𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐄𝐑𝐃𝐀𝐒 {spirit animals}

𝟦. Bird of Fire, Bird of the Sea

~~~Part 1: Bird of the Sea~~~

A cold breeze brushed against Caspian's face as he scaled the Artican Glacier. It was mid-spring, a time where trees and florals would be blossoming in the rest of Erdas. In the snow-capped mountains of Artica, permafrost still covered the ground, as well as the thin layer of white that remained from the previous days snowstorm.

        He gritted his teeth, and in one final effort pulled himself up to the top. Breathing hard, Caspian stood up, and the tip of the tall glacier, standing over the snow-covered land of Artica.

        He was on the top of the world, where no one could ever stop him. It was just him, the wind, and the blazing sun high in the sky.

        Caspian stood there for a while, enjoying the few. From here, he could make out the Artican villages down below, and frozen, unmoving rivers. He looked into the distance, spotting a herd of wild caribou, antlers covered in sheets of white.

And even further into the horizon, was the rest of Erdas. The Erdas that always assumed Artica was a cold, heartless place, where survival was near impossible. But looking down at the villages of people and arctic eagles that soared in the distance, Caspian knew they'd never learn just how much life blossomed in the heart of the north.

        He stood with his back facing the north, the sound of the whispering wind blowing past him, sunlight seeping through him. It was an amazing feeling of limitless freedom. From the high altitude here, it was like time itself had stopped. As if he could just stay here forever, until the wind carried him away towards wherever the currents may go.

        "Quite the view, isn't it?" Caspian turned around and smiled as he saw Flynn Delmar pull himself atop the peak, walking up to his son.

        "Hey dad," He said, "Come to join me at last?"

        Caspian's father stood next to him, also enjoying the view from the mountaintops. He had clearly just returned from a hunt, his knives still in hand and a dead arctic hare at his belt.

        "So, how long are you staying here for? I've got to get this back to your mother, she's going to making lunch soon," Flynn said as he made a move to start descending the glacier.

        "Yeah, I'm coming with you," He followed his father down the tall mountain of snow, carefully descending until they were safely on the ground. Together, father and son headed for home.

~~~*~~~*~~~

"Cas, Flynn, you're back early today. No dangerous dog-sledding into deadly icebergs today?" Marina smiled at her son as he walked through the door. She was referring to a few days ago, when Caspian and Flynn had went on a dog-sledding adventure together, until.... Well, long story short they ended up on a floating iceberg in the middle of the ocean.

        Marina was a healer in Artica, tending to both injuries and common illness. In this particular region, sickness due to malnutrition and the cold were common, so Caspian figured he ought to consider it lucky that he and his brother were born with a hunter for a father and a healer for a mother.

        "Has anyone here seen Harper?" Marina asked, as she arranged bottles of antidotes on the table. "He left this morning with a few of the dogs, hasn't come back yet."

        "Ah, you know what Harper's like," Flynn responded, "He probably got caught up counting the fish in a nearby river, he'll be back the moment food's ready,"

        He was probably right, Caspian's younger brother was always getting distracted, never getting home when he said he would, but as always, Marina wasn't convinced.