The fire burned low, fighting the frost-bitten earth below it and the slush walls around it for its right to live on the frozen fields of Faern. A lone woman sat huddled up beside it, a thick blanket thrown over her shoulders, the last of a warm cup of soup in her hands. Above her, the stars stretched on forever, in an endless sky.

Tomorrow she'd be back in civilization. She wasn't looking forward to what was waiting for her there, but at least she'd be warm again.

“Come to Faern,” they'd said. “It was a pristine land of untouched wilderness,” they'd said. “The perfect place to reconnect with the goddesses and return to her roots.”

Well they had left out the part where it was cold. It was cold from dawn to dusk. It was cold from dusk till dawn. It was cold when she got up in the morning. It was cold when she ate lunch at midday. It was cold when she went to bed.

Was it beautiful? Sure.

Was it full of holy sites? Yeah, probably.

Was it a place she wanted to spend her sabbatical? She'd certainly thought so when she'd left the warm city of Elmirin many miles south of here. She'd never seen snow before. It had seemed like such a novelty as she and her old mentor had planned the trip. Now, if she never saw snow again in this lifetime, it would be too soon.

But as much as she was looking forward to being warm in a proper city, she wasn't looking forward to her arrival in Selven. It was one of the...