It Seems Like I'm Always Just A Bit Too Late

A wracking cough shook his body and when the episode finished Ashiel sat back taking deep shuddering breaths. He'd been about to cross into Fenrir's Maw late one night when the volcano had erupted. He'd just settled down at the border to get some sleep when the violent tremors shook him awake and sent his temporary den side crashing down around him. He'd just managed to get out unscathed but that was just the beginning. Fire burned through the forests at an alarming rate while ash spilled into the sky, poisoning the air and making it difficult to breath. He'd managed to make it to the northern mines and dived down a mine shaft to seek shelter. It wasn't ideal but it was better than nothing. Now, two days later, he wondered what to do and where he should go.

The mines were mostly stable but they'd collapsed in some places and the frequent earth quakes made him nervous. These were not normal caves built by mother nature but the remnants of human meddling and he did not trust the construction to hold up in whatever was to follow. He needed to move but he had no idea where. He wanted to find a way to continue his journey south to get back to Risen but that was seeming more and more unlikely. The pathways he'd planned to take were mostly blocked or at least risky and part of him wondered if it was worth returning at all. This eruption had to have been what his vision was about. This is what the fallen god was trying to warn him about but he was far to late to be a worthwhile messenger and even then his mother's words had shaken his faith far more than he wanted to admit. To make matters worse since that night his sleep had been dreamless. He felt like something had snapped or been cut off. Something was removed from him and it was a harrowing feeling.

Ashiel moved to the mouth of the mine and gazed out. The earth shook again and his thoughts drifted to Risen once more. He really hoped that everyone was ok and that the fall out from the volcano hadn't gone that far south. He looked up to see ash covering the sky giving everything a dark and ominous look. It looked like it could start to storm but he didn't know if this was true or just the result of the ash. Either way it was freezing, especially this far north. It would be difficult if not impossible to get to Auster now and so he decided he should just find a good place to hunker down for the winter, at least until he healed.

Another cough shook Ashiel's chest as he looked out west. That would be the best direction to head. If he turned a bit north he could reach the mile-high woods or perhaps he could also head directly west to the waterfall peaks. Both were good options and likely to have shelter within their forests and for the later the mountains. Shelter would be the biggest thing he'd need to find before the next northern storm moved in and of the two potential options he felt he'd have better luck at the peaks. He'd have to take his chances with the prey. He didn't know enough of the northern territories to be able to ascertain which was preferable in terms of food sources. The one thing the waterfall peak did have was running water and he doubted very much that it would freeze. Water and shelter and a potential food source, it would have to do at least for now. Once he'd healed up from injuries sustained from the eruption he'd work his way south along the western coast and hopefully he'd be able to get back to Risen… maybe.

Ashiel rested his head on his paws. He'd come all the way back to warn them and he'd failed. What reason could he possibly give now? All the same, he needed to know that everyone was alive and ok. He was certain his mother was fine. She'd been heading up into the far north and was likely going through the gorge when the explosion hit. He coughed again and got to his feet. Ok, it was time to get going before another earthquake rocked this land and caused one of the tunnels to collapse on him. He was just too close to the volcano to feel safe. Hopefully everything would go well and he wouldn't develop pneumonia on the way. That was the big risk and it worried him that at some point he was going to be unable to hunt. It was hard enough as a lone wolf without having to deal with a respiratory infection on top of it. Perhaps he could find a lone healer at some point who could help him but he had little to give in exchange and in these hard times he couldn't see someone offering their help without getting something in return.

"Talk"