57th of Fall, 513 AV
Avanthal
Avanthal was alive with laughter and singing, overflowing with foreigners. The icy walls reflected the life that the city was enveloped in. Tonight was a holiday all of Avanthal celebrated – Morwen’s lights would illuminate the night sky for all Vantha to see. People traveled to the northern city to watch and celebrate with the people of the northern lights. Many believed that this was one of the great gifts in the world; that it was worth the treacherous journey to spend a few bells watching the sky dance. While some of the foreigners were settling themselves just outside the Avintas of their host holds, many Vantha were making their way to Mirror Lake to find excellent viewing spots.
With such an influx of people, the Icewatch was on the prowl. In honor of the holiday and spirit of coming together, every Icewatch guard and apprentice had been placed into a squad. These squads were made up of guards from many different branches, to prevent excessive squabbling with the foreigners. Although many normally wore their armor over their clothing, tonight they had been commanded to blend in. Aside from the bands they wore to identify their branch, they wore normal clothes to prevent from scaring their guests. Only if there was disruption of the peace would they make it known that they were the Queen’s guard.
Berengar stood behind a group of Icewatch guards as the group apprentice. Tonight, he sported an Iceglaze branch colored band. He was currently on rotation with the Iceglaze guards. Shylir, a Vantha guard, and Kennen, his bonded Kelvic Ice Bear, were also in their group. They were the only two that Berengar knew at the moment, and the other five guards sported bands from Frostfawn, Coolwater, and Whitevine. They ushered people down the streets towards Mirror Lake, as was their honored duty for the evening. Those that did not want to hassle with the crowds and foreigners were picking places around their holds to watch the lights. Every time a drunk tikita bumped him, made his appreciate those that stayed closer to home. Per his orders – which he took very seriously – he was not allowed to cause a fight in the streets. He was supposed to prevent them and keep the peace.
As the crowds thinned and the streets became mostly clear except for the few groups and stragglers, the guard prepared for the wealthier hold members. A procession, led by a large retired Icewatch bear, was heading down the street. Bells jingled on the sleighs, and laughter lit up the evening again. Beren pushed his way through the senior guards, rooting himself on the side of the street as straight and proud as he could. The large Ice Bear that moved passed him looked briefly at the young apprentice. There was an unspoken acknowledgement between the two before the bear continued on. Beren let out a shuttering breath as Hal, his father, moved out of hearing range. Most other days, his father would have done something far more embarrassing. It seemed that he was on his best behavior this evening. The sleighs continued along under the watchful eye of the Icewatch. Picking up the rear, a smaller Ice Bear followed. Berengar remained steadfast to his spot until this bear passed. Instead of moving along quickly, she paused a moment and contorted her face into an animal grin. Tzufit, his mother, had always loved celebrations and informalities. After a moment more, she too continued on her way.
“Whelp,” one of the guards started, whistling through his teeth as he sucked in air. “We can begin our way down. Fan out. Pick up stragglers or send them home.”
Berengar looked uneasily at Shylir, who simply nodded and moved to follow the aforementioned order. It was awkward for them to have mixed squads, to have to take orders from a different branch. Kennen also moved, but stayed as close to Shylir as was permitted. Beren remained, allowing the other senior guards to pick their paths. Once done, he was left with the empty main road. Something easy for the apprentice to handle since it was already supposedly empty.
He grumbled as he kicked an ice chunk with his boot. Many of his fellow Icewatch Apprentices were down with the people, preventing brawls. Other apprentices were hunting down a pack of snow wolves that had been causing trouble for incoming caravans of foreigners. Sadly, and probably to Morwen’s great delight, he had been put on sweeper duty. Prevent the foreigners from getting lost in their fair city, dying from hypothermia, and/or causing trouble. Pulling his cloak, he moved to do as he was told.
“Excuse me sir,” came the quietest whisper he had ever heard. Berengar froze, looking ahead of him. Nothing. Having already been abandoned by his group, he turned to address the voice. What met him nearly caused him to shy away.
A small girl, human from the looks of it, stood before him with a tattered bear clutched in her hands. She was dressed rather poorly for the winter celebration, but that is not what caught him off guard. It was her face. Half of it was normal, perfectly shaped with fine attention to detail as if she were a sculpted doll. The other half was ghastly, pulled down her face in heavy waves as if someone had attempted to melt off her flesh. Even her eye was clouded, most likely blind from the onslaught she had suffered. Luxurious hair grew from the normal side of her head, but only wisps of black, wiry hair grew from her damaged side.
“Sir?” she questioned again, bringing him from his thoughts. Berengar looked around quickly before kneeling before her.
“Can I help you little lady?” He tried to smile genuinely. He was having a little bit of trouble until she blushed and rubbed her toes into the snow.
“No one has ever called me a lady before,” she giggled, looking at him all cute like. It was that moment that his heart warmed up. After her brief flustered moment, she hugged her bear close to her. “Can you help me find my parents? They went down to the lake to watch the lights. I want to see them too.”
“Of course, little lady,” Beren responded charmingly. He kept in mind that she seemed to enjoy the little nickname he was using. “Why don’t we give you the best spot in all of Avanthal to watch Morwen’s lights? Would you like that?”
“Yes sir!”
Berengar beckoned her into his hands before hoisting her up onto his shoulders. The Kelvic supported her as best as he could. Then, at the risk of his own warmth, he reached back to grab the bottom of his cloak. Handing the edge to her, he began to head down the street. “Wrap that around yourself child. It is too cold for you to not have a cloak.”
The girl did as she was told, pulling it around her. The first thing Beren noticed was the biting chill that started at his ankle. It crawled up his legs, making his leg hairs stand on end. When Morwen’s breath reached his hips, he nearly dropped the child and stole his cloak back. He had always been warm since his pelt held heat well and he never left in his human form without many layers. Trudging along, he grimaced as it continued to travel up his body, sinking into his chest. It made it incredibly hard to breath, for the air was even colder when he breathed without the warmth of his cloak. Only the laughter that came from his shoulders allowed his feet to keep moving.
Slowly, the buildings gave way to a forest, which surrounded the pristine lake. Somehow, Berengar was always struck with awe by the sheer power it had taken the twins to keep Mirror Lake a perfect reflection. He headed down the slope, the noise from the gathering crowd growing. On the other side of the lake, the Ice Palace stood tall. Morwen’s seat of power, and the icon he had seen as a child. The Icewatch Ice Bear vowed to protect the queen, the city, and her people had been made while gazing upon that icon.
“We are almost there!” Came the little girls cry of excitement. To make him completely understand just how excited she was, she began bouncing on his shoulders.
“You are correct, little lady,” Beren confirmed, slightly uncomfortable by her bony butt digging into his shoulders. The closer she got, the more she began to squirm. Finally, since they had just made the edge of the crowded lake, he reached up to pick her up off her shoulders. She came willingly, giggling as he placed her on the ground. His cloak fell back to his ankles. Slightly to his dismay, she stayed close to him instead of running off to find her parents.
“Aren’t you going to go find your parents?” He asked, setting a hand between her shoulder blades in hopes he could vault her into the crowd and finish his duties early for the evening. Deep down, he knew that was not going to be possible. Although the idea of flinging the girl into the crowd made him smile. It would have been entertaining, and he had a suspicious feeling that as long as she didn’t die in the process, she would probably enjoy it.
“The lights have not started. My parents aren’t here yet.”
Well petch. He went from street sweeping stragglers to babysitting. The thought of propelling her into the crowd and leaving grew. Before he could seriously consider his options, Morwen’s lights began to dance across the night sky. Everyone oooed and aaahhhed. Even he was captivated by her magical gift. Only he was drawn away from the lights to the tugging on his pant leg.
“There they are! They are dancing in the sky to honor their queen! Can’t you see them?”
It was like someone had dropped a large stone into his belly when he realized that this girl’s parents were dead. She was so young to suffer the chilling loss of family. Beren could not understand her loss, as his parents were still alive and well. Maybe they irritated him from time to time, but they were alive and well. That was a gift he was beginning to understand that he had. Unlike many Kelvics, his parents were very much a part of his life. Looking down at the girl, he tried to smile. She looked back at him and did the same.
“What will you do now, little lady?”
“I will go back with the caravans I suppose.”
“Well, Taldera is not a forgiving place. You need to dress more warmly to travel home. Here,” Berengar took his massive cloak off and draped it around her shoulders. The sting of the cold was instantaneous, causing him to suck in a sharp breath.
“Won’t you be cold sir?”
“Yes, but I need to understand the cooling grip of my queen. It is about time I accepted the cold into my life.”
“Excellent.”
The girl had spoken, but her voice had changed. Hidden beneath the sea of cloth, he watched as a glimmering light encompassed the girl. Shying away from the sudden brightness, Beren shielded his eyes. Once the light was gone, he looked for the girl. Instead, Queen Morwen stood before him wearing his cloak. Instinctively, he fell to his knees in a very clumsy way to portray his submission to the woman he had vowed to protect since he was old enough to understand.
“Rise, my Ice Bear. For your kindness to a girl that never would have been looked at twice by many, I have a gift for you.”
“It was my duty and honor, Queen Morwen,” Berengar stated calmly, although the bite of the wind made his words shaky.
“I know. For your service, my gift is this,” Morwen stated calmly, learning forward to take his hand. Unsure as to what was going to happen, he remained loose and compliant. The Ice Queen simply placed a kiss on his palm when she had a good angle. That same blinding light appeared, forcing him to close his eyes once more.
When he opened them, he was alone at the edge of the crowd. His cloak lay at his feet, but the girl and Morwen were gone. The lights had every captivated, and as he looked around, he knew that no one had noticed her presence. Turning over his hand, he noticed an intricate snowflake upon his palm. It looked like it had been carved out of ice and imbedded into his skin, the way it shined and reflected the light. Absently he rubbed it. Then he realized something.
He was no longer cold.
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