The rest of the day passed uneventfully. The terrain grew rougher, the trees more twisted, and the soil more rocky as they went. They were in the worst of it, as Falthejn remembered from the march down, and as Hrothgar … Continue reading →

“Why else?” Alfhilde said. “If your fort can’t be held, you leave it.” “Do the aelfr think the ontr that dangerous?” Falthejn said. “It’s true that they knew more of the world than we do. Their maps show the deserts … Continue reading →

Two magiker had fought here. The ground was frozen in the middle of a ripple: at a jordsmagiker’s direction, it had flowed like water. Geometric sections of rock protruded from the dirt, dotting the battlefield where the magiker had used … Continue reading →

Falthejn’s eyes snapped open. The sun had gone down. He turned to the left, where Sif had been sitting, but she was gone. He looked the other way. Sif sat, leaning against Alfhilde, eyes closed. Alfhilde had an arm around … Continue reading →

It was as he’d thought. He had an ontlig counterpart, a seer of some sort who could disrupt Falthejn’s own sight. This ontling didn’t hide his tracks like a human would. Ericsdottir—she’d had the right idea, taking the western route, … Continue reading →

In another future, he slipped down a hill and hit his head on a rock. In another, a sudden wind caught in the branches of a dead tree, which toppled and landed across his shoulders. The snap of his back … Continue reading →

Time stretched out before Falthejn. The myriad ways billowed, twisted, and streamed away to nothingness—now, ten minutes from now, a month later, a century after that. Neither of his questions called for that much effort. He brought his focus back … Continue reading →

Grateful for the distraction, Sif turned her thoughts to the question. “He saved us,” she observed. “It was dangerous, and he didn’t have to. I think he has a good heart. He’s been nice to me. It seems like he … Continue reading →

Alfhilde laughed. “Yours and mine.” “It’s— it is interesting. I have never been this far from the city before.” Sif paused, thinking. “I haven’t— have not ever been out of the city at all before, I do not think.” “Trouble … Continue reading →

“If he sees as much as he claims,” Hrothgar said. Alfhilde perched Jakob on her shoulder and swatted Hrothgar’s knee with her newly-freed hand. “He knew where to wait for us, didn’t he?” She sat back against the rock wall, … Continue reading →