//------------------------------// // IIII: Jökull // Story: Princess of Infinity // by Echo 27 //------------------------------// Her voice was stolen away from her before she even had the chance to take a breath. The vicious bite of deep cold fell upon her exposed skin in a vicegrip, the sudden blast of frigid air so intense that her eyes burned for witnessing it. “What happened? Where are we?” Ford cried- or tried to as best as his gasping body would allow, the cold spurring the air from his lungs and he struggled to control himself. “I don’t know- stay close to me!” Celestia grabbed him and pulled him tightly, the body warmth of the two combined enough to sustain them for a few moments as they tried to reorganize. The two found themselves surrounded by thick ice all around them, the gateway having delivered them into a deep cavern of a frozen land. No sunlight could be seen through the heavy sheet, though its rays dimly penetrated through their cover and gave a blueish light to their surroundings. The ground beneath their feet was a darkened rock that was as frigid to the touch as the ice that covered it, cold and dark and lifeless. “This is unlike anything I’ve ever felt. Not even the northern border of the Empire was this cold,” Ford grimaced. “We need to get some source of heat going or else we’re going to freeze to death.” “I’m thinking of something- I just need a way to keep it close by.” “Can’t you conjure something up? We need cold weather gear if we want to stay alive!” “Magic doesn’t work like that, I can’t create something from nothing! No one can!” Celestia protested. “Well we need to think of something fast! If we’re here in a sheltered location I don’t want to know what it’s like when we’re exposed to the elements!” “I’m trying- what do you have in your rucksack?” “I have flint and some matchworks. Enough to start a fire, but not enough to keep it going!” “That’ll buy us time- bring it out!” The pack was dropped like a sack of bricks, Ford’s fumbling fingers struggling to untie that knot that held the top seam shut, the metallic buckle already painful to the touch. After a continued battle against his freezing fingers he succeeded, diving into its contents and extracting his fire equipment. Celestia took to it immediately, working the stone and wood madly beneath her fingers until it began to sizzle and sparks flew forth and fell to the ground, hot and eager for new life. “What’re you-” “Not yet,” Celestia chided, concentrating hard upon her work as her powers flowed from her fingertips and into the cold rock that was growing ever hotter, the blackened flint meshing with the small splinters of wood until they ignited as one being, the wood seared into the rock and spitting heat as though it were a burning coal. “Do we have any cloth?” “Just fragments of gauze from the first aid kit.” “That’ll be enough. Two pieces, quickly now,” Celestia said, already feeling a warmth flowing through her fingers and into her chest from the heartened piece of coalfire. Taking a strip of gauze into her open hand, she gently placed the burning item within it and wrapped it shut, sealing the cloth with her magic before examining it with satisfaction. “Here, take it,” she said. “Put it in a pocket somewhere across your chest, it will help the heat be absorbed into the rest of your body.” “Celestia- whoa!” Ford’s expectancy of a burning heat from the makeshift package was enough to very nearly make him drop it, his hands pulling away as the weight fell into his open palms. “What on… earth? What is this?” “A temporary solution,” Celestia replied. “Not enough to keep us safe, but enough to keep us alive. Quickly now, I need more of it! Flint and matches first!” With the package of coalfire gone from her hands, the biting cold had returned with vengeance in mind and she could feel the numbness slipping into her brain, slowing her thoughts and trying to freeze them shut. “What is this thing?” Ford pressed again. “Coalfire. I used Alicorn magic to bind the properties of both items into one and make it safe to use. It will help you stay warm for at least another hour, and it will not burn you. Keep it tight against your chest, Ford!” she urged. “But you’re already struggling to make another,” he protested. “No time. I can withstand this longer than you- Ford!” He had already withdrawn the item from his shirt and placed it gently in her lap. “You’re still my responsibility,” he said, the effect of the heart leaving him instantly evident as his face turned pale yet again. “Make the other one for yourself and give that back to me when you’re done.” “Ford, do not-” “No time to argue, Celestia!” Stubborn as a mule, she thought angrily, trying to hide her gratitude as the warmth reignited her thoughts and loosened the joints in her fingers. He’s risking himself for no reason and he knows it, I could keep going without it. The work took half the time for the second package, Celestia fusing the coalfire together and allowing it to breathe, the small heart of fire flickering happily against its baleful surroundings. She had to pause to admire her work, grateful that she had even remembered the trick at all. “Now keep that fresh one and give me the old one,” Ford said. “Take it, Ford. I can withstand the elements longer than you, I need it less than you,” she replied. “Princess-” “I will not argue. Do it.” Her words were forceful and she saw the scowl grow on his face in response. Please, let your chivalry drop for just one moment, Ford. Listen to me. “Very well, then,” he said, taking the newly wrapped piece of coalfire and placing it in his shirt pocket. “But you say this is only a temporary solution?” “It will only last for an hour or two. I can make more, but it will take the resources we may need elsewhere. Unlike our world, I don’t know when we can find time to gather new resources, or if we will be able to at all.” “Then that doesn’t leave us a lot of time to find our way out of here,” Ford surmised. “Is there anything you can think of to counter the cold? Any spell that could –I don’t know, maintain body temperature, is that even possible?” “I’m trying to think of something as quickly as I can! The coalfire should help us for a little while but it will run out, and not even I can survive indefinitely in temperatures like this.” “Can you think on the way?” Ford asked. “What?” “We can’t just sit here and waste our time. We need to move and see if we can find the next gateway rather than hope you come up with something. If we run out of flint and matches for-” “I will think of something!” Celestia said hotly. “I can keep us safe, I promise you that!” “I’m not doubting your skills- Celestia, I am on your side!” he shouted, anger beginning to spill over the brim. “Stop trying to think I’m putting you down, I’m trying to make sure we survive, and that means every second is precious! Now the first thing that’s gonna happen when the cold eventually gets to us is that our body will begin to freeze from the outside. Your joints will stiffen up and it’ll get harder to move. After that your core temperature will plummet, and eventually it can get to a point where it’s not going back up. And when that happens, you’ll get so tired that you won’t be able to move any longer. You’ll fall asleep and then you’ll die. I’m not going to let that happen to you, so you need to drop whatever pride is in you and let me help!” Celestia’s anger was not so easily abated, but the seriousness in his voice was enough to give her pause. She was fighting him for no reason, pressing her will against his simply because she was so used to him simply allowing her way. She was the ruler, the diplomat; he was the warrior, the survivor, and he had been trained for conditions such as this. She needed to put her pride aside and simply let him do what he had been trained to do. “Alright,” she said, her voice still tight but acquiescing nevertheless. “Alright. What are you suggesting we do?” “Just go on thinking of a way of keeping us alive. If you can use some kind of spell that’ll keep us warm and not kill us, do it. I’ll be glad of it, because we don’t know how far the next gateway is,” Ford said, his relief evident as he continued to discuss their plan. “Now on our feet. The more time we spend here chattering, the faster we’re going to die.” Their movements through the cavern of ice seemed to worm their way on endlessly, the deep dwelling held within a veritable fortress, impregnable save only to the light of the sun far above. Neither dared to reach out and feel the ice beneath their fingers lest they freeze and become part of it, so great was their fear of this frosted place. “Does it even end?” Celestia whispered aloud. “Do you think you could break through it if need be?” Ford asked. “I could,” she said slowly, “but there would be a real chance I bring the whole place down atop of us and we die anyway.” “Not the worst way to go, but hardly the best.” “I would prefer we didn’t die at all.” “I don’t think that’s anyone’s choice- sunlight ahead, come on.” Ford raced forward towards the exit far in the distance, his footsteps echoing across the glacial surroundings. “What do you see?” Celestia called. “We’re in a series of glaciers!” he replied, his voice echoing clearly down the tunnel and into her awaiting ears. “Looks like this place is one big maze. Wanna take a guess at what’s in the center?” The tunnel opened up before her and revealed a twisting walkway through great chasms of ice that towered into the sky, so high that it was a wonder that the sun could even find its way down into the depths of this frozen place. Their path had granted them access into the icy Canyonlands, bereft of water and life as far as they could see, the glaciers offering so many paths forward that one wrong turn would likely doom them to be cast into its depths forever with no hope of escape. Not even the wintry wastes of the Crystal Empire, held in the grips of a cruelest winter by Sombra himself, could have rivaled the magnificence or the vastness of these mighty chasms. “We may never find it in time,” she breathed. “Then we climb up and out. See if we can find anything that way instead of just wandering around blindly,” Ford declared. “Get into my rucksack, grab the rope. You can fly out of here, correct?” “Only for a short time. I don’t know how long the spell will last in these conditions.” “Go quickly, then. Take the rope and lower it once you reach the top and I’ll climb my way up to you,” Ford said, peering at the intimidating cliff face before him and knowing it would be a daunting task. “Ford…” “What?” “Why would I do that? Take my hand and I’ll fly us both up.” Ford wondered if his face would even flush in such wintry conditions. “I do not know why I didn’t think of that,” he said, giving an unwilling laugh. “Alright then, do what you do best.” Celestia summoned the words to mind and felt the wings of fire erupt from her back, many tongues of hot flame working together as though feathers to give her aid. With one strong push she rose forth from the ground and raced out from the depths of the canyon and towards the open air, bursting out from their labyrinthine prison and landing gently atop the massive glacier. Celestia found herself panting as the spell dissipated, her wings of fire wilting away under the threat of wind that now pressed hard against their faces. “Are you alright?” Ford asked, watching as she doubled over and struggled to catch her breath. “That was more difficult than I remember,” she answered. “Perhaps the cold, or carrying you… I don’t know.” “Or this place was made to sap you of your strength,” he said grimly. “That wind carries something fell. We need to keep moving.” The many winding pathways within the glacial canyonlands lay before them, the endless labyrinth that would have deftly entombed them no spanned out into the horizon, some paths leading to dead ends that would have spelled despair and death. Others wound together, forming into a single wide passage that led towards a great spire of rock capped by snow and ice. “I may have an idea,” Celestia said drily. “That’s a long way. Let’s get to it,” Ford said, resettling the rucksack on his shoulders as the two ramped forward. Some hours later and still their destination seemed so far to the eye. Pushing across chasms and walkways that threatened their progress, moving up and down the rows of glaciers that had been cast haphazardly across the realm, their movement had been steady, but slowed by the elements. Their coalfire had already been run through a second course, and Celestia found herself worrying about what little remained as she conjured forth a third portion for them both. Enough for one more- but only one more. “Not enough for both of us,” Ford guessed as she paused in her work. “No.” “Then we need to hurry. That mountain is getting closer, but we still have a ways to go. And with the sun starting to set, the temperature’s only gonna drop further. We won’t last the night.” “We won’t make it before nightfall, Ford.” “That’s not an option for us!” he said. “We make it or we die, now come on!” Their path continued on straight towards the mountain, the many details of the peak coming into view the closer they came. Black rock swept clean by wind jutted out like perches for great beasts, the snow turned into fine white spray by the continued gusts that struck out against it. It would have been a magnificent thing to see if their circumstances had not been so dire… “I’ve got it!” Celestia cried. “Ford, take my hand and hold tight!” “What’re you- oh for heaven’s sake, teleportation!” “You and I are the greatest fools who ever lived. Now let me concentrate!” Celestia’s blood was afire as she settled her eyes on the mountain. She could see it clearly, but so little detail! Where did she need to make landfall? She knew nothing of the terrain, if she chose someplace faulty- A quick Snap! And the two broke through the barrier of blackness and found themselves miles away, the mountaintop now beneath their feet- Celestia felt her head spin and the world became dim, her footing already slipping- “Tia!” Ford cried out as he too slipped down the mountainside, the loose snow beneath his feet as slick as deep ice and sending both of them careening down across harsh and unforgiving rock, Celestia barely conscious and unable to rouse herself from the fell air that had enshrouded her- Ford navigated across the snow and increased his speed, trying to reach her before she crashed into the stone of the mountain and shattered her bones. He reached out for her and missed by the smallest of margins, feeling her skin brushing against his. He cast out again and grabbed hold tightly- “I’ve got you! I’ve got you!” he cried over and over, now looking for a way to impede their rapid descent- A small, sharpened outcropping of rock, hardly larger than a tree branch, lie just ahead of them- Ford threw his hand out wildly and grabbed hold tight, feeling the muscle and bone within his skin groan, pop, and tear underneath the intense pressure- “Ford… Ford!” Celestia’s voice was dangerously weak but she had regained consciousness again, clutching tight to her husband’s arm. “What happened?” “You blacked out! Sombra’s been here, he must have cast some sort of curse on this place to try and slow you down,” he replied, feeling flecks of snow pepper his face- Ford heard the roar above the rushing of wind and knew immediately what he would see above him. Their movements down the mountainside had begun an avalanche, a heavy cascade of snow descending towards them like a white specter of death- A flash of iron and metal against the dying rays of the sun. The gateway, uncovered by the movements of the avalanche, lay just below the peak of the mountain- “Tia, you need to teleport again. One last time, right to the mountain’s peak. Can you manage it?” Ford called. “I need to see it- pull me up!” she cried, and Ford threw all his strength into the motion, his other arm screaming in agony as it held tightly to their sole refuge- Snap! Ford fell through the dark and found himself atop the mountain, already beginning a second slide down the side, the gateway ignited just below them. He reached out for his unconscious bride and held her close, aiming them straight towards the wrought-iron gate, and disappearing in a flash of light.