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[center][color=f7941d]T R A D E R   O F   E X O T I C   W A R E S[/color][/center]
[color=beige]He would freeze to death. Even with the cloak he'd found in the bags. If he didn't find shelter soon, he'd be part of the ice before daybreak tomorrow. The world had begun to turn dark not long ago, and as the light drained from the world so too did Daen's hopes of survival. He had no food, nor water or firewood. Even if he were to stop now, there would be nowhere for him to take shelter. The irony did not escape him. He'd been brought back to life as the sister moons has owned the sky, and now, upon their return, he would die once more. A whole day of life. He couldn't help but feel that it had been wasted on him.  [/color]

[color=beige]The ice in his bones did not abate. Warm words had no effect on his body. He watched, helpless, as his precious heat escaped out into the storm with every breath. [/color]
[color=696969]"Hey!"[/color]
[color=beige]This was it. Saevus, wherever he had gone, would have looked at his champion in disgust. Wasting this treasured gift by dying in something as paltry as a storm. At least when he had died before he had done so on the path Saevus had paved for him.[/color] 
"[color=808080]Hey!" [/color]
[color=beige]Daen pulled his face up, his face numb enough that he didn't feel the stinging snow. His left eye scanned across the white, he'd sworn he'd heard a voice. Perhaps it was the call of whatever laid beyond the warmth of the God of Truth.[/color] 
[color=A9A9A9]"Hey!"[/color]
[color=beige]Yes that was certainly a voice, and it was certainly human. No otherworldly adventures then. He found himself somewhat disappointed at that. He would've reveled in the opportunity to unravel just once more before he laid down into his frozen tomb. [/color]
[color=A9A9A9]"Hey!"[/color][color=beige] A man came stumbling out of the storm. He was holding an arm up to keep the snow from his eyes, and wore a large burly coat, along with heavy breaches and boots. He looked very warm. For only a moment, Daen considered running him over with his horse and taking the clothes for himself. But he thought better of it after a moment. Then berated himself for such shortsighted thinking. Saevus would again be disappointed in his behavior.
He sure was disappointing Saevus a lot now that it didn't matter. 
The man stumbled closer and squinted up at Daen. The Unraveller pulled back on the mare's reigns and the horse came to a reluctant stop. The beast seemed to know that stopping meant stopping for good. Perhaps this wasn't the first time it had been out on the ice.[/color]
[color=A9A9A9]"Sir! Excuse me Sir!"[/color] [color=beige]The man waved a hand, as if he wasn't sure he'd gotten Daen's attention just yet. Daen furrowed his brow at the man. More to keep the snow out of his eyes than to intimidate. [/color]
[color=A9A9A9]"Could you spare a ride atop your steed?"[/color] The man looked slightly worried, but not frantic. Not desperate, just inconvenienced. Daen raised a quizzical brow. 
[color=f7976a]"What are you doing out in a blizzard without a steed?"[/color] 
The man gave a hearty laugh and gestured up at Daen [color=A9A9A9]"Well I suppose I could ask you a similar question of why you're out in a blizzard without proper clothing. But I'm sure we'd both be dead before either of us could finish our stories. So, spare a ride?"[/color]
[color=beige]Daen liked this man. He chuckled and tried not to look as frozen as he felt as he pulled the man up onto his horse.[/color] 
[color=A9A9A9]"Thanks stranger. Let's head north. The town where I live is the closest place to here."[/color][color=beige] The man pointed off somewhere to Daen's left. Apparently he'd been heading east. If he could remember correctly, that would have lead him out into the southern bay. He would've frozen for sure if this man hadn't come along.
If he hadn't wandered out of the frozen world and asked a complete stranger for a ride. 
Suddenly Daen felt very wary. Or as wary as he could feel with his mind numb. 
They rode in silence for some time before the man spoke.[/color] 
[color=A9A9A9]"I'm Hedrid." [/color][color=beige]The man said, having to speak loudly against the wind.[/color] [color=A9A9A9]"What's your name stranger?" [/color]
[color=beige]Daen tightened his grip on the reigns and shivered. At least the man was friendly. [/color]
[color=f7976a]"I'm Daen."[/color] 
[color=A9A9A9]"Daen eh? Old name, that. Eastern name?"[/color] Daen turned and looked Hedrid, who's long brown hair flailed wildly in the stormwinds. Two emerald green eyes looked out from under a heavy brow. His face was mostly obscured by a thick beard. 
[color=f7976a]"Aye. Eastern name."[/color] Daen said as he turned back forward and stared into the whiteness. 
[color=A9A9A9]"So I know I said i wud'nt ask, but what's an easterner doing out in the middle of the everstorm without even a study pair of boots?" [/color]
[color=beige]Daen chuckled again. He wouldn't have considered himself an easterner. He was a man of all lands. His clothes would've said that for him, but the coat he'd found was more functional than stylistic, and his pants and shoes were caked in thick layers of ice and snow. So they weren't exactly good indicators. He'd always tried to wear at least one article from each major region of Ansus. You ended up offending less people that way when you were travelling all over. Of course, then there were the people that were offended even more by the mixing of traditional tendencies. Daen liked to avoid those kinds of people. 

In fact, when it came to people, Daen tried to avoid as many of them as possible. He'd make conversation where necessary. But he'd always found himself too eccentric for the regular folk. On top of that, most towns had a seer or shaman of some kind, and they never seemed to like him much. Gave off a 'bad aura' or something like that. Maybe it was that they could tell he knew all about their phony practices and fake tonics. Most seers were just eucalyptus and strongwine. The occasional charm was enough to keep people from questioning they're 'divinely granted powers'. But Daen saw them for what they were, petty conjurers and cheapskates.[/color] 
[color=A9A9A9]"Not much for talk'n are ye' stranger? Well, I don't blame you. Tough times, these." [/color]
[color=beige]It wasn't until Hedrid had spoken again that Daen remembered he'd been asked a question. Perhaps his brain actually was freezing. What could he even say to this man? 'oh I died but I'm back now, could hold the knowledge of the gods but I've no god to give it to me'. Daen chuckled again.[/color] 
[color=f7976a]"Been a long day, and real cold. Last time I was here it was much warmer. Didn't dress the part I suppose." [/color]
[color=beige]Hedrid [i]hmmmm[/i]ed. [/color]
[color=A9A9A9]"Aye, used to be much warmer. Used to be fishers, me an' my wife. Then this storm whipped in and froze even the sea itself. Ha'nt let up since. And that were a couple o' years back. Only been gettin' worse since then,"[/color][color=beige] Hedrid shook his head.[/color] [color=A9A9A9]"Oh, here. Aint much, but it'll keep you a bit warmer."[/color] He pulled a heavy hat out from one of his coat pockets and handed it around to Daen, who grabbed it with frozen fingers. The flaps that came down over his ears were like a lovers' kisses. [color=A9A9A9]"Don't got much need for it anyway, as you might've been able to tell. Got enough o' my own fur to keep me warm"[/color] 
[color=beige]The two rode in silence for a while as the light continued to drain from the world. The whiteness began to turn the pink of a snowy night. They must've road for nearly an hour before Hedrid tugged on Daen's sleeve. [/color]
[color=A9A9A9]"Oy, let's set here. We can finish the ride up in the morning." Daen scoffed and looked around, all he saw was snow. There was nowhere to make camp. and no wood for a fire. [/color]
[color=f7976a]"Where are we going to camp? Well freeze to death during the night if we stop moving." [/color] 
[color=beige]Hedrid, [i]tssked[/i] [/color][color=A9A9A9]"You easterners. Thinkin' you need land and wood for a camp,"[/color] [color=beige]Hedrid laughed heartily again.[/color][color=A9A9A9] "Over there, behind that drift, pull 'er over there."[/color]
[color=beige]Daen shook his head, but did so. When dismounted and hit the snow, he realized his feet felt like bricks. He pulled his mare up against the snow drift to get out of the wind, and watched as Hedrid expertly scooped a decent sized divot into the snow. He used the snow he'd displaced to build up walls on all sides. As the walls climbed higher and began to tilt inward, he began to shape the icier snow into makeshift bricks, and stacked them inward until they met in the middle. There was a small hole in the top. The whole process took the man less than half an hour. In the time, Daen had sat down in the snow, and was now covered up around his waist in new snow. The mare had huddled up against the snowdrift, and was now nearly burried. The horse actually looked quite warm. Hedrid called to Daen from a deeper hole he'd dug under his walls. 
Daen stood, snow cascading off him, and crawled into the hole. When he emerged, he found himself in a quite cozy, and more importantly, quite warm little shelter. Hedrid up and rooted around in one of the pockets of his coat. Then he withdrew a blackened piece of treated leather and laid it in the space between himself and Daen. Then, from another pocket of his apparently bottomless coat, he pulled a small cloth bag, tied with twine at the top. 
He untied the bag and poured its powdery contents onto the leather. Then a flintstone from yet another pocket. Hedrid struck the flintstone onto the powder, which ignited with fervor, a small fireball prickled the skin on Daen's face. Then Hedrid immediately slapped a hand down on the powder, and Daen instinctively put his hand up to protect from the embers that never came. When he looked back down, the leather itself was red hot, and the powder had scattered into the air without a trace. A pleasant warmth came off the leather.  Daen squinted at it, and could faintly see the strings of magic flittering around in little circles, coiling up and springing outward to give off heat. [/color]
[color=f7976a]"What is that?"[/color] [color=beige]Daen asked, genuinely curious. Hedrid smiled.[/color]
[color=A9A9A9]"Old family heirloom. A relic really. Never had much use for it before this endless winter." [/color]
[color=beige]Daen squinted at Hedrid. Who gave him another smile. Daen huffed and let the man keep his secrets.[/color]
[color=f7976a]"What about my horse, she'll freeze out there."[/color] 
[color=beige]Hedrid shook his head.[/color][color=A9A9A9] "She's a southern beast. Frozen steeds, we call 'em. Imported down from the cold north. Know how to stay alive out here, she'll be fine. Probably already burrowed nice and deep. The trick is findin' them in the mornin'."[/color] [color=beige]Hedrid laughed again. Merry man for being out in the middle of a storm. Now that he'd thawed out a bit, Daen realized he'd never asked why the man was out here. [/color]
[color=f7976a]"So, you asked me, so now I'll ask you. What are you doing out here? If you knew this storm was here why would you come out into it?" [/color]

[color=beige]Hedrid sighed.[/color][color=A9A9A9] "Didn't come out into it, got left out here. Y'see, I'm a trader. 'Exotic wares', I guess you could say. Some bandits found me out on the ice north of the storm. I made my way in here to try and lose 'em. They found me, took my cart and all my goods, and left me for dead."[/color][color=beige] Hedrid tapped on his temple. [/color][color=A9A9A9]"Little did they know ol' Hedrid's still got some tricks in 'im. Been out on the ice my fair share of times. Even been in the everstorm once, when I lost my way. Managed to get out then, even if I did lose one of my mules.."[/color]

[color=f7976a]"Wait, I thought you said you and your wife were fishers?" [/color]
[color=A9A9A9]"That I did, before the Everstorm set in. Aint much fishin' to be done with no water, as you might've guessed. So we turned to more.. lucrative pursuits."[/color]
[color=beige]Daen nodded his head. [/color]
[color=A9A9A9]"We should get some sleep. Still got more ridin' tomorrow." [/color]
[color=beige]Daen nodded again, and laid down on the packed snow. The warmth of the magical leather kept him comfortable from so close, but for some reason didn't melt any of the snow. He'd have to probe that more when he wasn't so exhausted. He was quite curious to find out how exactly it worked. 
As he drifted off to sleep, Daen felt something pass over him. It dragged like the links of a great chain. He took a deep breath as the realization came to him. This storm was no feat of nature. It was magic. What he had felt was one of the strings keeping the Everstorm magically bound to this place. It was large, monumentally so, but its nature reminded him of the Miasma of Oaxum. He could unravel it. He could make life so much better for these people. He could give them their lives back. 

If only he had the seed. He brought a hand up and brushed over his closed right eye, feeling his eyelid sag inward slightly, reminding him of the emptiness there. Without the Seed of Truth, it would take him decades to unravel something so massive. He took another deep breath as he felt the next of the great links of magic crawl over his mind. 

Sleep took him then, and in his dreams, he was small. 
If only that were just a dream. [/color]
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