The Nameless Warrior

I Am The Dawn

Kaye sighed and sank to the ground once Timin and Bryant were gone. She couldn't take this hatred anymore—she had to go home. The Breens weren't expecting her back until tomorrow night and she had her wing balm in her small bag, as well as a bit of smoked fish. She knew the plants well enough to know what was safe to eat, and she could follow the river so she would always have fresh water.

If she left now she could reach the south end of the mountain by dawn. It was risky—mountain passes were dangerous in the winter—but it would be worth it to be home. To see her sister again. Kaye didn't care if Oak and the High Priestess tried to take her back to Fie Obsid. Her heart cried out for Kindra.

Kaye made an offering of a seashell to Aleda and began to walk along the river. She was used to the marshy soil and the misty rain and found it much easier to navigate then when she first descended the mountain.

Anticipation drove her through the night. She thought of her tent; of the sweet, clean smell of the mountain air. She couldn't wait to put the smell of fish and salt and marsh behind her. She thought of venison and her stomach made a noise. She thought of dry clothes and the view from the cliff in the morning as the clear voices of the priestesses sang up the sun. As the mountain loomed closer the air cooled and she remembered the beauty of the first snow, and that the Festival of Aleda meant that the cold, harsh winter was almost over.

She reached snow in the pre-dawn light. It slowed her down, but at least she knew she was going in the right direction. If there was snow, then there was a pass. Kaye's heart skipped in excitement.

The pass came into view at sunrise and her eyes watered as sunlight bounced off the white drifts. It was a welcome sight.

She began to laugh as she climbed into the pass. She was going home. She threw out her arms and turned her face to the weak sun. "Thank you, Mother!"

The words echoed down the pass and Kaye felt like she had been reborn along with Aleda. It began to snow, and she was so happy that she didn't hear the distant rumble until the ground began to shake. She looked up in confusion and gasped.

Snow wasn't falling from the clouds—it was plummeting from the side of the mountain. An avalanche was beginning and there was no way she could make it across in time. She turned back toward Gaerlom and ran.

The roaring in her ears grew until Kaye thought she would go deaf. The ground shook so hard that running was impossible. Her feet broke through layers of ice, plunging her thigh-deep into snow, and she had to crawl to move at all. She tried to fly, but her new wings were still growing and could not support her weight.

The wave of snow crashed into her, sending her tumbling down the mountainside until she didn't know which way was up and she was encased in darkness. When she finally came to a slow halt she couldn't see, and could hear only the distant rumble of snow piling up on snow.

"Aleda, help me!"

She could only tell which way was up by the snow crushing down on her. She could hardly breathe, and her head was foggy.

"Kaye Odion."

She could swear her eyes were closed, but she saw a woman's face in the snow. She looked Gaerlom, with long dark hair and sea-blue eyes. She smiled like the High Priestess.

"Mother?" Snow fell into Kaye's mouth, and she coughed.

"You have not learned what you must." The woman's eyes bored into Kaye. "You must go to the Faye-land."

"Lady Sara said I couldn't come back."

"I will find a way. Trust me."

Kaye wasn't going to get out of this snow, much less make it to Aleda.

The woman leaned in and whispered. "I am the Dawn." The mountain rumbled again, the snow shifted, and Kaye gasped as it slid away and she could breathe again.