The cold wind whipped across the frozen ocean causing the fisherman to pull their furs tighter against their skin as they sat by their hole in the ice. The wind continued up into a valley surrounded by white capped mountains standing like ancient sentries watching over the passage of time. The wind followed the river passing through the many villages dotting the currently snow filled valley. The wind wound its way into a town near the back of the valley, the town of Gilsa where the small road weaved between the mountains to other villages nestled in other valleys along the lonely peninsula. For this reason, Gilsa was the first stop merchants made when entering the valley to sell their wares of glass and ivory. But for now, the field where the merchants would set up stood empty and white the wind blowing the snow in lazy circles. The thatch on the roofs fluttered, wooden signs banged, and the fur coat of a slow bent old man was ripped out of his hands exposing his woolen shirt to the elements.  

Destin shuddered and cursed as he got hold of the loose flapping ends of his cloak and he hurriedly wrapped them back around himself. He looked at his surroundings, but he could only see the fuzzy outline of buildings through the fog of his exhaustion. Rubbing at his eyes with his coat covered hand he began yawning uncontrollably for a few seconds before he continued shuffling. “All the late nights… they will be worth it…”. He looked at a group of children playing, they ran back and forth laughing and trying to hide from each other. As he looked at the shapes, he knew to be children he reached up and felt two metal disks in his breast pocket, “… because I do it for them.”

            He walked past the husk of a building where Adden’s Butcher shop used to be, the thatch had long rotted away, and the boards were sagging. Yet this is where, when he was young, Destin would often beg. Those days had been foggy, his parents were dead, how and when they had died, he could no longer remember. Most of his earliest memories had been of the streets, he knew he was lucky, he knew he should be dead. Every day Destin thanked Aenasir for his protection, so many kids he had met on the streets never made it to adulthood.

            Destin shuffled along, occasionally stumbling on the loose paving stone making his way to his house. As he shuffled, he looked at the passing crowds. “Eighty-two years I’ve protected this village and in those eighty-two years no other Zduhachy has been born for me to train to carry on once I’m gone.” Destin paused a moment, only a couple blocks from his house, and he looked down at the valley that housed Bitra, Eyrr, and his own village Gilsa. “In fact, no Zduhachy has been born in this valley for many, many years, the youngest one is all the way down in the coastal city of Blarithwing. But that Zduhachy is in his fifties. Sighing, he continued the slow walk to his house. All around him the shadows began to lengthen, crawling and reaching like great beasts as twilight approached. Finally reaching the door Destin pushed it open and he was hit with a wave of comforting smells, of wood, of charcoal, and a bit of dust. With a groan and a shuffle, he ate a bit of jerky and mead then laid down feeling the straw beneath a thick layer of fur.

            Laying there Destin pulled the two metal discs close as he felt his pain and weariness dissipate and great power enter. He left his weak and flawed body in the physical world as his body began to ascend to Hugerfyall. He felt as though he floated through a mist so thick you could cut it with a wooden spoon. After what felt like ages, his feet touched solid ground. Slowly Destin opened his eyes, he stood in a small grass clearing surrounded by impenetrable white smoke on three sides but in front of him stood what appeared to be an absurdly tall mountain. Upon the mountain It looked like a giant from one of the legends had taken a relief map of the word and turned it into a flat-topped cone with two gates on the peak. Destin saw other Zduhachy appear with the faint sound of a rush of wind, they appeared beside him and then moved to take up positions at their parts of the map to protect their villages and towns. Very few out of the hundreds he saw had a student along with them.

            Destin remembered his first time consciously entering Hugerfyall, the fear and shock at having his spirit ripped from his body had quickly been replaced with awe at the sight of the mountain. He could still hear Sigmund quickly explaining how everything worked.

—————

“Listen,” Sigmund said as he crouched to eye level with Destin. “We have been here during the day when it is relatively safe but bear with my repetition for you cannot forget the lessons in the moment. Half of you is still lying in bed, the half that eats, sleeps and hurts is currently lying in bed. This half of you,” Sigmund tapped Destin in the chest. “Has none of those weaknesses. In Hugerfyall you will only think you tire, you will only think you hurt but remember, it is all in your head.” Destin looked down at himself, he looked the same but better, all physical blemishes were gone, and his clothing looked new. Before Destin could finish thinking about the changes Sigmund began speaking while pointing towards two gates at the top of the mountain. “The purple gate leads to the Golden Ocean, and the black gate leads to the Forest of Black Night” The fact Sigmund used the names “Golden Ocean” and “Forest of Black Night” indicated that he was a believer in the Everlasting Gods, a group that did not believe in the Elder Gods. Destin’s thoughts were interrupted by Sigmund as he continued. “Do not ever enter one of those gates, because once you do you will never be able to return to your body.”

            “But when I die, I will enter one of those gates?” Destin asked.

            “You are a Zduhachy, those gates are not your fate.” Sigmund said as he motioned towards the gates. “This is your fate.” Sigmund held up a disk, about the size of a man’s palm, with a leather strap on it. carved in the face of the disk was two jagged lines that are intersected by a straight line, the symbol of Aenasir, the god of the storms. “When a Zduhachy dies,” Sigmund continued. “There spirit will enter their Staal, that is what gives it the power. Remember to always treat these with great respect.”

—————

            Destin moved up to the portion of the mountain that represented his village and waited for the other two to arrive. As he waited, he brought out the two metal disks from inside his breast pocket and slipped the leather straps around each of his hands to secure them in place. Once the Staals were in place he sent out an experimental crackle of lightning from his palm. The feeling of power, a feeling so familiar now, it was a comfort.

—————

Sigmund had brought Destin into Hugerfyall during the day when they didn’t have to worry about attacks from the Haggan. Sigmund had talked about how to use the staal, concentrating on where you wanted the arc of lightning to go as well as being mindful of how much energy was in the Staal. When Destin had first sent a burst of lightning, he felt a tingling sensation that started in his palm and spread through his body before it felt as though the power was ripped from him outwards in the arc. He could sense the power of the spirits in his hand, he knew he could use the staal nearly constantly for a couple hours before it would need to rest and regain power.

—————

            After a few minutes of waiting, he heard the faint rush of wind that signaled someone’s arrival, turning he saw her, Asta. She looked as though she had barely aged in all the years, he’d known her. “That is the benefit of spiritual bodies”.

Destin could remember the first time she entered Hugerfyall with her mentor Eric. She had looked stunning, her gold and brown hair tied up in twin braids. It had been about a couple months before Destin and Asta met Gunne, he had been a late bloomer to his Zduhachy abilities, so he had been a couple years older than the other two when he entered. Gunne had a multitude of freckles and fiery red hair to match his equally fiery attitude.

Even to this day when he saw Asta he would Grin like a schoolboy and run to give her a hug. Today was no different, and after running and hugging her he said, “It’s always good to see you, Asta.”

            “And it is good to see you too” Asta said smiling weakly.

            “What?” Destin asked.

            Asta hung her head, “I just received the news before I came here, Gunne has joined the other spirits within his Staal.” Asta said solemnly.

            “It’s easy to forget how old we are when we are here.” As Destin thought about Gunne’s death he felt as though he had rocks in his stomach. He knew he only had a few years left, he needed to find an apprentice, someone to carry on.

            Destin looked at the gates at the top of the mountain, one glowed a dark calming purple which led to Fehan. The other gate was the one the evil Haggan came from, it is an impenetrably black gate which leads to Thezlin. “It’s about time, are you ready.” Destin asked Asta.

            With a grimace Asta nodded. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” She said as she took out her Staals, small metal balls.

            A low rumbling began emanating from the black gate, starting low and slowly getting louder. Time seemed to slow as Destin raised the metal disks towards the gate, and he felt the disk vibrate with excitement. The trapped spirits within the disk were at full strength and ready to go.

            With a sudden noise akin to thunder hundreds of Haggan exited the gaping black maw of the Thezlin Gate. The Haggan were short, about three feet tall, and they had black leaves growing out of their bodies like hair. They also have a long-hooked nose, and instead of eyes they just have skin. Out of the gate they ran down the mountain rushing toward unguarded settlements, once there the Haggan would stretch out a gnarled finger and point at the map and a black ark would leap out stealing the energy that would grow crops and keep out disease and the energy would be stored in a vial strapped to the Haggan’s waist. When the Haggan reach a settlement guarded by a Zduhachy a fight would ensue often ending with many Haggan dead, but when a Zduhachy loses a fight the Haggan will touch them and draw out their energy leaving the rest of the spirit to be trapped within the Staals. Destin didn’t feel fear when the Haggan came any longer, the terror in his youth had been replaced with a feeling of dull dread in his old age.

—————

The first time Sigmund brought him to Hugerfyall in the evening he had told him. “I’ve taught you what I can during the day when the Haggan are not attacking but now it is time to put what you are learning into practice.” Sigmund said as he put his hand on Destin’s shoulder. “Do you remember what the first lesson was?” Sigmund paused to let Destin think.

            After a few seconds Destin said, “Don’t let them touch you.”

            “Exactly!” Sigmund said grinning. “Above all else don’t let them touch you.”

            After Sigmund had stopped speaking Destin began to feel a rumbling which was slowly growing louder. As the rumbling grew louder his nervousness increased to terror.

—————

            At the sight of the Haggan onslaught Destin was brought out of his reverie.  He firmly planted his feet and raised the staal discs towards the rush, he no longer felt sick at their sight. “Remember don’t let them touch you.” Destin spoke mostly to himself.

            “I know the rules of the fight, I’ve been doing this as long as you.” Asta said not realizing Destin hadn’t been talking to her.

            Destin was going to tell Asta he hadn’t been talking to her but “I –” was all Destin could get out before the Haggan attacked. Quickly Destin let loose crackling lightning into the attacking Haggan, the lightning jumped from his hands and hit the creature with a thud knocking it back and causing the black leaves to curl up from the heat. Beside him Asta had her ball shaped Staal out, waving it in the air sending great gusts of wind like a horizontal vortex. The Haggan would get caught up in the vortex and sent tumbling down the mountain.

—————

When the Haggan exited the black Thezlin gate the sight of them mixed with his terror caused him to feel horribly ill. Destin, seeing the eyeless faces and the moist black leaves was the last straw for his young stomach. He bent over and attempted to retch but, even though he had eaten a good supper before entering Hugerfyall, nothing came up.

            Sigmund planted his feet and lifted the staal he was holding, said, “That’s the thing with your spirit body, its only half of you. This half is not the half that vomits.” Sigmund smiled lightly before putting on a more serious tone. “You had better get ready with your staal I don’t want you dying in your first real fight.”

—————

“Eyrr! Destin! Eyrr!” The sound of Asta yelling shocked Destin out of his fighting trance as he blasted A Haggan in the mid chest. Looking towards Eyrr Destin noticed that three Haggan were approaching the town. Destin took off at a run, pushing his legs into the unresponsive and hard ground, he felt as though he was flying towards those horrid things.

            “Are we really going to try and save Eyrr?” Destin yelled at Asta.

As he closed the distance, he released crackling jumping lightning into the two closest. The bolt from his left hand scorched one of the Haggan while the bolt from his right managed to hit the second Haggan in the left leg rendering that leg useless. Quickly Destin sent both bolts into the unaffected Haggan with one bolt hitting its shoulder and another hitting it in the middle of the head, quickly killing it. As he stood trying to catch his breath, which he knew was pointless due to the fact his current body couldn’t get winded, he noticed movement from the wounded Haggan. The Haggan was reaching towards Eyrr, and a dark glow was forming on its fingertip. A coldness tightened in Destin’s chest, and he reflexively sent two bolts towards the Haggan. His first bolt whizzed harmlessly over the Haggan’s head while the second caught it in the side. The Haggan paled but wasn’t dead, the dark light intensified. Quickly Destin calmed his breathing, lifted his right hand, and sent a single bolt right at the Haggan’s head. The leaves withered, the head dropped, and the dark light at its fingertip went out.  

“Are we really going to try and save Eyrr?” Destin yelled at Asta.

“Yes!” Asta yelled back. “It’s the one thing we can do for him.”

“Fine!” Destin yelled before running back to the location of his town, Gilsa.

After the attack on Eyrr Destin and Asta spent the rest of their time constantly running between the blips on the map that represented each of their villages and Gunne’s village. This went on for hours, Destin felt a burning in his chest, even though he was in spirit form his mind could still convince him that he felt exhausted.

            “This is lasting too long!” Asta exclaimed at Destin, “My Staal is getting weak-” A blur jumped at Asta, but she managed to knock the Haggan back with a gust of wind at the last minute. “Trying to protect an extra village is not very easy.”

            “Yeah,” Destin said panting as he ran back to stand over his own village and frying a Haggan who was getting too close. “It should be nearing morning, then the Haggan’s power won’t be as strong.” As Destin spoke, he heard the slight rustle of leaves to his left, quickly he jumped to the side, just as a Haggan was about to touch him, and blasted the ugly thing away. “Too close, that was too close.” Destin panted as he swung his head from side to side.

            “Yeah, too close,” Asta agreed. Standing there Destin noticed Asta look past him towards the gate “It must be about morning the Haggan are beginning to reenter the gate.”

            “Oh good.” Destin said allowing his shoulders to slump, feeling the weariness from fighting settle on him. Looking up Destin locked eyes with Asta and grinned, this felt good fighting and being by Asta felt good. As Destin thought this his grin quickly faded as he saw behind Asta glimpses of black leaves and an eyeless face. Destin tried to cry out, but it was too late, the Haggan touched Asta, a black arc connected them and the bottle at its hip started glowing then Asta collapsed as all her strength left her. Screaming Destin sent streaks of lightning into the Haggan, and he didn’t let up. The Haggan screamed and writhed in pain before laying still, but Destin did not let up.

—————

Destin stood almost level with Sigmund now, and he was finally beginning to get comfortable with the nightly routine. It was him and Sigmund, nearby Asta stood with her mentor Eric and Gunne stood alone his red hair braided and hung to his waist alone because his mentor had been killed a few months earlier.

            “Ah, that was good.” Gunne said grinning a gap-toothed grin as he watched the Haggan entering the gate.

            “I almost died because you decided to run off into a clump of ten of them and left me alone” Destin exclaimed.

            “But you survived.” Gunne countered.

            “Well, I had to save him from getting ganged up on.” Asta said glaring at Gunne.

            “And I’m sure Destin enjoyed being rescued by you.”

            “Well,” Sigmund spoke up, “Eric and I had no issues because we actually worked together.”

            “You still killed more than me.” Eric sulked.

            “And I killed more than all of you.” Gunne boasted.

            “Huh,” Eric said as he exaggerated a thinking expression, “perhaps I could learn a thing or two from Gunne.”

            Sigmund laughed, and then he opened his mouth, but it looked like words got caught in his throat as a Haggan swept Sigmund off his feet. Destin began to raise his Staal to attack but before he could try, a whoosh of flames flew past him and ingulfed the Haggan. Gunne stood with triangular pieces of metal on his palms raised. “Yeah,” Gunne said looking at Eric perhaps you could learn something from me.

            Everyone relaxed slightly, and Sigmund commented “Maybe I could-” but before he could finish two Haggan jumped at Gunne as another moved towards Sigmund. Destin felt trapped between Gunne and Sigmund as he didn’t have a clear shot at any Haggan. Gunne managed to blast the two that attacked him, but the Haggan by Sigmund began to siphon his spirit. Destin sent streaks of crackling lightning into the Haggan, but before he could finish it off another one began to flank him. Looking around Destin realized they had somehow managed to be surrounded by the eyeless creeps. Destin finally managed to take care of the flanking Haggan, so he turned his attention back towards Sigmund, looking he saw him collapsed in a heap as the Haggan that got him escaped through the gate.

            Destin ran to him with tears in his eyes, Sigmund reached up and took his face and with his dying breath he softly said, “I guess I forgot the first lesson.”

—————

“Destin” Destin heard Asta say quietly, her voice brought him back to reality and he turned away from the disfigured corpse of the Haggan and he turned, and he ran towards Asta. When he got to her, he felt his tears burning holes in his cheeks. “Asta, Asta, don’t leave me alone,” Destin cried. “How, how will I defend our villages alone.”

            Asta struggled to smile as her form was slowly being pulled into the Staal, “That’s not why you don’t want me to go,” She tried to push herself up, but her entire hand was absorbed by the Staal. “please continue fighting until you can’t… for me.” Then with her free hand she reached behind Destin’s head, grabbed a fistful of his hair, and pulled him towards herself and into a kiss.

            Destin was momentarily caught off guard, by her lips, but he quickly allowed himself to be transported fully by her touch. He reached around her holding her against himself, trying to keep her from fading. As they kissed, he felt his left hand, which was on her lower back, lose its grip on her, then he felt his hair, which had been balled up in her hand, fall free. Then, sitting on the ground, Destin was kissing nothing. She had faded, fully absorbed by the Staal. Stiffly Destin stood up and picked up the round Staal that now also contained Asta, and he stumbled towards and through the exit point.

            Destin awoke in his bed stiff, wrinkled, old, tired, and with his blurry vision. He lay there stunned, unable to comprehend his loss. Slowly he felt a lump in his throat grow and his chest tightened, he shut his eyes tight against what he knew was coming. His efforts were to no avail for tears began to leak out of his tightly shut eyelids. After a while he gave into his grief, and he began to sob. He lay in his bed all day burying his head into the furs of his bed, he tried to block out the sounds of life that wormed their way through the walls and into his ears. The sounds of carts and people yelling, though there were sounds of life, he felt more alone than he had ever been.

            A knock awoke him from his trance as the sun passed behind the mountains. He called out that he was coming to the door as he shuffled to it and opened the door. On the other side an old woman stood holding two triangular and two ball shaped staals. “Are you Destin?”

            “Uh, yeah.”

            “My sister, she told me if she didn’t wake up to bring you these.”

            Destin took them in his hands, “I cannot protect three villages.”

            “She did not expect you to.”

            “Then why?”

            “You are a Zduhachy, and a friend. You deserve them. Do you need a deep philosophical answer?”

            “no.” Destin looked to the sky. “I will do what I can.”

            “Of course, thank you.”

            Destin laid down and returned to Hugerfyall, standing at the base and looking up he heard Sigmund’s voice “to enter the Thezlin gate is death your staal will not be able to recharge, the representative of it in the physical world will lose its power permanently that is why we fight a never-ending defensive war” With a smile Destin began to run. He ran up the mountain avoiding Haggan and Zduhachy till he reached the flat top with the two gates. From the black one Haggan ran out so taking the triangular stall he sent a swath of flame igniting twenty Haggan in one go. They recoiled, giving him a couple seconds to run through the gate. It burned, it felt as though his flesh was flayed. Then he was free. Overlooking a world filled with towering trees made of flesh and bone and creatures of all shapes and sizes covered in leaves and bark. Hundreds of gates dotted the mountain tops with different creatures entering each. The purple vials were loaded into buggies made of bone and were sent trundling to a massive spire that towered over all other mountains.

            Looking at the surrounding Haggan Destin lifted a triangular and ball shaped staals and released the energy.