EMPIRE OF THE CASTAWAYS

Chapter 8: Stone in the Storm

Ravindra 

Auratigris stared at him with eyes that left no room for negotiation, blue and gold eyes that had witnessed thousands of storms and thousands of deaths and knew the difference between a test that built and a test that destroyed, and in that gaze Ravindra could read clearly that this was the former though it would feel like the latter before it was finished.

"Seven days," the guardian said with voice deep as the rumble of shifting underground ice, not loud but carrying weight that couldn't be ignored, and those words fell in the cave air like a judgment long considered and now finally pronounced. "Seven days on the highest peak you can reach without falling into the chasm, without this cave's protection, without fire except what you can make yourself, and most importantly, without me to save you if you make foolish mistakes which you certainly will because you're still a child though you pretend to be grown."

Ravindra didn't answer immediately because he knew Auratigris wasn't finished, and indeed, the guardian continued after a pause long enough to let tension build like snow accumulating before an avalanche. "Storm will come in two days, I can feel it in bones that have counted seasons before your great-great-grandfather's grandfather was born, and this storm will be the worst this season because nature sometimes likes testing unfairly to ensure only the strongest survive to see spring which even in Frostreach sometimes comes with ice flowers that bloom for one day before dying again." The guardian stopped, head tilting slightly as if considering whether to add something, then decided to proceed. "If you die, I won't search for you until seven days pass because that would ruin the test, and if seven days pass and you don't return, I will go to the peak and find your body and bury it properly as should be done for a warrior who failed the test but failed with courage not cowardice."

Those words should be frightening, and were frightening, but there was something in them that also made Ravindra feel honored in a strange way because Auratigris didn't say "if you fail" but "if you die," acknowledging that failure in this test came only one way and that was death, and thus acknowledging that trying itself was already a form of courage worthy of respect even if the result was cold, lonely death on a mountain peak that cared nothing for small human ambitions.

"I understand," Ravindra finally said, and his voice was steadier than he thought would emerge, not trembling or hesitant though inside his chest something screamed to refuse, to say this was madness, to say he was still too young or too weak or too anything except ready, but he ignored that voice because the last three years had taught him that the voice of doubt was the first enemy to be killed before other enemies could be fought.

Auratigris nodded once, small but final movement, then turned and walked to the cave corner where she kept various objects collected during thousands of years living in Frostreach, mostly bones from extinct creatures and strangely shaped stones that might have meaning but might also be just stones, and from that pile the guardian took something that made Ravindra hold his breath in surprise. It was hide, not the bear hide he usually wore but hide from something else, something pure white with familiar faint scale patterns, and when Auratigris brought it closer, Ravindra realized with almost spiritual shock that this was hide shed by the guardian herself, fragments of fur and scales released during growth or regeneration process or whatever immortal creatures did when their bodies renewed themselves.

"This will help you survive longer than ordinary humans should be able to because guardian hide carries some Aether that remains alive even after separating from the body, and that Aether will protect you from the worst cold though it won't make you completely immune," Auratigris explained while handing the hide to Ravindra, and when the child's fingers touched the surface, he could feel gentle warmth flowing from the material as if still connected to the source that created it. "But don't think this will make you unable to die because many stronger than you have died wearing better protection, and the only difference between them and you is they might survive one day longer before Frostreach claims them for its bone collection which is already too large."

Ravindra took the hide with both hands, feeling weight disproportionate to size as it seemed to carry the weight of responsibility and hope besides physical weight, and he folded it carefully before placing it in the small backpack he'd already prepared with minimal supplies Auratigris permitted, consisting of bone knife, flint, gut string, and a handful of jerky enough for two days if frugal or one day if weak against hungry stomach temptation. "When must I leave?" he asked though already knowing the answer because in tests like this, delaying was a form of defeat before battle began.

"Now," Auratigris answered with tone allowing no argument, and indeed Ravindra didn't try arguing because he'd learned this guardian never made decisions without reason even if reasons weren't always clear initially, and if Auratigris said now then now was the right time even if every fiber in Ravindra's body wanted to delay at least one more night in cave warmth close to the only family he had. But he didn't say that aloud, only nodded and lifted the pack to his back, tightening straps with movements automatic from years of practice, and walked toward cave mouth where cold morning light waited like a naked blade ready to cut anyone foolish enough to exit without perfect preparation.

At the threshold, he stopped and looked back, not fully but enough to see Auratigris from the corner of his eye, and the guardian sat on her warm stone with posture that might look relaxed to others but Ravindra could read tension in the way wings folded too tight and tail coiled around body as if trying to restrain herself from doing something impulsive like following the child and protecting from dangers certainly coming. No farewell words were spoken because words in moments like this would feel too small or too large and none would be right, so Ravindra only nodded once, small movement carrying everything that couldn't be said, and then he stepped out into cold that immediately bit despite sun already risen high enough to give illusion of warmth not truly there.

The journey to peak took an entire full day, not because of distance but because terrain became increasingly brutal with each upward step, from paths still relatively passable to areas where each handhold must be chosen carefully because rock could come loose and ice could break and one small mistake could mean a fall that would end with body shattered at chasm bottom that wouldn't be found until spring if ever found. Ravindra climbed with focus that blocked all thoughts except those needed for survival, eyes scanning route, hands seeking holds, feet testing each foothold before giving full weight, and breath emerging in controlled rhythm though air grew thinner and lungs had to work harder to draw insufficient oxygen from atmosphere not designed for humans.

When he finally reached the area Auratigris described as the highest peak reachable without special equipment, sun was already beginning to set and sky changed to a color Ravindra had no name for, some mixture of dark purple and painful red and pale gold like rusted metal, and in that light the mountain peak looked like a place not from this world but from nightmares made by sadistic gods. The area was no more than a flat stone platform about ten steps square, surrounded by jutting rock formations like giant fingers trying to reach sky, and wind blowing there was something alive and angry, trying to tear apart anything foolish enough to stand against it with force that could knock down adults larger than Ravindra if they weren't prepared.

He spent the first hour building shelter, not something luxurious but just enough to protect from worst wind, using small stones he could lift to make low wall against larger formation, and filling gaps with snow he packed with hands until they were numb and red with cold penetrating even guardian hide he wore as outer layer. When shelter was finished, or at least as finished as could be made with available materials and time, Ravindra crawled into cramped space barely enough for his small body, pulling pack inside and closing entrance gap with more snow until he was enclosed in almost perfect darkness except faint light entering through small gap he left for ventilation because dying from suffocation was as bad as dying from cold.

The first night was worst because he wasn't yet accustomed to isolation and cold and darkness so absolute he couldn't see his own hand even when placed directly before his face, and in that darkness mind began playing tricks, whispering doubts and fears and death scenarios so vivid he could almost feel them happening. He heard sounds that might be just wind but might also be something else, something hunting at this altitude where nothing should live, and each time wind struck shelter with force making stone tremble, he was certain the entire structure would collapse and bury him alive beneath rock and ice. But the structure held, and he held, and when gray dawn light finally began seeping through ventilation gap, Ravindra was still alive though his body shook with violence he couldn't control and toes he couldn't feel at all which was the first sign of frostbite that if untreated could end with amputation or tissue death.

He spent the second day searching for anything burnable, a nearly impossible task at this altitude where there were no trees and only a few plants could survive, but he found dry moss under rock overhang sheltered from snow and some pieces of wood somehow carried up by wind or birds or perhaps left by other climbers years ago who also tried surviving and perhaps failed if there were no stories about those who succeeded reaching this peak and returned to tell. The fire he made was a pitiful thing, no more than a small flame almost dying several times before he managed making it stable enough to provide barely detectable warmth, but even that small warmth was the difference between losing toes and keeping them, and he sat as close to fire as possible without burning himself, holding hands and feet near flame until feeling began returning with painful sensation like thousands of needles stabbed into flesh.

The third day brought storm as Auratigris predicted, and that storm was something indescribable with words because words were too weak to capture pure force of wind blowing at speeds that could strip flesh from bone if exposed directly, and snow not falling but shot horizontally like ice arrows seeking targets, and temperature dropping so low breath froze before leaving lips and ice began forming inside shelter despite closing all gaps except minimal ventilation. Ravindra spent that storm curled in fetal position, wrapped in guardian hide and all clothing he had, shivering ceaselessly and sometimes losing consciousness for time periods he couldn't measure because in storms like this there was no difference between day and night, only darkness and cold and wind sound roaring like beasts wanting to kill.

When storm finally subsided, and it might be the fourth or perhaps fifth day because he'd already lost track of time in fog of pain and cold and hunger since his jerky ran out on second day and since then he'd eaten nothing except snow he melted in mouth though it made body colder, Ravindra crawled out of shelter and found a world transformed into something alien and dangerous in new ways. Snow had accumulated so deep it almost covered shelter completely, and he had to dig his way out like animal emerging from burrow, and when he finally stood in open air, he had to close eyes against blinding sunlight on perfect white snow because his eyes had grown accustomed to shelter darkness.

In that light, he saw something that made him stop breathing for a moment, something floating in air not far from where he stood, and at first he thought he was hallucinating from lack of food and sleep and warmth, but then he realized it was real or at least as real as anything in this world could be considered real. It was a bird, or something resembling a bird, with wingspan about twice his arm length, and feathers not white or black but some combination shifting depending on light angle, and eyes staring at him with intelligence that shouldn't belong to ordinary birds. They stared at each other for time feeling like eternity though probably only seconds, and in that gaze Ravindra felt like being tested in a way different from physical test he'd experienced, like this creature was looking into his soul and measuring whether he deserved to survive or should be left to die on this peak like many others before him.

Then the bird made a sound, not normal chirping but something deeper and more resonant, like song or chant or perhaps just expression of something untranslatable into human language, and with that sound it flew away, great wings beating air with force creating small vortex in snow below, and Ravindra watched until it disappeared in distance before realizing that where the bird had hovered, something lay in snow, something not there before. He approached carefully, uncertain if this was trap or gift or something between, and found it was freshly killed mountain rabbit, still warm with blood not yet frozen, left there by the bird who somehow decided to share prey with dying human on mountain peak.

Ravindra didn't question why or how, only accepted the gift with gratitude that couldn't be spoken, and carried rabbit back to shelter where he spent next hours processing and cooking meat over small fire he rekindled with tremendous difficulty because his hands shook so hard they could barely hold flint. That meat was the best thing he'd ever tasted, not because of quality or seasoning since there was no seasoning at all, but because it was life, was energy, was hope that perhaps he would survive this test after all, and as he ate he felt strength slowly returning to body that had begun surrendering to cold and hunger.

The last three days passed in fog he didn't fully remember clearly later, only separate moments like randomly taken photos, he remembered sitting at platform edge staring at world below that looked so far and unreal like miniature model rather than actual place where people lived and died, he remembered talking to himself or perhaps to Auratigris or perhaps to dead gods who supposedly created this world before abandoning it to chaos, he remembered crying without tears because his body was too dehydrated to produce tears and the crying was more a dry sound coming from place deeper than throat, place where pain and loneliness and fear lived like stones at ocean bottom.

When seven days passed and Ravindra began descending from peak, he was something different from what ascended, not just physically weaker with lost weight and cold-burned skin and fingers that might never fully heal, but also harder in a way difficult to explain, like something in him still soft had been burned away by cold and what remained was a core that couldn't be destroyed by anything less than death itself. He descended slowly, slower than ascending because exhaustion made each movement require conscious will, but he descended steadily, and when cave finally appeared below, he felt something in chest that might be relief or might just be exhaustion so deep even emotions were too tiring to feel properly.

Auratigris waited at cave mouth like an unmoving statue, and when Ravindra finally reached level ground and stood before the guardian with trembling legs and breath emerging in slow white mist, those blue and gold eyes scanned his body with attention measuring every detail, every wound, every change, and in that gaze was something that might be pride or might just be acknowledgment that test had been passed and the child who returned was no longer the child who left.

"You survived," Auratigris finally said, and those simple words carried weight greater than a thousand praises, because from this guardian, acknowledging you survived was the highest form of honor that could be given, and Ravindra nodded because words weren't needed or perhaps no words were sufficient to say what needed saying, and then he entered the cave toward warmth and safety he now valued in new ways because he knew what it felt like to almost lose them forever.