Snowing had fallen the past few days in Vilriver and it had only abated in the morning. This set the mood for the Korochun, the winter solstice and the longest night of the year. The Korochun as well as the eve and the day after were holidays, which gave three days for the Pupils to travel back home to see their family or at least enjoy a bit of rest before the proper end of the semester. The Library was therefore closed, but this did not stop Isyd. His name and face had now become too well-known in the Academy for him to go unnoticed so he had to find a new hiding place. Some parts of the Fields were a good choice given how out of the way they were, but it was annoying to dredge through the woods. Instead, Isyd had found this spot on the roof of one of the towers.

To go there, he sneaked through a window of the Library and made his way up the slate tiles until he reached a cornice with enough room for him to stand and seat. The only downside of this spot – besides the obvious vertiginous height and the slippiness of the frozen tiles– was the small oeil-de-boeuf window behind him. It led to the Library but was sealed so Isyd couldn’t use it as a shortcut and was forced to make the climb every time. Still, this section of the Library was always empty so Isyd did not fear anyone noticing him there.

From his vantage point, the whole of Vilriver appeared to Isyd. The city was covered by a mantel of snow and the temperatures were frigid. The only reason the River hadn’t completely frozen over was that its waters were too fast. Even so, it wasn’t rare to see chunks of ice floating downstream. The city was alight with the celebrations of the night. Food, music and dances around bonfires were happening all over the city as tonight was a night of merriment to be spent with family and friends. The Ravasz had wanted Isyd to join them so that they could spend the day together, but Isyd had turned down their repetitive invitation. He preferred leaving the couple alone. In fact, he preferred to leave everyone alone. The Ravasz were good people and he had come to appreciate the time spent working together, which was an additional reason why he didn’t want to be there and taint their night.

Isyd enjoyed his time alone; it gave him the opportunity to rest and think and plan.

Plus, he was technically never truly alone.

“You never told me that snow was supposed to be white, Isyd!” Naeht said, hands on her hips and floating in the air in front of him.

“I must have mentioned it at some point I am sure,” Isyd said.

“You said it was white, but you didn’t tell me it was white ! I mean, look at it! It’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! It is so white !”

Isyd rolled his eyes but said nothing. He could understand her excitement; back in Old Ziemia, the snow had turned black and ashy everywhere due to the ashclouds. It was all Naeht had ever known.

“Also, this is the Korochun and I had never seen people celebrating this way!”

“Come on now, we celebrated the Korochun in the Holy Bastion. It can’t be that different.”

“Yeah, but this feels different! Even in the Holy Bastion, when winter came people were just tenser. I think they feared the cold and the food… we always need to watch out for the food because there wasn’t enough for everybody. The Korochun was the only day when people let go a bit, you know. But even then… it was like they knew it was just for a night! But here, people don’t seem to worry about tomorrow! It’s… it’s good...”

Isyd knew that the reality was a bit more complicated than that. Winter was always a difficult period for everyone and he remembered quite a few cold and hungry nights as a child in his village after a bad harvest. Even in a city such as Vilriver, he suspected that not everyone was enjoying the snow. He didn’t say a word of that obviously. Isyd was simply happy to see Naeht happy.

“Alright, alright, let’s get down and walk around for a bit…” he sighed, getting up. “You could just have said you wanted to wander around, you know.”

Her expression was mischievous. “Well, now that you proposed it, you can’t say I pestered you! Do you think we will see the Yale Log burn?”

“Perhaps, but I think it may have already happened…”

For the following hours, they wandered the streets lit with tinsels of Lightspheres and evergreen branches. The streets were crowded though it was slowly thinning out as the night progressed. Everywhere people were snuggled in their warm clothes, enjoying a warm cup of coffee or wine or nibbling on pierogi. Even Isyd let himself be tempted and bought a few pieces to enjoy. Naeht looked at him with envy but she didn’t have the time to be sad; she was quickly swept up by the sounds of violin and kozioł. They were on of the main plaza of Vilriver and the Merchant Guild had sponsored a massive feast and after having eaten to their heart content, room had been made for folk dances. People pranced around at the sounds of the laughter, the clapping and the music. Isyd observed from afar, making sure not to be swept up by the movement of the crowd that swell as more and more people joined the dance.

Eventually, Isyd decided to leave by one of the main streets that connected to the Plaza and led directly to the Inside and the Academy. On either side of the road, merchant stalls had been installed by the Merchant Guild; the Yale Street Market of Vilriver was well-renown all around the Commonwealth. Isyd dodged the hailing merchants and the running children and the opportunistic dogs digging the snow piles for a little bit of food. More than once, Isyd recognized the familiar colours and cut of the Academy uniform. He was also wearing the uniform as it was well-suited for those temperatures, though he had put on his darkveil for extra comfort. He had just crossed Emerald Bridge when he stumbled upon familiar faces.

Touring the booths were Boshena, Jadwia, Tatyana, Kewin, and three other guys Isyd did not recognize. One of them was in his class, but he never committed his name to memory. Raval, perhaps…

Tatyana noticed him first and she was surprised to see him there because her eyes went wide. She elbowed at Jadwia next to her and wave to him. It was too late for Isyd to pretend he hadn’t seen them, so he waved back and approached.

“The night Graces you,” Isyd said to the group. “Merry Korochun.”

Boshena and the three young men seemed as surprised as Tatyana; only Jadwia and Kewin had a normal reaction to his presence.

“Grace to you, Isyd,” Jadwia said. “Merry Korochun. I searched for you today. I wanted to invite you to spend the evening together with the rest of us. I couldn’t find you, as usual.”

“I didn’t plan on celebrating.”

“And yet you’re here!”

Isyd shrugged and gave a reproaching side glance to Naeht. “I let myself be convinced…”

“Nobody should spend the Korochun alone…” Kewin said softly.

“I do not mind being alone.”

“Well since you’re here, join us!” Tatyana exclaimed. “The more the merrier!”

“Actually, I was walking back to the Academy…”

“We were as well! Let’s make the rest of the way together!”

Seeing that there was no point arguing further, Isyd nodded and trailed behind, not without giving another pointed look at Naeht.

See what you put me into?

The girl had the gall to laugh at his face.

Isyd soon learned that Tatyana meant something different when she said they were heading back to the Academy. The girl could not help but stop at every merchant stall and gawk at their products. She grabbed Boshena by the arm as well as another dude and forced the whole group to slow down or even stop. Then, it was Jadwia that was getting distracted or someone else and consequently, they were progressing at an excruciating pace.

“Wow, this is so shiny!” Tatyana exclaimed, hunching over to better see the display of trinkets. She pointed at what looked to be a fish scale, only it was as big as a hand and had an iridescent shine to it. “What is this?”

“This, my good girl, is the scale of a mermaid!” the peddler said.

“Mermaid? For real?”

“Oh, yes! This is one of my rarest possessions! You see, the Mermaids live in the coldest part of the Wiel Ocean and rarely interact with humans. I can’t tell you how I got my hands on one of those, but I can tell you that their scales are magical! One of those and you can breathe under the sea like you were fish!”

Isyd saw Boshena roll her eyes; clearly, she wasn’t buying it!

“Don’t fall for it, Tatyana,” she told her friend. “Come on, let’s go!”

“Oh, we have a sceptic I see,” the peddler said, stroking his long moustache. “Well, young girl, my name is Joost and Joost is not a liar! From West to East, I travel across Ziemia for the most exotic products, the likes of you which your young eyes have never seen. Perhaps, I can interest you with something else, hmm? Here, take a look at this!”

The man shoved in Boshena’s hands a long and curved white stone.

“What’s that?” Tatyana asked, jumping up and down.

“This is a griffin’s claw! Grate it into a powder and mix it with water and you get a drink that can heal any ailment!”

The whole group was now standing around the man’s stall. Isyd eyed distractedly the products. At a glance, most of them turned out to be nothing more than useless knick-knacks; charms that were supposedly Arcanes, as well as strange animals’ loots and vibrant potions in flasks. His eyes were attracted by an object a bit apart from the rest. Jadwia must have noticed it at the same time because she pointed at it.

“What is this?” she asked.

Joost turned and picked up the object at the top of the pile. It was a mask carefully crafted out of wood. Painted blue and white, it represented the terrifying face of a demon, with pitch-black eyes and white horns and tusks.

Isyd’s heart skipped a bit as he recognized it.

“Oh, this? Those were gifts I received from a friend,” Joost said. “He is an Antim, a people that lives on a group of islands far, far in the East from here. They say that those are the faces of demons and to ward against them, the Antims carve those faces in stones and put them above their temples…”

“Those masks aren’t made out of stones now, are they?” the young man next to Boshena pointed out.

“No, it’s just good wood! Those masks are used for something different. The Antims are weird people, you know? They don’t kill their criminals; they just banish them! You could kill your own father and mother and they would let you go! But in exchange, you have to wear this mask. For them, you died and became a demon and now, if you were to come back, anyone is justified in hunting and killing you! That’s what those masks are for! They have a name for it actually. Let’s see… it was the “Faces of”… of… something…”

“‘The Faces or Glory’”, Isyd murmured.

Everyone turned to him surprised, as they had forgotten he was even there.

“Aye, that’s what it was!” Joost said. “Tell me, young man, are you interested? Those masks would be perfect for playing pranks, for this year Ostatki for instance! I can even make you a price for the whole of it, what do you say, hmm?”

Isyd didn’t answer him. He was transfixed by the mask, his mind made to revisit other places and other times.

“Isyd, is this…?” Naeht said to his ear.

He simply nodded.

Eventually, the group managed to extract themselves from the grip of Joost and resumed their walk towards the Academy. Isyd was trailing much behind her, lost in his thoughts. The 22 nd Hour had long come and gone, but the Western Gate of the Academy was still open; the Korochun was apparently an exception to the usual rule. They saw other Pupils also making their way back but, by the eerie silence after they passed the Gate, it was obvious that many had yet to come back. Unfortunately, the path they took through the Fields was not as well-trodden as the other pathways and consequently, they had to drudge through the snow that reach ankle-heigh at some places. None of the Pupils complained though; Tatyana was leading the group and was still prattling happily along.

“Do you think the Ravasz are working on the Blysht?” Naeht suddenly asked. “The lights of the laboratory are still on.”

This took Isyd out of his wool-gathering. He followed her gaze and indeed saw light coming from a window in the furthest wing of the building. Other rooms were also lit, but it was the only one in this part of the Atelier and Isyd could have recognized the window of the laboratory with ease given how much time he spent there.

“The Ravasz are enjoying their time at home,” Isyd said. “It must be Tekla…”

But as he was saying it, Isyd hesitated. Tekla had been invited to the Baroness’s party.

“Naeht… Could you … ” Isyd said, stopping on his track. “Could you go and check for me, please?”

“Sure!”

She flew away like a strong gale. Isyd watched the Atelier, doubt and uncertainty creeping inside him. His instincts were telling him that something was wrong.

Less than a minute passed and Naeht was flying back to him. Isyd saw her expression. It told him all he needed to know.

He dashed forward and ran at full tilt toward the Atelier. He heard what were supposedly gasps and his name behind him, but he did not stop. Someone was in the laboratory and Isyd could easily guess what their goal was.

They had come for the Blysht.