Valley of Frost: First Chapters

(continued)

Hours southeast, away from the coast and toward the South Pole, Zo walked.

The frozen earth held loose patches of hardy grass, and bored critters hovered high up above, hopeful a stray beast was left to die, abandoned from its herd. There were humans crazy enough to live on the permafrost, but they never stayed in one place for long. According to the history books and encyclopedias Zo had read, none bothered going further inland and into the Valley.

Zo pulled her light brown hair up into a low ponytail and slid her hood back on. Though she was plenty far from the peaks she had just climbed back down from the day before, the pole was still numbingly cold. If it weren't for the nearby ocean and the relatively warm air it brought, nothing would survive. Any further into the pole's mountain ranges and the valley they cradled was suicidal. At least, for ordinary people.

Time to figure out what the Valley of Frost is all about. Zo let her thoughts drift. Poor Rychny. I doubt anyone comes by this time of year, while the days are so short.

Zo almost felt sorry enough to go back and give him company. But he seemed to be happy collecting timber and fashioning new furniture while he waited for summer. He seemed used to being alone for most of the year. And anyway, he chose to build a tavern just past the frigid ocean on the way to the Valley. Logically working to such a conclusion, she quickly discarded any emotions toward him and moved on.

Zo looked to the upper right corner of her vision. It covered most her range of vision with a wide, arched pane of composite glass. Leading down to her backpack was a pair of wires that sustained the power and functions for the visor. It could function wirelessly, but Zo didn't like worrying about the short battery life it had when used that way.

The temperature outside hovered inside the glass, displayed in faint red letters just to the left of her forward peripheral vision.

-15°

Jeeze! Almost as cold as that peak. Zo grinned. I'm a badass, though. I think that tops any of Pap's crazy training stories.

The wind picked up and blew from behind, her molded shoes crunching the icy powder that was slowly getting deeper. Each footprint made left refrozen grooves upon the tundra soil.

There were no more trees ahead to guard her. Only the looping magic command that fueled her blue-gray body-jacket would keep her warm. If that were to fail, she'd have to survive with no tools. And since she'd freeze to death the minute her focus might slip, Zo took care in watching her spell battery. She stopped for a minute to pull out specialized snow and ice adapters from her pack and attach them to her tough but too thinly shaped shoes.

Time to put on the ice-gliders!

A long time ago, when she was a little kid, her mother had worked with her godfather to design a shoe adapter that could hold more air naturally for air dashing spells while still functioning well for general walking in a place with little terrain for traditional shoes to grip to. Going any deeper into the Valley without them was going to be dangerous, so she opened up her pack and pulled them out from the many sets of rations she had filled up the rest of her main pouch with.

After getting used to how her steps now felt, Zo looked out and around at her surroundings. Feeling extra adventurous, she attempted to turn the zooming dial for her visor with a manipulation spell. It was crucial not to lose concentration when actively using magic, and harder still to multitask during a spell. If someone were attempting to talk to her during a manipulation spell via the knowledge of an actively unseeable object, like the dial on the side of her visor, she'd probably give them a kick in the shin hard enough to shut them up for a while.

There was no one around to ruin her focus, though. No one for miles.

Nothing interesting, yet. Just ice from here on out. And mountains on both sides...

She paused on her thoughts.

How far am I from everyone at this point?

Her visor displayed faint highlights of the cardinal directions. Ahead was a mark she had programmed in long before coming to the pole. "Incyon," it read. And below, in smaller letters, "3716.1 km."

It'll take days to get there...maybe a week. Ugh...

If Rychny didn't count, then it'd be hundreds of kilometers until the nearest group of people in the few nearby coastal ports or mountain villages.

It was said that the Valley ate people alive and that those who claimed to have made it back were either frauds or insane. Zo didn't care about superstitions, but still, she wanted to explore such a place to see if it was all true. And then to have the rights to brag about it if she ever found herself back in society again. If nothing else, she knew it'd make her family flip a few times over.

Zo thought about the scene she might cause while the wind took a breather.

"You did WHAT while NAKED?" her amo might say.

Then her other mom might just smile ever so slightly before asking in a sarcastic tone, "Did you want our attention -that- badly? Wait, I bet it's a boy, isn't it?"

And Zo's amo might counter, "What if she likes GIRLS TOO. Or INSTEAD!"

"You trying to make her into another you?"

Then her amo would probably ignore the playful question veiled as malicious and profess, "You know I'd climb a mountain naked for you if you wanted me to! I don't want to be shown up by my own little girl!"

Zo then imagined her amo might do something stupidly affectionate to her calmer mom, who would likely be pushing the smooching lips away.

They both were so predictable as if how they talked with each other was programmed in. Still, the thought of her parents talking together again made Zo smile.

Something pulled her back to reality.

Far off, to the left and halfway up the sloping wall of the valley, was a shimmering light. It was hard to make out while eddies of ice were whipped up, obscuring the shine.