The giant tried to slow the stream of blood gushing out of his throat to no avail, his previous shrieking had now turned to disgusting gurgles. I wasted no time in climbing down the tree as I knew that even though I didn’t feel cold, it was only due to the heat of the battle, and my body would eventually stop obeying my brain.

I didn’t look back, but I heard and felt the first thump of the giant falling down onto his knees as I ran toward my cape, spitting out the snow that still lingered in my mouth. By the time I reached the tree holding my now visible cloak, another, much louder thump echoed through the forest. I saw snow dropping from the trees in chunks as the giant’s fall shook the ground around me.

I put on my cloak and immediately felt warmer, the sudden change in temperature making my muscles burn and ache. I gave my body a few seconds to adjust and then turned my attention to how my friends were handling themselves. Kard and Krysha were hitting their targets and immediately running away so they would not give away their position, even though the two giants were now effectively blind.

“Good job, Adel!” I heard my sister say through the earring.

“Seika!” I almost shouted. “Is Man okay?”

“I am fine, Giantsbane,” Man himself shouted, not through the earring, but a few strides away from me as he charged the two blind giants.

He had a smile on his face. By The Divine, this man was crazy, running toward the behemoths like this. I felt my blood return to my muscles and the pain fade away as he reached the first giant.

Before I managed to take a single step to help, he clicked his boots and ran even faster between the legs of the giant. Without looking back, he spread his arms wide open and his blades lit up with fire from a spell that Seika cast in perfect sync—just like every time we practiced.

Man twirled, his fiery swords cutting the back of the giant’s legs, making him stumble backward. Before that giant hit the ground, Man was already cutting the exact same muscle on the remaining one.

As both giants hit the ground, Seika was finishing a lengthy spell which would make sure they stayed that way, opening a giant-fitting pit beside them. She then partially elevated the rocks beneath the giants, creating a small slope that they could do nothing but slide down.

Their fall into the pit was only a few seconds long, but the depth was enough for them to not be able to get out even if they were smart enough to climb on top of each other—and I wasn’t convinced they were.

I took a moment to look at the giant still laying in front of me. My first kill. I knew this was not murder, since they’d attacked us and were trying to kill us, and yet I couldn’t brush away the fact that I had ended a life. I was sure I would eventually come to terms with it, but at that moment I didn’t want to turn my back on this terrible sensation.

I need to take responsibility for my actions and understand their gravity. I have to—

“Are you okay, Adel?” Kard asked me, gently hitting my back with his right hand.

“I… yes,” I replied, fully knowing I would not be able to fool any one of them. “It’s just that I’ve never killed before.”

I saw Man putting out the flames of his swords by plunging them into the snow, smoke and hissing sounds emanating from them as he kept eye contact with me. He moved closer, his face devoid of his usual smile, a sign he had heard what I’d just said.

“Adel,” he started, as he sheathed his swords. “Brother, I am not going to tell you to forget about it. You should not forget about your kills. You should always remember them and they will likely haunt you forever. The day you forget your kills is the day you become the monster.”

“Then how—” I began, but he interrupted me.

“You were protecting your loved ones,” he replied. “That’s how. Were it not for you, we—your friends, your sister and her little baby—would have died in the snow. You shouldn’t take pride in ending lives, but rather in protecting lives. And today you saved our lives by ending that beast, Adel Giantsbane.”

I smiled at him, comforted that he believed this disgusting feeling would eventually subside. I looked at the giant corpse in front of us and a new question formed in my head, though it was voiced by Krysha before me.

“This giant is missing an arm,” she said, “and it looks like it was bitten off.”

“What could possibly be large enough to bite off a giant’s arm?” I asked.

“A dragon,” Kard replied, almost whispering. “It can only be a dragon.”

“Kard is right,” Seika replied, a worried expression on her face. “A dragon would be much more than we would be able to handle.”

“We were quite loud,” Krysha noted. “We should continue moving. And fast!”

“Everyone summon your horses,” Seika commanded, and started casting a 32-word spell I didn’t recognize.

As soon as she completed the incantation, a gust of wind started blowing to the north, originating from her back. She then proceeded to summon her horse and quickly jumped onto it.

“This spell will cover the tracks of our horses,” she said, and prompted us to start riding.

Even though the blizzard was more manageable with the frost giants dead, riding hard until late at night without any breaks definitely took a toll on our bodies. We were trying to remain hidden from whatever creatures might be flying, using what few trees still offered cover, but this also meant less moonlight to guide us.

We didn’t stop until Seika deemed it safe and only in a small patch of trees that still held their leaves. Instead of lighting a fire, Seika and Man had us climb high on the trees and set up a makeshift camp there. It was not a real camp, but it was just a place where the branches were thick enough to hold us while sleeping in our sacks.

Man decided to take the first shift on guard duty and started sharing what he knew about the land we had been riding through for the past few hours.

“Fjalhun is the southernmost nation of the southern continent,” Man said, as he got himself comfortable leaning against the trunk of the tree. “As you have seen, the land is mostly barren since it is covered in snow for almost the whole year. There are some people with animals, but the majority migrate north during deep winter or go underground.”

“People live underground?” I heard Kard ask, speaking for the first time since realizing we were very close to an actual dragon.

“Well, not here,” Man replied, “but yes, all of the cities in Fjalhun are underground and with good reason.”

“Apart from the fact that people would freeze without magical cloaks, you mean?” I asked.

“That is one reason, though they may have better magical equipment than Elysia for the cold,” he replied. “But the real reason is because their love is in mining.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Kard interjected. “What do you mean they may have better magical equipment than Elysia?”

“The smiths of Snjokomu, the capital of Fjalhun, are the best magical item crafters I know,” Man replied. “They have vast reserves of minerals, metals, and gems and have been creating all sorts of wondrous items for centuries.”

“But how?” asked Krysha. “Where do they get their magic from?”

“Arirlun, the God of the Forge,” replied Seika. “Arirlun is an ancient deity of the under-mountains, the mines, and smiths. His followers receive their powers from him and worship him by channeling these powers into creating things in his name.”

“Fascinating.” Krysha said, and looked stunned to find out about yet another god.

“It is a wonderful nation,” Man continued, “and one with which Leka An trades a lot. The people in Snjokomu don’t care about people from other nations though they are a little skeptical of people from other countries visiting, especially people from Guldan. They do have trade relationships with them, providing them with raw materials and with Elysia for gems and metals. Regardless of these business arrangements, they are still not completely open to visitors.”

“Do you think they will welcome us?” Seika asked him.

“I think we’ll be okay as long as we talk trade with them,” he replied.

The rest of the night, or rather the few more minutes I managed to keep myself awake, were mostly filled with Man providing additional information on the road we should take to travel through the lands of Fjalhun safely and reach Snjokomu. However, I could barely keep my eyes open, much less pay attention to his plan.

I fell asleep and didn’t wake up until it was time to start riding again. It seemed that killing a giant had earned me the right to skip guard duty along with the title of Giantsbane.