Starless Nights

He crouched back down in front of her, his one good eye calm but serious.

"So, Ash," he said, "do you wanna come with us? We're going to the Kingdom of Sylwenne."

The girl didn't respond at first. She just stared at him — not like a child would, but like someone who'd been lied to before. Too many times.

Vael waited. He didn't push. Let her think.

Eventually, she spoke, voice barely above a whisper.

"Why?"

That single word carried weight. Not confusion — suspicion. She wasn't asking what they were offering. She was asking why him? Why now?

Vael exhaled through his nose.

"Because you don't belong here, surrounded by ruins and people who look at you like you're a broken toy."

Ash's jaw tensed slightly, but she didn't look away.

"We've been where you are," he continued. "And I won't lie to you — where we're going isn't safe. It's not easy. But it's forward."

A pause.

"You'd be with us. And we don't leave our own behind."

That made her eyes twitch — a flicker of something behind them. Not trust, not yet.

But maybe… hope.

She didn't say yes.

She just took a slow step forward.

And nodded.

Convincing the rest of the team went exactly as you'd expect.

They disagreed, of course. But after being told they wouldn't be joining the expedition if they refused, they fell in line.

With that settled, the group finally left the village.

The walk to the Alps wasn't long — a day at most.

And that first day passed without incident.

The next morning, they reached the foot of the mountain range.

And then it hit them like a truck.

Or, well, maybe a really big horse. This world didn't have trucks.

The cold.

Intense. Unrelenting. Inescapable.

Without wasting time, the group began the ascent.