Kova, Juno, and Koa left the Void. The transition hit like a physical blow. One moment they were suspended in weightless, pitch black silence. The next, the freezing mountain air tore at their lungs.
The shift from the vacuum to the screaming winds made Koa stumble. Her boots skidded on jagged, ice slicked stone. It felt as if she were being born again into a world of knives.
Juno was the first to find her footing. Her eyes immediately scanned the horizon with the cold precision of a predator. They stood on a narrow ridge. It felt like the spine of the world. Sheer drops on either side vanished into a sea of roiling grey clouds. The peak of Null Haven loomed behind them. A dark crown against a bruised sky. She turned to Kova. Her hair whipped across her face in the gale like black silk.
"Wouldn't it be faster if you teleported us?" Juno asked. Her voice competed with the roar of the wind.
"No," Kova replied flatly.
He stood perfectly still. The wind was unable to move him. His eyes were fixed on the distant, hazy line where the mountains met the grey wastelands.
"I can't teleport us to a place I've never stepped foot in. My reach has limits, Juno. To bridge the gap to our destination, we must traverse the space between. The void can only take us where I've already carved a path. We must earn the distance this time."
He reached into the heavy folds of his cloak. He pulled out a weathered, thick scroll. The parchment looked ancient. The edges were frayed and stained with the ghosts of old water damage. It looked like it'd been held in trembling hands for years. With a sharp movement, he handed the scroll to Koa.
"Look over this," Kova commanded. His voice cut through the whistling wind. "You'll be the one telling us where to go. Study the markers. Don't fail me on the first leg of this trip."
Koa took the scroll. As she tried to unroll it, the corners began to flake away like dry ash. She held her breath. Her fingers trembled as she tried to keep the document from disintegrating. She scanned the surface. Her golden eyes squinted at faint, ghostly lines that looked more like scratches than ink.
"Brother, how am I supposed to read this?" Koa asked. Her voice was tight with disbelief. "The map barely holds together. The ink's nearly gone from the map entirely. It's like looking at shadows on a wall. I can see the shapes of the mountains, but the details are just stains now. You're asking me to navigate by guesswork and ghosts."
Kova didn't even glance her way. He remained still as a statue. His back was turned to her. He adjusted his gauntlets with slow, methodical precision. It was as if she hadn't spoken at all. Her voice was simply another sound lost to the howling wind. He stared at the jagged horizon, indifferent to her struggle. The silence from him was a wall she couldn't climb. It was a cold reminder that he didn't care for her complaints.
She let out a frustrated huff. Her eyes flicked from the decaying parchment to her brother.
"Fine, I guess. But how come you didn't just bring Kaola? I'm not the scout, Kova. You know she's the one with the eye for this kind of work."
"I brought you because your sister's in timeout, if you must know," Kova responded. His voice was cold, devoid of brotherly warmth. "The whole time you've been in my void, you missed Kaola failing the mission Koma gave her. She proved herself unreliable. You'll be my scout and map reader until I feel as if Kaola's ready to be released to the field again. Until then, the burden's yours."
The news of her sister's failure hit Koa like a sudden rush of warmth in the freezing cold. A sharp, triumphant smile spread across her face. She was ecstatic. The golden child of the family had finally tripped over her own feet. The thought of Kaola locked away in disgrace while she was chosen for this journey filled her with dark, giddy satisfaction. She tucked the scroll against her chest like a trophy.
"Use your instincts," Kova continued. His gaze never wavered. "The ink might be fading, but the landmarks are still carved into the earth. You know the rhythm of this land in your very bones. Follow the hunches that the markers suggest."
Koa looked back at the scroll. Her smile lingered even as she squinted at a smudge that might've been a valley or a dried coffee stain. She took a deep breath. She tried to align the jagged horizon with the nearly invisible scratches. She pointed toward a narrow, shadowed cleft in the rocks several miles to the east. The path looked treacherous. It felt right in a way she couldn't explain.
"This is a lot of ground to cover by foot, Kova," Koa said. Her voice dropped as she realized the scale. "And some of these markers still don't make sense. This path leads straight through the dead zones."
Kova stepped toward the edge of the ridge. His silhouette was sharp against the grey light.
"This map leads to the start of the Aetheron Kingdom. It's the start of our father's journey, long before he became the man the world remembers. We're walking the same path he did when he first sought the power that'd eventually define us."
Koa looked from the map to the peaks. She knew the Aetheron Kingdom well. It was the land of her birth. Yet as she stared at the parchment, she took a long pause. A strange realization took root in her mind. She traced a jagged line that led off the edge of known territory. It moved past the borders of the kingdom they'd always called home.
"Kova, what if this map isn't the kingdom at all?" Koa asked. Her voice carried a rare note of curiosity. "What if it's a land further beyond the kingdom? Like somewhere our father originated from before the kingdom was even a thought? These marks don't match any path we've ever walked, and we've walked them all."
Kova didn't flinch. His eyes narrowed slightly.
"The truth awaits," Kova said. He was already moving down the steep, rocky path. "And Koma's a ticking clock. I got a feeling while we're away he might do something stupid to cure his boredom. I'll tell you both what I've found while we're traversing. Our father left a legacy that was never meant to be inherited, but we're going to take it anyway. We'll reclaim what he tried to bury."
Juno remained still for a second longer. Her eyes tracked the slight movements of the mountain shadows. She knew Kova's decision to walk wasn't just about the limits of his power. He wanted to see the land. He wanted to feel the distance. There was a meticulousness to his movements. He was looking for a trail that'd been cold for decades.
"Stay close," Kova warned. His voice was barely audible over the gale. "If you fall behind, the mountain'll claim you before I can reach back. Watch your step. The earth here is as hungry as our enemies."
He vanished into the shadows of a massive rocky overhang. His movements were a blur of calculated speed. Koa tucked the fragile scroll into her belt and followed. Her hands were already sparking with a faint electricity. Juno trailed behind them, a silent shadow in a world of grey and stone.
As they descended, the air grew even thinner. The mountain seemed to resist their presence. The ground shifted beneath their boots like a living thing trying to shake off a parasite. Koa realized how little she actually knew about her father.
"Do you really think the answer's there?" Koa called out. Her voice echoed off the canyon walls. "After all this time? If our father wanted us to find it, why'd he hide it behind a map that looks like a riddle?"
Kova stopped. His hand rested on a cold stone pillar. He didn't turn around. His shoulders seemed to broaden as he took a deep breath.
"I don't know," Kova said. His voice was flat. "But I need to find out what's there or what was there. It may be a place for power or judgement. Now, move."
The trio continued their descent. Three figures swallowed by the vastness. They moved with a grim purpose. Above them, the sky remained a bruised purple. It was a silent witness to a journey that'd either save their bloodline or extinguish it forever.