In the lands of the cold north, night went on forever, across the
deep snow-cloaked vales and the thick forests of evergreen under the
starlight. When the moon was gone, there was a light in the far
northern mountains, a glow beyond the ridgeline, and on some nights a
scintillant fire rose up from the unseen places and spread across the
hungry sky in trails of light.
Druan hunted alone in the dark. Deep in winter there was no day, and
a man must hunt whenever he could. It was deeply cold, and he wished
to be back home, within the warm sod walls covered in boughs, lit by
roaring fires and heavy with the smell of smoke and meat. The snow
was deep here, and he walked in the footsteps he had made yesterday
to make his path easier until he reached the eaves of the forest. He
was wrapped in heavy furs, only the upper part of his face uncovered,
and the bow in his hands was his only weapon besides an iron hatchet
on his belt.
He was a tall boy, even if he was yet young. He had long limbs and a
rangy strength, with the endurance born of a harsh world. He could
walk all night, could run long hours without tiring and with little
food, even in the bottomless cold. In his quiver were ten arrows
with hammered iron points, and they were as precious to him as gold.
Under the trees the snow was less, and he could move more easily. It
was dark, but his eyes soon adjusted, and he moved as surely as any
night predator. He looked in the smooth expanses of the fresh
snowfall for the footprints of game. He saw rabbits, but he would
not hunt them unless he was unable to find what he really sought. It
was deer he was after, and he imagined the smiles on the faces of his
mother and his sisters when he returned with a heavy kill. Meat and
hide and sinew and bones would all be of use.
He veered to the west, where he knew he would not encounter any
others. The other hunters from his hollow did not come this way. In
the next valley there had been another village, just a few years
gone, but then in a night they all vanished, and nothing was found
but blood and charred remains. The older men whispered to each other
and would not name what they feared.
