Another Middle

✴︎

We found ourselves in the great northern hinterlands close to the very edge of the firmament where all manner of strangeness slinked in through the hazy gaps in the walls of our world.

In the forest clearing where we set up camp, a great campfire roared and crackled and poured out warmth. I could never tell if the fires we made burned brighter in the presence of Ithas, or if my mind simply saw what it wanted to believe. I had awoken in the deepest part of the night, Aamon and Isla were fast asleep next to me. I was quite alert and guessed there would be no more sleep for me now, but perhaps there was a chance I could lure back sweet tiredness if I watched the fire for a little. I moved closer to the great wellspring of warmth and peered into the dancing flames. I watched for a while. Eventually my eyes grew bored and dry, and they began to drift to all that the fire’s light illuminated.

Isla had performed a spell on the fire to keep all manner of danger from our campsite. Ordinarily one douses the fire before rest, lest they draw unwanted attention, but her magic allowed us to sleep in the comfort of its warmth. As my eyes wandered, I noticed something strange. At first I thought it a trick of the light, but no. The far side of the clearing was shrouded from view by a wall of darkness, untouched by the firelight. Fear came over me. Nothing should have been able to touch Isla’s magic without her knowing. Perhaps a monster, a demon, or a mage of great skill. I felt no danger upon me, yet that is never a certainty. Many enemies know how to hide their presence.

I rose as quietly as I could, the crackle of the fire covering my steps, and walked into the snow beyond the glowing blaze and into the darkness. To my surprise, the warmth of the flames clung to me even as I passed into the dark. Beyond the veil, it was no abyss, only a moonless sky. A little ahead I saw a figure. The starlight was enough to show me it was Ithas, lying face up in the snow.