began to snow. It started slow, but then it was like someone had whipped up a blizzard. It came so abruptly that, for a moment, she thought Zerodra had returned to exact his vengeance upon her.

Please don't let there be dragons in this world, too. I've seen enough dragons to last me a lifetime.

Dragons or no dragons, one thing was for certain—she was not flying anywhere in this weather. It was cold, yes, but her armor kept her insulated and protected from the cold. She had half a mind to plop down some Mirror Tower Shields and make herself a makeshift hut when a woman noticed her and waved to her to come to her.

She shrugged. "Or that works, too."

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She ran to the woman, but not before willing the helmet away. She didn't want to frighten the poor lady.

She frowned at Meera and took stock of her armor before yelling over the raging winds. "Come with me!"

Meera followed the woman to this long building, which she figured was a lodge. They weren't the only ones running to this lodge. There were many other families. The young were helping the elderly, little children clutching onto their parents, and even young children. Some men with torches shouted for everyone to hurry up as they lit the way. People left the safety of their homes and ran into the storm to head for the lodge.

To say Meera was confused was to say that this storm wasn't a drizzle. Meera was one of the last people to get inside the lodge. A big, burly man shut the heavy wooden door and slammed the lock in place. An older man was lighting the fireplace while others were slamming the windows shut.

Families huddled closer together. Children who seemed to have been ripped from their beds cried. Their parents tried to console them and get them to quiet down. The lodge had a few long tables, which a group of teenage boys was wedging against the two doors. Meera looked around at the strange scene, and no one even seemed to have taken notice of her yet.

"Who are you, and what are you doing out here?" The woman who had brought her here asked, pulling her coat close around her.

It was as if she had dropped a heavy utensil, as everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at her.

"I'm Meera, and I'm heading to the Pale Mantle," she replied.

Everyone stilled. Even the kids who were crying stopped. It was like Meera had said something incredibly taboo.

"Did you bring it here?" the big man who had closed the door whirled on her. "Did you wake it from its slumber?"

"Huh?" Meera frowned. "Wake who? I don't know who or what you're talking about."

An older woman with stark white hair placed a hand on the man's arm. "Now is not the time, Nezar. We need to secure ourselves."

He calmed, but wouldn't stop glaring at Meera. She looked around, looking confused, but no one would meet her gaze. Movement resumed, and they busied themselves with completing their tasks. When all the windows were shut and barred, that same older woman placed a hand on a symbol on the wall.

The symbol resembled a long, tower-like shield. Meera noticed her hand glowed slightly, as Mana left, the woman activated the symbol. She didn't think she would've been able to see her Mana were it not for her Essence attribute.

A faint emerald color light emanated from the shield symbol to cover the entire lodge. Meera knew the lodge was secure when the people sighed and sagged into their seats.

"What's going on here?" Meera asked. "What's out there?"

"You look like you're from Varsha," the old lady said. "I am Ingdis, the village witch of sorts."

Meera immediately used Identify on her.

[Runeweaver – Level 102]

Ingdis continued. "This village and many close to the Mantle, or rather the Winter Spire, the home of the Cult of Aetheron, are cursed—"

"I'm sorry, but did you say the cultists live around here?" Meera asked.

The old runeweaver nodded. "It's west of us. Built directly into the glacial walls. A tower of pure ice juts up from the ground. That's where the cult resides."

Meera had half a mind to put her mission on hold and pay them a visit, but she reined in her anger. She was, after all, just one woman. Despite the thrashing, she gave them back on Gethys, she couldn't hope to win here, on their home turf.

"And the beast? Is it theirs?" Meera asked.

"Aye," said Nezar, plopping down on a chair beside the fireplace and throwing a log on the fire. "We call it Valan. This snowstorm outside is not natural. It creates these blizzards and, in the reduced visibility, hunts for its prey. We've already lost many of our people to its hunger. We've lost so many people that we've decided to huddle in here together."

"For I can only shield one building," Ingdis finished. "No sound or light escapes outside. So, the monster would not see anything or might think it an abandoned house and move on."

"If it doesn't, then…" A bulky man stood by the door and hefted a massive Warhammer on his shoulder. "Then, this time, he'll find out that his dinner fights back."

"Calm, Urnig," Ingdis said. "You know that this beast is beyond any of us."

Meera did a quick sweep of the room and used Identify on everyone. There was not a single person over Level 150.

"You all seem somewhat strong," Meera said. "Maybe together you can kill this Valan."

Nezar snorted. "If only it were that simple."

The others shook their head in disappointment.

Ingdis sighed. "Valan cannot be killed as long as its creator, the Frostcaller Hierarch, lives. We learned that by paying a heavy price.

That widened Meera's eyes. She wanted to ask more questions, but the earth shook beneath her feet. Everyone grew quiet. The men tightened their grip on their weapons. There was another shake, closer this time.

Valan was coming.

Meera couldn't lie. She was a little worried but figured that if she couldn't kill it, she could at least slice its limbs off and leave it in eternal pain.

The monster's footsteps drew closer, but then it stopped. There was silence for a few moments. Meera waited with abated breath, but finally, the monster's footsteps faded away into the distance. Everyone, Meera included, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Looks like the danger has moved away for now," Inglis whispered. "It's best we get some rest."

But there was no rest for Meera. Her nerves wouldn't let her sleep. The others lay down and were eventually snoring away, but Meera was one of the few who remained awake through the night. Surprisingly, she didn't need to sleep. Her Stamina didn't dip much, either. She figured it was because of her Ascendant body. Though she was a little tired, a quick chug from a Stamina potion fixed her up nicely.

A rooster crowed outside, signaling morning. Nezar cracked open a window to make sure the snow had stopped. It had. He let out a triumphant cry and opened the window to let in the fresh morning air.

Meera walked out the door to find the world covered in knee-high snow. She was excited that she wouldn't have to shovel all this snow. She said goodbye quickly and blasted off, leaving a bewildered crowd staring up into the sky.

It didn't take her long to reach the glacial wall they called The Pale Mantle, and her jaw dropped.

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