Cold fog hung heavy in the air, obscuring the landscape. A cold breeze whisked over cold, damp stone, a solitary path spiraling upwards before disappearing into the white curtain. All that could be heard was the faint moaning of wind and the occasional falling of rock. Up here, the world was practically at a standstill, but where life seemed impossible, there were still signs that the world was spinning.

                Wind howled as the breeze kicked up, pushing some of the fog away from the rocky path. On one side, a tall wall of stone rose up a rugged and rough slope. On the other, the rock seemingly vanished, a steep slope descending far, far below. Scraggly plants shivered along the sides of the worn path, faint bleating sounding from above as rocks tumbled down, but nothing seemed to stir across the worn path itself. Suddenly, heavier stomps echoed.

                Further down, bells jingled on harnesses as ghollon snorted tiredly, continuing to plod along in a sluggish manner. Between the long hike and the thinning atmosphere, the burly lowland animals were having a rough time, and they weren’t alone. The other expedition members breathed heavily as they climbed, their footsteps noticeably slowing. They kept their heads bowed as they moved one step at a time, carefully placing their feet to avoid slipping on the damp, black rock. At their head, the captain lifted his gaze to frown at their surroundings. Finally, he looked back, “There’s no way to tell where we are, is there?”

                “Not with what we have, sir,” one of the expedition members said. The shasheek was looking at a map tensely as she turned it one way and then the other, “My best guess is that were somewhere near Mount Farrant, but I could be wrong.”

                “If only this mist would clear up,” the captain grumbled. Scowling ahead, he looked back and shouted, “Don’t give up yet! Keep pushing, and then we can all take a well-deserved breather!”

                Halfhearted grumbles answered him as the group continued climbing. While they were doing their best to keep up their spirits, they had been climbing for hours now, and it wasn’t showing any signs of ending soon. Near the back of the column, even those who always had high spirits were struggling… “How much longer can we keep going for?” Tearna asked tiredly, trudging along as best she could. “My legs are about to fall off.”

                “Just keep pushing,” Kai grunted. He winced as he looked at her, “Where’s that indomitable spirit of yours, eh?”

                “Oh hush,” she huffed, scowling at him irritably. “That spirit has been a bit worn down! I researched this before we came here, but I never imagined it would be this rough.”

                “You should have known better,” Bren teased. They both looked back at her as the shasheek grinned, “You were always talking about how rough the terrain here was.”

                “Yeah, but… my view of it may have been a little too optimistic,” Tearna muttered, scowling off at the wall of white to her left. As the group continued, Tearna began to narrate, “The Faladorian Mountains proved to be a challenge we weren’t expecting. Every child has heard the tales of the mountains that scrape the ceiling of the world, but the stories conveniently leave out just how brutal surmounting them can be.” Tearna flinched as a bit of the path ahead of her crumbled, several people jumping as pebbles rolled into the white void, “We thought we had properly braced ourselves for such an excursion, but the mountains were determined to prove us wrong.”

                Cracks suddenly raced across the ground. Tearna let out a gasp of surprise as the cliff suddenly gave way. She began to let out a scream, rocks shattering beneath her feet as the world rose around her. Flailing desperately, a hand suddenly caught her. “I got you!” Kai called out, holding onto her hand tightly as she dangled in the gap that had suddenly opened beneath her.

                “Are you guys okay?!” someone called out. Everyone stopped and turned, other shouts of concern rising up as the captain quickly hurried to see what had happened.

                “I got her!” Kai called out, straining as he tried to hold on. Tearna’s heart pounded as she held onto his hand with a death grip, swallowing hard as she looked down. Blackened rock and swirling mist greeted her eye, the remains of the cliff still falling. If Kai hadn’t caught her…

                “P-Please pull m-me up,” Tearna said shakily, looking back up at him with terrified eyes.

                “Hang on! I’ll help!” the captain called out, kneeling beside Kai as he took her other hand. With a grunt, the two sheek heaved, pulling her back up to solid ground. With a gasp, she sank onto her knees and breathed heavily, trying to keep her heart from pounding. She had seen her life flash before her eyes at least twice there…

                “T-thanks,” she finally managed to say, looking up at the two of them with gratitude.

                “You have got to be-“ Kai began.

                “It’s not her fault.” Kai looked at the captain with a start as the larger sheek glared at the edge of the cliff, “This path isn’t as stable as we were promised. We need to be more careful, or any of us could be going over the edge.” Frowning at the rock, he looked down at Tearna, “Are you ok to keep moving?”

                Staring at him, she finally forced herself to nod, “Y-yes, sir. I just got… a little winded there.”

                “Then let’s get moving,” he said, turning back to the front of the caravan as he walked. He whistled sharply and waved his hand, “Get the ghollon moving, but hug the inside of the path! This trial isn’t as secure as we were told!”

                Snorts shook the air as the ghollon moved in closer to the path along with the rest of the caravan, everyone visibly more on edge. “Hey, are you really ok?” Kai asked, helping Tearna onto her feet as she brushed herself off. “We can ask the captain to let you sit on a ghollon for a bit if you want.”

                “No, I’m… I’m ok,” Tearna said with a shake of her head. Looking up at him, he smiled, “Thanks for saving me there, Kai… I owe you.”

                “You owe me a few times now,” he said, grinning at her tiredly. Looking at the head of the caravan, he nodded towards it as he walked, “Come on. Let’s not get left behind.” Tearna stared after him, Bren patting her shoulder before following. Taking a shaky breath, Tearna looked out at the wall of mist as hints of light began to pass through it. Closing her eyes, she hurried after the others as light began to break through, a colder breeze whisking around them.

                “Even after nearly falling to the mountains, I still found myself mystified by their beauty. Though most of our journey was clouded, when it finally cleared, the sight was absolutely breath-taking.” Tearna paused as the mist finally cleared, her eyes shining as she looked out. All around, in every direction as far as the eye could see, were the towering mountains of Falador.

                Tall peaks stood proudly across the landscape, most of them capped with snow as clouds moved around them. Between them were massive valleys and ridges, blackened rock covering almost the entirety of the terrain. There were cliffs, tall outcroppings, and ravines that descended into a cluster of razor-sharp rock, forming a confusing and dangerous maze between them. Out here, there was no such thing as civilization, forcing even the most seasoned of travelers to do everything they could to survive the harsh landscape.

                “Falador isn’t a place known for being gentle,” Tearna continued, pulling out her journal at last. She nibbled on her pen before writing, “For the most part, the mountains are completely undeveloped. There are some passages, but they are all treacherous. From what I have heard, some of them can disappear overnight, forcing new pathways to be carved into the mountains every so often. There were dozens upon dozens of harrowing tales of adventurers going missing, and I was very nervous about becoming one of them.”

                Coming to a halt, Tearna gazed out at the horizon, “That being said, this is possibly the most stunning vista I have ever seen. As far as I can see, all I can behold are mountains scraping the sky, and each one of them are capped in white.” Frowning in thought, she stepped up to the edge of the path and peered down, “The valleys that separate them are completely devoid of life though. I’ve only seen jagged rock so far, and if one happened to find themselves lost down in the depths, I’m not so sure you would be able to find your way out.”

                Shivering at the thought, she hurried after the caravan as she looked up the slope, “But the last thing I want to do is scare people away from this landscape! While life out here is harsh, there are still hints of both civilization and wildlife. Our caravan took one of the main routes through the mountains, and while we didn’t meet any other travelers, we did stumble across some of the more tenacious animals that call these mountains home.”

                Bleating echoed further up the mountain. Tearna stepped up to the sharp slope as she peered upwards, squinting at the white cotton-balls hopping from rock to rock as she began to take notes, “Our first encounter was a creature called a gareet.” Stopping on a thin ledge, the hooved creature turned one way and then the other, bleating loudly before hopping to another outcropping, “Gareets are relatives of the preet that were domesticated on our own continent long ago, but they are far more rugged. They have hooves, small horns, and a narrower faces, just like preet, but their fur is quite different.”

                Wind rustled the gareet’s white fur as it swung its long tail back and forth, “Their fur has evolved to be a lot tighter to their bodies, helping them resist the sharp, mountain winds, and that isn’t all. They are tremendously skilled climbers and can climb outcroppings no bigger than the palm of one’s hand! Because of this, they are extremely agile and can often be found in flocks of seven or nine. In our case, we stumbled upon a flock of eight, and it was oddly reassuring to see them conquering the mountain so easily.” Finishing her notes, she watched them with a smile before continuing.

                “Our goal for the first leg of our journey was to find a place to make camp,” Tearna continued, trudging along. A few gasps of relief rang out as the path flattened, causing a few people to briefly sink to their knees in gratitude. “Because this area is so undeveloped, there is little information on where any rest areas might be,” she continued, stepping past the other expedition members. “The best we could do was make plans to setup camp the instant we found a suitable spot, because there was no telling where or when we would find the next. Fortunately, we did stumble upon an outcropping fairly early, much to our relief.”

                Groans echoed around the small camp as more than a few explorers fell onto their faces. Their packs slouched beside them while others went about the task of preparing a camp, Tearna looking around curiously, “The area we stumbled upon was a wider point along the trail. It was recessed against the mountain about a dozen feet, and was fairly flat, so it was the perfect place for us to get some rest.” Slinging her pack onto the rock, Tearna sat down with a tried sigh, closing her eyes briefly before flopping back and resting her head against her satchel, “Even I was relieved to make it to a rest point, something the others were quite keen to give me grief about…”

                Cold, morning light shone across the makeshift camp as the next morning dawned. Fire hissed as someone doused the firepit, several others packing up belongings while others worked to put on heavier clothes. Near the northern side of the camp, Tearna frowned as she slipped into a much thicker coat, tightening it down before sliding on her pack. Checking herself over, she looked around, “Camping in the mountains was cold, damp, and extremely uncomfortable, but we were able to sleep purely because of exhaustion. When morning finally came, we were all refreshed, though we weren’t exactly eager to continue climbing.” Frowning up the path, her ears twitched as a faint cry snagged her attention, “However, I was suddenly greeted by a welcome sight!”

                Whipping her gaze over, she hurried up to the edge of the cliff and looked out at the valley. Powerful, majestic wings pushed through the air as a large creature flew. Icy-blue feathers shone in the morning light as a long, winding tail streamed out behind it, two longer feathers trailing behind its head as it flapped its four, large winds periodically. Gasping, Tearna quickly fumbled at her journal before opening to a new page, “FiRsT ARChoN wE RAn iNtO a SkY RooK!”

                Taking a breath, Tearna wrote more carefully as she stared at it with shining eyes, “Sky rooks are easily the most majestic creature in all of Falador!” The gigantic bird let out a stunning cry as it banked to the right, its sharp talons glinting as it sailed for the opposite slope. “Sky rooks are an incredibly large avian predator native to these mountains. They have four large wings, powerful talons, and a stunning icy appearance that has caused many travelers to mistake them for divinity. They typically leave our people alone, but, in the past, they were hunted for their beautiful feathers.”

                Tearna watched the sky rook with a small smile as it sailed away, “Many people take it as a good sign to see a sky rook early in the morning, but it’s worth noting that this is the most common time to see them. They operate late at night and early in the morning when prey is easiest to catch, but… I would like to take this as a sign of good luck!” Sighing, she turned with a start as a shout rang out, snapping her into focus as she followed the caravan.

                “As we traveled, the air gradually became colder,” Tearna continued, shivering fiercely as she wrapped her arms around herself. Flecks of snow began to alight across them as they neared the top of the mountain. Many of the others were shivering as well, only a few avoiding it as flames burned around their cloaks. “We did our best to persevere, but the cold was far more intense than I ever expected, and I will say that seeing some of the others using their flame powers irked me. Why do they get to avoid the cold when the rest of us have to suffer, huh?!”

                A little later, Tearna shivered fiercely along with the rest of the expedition as they hunkered around what few flame wielders they had. At the head of the column, the captain was arguing with their cartographer, pointing in different directions as they tried to figure out if they were lost. Glancing at them, Tearna sighed heavily, “We had to stop after the captain and our guide ended up getting confused, but I wasn’t going to complain. Aside from getting the chance to rest, I got to meet another new creature!”

                Quiet plaps broke the relative silence. On a rock near the cliff, an odd-looking creature slunk its way into view. It blinked its large, orange eyes, its fat and wide fingers keeping it suctioned to the rock. Hunkering down, it glanced up as a shadow fell over it. “Crawling across one of the rocks was none other than a rocky maleet!” Tearna wrote, kneeling as she studied the creature carefully, much to its distress. “Maleets are a common lizard in most parts of the world, and are defined by their large, sticky fingers, but rocky maleets are substantially different.”

                The maleet turned its head to watch her as she looked its back over, “Rocky maleets are one of the only warm-blooded lizard in the whole world! Additionally, they are covered in a sort of rocky carapace, hence the name, and have much, much flabbier features. Their tails and heads are thicker, making them quite enticing for predators. Although they are mostly defenseless, they don’t have to worry about much up here aside from the sky rooks, and even then, their backsides mean they blend in almost perfectly!” Smiling at the small lizard, she continued to work on its sketch, “Sometimes, I wish I could just blend into the terrain and hide from my problems…”

                Much later, fires smoldered in the various pits around the new campsite. Many of the explorers had hunkered down, some already retired to their tents while lanterns illuminated the space around them. They had finally arrived at a flatter section of the mountain path that was much more spacious than their first stop had been, but with the change in surroundings, so too had the opportunities changed.

                Tearna continued writing with a small frown, redoing her description of the Golden Plains as she tried to get it just right. “Hey.” Tearna looked up at Kai as he stopped in front of her, “The captain gave us the all-clear, if you’re still up for it.”

                “He did?!” she said with a start, her face quickly lighting up. Picking up her lantern, she practically ran over Kai with enthusiasm, “Let’s get going then!”

                Wind howled around the cavernous opening in the rock, but, further in, things were much calmer. There was no sound of dripping water, only the sound of wind that echoed down its length before slowly turning into silence. Footsteps echoed down the length of the rocky cave as a light illuminated its walls. It rolled over the dark, jagged walls and traveled across the ceiling. Stalactites dangled alongside a few icicles, a chill rolling through the air as breath turned to frost.

                “R-Remind me again w-why we c-came down h-here,” Bren stammered, rubbing her arms furiously as she struggled to hide in her egregiously large coat. She peered out from between layers of scarves, “T-this p-lace is fre-ezing!”

                “Our mandate is to catalogue and discover as much as we can,” the captain said gruffly. He was also shivering, but was at least managing to speak clearly as he watched the other two in their small group, “Tearna deemed this spot as a potentially unique biome, so we are bound to do our best to explore it, regardless of how cold it is.”

                Tearna’s footsteps echoed as she walked down the narrow tunnel. She narrowed her eyes, pausing as she shone her light over one wall before turning to the other, Kai walking up with a lantern of his own, “After traveling deep into the mountains, we stumbled upon a natural cavern, something common in this region.” Icicles glittered as they walked deeper, “And where there are caverns, there are cavern creatures!”

                Tearna suddenly gasped and charged ahead even as Kai tried to stop her. Scrambling forward, she fell to her knees and pulled out her journal, studying the strange critter clinging to an icy stalagmite, “Cave salamanders are common in any cavern, but in the mountains, there is another variety called the wooly cave salamander!” Clutching the rock was a small salamander, but just as its name implied, it was coated in white wool. The little creature turned its head slightly, the odd-looking growths on its neck wriggling as Tearna leaned in closer, “Like other cave salamanders, this wooly variety is blind and senses its surroundings using vibrations! They live on cavern walls and eat anything they can find, typically small insects or lichen!”

                Smiling happily, she looked up curiously, her eyes widening as she noticed all the other fluffy critters, “Much to my surprise, we encountered several hundred of them.” Tearna looked right and left as she walked, little woolen bodies covering the walls like a fungus, “Thankfully, these creatures are harmless. They seem to huddle together to conserve warmth when it gets cold and then spread out to forage when it warms. Similar to the common variety, they are quite adept at surviving in caverns, and it’s always nice to see a friendly, peaceful face!”

                Echoes rang as the group pushed deeper into the cavern. Light illuminated the partially frozen walls as Tearna kept her eyes peeled for anything worth documenting. A call from Kai drew her attention as her eyes widened. “After traveling deeper, we stumbled across a much larger room full of something our people are quite familiar with!” Rushing forward, Tearna let out a happy laugh as she looked all around, “Crystals!”

                Glittering light shone across the walls of the cavern they had stumbled into. Clusters of pointed crystals were growing all over in branching growths, looking like the arms of trees with thousands upon thousands of pointed end. Green light swirled through almost all of the crystals with a few oranges mixed in, their natural light illuminating the walls. Tearna’s eyes sparkled as she slowly stepped inside, Bren looking over at a branch near her with wide eyes, “While enigmatic to us in many ways, crystals are the lifeblood of our society! Their strange properties are what allowed us to grow our technology, and even today, we are highly dependent on them!”

                Stepping over to a green branch, Tearna knelt and squinted, “I believe what we stumbled across was a vein of sky crystals. Sky crystals have the unique property to float and have been used to help larger machines function efficiently and even create the first airships.” Squinting, she looked up at an orange bush a little above her, “The orange ones, however, are quite an expensive find.” A thousand flames seemed to burn in the crystals as she peered at it carefully, “Power cores are literally the lifeblood of machines. These strange cores contain a well of untapped energy that can be used to power any machine, though I hear that most only last a month. These crystals can be quite expensive, so I can’t blame Bren for wanting to collect some…”

                “Exactly how many of those are you grabbing?” the captain asked, raising his brow at the shasheek as she continued to stuff power cores into her pockets.

                “As many as I can,” Bren huffed, breaking cores off a branch as quickly as she could. “Do you have any idea how much these sell for? We can pay for a stay at a nice inn for the entire expedition for a whole month! Isn’t that worth it?”

                “Just be careful,” the captain sighed, looking around the room with a frown. “Getting around with that many cores could be tricky…” Bren continued to feverishly collect cores as the captain narrowed his eyes, his ears twitching as he listened. For the most part, all one could hear was the echo of Bren breaking cores, but beneath that sound, one could just barely hear hundreds of tiny pins striking rock, a sound that could only be called… skittering. “Wait,” the captain called out, Kai and Tearna both looking at him. Looking one way and then the other, he barred his teeth, “Something is here!”

                With a start, Kai and Tearna both turned as silhouettes began to move, Tearna’s heart skipping a beat, “Foolishly, I got so excited by the crystals that I forgot about the danger they bring.” Light glinted across crystalline backs as numerous creatures moved across the cavern floor, loud clacks ringing out as pointed tails glinted, “While our society depends on crystals, there is another species that survives by feasting on them, and we had the rotten luck of rousing a whole nest of them!” Tearna’s eyes widened in fear as one of the creatures scrambled onto a boulder and clacked its pincers, “Crystalgorgers!”

                 A shrill hiss echoed around the room as the large creature let out a battle cry, light sparkling over its crystalline hide as it raised its massive pincers. For lack of a better term, crystalgorgers were massive scorpions. They had huge pincers, multiple green eyes, and huge jaws that could shred rock. Thanks to the crystals they ate, their carapace was almost entirely crystalline, jagged and sharp across their backs and claws. Additionally, their tails were fitted with a massive, club-like end tipped with a single spike. While they were not common, they were extremely hostile!

                “Watch out!” Tearna called out, stowing her journal away as her eyes glowed with power. An angry hiss echoed as one of the creatures charged forward and swung its tail, forcing her to jump as it impaled the ground. Moving her hands together, she swung them up in an arc and sent a massive clod of dirt straight into the gorger’s jaw. The creature flipped backwards, but another one skittered forward with an angry hiss alongside a dozen others.

                Rock, wind, and telekinetics flew through the air as a tremendous battle broke out. The captain grunted as he drew his sword and swung it with his winds, cleaving through the arm of a gorger before stabbing another in the eye. Nearby, Kai grunted as he fell, a gorger pinning him with its pincers as it moved its tail in to strike. Crystal shattered as his winds smashed through it, causing the beast to howl in pain before being flung off by a wind blast. Bren let out an exclamation of surprise as one of the scorpions crawled down behind her, forcing her to back away as she clutched her crystals protectively. With a cry, she shut her eyes and launched a massive blast of telekinesis, slamming the scorpion into the wall with a crunch.

                Tearna barred her teeth as a rocky spike slammed down onto one of the gorgers, giving her a second to look around, “We have to retreat! They aren’t going to stop until they run out of reinforcements, and this looks like a big nest!”

                “You don’t have to tell me twice!” Kai shouted back. The group slowly retreated back towards the tunnel, smacking gorgers away right and left. Large thuds shook the ground as a much larger gorger stepped into the room. Tearna sucked in a sharp breath as it turned towards them, raising its massive pincers as the green crystal across it glimmered.

                “Emperor’s crimson fur, what is THAT?!” Bren practically screamed.

                “Probably an emperor,” Tearna hissed, smashing her fist through a pincer before punching a scorpion away. Stepping into the tunnel, she gestured backwards, “Hurry! I’ll close the path!” Bren quickly jogged past her alongside Kai, the captain hurrying past her, but stopping just behind her to cover her. Raising her hands, Tearna let out a cry of defiance as soil and rock rolled across the ceiling. Rock shattered as her powers tore through the cavern and brought down a waterfall of rock. Angry hisses rang out as many of the gorgers were buried, the angry roars of the emperor following them as Tearna and the captain backed away from the collapse.

                After a few minutes, the tunnel was silent. Tearna breathed heavily, looking the rocky barricade over as she listened. She could hear gorgers hissing on the other side along with the emperor, but it seemed like they had no intent of digging through. “Looks like that did it,” the captain said with an approving nod. Patting her shoulder, her gestured back up the tunnel, “Good work, explorer. Let’s get out of here before we stir up more of those things.”

                “Happily,” Tearna echoed, looking back once before following after him. “Note to self. Do not ever go into a cave full of crystal again without bringing a legion!”

                Several days later, and far away from the cavern of angry critters, snow gently fell across a peaceful, quite landscape. Light glittered across the soft, white landscape while mountains towered all around it, a blistering chill rolling over the quiet expanse with seemingly nothing to disturb the calm. Snow suddenly crunched underneath a boot, Tearna pausing briefly to smile up at the snow coming down, “After several days of travel, we ended up wandering into a completely different type of biome!”

                Snow crunched all around her as the other expedition members walked, struggling to lift their frozen boots in the thick snow. “Upon reaching the top of a ridge, the land around us suddenly shifted into something like a tundra!” she continued, picking up a handful of snow. She laughed as she brushed it off before following the others, “The snow here was far more beautiful than any I have ever seen, and it was so much fluffier than anything I’ve found near Orden! While the air was cold, it wasn’t cold enough to be a bother… Well, at least not for me.” Snickering, she glanced back at Bren as the shasheek continued to shiver within her cocoon, “Don’t ask what Bren thought about it!”

                Orange light shone across the small tundra a little later. The snow had long since stopped and the wind had died down, leaving the landscape peaceful and calm. “After traveling across the tundra, we finally arrived at the first scheduled stop on our journey within the mountains,” Tearna continued, breathing a sigh of relief as she came to a stop. “Though I have no idea how they manage it, somehow, the village of Alandar manages to thrive year-round!”

                Smoke wafted into the air from several chimneys rising from the lodges in front of her. There were almost a dozen in total, most rather small, but one of them being quite wide. A few fences lined the roads weaving between them alongside torches that burned atop small poles. Warm, orange light shone from their windows, and several ghollon were lounging around in a shed near one of the larger buildings.

                A few friendly greetings rang out from the residents as the expedition drew closer, many of them waving excitedly as they stepped out of their homes, “Arriving in Alandar was… awkward.” Tearna paused, watching the residents slowly crowd together at the edge of the village as if welcoming heroes. Blinking a few times, she finally relaxed and waved back as she laughed, “Since their village is so secluded, they hardly ever get to host travelers, so it only makes sense that they would get excited since that’s exactly how they make their living!”  

                Chatter drifted around the small village as the expedition spread out. Some of the members sat on the steps of houses as they retold the tale of their adventure so far, each of them hosting a small and excited audience. Near the main lodge, children were looking at the ghollon curiously, laughing as the shaggy beasts snorted and shook their heads. On one of the benches, Tearna watched with a smile as one of the expedition members was kidnapped to purchase warm tea, “It never did occur to me that I take the presence of others for granted. Up here, any social interaction is seen as a treasure, and the locals certainly made us feel more than welcome!”

                Sighing softly, she took a sip from the warm mug sitting beside her, “The locals were more than eager to sell us supplies, and they were more than ecstatic to hear all we had to say. It wasn’t just our adventure they were interested in, but news of the world itself. Turns out, getting information this deep in the mountains is tricky, yet still they manage to make a decent life for themselves.”

                “Their cottages were worth some of my attention as well.” She stepped up to one of the small homes, eyeing the orange tinted windows before looking up at the snow-covered roof, “These buildings were like nothing I had ever seen, but it at least made some sense. The only nearby source of timber would be the Valley of the Colossi, so all their homes are made from the same type of timber, not that I’m complaining! Their homes were so cozy that I’m actually jealous! I wish my house was as cozy…”

                Frowning sourly, she raised her brow sharply as an angry curse rang out. She looked over as one of the other expedition members raced down the road, cursing enthusiastically as he struggled to reach for something. Cocking her head in confusion, Tearna gasped and whipped out her journal as a small, white blur shot past her, “Oddly enough, we encountered our next wild creature in the streets of this very village, a tundra vloat!”

                The small creature squeaked as it ran as fast as it could, its tube-like body surprisingly agile as it stayed ahead of the desperate expedition member, “Vloats are a common animal found on most tundra. They are snow white, have small, black eyes, and are noticeably tube-shaped. While they don’t seem like they would be fast with such stubby legs, they use their odd shape to speed themselves up! They are also quite good at digging and are known for making burrows deep in snowbanks.” Slowly tilting her head, she barked a laugh as she finally realized what was happening, “They are also known for being thieves!” Chasing a bit further, the expedition member finally gave up as he came to a stop, the small vloat running away with a huge piece of bread in its mouth.

                Darkness swept over the village as the star set, light quickly returning as it rose on the opposite side. Light sparkled off the frozen windows as a few of the village’s residents began their daily routines, sweeping off the snow and breaking off any ice. “Although the village was small, there was one thing we wanted to do before leaving.” Snow crunched beneath Tearna’s boots as her and several other expedition members waded through the snow, “Since the village is dependent on tourists, they had to come up with attractions, so they invented something new and quite fun! They call it ‘snow gliding!’”

                Sheets of snow ripped into the air as a sheek in a heavy fur coat shot down the slope beside the village. He turned sharply to one side, and then the other, his tails streaming out behind him as he knelt. Several of the expedition members were watching him intently, including Tearna, all of them trying to figure out what he was doing, “Snow gliding is what I would call a sport, and it depends on riding a small plank of wood down a slope at high speeds.” The sheek turned sharply as his board carved into the snow, “Supposedly, it’s a very thrilling activity, and some of the locals have made quite the competition out of it. In our case though, the competition was just getting on the board.”

                Carefully standing up, Kai kept his arms out as he tried to balance. Wobbling briefly, he suddenly fell back with a puff of snow, letting out an exclamation of frustration as Tearna and Bren burst out laughing, “Poor Kai was having an extremely hard time, but I adapted to it naturally! Like always, I’m excellent when it comes to picking up new tricks!” Standing up, Tearna grinned as she kept her arms steady. Without warning, she yelped and fell forward, her face heating as she heard the others laughing, “And if anyone says otherwise, they’re lying!”

                Wind whipped around Tearna as she sped down the slope. Tensing up, she leaned sharply and turned, a sheet of snow exploded as her board carved through the snowdrift. With an excited cry, she shot back in the opposite direction, many of the other explorers clapping ecstatically while Kai continued to fume with embarrassment, “Once I got the hang of it, snow gliding proved to be an extremely fun sport! If I had the opportunity to do this at home, I would probably end up doing this every day! I think I spent a few hours zipping around, but while I would have liked to have just kept going, we did have a job to do.”

                Days began to pass as the expedition pushed deeper into the mountains. Calls of warning rang out as one of the ghollon slipped, members quickly moving to stop it from falling as sheets of snow began to slide down the mountain, “Our goal was to reach our next destination nestled in the heart of the mountains, but the terrain was more and more treacherous with every step!” Tearna grunted as she slipped on a patch of ice, causing her to bare her teeth as Kai knelt beside her with worry. A minute later, Tearna pouted with embarrassment as Kai carried her on his back, “For several days, we marched up mountain passes, carried across ridges, and made our way through some of the most unstable terrain we had ever seen.”

                An ominous howl passed around the expedition as they walked along, Tearna looked around uneasily at the rocky slopes rising on either side of them. Swallowing nervously, she hurried along as pebbles and rocks rolled down one of the slopes. Wind howled around their expedition as they cowered against a mountain, snow and ice ripping over the mountain pass and forcing them to cower within their cloaks. A while later, they huddled together in the clutch of a small alcove, trying their hardest to stay warm against the might of the freezing blizzard.

                “What we faced in those mountains was harsher than anything I had faced before,” Tearna continued, keeping her head down as she marched along. Snow crunched beneath her boots as the surrounding tundra sparkled, “There were many times where I wasn’t sure we would make it, and I am sad to report that we did collect a few injuries.” She looked over sadly at the members currently straddled to the backs of the ghollon, “We did our best to care for them, but we didn’t exactly have the best medical equipment. Our best bet was to push forward to our next destination, though many of us were wondering if we would ever find it.”

                Bowing her head with exhaustion, a cry suddenly drew her attention forward. Other members looked up with expressions of disbelief and relief as the cry rang, hope once again shining in their eyes as the air around the expedition warmed. “After many days of endless, brutal travel, we finally, FINALLY arrived at the spot where so much of our history began!”

                 Suddenly reinvigorated, Tearna jogged forward. Snow kicked up around her heels as she moved as fast as she could, many of the others joining her as they raced ahead. “Our next destination was a place that would be like an oasis,” she continued, jogging up towards the crowd forming on the hill just in front of her. “Not only was it a lush paradise, but it was also the birthplace of the First Archon herself, a place spoken of in legend!” Hurrying up alongside the others, Tearna’s eyes sparkled as she stared at the sight before her, “At long last, we had finally arrived at one of the most beautiful and historic places on our planet, the Valley of the Colossi!” Situated ahead of them within the clutches of numerous mountains was a vast, sprawling valley, light shining across its grassy floor while, at its far end, trees towered just as tall as the mountains themselves…