Raising Wonders

Chapter 12: Upside Down (Part 1)

Chapter 12: Upside Down

For an entire week Toren was blanketed in storms and snow. It was as if the chaos of the festival and the lives that were taken were only the beginning of a turbulent time to come. The people worked overtime to clear the snow, only for the next wave to come. If it were not for the new adventurers, many thought that the city would have been swept away beneath a sea of white. Despite it all, a single guard stood by the eastern gate. His red hair bright against the white around him.

"Ron, come back inside for the One's sake!" a fellow guard braved the cold and gripped his arm. "Your strong but even this is madness. What happened to Tarken wasn't your fault."

"Tarken died because of my neglect and despite it all he was able to see his wish come true." Ron grit his teeth, "Compared to him, I can only stand here waiting."

"No one will come! No one ever comes in Winter let alone in this damn blizzard. Stop punishing yourself."

"I wasn't even there when he died! If I had just woken earlier, then perhaps I could have saved him."

His fellow guard sighed deeply, "Fine, I've heard enough of your pitiful moping. Just don't die."

Ron said nothing in return and simply weathered the snow. Though he had only reached the Advanced level of martial arts and could use Aura, he was a far stretch from being an Expert. The reason he was unharmed from the chill however was because of his attribute. Heat and warmth. In a city near frozen for large chunks of time, his attribute had saved his life since he was young. There were hundreds of thousands who desired to find their attribute, most far stronger than him. Yet somehow Ron had stumbled upon it at an early age after a particularly cold winter. Back then it had saved his life, and just like then, though it could save himself, it couldn't save his friends.

The chilling wind and snow melted away as it touched his skin. The brief stints of bitter cold stabbing into him somehow made him feel more alive. It was then that Ron started to notice something beyond the flying snow. A shadow was approaching. He drew his sword immediately and pumped his body with Aura. Unlike an Expert he couldn't discharge it from his blade, but the strengthening of his muscles was enough to slay beasts twice his size. His fellow guard was right, no one would brave this snow. Which meant the shadow belonged to something else. A monster. When the Archon of Winter attacked those years ago, the first sign were its ice beasts that came during blizzards.

"Come at me!" Ron yelled into the chaos of wind and snow. This was his job. To protect the Eastern Gate. His expectations however weren't met as instead the shadow morphed into a figure wrapped in a thick jacket. Bundled up and carrying an absurdly large bag the person reached the gate and groaned loudly.

"Fucking finally!" the feminine voice cursed. "This is Toren right?"

Ron finally snapped back into the right mind, "Y-yes it is. What brings you here? Come in first, it must be freezing."

The women followed him as she was ushered into the gate room to the shock and surprise of the other guards.

"Thank you kind sir," she smiled and in the warmth and security of the stone walls took off her jacket. A tight fitting corset and neat shirt, paired with several blades revealed itself. "Sorry about the daggers, don't know what you'll meet on the road." She undid her cap and let her hair fall into a long black ponytail.

"Ahem," Ron cleared his throat for her attention. "Ms, we don't usually have travellers at this time. Why have you come?"

"I'm here to see my niece and brother in law," the Handler smiled brightly.