The shadow had her work cut out for her. Not only did her young mistress pick a fight with a powerful Chaos Lord, one that was stronger than the shadow, but she also practically ignored that offering battle while having ten weakened women to protect meant that they were likely to lose someone. The barbarians weren’t all weak and she determined that they were each at the Adult Geist level, Journeyman compared to the Imperial System.

The freed captives were, too, but more than a year of abuse and short rations had sapped their strength. She nudged one of the women away from a flying axe, and then tripped a barbarian who charged towards the barricade. The battle lasted a few minutes that felt like an eternity, and she felt her heart nearly stop when one of the women got stabbed in the gut.

Thankfully, the bound Chaos Lord used her song to stabilise the stricken Elsie. That was good. The young mistress would be heartbroken if she lost someone now.

Then the young mistress’ bosom friend launched herself to ambush the barbarian leader, and with the shadow’s subtle help, managed to knock the man off the berm and into the river.

The young mistress rushed to help and the shadow kept away from the corona of light. It would undo her stealth techniques and she didn’t want to be revealed. She was sure the scouts had an inkling of her presence but since they didn’t speak to the mistress about it, that was fine. Ah, it looked like the battle was over. The shadow looked forward to the day she could return to the light and serve openly.

_____

Gwendith’s body was feverishly hot. Yuriko spread her Anima over her friend but hesitated at the sight of the freezing cold water turning to steam when it touched the other girl’s flushed skin. She could see sweat beading out of her forehead only to boil away to steam seconds after, too.

Seeing little choice, she let Gwendith soak in the river, cradled in her arms, for a little while longer. The barbarians were retreating down the ice bridge and the Weaver was no longer in sight. She worried that he would sneak up on her and the others though, so she kept her guard up.

She waded closer to the rest of her people. The woman who had been injured had recovered enough that she managed to sit up. The rest sported bruises and cuts but thankfully, no missing limbs. Desire looked pale and was trembling visibly.

Ah, she must be low on her reserves. Wait, that was bad! If she ran dry, she could die.

By now, Gwendith’s body had cooled down enough that her skin had returned to its normal complexion. Still, she wondered what happened. She said she took in all of the heat from the water around the barbarian?

She’s touched upon an Ennoia, I see. Damien said in an amused tone, She managed to do what you haven’t yet.

‘Isn’t that a good thing?’ Yuriko mused.

Ennoias. They’d only touched on it briefly in the Academy, merely that possessing one, or studying one could help in reaching a level beyond Knight. But the nomenclature was a bit confusing. Was an Ennoia something from the Chaos or was it something people learned?

They’re both, and neither. Ennoias are…hmmm, an understanding, insight, and an interpretation.

‘Of what?’

Of the fundamental underpinnings of Chaos and Order. It cannot be taught, however, only learned. I suggest meditating more on your Radiant Essence. The Ancient’s Path Transformation Stage doesn’t quite require you to have one, but by Manifestation, you must.

‘I see,’ Yuriko muttered. Well, she couldn’t expect to walk further down the path as quickly as she did before, did she? Why, from her Anima expansion alone she needed to reach ten paces.

At least. You can expand it more, but it takes more and more effort to do so. External materials can aid you, but only in moderation.

‘Ambrosia?’

That’s the best option but not the only one. Touching an Ennoia is another, and achieving Resonance with the Chaos, is another. There may be a few more natural treasures that can help, but each of them is unique.

‘And absorbing Chaos Lords I defeat through Fri’Avgi,’ Yuriko thought dryly.

True, but too much of one thing is…well, limiting. I’ve said before you can’t advance solely through devouring.

Yuriko shuddered as flashes of the second incarnation’s experience ran through her mind. ‘I agree.’

Hmm, you should probably go ashore.

The water around Gwendith had stopped boiling and the girl was shivering. Startled, Yuriko enveloped her with her Anima, sluicing off the water in the process. She also felt every inch of the other girl’s skin. There were old bruises there, and Gwendith was thinner than she looked.

“Oh, dear,” Yuriko muttered. Beneath the borrowed clothes, Gwendith’s underthings were threadbare and stained. Though it wasn’t as if Yuriko could lend her own underwear to her. Hopefully, the camp would have enough supply.

She jumped out of the river and landed beside the others.

“Thank the Ancestors!” Sheamus muttered.

“Everyone alright?” Yuriko asked anxiously.

“Mostly intact,” Kalla and Lucinda answered.

“Ma-master...” Desire croaked. She shuffled towards Yuriko who held out a hand and pooled distilled Chaos there, as well as carefully contained Pure Animus. The girl guzzled it out of her hand and even licked Yuriko’s fingers to get every drop.

“Thanks for your help,” Yuriko said gently.

“My pleasure.”

“It was a bit touch and go there,” Sheamus said, looking completely exhausted. He rubbed the barrel of his Plasman Caster, or rather, at the green gem attached to it. “How’s Miss Sharine?”

Yuriko nodded. “I’m not sure. Desire, do you mind examining her?”

“Of course, master,” Desire crossed her eyes and touched Gwendtih’s forehead. Yuriko didn’t see any telltale glow of Animus usage but then again, their resources were different anyway. Opening Chaos Sight revealed ambient Chaos tainted with a bit of red, moving around Desire’s fingers. “Just a bit of chills and exhaustion.”

“I guess we set up camp here until everyone’s rested,” Yuriko said.

Pavo was still unconscious from draining his reserves, and the other three scouts were the same. Actually, only Nathan looked fresh. He sat on his heels cleaning his battle scythe, lovingly caressing the edge with an oiled rag.

Yuriko laid Gwendith on the ground next to the others then looked for a suitable spot. The area near the riverbanks was too exposed, both to the view and to the elements. There was a small rise a few dozen paces away and the lip would be enough to take the edge off the wind. Since neither of their two ice manipulators was able, Yuriko used her kinesis to dig out the snow. She packed it in tight but the blocks crumbled when she stacked them together. Grumbling under her breath, she trod towards a nearby grove and harvested some branches. There were a few fallen logs but when she lifted them, they turned out to be soft and rotten.

In the end, she managed a lean-to that would allow the exhausted members of her group to rest protected against the cold wind. The braziers proved heat, but with her shabby construction, the heat leaked pretty quickly.

About a couple of hours later, Pavo woke up swearing and clutching his head. He was given a bowl of ration bar stew garnished with meat jerky that the others had salvaged from the barbarians' packs. None of them wanted the hide clothing but kept the bedrolls and blankets they found. They were in dire need of cleansing, fumigating, and probably purification through flames, but it was better than nothing.

It was late in the afternoon when Gwendith woke up.

“Uh… Yuri…?”

Yuriko jumped down from the ridge and walked into the lean-to.

“Gwendith,” she replied with a relieved smile. “How are you feeling?”

“A bit sore and headachy,” the other girl muttered. Then her tummy growled loudly. “And hungry.” Then she sat up and grinned. “I wasn’t dreaming, was I?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Oh. I did it,” she murmured. Then tears started dripping down her cheeks and quiet sobs wracked her body. Yuriko hurriedly sat next to the other girl and caught her in an embrace.

Gwendith threw her arms around Yuriko, buried her face into her shoulders and sobbed. Yuriko eyed the others inside the lean-to. The scouts looked bewildered, but the freed women just smiled. A few looked teary-eyed too, and Jamari had a vindictive grin on her face.

“Hooray to Gwendith for getting revenge. For all of us,” Jamari said in a fierce whisper.

“That man?” Yuriko asked.

“The Iron Skin’s young chieftain,” another of the women, a tawny-haired and green-eyed, answered. Her name was Nicola Rior, if Yuriko remembered correctly. One of the logistics officers from Aegermonth.

“That rotter’s dead,” Gwendith said, “or as good as.” She suddenly pulled away from Yuriko and looked up at her eyes. “Was he rescued?”

“No, they were in full retreat. By the time they crossed the ice bridge, that ice chunk was well on its way to the falls.”

Gwendith frowned and muttered, “I’m not sure that’s enough to kill him.”

Yuriko raised an eyebrow. “That’s nearly a longstride drop. If he survived that he would have to be a Knight. He certainly didn’t show that kind of strength, right?”

“Yes,” pink-haired Elsie grunted. “He wasn’t that strong. Strong for his age, I think, but that’s it.”

“There. He’s gone.” Yuriko murmured soothingly. That man had abused her friend and she briefly regretted that she hadn’t captured the chunk or crushed it while she had the chance. But she was far more concerned about Gwendith’s wellbeing.

Gwendith hugged Yuriko tightly and murmured, “Thank you.”

She shook her head and patted Gwendith’s hair. “It’s alright. It’s done, and you’re safe.”

“We aren’t until we return to Imperial territory,” Gwendith said. “Should we…?”

“It’s already late afternoon.” Yuriko pointed out. “Sheamus and Nathan went ahead to scout, but we’re staying the night. Besides,” Yuriko said with a yawn, “I’m tired too.”

“Alright,” Gwendith murmured. She still had a tight hug on Yuriko.

“Er, aren’t you hungry?”

“Oh, yeah. Thanks.”

Gwendith released her with a sigh then looked towards the braziers. Each of the three braziers had a stew pot going. Dark haired and grey-eyed Bonnie Sullivan, another of the freed women, scooped up some stew into a bowl and handed it to Gwendith. She served up another bowl for Yuriko and nodded to her deferentially. The two of them ate and afterwards, Yuriko went outside and set up a perimeter with her alarm stones. Kalla had recovered her reserves and made a camouflaging wall around the camp, but didn’t create a snow dome.

After doing her evening ablutions, though she skipped her training and her meditations, Yuriko slipped into her bedroll and slept.

The next morning, with all of them back together, they continued on their journey west. The plateau sloped ever so slightly downwards, though the terrain remained hilly rather than flat. The snowdrifts piled up in the gullies and troughs, and the fluffy stuff was dangerous.

Some of the women misstepped and sank hip-deep into the soft snow. A few fell until only their heads stuck out. Each time, their march had to stop as they had to be helped free themselves from the snow. They had been travelling in a clump for ease and comfort, but Gwendith directed them to go single file from then on, with one of the men in the lead.

Yuriko had volunteered to go in front but was shot down when Gwendith said, “You don’t sink,” pointedly looking at Yuriko’s feet where her Anima had spread out into discs that distributed her weight evenly enough that she didn’t even leave footprints. If she could walk on water then she certainly wouldn’t have trouble in snowdrifts.

So, she scouted ahead instead. After a couple of days, the cliff face to the south had turned into a steep slope and a couple of days more and it became a gentle slope. Five days from the river and they were finally able to turn back east. The Zarek Mountains were visible through the icy mist, and they reached higher than the clouds. In fact, Yuriko could see snow flurries covering the slopes there. Thankfully, they needn’t head that way.

She would have to cross the Zarek later on though, to get back to Faron’s Crossing. She glanced at Desire, who traipsed along in the snow. As long as Yuriko fed her with Animus and distilled Chaos, she was quite happy and content.

Five long days of  marching and their food supply was nothing but dregs. They had enough for another day and only desperation forced them to continue their march. Yuriko could have slipped into the Chaos Sea and materialised food and gone back through the Tidelands and then caught up to the group. She would have done it, too, except she saw a large herd of elk a couple of longstrides from the bottom. They were in a large but secluded valley. And now that they were down here, it was time to hunt.