Frostfell_ The Wizards - Mark Sehestedt [26]
"Yes, Winterkeep. Iket Sotha. It is a place shunned by the people of these lands. In ancient days it was a place of beauty, but foul things happened there, and this cold earth has a long memory. One of the great weaknesses of your 'histories,' Lady Amira"-the belkagen gave her a weary smile-"is that if the tome and scholar are both lost, your 'history' is lost. The people of these lands have a better way of preserving truth. We remember the tales, sing the songs, and dance the fires. Your history is a book. Ours lives in us and our children."
Amira took a deep breath and forced civility into her tone. "Honored Belkagen, my child-my only child-is getting farther away as we sit here. I would be most grateful if you came to your point soon."
The belkagen's smile fell to a frown. "As you say. Even a young, upstart people like the Tuigan know of the evil of Iket Sotha. They tell tales of how the angry ice gods rose from Yal Tengri and sealed the Raumathari kings and their sorcerers in ice. The Tuigan, who fear very few things in this land, will not go near Iket Sotha. But the Tuigan are a young people, and their tales only touch the leaves of a tree whose roots go deep, to a time when the Tuigan still dwelt in the East.
"In the dying days of the wars between Raumathar and the demon-haunted empire of Narfell, the Nars summoned great ice devils to fight for them. Every army sent against them was beaten or pushed back-until the rise of Arantar and Khasoreth. You have heard of them?"
Amira shook her head. "No."
"Many songs are sung of their adventures in these lands. Arantar was a great sorcerer, the greatest of his age. Some have even said that his father was a god or some great being from beyond. Fire was the soul and song of Arantar, and he was its unquestioned master. Khasoreth was his apprentice, but his great love was for ice and cold. Arantar's mother was Raumathari, and together, he and Khasoreth were able to stand against the armies of Nar and their demons. For the first time in many months, the Nar fled the battlefield, and for a time there was peace in these lands."
"I take it the peace didn't last," said Amira.
"No," said the belkagen. "One particularly bleak winter… something happened to Iket Sotha."
"Something?"
"Here is where even the tales of my people fade to legend. It is not known what destroyed Iket Sotha, but one thing is certain: Great powers fell upon Iket Sotha. The Tuigan say they came from Yal Tengri. Raumathari legends say they came from the heart of Iket Sotha herself. But the one thing that all tales tell the same is that it was in the death of Iket Sotha that the Fist of Winter was born."
"The Fist of Winter?"
"A name given to them among the people of the Endless Wastes."
"I don't understand," said Amira. "What are they?"
The belkagen thought a long time before answering. "None know for sure. But they are… terrible. Their corrupted flesh cannot abide warmth, and so they dwell in the farthest reaches of the north. But in winter when Yal Tengri freezes, they often roam Iket Sotha and the surrounding lands, preying upon the unwary. Over the years, renegade bands of Sossrim have sworn allegiance to them. These are the Siksin Neneweth, the Frost Folk, and they worship the Fist of Winter as gods and offer blood sacrifices to them."
"And you believe one of these… things has my son?"
Amira had been staring into the fire during the belkagen's tale, but she looked at him now and was shocked at what she saw. The weariness still pulled on him, his shoulders slumping and his eyes seeming empty. But his face was now breaking into what seemed to her a mixture of sadness and fear. The belkagen cast a glance at Gyaidun, then quickly looked away. Amira looked to the big man. Fury seemed to come off Gyaidun in waves, like heat. His eyes were unblinking and fixed on the belkagen, and Amira could see the muscles of his neck standing up taut.
"Belkagen…?" said Amira.
"There…" The belkagen avoided everyone's gaze and looked up where the smoke from the fire was curling into the mists. "There is more to the