12 To the Frontier
Lord Hendrick looked up at the elder tree as if he is speaking to the very tree it self.
" Would you like some time to pray to the elder gods, your grace ? " he asked.
" Indeed I will. Thank you, Lord Gator. " Sasha said, moving towards the elder tree.
The mood here is surreal, as if the elder gods are really watching over her in person.
She felt like she must offer her prayers to the elder gods before she began her task here.
" This way. "
Lord Hendrick directed to the prayer stones covered with mats, embedded all over in the roots of the elder tree.
The mats were covered with moss that seemed indigenous to the swamp land.
Lord Hendrick left Sasha alone in the clearing.
Sasha knelt by the tree, her hands held in prayer like she did for the gods of trinity, her mind cast towards the elder tree.
Now, for the first time, she has seen the effect of the winter star.
The necklace is no less powerful than the winter fist.
It allowed her soul flight to happen a thousand times smoother.
The elder tree sparkled with spirituality a thousand times brighter than what it is in the real world. She could see the magic swirling around the tree. An aurora of magic threads swirled in the air all around the elder tree, linking with it all over, as if they existed on a different plane from the real world.
Sasha turned her sights from the elder tree to herself, for she has never stopped mid flight like right now without an animal host.
Sasha was still admiring her soul form with the white dress, snowflakes swirling around her, and the blue energy barrier that surrounded her like a veil, when a teenage boy suddenly appeared in front of her.
Sasha fell back into her body in surprise.
The teenage boy vanished from her vision.
The next moment, A teenage boy rushed in front of her from the other side of the elder tree roots.
He fell back in shock at the sight of Sasha.
"You are really here !!! Aren't winter fairies supposed to be only ethereal, never appearing in reality? " he asked her.
Sasha was the first to find her balance.
" I am Sasha Winterchild, not a winter fairy. Who are you ? " she asked the boy.
The boy gasped when she said her name.
"A Winterchild !!! " he said, his arse still stuck to the tree root, and his posture as indignant as it could get.
" No wonder your family is called Winterchild. Then.. You are probably the only person who could help the winter knight. Please, Save him. " The boy begged her, getting up and kneeling on both his knees in front of her, and kowtowing to her.
Sasha has become flustered upon seeing his obsequious behavior.
" wait! Just wait a moment. Explain to me who you are, and who the winter knight is and what we are saving him from." Sasha exclaimed, pulling the boy up from his kowtow.
She did not even have an idea what that prostrating etiquette is, but it must be something serious, she knew.
" From the beginning. First, who are you ? " Sasha asked forcefully, stopping the boy from blabbering.
Something cleared in the boy's eyes, and he started speaking in a rush.
" I am JaeJoon Gator, son of Hendrick Gator. I am a soul seer. I have flown beyond the barrier, into the frontier. I have seen Bran Winterchild surrounded by undead. If we do not help him, he will perish on the frontier. Ice Sorceress's power will double, and there will be no force on the planet that could stop her… You must save Bran! " The boy implored, holding Sasha's forearms.
Sasha believed him.
First, she did not know Bran was alive, much less he fled beyond the Barrier, into the Frontier.
Frontier is a land of ice and snow, a harsh winterland where even Winter wolves will find it hard to survive.
A child of eight years, and one who is crippled at that surviving in such a harsh land is nigh impossible.
However, Sasha would rather grasp at the straw thread of hope rather than give up Bran for dead.
If there's even the slightest chance that the boy is a true soul seer, and he has seen a real premonition, that means Bran is alive.
Sure, she will hurt more when her hope is dashed, but she would rather be hurt like that than have no hope at all.
Her entire thought process took less than a second.
The moment Jaejoon finished his explanation, Sasha moved.
"Moon Snow." She hissed into the air, as she ran for the stairs to climb towards the farthest reaching branch, towards the only downwards slope in this land.
The next moment, Moon snow descended from god knows where to just underneath Sasha.
Sasha jumped on the dragon's back, and the dragon glided up in a single movement, with no pause.
Sasha guided Moon Snow to follow along the king's road, for she could not recognize directions from above, in this vast white winterland.
This is the reason armies do not attack winterland in the winter, for whichever direction they look, there's only white and nothing but white snow.
They will lose direction without even the path being a maze.
Every new blizzard covers up tracks of the army's movement, thus, it's far too easy to keep moving in circles and eventually die due to cold.
While the Winterchild family members are resistant to cold, they are not so resistant that they could move as they wish even in Frontier.
Moon Snow flew as fast as possible, keeping Kingsroad in its eyes.
Sasha cast her mind to snow shrikes, white rabbits, even bull moose as the dragon moved, to watch out for additional dangers such as archers.
That is how she noticed Dan.
A lone warrior dressed in Black from top to bottom, and a raven feather cloak is trodding on a black horse towards the Stride, on the kingsroad.
Sasha knew the moment she had seen him it was Dan.
When the warrior noticed the dragon, he immediately turned his horse , started galloping away in the other direction.
Sasha urged Moon Snow to land right in front of the horse.
The horse neighed, but did not run away, despite the gigantic dragon in front of itself.
It backed off slowly, step by step.
Sasha climbed up from her harness, to right in between Dragon's horns.
" Sasha !!! " Dan gasped upon seeing her.
Sasha pressed down on the thousand myriad feelings rising up in her bosom, even more ruthlessly slowed down her heart rate.
It is not time for the reunion yet.
The faster they bring Bran back, the better it is.
" Get on the dragon. No time for words." Sasha screamed at Dan.
Dan had already dismounted his horse to greet her.
The moment he dismounted, Sasha slipped back into her harness, and gave directions to Moon snow.
Moon Snow grabbed Dan in a smooth motion and flew back on it's path.
" Hey !!! " Dan's protests could not be heard because of the wind speed.
Dan cursed and pulled his scarf even tighter around himself, lowering his head to look at the passing scenery in his prostrate position among dragon's claws.
They reached Barrier in just under an hour.
Sasha wanted to use soul flight beyond the Frontier to determine Bran's location.
Only the sight that greeted her as she got out of her body shocked her.
The barrier is a magical barrier extending all the way, almost impossible to differentiate in any way.
She would be flying blind into the Frontier. There is no other way.
Meanwhile, Dan Frost, who was thrown oh so carelessly in a mound of snow atop the barrier, crawled his way out of the snow mound and creeped up to the dragon ever so slowly, like a hunter.
Moon snow turned it's head to look at Dan, then snorted at him and turned back to front disinterestedly.
Dan approached the dragon slowly, then rubbed one of it's wings.
When the dragon did not respond, he climbed up to the harness that contained an unconscious Sasha.
Just as he was considering releasing her from the rope prison that's around her, Sasha opened her eyes.
" Just sit back behind me for a moment. We need to go into the Frontier. " she said, and her eyes rolled back once more.
This time, Sasha was shocked to see JaeJoon standing in front of her in the air.
" No time, Winter Fairy. I will guide you." He said, touching Sasha's hand.
Sasha's soul returned to her body, but she could feel Jaejoon's will around her faintly.
Dan settled behind the rope rig, and hugged the spine of the dragon tightly.
Moon Snow soared into the air once more.
The moment they entered the frontier, an ominous feeling pervaded all of Sasha's senses.
It's as if she has come here to die.
A being with insatiable hunger set it's eyes on her, she knew almost instinctively.
With one hand, she directed the dragon forward, on the other side, she could feel the growing dread in Jaejoon's psyche.
There is something the boy left out, she knew.
Some detail, that could kill them all.
