Valley of Frost: First Chapters

Ch1

Cold...

Zo looked down.

A swathe of white and gray followed under her feet, dropping and swooping in slopes and sharp peaks until distant green dots infected the mountainside at its base.

Zo looked back to her work, fixing her focus once more.

Each time she took another step with her bare feet, the snow and ice would dribble for a moment before refreezing, leaving uncovered andesite tracks in her wake.

While no free thoughts crossed, her mind was not empty. To sustain her magic, Zo imagined where she wanted to warm as she chanted "warm, warm, warmer" in her head.

Zo had to climb slowly and carefully, pausing her warming spell for only seconds while she inspected a new bit of rock to mold into her hand and fashion into a sturdy hold. Then, for only a second more, she would imagine the rock warping as her fingers dug in deeper. Once it was so, she would return her thoughts to maintaining her temperature. For many who lived on Andoa, swapping between different styles of magic would be slow and difficult. But Zo was raised to be different.

Suddenly, her mind wavered. In an instant, Zo nearly let go and fell. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to breathe and keep a focused mind, she noticed. First, about twenty minutes ago. Now, it was once a minute. But she was so close! Just a bit more! She pulled the worn nylon strap to her old digital camera and, with one hand still locked into the rock, carefully snapped another shot of her hanging along the cliff. Every movement was slow and purposeful to keep her spell from dropping. There was no audience to see a young twenty-two-year-old woman, naked, hiking up and then climbing an icy mountain. But thanks to her mother's old camera, she could prove she had done it.

Zo's eyes widened with excitement. There it is! Finally, she thought to herself, breaking her warmth spell once more.

Just short of the peak, in a small nook between sharp points up the mountain, were her clothes. Only a dozen meters away. In desperation, and while losing focus and warmth, she had hurled her pack up the last few meters up and over the cliff face she had been stuck on. Though the weight and unwieldiness had frustrated her while climbing, it was now her best friend.

After a shiver to remind her to maintain her heat, Zo slowly pulled herself up the gentle slope's edge and walked the rest of the way to her prize. It was difficult to keep her mind focused on "warm" and not sprint over to replace her clothes once again.

Only after she had warmed up every piece and finally zipped up her thick jacket did she succumb to free thoughts. Now I can add this to my list of accomplishments...and I have proof!

She had finished her goal and made it up to the top. It was time to descend more comfortably.