Anaiya Thorn's Story

The crackling of a fire greeted Cináed as his eyes flickered open. The first thing he noticed was the lack of snowfall, the constant whiteness that had plagued his vision for almost a week. Then he began to become more aware of where he actually was. He wasn't curled up in some cave with a pitiful campfire for light. He was in a bed - a soft, comfortable bed - and a roof and walls were around him. The wooden construction of a log cabin of some sort, just the type you might expect to find in the mountains.

With a groan, he pushed himself upwards, vision swimming slightly as he sat up.

"Hey!" a voice called, "Don't be so hasty! Lie back down, for pity's sake!"

Cináed blinked blearily, trying to regain focus as he looked towards the source of the voice. When he was able to see clearly, his eyes settled on the figure of a dark-haired woman, sat on a stool across the room from the bed where he lay. She looked to be in her mid to late thirties, her face holding a maturity to it without an excess of signs of ageing. She was finely featured in an elegant way, not traditionally beautiful, but nor was she homely. Her eyes were hazel, and her brow was furrowed in concern. "Heavens, child, it's hardly been a day since a hunting party found you in the snow. You're in no state to be sitting up so suddenly."

It had been a whole day? It had felt like barely five minutes had passed since he fell. Cináed ran a hand through his hair, the motion causing his bedclothes to slip down. This in turn caused him to realise that aside from undergarments, his clothes were missing. "I- where am I?" he managed to stammer out, reddening slightly.

The woman sighed in exasperation, "If you insist on sitting up, let me get you something to drink and to eat. You look practically wasted away. You're in Windcrest, a city nestled in the icy peaks. My name is Anaiya Thorn, I am a doctor, and this is my home."

Cináed breathed out slowly, leaning back against the wall. His stomach sounded its approval of the idea of something to eat, making him painfully aware of the dull ache down there from lack of food. "Thank you... for saving me." he said after a pause during which Anaiya bustled about preparing food and drink.

"It's not me you have to thank, child," she replied, turning to look at him. "The hunters who spotted you on the trail are the ones you owe your life to. If they hadn't passed by when they had..." the woman paused. "Well, I was about to say you'd likely have been buried by the snow and they'd have had not a chance of finding you, but you're a special case there. They say when they found you, you were surrounded by a ring of clear ground. And since you've been here, you've been giving off almost as much heat as my fire."

Cináed nodded bashfully, "Yeah, fire and heat is... my thing." he said lamely, "I was using the heat to stay alive out there."

"A good thing, too!" Anaiya stated as she turned to bring a tray of bread and soup over, complete with a glass of water and mug of tea. "Without that, you might even already have been buried, and no doubt long dead. Now, eat up. Heavens know you need the strength, how long had you been out there? And what's your name, child?"

Taking the food gratefully, Cináed took a long drink of the water before he spoke. "I've been travelling for almost a month now." he said, shaking his head, "I'm from Wing City. I... misjudged the distance, and didn't pack enough supplies. My name is Cináed. Just Cináed, I don't have a last name."

Anaiya fixed Cináed with a disbelieving stare. "Wing City?" she repeated, "What on Terra is a child doing travelling all the way from there to here alone? Especially one who is quite clearly a fool with no concept of how dangerous travelling out here unprepared is."

Cináed reddened slightly with embarrassment. "I'm uhm... I ... this is going to sound ridiculous, but I dreamed that I ought to come here. To a temple."

That seemed to inspire some sort of recognition in Anaiya, because her lips pursed irritably. "I see. The temple." The woman turned and made her way over to a cabinet, grumbling under her breath. "If we start finding clueless children dying out in the blizzard because of some light cursed visions, I am going to have words with them. It's nothing short of irresponsible!"

Blinking, Cináed watched Anaiya as she pulled some vials from the cupboard, chewing on a soup-coated hunk of bread. "Them?" he asked after swallowing.

Anaiya turned back towards him, crossing over to pour a few drops of a liquid into his tea. "Them-" she repeated, interrupting herself to add "Drink that. The Patronus. They're the ones who live in the temple you speak of. It's under a day's journey up the mountain from here. I have no doubt they're responsible for those dreams in some manner. You'd think they'd be smarter than to send dreams of adventure to clueless children and then expect them not to endanger their lives out here."

Cináed continued to flush embarrassedly at the woman's exasperation with his admittedly incredibly stupid mistake. He ate his meal in silence whilst she bustled around the small open-plan cabin. Finally, Anaiya seemed to realise his shame, and sat down on her stool again with a sigh. "Cináed. Don't let my ranting make you feel bad. How old are you?"

"Seventeen." he replied softly, sighing.

Anaiya chuckled to herself. "When I was seventeen, I tried to prove to my father that I was just as capable as him as a hunter. He kept forbidding me to hunt because I was a woman. It just so happened that there was a giant boar roaming the woods near our village that none of the hunters had been able to bring down. So, naturally, you know what prey I went after to make my point."

The woman shook her head, "I was almost gored to death. It broke my bow and sent me fleeing up a tree. If my friend hadn't fetched the other villagers to chase it away, it would have knocked me loose before long and I wouldn't be here today. So on the matter of being a fool of a child, you can safely say that you're doing better than I am. You made an error of judgement. I was just an idiot. We're all fools who think ourselves invincible in our teens." She rolled her eyes.

Cináed smiled at the story. "Thanks. I guess so." he sighed, "It didn't dawn on me that I might actually die until I'd gone too far to turn back."

Anaiya gave the teen a sympathetic smile, "You made it, though. Even if you covered the last few miles in an unconventional manner. Your gear is hanging out to dry just across the room. I automatically removed your clothes since they were soaking - this was before I'd quite cottoned onto the heat aura you have going for you. Still, you needn't worry about your decency. I am a doctor after all, I see more than that on a daily basis."

Cináed leaned back with a sigh, nodding. "I hope I haven't caused too much inconvenience."

"None at all. I have a separate bed for patients who I have to observe overnight, I regularly have 'guests' of this nature." Anaiya rose to her feet, moving back to her medicines and settling down to work on grinding some herbs. She glanced back over her shoulder then, "And I won't have you leaving that bed for another few days. You need to eat well and recover your strength!"

And there Cináed had been about to pull himself fully out of the bed. He supposed that Anaiya was right though. He hadn't eaten that poorly ... well, ever, and he was definitely feeling it. The temple could wait a few more days, after all.

A few days later, and Cináed was feeling a lot better for the care that Anaiya had given him. He'd been able to wash both himself and his clothes, and the steady supply of healthy food and medicine had brought him back from the malnourishment of the last two weeks. After the second day of recovery, he'd been able to start helping her around the hut with simple tasks. At first, Anaiya had tried to get him to stay in bed, but Cináed had insisted he help in some way rather than simply leech off of her kindness.

On the last day of his stay, Anaiya was bustling about the room preparing a bag with various jars of medicine and supplies. Cináed watched from the edge of his bed, finishing off the last of a bowl of soup.

"I'm taking a delivery of medicines and other supplies up to the temple tomorrow," Anaiya said, glancing at him, "You should be healthy enough to join me, so you can find out just what the Patronus want with you."

Cináed looked up with a surprised smile. Having company on the last leg of his journey would be good - and help unseat the nervousness he felt. Now that he knew what waited at the temple - an order of some nature - he was worried about just what they might need of him. He was only seventeen, for all his powers, and the fact he lived alone. He wasn't cocky enough to not be slightly intimidated by the mention of a heroic and ancient order of warriors that wanted him to come to them.

"Anyone in there, Cináed?"

Anaiya's voice cut through his thoughts and he nodded with a slight blush. "Yes! Sorry, I got lost in my own thoughts. That sounds perfect. I'm a little nervous, if I'm honest."

The woman nodded slowly, "Hmm, yes, I could tell. Well, I haven't known the Patronus to turn anyone remotely capable away. There's a lot of emphasis on refining you into the hero you can be, not expecting you to be that already. You're only a child, after all. They are not unreasonable."

Anaiya walked over and swept the tray away from Cináed's lap, moving to the sink to wash it. "Now make sure you're ready to leave. Don't keep me waiting now!"

"Entry 127. I'm going to die. No point in fooling myself and skipping entries as though I've actually been writing them down. This is for me, good ol' Sahlie. End entry."

"Entry 128. The fire is up ahead. It might be a dream, and maybe I'm crazy. I still have a little more left, so don't underestimate me, you damn mountain. End entry."

"Entry 129. Not only am I seeing the fire in front of me in my dreams, but something's up ahead in reality. I think. Hey, is anyone there? I'm fucking dying out here." he shouted with the last of his strength, just outside the village. "I'm tired...sleepy..might be it for me."

"..end entry."

"By the Light... I am going to have words with the Patronus when I get there. Another one of you!"

Having spotted Sahlie in the road, Anaiya cursed an oath under her breath and broke into a jog to approach him. "Cináed, I need your warmth!"

The doctor knelt beside the fallen young man, brushing the thin layer of snow that had formed on him away as Cináed rushed over. She plucked a jar from her medicine bag, tilting the unconscious boy's head upwards to pour the liquid down his throat - a revitalising draft, high in energy and imbued with minor magical properties.

Cináed himself knelt on the other side of the fallen traveller, holding his hands over his form. His palms flickered with golden flame, and the phoenix fire washed over Sahlie. The flames didn't burn, though - instead warming him, revitalising him and imbuing him with energy. "Should we get him back to your hut..?" he said.

Anaiya muttered something under her breath. "Yes. The delivery will have to wait. Help me lift him."

Between the pair of them, they hefted Sahlie's body and carried him back into the city and to Anaiya's home. Citizens in the streets watched and murmured as they passed, no doubt commenting on the arrival of two travelers in a similar state so close together.

Burning? Something was burning. Is that what death was like? Holy shit, maybe hell was real. He was dying, and then he was going to burn in hell. Man, what a shitty way to go. Following a dream up a mountain, then dying right near the objective. If there was a god, then that god was a massive prick.

No, the burning didn't hurt. It was definitely fire, but not the painful kind. It was the fire he had seen in his dreams. His body began to tingle, fighting back the frostbite with the help of the medicine and Cináed's flames.

But sleep was so comfortable. Sahlie didn't want to wake up quite yet. For now, his body rested and recovered, though one thing was certain: he wasn't dead. Not yet, at least.

Before long, Sahlie was laid out on the bed that Cináed had only just vacated. Anaiya was muttering something incomprehensible about irresponsible dream-visions whilst she prepared a bowl of soup, whilst Cináed sat in silence at the traveller's bedside, half watching him and half thinking on what waited at the temple.

At least, he realised now, his visions weren't unique. There were others like him, being called by strange dreams to a journey way beyond what they were prepared for.

Maybe there were some who'd actually planned properly, too.

But the person before Cináed was not one of those, as the unconsciousness and near-death clearly showed. He wanted to rest a bit longer, but the dream had come back. This time, the fire was burning right next to him, making it really hard to stay asleep. Not to mention, there were other noises reaching his ears. Wait, he had ears. So either hell was kind to those who weren't awake yet, or he was alive.

Groaning, Sahlie forced an eye half-open, cautiously peering around. The first thing to enter his sight was the other traveler, Cináed. The trickster closed his eye again, deigning keeping it open too much effort. He mumbled a question. "Hey, am I dead now? Is this hell?"

"At least it's warmer than it was before."

When Sahlie spoke, Cináed was snapped out of his reverie. "Oh! You're awake!" he said, beaming brightly. "No, you're not dead." The teen laughed, "I mean, I know I've been travelling, but I would hope I could still pass for not-a-demon."

Across the room, Anaiya looked over, tipping the soup out into a bowl and placing it on a tray with a plate of bread for when Sahlie was recovered enough to sit. She rolled her eyes at the light-heartedness of the new arrival, mumbling something inaudible about naive children.

"Well, it looks like hell, because you've been burning all up in my subconscious for like a month now. At least, I think you have. I mean burning up literally here. Like, you, or something around you is a fucking fire. In my dreams. Just putting that out there," Sahlie quipped, though his eyes were stil closed. Though, if he was joking, he was healthy.

The smell of food was enough to make him try to get up. This inevitably failed the first six times, though he finally managed to push himself upright and take the tray onto his lap. Though his hand was still shaky picking up the spoon, he was able to force some soup and bread into his stomach.

Now decently energized, Sahlie properly glanced over the two who were in the room with him. Quirking an eyebrow, he asked, "So, uh....where am I, then?"

"You were dreaming of me?" Cináed asked, blinking in surprise. His visions had only been of the temple itself, and ... well, there had been that last vision where he had dreamed of...

He wasn't really sure. Himself, but across an array of different settings across history? What did that even mean?

He returned his thoughts to the traveller before him, though - he'd have plenty of time for self-reflection later. "Well, I suppose that makes some sense... Fire is my thing."

Cináed laughed slightly bashfully, spreading a palm to call forth a flicker of flame from it. He looked up to Anaiya, where she stood over the two of them with her arms folded, deferring to her to explain where they were.

"You're in Windcrest, traveller. A city in the mountains, though no doubt you know that. You'd have been able to see us before you dropped." the doctor said, "My name is Anaiya Thorn. I'm a local doctor, and this is my home. You're lucky to be alive."

Cináed smiled again, "I'm Cináed. I got here the same way as you, funnily enough." he gave Anaiya an embarrassed glance. "You got closer than I did. I collapsed pretty far out, but hunters stumbled across me. Anaiya had just brought me back to health, and then we found you on our way to the temple."

"Uh, yeah. Not in like a sexual way or anything. I mean, if it was, that part wasn't clear. You were a fire. Leading me to - wait, temple? Yeah, that's where you were leading me. Some kinda temple. I dunno why, but hey. I was crazy enough to follow the flames."

"Trust me, I spent a lot of time talking to myself on the way up. I know what I saw. I think."

He tilted his head curiously at the other male. "Oh, your thing, huh?" His eyes widened slightly at the flame in his hand, nodding. "Oh, wow. So I'm not crazy and it wasn't just my brain telling me something crazy. Either that, or this a messed up non-reality."

Sahlie bowed his head in gratitude to Anaiya, noting the person who clearly had saved him. "Thank you very much. I did catch a glimpse of this place, but by then I was almost dead. It's a long climb, and I have no doubt about the latter." He winked at the woman. "I do have pretty good luck though. Thanks again."

"Oh, did I forget to introduce myself? Well, I guess I just woke up," he mused before replying properly. "Well, I'm Sahlie. Yeah, it sounds girly. And I would've collapsed earlier, but thankfully I restocked on stuff before climbing the mountain. Otherwise, I'm sure I would've died."

"So what's this temple thing you're talking about? I mean, I guess it's why I'm here, but I don't even know what it is."

Cináed reddened slightly, "I didn't think-" he began, before shaking his head. "Anyway." he said dismissively, "It's nice to meet you, Sahlie. I'm glad you made it, if it was me that drew you out here, even indirectly."

With regard to the question, he again deferred to Anaiya. The doctor new a lot more than either of the potential heroes about what they were getting themselves into, it seemed.

"The temple is the reason Windcrest was built. It houses the Patronus, an order dedicated to protecting our realm, and those within it, from any threats." she said, turning away to walk back to the cooking area, talking from there. "I don't know the exact history of it, but it is my understanding that a great Patronus champion - a draconian by the name of Taima - kept this place. She was killed here some years ago in the Orsa Wars - something I'm sure they'll educate you on. Now it has been made a headquarters, and if I'm not mistaken Taima herself has been involved from beyond the afterlife."

The doctor shook her head, "A strange affair, but such is the way of the world around heroes."

"Nice to meet you too, though I kinda wish it was under better circumstances," he said, returning the greeting. "You know, less snow. Would've been a lot easier if we could've just met down in the city or something."

When Anaiya began speaking, even the trickster knew to close his mouth and listen carefully. After all, he was already up here, and climbing back down was not a bright prospect. So, he might as well learn why he had climbed up here in the first place.

"Okay, so this town is here because of the temple. Check. Patronus, realm police. check," he followed along verbally, swinging his legs off the bed and attempting to stand. His strength gave out, forcing him back onto his behind. "Great champion called Taima, check. Killed long long ago in a galaxy far, far away. Check. Education...not-so-check, noted. Headquarters, and dead champion draconians helping from the afterlife. Check. What did I get myself into? Unchecked."

"So you're going up to the temple, then?"

Cináed nodded, "We were just on our way when we found you." he said with a half-smirk.

"I'm due to take a delivery to the temple today," Anaiya noted from where she stood, "I'll go myself if you're feeling too weak, but if you're recovered enough within a few hours, you can accompany me."

The woman gestured to Cináed. "Were it not for Cináed's unique brand of fire, I wouldn't be letting you so much as consider leaving for as long as it took him to recover. But since your recovery has been accelerated..."

She shook her head, "No doubt you're both eager to reach your destination. If you feel able enough, I won't force you to wait."

Cináed had listened to Anaiya's explanation already, but she went into a few details here that he hadn't heard before. Taima. That must have been the dragon woman he'd seen in some of his dreams. And he remembered hearing about the Orsa Wars on television from Asta. He was glad the conflict had never reached him there, and he supposed he had the Patronus to thank for that.

Reportedly the death toll on Wing City had been astronomical.

"Well, sorry to interrupt your walking," Sahlie replied, not sounding sorry at all. Of course he enjoyed living.

The trickster nodded confidently, flexing his arm and slapping the bicep before letting both arms drop weakly. "Right as rain! Or I will be in a bit, I think. I'd like to go, since it is the reason I climbed the goddamn mountain to begin with."

At her comment, he tilted his head, peering intently at Cinaed. "Oh, yeah? Well, thanks for burning me back to life, buddy. As I like to say, never look a gift fire in the heart. Or something like that."

To reaffirm his answer, he managed to pound his fist into an open palm. "Anyway, you're right about that. I want to know the reason I forced myself up here. Yes, I'm going to repeat that because I - we, I guess - almost died."

Sahlie, of course, had never head of any of these things before. It was all new to him, and despite his attempts to exude a joking and cheerful exterior, the information was stored for later reference. In any case, he would hopefully find his answers at the temple they would be heading to.

"Entry 130. I made it."

The blizzard had continued to roar throughout their stay in Windcrest, and Cináed was starting to wonder if it ever stopped, or if the peaks up here were constantly being barraged by snow. He supposed it must stop occasionally, or Windcrest would be buried completely.

The path here was steep and slippery, the rocks were jagged and unpredictable. Cináed didn't doubt that even if he'd planned ahead properly and been right as rain by the time he got to the bottom, this particular stretch of the journey would have taxed him to the limit.

They had two assets on their side that most climbers didn't, however. The first was Anaiya. The doctor had made this journey many times before, and she led the way as they ascended towards the temple with slow and steady steps. Occasionally she would call backwards over the howling wind to warn them of an uneven section of path or a sudden drop.

The second was the fact that Cináed was clearing the pathway of hazards as he went. Anaiya was more than capable of navigating the slippery path, with boots designed for just such climbing and plentiful experience, but for the two boys that followed the fact that Cináed's aura of heat melted away the ice and snow to leave far less treacherous rocks behind was invaluable.

Cináed had suggested that he create a sphere of flame to surround all three of them and protect them from the blizzard, but Anaiya had told him that unless he could maintain such a sphere for an entire day, he'd do better to conserve his energy. This was going to be a long climb.

Cináed was warm enough himself, though. So that was nice.

"You alright back there?" he called over the wind to Sahlie, glancing over his shoulder to make sure the other traveller was with them still.

The scowl that was present while climbing had returned to Sahlie's face. The moment he had been exposed to the outside again, said expression had returned and stayed there. "Of course. Climb up the damn mountain, almost die, have to climb up some more. Great. Just...great."

Not to mention, the climb here was indeed harder. There was no doubt that without some intense luck, there would've been no way for him to get up alone. It was a miracle in itself he had managed to get to Windcrest without falling and breaking all his bones before that.

Luckily, having a guide made things much easier. What it didn't do, though, was make things warmer. Though there was a portable heater - a.k.a. Cinead - he was useless as such except for melting ice. Not that there was anything wrong with the person, Sahlie just felt bitter from the frost.

The trickster pulled his various layers closer to his body when he was addressed, rolling his eyes and shouting back, "Yeah, we don't all spit fire like dragons do, thanks. I'm as alright as someone who froze to death once and is still pretty damn cold can be. That is to say, I'm cold."

"But hey, that complaint should be pretty obvious." Or so he thought. Maybe he was complaining a lot, but he felt like he deserved that much. The next person to comment that something like this took balls would likely be shanked with the dulled survival knife.

Their balls would've frozen off by now.

Cináed gave Sahlie an apologetically bashful smile, seemingly embarrassed that he was comfortable whilst the other wasn't. "Sorry!" he called, "You could stand closer and I could try to turn it up a bit?"

The teenager shrugged, before turning his eyes back to the pathway ahead. He didn't want to risk putting his foot somewhere there wasn't pathway while looking backwards. Ahead, Anaiya in her furs was hardly shivering.

He guessed you must get used to the cold spending time up here. Cináed didn't doubt that without his fire he'd probably get chills on an average morning, he was so used to being pleasantly warm all the time.

Making true on his suggestion, Cináed made an effort to increase the heat of his aura so that it might provide more relief from the cold for Sahlie. He couldn't turn things up too high or he'd risk exhausting himself, but at the same time the heat didn't bother him in the slightest. He could sit in a fireplace and only feel a warm tickle.

"Any better?" he called back.

Sahlie waved it off with a sweep of his hand and a grin, laughing at how Cinaed actually felt bad about him being cold. "Don't sweat it. I'm just whining for the sake of it. If cold bothered me before, it sure doesn't really anymore."

With that, he also went to watching his step, remembering his slip on the previous path to the town. Briefly, he sped up to approach the other male, who seemed to be going through some effort to heat up the area around him.

The extra didn't help that much, though that might've been due to the fact that the teen was wearing so many layers that it didn't penetrate them. Either way, Sahlie figured he should express his gratitude. "Hey, that is better," he commented encouragingly, "Thanks!"

"How much farther?" came the call to Anaiya, barely audible over the wind.

He had been hiking, walking, back, forth, up, down a bit. Who designed this mountain? Whatever God it was, they sure must hate Terrans, thought the man in the archaic winter furs. He did look a bit ridiculous, and hand't accounted for so much snow. Lifting one leg high in the air and shaking it, the man maneuvered his way about by then plunging that boot seemingly anywhere back into the snow, and repeat.

This whole situation was ridiculous.

To make it more ridiculous, if that were even possible, Casren had started hearing voices. Who else could possibly be out here in the storm, besides nobody? The vampire grumbled to himself, thankful he hadn't died yet, and actually feeling the cold.

But voices? They're getting louder, he nearly groaned. He was exhausted, and surely, these voices...They were the ultimate sign. But there were more than one, and they were only coming from one side of his head?

Casren looked up and faced the wind.
There.
Over there.
A color.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay

A people?

He kicked it into hyper-drive, heading for them slightly downhill and from a mild distance, as fast as he could given the conditions, cloak fluttering in the wind.

"It's a way yet," was Anaiya's reply, muffled by the wind but audible thanks to her strong voice. "But if it weren't for this blizzard, the temple would be in sight by now. A long way up, but not too far along. We've plenty of zig-zagging to do yet."

Cináed spared a moment to cast a smile back at Sahlie as he expressed his gratitude, "Just don't go collapsing again," he said, "I can't imagine you're quite one-hundred percent after just a few hours of rest, even with..." he waved a hand vaguely, "... my fire thingy."

Anaiya halted, then, and Cináed almost walked into her since he was looking backwards at Sahlie. He peered around her to see why she had stopped, to pick out a figure ahead.

Anaiya raised an eyebrow, lifting a hand in greeting. "Hail! Are you from the Temple, or to it, traveller?" she called, not recognising him as any of the Patronus she had seen (though he could still have been one of the newer arrivals).

What?

The figure, man, Casren, waved back, getting closer. It was useless responding from this distance. He had only heard half of what they said, and it was muffled. They mentioned temple, he picked that out right away, which is perhaps why he picked up the pace. The rest, harobus? Padodis? What the hell had they said? Either way, they had responded. Casren focused straight ahead, sticking his feet anywhere and everywhere.

Indeed, he wasn't looking when suddenly the man pitched out of sight into the white abyss of snow.

"So close, but not close enough," he mumbled to himself, frowning. "Well, that's annoying. It's always like that, isn't it?" With a smile, Sahlie cheerfully answered, "Naw, I'm one-eighty percent here. Like a train. Always moving forward and all that. Though your...fire thingy was nice. That didn't sound weird at all."

The sudden pause, and he jerked to a stop, almost chain-reaction-bumping into Cinaed. "I bet those wolves I kept talking about will decide to make an appearance right now." However, what appeared wasn't wolves.

It was a humanoid figure. And then it wasn't. Wasn't there, that is. "Uh...is it just me or did that person-thing disappear?"

"Light!" Anaiya's heart skipped a beat as the man disappeared, and she broke into motion, hurrying forwards at as quick a pace as she could safely manage to reach where he had fallen from.

Cináed exchanged a glance with Sahlie before he took off after her. The doctor stopped once she could take a look over the edge to try and ascertain whether the man was gone for good, or if there was something that could be done.

Cináed came up behind her, "Can you see him?" he asked, crouching down to stick his head over the edge and look himself.

Casren had fallen into an extremely wide, not exactly shallow, pit.

It was a legitimate bowl dusted with snow, smooth and made of probably ice. It was most likely a crater pit from a small meteor long ago. A trail from where Casren had slid down on the far side indicated...A tumble.

The man sat at the bottom, lolling back and forth, trying to sit up in his puffy furs and coats. If they listened, he was cursing. Finally, he sat up, and waved both arms.

I'm Alright!

He called up, covered in snow. Looking around, he realized that he was alright, but...Well, a bit stuck. This was a big hole. Pit. Thing.