Rin Ravenglow knew nothing but the biting wind, keen to ice shards cutting through his body, into his bloodstream. An icy poison threatening to leave him paralyzed, beyond salvation. His muscles protested as he took another step, and then another, and then another. If someone told him this was hell frozen over, he’d believe them. The brutal air hit roughly against his splint armor serving as his only protection against the killing cold. He was grateful now - that he had left the plate at the Ravenglow keep, the journey was difficult enough as it is, the weight of the plates would diminish any chance of survival. A small, self-loathing part of him wished the crushing weight of the cold plate was there to push him down. To push him through the earth, towards his death. Nibbling at the edge of his determination was the doubt that he didn’t deserve redemption after all. Selfish thoughts begged him to turn around, only so he would not achieve the redemption he surely wasn’t worthy of. 

The air slapped the side of his head hard enough so the thoughts crumbled to the wind. That’s right, there was no time for such foolish thoughts, and the splint was not nearly heavy enough to stop him from taking another step. 

***

Rin Ravenglow was an enemy to humanity. His name was well known and well hated. Before it had not bothered him as much as it currently did. A part of him was baffled at how he’d managed to ignore it, how he could handle it. It wasn’t as though humanity was unrelated to him, as if it was just another trivial relation that didn’t occur to him. His own humanity was proof of that. The round edge of his ear, the mortality of his life, the culture in which he still indulged, all of it was human. The furious heart beating within his ribcage, heavy as though something weighed it down, was human. 

But none of that had occurred to him as he’d slaughtered human by human, at the slight indication of a divine nudge. 

Was he even to be considered human anymore? Was there not a limit to how much one could betray their own before they ceased belonging?

He did not blame them for refusing him at every tavern, why the sound of sharpening of blades could be heard in the anticipation of his arrival. Perhaps, in another life, Rin would have staked himself on one of those blades. Perhaps he also would’ve felt the bone-deep fury, and equal of terror. 

But Rin was beyond any chance of redemption between humanity and himself, and that was not why he was currently freezing his toes off in an impossible climb. 

Guilty was a prominent feeling coursing through his blood, but even though his relation to humanity put him to shame, the void in the pit of his stomach was from the second betrayal he’d committed, and the one which scarred him the most. 

The love and hatred for his God were what had left him unmoving for weeks on end. Staring at the ceiling, not moving an inch from his bed but feeling as though the more time he spent there, the further and further he crawled into it. It had been strikingly different from how he’d spent just days prior to the betrayal. Those days were spent in a never-ending wander of slaughter and the sickening pride of sacrificing parts of oneself for the purpose of the divine.

Rin blamed the cold for the icy shiver that went down his body. 

“Ye there, ye better stop or I’ll put an arrow through one-a you’se legs.” Rin flinched at the suddenness of the voice. He hadn’t been paying attention to anything other than the step ahead of him. He was surprised someone would be able to see anything further than five feet of where them, let alone from where to wield a ranged weapon.

“I’m here in peace, I simply wish to scale the peaks,” He raised his hands to emphasize his point. “I mean no one any harm.”

“Lookin’ at the state of ye, I doubt ye’d do any harm at all.” There was the slight sound of wood slapping wood as the ranger unnocked their arrow. There was no denying his statement, Rin doubted he could even manage a swing with the sword now sheather over his back. The harsh winds had blown away any thoughts of uselessness before they had the chance of emerging. Most men would have died by now, he reminded himself. 

Nimble steps marked the distance the ranger was closing in, shortly after the ranger emerged from the snow clouds. A stocky figure revealed itself from the fogged air. Layer upon layer of furred clothing hugged tightly onto the male dwarf, a long brown beard adorning the rough face braided down to their waist. Though their bow was not nocked, they remained in a defensive position, hands ready to grab any of the many daggers strapped to their legs.

“Ye won’t make it to the next hill before collapsin’.” His bones groaned in agreement, his heart fluttered with determination. His mind, his heart, his body, they all had such conflicting opinions these days. “Don’t be a stubborn bastard, I’m not tellin’ ye to turn around, we’ve got some refreshments to spare,” The dwarf eyes flickered over him. “And perhaps a hot bath.”

“I-I, um,” It had been a while since he’d last spoken to a fellow warrior, spoken to anyone really. Signing deeply, Rin gave in to the desire for a meal and a bath. Gods, how long had it been since he last cleaned himself. At the thought of his sullied body, a stark blush covered his frozen cheeks. “Sure.” A soft smile coated his face, the motion hurt. 

The dwarf did not wait for any other agreement and began marching west of the hill they were at, towards small stone buildings leaning against the ridge, weak lights gleaming from inside that awakened an itch within him. 

The bath was too small to fit Rin as he awkwardly cramped into the tub. His long legs were only half way under the surface as he bent them to fit inside. But the thoughts dispersed as he felt the hot water return life to his worn body. With slow movements he cleansed the dirt of his body. The calloused hands scrubbed with little to no effort, as to selfishly not hurry the momentarily bliss, Tharmek - the dwarf, had even said not to be hurried. They’d gone about making some stew, muttering to themselves about how happy the children were going to be to see new faces. An honest guest - that was what he now was. The last time he’d been over for dinner, he’d slain every single person at the table with a few cleaves. That’s how most of his dinners had been.

Water splashed loudly as Rin made his way out of the tub, unskillfully struggling with not tipping the entire thing. Before he was out of the bathroom, a good few minutes had gone as he’d been perplexed about what to do with all the water that had dribbled onto the floor. Not wanting to dirty the towel he was given, he ended up sacrificing one of his undershirt to clean up his mess. Which led to him now standing in the doorway to the kitchen, towel in one hand, soiled shirt in the other, with three expectant faces and Tharmek staring at him. 

“Er.” He shifted on his feet. The three young female faced simply blinked at him, as if waiting for him to start out with something entertaining.

“I like your beard.” Was his poor attempt as he weakly nodded towards what looked like the oldest of the children. 

“What,” The child started, it sounded more like a wheet “Ye jealous?” A youthful hand tugged at the nicely trimmed ginger beard, before pointing over at Rins face.

“With that sad thing growing on ye face, I wouldn’t blame ye.” An elbow slammed into Tharmek’s side as the adolescents burst into laughter, each one of them charismatically brushing their beards as Tharmek caught their breath. Though in vain as a slap was hurled at their back, air exiting their lungs once again. 

“We could give ye a trim, what do’ye think about that, father.”

“Don’t antagonize the poor thing, Reen, ye can throw the towel and shirt in the basket over there,” Tharmek lazily jerked their hand in a general direction, Rin prayed to Cuyja that his embarrassing search for the basket, he didn’t appear to be too much of an idiot. It appeared to have bothered none of them as Tharmek was animatedly moving their hands for Rin to sit. 

They gestured towards the teen with the ginger beard.

“Argywn, me’ second oldest,” Another gesture towards the child opposite of Rin, beside Tharmek. “Kathri, me’ youngest, and lastly Brollin me’ eldest.” They finished motioning towards the girl to his left. 

Despite his years of divine devotion to his bloody cause, challenging pilgramige, and battles that still awoke him in the middle of the night needing to empty his stomach, being squished between the two girls - Kathri and Brollin, as they were mischeviously smiling at him was a sight of terror. 

“Father said ye were here on a mission.”

“Kind of, a pilgrimage.” The lie slipped off his tongue. 

Dinner continued on with light conversation. None of them seemed to recognize him, or his name. He probably would've been shot first thing had it been so. Once it was only Tharmek and him left cleaning the dishes, he couldn’t distinguish if the stew was the reason for his light chest, or their warm welcome. Rin found himself thinking that had this been his last supper, it was the best one he’d remember having. 

Tharmek was being uncharacteristically quiet as they washed the dishes, their eyes reserved as though they were deep in thought. 

“Yer a worshiper of Cuyja, aren’t ye?” The hand drying the dishes froze. “I recognize that hol-ey symbol a yers.” Their eyes didn’t leave the foamy water, and hands didn’t hesitate in their washing. Rin carefully eased back into work. 

“I’m not here on a pilgrimage.” Tharmek snorted.

“I guessed as much, though it wouldn’t surprise me that a Goddess like that would put ye up for something as suicidal as this, given your,” Their eyes flickered over him. “Human properties.”

“Do not speak ill of my Goddess, that’s a warning.” Rin even managed to feel a glimmer of shame threatening the person who’d so eagerly opened their arms for him. Tharmek didn’t move an inch at the peril in his voice. 

“Paladins were never me favorite of peoples, always too keen to obey the words of immortal entities, never understanding enough for those outside of their own prayer.”

The grip on the cloth tightened as Rin leashed the divine temper of his. The man still dressed in plate screeched for him to cut their head off of their shoulders. That’s what Cuyja would’ve wanted, a low sultry voice whispered like a gust against his neck. They are allowed to criticize you, a rough voice, strained by cold and ice, countered. Tharmek didn’t care for his internal battle as they continued. “I must’ve heard about ye at some point now that I think about it, yer far away enough to not really matter, and we’ve got enough worries around here to care for a rogue Paladin slaughtering humans left and right.”

“Do ye ever stop and think about what impact yer actions actually have, isn’t that the whole Paladin thing, to create a better tomorrow, from what I know all ye did was create far less tomorrows for a large amount of people.”

“It was an act of purifying the population, all I did was clean this earth from it’s filth.” Rin felt himself slip back into the guise of the paladin he once was. “Cuyja is right, humans bring misery, and misery only, it’s my honor to exorcize them from this existence.”

“Yer a human, hope ye don’t forget that.”

“It’s a cost I’m willing to pay.”

“Since it’s not a pilgrimage yer on, I’m assuming it’s redemption, which clearly states that there’s a cost ye weren’t ready to pay.” 

“My work caught me off guard, it’s a mistake I’m willing to admit, and never remake.”

Horrid images of the infant in his arms, their parents lay slain beside him. Kill it, the sultry voice had whispered, kill it now, it had demanded. A baby born from infidelity, Rin could not see how such a tiny creature could propose any harm. Take it’s vile life, Rin swore the voice whispered once again. In panic he’d left the baby in a neighboring bush, hoping someone would find it.

“Is it a mistake yer willing to regret?” Their words left him stunned, did he regret it? Rin knew he never wanted to disobey Cuyja, never wanted to make her feel as though he was incapable of completing what she demanded. If she were to ask him to kill a babe, would he regret obeying? Dangerous territories, common sense reminded him, he was wandering onto very dangerous territories.

“Of course.” Had he always been so keen to lie?

“I thought Paladins didn’t lie.” And all for nothing, apparently, as Tharmek noted his behavior.

“It does not matter, my honor lies in my dedication, and I shall not betray it again. I’ll take my leave once we’re done here, thank you for the meal, and your hospitality.” He was truly grateful, and ashamed. Conflict between his heart and head once again. 

“At least stay the night, I doubt the nights ye experience as the lower levels is anything compared to these heights, if ye go now, ye’ll be dead before dawn breaks.”

Rin did not doubt him and weakly nodded his head, too weak to resist the charms of the dwarf. “Just watch out so that Brollin or Argywn don’t decide to trim yer lifeless facial hair.”

And so Tharmek left the room, abandoning Rin with his loud thoughts and nothing to stop them from consuming him entirely when sleep failed to claim him. 

***

Though he only managed to sleep for around two hours before the sun went up, Rin felt more refreshed than ever. His bones did not complain as he rose from the hard kitchen bench and small futon Tharmek had been able to spare. He was alone in the tiny house, he noticed, Tharmek and their children had apparently already left for whatever work functioned at these heights. As he made his way out, he noticed a small pile of equipment collected in the hallway. Nothing more than a couple of pliers, a tinderbox accompanied by some torches, some bread and a water skin in a separate bag, some rope, what looked like a makeshift tent, and a small letter that told him not to open until he’d reached the top. 

Once again shame filled his being, Tharmek still managed to care, their daughters as well he judged from the cute-ugly drawings of beards on the letter. What had he done to deserve this kindness? Not wanting the internal battle to slow him down, Rin made his way out the door. 

Tharmek was disturbingly right, Rin concluded as he started his walk where he last ended it. The smooth, soft snow that had poured down the night before had turned into a thick layer of sleet. Had he continued the former night, he wouldn’t have made it far before being entirely drowned. There was a blizzard collecting not more than half a mile away. Ice, snow, and water colliding, creating a thick impenetrable cloud moving north. As Rin continued to walk, he could only hope it moved faster than him. 

***

It was difficult to remember to drink when it was icy cold, Rin realized as he’d stalked a good three miles worth of detours. Nearly five hours of climbing had passed when he’d realized the waterskin Tharmek had gifted him was very much still full, almost all frozen to ice at this point. 

He’d hunched behind a boulder, gloved hands wrapped around the flask, desperately trying to melt it’s contents. As the first drop hit his dehydrated mouth he found himself disregarding any embarrassment to plunge his tongue through the slim hole, absorbing anything the ice would give him. Was this really the same knight who had been bestowed such glorious mission just weeks ago? Could he really find it in him to care?

That was something new he discovered whilst mounting the peaks of these hill, climbing closer to the designated destination. It seemed as though the further away he travelled from soil, the less grounded he became in his attitude. It felt as if the mountain itself installed a brand new level of suspiscion and survival in him. He found himself turning his head at an sounds, more importantly, the further he climbed the less he prayed. In the beginning, at every fall, every boulder rolling down that he’d managed to dodge, all of it had ended in an unanswered prayer to Cuyja. 

What’s there to say she won’t reject you upon that mountain shall you not thank her for her mercy, and support, a lewd voice muttered. He had sacrificed so much simply to make it here. On this journey he was gambling his honor, his faith, and his life, it was not the time to lose devotion.

Your goddess will not save you from these winds, the mountain croaked back. A tint of humor in its voice, Rin got the feeling that there were ancient things residing within this summit that were laughing at him. Strong, he reminded himself, he had to stay strong. 

After desperately trying to satisfy his thirst, he leaned against the boulder. The rough foundation made for good cover against the wind. As he settled on the cold ground, his head hit the stone. He hadn’t realized how exhausted he was. All climbing, always being one wrong step away from a certain death had pushed any thoughts of rest away. The core of his being whined in tune with his slowing heartbeat. Suddenly, with every second, his eyelids seemed to grow heavier. Strong, he had to stay strong.

His affirmations did nothing to stop his eyes from dropping to the back of his head as he fell asleep.

***

There was something pecking at him. A sharp piercing pain shot through his body, as a reflect his hand extended out pushing whatever creature was poking into his organs. There was a high-pitched call and a gust of wind and the entity left him alone. He didn’t know if he was bleeding, he didn’t care. Falling back into darkness was easy as he had not even opened his eyes. 

Then there was a peck again, he reached out, slapped, eyes still closed. 

Again,

again, 

again, 

then he was up in the air, his body seized from the ground, ruthlessly slammed into the crushing winds, now with no boulder to protect him. With no choice, his eyes shot open. Large, long, sharp talons held his body as they plummeted with the winds. An eagle, a giant eagle carried him, circling around the mountain. Powerful wings clad with beautiful feathers scaled the skies. Any need for sleep left with the wind as they turned, dived, heaved up. Without even knowing, a weak chuckle left his lips. Soon enough he was cackling as loud as his lungs would allow him. At some point he was yelling, the sound engulfed by the wind. Content and calm, Rin viewed the mountain, the crown far away, but finally within sights. 

“Thank you.” It was likely the eagle didn’t hear him, nor understand him, but as it’s head turned and met his eyes, he was willing to doubt. They turned around once again, gliding towards the same coulder he’d dozed off against. The landing was a rather clumsy one as the eagle prompted for throwing him on the ground. 

Better than to be crushed under its weight, Rin thought to himself. 

The eagle faced him, standing a good five heads taller, and with no indication to budge. Struggling to open the pouch with his frozen fingers, despite the warmth from the gloves, he grasped a piece of the bread he’d gotten from Tharmek. His arms, similarly frozen to his fingers, attempted an underhand throw towards the eagles beak, the eagles did not open its peak for the flying bread piece causing it to simply, and quite sadly, bounce against its beak and fall to the ground. From the intelligent look in its eyes, Rin gathered it was the eagles way of saying to keep his nutrition to himself.

“You’re probably right, that was stupid.” Whatever desperate, hungry part of him that had apparently taken the reins leaned down and grabbed the bread, and did not think twice before popping it into his mouth. The eyes watched him, Rin wondered what manner of man those big eyes saw. “Are you here to make a point?” He must’ve looked insane standing there chewing on dirtied bread, talking to a large eagle. 

“About me, my goddess, her lack of protection?” He swallowed the bread, daring to take a step closer to the eagle. The intelligent eyes watched him curiously, for some reason it fueled his anger. 

“Are you here to judge me? Judge Cuyja? Are you here to tell me everything is for nothing, that I’m wrong? That I’m not worthy?” The entity remained silent as the night, even the winds did not make a sound as Rin went on.

“All this time, all I’ve been doing is trying to make things right, I abandoned my race to dedicate myself to my Goddess, I serve her for years upon years, I eagerly take the punishment that she gives me for doubting her, and here I can’t turn my head for a second without having someone disregard my mission.” His voice was rasp, having not been used to such an extent in a painfully long while. 

“I don’t wish for your company if it’s only to belittle me,” He swung his arms towards the eagle, as though it was a simple crow picking left-overs. “Shall you only dishonor me then leave.” They stared at one another for a long while, an unspoken battle of pertinacity. Almost taking Rin by surprise, the wings of the eagle started flapping as it lifted from the ground. He allowed himself a seconds worth of satisfaction, before quickly feeling it drain as the eagle created more distance between the two, scaling the air in the direction of the mountain. 

“Wait,” He wretchedly yelled. “I’m sorry.” The eagle didn’t look back, did not slow down.

“I’m sorry,” He repeated. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Rin sank to his knees, one pathetic frozen arm reaching towards where the eagle was slowly disappearing from sight flapping forcefully on the ground.

Flapping so hard a small, used path revealed under the snow.

***

Before he had left for the mountain, his last night at Ravenglow Keep, he’d had a dream. A rather disturbing one he’d decided. He wasn’t sure if that was because Cuyja would’ve felt so, or if he genuinely did. 

He had dreamt of large, metallic bronze hands caressing him, holding him, enveloping him. Rarely did he ever see the front of the person, from the few glances he’d made, they possessed no clear facial features, but with shoulder length metallic ebony hair, glistening in whatever light had been reflected in the dream. The figure was tall, nearing the size of the Giant Eagle. It must’ve been a play of power, Rin had determined, appearing too small and touched so gently. His brain had begun to play against him, and it did not get particularly better the further in they develved into the dream. Opposed to his initial reaction, Rin found himself leaning into the touch as strong arms drew him in. The face with no features had released a breath against his neck, almost as if in defeat laid their forehead against his neck. Their entire body must’ve been arched to succeed in such movement. 

Gods, Rin swore again, they’re huge.

Nothing particularly different had happened after that. The entity would occasionally start swaying them, would hug him closer as if they weren’t already perfectly aligned with no more space to fill. 

Their aura had been similar to Rin himself. He’d always been good at determining what people were of honor, faith, desperation, and whatever other forces that would drive them. In their shared space, even when he was hours into his sleep, he could tell the strong air of a divine favor. Maybe he had been delusioned enough to create some prime conditioned honest knight that he could never reach, to engulf him in his sorrows. A sick comparison of what he was and never could’ve been. 

Yet, there was one small detail he couldn't get out of his mind. Discarded to the side had a beautiful, disturbingly large, greatsword been laying. It must’ve been over seven feet in length, the hilt had been adorned with a glorious gold, the rain-guard flowing backwards in a fluid motion, with a large diamond logged into the middle, the pommel, ornamented with a sphere of a similar blue color. 

By now, Rin had made it to the summit. 

He had reached the peak.

But none of that mattered as he found himself staring straight at the very same blade from his dream, now leaning against a stone foundation which made up a very tall cottage. 

He swore low and filthy as his gaze did not move from the sword. Without any command, his legs started moving towards the weapon. Indeed as in his study from the dream, it almost radiated divine energy. And just as in the dream, the blade towered over him with a good feet and a half. Rin did not get a chance to consider what that would mean for the entity in his dream, before he felt the looming - now starkly radiant presence behind him. 

“I was really hoping you’d die before making it here.” Rin could do nothing as a powerful kick sent him flying to the side, skin scraping against gravel as he slid across the ground. On all his four, he peered at the creature before him. Powerful, divine, large. The air screamed of victory in their presence. Strikingly white wings embellished the male, his face now visible as he picked up his sword and made his way over to Rin with steady steps. The face was nothing short of beautiful, a wondrous mix of harsh and soft. But most importantly, definitely belonging to the entity from his dream.

“Fuck.” He cursed as he struggled to stand, unsheathing his own sword for the first time in a long couple of days. What should’ve been a sense of comfort was immediately overpowered by the males aura. What good would his greatsword do when he lacked two three feet worth of reach. 

Not the time, Rin, concentrate.

All he could do was weakly deflect the blade as it came rushing for his head, the force of it leaving his bones shaking. Rolling to the right as another swipe stalked him. 

“I didn’t want to do this, had I met you at the ground, it could have been a mercy.” Nothing that left their mouth made any sense as Rin deflected, deflected, deflected. 

Jabbed.

Tossed.

The alluring creature was holding back, Rin realized. Even if the hit left him shaking, growing more exhausted from each blow, that body was able to produce stronger, sharper strikes. They had yet to try and draw blood. Rin wasn’t about to waste such valuable information as he dived into a reckless attack, leaving both his sides wide open. Putting strength into the swipe that he did not know he possessed, the edge swiped against their uncovered throat. 

One line, only a thin line, with barely a drop of blood drawing. Progress nevertheless. 

“That was foolish.” The same hand which had caressed through his hair, had hugged him tight just nights ago, roughly grabbed him by the throat, bringing them to eye-level.

“I had vouched for you,” Air was still reaching his lungs, despite the grip. “I told her you deserved this chance, to redeem yourself.” Rin did not know how the male possibly would have known about him, but he was quick to realize who she was. 

“You were a human, despite that you still followed her every command, despite how you were ostracized, hated.” The thumb that held his jaw made weak caressing motions against his skin. It was calming, he hated it. The sword hanging limp at his swirled in his grip before lunging for their side. The blade embedded itself a god five inches into their side, the entity didn’t budge in their grip. His throat was yanked back, taking the sword with him, and then flicked out of his hand with a blow from the radiant greatsword. 

“Rin, don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be.” There was kindness in those eyes, mercy. Perhaps it was the kindness that controlled the male as the greatsword pierced his stomach. Erratic eyes blinked down as Rin saw himself impaled by the sword, the blade drove all its seven feet straight through him until the hilt laid straight against his splint. Shaky breaths made his body tremble in the strong grip. His blood, deep red, dripped to the ground, slowly trickling across the hilt. 

“I don’t want this,” Rin had no clue what he was saying, so close to death, beyond any reason, he met the creature's eyes. “I don’t want to die.”

“I’m sorry.” They were, Rin could hear it.

“You vouched for me?”

“I did, she told me that you should not make it down from this mountain, taken by the blizzards, or by my hand.” The thumb was caressing his chin once again. “I am a man of faith just like you, I could not betray my purpose for a selfish bias.”

“Did I do good?”

“You were the best, I shall never forget how well you’ve served.”

“May I have one last wish?” His vision was starting to spot black, he could barely make out how the entity nodded.

“I was given a letter by a friend, they told me not to open it until I reached the summit, could you read it for me? It’s in my pocket.” The sword tilted as the hand left it, and reached into his pocket. Rins eyes were beginning to close.

A minute passed, nothing was said. 

Time trickled by, with each second Rin was feeling his connection to life slip out of his hands.

“Please?” He weakly pleaded. 

Then his feet hit the ground, and the paper was pushed up against his chest. With the little drive left in his body, he gazed at the entity as he looked down on Rin with regret in his eyes. 

“Go.” He jerked his head towards the path he had arrived, eyes pleading at Rin to do something. “Run. Now.” His large hands made hurried motions for him to leave, almost pushing him down the hill. 

“This is my gift for you, now leave before she can stop it.” Holding the paper to his chest, Rin stumbled backwards in disbelief. 

“Run.” He roared, as large gray clouds collected above the two of them. Sword still embedded in his stomach, Rin scattered down the path. He could no longer keep his eye on the male, but he swore he heard bone breaking as the same sultry voice that had haunted his conscience for days on end shrieked “Traitor, oathbreaker, defrier of fate.”

Rin did not stay to let whatever was happening catch up on him. 

Tripping over his feet, he continued to run as fast as his dying legs would allow. Gravel collected in waves as he pushed and pushed and pushed. The wind hit him from all directions and he refused to stop, now running by the boulder. 

Panic and adrenaline kept him upright as he tumbled with snow, wind, stone, everything he’d taken hours to scale he now flew by in seconds. 

Not once did his abused feet stop as he made it back to the path he’d taken from Tharmeks cottage. He knew it was just within a mile to the cottage, he knew it should be within sight from where he stood. 

Despite that, there was nothing that stopped the blizzard he’d forgotten from hitting him from behind, sending him flying with a bed of snow closely following him.

***

He was surprised when eyes opened, given that he was almost two feet in deaths door. Like a blanket, his lower body was entirely buried in snow, the sword still in his middle. He wasn’t sure he even was breathing. 

Yet, in a death grip he held the paper from Tharmek clutched to his chest. Sight still losing it’s capacity he dared release the paper from his clasp. 

Should you be discredited for your journey, know you have a place with us, and we will not ask for more than your company. Don’t kill yourself for the purpose of faith when it is not returned.

Rin Ravenglow released a single tear, streaking down on his cheek, staining the paper.

“Thank you.” He whispered as he slowly slipped into the darkness, warm knowing there was someone in this world that did not regret meeting him.