The Frozen Land

Snow drifted down gently, appearing like stars with the dark clouds behind them.

Inian held out his hand, letting snowflakes fall on it. They melted and trickled off after a moment of sitting there.

He breathed in the chilly air, then exhaled a puff of clouds. He was wrapped snuggly in a black and gold cloak he had gotten from Empress Sophia. It was specially designed for him with two holes in the back so he could sprout his wings and not tear holes in his clothes.

Burt was walking behind him with a thick wooly coat. He was rubbing his bulging arms, furiously, "Wh...when can w...we st...stop!"

Inian observed the neverending white land around them. He saw the flickering of lights off in the distance, "We are almost there Burt. It appears that we have found one of the abandoned tribes."

Burt was stomping through the snow to get to Inian, who was walking through the snow with ease.

"D...do you th...think we w...will find J...Janae there?"

"No, but we can rest there for now."

They trudged onwards, making their way to the bright lights in the distance.

On the way, Inian remembered the events that transpired not too long ago.

It had been a little over a year since Marc was defeated, and the people had been prospering. Technology had grown, and now, every individual nation had at least one behemoth level machine. Transportation between countries had become more accessible with the rise of a commercial enterprise called Flite that specialized in transportation.

The reason that Inian and Burt had traveled to the North Lands was that Janae went missing. Inian had gone to visit her, and found numerous monster tracks leading North away from her home in the Trostan Kingdom.

It wasn't much to work with, but he went and asked Burt to come with him up North, and he agreed in a heartbeat.

So here they were, trudging through almost a meter of snow to get to an abandoned tribe near the Tundra.

"Aaaahhhh you smell that?" Burt asked.

Inian sniffed the air, "frying fish?

Burt rubbed his hands together, "I can't wait to have some of that!"

"Burt, do you still have the core from the monster we hunted, right?"

"Yes! I know we can't buy food off of them, we need to trade."

"Correct. I hope that this tribe finds monster cores to be valuable. The last one despised monster cores and tried to kill us, but the first tribe we met adored them."

Burt shrugged, "there's no knowing until we offer to trade it."

Even before they were at the edge of the village, Inian could feel the warmth of the fires roaring, and hear the sounds of laughter as the tribespeople had a feast.

Inian and Burt walked towards the fire, and the sounds of celebration stopped when Inian and Burt came into view.

"Hello, friends!" Burt called out.

There was no response from the village people, but a few had grabbed their spears with monster cores as their center.

Burt leaned closer to Inian and whispered, "at least they like monster cores."

Inian smiled and pointed at the fish roasting over the fire, "we would like to trade a monster core for some food and a warm place to stay."

An elderly voice asked, "what kind of core is it?"

A man with a long white beard and short hair came out from a wooden building. Following him was a man and woman in armor and with spears.

Inian continued, "we have a mid-tier monster core with us. All we want is food and a place to stay for the night."

The elder's eyebrows rose to the sky, "you have a mid-tier monster core with you? How could you have possibly killed a mid-tier monster? You're just two men!"

Inian smirked, "let's just say that we specialize in it. Do you accept our trade?"

The elder scrutinized the two men, "We will agree, but you will have a guard with you all day and night to watch over you until you leave."

"Done."

Inian went and shook the elder's hand; then the elder gave out orders to the villagers. They brought a large bundle of dried meat and fish. Inian and Burt tried to decline, but the elder insisted that it was what they deserved after bringing a mid-tier monster core.

Inian and Burt were then led to a hut by one of the guard's who also then stayed with them in the shelter.

Burt spoke to the guard as he was setting up his belongings on his cot, "I'm happy you guys speak the universal language. How long have you been here for?"

The guard spoke without looking at Burt, "we have been here for hundreds of years. We have survived by hunting the low-tier monsters nearby and gathering any technology that happens to find its way out here. Such as a downed ship."

Inian pulled out a picture of Janae, "have you seen this woman at all?"

The man looked at the picture then shook his head, "no. This village is small, so I would have recognized her coming through here.

Inian sighed, "thanks anyway."

The guard raised an eyebrow, "Why are you looking for her?"

"She was kidnapped by monsters. We didn't know if she happened to escape and come here or not."

The guard sat forward in his chair, "since when do monster's kidnap anybody? That is very abnormal behavior."

Inian's voice became gravelly, "Not for who I have in mind."

The guard sat back as a powerful and angry aura came from Inian. He shivered, and he didn't know why, "well, it's not my business, so good luck to you."

Inian nodded and anger overwhelmed his thoughts, 'I shall kill every single one of your descendants, Dragon. If it's that last thing, I do.'