The wind whistled through the carved ice and the jagged peaks of the mountains, and it was Rilana's only companion as she slid noiselessly out of the hammock in one of the barn's empty stalls. As she slipped out of her pale blue night-dress, standing shapely and naked and moon pale as she reached for her sturdy but clean suede pants and vest. As she dressed, a glimmer of pastel colour caught her eye and she stopped, gazing out of the window towards the northern sky. Against the backdrop of star-speckled black Rilana watched the silent glow of the aurora dancing across the sky over the lip of the glacier. It wasn't common to see the beutiful phenomenon in the summer months, and even now the splashes of green and pink faded away into nothing before starting up again a few moments later, smaller and more fleeting than their winter counterparts. But as the moon fey buckled on the tough reindeer-skin armour and swept her long silvery hair back into a quick plait, the wondered if the rare event boded good or ill for the long journey ahead.

Bruin danced and snorted in his stall, picking up on Rilana's excited unease as she cinched the fey-crafted saddle to his back and strapped the tight bundle of traveling gear over his haunches, being sure to balance it evenly. [color=00aeef]"It didn't take me long to pack, love,"[/color] she muttured, talking to the horse. [color=00aeef]"I didn't have to leave everything behind because everything I own fits in a single set of saddle-packs."[/color] She smiled ruefully, but in truth she preferred life this way. 

once mounted, the hoof-beats echoed eerily in the valley around them as Rilana guided the feisty Fjord onto the bare rock path that would eventually lead south and down into the taiga and then to places beyond. Leaning forward gracefully and patting the beast on the neck, [color=00aeef]"The Plains road may be quicker but there's someone I have to see first."[/color]

Setting the horse at a brisk pace, the pair quickly left the ranch and the city of Frigmount behind. The moon elf was a woman immune to home-sickness, but as she crossed one of the many bridges that moon fey had erected in centuries past, she couldn't help reign her mount in for a pause to look back at those blue and white crystalline spires and the steep wall of ice beyond them. There was something solemnly beautiful to Rilana about the glitter of ice and the harshness of life here at the top of the world.

The day dawned bright and warm, and Rilana wasn't the only traveler on the road. While Frigmount was undebateably a moon fey city, the chillborn humans were the more populous race in the surrounding mountains, their cavern homes and peat-sod cabins nestled like lichen against the craggy stone. On the rare occasion, late into the night as she had swept along the winds on the wings of a snowy owl or a tern, Rilana had even seen a few dark elves in these mountains.

It was early afternoon when Rilana turned Bruin off the worn path and down into a narrow canyon. The horse, experienced with this kind of terrain, could easily pick his own way without Rilana's help, so she relaxed her slender hands on the reigns and gave Bruin his head. As they reached the fairly flat and grass-covered floor of the canyon, the chuckle of perfectly-clear meltwater chuckling along a fast but shallow creek echoed on the stone all around them. Out of the corner of her eyes, Rilana noted the shifty, shadowy movements of small creatures. Snowshoe hares in their brown summer coats snuffled the air, their long ears tilted towards her as they watched her progress. But the moon fey was not interested in bunnies and ptarmigan. She was looking up as they walked along, her hand clutched around the white stone effigy hanging to her chest.

Pursing her lips, the druid let out a shrill, piercing whistle, loud enough to make Bruin shake his roguish mane in surprise. They waited, long moments passing without a response. But at long last a similar cry shivered down the canyon and a dark shadow sliced along the green ground at Bruin's hooves. Rilana grinned and slid from Bruin's back just as a huge white and black shape dropped out of the sky, which suited the horse just as well.

[color=00aeef]"Khona!"[/color]

The large gryphon landed on the rocky ground, bouncing lightly on his taloned front legs as he back-flapped his huge blue-tinged wings to control his descent. He was easily eight feet long without the tail, and the sun shone brightly off of his white and black feathers and leopard-spotted fur. His colouring reminded her of the snow leopards and snowy owls so common his these lands. His piercing yellow eyes trained on Rilana, his tufted ears flicking in her direction as she ran towards him. He made a high, hoarse screech as the moon fey wrapped her slender arms around his neck and rolled onto his side, long tail lashing with unrestrained joy at being close to his bonded companion. [color=00aeef]"I'm so glad to see you, Khona."[/color]

Rilana wove her fingers through Khona's shiny outer feathers to the fluffy down underneath and leaned on the large creature, who in turn toyed with the ends of her pearlescent hair, his huge shiny beak click-clacking as it snapped shut. Together, they sat in the sun and watched as Bruin bent his head and cropped the soft fescue. The breeze was just cool enough to off-set the high sun, and a soft mournful whistling howl nearly put Rilana to sleep as she cuddled with the large raptor-cat. But she had to keep moving. She didn't have time to linger here like she normally would. The black walls of Ebonfort were nearly a month away. 

Shifting to lean away from her Familiar, Rilana looked back into his fierce face. His pupils pinned as he watched her, his third eyelid flicking over his eyes as he tilted his head curiously. He couldn't speak, of course, but she knew that he understood every word she said, and even things she didn't say.

[color=00aeef]"I have to leave for a while, Khona. I'm traveling south, with Bruin."[/color] As she had expected, the gryphon's eyes filled with the fire of adventure and he shifted to get up, shaking his feathers out. But Rilana put her hand on his shoulder.

[color=00aeef]"No, Khona. You can't go with me. It's too far, and it could be dangerous."[/color] The gryphon gave a sneezy-snort, his feathered ears twitching back against his skull.

[color=00aeef]"It wont be nearly as dangerous for me, but I don't trust these humans. And I'll be gone nearly two months. It wouldn't be fair to make you fly so far."[/color] Rilana crossed her pale arms over her leather-armoured torso, trying to stand her ground. But it was difficult. Khona was bigger than her now, when seemingly so recently he was a tiny kit no bigger than a snowshoe hare. It was hard to say no to him. He sat back on his haunches and simply stared, tilting his head and looking down at the effigy around her neck. It was the moonstone symbol that bound him to her. 

Looking down at it, Rilana raised her hand to cup the lovingly-crafted object. She had several others in different shapes, her bonds to other animals, but Khona was her first and the one closest to her heart. Her fingertips wandered over the finely-detailed wings. [color=00aeef]"You think? Is it time to try?"[/color]

Khona fluffed his feathers in a comical way, like a shrug, and twitched his long tail, ready for whatever Rilana decided to do. The beautiful moon fey continued to run her fingers over the pale statue, and let the magical energy build within her. She had only heard about Marking from others who had done it, but it wasn't something that could be taught. 

The thrum of power grew, until it was almost a sound, like the throaty howl of the wind through a drone flute or around the crags of the mountains. It was all around her, inside her, and her skin prickled as though she could feel the cold for the first time in her life. Everything around her seemed to fade away except the sharp golden-yellow of Khona's eyes. They seemed to grow larger, and she felt herself take a small step towards him, the bond of power connecting them like a force pulling her. It seemed to start first at the effigy hanging around her neck, but then grew so much that it could only be coming from her own chest. 

Khona tilted his head expectantly, his feathers and fur bristling like a pinecone under the surge of magic between them. He seemed to be saying "Do it!" Rilana opened her mouth with a soft cry and released the swelling force, felt it stream across the space between them and surround her beloved Gryphon. Khona jumped and glanced around, his skin rippling like a horse trying to dislodge a fly, and Rilana suddenly realized that she could see right through him. He was fading, the whitish rainbow glow around him growing brighter even as he seemed to grow more incorporeal. For a moment, Rilana grew frightened, terrified that she was harming Khona somehow, but he didn't seem distressed. Before she could do anything else, the shape of the gryphon shrank and flowed back towards her on that invisible but undeniable bond.

Rilana sank to her knees in the grass, unseeing blue eyes starting down as she gasped. Her chest felt tight and the skin all over her back was on fire, like a thousand red-hot needles were pricking her flesh. It was too much...

But after a few minutes the disorientation lessened. The moon fey struggled to her boots and looked around. Khona was nowhere to be seen. Reaching over her shoulder she tried to touch the top of her back where he skin had burned but paused, hearing a whisper behind her. Turning quickly, she found...no one.

[color=fff200][i]I'm here.[/i][/color] It was a voice. But the words were not really spoken out loud. They were inside her head.

[color=00aeef][i]Khona?[/i][/color]

[color=fff200][i]Yes. [/i][/color]