Wolf Child

XI

Day came, and Kilfer trod out of the cave out to the ledge behind the waterfall, Ferhia trailed quickly behind. The clouds still obscured their view beyond the waterfall, but neither of them paid any attention to the view, for after a sleepless night both were too drowsy to utter a word, let alone start a conversation with each other, but simply trudged along the ledge until they reached a gap along the rock that allowed them to climb up.

"Wait... climb?" Ferhia frowned as Kilfer placed a hand on a jagged edge on the rock.

"Yeah," Kilfer scaled the jagged surface of the cliff face and hauled himself higher and higher, and to Ferhia it seemed effortless.

"We'll ride the wind from here," Kilfer reached the top, which was barely a couple feet up. Ferhia reached the top, scraping her knees halfway but it simply hurt with a dull throb.

Kilfer raised himself up to the sky and raised her up. For a moment, Ferhia felt so light -- almost weightless -- as both of them flew up to meet the wind.

To the south, the sky was still dim with the first rays of sunlight cascading down on the forests and plains and mountains and beyond, but towards the south a veil covered the lands beyond the horizon, reaching into the skies and behind the translucent veil of bluish tint huge dark clouds brewed, thick tendrils of darkness with flickering red light within it stretching towards the ground in a fit of fury, striking the ground mercilessly with an insane madness.

"The Swamps," Ferhia wanted to speak, but could simply inhale deeply, aghast. It was total madness, how something so powerful with the capability of mass destruction could even exist in the world as she knew it, and if the veil had not withheld their power she would have been ripped to shreds.

"Finally, we have arrived," Kilfer muttered into the cold wind as they descended to the ground. Snow covered the land and there was no sight of any living being other than them until they saw from afar, but very dimly a dim greenish hue lit up the cold white background ever so slightly.

"What is that?" Ferhia squinted into the distance, and they trudged towards it through the thick snow-smudged land. The faint glow grew brighter until faint shapes of huts could be barely visible, the top of the huts topped with chunks of snow.

"Illusions," Kilfer whispered into her ears, "There are many illusions here if you were to notice. The snow is false."

Then Ferhia started to realize it was not at all cold, but she imagined the cold herself. Kilfer squeezed her hand tight, then released it and suddenly the world around her changed, and what was there was simply trees and meadows but they were not as green as those they saw in the forest, and grayish patches of mud lay on the ground. Then they paused. The glowing light was still there -- and it was not an illusion or the work of someone, and also it was not a single cottage or hut, but an entire village.

Both of them stood dumbfounded, that an entire village could reside in such a spot where the first thing its inhabitants see in the morning is not the sunrise, nor do they hear the chimes of sweet bells, but a huge looming storm with winds hurling sand and trees from the ground with a vengeance.

"This is so clear it can't be an illusion, and the magic of the dark powers within do not extend to this place," Kilfer glanced at Ferhia with uncertainty, "How is it even possible for this to happen?"

"Intruderssss!" A shrill voice yelled from within the village walls, and the next thing they knew a volley of arrows shot out from within, short but deadly and with direct precision, but Kilfer stopped them midair and sent them spiraling back.

Ferhia glanced at Kilfer, but he simply gave a not-so-reassuring grin. He beckoned for her to hide behind a tree, which tree bark was so huge that at least three grown men could hide behind it.