Fenris was falling, air rushing past his ears, limbs flailing as he tumbled endlessly, endlessly through the abyss. His head reeled for answers, scrambling amidst the madness and finding nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing, but the infinite dark. A rumble filled his ears, louder than his own thundering heartbeat. He gasped as twin giants burst into being, shredding the darkness as they grew, and grew, and grew, dominating his vision.

To his left a tower of bronze and bone stood steadfast, an ivory mask of sheer indifference painted over burnished copper skin, draped in a sweeping dress of marble and brass.

To his right rose a frigid tower of ice and snow, weathered face chiseled into the mountainside, a hardened frown on craggy lips. Two glacial eyes leered back, a crown of black glass placed upon its peak.

Fenris wanted to scream then, but he was trapped in the never ending free fall, unable to stop the two massive creatures as they turned to him, edging closer, eyes hungry and wanting.

"Wake up." A hard nudge to the ribs pushed Fenris out of his dream. He sat up with a snort, wiped drool off his beard as he looked up, saw Rorickson standing over him. "Sleeping on the job again?"

"First offense," Fenris muttered, wondering when exactly he'd nodded off. "What, gonna run off and tattle on me to Corvere?"

"Fark all that. Like I need to give him one more thing to complain about." Rorickson held out his hand. "Come on. Night shift's over. Get to bed, you sleepy bastard."

Fenris glared at the outstretched hand, surprised by the man's friendliness. Most of the other Forsaken either feared him, hated him, or were actively planning to murder him. He'd thought one of them might have loved him, but that was a lie. Another Danic trick played as his expense.

"Thanks," he said, taking hold of Rorickson's hand. The man hauled him to his feet, the world spinning for a second as the fatigue finally caught up to him.

"Riding drag's a bitch. I should know. So is staking up tents every night. Corvere's got you working like a dog, you know."

"I know."

"Want to trade spots tomorrow? They got me riding tail, but it beats eating snow, I reckon."

"Sure. Thanks" Fenris hunched his shoulders, the cold already seeping back into his bones. Didn't know why Rorickson was being so nice. The man barely spoke to him unless it involved sparring or mission briefings. Even then, it was polite but terse.

Fenris trudged off without another word, brushing the snow off his coat as he left Rorickson behind. Fat flakes were already starting to fall by the time he reached his tent, the air crisp and quiet. He stood there for a moment, focusing on the eternal silence around him. That particular stillness you only find once a year. When the world finally exhales.

A fat clump of snow fell from a tree branch, crunching into the dry grass, time ticking once again. Fenris sighed and slipped into his tent, brushing more snow off his heavy coat, his dark blonde curls, his pants.

He unhooked his belt and set it aside, not even bothering to shrug off his coat as he pulled a heavy blanket over him and crumpled into the pile of furs he'd been calling a bed these past several weeks.

He slithered onto his back, felt the weight of existence press into his eyelids as they drifted closed, the last vestiges of his dream flitting away. Ivory and Bone. Ice and Stone. His eyes crumpled shut.

But sleep did not come for him. A shiver ran down his spine, the unknowable feeling that someone else was in the tent with him creeping into his soul. His eyes flew open.

"Hello Fenris." A man leaned over him, skin and hair the color of fresh marble. A pair of ruby red eyes glared down at him, tiny crows feet tickling each side.

Fenris lunged for his sword, but the man was lightning fast, seizing him by the throat with a grip as tight as stone. He gasped as he was bundled up effortlessly, heels kicking as he was bodied out of the tent. With a gut wrenching lurch he was flung away, soaring through the air at impossible speeds. Tents, trees and blackened sky tumbled past his vision as he hurtled overhead, pain shooting up his body as he hit the ground with a deafening crunch.

Fenris continued to tumble over and over as the momentum carried him, snow slapping at his face, fingers grabbing at anything for purchase, like he was falling all over again in the dream. He blessedly came to a stop as he slid into a ditch, adrenaline fading and the pain creeping back in. He climbed slowly to his feet, eyes scanning the tree line. He was in the forest, far away from the camp. Had anyone seen him? Would anyone come looking for him? Who the hell had even attacked him in the first place? His last question stabbed him in the chest as Red Eyes approached from the distance, slicing through the trees with a hungry smile at his lips.

"Who are you?" Fenris roared, closing the distance as he charged. He raised a fist, aiming for his jaw. The man didn't even stop, didn't even raise a hand as he came within swinging distance.

Fenris brought his fist down, hammering into Red Eye's jaw like an anvil, and realizing to his dismay that it was made of the same stuff. Pain lanced up his arm as he fell to his knees screaming, the bones of his knuckles jutting through his flesh.

"That was not a wise decision," the man scolded him. "Please refrain from making anymore."

"What do you want from me? Who are you?" He demanded a second time, cradling his injured hand.

"Oh, I'm here to kill you." The man's smile grew. "And because of that, there's no need to tell you my name in the first place."

Fenris lurched to stand, reaching for the black glass dagger in his boot, before the air whooshed from his lungs and he was carried off his feet.

Red Eyes pulled back from where he'd socked Fenris in the guts, lunging out with another that struck in him the ribs. The world exploded with color as Fenris felt his heart stop for the briefest second, his body reflexively jolting away.

He had to run, had to escape, but his legs wobbled like jelly as he flopped over to one side, Red Eyes catching him by the collar before his face hit the snow a second time.

"Come now, Fenris. Give me a little sport at least before I end it. This is getting rather boring."

"Fark yourself," Fenris spat at him, earning him a punch in the face that definitely broke his nose. His head whipped back as two more flattened his guts out, hot sick burning the back of his throat. He whipped a weak fist at Red Eyes, but he was so slow now, his fist easily caught with one hand.

"This is pathetic," Red eyes said. With a sickening lunge he broke his forearm in two, fresh pain screaming through Fenris as he was picked up and hurled into a tree, ankle snapping at an odd angle as he came crashing down.

It was over. Fenris could feel it. His body was one gigantic pain now, head throbbing, sick drooling from his lips, blood pouring from his shattered nose. He wanted to die. He wanted it to be over. The endless hell. The endless cold. The endless fear.

He felt a hand grab him by the hood of his coat, pulling him upright into a sitting position. Through blood and tears he saw Red Eyes smiling at him, fists caked with his blood.

"I can't believe she really wanted me to kill you," Red Eyes said, looking almost bored by the whole encounter. "I don't know what she sees in you."

"What?" The word came out a choked wheeze.

"No matter. I still get what I want in the end." Red eyes leaned down, holding his palm out like a sword. "Any last words?"

Fenris wanted to tell the man to go fark himself again, but he was so tired now. Too tired to even care. He stared over his shoulder instead, not wanting his final moments to be Red Eyes and his shit eating grin. Something peaceful. Like the blackened sky.

A shadow weaved past them, so quick and so quiet Red Eyes barely perceived it's existence before it was too late.

Fenris could only watch in stunned horror as the shadow grabbed him by the throat, and tore his head clean off.

"Gods." The word slithered out of Fenris' aching throat as his savior came into view.

Loken pushed the corpse aside, tossing the head away as he stepped close, his thin blue robe catching around the narrow curves of his waist and thighs. He knelt down, placing a hand on Fenris' cheek, burning cold against his flesh, but soothing in a way. Like a cold breeze at your windowsill.

He found himself leaning into it.

"Don't move. Don't talk," Loken said, his voice as soft as snowfall. "Let me help you."

Fenris wanted to ask how he'd even accomplish such a task when the icy chill on his cheek became a thrumming warmth, pouring into his body and numbing the pain. The raw burning in his throat slowly faded as his ankle twisted back into position, the broken bits of bone in his knuckles knitting back behind the flesh in perfect harmony.

Loken gasped as the last of the warmth faded away, his body heaving as he gulped in chilly air, the hem of his robe sinking back to reveal the hollow of a collarbone, the unmistakable ridges of well toned muscles.

"What?" Fenris panted, his own body feeling as if he'd run a mile in full armor. "What did you do to me?"

"I healed you," Loken said, cold blue eyes meeting Fenris once more in a tense embrace. "One of the many powers bestowed to me by my mother."

Fenris looked down, the tossed head of Red Eyes staring at him accusingly from a nearby bush. "Who even was he?"

"One of my sister's many pawns. The Witch you know as Keela. She was trying to remove a piece off the board. In her eyes anyway."

A surge of anger spurred Fenris to action. He grabbed Loken, pulling him close, realizing too late what he'd done. "Why? What part of her scheme do I play in all this?" He let go, trying best to force the shame down.

Loken frowned, cold eyes glittering in the dark. It took Fenris a moment to realize he was crying. "The Black Prophecy has set in motion, pushing Danic towards a cataclysm it may never survive."

"What does any of that have to do with me?" Fenris demanded. His gaze met with Red Eyes once more and the conviction he'd felt before began to wane. He was in it enough that a monster such as him was necessary to send. No doubt the witch had done something to him, changed him, twisted him.

"Fenris, you're more important than you think. You just haven't realized it yet." Loken leaned in close, closer than they'd been before, their noses practically touching. Fenris felt his heart hammer against his chest once more, beating into his skull..

Loken leaned back, straddling Fenris as he fixed him with a sad smile. "And I can help you, if you let me."

***