//------------------------------// // Winter Sprint // Story: Agate's Vigil // by Wingnut //------------------------------// Trotting for long periods of time wasn't something all that new for Pine Ponder, as others have already noted. While it was her chosen job, she did genuinely love going through the woods, and the equipment-laden packs weren't all that different from bags weighed down with foraged food. The only difference was the unfamiliar terrain, though she knew enough about navigating to tell that they were going due north, even if she didn't have her companion leading her. For her part, Ice Elation was quiet. Given how much she stressed the importance of the ability to remain silent, Pine Ponder could only assume that she, much like her, didn't really get to talk much in her occupation. Which was fine, and they could have probably gone all the way to Ice Land without telling a word to each other, save for one issue: Pine Ponder was fairly certain that she needed to know more about where they were going and what kind of animals and other things they were going to have to deal with. "Could you teach me some lore about the place we're travelling to?" Pine Ponder spoke quietly. It took Ice Elation a long while to answer. Long enough that Pine Ponder began to think that she wouldn't answer at all. "It is hard to say what, exactly, will be useful. The path up to Ice Land is largely not relevant. The place itself... The crystal forest can wait until we get closer to it, as can the biggest dangers. I think we should focus purely on moving for now. We're going to be doing nothing but that for several weeks straight, every day, until we collapse from exhaustion." "Very well." And that was that. They kept moving, focusing on putting one hoof in front of the other, idly scanning for predators in their path all the while. Neither mare was used to working with a partner, and Pine Ponder couldn't help but shoot a curious glance towards Ice Elation now and then, sometimes catching the northerner (seemingly) doing the same thing through her long bangs. Both of them remained silent, though. Time was a bit elusive in the dark of the long night, but one usually still could tell the passage of "days", monotonous as they were. And Ice Elation certainly kept her promise of testing Pine Ponder. They kept trotting all throughout the day, only stopping briefly to eat, or just moving along while taking bites of food. And then, they kept going through the night. Only when it was roughly getting close to morning did Ice Elation stop, sweeping her gaze across the spot she chose. It was a small creek, now frozen over and dead. Tossing some snow here and there, she dug out one side of the snowed-in bank, making a rudimentary shelter from the wind and cold. Pulling out one of the many magical trinkets the shamares gave them, she briefly focused on her magic, the strange bundle of herbs and sticks tied together with strands of pony coats starting to smoke ever so slightly. While she almost never used charms herself, Pine Ponder did hear about them through others. This one was supposed to act like a ward, masking their scent and making predator's gazes slide over them. Useful, but not entirely cheap since they lasted only one night, so most ponies still preferred to travel in groups and have sentries. "How are your legs?" Ice Elation asked, putting the charm to the side and setting up her bedroll. "Fine. A little sore. More than usual, but I'd go trotting for hours for fun, or just to see if I could find any interesting, hidden places. I don't know how much longer I can keep this pace up, though," Pine Ponder spoke slowly, stretching her own bedroll out. "We'll see. You did well so far. I'm certain we'll manage to get to Nilas either way. The only question will be the shape we're going to be in when we get there. Now, let's sleep," Ice Elation reassured her quietly before unceremoniously falling asleep the moment she lay down. "Good suggestion," Pine Ponder nodded, doing the same. ❅ ❆ ❅ The next several days went more or less the same. One hoof in front of the other, again and again and again and again. The pace was easy, but the sheer distance was punishing. Pine Ponder knew better than to complain, though, and she knew that it was too late to turn back either way. Even if she wanted to abandon the mission, she had to make it to Nilas before the Calling. On the morning of the fifth day, though, Ice Elation broke the monotony by hoofing over one of the magical strength-restoring potions to Pine Ponder. She blinked at it in confusion, looking at the explorer, who yanked the cork out with her teeth from a flask herself, draining it. Licking her lips, Pine Ponder raised her eyebrows. "Aren't these for... I don't know, life or death situations?" "This might well turn into a life or death situation if you don't drink one," Ice Elation explained. "Besides, they gave us a whole dozen of them. That is more than enough to get to where we need in Ice Land twice over, if you feel like not sleeping for three days. Doing that would be a bad idea either way, though. You shouldn't abuse them too often. This is exactly the right time to use one. We'll have time to rest and recover as we go along." "Alright then..." Pine Ponder wasn't sure how they were going to rest as they kept moving, but she trusted her guide enough not to question her. With a shrug, she yanked the cork out and downed the potion, her face contorting in strange ways at the flavor. She definitely tasted mushrooms, which made sense since magic mushrooms were an ingredient, but overall, it was just bizarre. "Eugh." "You'll get used to it. Or not. It's not too bad either way, though. They don't really leave a lingering aftertaste, so just chug them quickly," Ice Elation explained with a tiny smile. "I'll keep that in mind," Pine Ponder nodded, grabbing an ice shard and suckling on it to get some extra moisture. She felt her stomach gurgle, and a strange tingling began spreading outwardly from her abdomen. The pain from her sore limbs began fading, her joints and muscles no longer aching so badly. The sensation of exhaustion did not disappear completely, but it was a pretty big change. "It'll work for a while. Some ponies like to use them when they're about to fall unconscious, but I found that this way is better. If you're barely holding on already, you're still going to feel like you're half-dead, even with the potion. Now, I'm fairly certain we could trot for a whole day non-stop, if it comes to it. Which it probably will. This day is the last day before the Calling, and we need to get to Nilas. Come on. Get something to chew on and let's go," Ice Elation nodded, shoving a small dried fish into her mouth and crunching on it. "Right behind you," Pine Ponder nodded. As promised, the potion lasted quite a while. It wasn't entirely pleasant - while Pine Ponder did feel a wellspring of supernatural endurance, it wasn't entirely benign. She felt her guts clench and her coat stand on end multiple times as strange tingles and shivers ran through her body. Still, the side effects were fairly minor, so it was probably a price worth paying. Step by step, league by league, they kept on moving through the tundra, until unfamiliar scents started invading Pine Ponder's nose. It still took a long time until she could finally see the source of those smells - the winds were strong, and blew the scent of the sea great distances away from shore. Still, see them she did, marveling at the settlement and the dark, foreboding body of water in front of her. "Nilas," Ice Elation breathed. "Once the capital of the northern tribe, now - the very southern edge of our territory. And we still need to reach the other edge. Come. Let's get down." ❅ ❆ ❅ They had some time to rest their legs once they got to the city, though that wasn't really the case for the rest of their bodies. The sudden and entirely unexpected arrival of two interesting ponies caused a stir in Nilas, especially when Ice Elation proclaimed that they were on an important mission, given to them by the elders of both the southern and the northern tribes. Between their equipment, demeanor, and the seals of authority given to them, it wasn't hard to convince the locals that they were telling the truth. They explained their situation and their needs, the inhabitants nodding along with curious expressions. Before long, there were volunteers offering to take them further north in their boats, giving the pair a chance to rest and recover while they paddled. "I kind of wanted to see the sea for a while now, though I thought I'd just head east one day, instead of going all the way here," Pine Ponder mused, looking across the waves. "That would have been a fine enough way to see it. Honestly, the sea itself is interesting for a few hours, but you quickly lose the sense of wonder after that. It's actually what's in the sea that is interesting. Unfortunately, lots of things in the sea will also eat you," Ice Elation nodded. "Well, I never intended to get a look from the inside," Pine Ponder shrugged with a small smile. "Wise choice. Either way, we're not here for sightseeing. I suggest you try to get some sleep, if you can. Some ponies find the rocking of the waves nauseating. Others find them soothing. I hope you're one of the latter ones." "I hope so too." "We're just about ready," One of the stallions that was preparing his boat called out. "Do you need anything else?" "No, I'm sure we can acquire more provisions along the way," Ice Elation shook her head. "Ready when you are, then," He nodded, gesturing towards the docks. "Good. Let us away," Ice Elation nodded, cantering after the stallion. Pine Ponder was a little nervous as she got into the swaying boat, though she did the best not to let it show. She wasn't completely unfamiliar with boat travel - ponies went up and down the river near her village in their kayaks all the time. Still, going down a narrow stretch of water with land being almost within reaching distance was quite different from going out into a body of water so large, you couldn't see the shore anywhere. Taking Ice Elation's advice, she curled up on the bottom, doing her best to fall asleep. It wasn't entirely easy, what with the "ground" constantly swaying in random directions and the splashing sounds coming from the paddlers, but the past five days of forced marching were incredibly useful in helping her fall asleep immediately. If anything, she could have probably fallen asleep on a pile of pointy rocks just as easily. This time, it was the stallions from Nilas that were pushing themselves. Pine Ponder spent the next several days in a haze of sorts, only eating slowly while swaying with the boat, or sleeping on the bottom, getting off to rest on actual ground on the occasional island. Thoughts of curiosity and looking out across the sea didn't even enter her head, her body's forcefully repressed need for rest catching up with a vengeance. Eventually, they reached a bigger island, and Pine Ponder's head was rested and working well enough for her to actually take in some details this time. She curiously examined the landmass, only for her eyes to be drawn towards some kind of massive silhouette that was bobbing in the water. Squinting in the darkness, she tried to make out the shape. "What in the world...?" "It's still here. We caught them in time," One of the stallions proclaimed proudly. "Caught what? Who?" "One of the featherboats," Ice Elation supplied. "I guess you missed that bit of the conversation I had in Nilas. They told us of one of the boats that left three days ago, but since it was taking a more circuitous route, they were hoping they could catch up to it." "Featherboat..." Pine Ponder scrunched her muzzle as they approached the shore, digging through her memories. She had heard of the things, of course, but it was hard for a pony to imagine something so strange without seeing it. The ways the clever northerners adapted to living in their wild and strange lands were many and well-known, for their oddity if nothing else. From what she could recall, they were apparently large boats, built in collaboration with the western tribe's experienced woodworkers. Born out of a mad idea (though the northerners would argue that it was a stroke of genius) by the locals of Green Land, they used the massive feathers of the thunderbirds that lived there as some kind of wind-catchers, making the wind drag them across the water, with no paddling involved at all. She kind of expected for the feathers to be stuck on its sides like wings, but as she kept looking at the featherboat, she saw that they were standing upright, instead. Her staring was interrupted as their much smaller vessel reached the shore, the others getting off. "Come on, let's go find their crew and see if we can talk our way into getting on that thing," Ice Elation nodded to Pine Ponder. "Lead on. I barely even know what's going on here any more," She shook her head. There weren't all that many of the large vessels in operation at the same time, given both the resource costs in lumber and the limited amount of usable feathers that the thunderbirds shed every year. As such, there was a bit of an air of prestige around them, and Ice Elation had to really put her somewhat limited skills in persuasion to talk the ponies into letting them board. "I can understand your mission's importance," The stallion in charge spoke calmly. "But each featherboat is also responsible for the wellbeing of dozens of families. We carry great amounts of cargo in these, far more than any paddle boats possibly can. Ponies sell us their wares they accumulate over the season, and we pay them. We carry the things to the ponies that need them, whatever it may be. Quality tools, metals, stone glue, medicines... It's not just about profits. It's all a part of a very important cycle." "And I'm not trying to commandeer your vessel for some grand journey," Ice Elation shook her head. "We just need to get to Ice Land as fast as possible. And our mission affects close to a dozen villages, which means hundreds and hundreds of families." "Yes, well... We are still going to Green Land, I'm afraid, but I suppose we could make a small detour to Squid Shore island. I wasn't sure whether to go there this year or not since there wasn't much trade last year, but I'll make it for you. It's only a couple days of travel to Ice Land from there," The stallion shrugged, giving her a "take it or leave it" expression. "That will do just fine," Ice Elation nodded. After that was concluded, the travelers were given lodgings to rest in by the locals. Come morning, they were escorted towards the featherboat by the stallions from Nilas, the large vessel being too big to safely approach the shore without getting stuck on the bottom. Sharing respectful nods and goodbyes, Pine Ponder and Ice Elation waved goodbye to the stallions, clambering onto the deck of the boat. This was nothing remotely like a kayak. It retained a similar shape, sure, but the featherboat was... Solid, for lack of a better word. It was large and looming, and Pine Ponder looked around the vessel with a slightly slack-jawed expression. It even had doors leading downward, which suggested that it was almost a floating house of sorts. "Impressive, isn't it?" Ice Elation asked, standing beside her. "It's massive. How long does it take to build one of these things?" Pine Ponder boggled. "I don't know, actually. Bit less than to build a house, I think, but it does take no small amount of ponies and time," Ice Elation shrugged. "Still, the results are something to behold." "They are. They really are," Pine Ponder nodded. Once they got moving, Pine Ponder was surprised to find out that the featherboat wasn't completely powered by wind. There were paddles in it, though the ponies still preferred to use the wind to move around, as moving such a heavy ship by hoof was an exhausting task. "They're there in case we get stuck somewhere without wind, but that's a very unlikely occurrence," One stallion explained. The boat getting moved by wind meant that there was more time to talk, now that the whole time wasn't consumed by either sleeping or paddling. And Pine Ponder made full use of that time, interrogating the northerners about their strange mode of transport. For their part, the ponies really didn't need a lot of encouragement to start bragging about their vessel. "Oh please, you think this is mad? This is nothing. This is completely normal," A mare giggled, gesturing towards the feathers. "Do you even know what they tried to do first?" "What?" Pine Ponder asked, anticipating more northern weirdness. "Well, they wanted to fly, of course! Hahahah!" "Wait, the ponies, or were they thinking of building a flying boat?" The confused southerner scrunched her muzzle. "Both, of course! Ahahhahaah! Some tried making wings, to try and take off like the mythical flying ponies of the south. Some tried attaching those wings to the boats, hoping to sail across the sky among the birds! Even shamares joined in, messing with their magics and runes! Nothing really worked, tough," The mare kept giggling. "Someone eventually came up with a usable solution, though?" "Of course, of course. It took a while for it to happen - all those experiments kept damaging and destroying the feathers, and not all of them fall from the mountains in our direction after the thunderbirds shed them, so they're a bit rare. But eventually, someone did. There's some conflicting stories - some say that it was a stallion who tied himself to the end of a feather and tried to take off during a storm, only to get dragged across half the island by the wind. Others say that it was a mare that was hunting a feather that got blown out to sea in hopes of selling it to all those ponies trying to discover a use for them, only to discover one herself as she bit into the end of it, and got dragged towards another island altogether when the wind suddenly picked up." "The second one sounds closer to what they're being used for now, I think," Pine Ponder mused. "Yes, though neither one of those ponies were the ones that thought up this," The mare proudly tapped the wooden deck of the boat. "Of course, featherboats had dozens of design changes over the years as well. With the sheer size of the feathers, it was obvious that a bigger and stronger boat was needed to withstand the forces, and it took a good while for everyone to create one. And when problems arose, other ponies added their tweaks, and so on." Pine Ponder nodded, looking upwards. The boat had several feathers attached to it, guided and directed by a clever system of ropes and pulleys, allowing the ponies crewing the ship to change direction and speed at will. Some bits were trimmed to allow ropes to be attached, or for easier manipulation. Each feather was as wide as two or three ponies were long, making the mare happy that the birds apparently considered ponies beneath their notice as prey. "It's really amazing just how fast we're moving with just the wind, without a single pony so much as lifting a hoof," Pine Ponder remarked. "How long until we reach Squid Shore?" "Well, I would say a couple more weeks, give or take a few days. The winter winds are biting, but strong. Barring any storms, of course, spirits willing. Or any windigoes freezing the sea too early, though we're kind of already pushing the limit here. If that happens, you're going to have to trot to Ice Land on hoof." "I'm quite familiar with crossing large distances on hoof," Pine Ponder smiled wryly. ❅ ❆ ❅ Fortunately, the freezing sea did not outpace the featherboat. The stallion in charge nodded at Ice Elation's thanks as they disembarked, but his expression was distracted. He clearly wanted to be out of the freezing seas as soon as possible, giving the ice floes bobbing in the water the stink eye. Once they were done, he swiftly concluded his business with the locals, immediately turning towards Green Land and the warmer waters, where they were going to spend the winter. "Right then. One more trip across the water before we travel on land," Ice Elation nodded. "Let's see if we can either borrow a kayak, or find some more ponies to take us across." This far north and this far away from Green Land's volcanoes and unseasonal warmth, the islands mostly emptied for the winter. The weather was brutally cold, even the cold-adapted snowponies holding their travelling coats closer to their bodies as the sea gales blew about. The few locals that remained were exceptionally sturdy and stubborn, and, possibly, just a touch mad. Almost all the other islands that ponies wintered in had some way to hide from the cold, either by having hot springs or some other unusual feature that kept the temperatures a bit more bearable, or by having a bunch of tunnels dug into them. Ones with tunnels were often called "crystal islands", since the reason for the existence of the tunnels was mining. It was an activity that kept you busy and warm, and could easily be done in the depths of winter, if one had enough food supplies stocked up. Squid Shore was one of the crystal islands, and the ponies that remained weren't all that keen on traversing the sea. Despite being northerners, the miners didn't really go out to sea all that often, and especially not during winter. After hearing them out, the elder of the village made a sour expression, shrugging helplessly. "Well, we'll help how we can, sure, but it's not much. Honestly, the two of you are probably far better equipped to go alone rather than with anyone from here. Two experienced explorers like yourself would be the ones helping whoever came with you get across to Ice Land, not the other way around," He explained. "Would you have a kayak you could spare? Preferably one for two ponies," Ice Elation asked, not bothering to correct him by pointing out that just one of them was actually an experienced explorer. "Well, most kayaks went with the ponies northeast towards Green Land, but yes, I'm pretty sure we have a few that we put into storage. Let's get a couple ponies and see what we can dig up for you," The elder nodded, slowly getting up. Before long, they had a two-seater kayak, with paddles and everything else they needed. Ice Elation examined it for holes, running her hoof and muzzle across the seams before nodding in satisfaction. Giving the elder and the other locals a bow, she glanced towards the sea. "Thank you, elder. This will be more than enough for us." "Oh, don't mention it. That is quite the problem our southern cousins ran into. I do hope your mission is a success," The old stallion nodded, the others nodding along. "We'll see. I've been there before, so I'm sure we'll manage. Spirits watch over you, elder," She nodded, gesturing for Pine Ponder to follow. "You too, youngling. You need their aid more than I do, I think," He nodded, before hobbling back to the settlement. "Now. Have you ever paddled? At all?" Ice Elation asked, hoofing Pine Ponder a paddle. "A few times, as a teenager, in one of our lakes," She shrugged. "I wasn't bad at it, but it wasn't my talent, and I didn't really end up in a kayak later on." "Well... Better than completely nothing, I suppose. The most important thing is that you don't panic and start flailing around wildly if something happens. If we fall into the water... Well, the sea is very, very cold right now," Ice Elation cautioned. "I, uh... I remember my parents teaching me how to roll over if I end up upside down," Pine Ponder licked her lips, feeling a shiver run down her spine. "Could you remind me how?" "Oh, you remember that much? That is good. Really, a kayak with two ponies is more stable anyway, but you can't be too careful. Here. If you capsize, then..." Ice Elation spent a short while teaching Pine Ponder a few tips about kayaking before directing her to pick it up and carry it to the beach, near where a small, rudimentary pier was built. Without ceremony, they lowered it into the water and hopped in. Nodding at Pine Ponder, Ice Elation spoke her final bit of advice before starting to paddle. "Just keep going and don't get distracted, and we'll be there before you know it. As long as we keep moving forward, we're going to be pretty stable just from the momentum." "Understood." And with that, they were off. It wasn't entirely unlike trotting on land, Pine Ponder noted, save for the fact that she was only using her forelegs. Letting Ice Elation do any steering and course corrections, she took the explorer's advice and focused purely on paddling. Left, right, left, right, left, right... Reaching Ice Land wasn't a single day's journey, unfortunately. They had to stop and rest on another island, which turned out to be completely abandoned for the winter. It took them a little bit of effort to unseal and worm their way into someone's home, taking care not to disturb or damage anything. Closing it back up after getting some sleep, they took to the waves once more. Once Ice Land was finally in sight, Pine Ponder wasn't sure what to feel. Trepidation? Excitement? There was some nervous tightness in her gut, but not all that much. Certainly not as much as she expected to feel when going into possibly near-certain doom. Ice Elation was confident, though, and she said that she went to the crystal forest twice, so how bad- "Nope," Pine Ponder immediately interrupted her own flow of thoughts before she called a disaster of some kind upon them. Tempting fate like that was never a good idea. "We're almost here. The final stretch... Of course, once we're done here, we're going to have to repeat this all on the way back south," Ice Elation chuckled wryly in a rare display of humor. "Oh ancestors, have mercy on my legs," Pine Ponder sighed. Ice Elation said nothing, though she did smile slightly. Once they reached the shore, they picked up the kayak and carried it off to a small shelter nearby. There were signs of activity there, partially snowed-over hoofprints dotting the ground, leading both to and from the sea. "I half-expected this place to be abandoned as well. What kind of ponies stay in the most inhospitable place imaginable during winter?" Pine Ponder asked, tilting her head. "The very toughest ones," Ice Elation nodded. "Ice Land is a proving ground of the highest order. We have various desolate islands ponies use for training their offspring, but this place... It's on another level entirely. And this is not just for bragging rights, or anything like that. There are monsters that come from here, out into the rest of our territories. Floewolves are a constant danger, and there's other, local beasts that are not waterborne, but still harass the locals from time to time. There's strange animals, strange things, strange materials and even strange plants that grow in the icy expanse. Some ponies found magical crystals while exploring, while others have discovered unusual veins of metals in the rock under the ice. Unfortunately, the extreme conditions usually mean that those kinds of discoveries end up being one-offs, with little done to follow up and expand the knowledge on them. Then, there are the shamares. They come here to meditate, to draw power from the Breath of north, and perform great feats of magic. Many shamares that make ice spears like mine do it right here, infusing them with the deepest, most bitter cold of the north you can imagine. Then, there are other, even more ambitious... Projects." The northerner led Pine Ponder away from the shore as she explained, deeper into the mainland, on a path towards some buildings in the distance. Raising her eyebrows, Pine Ponder glanced at her guide, trying to discern her expression through those frustratingly long bangs of hers. "What kind of even more ambitious projects? The ice spears are one of the ultimate status symbols a northerner can carry, from what I heard." "Yes, they are. But this is not something ponies carry with themselves," Ice Elation nodded. "Have you ever heard of guardian statues? They've been around for a couple centuries now, though obviously they're still not very numerous." Pine Ponder frowned, furrowing her brows. "Statues... I might have? I mean, lots of ponies make scary snow and ice statues around their villages to ward off dangers during winter, but you northerners have figured out how to infuse them with magic as well, right?" "Not just infuse. A clever shamare figured out how to make a heart for one," Ice Elation explained, which only raised a whole lot more questions in Pine Ponder's mind. "A... Heart? For an ice statue?" "You'll see for yourself in a few moments," The explorer replied cryptically. Pine Ponder just blinked, shrugging mentally and wrapping her coat around herself tighter. Ice Elation never tried to mess with her in any way or withheld information to appear smarter or anything of the sort, so she fully expected that the "few moments" really did mean a few- "Whoa. What is that?" Pine Ponder asked, looking at a glowing statue of a pony that was a small distance away from them with wide eyes. "Guardian," Ice Elation explained succinctly. "So it's one of those...?" "Yes. Let's go say hello," Ice Elation nodded calmly, turning towards the statue. "Wait, say hello? Do they speak?!" Now properly flabbergasted, Pine Ponder trotted after her. "No, they do not. But it is the polite thing to do." "If you say so..." "I do. Hello, Watchful. I hope your vigil goes well," The northerner nodded respectfully to the statue. Examining it, Pine Ponder was immediately struck by the fact that its eyes seemed to be moving, tracking them both with a discerning look. And once Ice Elation spoke her greeting, the eyes were not the only thing that moved. With a small sound of groaning ice and a few snowflakes falling away from its body, it gave Ice Elation a nod, before returning to its sentry duty. "What in the world..." Pine Ponder whispered under her breath. "This is Watchful. One of the older guardians. A century and a half old, from what I remember. The younger ones take decades until they start responding to ponies," Ice Elation once again explained, creating dozens of new questions. "And that... Is its heart," She pointed to a dark mass in the statue's chest. "I... Need a whole lot more details before I can even begin to understand what you're telling me," Pine Ponder shivered slightly. "Of course. Let's get inside and warm up. There will be plenty of time to talk. We're not pushing ourselves until we drop this time. We'll get a long, proper rest, and then we'll have to push hard," Ice Elation nodded, trotting away and waving a goodbye towards Watchful. "Be well, guardian." "Um... Be well," Pine Ponder nodded awkwardly towards the statue, before scampering after Ice Elation. Trotting towards a large, heavily reinforced and extra thick longhouse, Ice Elation worked the hefty door for a while before managing to swing it open. Cantering inside, they were met with the curious stares of several dozen ponies, who were in various stages of eating and preparing food, or simply sitting and talking. It seemed to be a communal kitchen and gathering place of sorts, probably so that the heat from the cooking would benefit as many ponies as possible. "Well floewolves blast me! Is that you, Ice Elation?!" A stallion roared once the mare took off her hood, every pony in the building perking up. Where the rest of her tribe weren't very closely aware of the explorer's achievements, here, she was amongst her own. Adventurers, explorers, hunters of mythical beasts, and so on. Even if she preferred to work alone, it was quite clear that the others that frequented Ice Land held no small amount of respect for her. "It is I, Shatterhoof," Ice Elation nodded, trotting towards where the seats were, a few ponies already bringing warm drinks for her and curiously eyeing Pine Ponder. "Well, what in the world happened this time? Don't tell me you missed the Calling again! You left a month early to make sure you weren't late this year!" The stallion laughed. "I... I was not late. I was in Snowpitt. And yes, I did miss it," Ice Elation said with a small, wry grin. "I had to gallop out of there like my tail was on fire." Turning towards Pine Ponder, who was looking at her with a questioning look, she explained. "I never saw the Calling before, so I decided to go to the Gathering last year. But, due to various circumstances like a sudden storm grounding me in an island for several days, my journey took longer than I thought, and I ended up in Nilas right as it happened. This year, I gave myself more time, but..." "But something happened. Something to make you gallop all across the sea, here, like mad," Shaterhoof surmised with a crazed grin, pretty much everyone in the building gathering around them with similar smiles. "This smells like adventure. Now spill." "Alright, alright, stop smiling like that or your face will split in two. It all started when I was in Snowpitt, and the southerner's chieftain put out a call for "all ponies fleet of hoof and capable with a spear" to a meeting..." Ice Elation explained everything while Pine Ponder enjoyed several cups of hot tea, telling her part of the story and how it all began once the explorer was done. Some of the ponies gave her dubious looks when they heard that she was just a forager from the southern forests, though they became a bit more respectful when Ice Elation told them that she was entirely capable of keeping up with her during their journey. "Well. This is quite the task. Serious, too," Shatterhoof nodded once they were done. "Yes. But I think I can do it. We can do it, that is," Ice Elation corrected herself. "Do you need any help?" "I... Don't know. Numbers don't entirely help when dealing with the crystal forest. Two ponies are better than one, but... I don't know," Ice Elation shrugged. "You're quite different from me, Shatterhoof. You're a floewolf hunter. Me, I'm a sneaky pony. I could sneak to the crystal forest just fine by myself, but with you stomping besides me, I'm fairly certain we'll get into at least half a dozen fights before we get there." "Hahaha! And I'm guessing Pine Ponder here is a sneaky pony, too?" The stallion chortled, the listeners sniggering under their breaths. "She is. She's pretty good. No, downright impressive, actually. I often had to check that she was still with me during the trek through the southern plains. Her snowwalking is impeccable, and she moves almost without a sound. I don't feel comfortable working with most ponies. But I'm confident that I can trust her not to mess up," Ice Elation nodded, making Pine Ponder fold her ears in embarrassment at the unexpected praise. "Well... If you don't come back soon, we'll come looking for you either way." "I know, Shatterhoof. Thank you. But I'm sure I'll be fine." "Alright then. Now, from our southern guest's expression, I'm assuming she has questions," The stallion grinned again. "Um, yes. Before we get to all the dangers and the beasts, could you tell me more about those guardian statues outside?" Pine Ponder nodded, glancing towards the door. "Oh, sure. That's an odd, but interesting tale. Then again, most of them tend to be like that where this place is concerned, heh. Anyway, they're a shamaric project, so don't expect me to tell you all that much. Now, depending on who you ask, it all started either around two hundred years ago, or possibly centuries before that. See, there was a shamare that had an idea. Just hearing those words makes you tense up a little, doesn't it? Heh! Anyway, she was aptly named Spirit Weaver, and she studied spirits for many years, and it didn't really take her all that long to notice that where the body gains nourishment from matter that comes from the Earth, the spirit gains nourishment from the eternal Breath and the Sky. And the closer to the source of the Breath one gets, the stronger the spirits of the land are. Floewolves, windigoes, crystal trees... There's a pattern there, you see? Creatures made more from magic than bodies of flesh and blood or plant matter, like everywhere else. So, she had an idea to try and create a spirit of her own. Not just a spirit, but give it a body, too, and nourish and grow it - somehow. Sounds like she should have just settled down and had some foals, eh? Surely would have been way simpler! But no, she had big ambitions, and she wanted to create... Well, a pony-shaped floewolf of sorts is the best description I can think of, or that's what the result ended up being, anyway. No clue if that's what she intended, but that's what she made. Basically, she wanted to create some kind of guardians that would be able to aid our tribe and fight all of the crazy beasts that live here in Ice Land. And with how powerful spirits here are due to the strength of the Breath, this was the place she chose to work in. She thought she'd shape a spirit of her own, if she could find a vessel powerful enough to contain it. Well, she did find one. All I know is that it's called a "geode" - don't ask me what it means, but it's apparently some kind of ball of very tightly formed crystals, which can hold magic incredibly well, even better than individual crystals already can. Apparently, the traveler spirit was the one who named the things, so I guess it's another word from her foreign crystal tongue. Anyway, Spirit Weaver acquired one of those geodes, and got to work. She very, very carefully inscribed the kinds of traits that she wanted the guardian to have on it. "Protector, defender, guardian, fearless, watchful, vigilant, courageous, kind, swift", and so on. I don't know how long she tinkered with it, but the stories say it was at least several years, if not over a decade. This was to be her life's big project, and she did not want to make a mistake. She also breathed life and magic into it, holding it against her chest and doing her best to impart her love of the northern tribe and the duty she felt to her people into it. By the time she thought she was ready, the thing was so full of power, it was practically vibrating. Some ponies actually thought it was going to explode and level the entire settlement, and put some distance between themselves and Spirit Weaver once she came outside with it. She wasn't going to let that affect her, though. She had a whole ritual prepared, and roped a bunch of other ponies into it. A whole group of drummers was there, along with singers and dancers. It was more like a celebration of welcoming a new foal into the tribe rather than a shamaric ritual, though that was probably exactly what Spirit Weaver was going for. The drums beat to the heartbeats of the ponies, and the pony's hearts beat to the beats of the drums. An ice statue had been prepared, its chest hollowed out and empty. Giving it one last kiss, Spirit Weaver gently put the geode - now the guardian's heart - inside, pouring water on it. It froze immediately, magic coursing through the statue as the statue's heart began to beat as well. Nothing happened at first, though Spirit Weaver instructed the musicians to keep playing. After a short while, the statue's eyes began glowing, roaming across the faces of the ponies surrounding it. By that point, even those that were afraid had returned, seeing that nothing exploded yet. Everyone held their breaths, expecting some grand to happen, but the statue just kept standing, glancing around. It was like a babe. A foal that had just been born, with no understanding of what to do. Spirit Weaver called out to it, giving it a name. "Shield. Eternal Shield. Come to me," She beckoned. It took some coaxing, but the statue moved. Now, needless to say, ice creatures moving around makes floewolf hunters very, very jumpy. Of course, having one that was on your side sounded pretty useful, but there was still a lot of caution in the watcher's optimism as they observed Spirit Weaver lead the statue around. Being in the shape of a pony did not mean that it was a pony. That's an important lesson that gets hammered into your head pretty early on if you go exploring. That was exactly what Spirit Weaver intended, though - for the statue to see other ponies as its kin, and defend them as such. And... It actually worked. It was still slow for many years. Slow to respond, slow to move. But over time, it grew. Smarter, faster. It seemed like Spirit Weaver really managed to give birth to a new spirit, in a very roundabout way. She built it a cairn, a small pile of stones and crystals carved with runes where it could rest and watch over the outpost here. When it got damaged, ponies would bring its heart and place it back on the cairn, and the spirit would slowly reform the body, the guardian dutifully carrying out its task. And ancestors, did it carry it out with vigor. Many thought that it was just a curious novelty, a strange project that a kooky shamare spent years working on. But when a floewolf finally made it past all the traps and hunters and sentries, it did not hesitate for a second when it heard the screams and the roars. Jumping from its cairn, it charged without the slightest bit of hesitation. Now, what happened next is... Unclear. Unfortunately, some ponies embellished the story quite a lot, some versions saying that it cracked the floewolf's head into dozens of pieces with a single punch, which is not quite realistic. I saw the guardians fight. They are not that strong, and one on one, a floewolf will definitely win. But, well... They don't bleed. They don't feel pain. Or fear. And before a floewolf manages to rip one apart, even a single guardian will definitely cause some injuries to the beast, cracking their legs and punching out their eyes. A bunch of them? Bad, bad time for the wolf. Either way, everyone was extremely impressed with Spirit Weaver's creation, praising both her and it. They were even happier to learn that the statue's injuries were meaningless, and that it was as capable of restoring its body as a floewolf. Many came to it to say thanks themselves, and it seemed like the more ponies talked to it, the more... Alive it looked. And that's it, more or less. Spirit Weaver never created any more of them, but other shamares were intrigued, to say the least. Creating a nearly immortal, possibly even eternal guardian for the tribe? That was something big. A challenge, a way to mark your name in history for centuries or millennia to come, a way to contribute to the tribe's safety long after you're gone... Whatever the motivation, many of them sought Spirit Weaver's advice, and she gladly taught them everything she could. And now, we have nearly a dozen of them, just standing around, watching for danger. New ones don't get made all that often, but now and then, someone digs up a big fancy geode, and a shamare decides to see if she's up for replicating the greatest feat of shamaric magic created to date. The "young" ones always take a bit to "grow up", but we love them all the same." "So... That is why you talk to them. It.. Grows their minds, just like talking to foals does," Pine Ponder surmised. "As I understand it, that's more or less exactly it, yes." "What did you mean in the very beginning? When you said that it potentially started centuries before Spirit Weaver did it?" "Well... That part's more to do with rumors, and I'm not the kind of stallion to share that kind of stuff..." Shatterhoof grimaced awkwardly. "Oh, come on. Please?" "All right, all right. So, you know about wind rider, right? The traveler spirit?" "Of course. Everyone's heard of her, at the very least, and I hear that more ponies come to see her huge crystal totem than for the Gathering these days," Pine Ponder snorted. "Right, of course. So, as the stories say, once she found out about the statues, she was... I don't know. Upset? Agitated? Something about them riled her up, and she flew all the way here to find out more. She spent a LONG time looking at Eternal Shield. Of course, ponies eventually noticed her, and word spread through the outpost, eventually reaching Spirit Weaver, who wanted to know what was happening. And when the traveler spirit saw Spirit Weaver, she froze." "Froze as in...?" "Figuratively, of course," He chuckled. "Supposedly, she said that the mare reminded her of someone very familiar. That she looked a lot like someone else. From a long, long time ago." "Oh. And what did she look like?" "Dark gray coat and a shock of incredibly white hair. Nothing too unusual," Shatterhoof shrugged. "And, I'm afraid that I can't really tell you much else. The traveler spirit asked her if she was up to her old tricks again, which just confused Spirit Weaver. Supposedly, Spirit told her that she had no idea what she was talking about, and asked her if she knew her in a past life, and, after a pause, the traveler spirit said yes." "Oh. So this past life..." "Yeah. Supposedly, Spirit Weaver did something bad... I don't even know how many lifetimes back. Something to tick off the traveler spirit, which is not an easy thing to do, from what I know. But that's pure guesswork, since the wind rider herself didn't care to elaborate. After asking some questions about the statues, she smiled and said that it was nice to meet her again and took off, leaving a very confused Spirit Weaver behind." "Huh."