Ravenfire
The Neverending Winter

The white blanket of snow was like an endless sea that covered what remained of the great battle that ultimately ushered the earth into an unending winter. None of the adults who witnessed it ever talk about it. They’d prefer to just let the snow bury the truth and eventually forget about it, but it won’t stay buried for long. Not if I can help it.

I passed by the remains of a main battle tank that was probably destroyed by mines, one of just many littered all over the snow-covered land. As I searched for little trinkets to take home with me, I heard a voice call my name, “Remina.”

Startled, I turned around only to see nobody around. I mean, why would anyone else be here? Everyone in the settlement avoided this area like the plague. Brushing it off, I continued walking, only to hear the voice again. This time, louder.

“Remina Ravenfire.”

Startled, I quickly turned around. Nothing. Just snow and silence.

Before outright declaring that I had gone mad, I noticed something dangling from the wreckage and bent down to pick it up. It was a necklace with a snake pendant that looked pristine despite its exposure to the harsh elements. There was something strange about it that piqued my curiosity, something unexplainable that drew me to it. As I continued to examine it, the snake’s eyes suddenly glowed an uncanny red.

One blink and I found myself standing on the same field without snow. The wreckage around me came to life, restored back to its original state. I saw people wearing military uniforms, the same one I found in my uncle’s trunk, which he swore he’d never put on again. Everything around me was at a standstill, even the bullets fired from guns and the high explosive shells from the tanks. This was a single moment in the past, back when the world had four seasons and there were more humans walking the earth.

Nothing like this ever happened before. I was terribly frightened. Have I lost my mind? Was I hallucinating?

To add to the list of reasons to question my own sanity, an unusually large horned serpent rose from the ground and stood before me. Without opening its beastly mouth, it whispered a piece of poetry into my mind:

Winter of dreams, of power yearning,

The noble truth, its eyes discerning-

Autumn of stars, of the ever-changing,

The howling winds, its secrets estranging-

Summer of suns, of unquenchable fire,

The greatest war, its heart’s desire-

Spring of souls, of gentle healing,

The peaceful song, its love revealing-

Season of shadows, of death and deceit,

The serpent’s gift born from human conceit:

The Unmending lords over bodily state.

The Unending masters time and fate.

Over and over, it repeated the same lines as if drumming it into my head. Once it was satisfied, it vanished. Then, everything simply returned to how it was, as if nothing ever happened. I breathed heavily as I looked around me and saw that I was back at the snow-covered field. The necklace was still in my hand. The snake’s eyes no longer glowed. Was I just imagining it? I hurried back to my uncle’s repair shop without looking back.

“Where were you?” My uncle was standing behind the counter with a frown on his face when I entered the shop.

“I was just out for a walk,” I replied as I placed my bag down.

“You were at the field again, weren’t you? I told you to stop going there. There are unexploded mines and shells still scattered about. If your limbs get blown off, there’s no surgeon here who can help you.” My uncle was right to warn me. We live in a small and isolated settlement. Only the large settlements had adequate medical care.

“Sorry.” I placed down some trinkets and items I scavenged on the table. “I brought these back though. Do you know what they are? You must have seen these during your time as an engineer for the military.”

My uncle sighed. “Forget about war, Remina. Leave the past buried. Look what it brought us. The world used to be a much better place. Now all you have is a wasteland with a winter that never ends.” He sat down on a stool and continued working on fixing a broken clock a customer had brought in.

“Why don’t you ever talk about the old world?” I asked.

He didn’t even turn his head to face me. “It’s depressing to talk about something that will never return.”

We both heard the bell ring and turned our heads towards the door. It was uncommon for us to have a customer walk in, given the settlement’s very low population of about just twenty people. It was even rarer for a new one to enter.

“Did I come at a bad time?” the stranger asked. He was an elderly man dressed formally in a trench coat, vest, and trousers. Such attire was uncommon here, whose locals were satisfied in simple but warm clothing. Judging by his neat and well-mannered appearance, he probably came from one of the big cities.

“How may I help you?” asked my uncle, who stood up from his chair. Even he was surprised by the rare occasion.

“I couldn’t help but be intrigued by your storefront. What is it that you sell here?” The stranger gave a friendly smile.

“We repair things, but most people just come here to buy clocks,” replied my uncle as he leaned on the counter. “We also have little trinkets that my niece made.”

“May I see them?” The gentleman seemed interested.

“Remina, watch the counter,” my uncle said before he left the room to get the box of trinkets.

I did as my uncle said and watched over the customer as he examined the display of clocks around the shop. I noticed a strange cloud of golden power gathering around his wooden cane. The way it moved around in the air was deeply mesmerising that I didn’t notice I was being stared at. Once I did notice, I looked away out of embarrassment.

“It’s custom made,” he said with a smile.

“Here are the trinkets.” My uncle set down the box on the counter. Its contents were haphazardly arranged, but it didn’t seem to bother our customer.

The old man took his time examining each one as my uncle and I waited for him to finish. He ran his hands over each metal trinket I crafted. “Fascinating. Did you make this?” he asked me.

“Yes, I did,” I replied.

“Remina is currently doing her apprenticeship with me,” added my uncle. “I have her practice working with metal by crafting those.”

“She certainly has the talent,” said the old gentleman.

I smiled politely.

A particular trinket caught his eye. I noticed a faint cloud of golden powder drawn to it, which I previously didn’t see when I was making it. Has it always been there? “I will take this one,” he said and proceeded to pay for it.

He can definitely see the golden powder too. There’s no way he didn’t notice that.

Curious about the identity of the stranger, I decided to make some inquiries. “We rarely receive visitors from outside. Where are you from, Sir?” I pretended to be friendly.

“Ah. I am an instructor from Blackthorn Academy, Prof. Albert Ariston.” He held out a hand.

“Remina Ravenfire,” I politely introduced myself and shook his hand. “What brings you here to this rather isolated town, Professor?”

“I’m in the area temporarily on official business. I thought I’d have a look at the shops here while I have the chance.” He checked his pocket watch for the time. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I’m afraid I must be on my way. Thank you for accommodating me. It was lovely meeting you.” The professor politely bid us goodbye and left the shop in good humour.

“Blackthorn Academy, huh?” said my uncle while staring at the shop entrance. “Who would’ve thought they’d stop by here.”

“Have you heard of it?” I asked, surprised.

“I heard it’s a prestigious boarding school. Probably the best education you can get these days. They are very selective about their students. I wonder if they’re recruiting new students for the upcoming school year.”

School. A somewhat alien concept to me. A large city might have one or two, but small settlements like ours don’t have that sort of luxury.

“What do they teach there?” I asked.

“Not sure. Probably like what schools usually taught back then? Science, maths, history,...” He looked at me with pity. “I’m sorry you had to be born in a world with no proper schools. Maybe then you could meet more people your age instead of being stuck here in the middle of nowhere.”

“Life here isn’t so bad,” I said and went back to work.

The professor continued to stay in our little settlement for the next few days. I sometimes saw him engaging in pleasantries with the locals. Other times, I saw him standing alone at some isolated place and staring into space, probably in deep thought. Soon, everyone began to wonder: Why is he really here?

I did a bit of investigation and asked around for more details about him, but it turned out that the professor revealed very little and nothing beyond what I already knew about him. When asked about his work, he masterfully evaded inquiries like a sea captain in control of the course of the ship of conversation topics.

He was hiding something. I was sure of it. But for now, it didn’t concern me. What did concern me, however, was the strange necklace I picked up the other day. I couldn’t identify the metal and the crystal embedded into it. Although it didn’t call out to me again, it did sometimes emit an ominous red glow.

At the end of my shift at the repair shop, I decided to go out for a walk. I needed more scraps for my little project and the only place I could get them was at the snowy field my uncle specifically banned me from entering. It was hard to stay away from a place where I felt at home the most. It’s strange that the site of a terrible event was where I could replace inner peace.

Then, I felt it under my foot. The small, cylindrical metal body of an anti-personnel mine. My uncle had warned me time and again that there were still mines lying about that had been missed, but I never listened. I spent about a week meticulously marking the locations of mines using my uncle’s metal detector and a stick for prodding. I didn’t think I’d actually miss one.

The blast sent me flying backwards. When I came to, I was lying on the snow with my head facing the sky. For a moment, I believed I was truly dead, but the cold wind blowing against my cheek told me otherwise.

I’m alive?

I couldn’t believe it. That explosion was supposed to kill me, send my limbs flying, and scatter my blood all over the white canvas of snow.

“So it really is you.”

I turned my head. At first, my vision was a blur, but eventually I saw the professor standing metres away from me with his signature cane and enigmatic smile. A rather eerie sight. He seemed awfully calm for someone who just witnessed a person get blasted away by a mine.

“Professor? What are you doing here?” I asked as I slowly stood back up.

He stood in place. “I’m searching for a young mage who recently awakened. The fact that you tripped a mine and survived unharmed proves to me that you’re the one I’m looking for.”

“Are mages supposed to be fire-proof?” I asked as I examined myself for any burn marks.

“Not all of them, but those who have an affinity with fire do. Congratulations, Ms. Ravenfire. You’ve earned yourself an invitation to Blackthorn Academy.” He held up an envelope and handed it to me.

When I received the envelope, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my hand. I realised I accidentally cut myself when I was pushed away by the blast. The professor snapped his finger. I watched in awe as the golden powder gathered around my cut and healed it. The pain receded until it completely disappeared.

Magic. Pure and warm. Refreshing like a gentle stream.

“You can see the gold powder, can’t you?” he said.

“Yes. What is it exactly?” I couldn’t tear my eyes away at the golden cloud of dust.

“Raw magic. The ability to see it is especially rare even among mages. Besides the both of us, I only know of one other person who can see it.” When he finished healing my wounds, the golden powder dispersed. He looked at me as a wise grandfather would to his grandchildren. “You have a special gift, Ms. Ravenfire. Come to the academy to hone those skills. Give it some thought.” He gave an enigmatic smile as a parting gift before he left and vanished mysteriously from the landscape.

I stood alone in the field of snow, staring at the very spot he was last seen. Elation was hard to feel when I didn’t know exactly what it meant to be a mage. As I learned from old tales, power comes at a price. I wasn’t too keen to know what price was expected of me. But for now, I was glad to be alive.

The next morning, I woke up and thought about yesterday’s events. It felt like a dream. There was no scar left on my hand, so I nearly believed it was. The golden cloud of dust gathered around the snake necklace was the only thing that confirmed it was real.

On my way to get breakfast, I noticed a commotion downstairs. It seemed livelier than usual. People in this household weren’t very talkative, so it was uncommon to hear conversations at this hour.

“Remina, we have something to discuss,” said my uncle in a serious tone. I immediately knew something was wrong. My aunt and my two nephews were standing quietly at a corner, observing the whole thing.

“Discuss what?” I asked as I walked down the stairs and joined them in the living room. I noticed Prof. Ariston seated across from where my uncle sat. He bowed his head politely to acknowledge my presence. “What is Prof. Ariston doing here?”

“I received word from the neighbours that you were the cause of the explosion we heard the other day,” my uncle began without answering my question.

I knew it would do me no good lying to him. “I don’t deny it.”

“I fear that if you continue to stay here, that won’t be the last ‘accident’ we’ll see. I’ve thought about sending you back to your parents for some time now after you’ve repeatedly ignored my warnings. Now, I’m considering it again for the sake of yours and everyone’s safety.”

I looked at the professor for a moment then back at my uncle. “I understand.”

He turned to glance at the professor for a moment. “Prof. Ariston has generously offered you a scholarship to attend Blackthorn Academy. I’ll have you choose: return home to your parents or become a student.”

The professor maintained a calm smile, his signature poker face. I was sure he had something to do with this. Nevertheless, I expected my uncle to throw me out eventually anyway. I never was the type to completely play by the rules. I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon.

I sighed. “Blackthorn Academy it is.”