I am not the Lord Sha incarnate. I am merely an instrument, a tool, a weapon, wielded by her hand to purge the evil and corruption of this land. I need people to understand this. The legends, the mythos, the stories surrounding my name are not true. I simply fight the minions of Tell, the Betrayer of Sha, and embodiment of everything abhorrent happening to our world. I am Merek Terrowin, the Forsaken Flame, and this is my tale.

~~~~~~

The breeze brushed its delicate fingers across my face and cloak, trying so desperately to rustle the heavy fabric. Its caress was chilled, the fingers of the Endless Winter reaching out to remind me it's time was nearing. Some found unease and fear in the cold air and everything it brought with it, I found a sort of masochistic comfort. Comfort knowing I was still alive, still cognizant enough to continue my never ending fight against the minions of Tell. Minions who were at their zenith in the frigid air. There was still so much to do, so much to prepare, and with so little time left.

Standing upon the lip of a small hollow, I contemplated the town huddled below me. Hohl nestled among the low lying foothills, a small village off the beaten path. Dark roofs stood solemnly on wood and stone buildings tucked into the ground save the one wall with door and windows. This place would be buried in feet of snow within a couple months, inaccessible to the outside world. The perfect place for an agent of Tell to latch onto. Somewhere most would not think of looking, somewhere that stories of evil would be overlooked. It’s a small village nestled amongst the frosty foothills of the Terror Peaks, they would say, of course evil things are happening there.

“Another tiny village of hovels?” Lilliana sighed, sitting on my shoulder. She was a Faer, a tiny humanoid being created by Sha to help us in our quest. At first we thought the beings to be the embodiment of Sha, a physical manifestation of herself on the world. When they first appeared, hundreds of years ago with the Founding, my order quickly learned they are beings with free will and their own personalities. For good and for bad.

“Yes, another small village of people. A village with an agent of Tell hiding amongst them.”

She sighed again. “Sometimes I wish we would hunt them in a larger city, a metropolis. Oh, the wonderful things we’d see together, the inventions, the advancement of humans, and the entertainment available!”

I watched her tiny, feathered wings beat, carrying her up in front of me. She was staring skyward, surely imagining some picturesque metropolis where she could sing, dance, and drink freely. Just my luck to be placed with the socialite Faer.

She spun toward me, tiny hands on her hips, golden hair floating around her, trailing her movements as if she was perpetually underwater.

“You never take me to nice places anymore. For three years now it’s been one tiny village after another!” She stamped her foot in the air, a pout on her lips.

“I know,” I whispered. “I am sorry Lilliana, but you know we can’t go back to the cities. It is no longer safe for us."

She floated down to eye level and sat on her knees in the air.

“I know too,” she said, her voice barely audible. “I just like to pretend sometimes, pretend we are back before…. You know.”

I nodded, a small smile crossing my face. As much as I moaned about her exuberance, a stark contrast to my slow and methodical nature, I truly did appreciate and care for her.

“That is why we do this. To bring all that back. As long as we are here, as long as people anywhere continue to fight, I do not believe Sha has forsaken this world.”

“But so many Merek, so many… All our friends and family-“

I raised my hand. “Please. I do not wish to visit those memories. I can’t… I can’t process it yet.”

Her head rose, meeting mine. “And when will you? Once we are done? You can’t finish your task carrying this burden, this grief, bottled yet thrashing for an escape inside you.”

Her eyes held my gaze; warm, tiny stars in a world of ice and death.

“Come,” I motioned to my shoulder. “Let us go find this being and end them.”

She held my gaze for a moment, and then glided over to my shoulder. I felt her tiny weight as she settled down, sitting cross legged and peering out over the town with me.

I followed a small trail down the side of the hill into the hollow. As I approached the cluster of buildings, maybe ten in all, not a soul moved or made a sound. I could feel their eyes upon me though, peering out of darkened windows, glaring at the stranger who dared set foot in their town. Strangers were not to be trusted these days.

The sun was touching the horizon, casting that perfect golden light across the town. Night would descend soon. I approached the well, situated in the rough center of the circle of buildings. Still, a soul did not stir. The wind brushed against me, stroking my face, letting me know it would be ok to stop. Ok to give up. Just lay down, the cold is inevitable. You knew this day would come, you all did. You cannot stop this.

“Agent of Tell!” My voice echoed shattered the eerie silence, thunderous and commanding. No response came.

“As a servant of the Lord of Fire, instrument of the divine being Sha, I demand Lex Talionis!” My voice escalated with each word, ending with a power that shook the tiny windows of the buildings around me. A single stone slipped on the well’s edge, falling, falling, before a tiny splash crawled from inside the cistern, wet and cold.

A whip cracked the air and frost formed on the ground in front of me, building into icicles that grew larger with every passing second. The Olde Gods were always so particular about their laws and rules. A demand of retribution made in the ancient tongue could not be ignored from either side.

The ice finished constructing itself and a woman stood before me. Her skin was a pale blue and translucent, her hair a frozen mass of cracked and ridged ice, her eyes the depth and color of winter’s darkest night.

“Your demand has been heard, Forsaken Flame.” Her voice was all around me, the sound of a blizzard wind, harsh and unrelenting. There was a softer undertone to it though, almost musical in nature. In another world, in another time, she could be considered beautiful and breathtaking, even.

“You need to leave, Fryst, minion of the Lord of Ice.” My words came as a white cloud in the rapidly chilling air, carried away slowly by the lingering wind.

“Say his name,” she hissed.

“I will not befoul my mouth by giving that recognition to his Emptiness, not in your presence,” I growled, fists clenching at me side.

Her eyes narrowed. She knew as well as I that she was trapped here until I released her from the challenge. Whether she blamed our lords or me was a different story.

“Get on with it Flame, what do you really want?”

“As I stated before, you need to leave.” I held my hand up to stop the inevitable word games she would try to play. “Not just this village. This plane, this entire world. Leave and return to the frozen Hell you call home.”

She laughed, a terrible sound of cracking ice and falling snow.

“Now for that you really need to give me a good reason.” Her laugh continued, each one sending small puffs of snow from her mouth to twirl around her, dancing across her lithe form.

I closed my eyes and began my prayer.

“Lord of Light, Sha, hear me in this darkest blight,

Let the fire of your light shine through me.”

Lilliana joined my prayer, her voice a warm harmony to mine in the increasing cold and dark.

“Let us combat those who would seek the Eternal Night,

And with your fire, the world shall be free!”

I drew my sword as we finished and it leapt alight with a golden flame. The Fryst let a screech out, recoiling slightly at the light and heat of my blade. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Lilliana in full plate battle armor, to include metal coverings for her wings, a Zweihander firmly set in her hands.

The ice demon let out another screech, deeper this time, and a small being fused into view at her side. It was the same height and shape as Lilliana, though blue skinned and covered in black armor, an opposing mirror to her. I heard the growl of anger escape Lilliana’s body.

“A Fryst with a Uzvi?” I questioned, “You must be important to the Frozen Death. That makes ending your life all the more sweet to me.” An Uzvi was a corrupted Faer, one slain in battle and brought back from the fires of Sha to serve Tell. It was the ultimate affront to Sha and her children, a dishonor and insult greater than this could not be imagined, especially to the Faer.

The Fryst held her hand above the ground and another cracking sound split the air. A shard of ice erupted from the frost covered earth, a fully formed hilt touching her hand. She ripped the frozen blade from the ground, its edges jagged and cruel. The air around the blade began to coalesce into mist, then snow, and finally ice, swirling and taunting me with its presence.

I looked toward Lilliana and she gazed back at me. We gave a small nod to each other, and then leaped forward to our adversaries. Lilliana was a flash of light, erupting into a flurry of tiny metallic clangs as the two creatures clashed. I brought my sword high and swung down hard at the Fryst. Fear flashed across her face as she brought her sword up to parry me. The weapons rang out in the descending light as they met.

“Ha!” She cried triumphantly, “You do not have the Flame of the Sha!”

She was right, of course. The flame was fueled by a long lasting flammable oil, lit by a sparking mechanism on my sheath. A true Flame of the Sha would have cleaved her sword in two, smiting her where she stood.

The Fryst shoved me back, swinging her blade towards me. I parried the blow, following with a low cut. She stepped back, bringing her sword high for a blow to my head. Jerking back, I swung my sword around to slice at her. The blades met in between us, locked again as we pushed close to each other, trying to gain an advantage.

We shoved back from each other, dust thrown up by my sliding feet on the bare earth, frost thrown by hers. Leaping toward each other, we let out savage cries. Our blades met in a flurry of blows and parries, each seeking an opening. Hate begin to fuel me, I struck faster, harder, only to be met by the same intensity from my opponent.

I could not let this creature win. Her kind meant to bring destruction and death to the entire world, enveloping it in an icy embrace. The Fryst kept increasing her speed. My own sword met her blows purely by instinct and training, to think about my next move would provide the time she needed to strike me and bring death.

An unearthly shriek to my left caused both of us to pause. I glanced to the side and saw Lilliana holding the Uzvi above her head, impaled on her immense sword. The Fryst roared in anger and redoubled her efforts on me, driving me slowly backwards. I dodged blows from the left, above, left, right, faster than I could think. I was barely keeping myself from being split in two when I heard Lilliana.

“Merek!” She called as she drove towards the Fryst, golden light trailing her. The Fryst hissed and flicked her hand towards me, flinging shards of ice at my face. I ducked and covered my face with the thick cloak. The shards hit my cloak with a soft thwack. Lowering my arm, I saw many of the razor shards still quivering in the cloth. I took a deep breath and prepared to launch another attack.

“Merek,” came Lilliana's small voice. I stopped in my tracks, the Frist was holding her in one hand, blade held close to her stomach.

“Don’t move a muscle Flame, or your little Faer dies.”

I looked back and forth from Lilliana to the Fryst. Lilliana's face was scrunched in pain, her breath coming in little ragged gasps. The Fryst was millimeters away from crushing her to death.

“Okay,” I nodded. I stood apart from her; a swing of my sword would pass within inches of her. I did not trust myself to be quick enough to cut her down without losing my Faer, the last person I had left in this world.

“Drop the sword,” the Fryst commanded.

I looked down at the weapon, still alight with the flaming oil. Snowflakes hissed as they neared it, disappearing in the heat of the flame. My gaze shot back up at a small gasp, the Fryst was squeezing Lilliana harder.

I dropped the sword. It hit the ground with a clang like a funeral bell, a lonely echo on the seemingly empty windows. Looking to my right I saw small globes peering out from the windows. Terrified eyes and pinched faces regarded us two combatants.

Looking back at the Fryst I stated, “There. You win.”

The Fryst smiled an evil, wicked grin that exposed dagger like teeth. She threw her head back and laughed, a roaring avalanche of ice and rock cascading around me and the village of Hohl.

“Now kneel Forsaken Flame, kneel before the power of Lord Tell and his creations!”

Glaring at her, I slowly dropped to one knee. I kept my eyes locked with hers; I would not give her the pleasure of total submission.

The smile on her face widened.

“You are finally beaten, Forsaken,” her voice was low now, she was clearly reveling in her victory. “Oh the taste is victory is sweet indeed. The Lord of Ice will reward me so handsomely for this, the final Priest of Sha. Three years you have been harassing us, killing my brothers and sisters in a path of wanton destruction. And tonight, it all ends at the hands of me.”

“Do you want to know what I am going to do with your Faer? I am going to kill her, and bring her back as my personal Uzvi.”

“Oh yes,” she continued, now turning towards Lilliana. “She put up a remarkable fight, killing my Uzvi so well and so quickly too. Can you picture her, blue and black, serving the true master?” She turned back towards me.

I lowered my head finally, giving her the full submission she so desired. I could feel her stare still on me, digging into me, hating me.

“You were wrong,” I whispered.

“What’s that, Forsaken Flame? Is there something you need to say before you are handed over to Lord Tell?”

“You were wrong,” I repeated, a little louder. “But, you were also right. My sword did not have the Flame of Sha. However, I do have the Flame in this!”

I threw my cloak aside with a flourish and ripped the six shot revolver from my thigh holster.

“What is-”

The gunshot cracked, shattering the autumn night and echoing across the low hills. The silence that followed was deafening, a pressure on my ears. Blue blood began to sprout from the heart of the Fryst. She grunted, looking down in disbelief as the blood began to flow down her body, leaving a frozen trail of ice. Her eyes came up and looked at me. Her mouth opened as if to say something and she fell to her knees.

Lilliana sprang from her weakened grip and fluttered over to my shoulder. She regarded the fallen Fryst with a look of pure disgust. She did not even try to mask her disdain for the creature.

The Fryst looked up to me, swaying on her knees. She opened her mouth again, but no sound came out. With a final sigh she fell to her side, a last bit of frost escaping her lips and painting a small patch of ground.

The blood that dripped from her wound froze as it left her body, hitting collecting in a small pile of sapphire teardrop shapes. Holstering my revolver, I reached down and grabbed a handful. I pulled a small, silken bag from one of the many pockets in my cloak and dropped the frozen blood in.

“You know you only have four shots left now,” Lilliana said.

“I know.”

“You could have just struck her with the sword, she would have squeezed me, but she would have been killed by your blade.”

I turned my head to the small woman sitting on my shoulder. The tiny stars of her eyes stared back at me from underneath the plate armor she still wore. A single tear ran down my cheek.

“No, Lilliana, I could not do that. I could never let the last person I know and love in this world die.”

She reached up and removed her helmet, letting it fade away into a shower of golden ash. Her hair began to float about her in a spectral way, always trailing her movements so slightly. A sad smile was on her face.

“You know they will continue to target me, continue to try to use me. I am your weakness in this fight.”

I shook my head slowly, “They may see it that way, but I see you as my sole source of strength. You are the one driving force that keeps me from lying down and accepting the Eternal Night.”

“You are a silly man, Merek Terrowin.”

She looked over at the body of the Fryst. It was beginning to crack and break down, turning into blue chunks of ice and frost. Around us, the air was warming slightly. Fingers of winter were receding from the plants and buildings around us. The air itself seemed to sigh in relief, letting a small gust of warm breath out, one it had been holding for a very long time.

“You know,” Lilliana began, “If you care about me so much, you would take the time to travel to a bigger town.”

She glanced sideways at me, a small mischievous smile on her lips. A broad grin cracked my face. It felt good to smile.

“One day Lilliana, one day we will return to the world at large. I promise.”

“And until then, Merek?”

 “Until then we continue our fight. We continue to chip away at the Lord of Ice’s forces, until the day,” I patted the gun holstered back at my side, “We can find him and stop this once and for all.”