The white whirlwind subsides, and my vision returns. Through shallow breaths, I glance down at myself. My skin stings from the ice shards cutting into me as they flew around. Out of fear of what I might see, I shut my eyes, but my morbid curiosity forces them open again. Light cuts line my arms and legs, as numerous as the scars under my clothes. Seeing them, my heart beats in an attempt to escape my chest. 

“Deep breaths, Aliyah,” Flandre says in my mind. “If you panic too much, you’ll break our connection, and I don’t think you want to freeze to death.”

Unable to form coherent thoughts to respond to him, I nod and focus on slowing my breathing. My eyes slowly scan the barren snowy wasteland around me. The sun mocks me from much closer than last time, yet it slacks on its job of warming me all the same. Staring down from near the peak of the mountain, I can barely make out brown specks for trees in the distance. Joshua is nowhere in sight.

“Joshua?” I ask, hoping he’s hiding from me somewhere.

In response, the wind picks up and the icy whirlwind reforms around me. “You don’t have time to worry about him,” the deep voice booms somewhere from behind me.

I whirl around, but only the swirling ice and snow stares back at me. 

“I’m impressed you’re still standing. With your skills, you can descend this mountain and make it to safety if you want to. I’ll give you one final chance.”

Every inch of my being screams at me to take up the offer, but I can’t. If the voice belongs to the Master of the Mountains, then I’m obligated to find them and get the key from them. Vio and the rest of the pirates are counting on me.

“Sorry, but I can’t leave without talking to you,” I say resolutely.

“A shame.” 

The temperature drops drastically and the whirlwind speeds up, completely blocking my vision. 

“Then, you will become a part of these mountains, frozen in time.”

Despite my aura of warmth, my body starts shaking. Chunks of ice form on my arms and legs and my skin aches from the cold. My head begins to spin as the panic sets in.

“Flandre, please, help!”

“I’m doing all I can. Any more energy and I’ll set you on fire.”

“Then… Like Winry, take over my body.”

“Even if I could do that, it wouldn’t change anything. It would still be your body.”

“Then, I’m going to die?”

“If you give up, yes.”

I can’t die yet. I still have my duty as the sacrifice, and I won’t let Leorio take my place because of my stupidity. More than that, I have a promise to fulfill with Vio and the pirates, and for that, I will survive. 

I take as deep a breath as I can and steel myself. My fingers find their way down to my aether belt. The burden of forming connections with multiple aer is draining, but I have no choice. Without Flandre, I’ll turn into an ice sculpture within minutes, and I still need to find a way to the voice. I don’t feel anything as my fingers drag across the white crystal, but I know the location of Winry’s home. A strong current flows through me and an immense pain plagues my body as I form a connection to my wind aer. “W-Winry… I need. Your help. Can you… track the voice?”

“I’m ooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn it! For now, turn around and walk that way, but be careful of the slope. You’ll be going downhill.”

All my energy focuses on keeping my connections with my aer as I take my first steps into the raging icy whirlwind around me. To my surprise, the whirlwind moves with me, never letting me escape.

“Why do you struggle?” the voice asks from somewhere outside the wall of twirling ice. “It would be much less painful if you would give up and accept your fate.”

“It would be… much less painful. If you would just leave me alone,” I mumble through short breaths.

With Winry’s guidance, I hobble down the mountain. The pain from the cold keeps me awake as my vision blurs. I tell myself I don’t need to see, since the only thing in my field of vision is the whirlwind of ice and snow. As long as I maintain my connection to Winry and Flandre, I’ll find the person behind the voice.

My foot slips on a rock and I fall into the snow. Somehow, the embrace of the snow is warmer than the wind. My body begs me to stay down, but if I stop moving, I’ll die. I punch the ground and push myself onto my hands and knees.

“Why is your mind still intact?” the voice asks. “How is your connection to the aer so strong?”

My joints cry as I force myself to stand. “You think a little cold… like this. Is enough to sever my connection…” 

I say that, but it’s taking everything I have to stay focused enough. If I slip up for even a second, my connection to my aer will break, and I will perish.

“This little cold has been the end of many of your kind. You are a fool to underestimate it.”

I grunt and start dragging myself down the mountain with Winry’s direction. “Why do you do this. To people? What’s… the point?”

“I only punish those who come to these mountains to cause trouble, like you.”

“I don’t want… trouble. I want to talk.”

“I’ve heard that more times than I can count. The villagers told me you’re looking for me, and the only people that want to find me are fools. Those that want to challenge me, study me, or hunt me.”

“How many times. Do I have… to say. I just want to talk?”

The voice doesn’t respond, leaving me to listen to the swirling ice and the irregular rhythm of my footsteps in the snow. My body sways with the turbulence of the whirlwind. The cold numbs my senses. I watch my feet step in the snow, but no longer feel the weight of my own limbs. 

What feels like an eternity passes as I slowly continue to descend. My body cries out to me that it won’t last much longer.

“For what purpose do you struggle, human girl?” the voice asks from what sounds like right beside me.

“Because. I have to… survive. Need to. Fulfill my role… And I want… to find out. What happened to Reimel.”

 “You still insist on that story? That won’t—”

My pent-up rage from having to deal with the voice’s comments bursts out. “It’s not a story!” I shout. “If you would stop being a paranoid jerk and let me talk to you, you would know that!”

The outburst makes my head spin and what little vision I have darkens. I continue in silence, thinking my hearing has given out on me.

“If you want to live, cease your movements,” a wobbly voice says from beside me.

“I… won’t…”

“Stop this instant!”

My leg stops mid-step. 

The wind dies down and the swirling ice and snow fade away. A blurry darkened wasteland of snow greets me as I finally escape my icy prison.

“The snow ahead of you is feeble,” the voice says. “If you had continued, you surely would have fallen to your demise.”

My eyes scan the area in front of me as best they can. A few steps ahead of where I stopped, the snow collapses and forms a giant hole. From where I stand, I can’t see the bottom of it, but in my state, any fall would likely end me.

“Sorry!” Winry shouts. “I had no idea.”

“You have proven yourself worthy, human girl. Not only did you survive this long, but you managed to track me to this place. I suppose I should expect nothing less than one of his.”

A giant four-legged creature with pointy ears and a long snout walks up beside me and stares at me with unblinking white eyes. Its shimmering silver coat reminds me of my own hair, and it stands as tall on its four legs as I do on two.

In my weakened state, I say the first words that come to mind. “The Master… of the Mountain. Is a. Talking dog?”

The giant talking dog’s eyes narrow. “Excuse you, are your eyes functioning? I’m clearly a talking wolf.”

“S-sorry.”

The giant talking wolf clears its throat. “More importantly, if you wish to talk, we will do so in my cave. But I must warn you, I am at my strongest when inside, so don’t try anything funny.”

“I… just want. To talk.”

“Then, before we go.”

The whirlwind of ice and snow engulfs me once more, but instead of pain and cold, a smooth, relaxing energy coats my body. My vision returns to normal, my senses return to me, and the cuts on my arms and legs close as if they had never been there. It’s as if everything I had been through was a horrible nightmare, and I’ve just woken up refreshed and revitalized.

“Th-this is… water aer?” I ask, already knowing the answer. 

The most advanced form of water aer involves using it to cleanse and heal wounds, but very few aethers ever reach that level. Even considering that, I’ve never heard of someone’s water aer being able to restore energy to a person. But, if it used water aer to heal me, then it must have been using it to do everything before as well. This talking wolf’s title of Master of the Mountain seems to be deserved.

Feeling safe, I thank Flandre and Winry for keeping me alive and break the connection to their minds to relieve the burden on myself.

The wolf lifts its paw and points to an opening in a hill behind me. It nods to me, and I follow it inside. Light blue gems protruding from the walls illuminate a large open room. A chilly mist swirls across the ground and tickles my ankles. Our footsteps echo throughout the cave as we head further in.

“Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show up,” Joshua says, sitting on a rock along the back wall.

The wolf glares at Joshua and the mist collects around him. “How did you get here?”

 He slicks his hair back and smirks. “You moved me to the bottom of the mountain, but when I was down there, I saw something odd up above. There was what looked like a glowing cave entrance. It was almost like you put me there so I could find this place.”

“You are sorely mistaken,” the wolf snarls. “You are not worthy to be in this place. Leave at once.”

“And go back out into the cold? Not a chance. Besides—” Joshua stands. “—I’m not scared of you.” he says, his legs shaking.

“Your body betrays you.”

He sits and waves his hand dismissively. “So, I’m scared of you. Who cares? I’m much more scared of what Vio will do to me if I leave her precious friend alone with some creepy talking dog.”

“I am not a talking dog… I am Yehlin, the Master of the Mountains, guardian of Illis, and the only one of my kind.”

“Eh, that’s too long. I’m never going to remember that,” Joshua says with a shrug. “I’ll settle for calling you talking wolf if you let me stay here, though.”

“Sorry, but I kind of agree with him,” I say.

“I… You…” The talking wolf sighs. “You have no intention of leaving, do you?”

Joshua shakes his head.

“Very well. You may stay, unfortunately…” The wolf’s gaze bounces between me and Joshua. “You two are some of the most stubborn humans I’ve ever met. You may even be able to compete with my creator.”

I lean against the wall, beside Joshua. “Is that Reimel Strauss?”

“Reimell is a close friend and partner, but he is not my creator.” The wolf pauses. “His name is Isaac Faber.”

Both Joshua’s and my eyes widen. “The Great Founder?” we both ask, almost in sync.

“So that’s what he’s known as today… No, knowing that fool, he probably came up with that title himself. How stupid.”

Joshua raises his hand. “Can we go back a second? What do you mean when you say he’s your creator?”

The wolf shakes its head. “You now know as much as I do. That jerk never told me anything. If it weren’t for Reimel, I wouldn’t even know that that man created me.”

Hearing The Great Founder be called a jerk makes me wince. “Did you not get along with him?” I ask.

The wolf scoffs. “That’s putting it lightly. I hate that man. He’s the kind of human that only cares about furthering his studies and research, no matter what he must do to get there. To say he’s the worst would be an understatement.”

Joshua and I sit in silence. This is the first time I’ve heard anyone speak poorly of The Great Founder, and it’s unnerving. Every human alive loves Isaac Faber for teaching humanity how to borrow an aer’s power. His discovery alone created new possibilities, countless new jobs, and advanced civilization rapidly. 

Perhaps sensing our discomfort, the wolf shakes its head. “You said you wanted to talk, did you not?”

“Oh, yes.” I explain the contents of Reimel’s letter, and that we’re here to retrieve the key from the Master of the Mountains.

“I see,” the wolf says. “I had a feeling he had perished when he never returned, but it is saddening to hear all the same.”

“Do you know who this guy he’s talking about in the letter is?” Joshua asks.

“I apologize. I trusted that Reimel would never lose, so when he entrusted the key to me, I didn’t even think to ask any further questions.” He pauses and his gaze focuses on me. “Human girl, I will entrust his will to you. You must do what he could not and stop the man in the letter.”

“I-I’ll try my best.”

The wolf disappears into an opening along the wall and returns with a purple crystal in its mouth. It drops the crystal into my hands and nods to me, signaling that it is the key Reimel mentioned.

The crystal pulsates with a vast energy, reminiscent of an aer crystal. I feel like I’ve seen something like it before, but nothing comes to mind. 

“Before you go,” the wolf says. “I would like to know the name of the person carrying Reimel’s will.”

“Aliyah.”

“Aliyah…” The wolf nods. “A good name.”

I pause, waiting for him to continue, but he doesn’t. “You’re just going to call me by my name?”

“I was never one for nicknames, but if you’d like one, my ears are open to suggestions.”

I shake my head violently. “No, no, no, please. I rarely get called by my actual name, so I was just surprised. I really appreciate it, though.”

 “Very well. Then, Aliyah—”

The ground shakes violently and Joshua falls off his rock. Faint explosions ring out far in the distance, signaling the start of a grand battle.

“The village,” the wolf says, the mist swirling around it. “I have to defend them. Good luck on your journey.”

The wolf’s form becomes mist and fades away into nothing, leaving me and Joshua to wonder what happened.

“It might be The Third,” Joshua says. “I think we should get out of here.”

I nod and jam the purple crystal into an open socket on my belt. We cross the cave and peek out the entrance. A large cloud of smoke rises in the distance from where Illis is.

“So, the villagers were right that I would find you here?” A silver haired boy in the white and red academy uniform walks towards us, the snow melting under his feet. “I had heard from Zenron, but I just couldn’t believe him. Until now.” His purple eyes full of kindness focus only on me. “What are you doing here, little sis?”