The Angel of Frost

IX.

A blade of sorrow pierced the rugged farmer's heart as he pushed down screams that threatened to escape.

With his craggy features complemented by topaz eyes and sandy hair, Jonah's looks seemed to be set in granite. His stony face hid a warm and jolly demeanor that endeared him to his wife. But now, he felt that the warmth in him was being chilled by the snow that howled outside his door.

He'd been a humble farmer, making a living for his family on the fertile plains of Asraca, until the sudden winter hit.

It came like a thief in the night, and earlier he had woken up to find his entire family shivering around the fireplace and his field covered in black snow.

Now, outside, he stared at the ground that reminded him of coal. Snow last winter, and the winter before that, had been white. Now, in the middle of the season when leaves were supposed to turn orange and fall to the ground, winter had come.

It had come too early. And the entire nation of Asraca was unprepared for the cold.

Even worse, the sun was blocked out by clouds as black as the snow. Sunlight never managed to peek through the clouds, and the entire day was as dark as night.

It was ironic, how he himself had decided to settle in the warmer part of Asraca just to avoid experiencing the very winter that plagued him and his family right now.

His crops perished instantly. And along with the crops, their food went. Along with money for wood for the fireplace.

They were all doomed.

Later, he had managed to get back to his senses and start rationing the little food they had left when a knight on a horse trotted through the village.

"Hear ye, hear ye, citizens of Asraca! In light of current events, our king has decreed that all shall meet in their respected town halls at once tonight to discuss rationing. Rest assured, our archmages will be able to clear the ice by morning tomorrow. Do not fear!"

After the knight had finished his speech, he galloped towards the next village.

Meet in the town hall, John thought. He was a pessimist by nature, but if his family was to survive this catastrophe, he had to take all of them there. A spark of hope ignited in his heart.

*

All of them were weary and tired from traveling in hostile conditions, but finally, the townspeople from the other surrounding villages, along with Jonah and his family, reached the town hall, which sat upon a hill.

As he stared at the tall walls of their destination, he found himself longing for warmer times. Grouped around the foot of the hill, he knew that they looked like pilgrims at the end of a long journey.

A horn sounded, and the gates of the town hall-which were fortified like a fortress for reasons unknown to him-opened to let them enter.

When the last of them went through the gates, the horn sounded again, and they were closed. John noticed that the number of archers stationed at the ramparts had tripled.

What were they defending the hall from? Surely all of the monsters that plagued Asraca would have frozen in the sudden winter. A creature that warranted triple the defenders...it was too ghastly to think about.