War of Dawn

Chapter 21: White Eyes

Alexandra's emergency dispatch has her, Hilda and Owen, sent to the far distant northeastern region, to Outpost #63. Stepping out of Wally's portal, the fort is rather different from those Hilda has seen before.

Instead of the usual stone and wood construction, the entire place is made out of cast dark iron, giving it quite the sinister look. Tall towers flank each side of the ramparts, the flames set at their tops doubling as raging eyes and illuminating the areas outside. Spikes cover the tall outer walls, poised to skewer anything that dares get too close – as shown by a couple of distracted birds that met an untimely end on their tips. Said walls are further reinforced by Alterium plates, adding a belt of crisscrossing reddish brown lines through one end to the other.

Wide, bowl braziers lay spread within and at the ramparts, covering the structures' black contours in orange lights that dance against the slight wind. The vivid red tents and banners of the Corps that hang from the buildings contrast heavily with the somber colors around.

That being said, it is the polar night period so "somber" is the appropriate way to describe things. Despite it still being in the afternoon, it is dark as though they're working in the late hours of the night. The Northern Reaches will see no sunlight for about another month. The limited visibility means the outposts are more staffed than usual – the ramparts display two Sensors, hard at work, alongside a dozen other guards. The Valnr tend to be more brazen under the perpetual darkness, Ryouma had told Hilda.

"I'll speak to the outpost's leader," Alexandra says after commanding the local Scions, who stood in firm salute, to stand at ease. "Wait for me by the gate, yes?"

As the general sets off towards the large tent in the middle of the construction, Hilda is quite impressed at this unusual outpost, so sturdy and imposing. It's a bit evil looking to her tastes but, considering where they are, she can hazard a guess why. Owen, for once, shows just as much amusement as her, as he takes glances at the snow-covered ground below.

"What is this earth...?" he wonders aloud.

"Ooh, you don't know?" Hilda gasps, bearing a big smile, "I actually get to be the one explaining stuff?"

Owen chuckles, and offers her a joking bow. "Please do... There is a first time for everything, after all."

"Oh, you're so funny I forgot to laugh, sir," Hilda scoffs, mimicking his accent. "Any northerner has at least heard of this place: the northeastern 'Black-Hearted Road'." 

Crouching on the ground, she beckons Owen to take a closer look. Upon inspection, he sees that this isn't actually earth but, rather, all rock. Barring a few spots of smooth, black stone, most is craggy, light gray colored rocks, displaying a swerving pattern at its surface as though it was bent and layered upon itself. This terrain covers the entirety of the outpost's floor and more. The area within the building itself has been flattened but, looking out the gate, one can see that it spreads far and wide in quite the misshapen, cracked form due to its myriad layers.

Hilda yanks off a jutting mass of black stone and tosses it to Owen. "Back in the War of Twilight, when the Valnr first showed up, they needed a quick way out the Reaches and into the northeastern Europe. The story goes they conjured a bunch of volcanoes across the ocean; the lava cooled off and made this path all the way into Russia. Folks at Litnir said it is mostly rhyolite with some obsidian, so it's sturdy enough."

"A Valnr-made path, huh?" he takes a look at the razor sharp rock, ebon as the sky above them. "I was wondering why the non-standard outpost but I think I understand now.

"Hm. I guess this was an enclave that we decided to keep around to use." Hilda shrugs.

"We took it by the end of the last war, I believe, when we were cornering the Valnr in the Northern Reaches. #63 is one of our oldest ones."