A Winter's Eclipse, Prologue

The wind howled over the frozen wastes as the guardian finished her nightly patrol and made her way back to the fortress. Wading through knee deep snow and feeling the wind knife deep into her bones despite the heavy furs she wore, the poor girl could only curse angrily at her ironic fate. She was an ice witch, stuck in the arctic for her entire life, and she deeply hated the cold.

She kicked open the front door. “I’m back,” she announced glumly, stomping hard to get rid of the snow on her. The fortress was old and had enough holes in it that she decided to keep her furs on, as did the three men before her. They were lazily sitting in front of a large fire, playing a cardgame of some kind. “I’m back,” she announced louder. “Nothing new to report…there never is.”

The tallest of the three lazily waved a hand. “Good to hear. Go check on the prisoner.”

The witch growled at him. “Why doesn’t one of you do it?”

“We’re busy,” the tallest said, shuffling his hand a bit. “They’re losing, and I’m winning.” He grinned as the other two groaned in mock anger.

“Why don’t you get off you’re a** for once, Malachi?” She suggested. “Maybe actually do something useful for once as our leader ?”

Malachi snorted, still not looking up. “Just go check the ice cell out before I have you go back on patrol, Raine,” he said, throwing a card down and eliciting another groan from the other two.

Raine held back an angry retort and stormed away down the hall, past ruined rooms and tattered paintings, heading deeper into the fortress. The building had stood hundreds of years, battling both nature and evil in turn. Once, in it’s glory days, repairs would’ve been a normal occurrence. Now, however, the current guardians grew lax in their care and let it deteriorate. It was now only a fraction of what it once was, a crumbling castle deep in the frozen wastes of the Arctic, hidden from the modern day world by lingering magic and that blunt fact that nobody wanted to come out here. All to keep one creature safely hidden away.

Raine finally came to the “cell”. Far from a cramped space with iron bars, the room was enormous and open, stretching high into the air. In the center of this rose a large island of ice, glinting in the sun that managed to find it’s way in through cracks. Within the ice was a dark figure, as large as a battleship, blurred by the frozen water.

Raine couldn’t help but notice how much the ice had shrunk over the years. Before, it had spread to each wall and seemed ready to burst out at any moment. Now, there was easily enough room for Raine to circle around, looking at it. Deep cracks were starting to form in the icy prison that needed to be repaired.  If she bothered to tell Malachi, that was. He was a lazy bastard and always sent her to check on the prison for him. Their leader still assumed it was secure, not knowing just how fragile it was.

Raine completed her circuit of the ice and rested her forehead on it, waiting.

After a minute of silence, a voice whispered into her head. Hello, Raine.

She shivered as she always did. “I’m sorry I’m late. The patrol took longer than usual.”

It is alright , the voice whispered. I am just glad to see you again, before it is time.

Raine wasn’t surprised, but she still felt her heartrate go up. “You’re almost free?”

The world has warmed up, and my prison has shrunken. I will not remain here, but I cannot survive the wastes for long. The cold saps my strength.

“You told me that,” she whispered. “I don’t like the cold either.”

Raine…have you given another though to my suggestion?

Raine flushed, feeling too warm in her furs all of a sudden. “I have…..but your plan is almost a paradox. You hate the cold….but you want to start another ice age again.”

This world is imperfect….the people are flawed…..you have seen this, Raine. Memories flashed through Raine’s mind. All the wars she read about, all the people who died of hypothermia up here, all the shouting from Malachi when she tried to take a break. I will cleanse this world with ice, and let it be reborn in the sun. The voice was getting stronger, starting to shake the walls. I cannot do it alone. I need the power to survive this cold and master it. Join with me, Raine….let us make this world pure.

Raine was quiet for a long time. “…..what do you need of me?”

I will break out of my prison. Seal the doors, so that none may enter until it is too late.

Raine turned and raised a palm up, blowing gently. A stream of ice blew against the door, freezing it solid in seconds. “Alright…hurry.”

Witness, Raine, my first move to cleanse this world! The whole room began to shake violently, throwing Raine off her feet. The deep cracks she had noticed before spread quickly, causing large chunks of ice to fall and shatter on the ground. The right side seemed to explode outward and a large webbed foot smashed into the ground. Raine could watch, enchanted, as three more feet burst forth.The center of the icy monolith shuddered violently before splitting and cracking into pieces, revealing the prisoner’s form at last.

He was enormous. Almost frog-like in appearance, jagged spire ran down his back and along the tops of his eyelids. He was completely black except for the two red lines running down back. Each of his twos ended in a pointed talon, gripping tightly into the earth. Two eyes, as blue as the ocean, turned to look down at Raine. The witch could only stare back, feeling a strange excitement while ignoring the voices at the frozen door. “You’re…..beautiful.”

The ancient one lowered his head, getting a mere foot away from her. “Raine,” it rumbled, shaking the room. “Join with me, and I will use your power. You will never feel the cold again. You shall feel only the warmth of my joy.”

Raine distantly heard Malachi practically shrieking behind the door, but it was meaningless to her. She slowly raised a hand and touched the being. “My power…is your’s.”

A glow erupted from the meeting place, blinding Raine. She felt no fear, however. All she felt was a warmth she had never known until now.

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Malachi summoned his magic and hurled it into the door. The frozen barrier finally gave way and exploded inward into the room, followed by the leader and his two comrades. The room was filled with mist, making it hard to see.

“Raine!” Malachi screamed. “What is happening!?”

“Don’t worry, brother,” a voice answered. It was Raine’s, but it also….wasn’t. There was a deep tremor behind the words, as if she was shaking the world itself. The mist cleared to reveal a nightmare; the ancient beast was free of his prison and Raine was sitting on his head.

“Raine!?”

The witch chuckled. “Yes, brother?”

“What are you doing!?” Malachi raised his hands, trying to ignore the trembling. “Get off that monster, so we can seal it!”

“I’m afraid I might have trouble with that.” She gestured to her body and Malachi realized with horror that only her upper half could be seen. Her lower half appeared to be inside the monster!

“Raine,” he whispered, suddenly feeling very afraid. “What have you done?”

Raine smiled and raised a hand. “Taken the first step to save this world.”