Not long after leaving the city of Durkan the environment around Twulai and Asil changed to a bare, icy wasteland. The wind started to whistle around their ears before distant shapes appeared on the horizon. They drew closer to the shapes with growing haste and soon they could now make out clearly their destination. Within a high fenced area lay a maze of buildings. Men walked freely within its walls, as though they had nothing to fear.

To the west of the fenced compound Giants were moving. They were clearly doing some kind of manual work. The wagon pulled up by the large metal gate, a man opened the door with large gloves and led Asil & Twulai inside. Inside he took off their chains, Asil & Twulai did not attack them as they did not have the strength.

“Here you may sleep,” Said the man. Around them lay snow-covered land, yet with their backs to the fence, Asil felt a strange sense of warmth around her. The man left them and Asil lay down on the snow, Twulai came over and lay alongside Asil while three other Giants were already asleep only a few meters away from them.

It was here that Asil and Twulai fell into an uneasy sleep. Wind battered them while they slept, and both awoke in the night due to this. At around 5 am both Asil & Twulai were awake, they had moved towards each other in an effort to feel comfortable in each other’s warmth, but the cold had already set into their bones and it had chilled them to uncomfortable temperatures. While shivering, Asil became aware of the warm sensation on her back once more. She turned to see where it could be coming from and saw only the metal fence. As she thought about this her mind started to wonder and it stumbled upon a memory. She remembered the heat she had experienced when entering the compound. Curious, she moved closer to the metal fence. She discovered then that the heat was radiating off the metal. She moved so that she was touching the fence only to instantly scream. Twulai was at her side in a heartbeat and attempting to calm her down. Asil had gained a large yet superficial burn on her back from the hot metal.

With nothing that either of them could do they lay back down, although neither of them could get to sleep.

The only way that Asil and Twulai knew it was morning was by the man waking them. His boot awoke Asil first from the short slumber that she had managed to get before he woke Twulai the same way. The man continued to inspect Asil’s back while Twulai watched him carefully as the man nodded his head.

His eyes then moved to Twulai as he held up a knife to Asil’s throat. Without hesitation, Twulai launched himself at the man knocking the knife out of his hands. Twulai lay over this man as a child does to an ant. The man quickly withdrew a device from his clothing before he put it against Twulais’ skin and pressed a trigger that caused it to make a loud crackling sound. Twulai fell onto his back on the ground and his muscles went rigid. A second man came over to them while this was happening, hauling a bag behind him. Asil was frozen in fear because of the men and Twulai’s current state. She did not resist when this man hauled out of his bag two large metal shackles and attached them firmly, but not painfully, to Asil’s ankles. A chain ran from the shackles onto the ground for a meter or so before ending in a large carabiner, which Asil had seen attached to rock faces on mountains.

Twulai was still now, awake but shaking. Shackles were attached to his ankles before one man took hold of both their chains, while the other man went over to the three other Giants who also now had shackles on their ankles.

“Stand and walk to the gate,” The man ordered. Asil and Twulai obeyed his commands, they could walk easily even with the shackles on their ankles. Once they had reached the fence it was opened and they stood in silence on the other side. The area around them was nothing but a wasteland with no plants and or other signs of life. The three other Giants joined them. One was slightly shorter than Asil while the others were both tall, all of them had large muscles on their arms and legs. Their dark hair was scruffy and windblown while their clothes, made of leather, were perfectly fitted and made for the job.

All of their chains were attached to a wagon, with two Giant’s three at the front and two at the back. Once in position one of the men gave an order and they started to walk. The two men sat in the wagon between the convoy of Giants. Between the men, on the floor of the wagon lay a handle, which when pulled would create an electric current that would travel straight through the chains and administer an electric shock to the Giants. In one of the men's hands lay a watch, bought originally from Sioan in one of the back street markets. By starting this device moving when the Giants started walking they were timing how long the journey took. In the rest of the wagon lay swords, supplies and rather odd looking spheres, as well as some fur clothes and knives suitable for skinning an animal with. Most of the wagon lay empty where the Giants once sat, lying vacant for other uses.

Almost an hour later they arrived at the ice field. The area lay at a valley’s end on the edge of a range of mountains. It was populated by Giants, also in chains, who worked under the eagle eyes of men. The layer of ice beneath them with thick and slippery, while the sound of it cracking as Giants swung axes into it unnerved Asil and Twulai. The men who were watching the Giants were clothed in thick furs, one around their torso and one around their waist. Some wore extra furs around their shoulders like a cloak, whereas some did not. Below the furs, they were wearing cotton shirts and trousers. The Giants were wearing furs as well only they appeared to have more layers than the men and without the cotton underlayer. The strangest thing was that although they all were clothed in the same fashion, they did not all had the same amount, as some were missing layers.

Was it to do with rank? Asil wondered to herself.

The Giants were taken to separate spots where their chains were now attached to a network of chains, which in turn snaked into a metal hut. Each of them was given an axe.

“Dig into the ice and stack it up. You work until we come for you,” The man who had brought the Giants ordered, before leaving to patrol the wider workforce. Twulai began to swing his axe breaking the ice below him. Once he got the hang of it he started to take in the world around him. There were close to two hundred Giants here yet only, at most, one hundred men. The ice field ran up the mountains’ edges, where sharp rock cliffs faced Twulai. Giants were there too, lined up along the cliffs mining deep into it bringing rocks crashing off the face. Aside from the Giants who were mining, there were some Giants walking around. They were hauling the ice and rock stacks into large metal nets and then loading them onto wagons, always collecting more and never stopping.

Hours passed and Twulai became weary. Beside him, Asil’s swing became less powerful, each time causing less ice to break off. As dusk fell the men returned. They inspected how much ice Asil & Twulai had dug up before calling a Giant over to haul their stacks into metal nets. Once the ice had been loaded into two metal nets, the men chained Asil and Twulai to the front of the wagon once more. The bags of ice were lifted up onto their shoulders before they started to walk back to the compound.

Just over an hour later they arrived back at the compound. They dropped the nets on the ground and the men ushered them inside. Twulai and Asil nestled down as much as they could before falling asleep much faster than the night before. Around three and a half hours later the three Giants who went with Asil and Twulai returned and collapsed to sleep. The men came to Asil who was sleeping soundly and looked at her back, where the burn from the previous night had completely healed over.

“These two are strong, fast and instinctive. They’ll survive in the plains. I’ll put them to work travelling to Dakra tomorrow,” The man then stood and drew his attention away from Asil and towards other Giants. “These dig an impressive amount. Put them to work in field four, they should be able to mine the hard ice there,” He told his colleague.

Time passed quickly and Twulai and Asil soon found themselves back at the ice fields. They were disconnected from the wagon but rather than being given axes they were led to another wagon where a new set of chains were attached to their ankles and the old ones were removed. The wagon they had come on moved off and the three Giants who had come with them disappeared past the mountainous edges. The wagon they were now attached to was by the cliff’s edge and was being loaded up with rocks. Beside them, and also tied to the wagon, was a Giant who was sleeping.

“Rest. Soon we travel,” The man at the front of the wagon said softly to them. His appearance was as brutal as those around him but his tone was calm and soothing. Twulai and Asil sat together on the ice and looked into the mountains.

“What's going to happen to us?” Asil asked Twulai, not expecting an answer.

“I don't know,” Twulai replied.

“Where do you think Torbjørn and Ilioc are?” Asil asked again.

“I hope it’s somewhere better than here,” Twulai replied again in a sombre voice. Silence passed between them as the wind whirled around above them. Then Twulai remembered Pacha on the boat just moments before she had been dragged away. “Pacha,” He whispered. Asil looked at him confused, then she remembered Pacha.

“Where is she?” Asil asked Twulai. So much had happened that they had not spared a thought for her.

“She was taken off the boat before you awoke. The man at the prow, who I believe is called Alvar, dragged her off by the chains. That’s all I saw,” Twulai answered.

A Giant hauled up the last load onto the wagon before letting out a loud grunt which drew Twulai, Asil and the driver’s attention. The Giant banged the back of the wagon signalling to the driver that it was full before turning away from it. Asil and Twulai stood up, ready for the wagon to begin moving. The driver made some kind of signal and the Giant asleep next to them began to wake. She rubbed her eyes and stood up in preparation to leave. Three more Giants came towards them hauling behind them stones in large metal nets, these Giants were bulky with more muscle than bone yet they were visibly struggling with these loads. They got to the Giants who were waiting for them and handed them the end of the metal nets before helping them haul them up over their shoulders. Then Twulai discovered that these nets were indeed indescribably heavy. Their journey began and although it was slow, it was constant and the pace quickly got to them. The third Giant in their party had a strong build, like Twulai, and she matched his height. She had long, sweeping blonde hair which had plaits mixed in-between the wind-swept mess. She was wearing a long fur coat and boots, which was unusual for a Giant, and her determined mannerisms showed that she was not one to mess with.

Hours passed as they travelled through the plains, valleys and mountains. In the silence between the group, a gentle atmosphere lay upon them. Over time their pace slowed and Asil and Twulai's legs weakened yet the Giant beside them, whose name they did not know, showed no sign of exhaustion. They continued until sundown where their team-mate lay down and fell into a deep sleep within moments. Asil and Twulai slept too, exhaustion took them quickly yet they were still semi-aware of everything going on around them. Something about their situation felt false, like something was missing, something muting the brutality of the wagon driver. Something that they should be afraid of. The next day Asil picked up on how alert the third Giant was, constantly scanning their bare, white surroundings, which stretched on for miles while she kept her stride purposeful. The metal nets made metallic clinking sounds, rather like gear rattling around on a climbers harness, as the Giants dragged the nets behind them.

It wasn't long until Asil picked up on why the other Giant was being so alert. She had noticed it too, the overwhelming feeling of something else being out here, something that was watching them. She started to scan the land around them in order to try and see what it was, but she could see nothing. To her left lay great plains stretching out from miles, and the horizon seemed never-ending. To her right large, bare hills rose up which were covered in snow and ice and they had a deep valley running down the middle of them. In this environment, there was no sign of life aside from themselves. She continued with this uneasy feeling for about half an hour or so until suddenly she spotted movement up in the hills some distance away, but still too close for comfort. The other Giant noticed it too and started to quicken her pace. The driver noticed the change in pace and whipped the wolves pulling the wagon to run faster. Asil quickened her pace as well to match the other Giants, while the hairs on the back of her neck started to rise. It was clear that something was coming for them. Glancing to her right it was clear now there were four or five shapes moving quickly down the hillside.

These creatures drew closer, closing the gap between them and the Giants. Howls erupted from the wolves pulling the wagon. Behind them, the creatures were running on all fours and they were creating a small snowdrift behind them as they ran. It became clear that these creatures were wolves but much bigger and more vicious than those pulling the wagon. The man in the wagon abandoned his post and began to gather up the spheres laden on the wagon’s floor. The wolves were right on top of them now, all the Giants were running and the weight of the nets became negligible as adrenaline took over their bodies. The wolves were huge, with deep red eyes and a white fur coat camouflaging them in the snow-covered land. They came mid-way up Asil’s thigh, making them easily 9ft tall. These wolves had rough fur as though they had already been in a fight and a few had small pieces of fur stuck in their teeth, suggesting that they had been fighting with each other. The pack split and one raced towards Twulai. Thinking fast Twulai swung his net round and caught the beast hard in the chest, sending it flying across the ground and leaving a trail of blood behind it. In the net remained one of the wolves’ claws which was as large as one of Twulai's fingers.

At the same time another wolf attacked the third Giant, it leapt up and grabbed onto her shoulders. Unable to get a good grip, the wolf left claw wounds down her shoulder, side and hip as it fell back to the ground. As it leapt up for the third Giant once more, the man in the wagon got hold of a sphere and threw it as hard as he could. The sphere landed deep in the wolves fur and caused it to collapse on the ground. It growled and whimpered as it tried to get the sphere off its body. Fear gripped Asil as she ran amongst the fight, quickly avoiding the wolf that had just been brought down. Another one of the beasts came into her vision, it was alongside her and heading for the wagon. In this position, she could see its razor-sharp teeth.

It probably hasn't eaten in days, she thought to herself. This wolf turned to Asil suddenly, which took her back, and she swerved to avoid it. She understood now why these chains had extra length than the ones before. It attempted to bite her legs, managing to get its teeth into her skin and drew blood. In the wagon, the man drew grabbed sphere and threw it at the wolf. It was thrown back and slammed against the metal net. A fourth wolf went for Twulai, jumping at him and scratching down his back and side.

“Throw him!” The third Giant yelled to Twulai. It hadn’t even crossed Twulai's mind as to whether he could lift, let alone throw this beast. He reached down and grabbed it, lifting the wolf by its torso and throwing it over Asil and towards the third Giant. Both the Giant and the wolf went crashing to the ground. Asil and Twulai continued to run while the fight continued behind them. From below the wagon, a pulley was allowing the Giants ankle chains to increase in length and therefore allowed them to fight. The third Giant managed to hold the beast still enough to grip it and break its neck with a solid crack. The last wolf leapt up onto the wagon where it was clearly one and a half times bigger than the driver. He threw one last sphere straight into its neck and it crashed off the wagon and onto the snow.

After this, the man signalled to Twulai and Asil to stop and they did so as the wagon slowed and the wolves calmed down at the front of the wagon. The Giants sat down with blood dripping from their wounds and their bodies shaking with adrenaline. The man jumped off the wagon and picked up one of the beasts. He lay its hind legs over his shoulder but, its size meant that its front legs scraped along the ground as he carried it back to the wagon. A small distance away the third Giant walked back to them, covered in wounds and blood. She collected the wolves as she came, dumping four bloodied beasts’ bodies in the wagon. The land behind them had both Giants’ and wolves’ blood stained onto it. The fifth beast that had attacked them was nowhere to be seen. A few minutes later they started off again and everything was silent for the rest of their journey. A shadow of doubt crossed Twulai and Asil’s minds mixed with confusion and terror about what just happened and the way that their two associates had coped with it. Despite the fighting, it had been organised and without chaos, almost as if this was a day-to-day struggle and not out of the ordinary. This worried Twulai and Asil immensely. They came to a stop earlier than the previous day and the man got down from the wagon. He said nothing to the Giants about the attack, how he had dealt with the beasts or what kind of wolves they were. The man unloaded the huge wolves from the back of the wagon and gave one to each of the Giants along with a skinning knife. They sat skinning the beasts they had killed in a small circle, Asil and Twulai watched how the third Giant did it, while the man had put down his beast and was lighting a fire a little way away from the Giants. The fire glowed on the edges of the Giants’ vision. They could make out a metal pot balanced above the flames in which was snow. The wolves by the wagon were asleep on the ground, leaving the three Giants to themselves.

“I’ve never known a wolves fur to be this thick, no matter what their size,” Twulai said while cutting the beast’s coat away.

“That’s because they’re not wolves,” the third Giant said simply. “They’re known as Mawon. They are relatives of wolves but they are very different animals. They live out here and prey on polar-bears mostly. Packs have been known to take down dragons as well, but that’s a very rare occurrence.”

“Are there many of them?” Asil asked.

“I would estimate that there are about twenty thousand out here, but none quite knows their numbers for sure. They are common in these parts so you’ll learn how to cope with them.” The Giant said before she looked up to see Asil & Twulai's horrified faces. Asil found herself staring into this Giant’s deep brown eyes. Her eyes then moved to the furs which the Giant was wearing, all now an offset white colour with patches of dirt and blood splattered upon them. These were the same furs that she had seen over and over again, on the Giants working in the ice fields, on the wagon drivers and the slave commanders in charge of the Giants. Asil looked down at the Mawon she was skinning and finally made the connection. Everyone’s clothes in the North were made from Mawon fur.

The more Mawon you kill the warmer you become. She thought to herself. Twulai finished skinning the animal and removed it from the beast. “We don’t even know your name,” he said to the third Giant.

“Achala,” came her reply. “And I can say the same of you,” she stated while cutting the belly of her beast.

“Twulai.”

“Asil.” They replied, and silence passed between them once more. They removed the fur coat from the Mawon and left the bodies coated in a thin epidermis layer.

“Now that the introductions are over, let us eat,” Achala said. They ate all the way to the Mawon’s bones before the man came over with a large metal container, containing water and placed it at their feet. He then returned silently to his fire.

“This food feels soo good,” Achala rejoiced once she had finished and fell back onto the snow. For the first time since their capture, Twulai and Asil watched Achala smile. They paused there for a moment and Twulai gestured towards the man by the fire,

“Who is he?”

“His name is Bryce,” Achala replied. “He’s a tradesman of the ice fields, in charge of taking raw materials to settlements and cities around Daer. He’s been in charge of me since I was a small child.” Achala looked across at Bryce who was still cooking the Mawon meat for him to eat.

“Do you two have a relationship?” Twulai asked. Achala gave him a puzzled look. “Not in love but for someone who is in charge of you, he doesn’t appear like he is doing a bad job,” Twulai explained and Achala relaxed.

“No. I think he likes the wilderness. He’s one of the few men who understands the role of Giants in the wider world,” Achala replied. The conversation ended and soon they all slept.

Days passed as they walked through the wilderness. More Mawon attacks happened, each time eating that which they caught and adding layers to their clothing. Many days and nights passed and each day they travelled 14 miles or more. Asil couldn't tell how long they’d been travelling for but with the sun now rising above the horizon for only a few hours at a time, it became easier to sleep. This allowed the Giants to rest well and regain strength without the distraction of daylight. They also took shifts to look out for Mawon attacks at night. The snowy wasteland seemed never ending with the hills and mountains rising and falling to their right. Water was as sparse as food and they often got it from icicles. They turned south not too long after the end of the hills and started to travel downhill. They passed through boulder fields, making their progress slow, and the boulder field, in turn, became a deep frozen canyon. The canyon was easily 60ft in height with water running off the top of it, down one wall and to a stream at the canyons’ floor. Here they all drank then washed in the water which was, as they discovered, freezing cold as it was run off from a glacier. They continued down the canyon. It was darker here even though the sky was clear and bright blue. In cracks and shaded places close to the canyon’s edge lay animals. All hungry, of varying species and sizes, and all hidden away. Each one was wounded and dared not attack the three Giants, wolves and the wagon. In silence, the group travelled dragging each of their loads behind them, aware of all the eyes which were watching them. They felt trapped and alert in the canyon as they knew they were being watched yet they knew that there was less danger here than out in the open.

The whole day they travelled before settling in a widened section of the canyon to rest. Uneasiness gripped them and they took turns watching, keeping their eyes fixed on the darkened places. Another day passed as they travelled through the canyon, keeping their eyes low and away from the bright, misleading sky. As they descended down the gentle slope the ice began to give way to rock unveiling a limestone cliff landscape.

Unknown to the Giants, as they had passed a rocky ledge which stuck out over the canyon, a creature had been stirred from its slumber. They had not seen the claws hanging over the edge, nor heard its breath as it stirred looking up to see them walking slowly below it. The dragon had been injured when men had attempted to catch it. Its leg was broken, its wing was partially torn and in its eyes lay a look of madness. It snarled at the Giants, crawled to the edge of the ledge and jumped off gliding silently, and as steadily as it could, down into the canyon towards the group. The Giants felt the air move behind them and turned the moment before the dragon roared, coming upon them. Achala moved aside causing the dragon to hit the rocks in the wagon side on, sending it crashing to the ground. It swung back around and lashed out its tail at Twulai, trying to bite at him but Twulai firmly pressed on its eyes while Asil swung her arm downwards landing her elbow into the dragon’s spine. The dragon whimpered collapsing onto the ground and without hesitation, Twulai broke its neck with tremendous force.

“We mustn’t stop here,” Bryce called from the wagon once the commotion was over, “further down the canyon opens up, and there is a stream. There we rest, not here.”

“He’s right,” Achala confirmed, looking at Bryce then across to Twulai, “It’s not that far.” Twulai swung the dragon up onto his shoulder and they continued on their course. As Bryce had said, they soon came to a stream and the canyon opened up. Here they came to a halt and relaxed. There was less danger here and the thick, musky atmosphere had lifted allowing them to breathe the clean air and to clear their minds. The air was still and the restless feeling they had all had subsided, which was a welcome sensation for all. Twulai lay down the dragon and Bryce twisted its horns in order to free them before he gestured to the Giants. The Giants happily tucked into their meal, not leaving anything to waste. Bryce had previously expressed his extreme dislike of dragon meat and was more than happy to go hungry than eat it unless he was in desperate circumstances. As they settled down that evening they were calm and content, presently happy with their circumstances. The sun drew low and reflected off the water, which lay in the canyon before them. They admired its beauty before looking beyond. There they saw buildings, tall and packed together on the horizon. It seemed hundreds of miles away as they sat in the quietness.

Twulai and Asil reflected on their situation. It wasn’t as bad as they had first feared. The harsh environment may have hardened men’s hearts into cruelty but in the wilderness, where their dependence on the Giants became clear, and somehow the cruelty had become kindness. Twulai wondered about the man who was supposedly in charge of them, never once he had been cruel towards them. In fact, he had been respectful, he had seen their nature in its true form and chosen them over men. Achala respected Bryce, and Twulai and Asil could see why.

Achala meanwhile lay ready to sleep and ready to gain rest for what lay ahead, but she didn’t want to lose this moment of peace and tranquillity where all of them were just raw and living as nature had intended. Living to survive amongst the world and find your place.

For men in the city didn’t live to survive amongst the world, they were in control of it.