Now our children could do what they had not been able to do before, and they fought the gifts unceasingly. But the gifts had finally multiplied enough to withstand our children and our children were forced back to their plains and forests, their mountains and rivers. They grew strong, but never enough.

-Chapter 24, The Unwritten History of Neah-Reath.

Cold. That was the only thing he could sense. Even wrapped in the thick furs that he had traded his sword for, he was still cold. The snow surrounded him, stretching for eternity, yet shrinking his world to a mere few feet. All he could do was continue trudging through the snow, making one slow step after another. Clouds hung in the sky, but they didn’t drop their snow yet. No, he knew that that would come later. He could sense the storm coming, but he had a few hours yet. Enough to make it to shelter. He hoped.

He stopped walking as he saw a flash of movement from the corner of his eye. He scanned the ground intently but couldn’t see anything. Frowning in frustration, he continued with his journey.

He cursed as he stared over the cliff in front of him. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t all that high, maybe 40 feet, but he did not relish the idea of climbing down icy rocks. Without the right tools, it was as much a death sentence as staying where he was. Turning left and right, he looked for any sign of a path down. To the right was nothing, but to the left he thought he saw a trail. Sighing heavily, he started walking again, following the edge of the cliff. As he left, he failed to the notice the snow move behind him, then settle.

He swore ferociously as he reached what had appeared to be a path. It was simply a series of outcrops that goats would have struggled to climb, with the lowest still a good 20 feet above the rocky ground below. To make it worse, there was a clear overhang that he would have to make his way around. Cursing again, he tied his rope around a convenient rock, angry at the thought that he would not be able to take it with him. He turned and lowered himself over it, taking one careful step down the cliff after another, as he leant back into the embrace of the rope. He felt the rope twitch as it bounced on the cliff edge, but it seemed strong enough.

He was two feet above the highest outcrop, a short journey that had seemed to take hours. As he prepared to drop down to it, the tension in the rope fled as it snapped down at him. He fell backwards, cracking his legs on the outcrop and tumbling backwards down to the ground below him. As he fell, he saw the end of the rope flashing past him, the clean cut obvious. Then, he hit the ground, and saw nothing more.

Teah sat up in fright but managed to contain the scream that had sought to escape her. Cornelius turned towards her, clearly alarmed by her sudden movement.

“Is everything alright, child?”

Teah breathed heavily, willing her heart to stop racing before she answered hesitantly.

“It was another dream. I died again. By falling down an icy cliff.”

Cornelius noticed her pause and asked “are you sure?”

She paused again, thinking back over the dream before answering.

“Well, it felt like me. But I was a man. But it didn’t feel like I was dreaming about being a man. I WAS a man. Do you understand?”

“Of course, child. Dreams are strange and difficult things to understand, but they all real equally real, no matter how impossible or inane they might be. And magic users always have more intense dreams than others, especially at first.”

“Huh? Why?”

He chuckled softly before answering. “You do seem to have a skill for asking questions that we have not yet answered. Some have speculated that the act of channelling magic does something to our mind, causing our dreams to be more vivid. Others say that it is to do with the Resonance inside of us connecting us to more and more things, which our brain attempts to understand by dreaming. Others say that the dreams are a message sent by the Resonance, and if we learn to understand them, then we will know what will happen.”

“Ohh? And what is the right answer?”

“Personally, I say ‘who cares?’ Everyone who has studied it has failed to show any meaningful results, so it seems doubtful that we will ever know the right answer. And since the training that we do to learn to channel the Resonance also lends itself to limiting the effect, it seems pointless to worry about it. Most young magic users have a period of odd dreams from the time they first channel the Resonance to the time they learn enough control over their minds to prevent the dreams from occurring then move on.”

Teah brightened as she heard this.

“So, I’ll learn to control my mind? Like a Jedi?”

Cornelius gave her what was becoming his customary blank look before answering.

“Yes, child, if you say so. Regardless, do you remember anymore details from your dream?”

She closed her eyes as she thought about it. “No, all I saw was a massive field of ice, then there was a cliff in it that I had to, I mean, that the man had to get down. Ohh! The rope! Someone cut the rope he was using to climb down. They killed him!”

“Hmm, snow is common throughout the land in winter of course, but an ice field like that sounds like it comes from the tundra to the North. They have long, cold, winters and the ground is rugged and cracked. But again, I do not see how that could be useful to determining who you are, not if all your dreams end in you dying.”

He tutted quietly then said “come, child. Since you are awake, we may as well start the day. I think we have just enough bread for us to break our fast, but then we will have to find some food for later.”

She brightened as she heard the word breakfast, but then frowned as she thought about getting more food.

“I thought you said that the villagers brought you food. Won’t they bring you more?”

He shook his head as he answered “no, they normally only come once a week or so, but with you here we have gone through it faster than normal. So, you will have to go into the village and collect some more.”

“Huh? Me go? I can’t go there! What if a monster comes?!”

“Nonsense, child. There is a path through the woods you can follow that will be fine. It will only take an hour or so for you to get there, and you can use the time to find some more things you have a strong Resonance with.”

He continued as she sighed “none of that, child. If you wish to learn magic, you need to practice feeling the Resonance.

After a quick breakfast, Teah gathered her things.

“Where do I go in the village to get things? Is there a store or something?”

“The inn is as much of a store as the village has, so just head there. The owner is a man called Timon Molnon-Tiber. He is normally in the inn most of the day, so just ask for him. Tell him that you are staying with me, and to put it on my account.”

“Account? Like a bill?”

“No, nothing so crass. There is an understanding between us. He provides me with some food each week, and I provide such services as are needed, small enchantments to preserve food better, some potions for those who get sick, those sorts of things. Ahh, before I forget, you better take this with you.”

Cornelius passed her a small plate of metal, engraved with some markings she didn’t recognise.

“What is this?” she asked as she examined it. “It feels like you.”

“Hmm, the best way to describe it would be an identifier. It is made by taking something that someone has a strong Resonance with and enchanting it. It creates a sense of rightness that anyone seeing it will recognise. It also only works if given freely, so it is a fine way to make deals done at a distance safer.”

“And these things are common?”

“Here, no. A small village has little need for it, but most merchants would probably have one. In the capital, they are used widely, particularly for sending messages. They are relatively easy to make, and worth little, so stealing them is typically pointless.”

Teah put the metal plate into her pouch and prepared to leave.

“Now, child, let me show you the path.”

He hobbled slowly to the door and then stepped outside.

“If you head over that hill, you will find a small river. Just follow it downstream and then you will find the path through the woods. Just follow that and you will get to the village eventually. Now, remember to practise feeling the Resonance and look for anything that you connect with. Ideally, you want to have at least three things that you Resonate strongly with on you at all times while learning this.”

“What do I do if another monster appears?” she asked nervously.

“As long as you stay near the path, you shouldn’t encounter any at all. And even if you leave the path, the worst you’ll encounter is an Orken Toad, or maybe a Gobist. If it’s the first, just look at it firmly and then step back away from it. For a Gobist, just throw something at it, or wave a big stick around, and it will leave you alone.”

“A Gobist? What’s that?”

He tutted at her firmly as he replied “a Gobist is just an overgrown bird. It can fly a bit, but normally just hops between trees. It has some nasty claws, but they are cowards and won’t risk a confrontation with anything that can fight back. Now go, child. Or there won’t be any food for us for dinner.”

With that, he gave her a small push towards the hill. She started walking, turning back only once to see him staring off into the distance.

As she walked through the woods, looked around and then moaned to herself.

“Walking through a forest is hard!” Why couldn’t they just make a road?”

She followed the path, until the ache in her feet made her pause.

“And whoever made these shoes needs to learn about feet! I have a left foot and a right foot, not two sticks at the end of my legs.”

The offending articles were clearly made with some care, but little skill. She sat down and took them off to massage her feet. As she rested, she looked around, trying to feel a connection to the things around her. As her gaze rested on a small bush, she felt an almost physical pull towards it. Putting her shoes back on, she moved closer to the bush and examined it. Its small wide leaves were a verdant green and it had several large, purple flowers. She picked a flower and sniffed it.

“Hmm, it’s almost like lavender, but mixed with peach? Whatever.”

She placed the flower into her pouch carefully in her pouch then started back to the path. As she did, she felt a pull from the trees to her side. Looking at them, she focused on a small thicket of three trees that were growing close together. As she moved towards them, she saw a glint on the ground near the bass of the largest tree. It sparkled softly as she approached it slowly. As she drew near to it, she heard a deep rumble from next to the tree. Turning her head quickly, she saw another Orken Toad looking at her. She froze, then inched forwards, only to pause again as it growled again.

“Well, shit. This isn’t going to be easy is it.”

She looked at the glittering object, then back at the overly large toad. Measuring the distances with her eyes, she thought that she could make it if she was fast.

“Alright, here goes nothing.” She muttered as she prepared herself.

With a quick dash, she dove and reached out to grab the item, then rolled sideways as she saw the ugly monster jump at her. Pulling herself up, she dove again, away from the tree, then rolled onto her knees. As she reached some invisible distance, the Orken Toad stopped looking at her, turning off to move back behind the trees.

“Those are really weird creatures. Whatever.”

She examined her prize. It turned out to be what felt like a heavy quartz spike, about as long as her hand and roughly two inches across. Its irregular surfaces shined as they sparked in the sunlight yet felt oddly cold.

“That’s strange. It’s like it keeps changing colour.”

The quartz shone strangely, seeming to reflect colours in an odd way. Holding it up, she tried to peer into it, but the images it made quickly gave her a headache. Giving up, she grasped it in her hand, trying to focus on it. She felt something from it but couldn’t find the words for it. She kept examining it as she walked down the path, finally putting it into her pouch as she saw the village in the distance. She approached it slowly, then as she reached the edges of it, she paused. The village was small, yet the buildings seemed well-made, mainly from stone and slate, but with some wooden sheds and barns in the mix. She took a quick, nervous breath, then stepped forwards into the bright light of day.