1 One side of a coin (1)

Ragnar Mountain

It was almost pitch dark as the fierce snow winds that blew all around the silent, lonely, gigantic mountain made the combination of two an example of nature's dark harmony. 'The mountain at the end of the world.' That's what the locals called it. Deadly yet majestic. Ragnar mountain was as tall as though it pierced the sky and heavens itself.

No one knew what lay beyond the mountain, since those who had journeyed beyond, had never returned alive to tell the tale.

In front of the mountain was a vast forest that seemed to go on for miles. The scenic view looked frozen as though time had stopped everywhere. Perhaps, the only contradiction to this was the fierce winds that blew all around, rustling the snow settled on the trees. Every winter, it snowed heavily, and this time it seemed no different from the last one. There were giant pine trees whose greenery had been replaced by the colour white. All that could be heard were the voices of forest creatures that would come out in the night.

It seemed like just any other silent dead night when suddenly a hooded figure in a cloak came rushing through a yard of trees, imprinting clear footprints on the cold white ground in its trail.

From the figure, one could discern it was a young woman who seemed to be running from something. She looked back anxiously every now and then, taking in sharp breaths and exhaling mist out.

Her robes were torn and tattered, her palms and feet scuffed and bruised. Clearly, she was injured, but that didn't stop her as the young woman sprinted towards the top of the mountain, drawing sharp breaths in pain every now and then at the same time.

Her right hand clenched tightly in a fist, holding something. With her left hand, she kept touching a necklace she wore around her neck every now and then as though for reassurance. It had a white bony pendant on it shaped like an awl.

There was a flash of lightning, and as her hood was pushed back by the wind, her pale face and features were revealed. Dark brown hair hung down to her waist, a perfectly straight nose, lips that seemed as soft as flower petals themselves.

But what perhaps was the most entrancing were her soft brown eyes. Pure and innocent. It gave one the feeling of protecting and shielding her from all that was evil and dark.

Yet now, it made reality a stark contrast as she seemed to be running from something desperately. Now the same pure eyes seemed anxious. Her delicate figure seemed frail and exhausted as she trudged through the hard snow pushing away wild thickets, brambles, and all other things that were in her way. Yet, she willed herself to run faster.

'Oh, how I wish I was back at the coven with my sisters! No, I've to hurry! 'They' have probably realized it by now and are tracking me down. I've already been warned by Godmother to never let this fall into 'their' hands. Or it would mean the end of everything,' thought Clara as she looked down grimly at the item, clutched in her right hand that now seemed to be glowing with a faint white light.

She opened up her palm to look at it. The object she held was a kite-shaped translucent shard that had various markings on it. This shard that was previously dull and lacklustre until now began to shine fiercely with a dazzling light pulsating every now and then.

"This can't be happening!", she exclaimed in fear and shock inwardly at the same time. This never happened until now. How could she escape her pursuers when this thing was literally acting like a beacon in the dead night here right now.

'It's so hard to suppress it! Why is it glowing now of all times! My powers aren't strong enough to mask it. At this rate, they'll find out where I am very easily!' Her eyes were anxious, and in deep worry, as she tried to suppress its shine. Yet, the shard in her hand seemed to glow brighter and brighter.

She had been told it was an extremely ancient powerful magical artifact, one that was powerful enough to shake the entire world itself on its own years ago. But then, over time, it was said to have lost its powers and even severely damaged now. 

So why was it glowing now of all times!?

'If only Gina were here. Oh, Gina if only you could be here right now. You always knew what to do. I'm not even sure if I'm strong enough to do this' As she thought about her cheerful best friend, who was practically like her sister, Clara felt herself tearing up.

But she knew the importance of her mission. She knew what her fellow brethren were still fighting against just as they sacrificed themselves to give her a chance to escape and enough time to carry out the mission. What baffled her was that though she was the weakest of them all, she was assigned this mission and now it seemed their entire coven depended on her. She would rather fight with them shoulder to shoulder and sacrifice herself if need be.

'Almost there', she thought as she sprinted fiercely towards the top and re-memorized the spell she had been hastily taught. Her mission was to destroy the shard at the top of Ragnar mountain, where there was an old altar on the steep cliff on the mountain's rear side.

Nothing further could be seen from there since all one could see was pitch-darkness which locals named 'the void beyond the cliff'. There was a dense fog and mist, which made it hard to see further from there.

For two days, she travelled non-stop towards the place in haste without rest. Her body felt battered from within, and she could barely hold herself in one piece.

As she reached the top of the mountain, she headed towards the cliff where there seemed to be an old stony altar-like structure. The altar was made up of coarse black rocks and seemed ancient and desolate. Cracks had spread all around on it, yet it seemed to be in one piece despite the test of time and nature. It was indeed a strange sight.

"All I have to do is lay it on the altar and destroy it with the spell. A few breaths of time is all I need. I hope I'm strong enough. Heavens, I'm counting on you", she muttered to herself, praying fervently, and headed towards the altar briskly walking towards it.

She laid the now glowing shard on the altar and was about to begin her spell when-

"I suggest you stop what you're about to do, little one", drawled a cold voice from behind her, which instantly froze her actions.

"Even the heavens won't save you today. Turn around and hand it over unless you want to die", growled another deep voice that spilt killing intent all over the place.

Clara was petrified as she slowly turned around. When did they show up? How could she not notice their presence! Were they waiting for her here all this while? No, they must've just arrived or they would have definitely have stopped her along the way.

A shadowy figure slowly morphed into sight. As the shards glow turned radiant than ever, it cast light on the figure, revealing his appearance.

He seemed like an aged old man, with a tall and lanky figure with sharp features. His face looked pale and had a cold and indifferent expression on his face. The old man had pale ice blue eyes, which seemed to accentuate his cold character even more. He wore a dark black long cloak on him, and as he stood there, it seemed he merged into the darkness himself.

On the other side, a burly muscular figure was revealed. Contrary to the former who looked like an old man, this person looked comparatively a little younger in age. This person had a head full of greyish hair with white on the sides and was clearly around his forty or fifties, yet his physique said otherwise. What was interesting was that he had fierce golden-ember eyes with an arrogant expression on his handsome old face. He wore clothes made out of leather, but both of his arms were sleeveless. Even the veins on his muscular arms almost seemed like steel wires wrapped around them.

On any other day, he would perhaps be mistaken for a strong hearty middle-aged man with a kind face like that. But now, his whole wild being radiated with pure monstrous feral strength as he stood there.

'Ancient ones', thought Clara as she stood there in fear, not knowing what to do next. That's what people called them. Revered, respected. Feared.

They were legendary characters that ordinary people even weren't allowed to lay their eyes on. Yet now they stood there in front of her.

Clara noticed they seemed to stand apart from each other even though they were on the same side, highlighting that each was wary of the other.

'Of all people how could it be them?!'

Clara knew she would be hunted down, but she didn't think it would be by these top existences themselves.

"Hand the shard over, for your own good. I will not repeat myself again.", said the cold man indifferently as he stretched his hands out. His piercing gaze was locked onto her watching her every moment as though he couldn't wait to rip her apart.

"Hmph. And don't even think about fighting back. You should know who we are by now. Your powers are too weak to fight back against us. Hand it over unless you want your worst nightmares to come true, girl", threatened the burly white-haired man with a menacing sneer whose golden ember eyes were now locked at her.

Clara stood there transfixed in fear wondering what to do, as her thoughts spun rapidly on what to do next. 'What do I do?!'