Epilogue

Near Whitetree - Haunted Forest

July 17th, 359 After Landing

"Perfect," Val said.

There were a few dozen others here in the woods with the daughter of Iron Fist, Commander of the Northern Rangers; her soul-sister Laura, and a score of their Ranger brothers and sisters. Many of them were youngsters who'd joined the Rangers in what was first little more than play, a chance to hunt and keep the peace, but turned serious over the years. She and Laura were the eldest of this group at six and twenty; the youngest here was sixteen year old Yiggy, a refugee from Essos. They'd saved and adopted her and her family from a slaver last spring, just as their oath demanded; to protect the helpless and guard the weak.

"This will make a perfect gift." Val went on. "If we can get it through the door."

The log had been pine, growing out of the ground crooked; it had fallen under its own weight, pulling itself out of the frozen ground and landing atop a boulder a few feet about the dirt. The wood was like stone, and typically used for furniture or tool handles, but she wanted to use it to make a beautiful carving for her father's coming name-day. This thing had fallen about a year ago, to judge by the state of the wood; it was partly covered in moss and the bark had peeled away, but the wood still felt solid when she stomper her boot on it.

Laura nodded, running a hand though her white-blond hair as light from an overcast sky poked through. Then she looked up at Val, a twinkle in her strange blue eyes. The two had been inseparable since their villages united. "It'll be hard work moving this." She said casually, as if taking to the air. We need to build a sled, and bring the horse teams up to drag it out of the woods.

Harold stepped forward, piping up, "Ally and I can take care of it. Shouldn't take long to get it a sled pulled together."

The two men stripped to the waist as they worked at cutting branches to useful lengths. It was cold, just below freezing, but working hard in jacket and shirt just got you sweaty then chilled. They were deep in the woods anyway, and thanks to the hundreds of trees well out of the wind.

As the work finished Val moved the two-horse team they'd brought along and wrapped a chain around the thicker base of the log. They finished their task, jumped free, checked that nobody else was in the way and waved to Yiggy, who stood at the horses' heads. The girl urged them forward, and the beasts leaned into their harness. The big log swiveled across rocks, and then hit the ground with a thud that echoed up through the soles of her feet. It was too heavy for the team to drag alone, even atop the sled they built, and Val called for two more horses to be brought over to ease the work. There was a healthy amount of weight involved.

"Hey, something here!" Ally said as he climbed around the fallen tree.

Val, Laura and the Rangers quickly gathered around Ally, who went to the ground and started to pull snow and ice away from what he saw. After a moment he cleared enough away to see armor, in good shape despite the singed and burnt surface. There was a faint outline in the thick steel, a five-pointed star, but little else.

Harold reached down to pick up the steel, and gave an "omff" as he struggled to move it. Grunting between clenched teeth, he managed to say, "Heavy. Son of. A bitch!"

Ally and a few more of the rangers reached down into the shallow hole, gripped the armor, and pulled. They were amazed, and not slightly terrified, that they not only pulled up the armor but a man still inside it.

They then dropped the man as he started to move…

The Bear and Star

A bear there was,

A bear, a bear

Tall and beautiful

With long black hair

Oh come they said

Oh come to the Star

The Star? Said she

But I'm a bear

Tall and beautiful

With long black hair!

And down the Road

From here to there

From here to there

Three boys, a Wolf

And a beautiful bear

They marched and fought

All the way to the Star

Oh, sweet he was

Pure and fair

The Star with honey

In his hair, his hair

The Star with honey

In his hair

The Bear saw his strength

Atop the Tower's tear

The bear, the bear

Tall and beautiful

With long black hair!

She saw the strength

Atop the Tower's tear

She sniffed and roared

And joined it there

Enjoying the sweet summer air

Oh I'm a Star

And I'm true and fair

I've never danced

With a beautiful bear

A bear, a bear

I've never danced

With a beautiful bear

The Bear, the bear

Brought him down

With a longing stare

The Bear, the bear

I called for a Lady

But you're a Bear

A bear, a bear

Tall and beautiful

With long black hair

He kicked and wailed

The Star so fair

But she licked the honey

From his hair

His hair, his hair

She licked the honey

From his hair

Then she sighed and squealed

And kicked the air

She sang: My Star so fair

And off they went

The Bear, the bear

And the Star so fair