Misbegotten world

Chapter 3: Queen of Death

The Queen of Death earned her title when she lost her sons and consort in battle. Her love for them was unconditional; she cherished her sons in a way that ensured they never felt unloved, and her affection for her consort, a knight from Sofnar, was boundless. Together, they journeyed north to settle in the harsh snows of the North, seeking refuge from the wildfires of war spreading across the realm of Sajar.

Their cabin, large enough to house five, stood resilient against the unforgiving elements. They had horses for hunting expeditions, and their bounty often sustained them for weeks, sometimes months. Life, though harsh, was everything they had expected. The snow was relentless, but it was coupled with the blessing of abundant game to hunt.

Their favored prey was the Giant Antlers, mystical creatures born of magical ancestry. Her sons delighted in hunting them for their majestic horns, while her consort relished the tender meat they provided. A single Giant Antler could feed them for months, making each hunt a treasured event. They were a happy, isolated family, untouched by the outside world, until the day the grey snow people started to appear.

The grey snows appeared more frequently. Over the passing days, they finally made contact, no longer content with observing from a distance. Communication was a challenge, their native tongue clashing with the Sofnar language. Her consort resorted to gestures, managing to convey basic ideas, though some signs were hard to interpret for both parties.

The grey snows made it clear that their cabin stood on their territory and that they were not welcome unless they engaged in trade. During their years of seclusion in the North, the knight spent much of his time forging armor, weapons, and tools from metal scavenged from the region's ruins. Some armor was fashioned from dragon scales, while others were not. Though most of his weapon attempts were failures, he did not discard them, saving them to teach his sons the swordsmanship of a Sofnar knight.

When he realized the grey snows sought trade and issued a veiled threat, he thought of the pieces he had forged. He showed them his collection of armor and weapons. The grey snows agreed to a trade: two sets of armor and six swords every "fourteen moons."

Initially, he struggled to understand the grey snow chieftain's gesture of pointing to the sky and counting to fourteen on his fingers. Once he grasped the meaning, he acknowledged the terms but was interrupted by a grey warrior brandishing an axe and speaking in their harsh tongue. Recognizing the threat, he agreed to craft a single set of armor and three weapons.

Realizing he could not gather enough metal or dragon scales from the ruins on his own, the grey snows offered to supply him with the necessary materials. In return, he was to make two sets of armor and six weapons.

Being the only capable fighter in his family, with his sons just reaching early adulthood at fifteen, he could not risk their lives. Reluctantly, he agreed to the terms imposed by the fifteen grey snows who threatened him. A turning point in his life had begun.