Guiding Light Short Story

You sit near the center of the tent, a faint smell of smoke hangs in the air from the warm harth in front of you. You rub your hands quickly together trying to generate as much heat as you can and shake off the cold that is cleaning onto your skin. The tent fabric flaps loudly as it holds on tight to the tent frame, the wind doing its best to rip the walls down and steal the heat in the room.

“It's a harsh one out there.” The gruff voice says on the other side of the tent. “Its a good thing I found you when I did, if you had been out there much longer there is no doubt you the Southern wind would have had you in its grasp.”  

You glance up from the dancing flames for a moment as you watch the tall Forsteri fasten the tent flaps together. His clothes matched his face, worn and a bit tatterned around the edges, but still had some fight left in them. The Aves turns around to face you brushing the snow off his thick winter jacket as he hangs his lanturn on a nearby sconce. The wrinkles in his face are only just viable by the buckling of his tight, thin feathers as he speaks. “You feeling alright now? Feeling returning to your extremities?”

You nod as you scoot a little closer to the harth. This stranger had found you nearly covered in snow, in fact the only part of him you could see through the blizzard was his lanturn as he dug you out. You had seen the storm approaching and so when it started to snow it hadn’t been a surprise, however you didn’t expect it to get so violent so fast. As the wind and snow pelted you from above the cold it brought with it made it harder and harder to move until you no longer had any control over your limbs. Your clothing was doing nothing to keep the freezing winds out and if it weren't for him, you would have died. No question about it.

Your eyes turn back towards the enclosed flames as the Forsteri takes his jacket and large backpack off. He had saved you, but he was still a stranger. In this tent you were trapped, basically a prisoner, until the storm passed. No one knew where you were and if you went missing anyone that came looking for you would assume that you had died in the storm. You close your eyes for a moment taking a few slow breaths in an attempt to calm yourself down. Although you have a warm fire in front of you, your thin, wet clothes press against you causing you to shiver from their icy touch.

“Here- lets get those wet clothes off of ya now.” The rough voice suddenly says directly behind you.

Your eyes flash open as you spin around to look at the bird, now only a few inches away from you. He attempts to grab your jacket but you hold onto it tight. A tense moment passes, the two of you staring eye to eye, neither one budging.

“If you don’t at least remove your drenched jacket you are sure to catch your death. And i've seen what happens to those that are taken by the Northern wind's cold touch and i’ll tell you now, is not a pleasant way to go.” he pauses for a moment before gently pulling on the cuff of the jacket again. “Please, I promise you it will help with the chill.” he softly adds.

You sit at a standstill for a few moments more before you give in and let him have your jacket. You didn’t want to give it up, but the earnestness in his plea persuaded you. As he hangs your jacket up on a stray rope you can feel the heat from the harth starting to seep past your skin and into your bones. You aren't sure if he was right, but you do feel warmer now. 

You watch him move around the tent and only just now notice how large it is. Its at least 200 square feet and its octagonal frame is thick and sturdy, it would likely take a few Animalian to move it up at least. Not a temporary structure at least, that's for sure. A table sits in the center of the room, the harth just to the right of it, and on the farthest side from the doors a pair of large cots sit, fully set up with a pillow and even a few thick blankets on them. A number of sconce with lanterns on them are embedded on the tents frame, most of them have mismatched lanterns on them, but a few of them are empty causing some parts of the tent to be cast partly in shadow.

You rub your hands together to generate a little bit of heat, however this is more out of habit than anything else as the warmth from the harth had caused feeling to return to your fingers a few minutes ago. Your eyes remain transfixed on the Aves as he leans under the table and pulls out a large wooden crate. Your body tenses as thoughts of what torture devices or weapons could be inside of it race through your head. Kneeling down he removes the lid and starts to riffle through it. Your hand slowly moves to your waist where you keep your dagger. It was a bit dull but if you had to fight it would still do the job. After a moment you see the bird take out some cups and what appear to be some packets of powder. 

He looks up at you, a warm look in his eyes, but his face still vacant of any sort of smile. “You want hot chocolate, or something stronger?”

“H-hot chocolate is fine.” You quickly say out of air. He nods and returns the lid to the box before sliding it back under the table and standing up to prepare the drink. You hadn’t noticed you had been holding your breath till you said something, but you realize that your whole body had been taut to the point of straining, your breath held in tense anticipation.

You try to relax your body a bit as your breathing returns to normal. He hadn’t done anything crazy so there was no need to panic…yet. It would be good to stay on guard though, if something did go down. You glance at the strained tarps. Running wouldn’t be an option.

After pouring hot water into the cups taken from a kettle on top of the harth, the Forister starts to walk towards you again causing your eyes to snap quickly to him. With a cup in each hand he approaches and holds one out to you without saying anything. You take the drink, the cup is warm in your hands and the smell of the chocolate is incredibly sweet, however you wait. It would be best to watch him drink his first, just in case.

Holding the drink only a few inches from your face you can feel the steam stick to it as the bird watches you for a moment before taking a seat next to you on the cold tarp, the other drink in his webbed hand. You notice something on his jacket shimmering in the fire light as he makes himself comfortable. A logo of some sort is sewn into his thick winter jacket on the right side. It seems to be a golden star, or perhaps a compass with a black lantern on top of it, you had seen that same design on the tent doors when you entered. The Aves leans back and stares into the fire for a moment before taking a sip of the drink.

As soon as you see the drink leave his beak you take a drink yourself, letting the sweet liquid sit for a moment in your mouth before swallowing it. As it travels down your throat you can feel your insides warming up and relaxing. The bite of the cold now starting to relax its hold on you.

“Where were you headed before the storm?” The bird next to you  asks, pulling you from your moment of relaxation. You don’t make eye contact with him, instead you turn your gaze towards the fire, the warm cup between both your hands. He is a complete stranger, you won’t be giving him any information he could use later when explaining where you disappeared to. A moment of silence passes before he takes another sip of his drink and tries again. “Where are you from? It's rather dangerous to travel these parts on your own, you got others waiting for you somewhere? Tell anyone where you would be heading?”

Staying silent you give him a faint glare. You didn’t mean to glare, but you weren't able to stop it before it had already happened, he was just prying, asking questions that made you uneasy. You look back at the flames and take a sip. These were all things a murderer would ask a victum to find out if anyone would come for them if they died in snow storm in the middle of no where. 

For some time the silence sits between you and him. As your eyes watch the flames you suddenly feel a wave of fatigue wash over you. Now that your body no longer has to worry about getting warm it has started to focus on the next pressing matter, your exhaustion. As you fight the pull of sleep you almost forget about the Aves next to you.

“Not much of the talking kind I see.” His voice rings out pulling you back to a form of consciousness. “You look tired, you should get some rest.” He points to one of the cots.

“I’m not tired.” You blurt out. An obvious lie, but if you fall asleep then there will be no way you can protect yourself against him. You must stay awake.

You can see a hint of doubt in his eyes as he adjusts himself. “I see.” He looks you straight in your eyes. “Well I am.” he stretches his arms and gives a half hearted yawn. “I think I will turn in for the night, if ya need anything feel free to wake me.” As he stands up he picks up his cup and sets it on the nearby table. “It won’t be a bother I swear.”

As he turns to head towards the cot you feel pressure inside you start to build. Ever since you spotted his light in that storm you have had a question you wanted to ask him, but was unsure how. Before all you could think about was how painfully cold you were, now that you are warmed up the question has started to gnaw at your brain.

“Why?” you say quietly to his back.

The Forsteri gently turns around to face you, a look of confusion on his face. “Pardon?” he says just as gently as you had.

The question had already escaped your lips, there was no turning back now. “Why did you save me?..and how…how did you find me in that blizzard?”

The now familiar feeling of silent conversation hangs in the air for a moment before he responds. “Well…” For the first time since you met you see a smile appear on his face. Nothing huge, just a faint lift of his cheeks, so slight anyone not paying attention wouldn’t have noticed it. “It's my job.”

You blink for a moment, allowing the words to settle before responding. “Your….job?”

The bird takes a brief moment to glance undecidedly at the cot before fully turning back to you, his choice made. “You really ain't from around here are you?” You don’t respond, instead choosing to glance down at your cup. He walks back over to you with a slight chuckle in his voice, “Although I suppose it's bold of me to assume that anyone outside of Windwall would know who we are.” Crouching down besides you he looks at you, intensity in his gaze. A smile still sits boldly in his eyes, but no longer on his face. “You see, I work for a group known as the ‘Guiding Lights’.” He gestures to the symbol on his thick, winter jacket. “Our job is to wander about these unforgiving frozen tundras with our lanterns held high looking for anyone lost or in trouble. We save those from the Southern wind's grasp.” He fully commits to sitting down next to you. “And well- you looked as if the Southern wind itself was trying to drown you in its frozen rain.”

You think about his words for a moment. A group that goes out looking for people lost in the unforgiving snow, you suppose that makes sense on how he found you. You look up at him, not quite ready to relax yet. “Ok, but why do you do it? What do you get in return?” You hesitate for a moment before continuing, “ I have no money to pay you for what you have done, am I now to be in debt to you?”

For a moment, the Aves looks shocked, “Pay, no no- you owe me nothing.” With a look now of concerned understanding he continues, “I would never dream put that decision in someone's hand, to ask for money in exchange for their life…” he lets the word hang for a moment as he shakes his head, “No that just ain't right.” He pulls his jacket off revealing a thin blue shirt underneath. Using his jacket as a makeshift pillow to sit on he says, “ The reason why we do it, well, I suppose there are two main ones really. One is well, its the right thing to do. If I were lost in the desert dying of thrust I would want someone to come save me. And second, well…” he adjusts himself leaning forward, his body now turned more towards the harth causing the warm, reddish glow from the flames to dance across his face. “A kind of tradition I guess you could say.” He looks at you, that faint, barely visible smile returning to the edge of his mouth. “Tell me, have you heard of the legend of the Emperors Penguin’s?”

You shake your head slightly, your body relaxing a bit.

The Forseri nods, “Ah- well then I shall tell it to you, afterall with the Southern Wind raging outside” he gestures to the strained tent fabric before pointing to the harth, “and a warm fire in front of us, it seems like the perfect time to share a legend or two.” He closes his eyes. “A long time ago - in a time much different from our own - there stood a village. This village was a small, humble town populated mostly by us Foeristeri. They had built their homes on this land long before it became the frozen tundras we know today. Back then it was a lush, green land by the ocean, however little did they know just to the South of them something was growing.”

He pauses for a moment as adjusts himself before continuing. “It started out as something small. A cold, faint breeze in the summer, the kind most Animalian find refreshing from the sun's heat, however it quickly started to grow. What started out as a small gust of air quickly began to take on a life of its own by stealing the life of everything around it. Then before anyone had even realize it, the Southern Wind was born.” As if on que a strong gust of wind ripples across the tents tarp causing the structure to shake under its intense strength. After a moment though, it passes and the Forsteri reverently says, “It seems it is here now, listening to the story with us.” As he looks at you, you give him a worried glance, “better sit tight then as it's never too fond of what comes next in the story.” He says, a slight grin still visible in the firelight.

“Now, the Southern Wind is quite a greedy soul. It takes whatever life and heat it can find. As it grew this small town, and all the other towns around it started to panic. Whenever it blew through them it took the life from their crops and froze all of their drinking water. Not only that, but if it caught a sick or tired soul it would consume them as well. Out of fear many Animalian moved north, however the Southern Wind was hungry and chased them. No matter how farth north one traveled it would be right behind them consuming any who fell behind. But a few refused to run, instead choosing to hold their ground against the Southern Winds gale.”

The Aves pauses for a moment to rub his hands together before holding them in front of the warm harth. “The town I mentioned at the start, they were one of these few that refused to let the Southern Wind take them. This was their home, and although they were few, they were stubborn and proud Animalia. As the Southern Wind grew stronger and stronger they knew they had to do something to protect themselves from its frigid blasts. Working together they eventually found that the wind's sharp cuts could not penetrate hard stone and so as the snow fell around them they decided to build a large stone wall to contain the Southern Wind. As they piled the stone higher and higher the Southern Wind attempted to thwart them by attacking this town with all its might. The snow came down in sheets as the wind sliced at the town any chance it could, but no matter what it did, the towns folk stood strong. They placed each stone slab one by one, if it snowed a foot, they simply would build it a foot taller. If the wind attempted to topple it they would build it even thicker. After a long fought battle against the Southern Wind the town had done it. They had built their wall and trapped the Southern Wind on the other side.”

The Aves places his hands on the ground behind him as he leans back relaxing, his eyes looking absentmindedly up at the top of the tent. “Every night the Southern Wind would attack the wall, its cries and slashes could be heard on the other side, but no matter what it did it could not topple the wall. Over time, Animalian that had fled the Southern Wind's onslaught moved back into their towns and life started to return back to what it had once been before the Southern Winds attacks. Those that had experienced the Southern Winds attacks however grew worried that future generations would forget to maintain the wall or become lazy and let it fall into disarray, their actions once again letting the Southern Wind out of its prison. To help prevent this they used the wall as a reminder, carving intricate drawings into its stone structure depicting the Southern Winds power as well as showing the strength they as a community had together. They hoped that these images would remind those that came after them of the wall's importance and what could happen if it were to crumble.”

Sucked into the old Aves story you find yourself blurting out, “thats the wall in Windwall isn’t it?”

Sitting up straight and looking at you, the Forsteri nods, “They say the structure still standing in Windwalls center is part of that very wall.”

“Still standing? “ You ask confused, “Part of the wall is missing?”

The Aves gestures to the tent wall again, “You have experienced the Southern Winds greed yourself have you not? Does it still appear trapped to you?”

You take a moment to think. It's true, the area you have been traveling through for the past bit is painfully cold and barren. The storm, and you guess the Southern Wind as well had nearly taken your own life. “What happened to it?” You ask genuinely curious now.

The Aves smile grows after hearing your question. “ Well you see, many years passed. The Foristeri that lived in that town grew up, had children. Their children then had children and so on and so forth. As each generation passed the importance of the wall as well as the skills needed to maintain it were passed down from one family to the next. The town grew and prospered. As it grew however it got to a size where a leader was soon needed. Someone to oversee the wall's repair, to make sure every part of the wall was being tended to. The Animalia of the town soon appointed someone to be this leader. They called him their emperor and he was a passionate Aves who gave his all to the position. Not only did he do his best to maintain the wall, but he also tried his hardest to create comodery and understanding between all the towns folk. He was a hard worker and over the years the town's folk not only grew to rely on him, but also to love him.”

The Forsteri leans forward and pulls himself to his feet, taking a moment to stretch before pointing to your cup. “I could use another drink, you want some more?”

You look down at the cold, empty cup in your hands before nodding and handing it to him. He grabs the kettle off the top of the harth and starts to pour more steaming hot water into the cups. “Where was I?” he asks more to himself than to you as he mixes the drinks, “oh right, The townsfolk loved him and he loved the townsfolk. A number of years passed by and the town continued to grow, however every night the howling and growls from the Southern Wind could still be heard on the other side of the wall as it tried to escape. One night however the wind was eerily quiet.”

He finishes mixing the drinks and walks back over to you handing one of the now piping hot cups to you. “That night everyone in the town had a sound sleep, well everyone but one.” He sits down next to you and takes a quick sip of the drink. You follow his lead, the warm liquid causing your body to relax even more. “The Emperor's home was not only his home, but also his wife’s the Empress’s and on this silent night she could not rest. You see, the Southern Wind had tried something different this night, instead of attacking the wall with all its might, it had carefully prodded the wall for any small opening it could find, and it had found one. It was thin and tight, but it allowed a small gust of wind to seep into the city. This gust had then traveled through the town while everyone was sleeping till it had found the home, and the bed of the Emperor. However it knew it couldn’t take on him in its weak state, so instead it went for the Empress.”

He blows gently on his hot cup for a moment before taking another quick drink. “It whispered all night long into the Empress’s ear, tempting her, and convincing her to follow it out beyond the wall. At first she was able to fight against it, but eventually she gave in.” He pauses and looks at you for a moment as if trying to read your face. 

Unsure of what he is looking for, you lean slightly forward and ask, “and?”

He nods and closes his eyes as he continues. “The next morning the Emperor woke up alone in his bed. Unable to find his Empress he starts to panic. After searching his home he heads out into the village looking all over for her, but still she is nowhere to be found. As he searches the Southern Wind starts to laugh at him, taunting him. Eventually the Emperor releases what has happened, the wind had taken her. Without any hesitation, he gathers up his gear and personally goes out to find her himself. The townsfolk plead for him not to go, to allow them to travel to the other side of the wall and look for her instead of him, but he will not allow them to risk their life. With a few quick goodbyes and some reassurance to the town folk that he would be back soon, he slipped out of the city and onto the other side of the wall.”

You take another gulp of the warm, sweet liquid as he continues. “ At first, all the towns folk waited for him, fasting and praying that he would return home safely. But as days turned into weeks they knew he was in trouble. Although it was against the Emperor’s wishes, the towns folk gathered search parties to venture out and find him. They would travel beyond the wall for only a short while, holding their lanterns high in search of the Emperor before returning back to the city; they could not stay out long as the hunger of the Southern Wind was strong. Anyone who stayed out for any real stretch of time would risk never returning.”

He takes a long drink from his cup finishing it off before setting it down on the ground and looking at you. “Weeks and months passed, but they never gave up looking for him. More and more search parties were sent out, and although they knew that he was likely no longer among the living, they would not allow the Southern Wind to take his body as well. They were determined to bring him back home even if that was simply to lay him to rest. However as they spent their days looking for their emperor they started to neglect the wall. Unable to organize themselves without their Emperor and low on manpower due to many of them constantly being out searching, the wall started to fall into disarray. It wasn’t long before the Southern Wind, its power having grown with the new life it had been able to steal, was able to pull the wall down.”

“That's not good.” You hear yourself quietly gasp.

He nods and continues, “The Southern Wind laughed as it escaped, geering at the townsfolk and taunting them with screams of their downfall.” He pauses for a moment. You can see in his eyes that he is deep in thought. “Many townsfolk left, and even more from the towns around them that they had once protected. The Southern Wind was just too cruel, too unkind, and too dangerous for them. However, despite this, some still stayed. Many stayed because it was their homes, but those in the city stayed because they weren’t done looking for their Emperor and helping those that the wind tried to claim. The Southern Wind may have escaped, but they would not let it win.”

The wind outside of the tent howls loudly causing him to pause for a moment not wanting to shout over the noise. As it blows over the tent tarps you swear you can hear it laughing now. Perhaps chuckling at the townsfolk’s failure or your current attempts to keep warm.

“And that is how the Guiding Lights were founded, we are the Emperors Penguin’s.” The Forsteri says gently after the wind dies down. “We wander around in harsh storms looking for lost souls to save from the clutches of the Southern Wind. We have outposts that dot around the general Windwall area where we take those who are cold or in need of shelter till storms pass or morning returns.”

“And what about the Emperor?” You ask, your eyes now heavy from exhaustion. “Are you still looking for him- er- his remains?”

The Aves is quite for a moment before standing up and saying, “Well there are a few Guiding Lights that say they are, but most of us choose to focus more on the living and making sure they are safe, however-” he pauses for a moment as he picks up his jacket from off the ground. “Sometimes if a storm is particularly strong and the Southern Wind painfully relentless, I have once or twice, in the erratic snowflakes, seen him.” He pauses again, this time closing his eyes, “I don’t know if it's a spirit trying to make sure I get out of the storm safely or mind games that the Southern Wind tries to play with me- but I have seen something out there.” Turning to you his smile returns, “You look like you are nearly ready to pass out where you sit. Please, get some rest.” He holds out his hand to you.

After a moment of hesitation you take it. Although you still aren’t fully comfortable around this stranger, you know that the exhaustion over taking your body is too powerful, there is no way you will be able to fight it for much longer. As soon as you stand up you nearly fall back over, your legs like jelly under you.

The Forsteri catches you and helps you over to the cot. You lay down on it and pull the thick blankets on top of you. As your eyes start to close and your consciousness leaves you, you hear the Aves say one last thing. “May your dreams remain free from the Southern Winds whispers.”