The icy winds of the north howled as Rannah and Hannah left the tower behind, their cloaks whipping around them as they pushed through the deep snow. The weight of the two shards, now safely tucked into Rannah’s pouch, felt heavier with each step. Their power hummed softly against her side, a constant reminder of the ancient forces they now carried.
"We need to figure out where the next shard is," Rannah said, her voice barely audible over the wind. "The dark mage was right about one thing—there are others searching for these. We’re running out of time."
Hannah glanced at her sister, her breath fogging in the cold air. "Yeah, I’m not too keen on another one of his friends showing up. But where do we even start looking? It’s not like these things come with a map."
Rannah’s brow furrowed as she thought. The two shards pulsed in sync now, a subtle rhythm that seemed to resonate with something larger, something beyond their understanding. She could feel the connection between them, but she knew it wasn’t complete. There were more shards out there, and they were part of a much bigger puzzle.
As they continued walking, the snow-covered landscape stretched endlessly ahead of them. The frozen north was vast, and the isolation weighed heavily on them. The tower had offered temporary shelter, but now, exposed to the elements once again, they needed to find a plan—and fast.
"Let’s stop for a second," Rannah said, pausing on a small rise that overlooked a frozen valley. The wind howled louder up here, but they could see for miles. All that greeted them was an endless stretch of white, broken only by distant jagged mountains.
Hannah frowned as she joined her sister, squinting against the glare of the snow. "Great. More snow. More ice. More nothing. How are we supposed to find a shard in all this?"
Rannah pulled the two shards from her pouch, holding them in her hands as they glowed faintly in the cold light of the frozen landscape. "I don’t know," she admitted, her voice tight with frustration. "But I have a feeling they’re trying to tell us something."
Hannah raised an eyebrow. "They’re rocks, Rannah. Magic rocks, sure, but rocks."
Rannah shook her head. "No, it’s more than that. The shards are connected to the elements, just like the Heart of the Earth was. They react to their surroundings—remember how the second shard glowed brighter the closer we got to it?"
Hannah’s skeptical expression softened as she thought about it. "Yeah, but that was when we were practically standing on top of it. We’re in the middle of nowhere now."
Rannah closed her eyes, letting the cold energy of the shards flow through her. She focused on the pulsing rhythm, trying to tune into the magic within them. For a moment, there was nothing but the wind and the endless snow. Then, faintly, she felt it—a subtle tug, a pull in the magic that seemed to guide her in a specific direction.
"There," she whispered, her eyes snapping open. She pointed toward the distant mountains, their jagged peaks barely visible through the swirling snow. "The shards are pulling me that way. I can feel it."
Hannah looked toward the mountains, her expression grim. "Of course it’s the mountains. Why is it always the hard places?"
Rannah smirked. "Wouldn’t be much of a challenge if it was easy, would it?"
With renewed purpose, the sisters adjusted their course, heading toward the mountains in the distance. The journey was slow, the snow deepening as they approached the base of the towering peaks. The wind seemed to grow fiercer, and the cold gnawed at them with every step, but the pull of the shards gave Rannah a sense of direction she hadn’t had before.
Hours passed, the sun sinking lower on the horizon, casting long shadows over the frozen landscape. By the time they reached the base of the mountains, the light was fading fast, and the temperature had plummeted.
"We need to find shelter soon," Hannah said through chattering teeth. "Before we freeze solid."
Rannah nodded, scanning the rocky terrain ahead of them. The mountains loomed high above, their jagged cliffs covered in snow and ice. But there—just ahead—a narrow cave entrance was barely visible, half-buried beneath a snowdrift.
"Over there," Rannah said, pointing to the cave. "That should give us some protection from the wind."
The sisters made their way to the entrance, pushing through the snow until they were inside. The cave wasn’t large, but it was dry and sheltered from the worst of the storm. They quickly gathered what little kindling they could find and started a small fire, the warmth a welcome relief after the bitter cold outside.
As the fire crackled, Rannah sat down, pulling the shards from her pouch once again. She stared at them in the flickering light, their faint glow casting strange shadows on the cave walls.
Hannah watched her, curiosity replacing her earlier frustration. "So, what now? Are the shards still pointing us toward something, or are we back to wandering?"
Rannah shook her head. "They’re still pulling me toward the mountains. But it’s faint. Whatever we’re looking for is deep within those peaks. We’ll have to climb higher."
Hannah groaned softly, leaning back against the cave wall. "I figured you’d say that."
Rannah smiled, though her thoughts were heavy. The closer they got to the shards, the more she felt the weight of their power—and the more she understood that they were part of something much larger, something more dangerous than she had anticipated.
"We’re getting close," she said quietly, her fingers brushing the surface of the shards. "But I don’t know what we’ll find when we get there."
Hannah sighed, pulling her cloak tighter around her. "We never do, do we?"
The fire crackled softly as the sisters sat in silence, the weight of their journey pressing down on them. The shards pulsed faintly in Rannah’s hands, and she could feel the magic in the air growing stronger with each passing moment.
After a while, Hannah broke the silence. "Do you ever wonder what we’re really chasing here? I mean, we’ve found two shards already, but why were they hidden in the first place? Who made them?"
Rannah’s brow furrowed as she considered her sister’s question. It was something she had been wondering herself—why were the shards scattered across the world, and who had created them? The Heart of the Earth had been forged by the first Guardians to protect the balance of the elements, but these shards felt different, like pieces of a much older power.
"I don’t know," Rannah admitted. "But we’re going to find out. Whoever hid these shards didn’t want them falling into the wrong hands, and we need to make sure they don’t."
Hannah nodded, her expression thoughtful. "Yeah, but what if we’re the wrong hands? I mean, we’ve been doing this whole artifact-hunting thing for a while now, but what if the shards are dangerous no matter who holds them?"
Rannah looked down at the glowing shards, their faint light casting long shadows on the cave walls. "That’s the risk we take. But if we don’t find them, someone else will. Someone like that dark mage back at the tower."
Hannah shuddered at the memory. "Yeah, no thanks. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen."
The fire flickered low as the sisters settled in for the night, the cold wind howling outside the cave. Rannah’s thoughts swirled with questions, but she knew one thing for certain—they couldn’t stop now. The shards were pulling them deeper into the mountains, and whatever awaited them there would bring them one step closer to uncovering the truth.
As the fire burned down to embers, Rannah closed her eyes, the faint pulse of the shards thrumming softly in her hands. The answers were out there—hidden in the shadows of the frozen north—and she would find them, no matter the cost.