Frost- Prologue

Prologue

          Frost-coated lashes parted unwillingly before a steely gray sky. A breath was drawn, then quickly released as cold air pierced warm lungs. Stretching his body, the man stood, his light golden-brown eyes taking in the surrounding area. A snow-coated field lay before him, stalks of wheat from the past harvest reaching in small clumps forlornly towards the thick clouds above. Deep forests lay at the edges of the field; evergreens dusted with snow that had yet to be carried away on the fierce winds. He turned, and immediately looked down as metal flashed at his feet. A sword lay in the snow, the edges rippled in a fashion similar to ocean waves, and the steel seemed to move as he stared. Bending to pick it up, a reflection from the sword caused him to glance forward curiously, then stop in shock. Before him lay a castle in utter ruins, the walls broken, the keep ripped apart from the inside out. The very foundation had been torn asunder. Smoke lazily coiled toward the sky from somewhere inside of the keep, a fire that was slowly burning out. Slowly his memory pieced together the events that had taken place, and he glowered at the castle, a fierce light in his eyes. He took the sword from the ground, sheathed it across his back, and agilely ran into the forest, not looking back once.

           Snow danced on the wind, sprite like, spiraling down toward a figure standing on the single remaining parapet of the keep. A white dress billowed off her form, moving in motion with the caress of the wind. Her deep brown eyes stared into the distance unseeing, tears forming rivulets down her reddened cheeks.  Even in shock, her eyes twinkled in the glow, light golden sparks visible in the deep brown.  A dark blue stone hung from her neck, light winking inside of it, casting a blue hue across both her and the snow falling around her. Her eyelashes drew together, as her consciousness parted, leaving her to fall into the drifts below, carefree in a cold, desolate world of snowflakes and wind.