The blisters on your feet stung as you climbed even higher. But this was no place for weakness or rest. So you pushed yourself forward, right leg, then left arm. The ice pick embedded itself hard and fast into the frozen wall. Your muscles ached, but it was too late now; you didn't look down. The climb up the wall was a familiar one by now, and you were not foolish enough to risk falling just to look at the ever-expanding world below. The wind was harsh and sharp; it eluded your lungs with every breath. Still, you secured your pick and climbed another step higher. The cold, the aches, the blistersâit would all be worth it in the end. Raiding the villages south of the wall was easy. The Southerners, though they may call themselves northerners, were weak.
Their lives were too easy; no frost to take their babies, nor beasts to take their lives. They lived sweet lives, lives that could easily be taken. The only thing to worry about were the crows; the majority weren't particularly skilled, but their steel weapons and armour made them a pain in the arse to kill. But that didn't stop you before. A soft yell pierced your ears.
Your leader, Gurnard's gruff voice, could only be faintly heard against the incessant wailing of the wind. Your dry eyes turned upward; he was at the top. The tired muscles attached to your bones were filled with new life. You pushed yourself forward with a swing; further and further, higher and higher, you went. Your feet stung, and your calves ached, but the end was near. You stole the winter air and plunged it into your lungs with each breath. The edge of the wall came alive with sweat and blood as you dug your gloved fingers into the ice. Gurnard pulled you up onto the top of the wall by your armpits, like a babe reborn from ice and snow. You slid onto the top of the wall. The pounding of your heart didn't cease. You had done it yet again; you had climbed the wall.
"Hog! Get back here; we need to pull up Ygla and Vigyn."
The fibres in your forearms pushed your torso up and off the snow-capped wall. You stood up to your feet, tall and strong, and reached to take hold of the woven rope. The weight of your body leaned back as you pulled Ygla upward. This was only her second raid, while this would be your seventh. The grunts of Gurnard reminded you that this was his thirteenth raid. His stocky arms, along with your own pulled-up Ygla, despite his experience in raiding, frostbitten sweat dripped from the brown spurts of hair that came out of his hood. With all your force, Ygla was brought onto the top of the wall. She panted like a dog as your gloved hands grabbed her by the arms and slid her out of the way.
Despite how tired you were, how much your muscles ached, and how your skin blistered, you took the rope back into your calloused hands. Vigyn was easier to pull up than Ygla; the twelve-year-old was light and quick with his climbing.
When he was safely brought onto the top of the wall, you were finally allowed to sit. The four of you panted and sweated like dogs as you watched the others in your raiding group climb to the top. Eight groups of four had started the journey together. Only two groups had all their members. Luckily for Ygla and Vigyn, they were placed with very experienced raiders. You and Gurnard.
Now came the hard part: the crows. If all went to plan, you wouldn't see much of the kneelers in black. The sun was beginning to rest, just as planned; everyone would climb down under the thick blanket of night. Then the pillaging would begin.
Pink streaks soon ran through the grey sky. The other raiders soon gathered around the four of you as Gurnard began to speak
"We have to secure the hooks while there is still light; once darkness falls, we climb down the wall. Then we take those southerners for all they have!" His guttural voice bellowed out as a grin spread across his wrinkled face.
Soon, the twenty-one of you who survived the climb secured the hooks. Now you've waited for nightfall. You rested against the snow-covered wall behind you. It was a short little thing to stop the crows from falling off the edge. As much as you wanted to rest fully, you couldn't; you were in the south now, and death lingered around every corner for people like you.
Ygla's fur-covered body slumped against yours. Immediately, you push her off of you with a ram of your shoulder. The fourteen-year-old wined, but moved over none the less. Vigyn sat across from you, picking at the seams of his gloves. He let out a small cry as you kicked him in the shin.
"What is it?" You asked. You didn't particularly care, but none of you had any room for weakness or fear. Not when raiding.
Vigyn's blue eyes looked at yours as he cradled his shin. He looked first to the left, then to the right.
"Where are the crows?" His words made everyone's eyes snap towards the boy.
"They have been dwindling by the day; not even the Nightfort holds any men now," Gurnard said.
"Just think of it; soon the crows will be nothing but ash and bone." A grin spreads across your face at the thought.
The familiar haze came as she stuck her needle into the embroidered fabric. This one was strong; she could feel it. She had, on some level, always seen beyond what others could. It came out of her in spurts, in words and rhymes, but from time to time her eyes would lose focus, and she could see it, not in passing glimpses but fully. Her eyelids fluttered as smoke came into view. Ice and snow
Nothing but ice and snow, There was no fire to light the way. It was too weak to survive the frost. The visions cleared, and as always, Haelena found herself muttering something. The words took a moment to find her ears, but when they did, she heard this.
"The blaze below cannot survive the coming snow."
