Sorrith

Sorrith had just heard her queen's call. She was screeching for her clan's attention. She was about to lay her clutch after all. It required all of the Arctic Kin to assemble. It was something that could determine the fate of the entire clan.

With the scheming ice trolls afoot, they had to be cautious. The Arctic Kin and the Ice Trolls were generational rivals. Which dated back to their clans' very inception. Ever since then, they would constantly clash, minor skirmishes continually occurring.

If their queens' egg's managed to hatch and grow, it would allow complete domination of the Maw. Or as the Artic Kin called it; The Devouring Dragon. They called it this after their queen. She was a mighty warrior, and anyone who dared to trespass upon her land was sure to be crushed and consumed.

Due to her current constraints, they were significantly weakened. Though Sorrith was confident that the trollish scum wouldn't best them.

Scum was a powerful word in their vernacular. It meant the worst of the worst. Even worse than those who encroached on their righteous queen's territory. As even creatures like those were ones they treated with respect.

Although they were usually killed and consumed, their bodies and equipment would go to a good cause.

In fact, at this very moment, it was her job to track down the human who infiltrated their home. While it was indeed true that the others were summoned back to their ruler's humble home, she was sent to keep tabs on the human.

Just forgetting about him would have been a stupid thing to do. Despite the fact, that he was alone, well besides his horse of course. Which would make an excellent meal for the queen's newborns mind you. He still posed a level of threat. His imitation claw could still wound her if she became reckless.

Because of this, whilst the human was still recovering from her queen's majestic call, she had rushed ahead of the human and his horse. Going unnoticed, she moved on all fours. Her beautiful scales blended into the snow and mountainside perfectly. Even a skilled hunter would have trouble spotting her.

She trained her eyes on the human trespasser. Despite her focus, she was fully aware of the avalanche of snow and ice that was falling on her. She knew an avalanche would occur as soon as her queen called for them.

Over the years Sorrith had grown accustomed to the flash avalanches. She was warned of them when she was a hatchling and had grown up around them. Her elders and peers taught her how to escape them, and even how to stay on top of them as they fell.

Even if she was buried, the Arctic Kin could hold their breath for an extended period of time. Their lungs were well suited for the low oxygen content. Not to mention their sturdy bones and rigid scales would protect them from the weight of the avalanche.

She watched from above as the human tried to get his horse to move. She found it quite amusing, Her serpentine tongue darted from her mouth multiple times as she let out a light chuckle. Though to Osiris it probably would have sounded like a series of broken hisses.

Finally, Sorrith watched the man start to move. The horse moved slowly at first but quickly began to accelerate. For a second she pondered the opportunity to lunge at the man, however, she quickly brushed aside that idea.

She was there to keep an eye on him, not to assassinate him. It would not only go against orders but would also be dangerous. She had seen what the imitation claws could do.

A battalion of soldiers had encroached into their territory when she was a hatchling. They were armed and carried fake claws that weren't too different than the one that the trespasser carried on his hip.

They were an extreme challenge to the Arctic Kin, especially because they were able to use magic so fluently. Whilst Sorrith could use magic, it was nowhere near the same level as the humans. Instead, the Arctic Kin relied more on stealth, and combat prowess to ambush and obliterate their foes before they were able to react.

The humans managed to circumvent the Arctic Kin's core strategy by entering the Devouring Dragon from a weakly guarded area. At the time their numbers had just reached two thousand. This might seem like a lot, but consider that they have to monitor an entire mountain range. Their numbers were also far more condensed towards the queen's den.

This allowed the humans to get a jump on the few soldiers that were guarding the outskirts of the mountain range. From then on, the soldiers advanced. By the time they were detected, it was too late and the humans had made their way into a settlement.

They killed hundreds.

The use of magic for combative means was largely unknown to the clan of warriors. When the battalion arrived, they scorched the settlement. Of course, the Arctic Kin wasn't the type to just die lying down.

They fought vigorously, they used every iota of experience they had to try to push back the battalion. They managed to put a dent into their formation taking three hundred with them.

Sorrith was one of the only survivors.

This was where her parents died.

In the turmoil of battle, three of the Arctic Kins' scouts snuck away and told their queen of the fight.

The queen's icy fury was ignited.

Sorrith remembered the moment her saviour arrived. She remembered the looks of fear and agony that were laid upon every soldier's face as her queen spewed her frigid, entombing breath upon them.

Whenever Sorrith was angry or sad, she would often return to her parent's resting place.

She would stare at the decrepit soldiers with a blistering hatred. She loved to find the ones who had their eyes open.

They were still alive after all.

The icy breath her queen had entombed them in had not frozen them solid. Instead, it encased them inside an icy prison.

When her queen flew high above the battlefield, she decided that death was not a good enough punishment.

They deserved to contemplate the hell they had been trapped in and their terrible actions.

Forever.

So, when she found a soldier who had his eyes open, she would give them blissful hope that their suffering would end.

Then she would turn around and leave.

She didn't have any plans to set them free.

Perhaps if they could give her parents back she put them out of their misery.

Jolted from her reverie from the encroaching avalanche, she hurriedly looked around. She had been lost in thought.

Sorrith breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted the human, for a second she thought she had lost him.

She trailed the bolting horse for a few more seconds.

She then saw an entrance to a cave. It was quite odd to see a cave she didn't recognize as she had been exploring the mountain for years, perhaps it had just formed. It also seemed that this human would survive a little longer than she anticipated, as he found his way into the cave.

Though she didn't particularly care about the fate of this human. Nor did she hate him. While she most certainly hated those who had killed her mother and father, her queen had guided her. She had told Sorrith that to judge all of humanity upon the actions of a few was something the Ice Trolls would do.

They were better than that.

Of course, that didn't mean she had to like them either.

Nevertheless, Sorrith had a job to do.

She skillfully evaded a majority of the avalanche and then waited outside for some time, giving the human what she believed was enough time to be clear of the entrance.

Using her claws, she dug into the buried entrance. Soon she found her way in.

There was nothing to be seen when she broke through the ice and snow, though a thick stench of horse made itself known. It was pungent and not at all pleasing.

Two other scents made themselves known. The predictable smell of humans as well as one more.

The musty stench of Ice Trolls. It seemed she had entered their domain.

However, she had a job to do.

She had to see the fate of this human through.

Pushing forward, she retracted her claws so as to move as silently as possible within the cave. She peered ahead, the darkness did nothing to block her piercing gaze. Soon she came across a fork. Taking in the scents around her once more, she determined the man had first ventured right but had backtracked, taking the left fork instead.

She soon came across three bodies, they were those of ice trolls. Two had been stabbed from behind with a fake claw and the other had been pierced through the eye.

It seemed this human had some skills with a fake claw. She noted this fact.

She continued at an even pace until she caught up, stalling at the sight in front of her.

The human was engaged in a fierce mele with four elite trolls. Their tall and bulky bodies stood almost a head higher than the man. They wore light plate armour which spoke of their value. No normal troll wore armour, after all, it was a rare commodity up in the mountains.

Despite the advantages they possessed, the man was still going strong, dodging and weaving while making precise strikes. It seemed he had taken down three of them already.

Three corpses were on the ground, multiple joints skewered. It seemed that the human had started the battle up against seven of them. This was quite impressive, though Sorrith believed she could still defeat him if push came to shove.

What made the trolls such a threat was their rate of reproduction, which was startlingly fast. Almost five times the rate of the Arctic Kin. However, Sorrith's kind made up for this difference in skill, cunning, and greater experience. Most trolls lacked all three.

Sorrith also took note that his horse was a few feet behind him and seemed strangely uncaring of the events happening in front of it.

Sorrith thought about striking for a moment but pushed aside this thought, finding that a new opportunity had arisen.

There had to be a reason these trolls were wearing plate armour.

She would let the human kill the remaining trolls and then follow him. Wherever he went, she would follow. When she found the reason behind the plate armour she would turn and run with the intelligence she had collected after finishing the human off.

For now, she would lie in wait.