The wind was cold, even if it was almost in the middle of May and the late morning sun shone brightly. As expected Frêllian and Canwrîf arrived at the once evil city within two days. What they did not expect was the stronghold to be abandoned.

The last time Frêllian had been there, it had been inhabited by orcs, wargs and a handful ferien. Yet now it stood empty. Probably abandoned after their defeat five years ago. Though the stench of evil still lingered.

Come to think of it, rumour had it that the orcs had retreated to Mordor. Planning, plotting, scheming. But she had expected some to still linger in dark places like these. But it appeared not to be the case.

'Will you be alright,' she asked her second in command as she eyed the mountains up ahead. 'I don't know how long I'll be away.'

'It's not me you should worry about, Frêllian,' Canwrîf stated gruffly as he stopped next to her. His eyes too, were on the mountains ahead of them. 'You are the one to seek out the ancient wolves. Beyond those mountains is the Northern Waste. Nothing but snow and cold awaits you there.'

She nodded. She could feel the chill of the wind as they stood there. But that was all it was, a chill. But from here on, the temperature would only grow colder in the lands of the everlasting snow. The lands where no men had walked and only few other folk had ever ventured. What laid ahead was a mystery and it frightened her.

She glanced over to Canwrîf, thankful of his company. But from here on, she would be on her own. She would look for the direwolves or die trying, but she would not allow Canwrîf to follow after her.

They had collected provisions for the way, which they had saved for her journey into the Northern Waste. Lord Elrond had even gifted then lembas bread, which they had saved for her journey beyond Carn Dûm.

'I guess this is where my journey ends.' Frêllian nodded as she glanced back to the mountain for a moment, before turning back to the ferian. 'Please be careful, my lady Supreme. And come back safe and sound.'

'Until my return, my friend.' She purposely did not answer him, only bidding him farewell, for now.

'Until your return.'

She pulled the ferian into a tight embrace. Not quite ready yet to depart from him. The fear that had built up within her chest was now trying it's best to keep her from continuing. To try and make her turn around and make her way back to Rivendel.

But she fought it off.

With one final farewell, Frêllian turned towards to mountains. The last part of her journey was now within hand reach.

Though the climb would not be high, it would be treacherous. From where she was, she could see the snow laying untouched at the sides. And the further up she walked, the cooler the air became. The scent of Canwrîf was already fading. And even after shifting into her wolf form, she could barely pick up his scent. And after the wind changed, she could no longer pick up the telltale scent of cedarwood and a hint of fresh rain of the male. Instead she was met with new scents. Some she recognised, others she didn't. But whatever was up there in the Northern Waste, she should be able to travel unnoticed for now. Until the wind would turn.

Frêllian stopped for a moment, as she orientated herself. She was much higher up than she had anticipated. Even in the short time she had climbed. She couldn't have been climbing for more than an hour or two, yet she had almost reached the peak.

Perhaps it was because she had already been far up before she departed from Canwrîf an the mountain itself wasn't that high. And her shifting form had probably sped up her climb. Whatever it was, she sure was grateful the climb was almost over.

The higher she got, the more steeper the wall became. And not to mention the cold! Even her thick fur could no longer block the cold wind any longer. If the nights were even colder - which she reckoned they were - she'd have to make sure she had shelter to sleep. If not, she would freeze to death.

Deciding she needed all the time she could get, Frêllian quickened her pace. Her left hind leg slipped for a moment, as she jumped onto a ledge, but quickly balanced herself. Almost there! The ground was leveled here, so she started to make a sprint for it. Her paws crunching in the snow as she ran, leaving deep footprints behind.

The wind was howling as she neared the peak, picking up snow everywhere it went.

Almost warning her to stop. But the ferian ignored it. She was almost there! Almost! And no matter how hard the wind howled, she would not let it stop her.

Slowly Frêllian came to a halt. She had reached the peak and took her first glance at what laid beyond. There was snow as far as the eye could see. But not all was white, which surprised her. She had expected to see only waste, as the name Northern Waste suggested. But it held a serene beauty. In the distance she could see a forest and beyond that, there was a formation of dark rocks, contrasting the white snow.

And there was life down there as well. She could smell it. She took a moment longer to take in the beauty of the so called waste, before she started to look around for a way down. She needed to find her way down and find shelter, before nightfall.

The climb down was slippery, but easy. And Frêllian had gotten down without too much trouble. A couple of slipping was all. But once own, she hadn't found anything she could use for shelter. No cave of any sort. So she was forced to make her way over to the forest ahead. She was tired now, from hours of walking and climbing. Her fur was wet and the cold was slowly getting to her. But she had to carry on. There was no other way.

The wind blew hard over the open plains, but Frêllian did not let it stop her. She sped over the plains, towards the forest. The run tiring her even more. Yet she continued. As fast as her legs could, only slowing down once she reached the forest.

Even if the wind could not get passed the trees, the air was still cold. And with the setting sun, she knew the temperature would drop even more. Now that she had reached the forest, she needed to find shelter. A burrow would do, but would she be able to dig one fast enough? And would she still have the strength?

Only one way to find out!

So Frêllian searched for a suitable spot and started digging. It took her all the strength she had left and the burrow wasn't that deep, nor big. But it was good enough for her. It protected her from the wind and cold. And hopefully kept her out of harm's way. Satisfied and exhausted, Frêllian allowed herself to lay down and rest.

'The words have been written.'

'Yet the ink has not yet dried.'

'It is my daughter we could look to. Her descendants still live with men.'

'Her descendants still live with men.'

'Still live with men.'

'With men. With men. With men.'

Frêllian opened her eyes. Her dreams had once again travelled to the realm of the Valar. Invading the meeting of the deities as they discussed the faith of a warrior and the descendant of Aelash who would save him. Or at least, that's what she gathered from the dream.

She let out a yawn and stretched her body, but she didn't have much space to do so, much to het surprise. It took her a moment to realise she was inside a burrow made of snow. And then she remembered where she was. The entrance of her burrow had slightly collapsed, but still it allowed the sun to shine through.

After taking a bite of the bread, Frêllian carefully made her way out. Making sure to check her surroundings as she did so. She was without her pack, in unknown territory. She could not be careful enough while venturing into the unknown. Yet, it did not do her any good staying here either.

The morning air was still chilly. And much to her surprise, the young ferian spotted animal tracks. A rabbit had passed by her burrow not too long again. Perhaps a little before she herself had woken up. Not that it mattered. She had already eaten, though perhaps she should try and hunt first, before relying on the elven bread. Better to save what she had in a time of need.

Her ears twitched at all the sounds surrounding her. From the wind whispering through the trees, to the cawing of the crows above. And of course the soft scattering of rodents as they began their day of foraging. But no sounds that worried her. No large footsteps, nor strange scents to pick up. Which was both a relief, yet a disappointment as well.

It meant the direwolves were not anywhere near. She would have to venture further into the forest and perhaps even towards the rock structure she had seen behind the forest. Frêllian groaned. If that was the case, she still had a long way to go.

'Well, better get going,' she muttered as she started walking.

The trees all looked alike, she noticed as she took in her surroundings. Every tree she passed was tall and the needle-like leaves tick enough to prevent the ferian to get a clear view of the sky. Still, it wasn't as bad as Mirkwood. That forest had a thick air to it and soil that had never before seen the light.

Still, this forest wasn't that pleasant either.

The cold was intense, even if Íler was slowly making his way towards midday. His warmth not reaching the freezing world she now walked in. Low hanging branches reached for her, trying to hold her down as she passed. Still she continued her way.

But the close density of the forest was the least of her problems. Something felt off.

She had first noticed it after she had rested for a bit. The deep snow made it hard for her to walk through. It took much of her energy to even walk, which was the fastest pace she could manage anyway.

And it was during her second break that the wind had shifted a bit. She had been travelling downwind, much to her luck. And even after the shift, she was still travelling downwind to where she was heading. But now it came a little from the northeast and it came with a new scent.

Still, she ignored it. The scent came from miles away. Whatever it was, it was far away. Why would she pay any attention to it?

But after a while, she started to feel like she was being watched. And there where these strange clicking sound, like birds. Very large birds. Still, to the ferian it did not matter what size they were. Only one thing mattered to her.

She was being hunted!

Sniffing around, she noticed the strange scent from earlier had gotten closer. Much closer. And if she focussed, she could hear soft footsteps and fluttering of feathers. Did that mean she was being followed by something else as well?

She growled in frustration. She needed to get put of the forest and fast! Between the trees, she couldn't move fast. The branches held her back if she took off with a sprint. And her predators were most definitely better equipped if they managed to survive this harsh land.

But out in the open, she could use her speed to her advantage. At least that's what she hoped for. And she had stamina. Stalkers usually lacked stamina, that's why they stalked their prey. To preserve energy.

But Frêllian was a ferian and she hunted like a wolf. She could run long distances, without tiring. And she was fast, which would work to her advantage as well. Then she could make a run towards the rocks and find shelter there. And if she's lucky they would give up the hunt.

As she made her way through the forest, she made sure she knew where her stalkers were. Still a while off, but the seemed to have picked up her scent. Probably by coming across her trail and decided it was worth investigating the new scent. Not that it mattered now.

A strange coughing sound caught her off guard. They were closing in on her! Deciding she couldn't keep the slow pace up anymore, she started to quicken her pace.

She knew it would be fruitless to outrun whatever was chasing her. But she had to do something! She duck underneath branches, her tick fur getting caught in in for a moment. But she ignored the pain of the fur being pulled out. She ignored the cold wind.

But she did not ignore the sounds surrounding her. It was a pack. From the sound if it, they weren't big in size, but they were large in numbers.

Something caught her eye. Something moved to her left! She could see a small shadow move between the trees. She then looked in front of her again. She had noticed the tree line coming closer and closer. She'd almost reached the plain. All she needed to do, was keep ahead for just a bit longer.

Suddenly something jumped towards her. Sharp teeth sunk in her flank, followed by something else. With a howl, she bumped into a tree. Hoping to shake the thing off of her, which it did. With a snarl, she jumped away and started running again. She didn't waste time inspecting the now squawking creature. All she knew, was that it was most definitely not a bird!

Ignoring the throbbing pain, Frêllian dashed off. She was almost out of the forest. Just a little further! Just keep on running! She was so close!

Again there was that strange clicking sound. Which she figured was how they communicated. But this time it sounded in anger. And there was hissing as well. Still, Frêllian kept on moving. By now she was running and with one final sprint, she ran out of the forest.

Behind her, there was angry squawking and hissing. But they did not give up their pursuit. But now that Frêllian was out in the open, she could pick up her speed. She dared to take a look behind her, to look at the strange creatures. They stood angrily at the tree line hissing and snapping at each other as they did so.

They weren't that large, as she had expected. But while they were feathered like a bird, they didn't look like birds at all. More like small feathered dragons, with elongated necks and slinted reptile eyes. Useless small wings held long sharp claws that curved down slightly at the end. Their reptile like feet held large sharp claws, with one dagger like claw at each feet which they tapped to the ground every now and then.

Their dragon like head was mostly covered in feathers, except around their eyes and snout. The later holding sharp razor like teeth.

'What are they,' she questioned out loud as she watched them in curiosity.

But before she could inspect them further, a howl echoed and the strange creatures cowered back in fear. And Frêllian understood why. It wasn't like any howl she had ever heard before. It was even more terrifying than the howl of a warg. Even Frêllian shuddered in fear. She didn't even dare to look behind her, to see the source of the howl.

She already knew what it was. What else could it be? So with the strange creatures gone, Frêllian slowly turned around. The howl had come from the rock formation in the distance and that's where she had to go.