The frosty air bit at my cheeks, nipped my fingers. It shot through my arms and surrounded my bare feet. It wasn’t a temperature, it was an entity, inescapable, unstoppable and with a mind entirely of it’s own. It would help if I wore a fur. Why wasn’t I wearing a fur? It lay in the snow, right behind me. Why am I out in the middle of the village? Because I sensed something. I needed to be here. That strange worrywort of a woman will be running after me soon, once she noticed I was missing, but for now, I had a moment of blissful peace. I could hardly listen to the universe with her reminding me to drink my teas and take my herbs. But here, in the midst of the rattling carts, the bellowing deckhands and the creaking of wicker fenders on the ships, the universe spoke and I could listen.

I wasn’t entirely sure what village this was… i remembered visiting so many in my youth but now they seemed a haze. I didn’t know how I got here, or who these people were. They treated me with respect, one stopping to offer me my fur. My blood was thin from age but I waved away the young man without a word, so intent on searching for… there!

The group, entering the large town hall. The oversized cabin had smoke pouring from the chimneys and the thought of warmth obviously excited the travelers. They stopped on the dock, to exchange pleasantries with a large burly man that wore runes tied in his hair, marking him as the Chief King. They gave bows, marking their outlandish ways. The Chief King simply rapped a fist to his shoulder, a gesture of respect among our people. I shuffled my way through the muddy paths, cutting through frozen flowerbeds, intent on meeting the foreigners myself.

“—preciate this very much King Olen. Our quest brings us further into your land, seeking an artifact of great power.”

One of the women was saying. She was dressed as the rest of the adventurers were but her posture was wrong, too rigid, too proper. She came from noble upbringing and her tone so practiced… she must be a diplomat.

“And what is this artifact that is responsible for the fate of the world?”

The Chief King asked, his tone haughty.

“Err… that’s just it… the legends say it’s a sword, or a storm, but those are folk tales. There’s no real confirmation as to what this weapon is. We won’t know until we find it.”

The Chief spun, his boots grinding the frozen gravel, his fur cape spinning and his rune braided hair flying. His massive frame blocked the door of the town hall, keeping his guests outside.

“And yet you would hang the balance of the war on something that may not exist?”

Just then the universe whispered to me. It pleaded, begged me to pass on its message. I stepped forward and grabbed the hulking brute’s hand, a light but scolding slap on his arm.

“En-uf!”

My words came out garbled around my split tongue and missing teeth.

“Yu mus’ ‘ave faith!”

“Mother Ekantra!”

The Chief’s face reddened. Satisfied that he was suitably chastised, I turned to the adventurers.

“Tru’th. Yu seek tru’th. No sw-ords. No sto-rms. But tru’th.”

“What truth?”

The diplomat raised one eyebrow and I gripped her wrist in my boney hands.

“No we’apon will win wa-r… a shi-eld…”

“Mother Ekantra!”

And there was that busy body little woman. I would learn her name but I was beyond caring. I was tired. I wanted a nap. The universe had spoken and I translated. The woman made apologies for my intrusion and slung a fur around my shoulders before beginning to shuttle me away. I could still hear their conversations.

“Who was she?”

“An elder…”

The king answered.

“She has lost most of her memory, as comes with age, but she was a great explorer in her time, a practitioner of the ancient arts of listening.”

“Listening?”

“A practice long ago lost. Days spent in meditation, listening to the universe and noticing history’s pattern. It was said they could predict to future and no thing remained hidden to them.”

“But her memory…”

“She remembers what she must. She remembers what the universe needs her to…”