The Northern territories of the Myrinian empire are vast and terrifying. Old monsters and creatures of the night still roam and wander and they despise outsiders with impunity. Should one travel into the tundra’s above, you will find a peculiar group of wanderers…

In the freezing temperatures of the north,Tiber takes a deep breath. The freezing winds pinch at his fur, tipping the fringes of his hair white and nearly halting his breath in his lungs. It almost seemed intentional. Like the Mothers of Frost were trying to freeze him solid. They’d love that, a new addition to their frozen hell…

The trees were marked with the faces of the fallen, a little tribute to Tiber’s fallen brothers and sisters in the war. He believed they would live again and see the new world they died for through the eyes of the woods. Every step he made in the snow echoed, yet no footsteps would follow him. The North was so strange…

He had finished his carving of the latest tree, the mark of a young pup's face, smiling. He could still remember the pup from years ago. They weren’t smiling that night, but maybe this would help them be happier in the afterlife. The young wolf gathered his things and prepared to leave, content with his work, but paused when he heard his steps out of rhythm. Every step he took had a delay, and when he stopped, he heard a flurry of steps before silence.

He was being followed.

Gently setting down his carving tools, he pretended to take a break, leaning against a tree to catch his breath. He closed his eyes and listened, his ears twitching at the slight crunch of snow behind him growing louder and louder with each step. He reached under his coat and when the noise was closest, he drew his sword and pointed it at his assailant, teeth bared in a snarl.

Then he took pause.

He looked down and did not see an attacker, a raider or a monster, but a little girl no older than 6, hair a dark auburn and skinny and frail. She wore a red cloak that matched her shirt and pants and shoes. Everything she wore was a deep red and even her eyes were bloodshot. Her pale face was streaked with frozen tears, the entirety of her body soaking wet and shivering and she looked at the wolf’s sword as if waiting for it to strike her.

There was a long silence between them, just looking into each others eyes, gauging if the other was a danger to them. When Tiber sheathed his sword, she coughed, holding herself to try and keep warm. The grey wolf knelt in front of her, studying her appearance and she too gazed at him. Tiber was unfamiliar with human children and she too was unfamiliar with Feraci. For just a moment, these two shared a single thought.

”What are you?”

And then the girl reached out her hand. She touched Tiber’s scarred face, and felt his warmth. So warm was he that a faint hissing could be heard from her hand. He was SO WARM! GREAT GODS HE WAS WARM! Gasping in shock and wasting no time, she ran towards him, gripping him in as tight a hug as she could muster and never wishing to let go. She had been so cold these past few days, not a single soul to help her. She’d been lost for so long she forgot what it was like to even feel warmth!

She clung to him like a vampire, trying to steal the very warmth from his body, yet in seconds her desperation brought her to nearly cry. She definitely WOULD have cried if most of the water in her body hadn’t frozen over. Tiber let her hold him, not daring to push her away as she broke down into hysteria.

Then he hugged her back. This poor girl. He needed to get her somewhere safe. Someplace warm. She wouldn’t stay warm in these wet clothes either. Picking the young girl up in his arms and gathering his tools, Tiber marched through the snow with a new companion, the young girl sniffling but beginning to smile at him. She leaned out and touched his nose, giggling slightly.

He smiled back, briefly touching his nose against her head. Where this girl came from was not important. Right now she needed his help. He was unsure how to raise a young human girl but…… well no better time to learn than the present.

**********

This marvelous piece is from the artistic hand of Velimir on Twitter. (It’s not X, that is a stupid name and I will never call it that. It’s Twitter and will forever remain Twitter.) Their work is beautiful and they often make pieces of work on Medieval and Slavic history. I have been addicted to that stuff on twitter for a long while now and have seen a lot of really talented people. History is one of my biggest interests and it greatly influences my Fantasy worlds. This piece is of my boy Tiber finding a young little lass alone in the frozen woods and taking her to his warm cabin in the woods. It’s meant to be the beginning of a Father/Daughter relationship with this little delight who he will lovingly call “Little Red”. We’ll see more of these two in due time. Don’t you worry.

Please check out Velimir and tell them I said hi! I really love this cute little piece. Almost looks like something from a storybook. Hope you enjoy!