Pug, still in the black robes of a Great One, turned to his companion. “A short way from here, I think, Hokanu. “
The young officer nodded and signaled his patrol forward. For weeks the younger son of the Lord of the Shinzawai had led this escort beyond the limits of the Empire’s northern borders. Following the river Gagajin to its highest source, a nameless lake in the mountains, the hand-picked warriors had passed the trails followed by patrols of the Empire of Tsuranuanni. Here were the wild, rock-strewn, seemingly desolate lands between the Empire and the tundra of the north, home of the Thun nomads. Even with a Great One in attendance, Hokanu felt vulnerable. Should a Thun tribe be migrating nearby when they came out of the mountains, there would be a score or more of their young warriors running as flankers, seeking any excuse to take a Tsurani head as a trophy.
They rounded a bend in the trail and a narrow gap in the mountains provided a glimpse of the lands beyond. For the first time they could see the vast expanse of the tundra. Vaguely perceived in the distance, a long, low white barrier could be made out. “What is that?” said Pug.
Hokanu shrugged, his face an implacable Tsurani mask. “I do not know, Great One. I suspect it is another range of mountains, across the tundra. Or perhaps it is that thing you described, the wall of ice.”
“A glacier.”
Hokanu said, “Whatever; it lies to the north, where you said the Watchers may be.”
Pug looked behind him at the ten silent riders. Then he asked, “How far?”
Hokanu laughed. “Farther than we can ride in another month without starving. We shall have to stop to hunt.”
“I doubt there is a great deal of game about.”
“More than one would think, Great One. The Thun struggle to reach their traditional southern ranges every winter, the lands we have held for over a thousand years, but they still somehow survive the winters here. Those of us who have wintered on your world know how to forage in snow country. There will be creatures like your rabbits and deer once we drop back down below the timberline. We shall survive.”
Pug weighed his choices. After a moment of silent consideration he said, “I don’t think so, Hokanu. You may be right, but if what I hope to find is only a legend, then we shall have all come for no good reason. I may return to your father’s home by my arts, and I could manage to take a few of you with me, three or even four, but the rest? No, I think it is time for a parting.”
Hokanu began to object, for his father had ordered him to protect Pug, but Pug wore the black robe. “Your will, Great One.” He signaled to his men. “Pass up half your food.” He said to Pug, “There will be enough here to keep you fed for a few more days if you eat sparingly, Great One.” When the food had been gathered in two large travel bags and hung behind Pugs saddle, Hokanu motioned his men to wait.
The magician and the officer rode forward a short way, and the son of the Shinzawai said, “Great One, I have given thought to the warning you bring and your quest.” He seemed to find it difficult to speak his mind. “You have brought much into my family’s life, not all of it good, but like my father, I've always believed you to be a man of honor, one without guile. If you believe this legendary Enemy to be the cause behind all the troubles on your homeworld you have spoken of, and if you think it about to find your world and ours, I must also believe. I admit to fear, Great One. I am ashamed.”
Pug shook his head. “There is no shame, Hokanu. The Enemy is something beyond any of our understanding. I know you think it a thing of legend, something spoken of when you were a small boy and your teachers began to instruct you in the history of the Empire. Even I, who have seen it in mystic vision, even I do not fathom it, save to count it the greatest threat to our worlds imaginable. No, Hokanu, there is no shame. I fear its coming. I fear its power, and its madness, for it is a thing mindless in rage and hate. I doubt the sanity of any who did not fear it.”