The motors of Sinovan’s drift-wagon hummed dully in the silence of the night. Segran had been sedated and was resting within the hovering carriage, which slowly followed behind Zoh’va and Sinovan. Having lived in the woods for as long as he could remember, Sinovan had learnt to treat, dress, and stitch wounds. He had done a good job of taking care of his brother and had provided the necessary aid to help him survive till they reached an Emergency Care Centre at Aeroz. He had carefully plucked out the crystals lining the gash on Segran’s chest and placed them in a box, which he would hand over to the office of the Knights of Evalon upon reaching Aeroz for further investigation.
Zov’ha and Sinovan had stayed at the shed for just one night. Early the next day, packing up only the essentials, they headed westwards towards Aeroz, which was a three-day walk. Their route would gradually turn north on the second day. They had met Efiros somewhere in the woods — he had been busy exploring the area, covered in twigs and leaves and mud and whatnot.
At dusk on the first day, they came upon a wide lake. Their path ahead was narrow and snaked through still and shallow waters — the lake had been drying up in the aftermath of the Divine Purge. There were large boulders everywhere, and silvery shrubs spotted the landscape.
The lake was so large that by night they had traversed less than half its length. They had no option, they would have to camp in the open. They were far from the Hell's Teeth mountains now, and the crimson fog would not reach this far. A full moon bathed them in a cool white light, and they could even see the ruins of Orbita Cygnus, the dilapidated half-circle city that orbited the planet, menacingly reminding them of the devastating history of humans. The clear water of the shallow lake mirrored the night sky that was speckled with millions of stars.
Just as they were about to set up camp, they heard the low hum of vehicles approaching from a distance. Sinovan shoved the wagon behind a cluster of enormous boulders and motioned for Zov’ha and Efiros to hide in the shrubs. He quickly turned off the drift-wagon, which landed softly on the ground. Once they were hidden, they waited.
‘I’m just being cautious,’ Sinovan whispered. ‘There are a lot of unsavoury folks out here.’
The hum of the vehicles was getting louder. Hoverbikes! — Zov’ha recognised the distinct purr of the engines. There were two, maybe three, heading towards them. And just as she had predicted, a few minutes later, three bikes whirred past them from the west, leaving a trail of white smoke as they headed southeast. The electric blue glow from the rear engines mesmerised Zov’ha, and she felt elevated, maybe even a bit excited. Whether it was the smell of the smoke trail, the speed at which the bikes hurtled across the lake, or the flashy lights, she didn’t know what it was that intrigued her — all she knew was that she wanted one.
The bikes disappeared into the night, and the sounds of their engines faded. Glad that they had not been detected, Sinovan sighed and said, ‘Raiders! No Aerozan in their right mind would travel at night.’ Zov’ha looked at him from the corner of her eyes for a moment, and then fixed her gaze back on the smoky haze of the three bikes. Sinovan continued, ‘Looks like they have a new base in these parts. Farms like mine are an easy target.’
Once they were sure that the path was clear, they emerged from behind the boulders. They kept their ears open and eyes peeled. After several hours had passed and they had neither seen nor heard the raiders, Sinovan set up a small campfire. The travellers consumed their evening meal of red-orange freshwater prawns and wildberries. Efiros would have preferred to have eaten a waterfowl, but his clumsy chase earlier had scared the birds away for good.
Zov’ha had finished her meal first, and was sitting in the silence of the night, watching a rather large beetle make its way under a rock. She had been concerned about Sinovan. Now that the original trauma of the incident of the burning cottages had waned, the Calcar seemed to be in mourning for the loss of a home and a family. More than once, over the course of the day, Zov’ha had caught him sobbing and trailing way behind them with the excuse that the drift-wagon would not go any faster.
‘What do you farm?’ she asked him finally.
Sinovan was voraciously devouring some berries he had kept for last. He looked up at her a little puzzled, berry juice slathered around his mouth. The slightest smile appeared on his reddened face. 'Shuffle cones,' he replied, and then remained silent.
‘What are shuffle cones?’ Zov’ha pressed.
'The Divine Purge affected everything — animals, humans, and even trees,’ Sinovan replied, taking a moment to swallow some berries. ‘Some of the large pines at the foot of Hell’s Teeth mutated into a stunted snag, and their cones began to turn red as flame with constant exposure to the Crimson Fog. Those shuffle cones proved to be a good source of fuel in Aeroz. We cultivated the trees and harvested their cones. The trees were nourished by a nightly dose of Crimson Fog. That's why our farm was far out in the wilderness close to Hell's Teeth. It's dangerous work, but it pays.'
'What happens now?' Zov’ha asked.
Sinovan shook his head, 'I've been doing this all my life. My whole family has been doing this for generations.'
'I'm… terribly sorry,' said Zov’ha.
'Agh, it's not your fault,' said Sinovan, stuffing a handful of berries into his mouth. Once he swallowed the morsel, he continued, 'Don't worry about my family. I may be in mourning, but I know there’s hope in Aeroz. Besides, I wasn't related to them by blood. We were all brought to work there by the Merchants of Ro from Aeroz. But we knew each other well.'
Zov’ha didn't press any further. Efiros had rolled onto his side and fallen asleep already. The moon was now at the zenith, spilling milky white light over the lake. It was extremely cold by midnight, and the dew on the rocks and the plants began to freeze. Zov’ha was comfortable in her cloak and natural fur. Sinovan checked on his brother, throwing a woollen blanket over him, before slipping into a thick robe himself. The fire had died out at some point, and he gathered the embers and lay down beside it. Soon he was asleep as well, leaving Zov'ha to her own thoughts.
She had slept well enough the night before in the barn. Now, all that mattered was being alert and keeping watch — like she had done on most nights. Eighteen months — it had been that long since she had been wandering in the wilderness. She had mentally kept count of the days. Well, at least eighteen months is what she remembered counting — it may have been more. What had been her life before that? All she had were fragments of memories. She knew things, like Autoichorium — and the people whose blood flowed with it, although she could not recall their race; or Calcars — she had not met a single soul while she wandered the wild, and yet, when she came upon Sinovan she instinctively knew that he was a Calcar, and helping him seemed… right. It was unnerving, of course, meeting a human after so long, but it also felt right.
She had also blurted out that her name was “Zovhara”. Was that her real name? Or something akin to it? Or was it the name of someone she knew?
Efiros was her only companion. She had found him a lost cub, whimpering at the foothills of Hell’s Teeth. She had offered him food, and they had been inseparable since. It was only when she had started talking to the bear cub at nights that she had realised that she could speak, and that she knew that language quite well. She had come across adult Xerbian bears before — again in a distant past, locked somewhere in her memories. They were ten times her size, and had great antlers. Had she fought them? Hunted them? None of that mattered now.
Zov’ha’s meditation on her past came to an end when she felt a splitting headache. She rubbed the top of her head, and took a deep breath. She will try again another day.
Morning came lazily. At dawn, Zov’ha could see the sun rise through a thick mist. But as the sun moved up into the sky, the mist cleared completely, painting the sky bright blue. The lake edges were powdered with hoarfrost. The landscape had changed overnight as white, feathery ice crystals covered moss, tree, shrub, and rock. Ice had formed in the shallow waters of the lake as well.
The motley group resumed their journey after a quick meal of rations and berries. Zov’ha armed herself with the heavy lance, which she had found in Sinovan’s farm. Up until then it had laid in the drift-wagon next to Segran, but now she walked with it.
By midday, they had left the lake behind them and had started up a stony slope. Stunted icicle-covered trees and shrubs grew sparsely everywhere. Short grass carpeted the floors, covered in frost — a blanket of white as far as the eyes could see.
The slope led them to the top of a small hill. It was the tallest hill in the region, and looking north at the horizon, across many smaller hills, they could see a city. Sinovan smiled — there’s hope in Aeroz.
But his smile soon disappeared. A low hum of engines could be heard from behind them. Turning around, they saw the same three bikes racing towards them from the bottom of the hill.
(Continued in Frost Ash - Part 2)
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