The wind howled past her ears and echoed among the mountains. The snow whirled around her in a flurry. After six days of climbing, Eliriael had finally given in and stopped to rest. The provisions she had brought from Mirobel were cold and hard with frost so she held them up to the fire with her hands. When they thawed in the heat, she slowly took small bites from them.
The fire she had managed to set up was small and unimpressive. It radiated little heat and was about to die out to the wrath of the snow storm. Eliriael moved closer to the flame and drew her hood over her head. Though she barely felt the cold, she still disliked it.
She narrowed her eyes to try and see the way before her. If she remembered correctly, she would begin the descent quite soon. It would be another four or five days before she could reach the foot of the mountain. Eliriael sighed deeply. The journey had already taken her much longer than she would have liked.
Eliriael held her hands up to the fire and let the warmth spread from her fingers to the rest of her body. Her muscles relaxed and the flames seemed to grow larger in Eliriael’s eyes.
Suddenly, she was running, her feet brushing through the soft grass.
“Eliriael…,” the voice grew fainter.
Her heart hammered in her chest and she grew short of breath. Her legs slowed beneath her as if she was running in water. She looked down to see that she was wading through golden leaves. They fell from the forest sky and piled up higher and higher until they were up to her waist. She was pushing her legs to go forward, faster. But she was held in place and could not go any further.
Her eyes opened and she noticed that the fire had died to a small flicker. She sat for a moment, breathing heavily. The sense of urgency grew in her heart until her body could no longer sit still. Putting out the last sparks of the fire, she secured her bag, pulled her cloak close around her, and continued through the snow. The landscape was barren and almost identical in every direction she looked. She would have to rely on her memories to find her way through the pass.
