Chapter Twenty-Nine: Hissing Tundra

Solineus, Inslok, Glimdrem, Rinold (the Squirrel), and Trelelunin warriors trek across Kaludor’s icy tundra toward the Steaming Lakes, aiming to meet the Touched as part of their Edan bargain. Sailing on the Entiyu Emoño to avoid the Queen of Shadows, they land at Slepid, an abandoned Emudar town, and face a grueling journey through snow and gale-force winds. The Edan’s immunity to cold frustrates Solineus and Rinold, who suffer the tundra’s bite, though Glimdrem’s touch offers fleeting warmth. Encountering fever snakes—venomous, heat-veined creatures—Solineus narrowly escapes bites, but their blood scalds his face. A greater threat emerges: a mokotu-xe, a violent Elemental of snow and Cold, which kills a Trelelunin by disintegrating him into icy flakes. The Twins, whispering “Pokuu,” guide Solineus to strike its core, aided by Inslok’s shield, banishing the creature. Immediately, fever snakes attack; Inslok, unbothered by a bite, kills them effortlessly, but Glimdrem collapses, poisoned, foaming at the mouth. Inslok, unable to heal the Elemental venom, offers a mercy killing, but Glimdrem refuses. In a vision of the Father Wood, Glimdrem connects with a vine he sculpted centuries ago, rediscovering his Life-sculpting mastery. Linking spirits with Inslok, he redirects the Edan’s Life energy to purge the venom’s Fire, stabilizing himself but not curing it. Hope lies with the Touched’s potential to cleanse him, as Inslok presses on, indifferent to loss. Glimdrem, haunted by the vine’s voice and his diminished self, rejects human aid, wary of Inslok’s detachment and Solineus’s camaraderie, as the tundra’s perils and his fragile survival underscore the mission’s high stakes.

ToP Chapter 28 — Bruised Conversation
ToP Chapter 30 — A Walk in the Dark
Trail of Pyres - Main Chapter Listing