Till the Dark of Winter

before nightfall.

  Door number two opened to reveal a warm and cosy cabin; someone had recently re-mossed the walls and there was a large basket of firewood and kindling. It was a pleasing sight to see and once I had seen to Frost and had him settled I set about nourishing myself.

  These cabins were restocked and mended by all who stayed in them and by traders who took a commission from the Lord to make sure they had bedding and preserved food in them and refill them when they didn’t. It didn’t take me long to fall asleep once I had curled up in the warm blankets on the bed.

  The morning broke clear and bright, a red sky on the horizon suggested it wasn’t going to stay that way though. We made good time whilst the weather stayed clear but as the afternoon wore on our pace slowed. The sky darkened and threatened more snow and it became clear that we wouldn’t make it to the third cabin before either the storm hit or the night came. We would have to find somewhere else to wait out the storm. Ahead of the approaching storm flew a flock of Capasea birds, broad wings of grey and white beating against the air to try to stay ahead of the wall of snow, their sharp beaks revealing sharp white teeth as they screeched their fear of the storm. The noise as they flew past me was deafening and I had to cover my ears to block it out.

  Frost began to grab at the reins and turned to walk in a different direction, I turned to see where he was taking us before considering checking his movement. Somehow he had seen that there was shelter down this narrow pathway, the cliff face to our left was a little way off but there was clearly a cave at the base. I urged him on and he picked up his pace a little, the ground was a little uneven and I wondered if it was the trail of animals rather than people.

  It was quite spacious inside and fit Frost easily, with a curved entrance it blocked most of the wind from entering the space and some of the trees along the cliff face were yet to be covered with snow. I spent a few minutes trying to grab as much wood as I could to make a fire in the cave before the storm hit. I could already feel the icy wind on my cheeks as I moved from tree to tree. I stacked it all inside the cave and made the fire in a sheltered spot near the entrance where it wouldn’t go out, but would also not use all the air in the cave and make us ill. Then I layered up my clothing and put Frost’s blanket on before settling down to wait out the storm.

  During the early hours of the morning the winds dropped and the snowstorm petered out and I knew today would be a long ride. I didn’t think we would make it home before nightfall, I found I was quite worried about that but it had to be attempted. It was hard going through all the freshly laid snow and I couldn’t make Frost go any faster in case he slipped. The risk of injury was too high, and if he were injured then I would be walking and would never get home.

  There was no other life braving the morning this early, and I didn’t see any until late morning when a few birds and small animals braved the cold to find food. When we passed cabin number one I could see it had suffered some damage during the storm and would need repairing before it was safe for anyone to stay in. We could have been injured if we had stayed there last night.

  From the cabin it was about a days ride to get home and I was going to be arriving in the dark but I couldn’t stay out another night, as the gates would not be open for me after tonight. Tonight was Dark of Winter Night, and no one ventured out until Light of Winter returned. Usually it was about 16 nights behind closed doors, the coldest days of the year were between these times. The Iclings roamed during this time, even into the villages and the houses had to be kept warm to keep them at bay.

  All too soon dusk was upon us and although I could see the lights from the village on the hill in the distance and the sentry posts on the wall I knew I was still too far away for comfort. I could already see the demons rising from the icy river that ran outside the wall. It was frustrating that I still couldn’t go any faster and as the bells in the village began to ring warning of the Dark of Winter approaching the demons began to catch my scent.

  I reached into the saddlebag and took out the darken masks; they would give us a little assistance against the demons, making us more difficult to pinpoint in the dark. As they drew nearer in their search for me I could hear their stomachs growling with hunger. I looped my reins around the pommel and drew my sword with one hand and my axe with the other. My horse, Frost, had been trained to respond to the leg in battle so he would understand what I wanted. He reacted by bunching himself up, preparing to move however was needed, excited by the anticipated action.

  As they moved in I swung out at them with sword and axe, twisting and turning to reach them as they try to get a grip on us. They keep coming and I feel the burn in my arms and the screams as they are injured and eaten by their comrades. I could feel the first stages of panic tapping at my psyche, pointing out that there was only one of me, and an awful lot of them.

  Through the sky flew flaming arrows, impaling demons and causing them to scream and burst into flames. The arrows that missed hissed as they hit the snow to either side of me. I continued to swing at the demons as they came but the arrows lessened the burden.

  As I turned I realised that the arrows were creating a path of burning light in front of me as they sailed through the air, I hoped the bowmen on the ramparts would understand what I wanted as I urged Frost between the stream of flaming light.

  As we rode forward the arrows reduced the range so we were always between them, keeping the demons at bay. Frost felt the gravel path beneath the snow first and recognising the surface he increased his pace until we were cantering along. I didn’t dare correct him or try to slow him in case he slipped; I just had to trust that he was confident in his route.

  As we neared the gate I heard a roaring behind me and twisted to see what it was, a demon the height of two men and as broad as four was pursuing me with a ferocious intensity, its eyes glinting with the reflection of the fire flying towards it. The creatures skin smoking from the arrows embedded in its blue grey skin. Frost increased his speed again and I started screaming for them to get the gate open. The huge wooden doors groaned, as they were pulled open for us to race through, we slowed slightly as Frost about turned and faced the demon.

  Everything was about protecting the village and no matter what fear I might feel that was what I was there for, I couldn’t let it through those gates. The gates where already closing as we came through but they were so huge that they were slow to manoeuvre so I took the crazy decision to race back towards the demon to fight if it made it through. Thankfully it didn’t come to that and the gates boomed shut in its face. They put the bar across as Frost and I slid to a halt breathing hard. There was a roar and then a cracking noise, followed by a splash that sent droplets of icy water over the wall. One of the men on the wall yelled that the demon had gone into the river.

  The guards retreated to their enclosed and warm watch posts on the wall. I was told to get home and see to my horse and not to cut it so close next time. I thanked them and turned Frost for home, almost there.

  My home was on the furthest edge of the village where most of the knights lived so they could be near the training ground and paddocks. It was only a small house with an adjoining stable for Frost and potentially a second horse that I had never got around to getting. I fed him a large bucket of oats and filled his hayrack till it was over flowing; he wouldn’t be doing much but eating and sleeping for the next few weeks. Then I let myself into the adjoining room of my house and dumped my various items beside the small round table in the kitchen. Everywhere was cold and had been left empty for too long, I didn’t share it with anyone so I had to rely on one of the other knight’s wives to clean it and restock it for me before winter. There was a boy who was paid by the knight’s to do work on their houses when needed so I had him come round before winter too to make sure everything was secure and shored up. But that was it.

  I lit the fires in each room to begin to warm the building up again and set a couple of buckets of water to heat over each fire so I could take a bath.
Whilst I waited I made food and drink enough to feed an army, I knew that I would be doing little but eating and sleeping for the next few weeks too but as I hadn’t eaten properly for days I figured I could afford to treat myself to a really decent welcome home meal.

  Two days later found me bored, I had repaired, cleaned, bathed, slept and ate. Polished armour and oiled weapons until I couldn’t stand it anymore. There was nothing left to do but clean tack and put up a few decorations for the season which supposedly kept demons at bay and brought good cheer. Hurrah!

  By the time dusk fell on the third day I was sat in front of the fire with a hot drink wrapped in my hands and wondering where I could feel the icy draft coming from. I had checked on Frost earlier and he wasn’t bothered by the noise of the demons raging outside. I began to wonder if there was an easier way, some way to prevent the demons from coming.

  Over the next two days I tried to draw some of the demons but it was very cold sitting by the windows so it didn’t last long, the only exciting moment was the discovery of a cat in the stable. It was as the winds eased late on the fourth night that I heard a different noise. It sounded like a