A love forged in exile

Chapter 11: Shadows of the Past

The fire crackled in the quiet stillness of the igloo, casting flickering light on the rough walls of snow and stone. Harek sat cross-legged near the flames, his face illuminated by the orange glow. His weathered hands worked methodically, sharpening a long, curved blade, the steel catching the firelight as it moved under his practiced touch. He hadn't said much after introducing himself, only muttering about needing to "check the perimeter" soon, leaving Kaelin and Tarin to wonder who this man truly was.

Tarin, huddled under one of the thick fur blankets, watched Harek closely. She could sense something off about him-something more than the mere survivalist facade he wore. The man was more than just a hardened survivor of the frozen wilderness. His movements were precise, too practiced for someone who was simply trying to stay alive in this desolate place. There was a tension in the air, an undercurrent of unspoken history that lingered between them.

Kaelin, leaning against the wall, spoke first. "You said you've lived here for a long time. How long?"

Harek glanced up, his sharp eyes meeting Kaelin's. "Long enough to know this land. Long enough to have seen things no one else has survived to speak of." He paused, his lips curling into a faint, grim smile. "Too long, perhaps."

Tarin leaned forward slightly, intrigued by the cryptic tone. "And you used to be... different, didn't you? I can sense it."

Harek's hand froze for a moment on the blade before he resumed sharpening it. "You're perceptive, girl. I'll give you that." He sighed and set the blade aside, rubbing a hand through his grizzled beard as if deciding whether to tell them more.

"I wasn't always just a man living in the snow, if that's what you mean. I used to be part of something larger. Something powerful."

Kaelin narrowed his eyes. "The Umbral Hunters?"

Harek's jaw tightened at the mention of the name. "So, you've heard of us. Not many still speak of the order. But yes... I was once an Umbral Hunter. One of the best, if I might say. We were the ones tasked with hunting down the Forsaken, dealing with the darker things that the world wanted to forget."

Tarin's eyes widened. "The Forsaken? You fought them?"

Harek nodded slowly. "Fought them, killed them... for a time, at least. But things changed. The world grew darker, and the cold... well, it did something to me. To my shard." He tapped his chest lightly, as if reminding himself of the empty space where the shard's power once flowed.

Kaelin leaned forward, curiosity burning in his gaze. "Your shard? You mean the one all Umbral Hunters have?"

Harek's face hardened. "Had. It's not what it used to be. The shard of Umbra is what gave us our power-strength beyond that of mortal men, heightened senses, and slowed our aging to the point of near immortality. But here..." He gestured vaguely to the snow outside. "This place... it saps magic. It freezes it in place. The cold here isn't natural. It's infused with something dark. Something older than even the Forsaken. It froze the magic in my shard, left me with nothing but the memories of what I was."

Tarin's breath caught. "But that means-you're aging now, aren't you?"

Harek let out a humorless chuckle. "Aye. And it's catching up to me fast. The years I didn't feel before, they're all piling on at once now. This place keeps me alive for now, but it's only a matter of time before I join the snow."

Kaelin clenched his fists. The thought of someone once so powerful being reduced to this-to a life of survival, with the inevitability of death creeping closer-hit him harder than he expected. It reminded him too much of his own fears, his own helplessness in the face of everything he and Tarin had faced so far.

"What happened?" Kaelin asked, his voice quieter now. "How did you end up here?"

Harek's gaze became distant, as though he were looking through time rather than across the fire. "There was a mission. Years ago, my order sent me and a few others to track down a particularly powerful Forsaken. It was said to have retreated to the north, beyond the reach of the living world. We followed it here, into these frozen wastes. But something happened. Something none of us expected. The cold itself seemed to fight against us."

Tarin and Kaelin exchanged a glance, hanging on his every word.

"The cold was alive, or at least... it felt like it. Our magic began to fail. Our shards... they froze. One by one, my comrades fell. Killed by the beasts that had adapted to the cold, or by the Forsaken itself. I was the only one who survived. Barely. The shard in my chest saved me from death, but not from this."

He gestured to his surroundings. "I've been here ever since, living on the edge of the world, fighting off the creatures that roam this land, knowing that someday, I'll die here. That's the fate of the hunter, I suppose."

The silence that followed was heavy, filled with the weight of Harek's confession.

"You don't have to stay here forever," Kaelin said after a long pause. "We're trying to stop something bigger than just the Forsaken. If we can find a way out of here, you can come with us."

Harek smiled, though it was a sad, tired expression. "Generous offer, boy. But there's no leaving this place. The magic here... it's too strong. It holds me here. Maybe it holds you, too. But I'll help you if I can. I owe that much to the world, even if it no longer remembers me."

Tarin, who had remained silent for a while, finally spoke up. "You said this cold is more than just natural. Could it be connected to the Forsaken we're trying to stop? Maybe it's part of the same magic?"

Harek nodded slowly. "Could be. This land is full of old magic, twisted and corrupted by time. The Forsaken have always sought power in places like this-places that the world has forgotten, where dark magic festers. If your enemy is tied to that kind of power, then yes, you're in the right place."

Kaelin sighed, leaning back against the wall. "So what do we do? How do we survive out there?"

Harek rose from his seat by the fire, retrieving his blade and strapping it to his side. "You rest for now. Tomorrow, I'll show you how to fight the cold and the creatures that live in it. If you're going to have any chance of stopping the Forsaken, you'll need to learn how to survive here first."

With that, Harek moved toward the igloo's entrance. "I'll keep watch. Sleep while you can. You'll need your strength."

As Harek stepped out into the freezing night, Kaelin and Tarin exchanged a glance, both realizing the gravity of the situation. The frozen wastes were far more dangerous than they had imagined, and the cold magic that had stolen Harek's power could just as easily take theirs.

But for now, they had a guide-one who had survived these lands for longer than any mortal man should have. And that, at least, was something to hold onto.