The land swelled up at the edge of what her people called The Maw; a monstrous mountain range like the crests of a dragon’s back, or a jaw filled with gnashing teeth. It had taken her nine moons to descend from her birthplace into the valley below, her crimson robes heavy and wet and her pale cheeks flushed as red as the linen. A hood of thick wolf fur shadowed her eyes, the dagger at her hip glinting sharp like the mountaintops. She stumbled down into the valley, tripping over her hemline. 

The hooded girl was utterly swallowed by the mountains. For leagues around her, there seemed to be nothing. In the Wild, life remained hidden and sleeping, unless it was large or ferocious enough to contest the Maw itself. Even the land appeared lethargic and opposing, domed by an ever-changing sky with its throat bleeding red at the horizon. The wind flowed through the valley like a river, whipping relentlessly at the girl until she stopped, cupping her hands.

A flash of light appeared between them, quickly dying on the wind. Then another, and another, like the spark of a tinderbox, until she nursed a newborn flame against her palms. She held it close against the gale, stumbling forward down the last hillock of the mountain range, breaking into the rugged vale of the Maw at long last, with only the wind at her back as encouragement. 

Then, a noise in the distance. Far, far away.

It was low and deep and rumbled across the land as if to wake it from its slumber. It sounded like metal scraping against metal, but the girl immediately knew it not to be. Her head shot up, gaze snapping to the horizon and her body whirling around, breathing harsh and labored. The fledgling flame between her hands sputtered, and died. She lifted her hands and lowered her hood, freeing a long tangle of light-colored hair that was promptly snatched up by the wind; her face was almost childlike despite her age, except for a pair of unusually thick, bushy eyebrows that knitted themselves together. It was an expression she wore quite frequently on her descent. 

For the first time in her life, the Maw towered above her, and the land stretched out endlessly in front.

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