“Ingramarian principalities are considerably more independent than duchies in more traditional feudal nations. A good comparison would instead be the city states of Ascarlon and their prince-mayors. Though unlike them, the state of Ingramar is still somewhat centralized around the Court of the Ice Prince in Marsun, ruled by the High Prince. Normally a prince who holds significant influence and is elected by the other principalities to occupy the role of the nominal leader of Ingramar. Though of course, there are plenty of exceptions to that rule. ”

  - Professor Anatoly Yevkin, Arterian Academy of History, “Lecture On The Principalities”

  The spirits of the HIghwall clearly regarded the interlopers with some measure of disdain. The periodic snowfalls occasionally teetering the line towards becoming a blizzard. The mountains itself seemed to be dissuading them from continuing their ascent. For them however, there was no turning back.The clan was dead set upon retrieving their errant spirit, the mages on their research, and Ary had resolved to see this to the end one way or another.

  “Keep moving.” Sophia called out to her.

  Ary huffed in agreement, lifting her leg up to take another step forward. After spending the night at the first campsite, they would try to blaze past the more treacherous parts of the ascent without stopping. To reach a small hilltop with a ruin that Cassian and her senior apparently knew about and where the ritual would take place alongside their second camp area.

  The night had been mercifully peaceful, the only hostile gestures received from the other side being a glare or two. On their part, Sigrid had discreetly molded two tiny golems out of snow, a technique she picked up on from Yana. They allowed the whole group to rest easier without having to sacrifice time spent on the lookout in case the clansfolk tried anything funny.

  The fae herself was more or less confined to hovering around Ary or within the various pockets in her jacket or hood. She was too wary of the wizards and potentially magically gifted clansfolk that might easily identify her. Not that Ary minded, the little latent bubble of warmth that Yana coated herself with meant that Ary could in part, better resist the biting cold.

  While Hanabi appeared more or less unbothered despite the occasional sniffle. The only other person who seemed to dislike this trek as much as herself was Sophia. Her temporary firekeeper shivered even more than she did. Though her disdain for the weather ran secondary to the true problem.

  “Not even damned places to hide.”

  Ary had heard her mumble under her breath.

  A sentiment that she did not fully share but understood. Unlike Sophie, Sophia preferred to slip by with minimal attention, or preferably unnoticed entirely. Here, amongst the white snow and dead trees, there were little opportunities for her or her coat to blend into the shadows. More aggravatingly, Sophia was masquerading as Sophie. She had to stay out in the open by Ary’s side.

  In spite of it all, Ary was happy. Sophie was usually wearing one of three expressions; joy from being at Ary’s side or around friends; despair at the world at large or her own failings; or ferocity when fighting or defending something she cared about. There were precious other occasions for Ary to experience the full range of Sophie’s emotive expressions. Thus, she had found her own little boon to this miserable trek.

  Sophia wasn’t angry, merely annoyed. Her face alternating between a threatening glower whenever there was the slightest deviation off the path by the clansfolk. Or a simmering scowl that reflected her distaste for the environment. Both expressions Ary had mentally embedded into her affectionately imagined image of what she called, grumpy Sophie face.

  Catching her eye, Sophia frowned but did not question the traded glance. Ary wanted to smile back but restrained herself. Masking the gesture with a hurried bob of her head in acknowledgement. Sophia grunted lazily in return, the elf likely assuming that she was just checking in with her.

  The shrill cry of the wind whipped her away from the moment of levity. Focused back on the task at hand, she redoubled her efforts to keep pace with the group. She wasn’t reaching her limit quite just yet. But she could tell that almost everyone else was in a better shape than her. Only one or two of the clansfolk lagged behind the main body, and even then, they were ahead of her.

  She sniffled and rubbed at her nose. It was cold and her feeling there was gradually fading. Cupping her hands around her face, she tried to warm herself up with her breath. She pulled her hood a little tighter in hopes to stave off more of the cold when a faint tug on her coat stopped her. She looked down to find Yana staring up angrily at her.

  “Yana?” She whispered.

  “If thou desired warmth, remember there is no need for a hearth.” Yana hissed back, fluttering upwards using her arms for cover.

  Ary opened her palms to allow the fae in. Yana landing and standing triumphantly before frowning as she manipulated her own magicks. The warmth blossomed from the fae in a bubble around Ary’s head. Even her ears twitched a little from the sudden comforting warmth they felt. In response, she tried to hide an oncoming grin, relishing in the little comfort she finally received at warming up.

  Yana put her arms on her hips, standing proudly and basking in the reverence that Ary displayed. Taking a peak over Ary’s fingers and seeing no eyes turned towards them, Yana then scrambled up Ary’s face and into her hair. Ary had to fight a giggle when the fae tried to shuffle about to be more comfortable, the ticklish feeling on her scalp helping in calming her anxiety and doubts.

  Sigrid sniffed out Yana’s magic, the mermaid instinctively closing ranks with her fellow wilding. She clicked her tongue inquisitively, to which Yana responded with a melodic series of sounds from atop Ary’s hat, hidden by the hood. Sigrid cooed cautiously before sticking her face in front of Ary’s, the mermaid’s eyes searching up and down until she identified Yana. Yana bristled a little, the faerie fluttering her wings aggressively, leading to Sigrid letting out a soft flowery hum.

  Ary observed the exchange with great fascination. Whatever they were communicating in, she couldn’t understand. Nor could she confidently ascertain the presence of spoken words the same way she could with clanspeech, elvish or common. Every tone they used sounded almost whimsical yet guttural at the same time. Yet she could almost feel the meaning of their conversation carried by the air itself.

  She had heard them utilize these noises before, but she was usually further away or their talks briefer. This little spat gave her unparalleled access to what she assumed was a language that originated from elementals or the spirits themselves. A brief glimpse of a primeval world, the language of the land and the seas themselves.

  Sigrid scolded Yana with a derisive click of her tongue before gently bopping the fae by using Ary’s hood. Ary could feel Yana’s indignation as she stomped her feet atop her head. The tiniest flare up of mana before letting it dissipate.

  “Beware the maiden of the sea, for if she ensares you then you won’t be free.” Yana quietly hissed.

  Sigrid snorted. Ary just grinned.

  “Try not to dawdle.” Sophia chimed in from ahead of them, the half elf finishing with a tired tut.

  Ary and Sigrid both just quietly nodded before smiling at each other. Unlike Sophie, there was a more charming seriousness behind her twin’s actions. Sigrid cooed softly, the gentle noise bringing an even bigger smile to Ary’s face.

  Yana, dismayed by Ary’s growing affection for the mermaid instead of herself, drummed her hands on Ary’s scalp to grab her attention. Amused, Ary careful moved her head ever so slightly to acknowledge the fae’s presence with letting her headband slide back and hit her. Pleased by the gesture, it elicited a haughty hmpf from above. Heheh.

  A high pitched whistle echoed down from the front of the group. A break. Ary let out a relieved sigh. It was like a signal that she could allow a sliver of weakness to finally show.

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  In that singular moment, she let the weight of the camp supplies finally overtake her and staggered forward a little. Her sore legs almost taking it too far and nearly just giving out. Thankfully, a quick hand from Sigrid managed to stave off the collapse, the mermaid allowing her to use her as a support.

  Several other relieved grunts or sighs came from the others. The harsh environment having taken its toll on everyone. Based on the few cheers from up front, the morale of the clansfolk were pretty high. Whereas Ary’s group was a little more anxious, Sophia constantly glancing over their shoulders. Given their limited time and lack of a fire, Sophia grabbed a handful of now very cold oat bars and distributed them to everyone.

  Beside Ary, Hanabi set down her set of equipment and stretched. The outlander releasing a belated groan before wincing when her sleeves slipped a little, revealing her bare skin against the elements. Huh, I wonder how much the vaettaugh are they actually different from regular people, given that they are blessed by the spirits and the Gods. Ary frowned, a new query appearing in her mind, since she quit the church, is she still a vaettaugh? She is an outlander, like mama, but mama was revered by the tribe too, at least for a time.

  “Kuso.” Hanabi growled, angrily shaking out some snow from her sleeves. She froze for a moment, her eyes darting back and forth scanning the people around them, “Tsk, shit.” She swore with relief.

  Ary just blinked at her, curious at the strange noise. Hanabi just wagged her little oat bar at her admonishingly before taking a bite.

  “Gah, cold piece…” She was on the verge of swearing before she closed her eyes to recollect herself. She then held the food out towards Ary, gesturing for her to do something.

  “Uhh…” Ary mumbled awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

  Hanabi then mimed a little stick figure. Huh… what… oh!

  Ary pointed towards the top of her head and Hanabi grinned appreciatively.

  Trying her best to be stealthy, Hanabi only seemed to attract everyone else’s attention as she held the oat bar above Ary’s hood. Ary could only use the amusement on Sigrid’s face and the disbelief on Sophia’s face to infer what was happening.

  After a few bizarre moments, interrupted only by tempestuous winds and crunches of the flavorless oat bars. Ary could hear Hanabi shuffling away from the top of her head only for the girl to plop herself down beside her.

  “A little warmer than frozen.” The outlander beamed before digging in.

  Based on the heavy crunch and grunt that followed however, Ary could hazard a guess that the minute spent trying to warm the bar did little to help. Hanabi growled angrily at the bar before reluctantly continuing to finish it. Watching her though, did raise a few questions in Ary’s ever curious mind.

  “Hanab… Hana.” Ary corrected herself.

  Much like the situation with Sophia, the less the clansfolk knew the better. If they suspected nothing, then Hanabi’s presence would become on of their group’s trump card to play in the event of an emergency.

  “Mmpf? Yeah?”

  “What is camping or trail food like back… home?” Ary tried to carefully word things.

  Hanabi paused chewing. She swallowed the bite she had in her mouth then adopted a more somber expression. Her lips curled into a sad frown, the girl’s eyes growing more distant the more she recalled her past life.

  Sigrid and Sophia both also leaned a little closer, the two coming to a delayed realization of what ‘home’ meant when Ary had asked the quesiton. Their eagerness to know seemed to relax Hanabi a little, the outlander even eking out a tiny smile.

  “Camping food… back home…” Hanabi muttered. Half questioning the question, half trying to come up with an answer.

  Assuming that she was confirming with her, Ary nodded. Her sudden head movement startled Yana, the fae angrily fluttering down to where Ary was holding her own oat bar. Without prompting, Yana nibbled on the edge of the food, the fae recoiling from the almost solid block. Ary felt the temperature of her palm rise as the fae augmented her spell of warmth to soften the mixture.

  Ary purred in contentment, the gentle heat spreading throughout her body.

  “A little like that, some of it anyway.” Hanabi pointed at the fae.

  “What is it that the human wants? For my powers I do not flaunt.” Yana declared, her cheeks puffed up for a brief second before ducking over to snag a bit of the now heated food.

  “No, no, I’m talking about trail food from back home.” Hanabi chuckled.

  The trio watched inquisitively as the outlander used a finger to draw a squarish rectangle out on the snow, about the size of a small pouch. She then traced out a more familiar shape of a bar of food, around the same size of their oat bars but a hair sleeker.

  “We usually have packed foods like sandwiches and rice balls of course. At least, where I’m from. But I wasn’t really one who enjoyed the outdoors as much, you see.”

  “Oh.” Ary let out a preemptive disappointed noise.

  “Patience.” Hanabi bopped her jokingly, startling not the redhead but the fae.

  Yana zipped over to return the bop, before dashing back to Ary’s food without letting the outlander could respond. Amused but not bothered, Hanabi just replied with a playful tsk before continuing.

  “Tsugumi was though. She would tell amount about bentos… ah, like the lunch trays we get in the Academy cafeteria but more portable. And also about things like these.” Hanabi motioned to the bigger image.

  “What’s that?” Ary queried.

  “She said it’s like a freeze dried or dehydrated meal. Foods drained of all liquids to preserve them better. Could be something like potatoes, spaghetti, soups, curries, meats, sauces, hell, cakes even. Though Tsugumi could probably explain it better than I can. But basically they take bags of them on trails, hit a rest spot, add some water and hai! A full meal with all the flavor, nutrients, and probably more salt or not enough spices in just a few minutes.” Hanabi exclaimed.

  “So like our travel rations but more flavorful?” Sophia chimed in.

  “Something like that. But back home, it’s a pretty industrialized process. Completely sealed packages and everything. Here, I suppose you can do the same with magick but well, that’s probably not cheap enough, yet.” Hanabi shrugged.

  “Huh. Sounds nice, at least. To be able to grab a fully made meal that isn’t just dried foods.”

  “Ah! But I’m not done.” Hanabi smirked.

  “There’s more?”

  “Hai, there’s apparently also a variant that Tsugumi prefers. For us normal people, it’s miri meshi or uhh, I guess in this language, it’d be rice meal? Something like that. For the army, it’s meal ready to eat.”

  The trio were now paying rapt attention. Their curiosity of another world bringing them together. Hanabi seemed only mildly embarrassed at the intense attention she was suddenly receiving.

  “Whatever the case, the important part for you to know is that those are also meals, but can be cooked easily. And I do mean full meals, with a main, sides, and hopefully dessert and a drink. Through science and development, they have little packets or pouches,” Hanabi explained as she sketched out a smaller bag inside her drawing of the big food pouch, “inside are some chemicals and stuff that Tsugumi assured me won’t get out and poison me or whatever. But once you add water, within minutes, it’ll heat anything up to a boil. Wouldn’t touch it though.”

  “What do you mean heat up to a boil?” Ary prodded.

  “Err…” Hanabi frowned, “Just that, it cooks the food, heats up to high temperatures super quickly. No fires no nothing, just a little packet, add water, and poof. Cooked food.”

  “And that’s a full meal?”

  “Right. Erm, if I remember the last time Tsugumi talked to me about it… damn, it’s been a while since I’ve been here, huh…” Hanabi’s expression grew distant. The faint hint of despondence putting a damper on the eager crowd.

  Before they could retreat, Hanabi snapped her fingers, the trace of a smile appearing on her face. Fonder memories, hopefully.

  “It was something like rice, pork with… ginger sauce? It’d make sense.” Hanabi muttered, “Miso soup and then some seasoning powders. Probably with seaweed is what I would guess. She made something like that for me once, not the packaged kind, it was nice.” Hanabi smiled fondly.

  Ary oohed along the description. It sounded like hte basis of a proper meal. Though imagining hot food right now only made her more sad about their current frigid surroundings.

  Sigrid cooed approvingly, the mermaid’s curiosity satisfied by the short explanation. Her approval also signalled to the rest of them to quickly scoff down their food. Ary glanced at her hands to find only about a third of her bar left. She chuckled at the fae’s silent but voracious appetite before nudging her, making Yana shoot her a dirty look.

  “Come on, I have to eat some too.” Ary whispered, "No ready made meals for me."

  Yana bopped her on the nose before scampering back down into her pockets. The fae having decided that she had warmed up Ary’s face enough from earlier and enjoyed the little nest she had made in the pocket far more.

  From further up the mountain, Cassian’s figure drew their attention. The mage was walking towards them. And though she had held no malice towards the group or Ary. She still made Ary shudder and hurriedly swallow her food in one bite in preparation for whats to come. For as she drew closer, Ary caught a flash of emotion from Cassian when their eyes met that sent a deathly chill down her spine. Guilt.