The train of coaches came to a stop altogether in the middle of a heavy blizzard they entered just a few minutes before. The horses were restless and kept on neighing. Their refusal to go farther caused the journey to be halted, thereby signaling the fact that they had to go on alone from then on if they still wanted to push through the mission. It seemed that the barrier of storm surrounding the entrance towards the city prevented any form of transportation from passing through. The snow was too deep within those parts. The howling winds, as well, were relentless and the coldness they brought was enough to freeze anyone in place. Although the horses selected for the journey were adapted to cold temperatures, even they wouldn't last long under such a very intense storm.

Charles disembarked from the vehicle, bravely confronting the violent weather with ease. He did not put much effort into opening the door since the winds themselves carried it with force and banged it against the coach. As he took a step out, his feet sank into deep snow. He cursed. He did not know they would confront a perilous weather on their way to the city.

"How long until we arrive?!" He yelled over the strong winds.

"It's not that far!" Replied the driver with an equally loud voice. "After you go around that rock, it'll lead you to a tunnel on the base of a mountain. Go through it and you'll see it there!"

The man pointed to a tall, protruding rock a few meters away from them. The sight of it was blurred by the flurry of snow, but he was able to make it out from where he stood. Sure enough, it wasn't that far.

"I'm sorry! We can't go any farther!" The driver told him. "We hope you the best!"

"Thank you!" He answered. "I only have one last question. How long has this storm been going?"

The driver of their coach looked as though he was about to freeze in his seat. "I'm sorry. I don't know. It wasn't here at first."

Charles paused for a moment, but nodded. "Thank you." He pulled his scarf closer around his neck as he walked back towards the entrance of the carriage. Placing his hand around the frame of the door, he brought down the fabric that covered his mouth and started to speak. "We have to walk from here. The snow has gotten too deep for the coaches to make it far." He told the others.

"What should we do?" Asked Elfre. "Should we carry the packs?"

"Get the others to come and gather in one place. Carry what you can." He told them before turning away and making his way towards the other coaches. He still had to lift the 'spell' off of Tamara.

While Rowe, Aneeka, and Elfre got off to obey Charles's orders, the fourth-ranker wondered which one of the coaches she was taken into. He remembered leaving the woman by Keelan's and Aneeka's, so she should be in the same vehicle as one of them.

He last saw Keelan by the second-to-the-last coach, so he turned himself towards the direction of the said vehicle and stopped before the door. It took him quite a while to get where he was now, seeing as the wind was so strong that it was pushing him back.

Banging his fists against the door, he called out, "It's time!"

There was no answer. Not even the slightest whisper.

Curious, he turned the curved knob and pulled the door open. There was just no way something bad would've happened to his comrades in the middle of their journey.

His eyes went wide.

Charles had to rapidly clean his glasses to make sure he was seeing right. When he put them back on, he couldn't resist but heave a sigh. Despite his initial disbelief of finding the two in a very unusual position, there was no time to stand around feeling shocked.

Fisting his gloved hands, he brought it up to his mouth and cleared his throat. "Excuse me. I'm sorry to ruin your sleep, but we need to leave right away."

The sound of his voice seemed to have awakened the first-ranker. Corvan sat up properly and quickly turned to look at him, seemingly startled by his sudden appearance. He did not look like he knew what just happened. It took a few moments for him to realize, but made no move to open his mouth to utter an excuse. Instead, he tried to remove any trace of evidence that he just fell asleep.

"What is it?"

"The snow has gotten too deep for the coaches. We need to walk by ourselves to the city." He paused, eyeing the soundly asleep girl who apparently was using Corvan's shoulder as a pillow. Gazing questioningly into Corvan's emerald-green eyes, he continued. "Grab the things you need. Make sure the group is gathered. Oh," he paused. "I'll try to forget what I saw."

He then left afterwards, leaving Corvan dumbfounded..

After setting Tamara 'free' by snapping his finger in front of her face, he heard the loud voice of Valeriana from outside yelling at Corvan. He heard it all the way to the last coach despite the howling winds.

"You! How much of a jerk are you?!"

"Shut up."

"Not until you apologize!"

"What should I apologize for?"

"Well, the fact that you're such a jerk when waking someone up! Seriously, what kind of attitude is that?"

Charles glanced towards the two who were creating a ruckus just in time to see Corvan facing Valeriana with a blunt look on his face.

"You have dried drool on your chin. Good thing it's not fresh otherwise it'll freeze." He said, then left.

Valeriana hastily wiped the whole area around her mouth with her hands before chasing after Corvan. "You . . . jerk wad-en!"

Charles shook his head. "You." He pointed to Brindon. "Make sure not to give the food to Keelan. He'll eat it all before we even know it. All of you prepare, bring what you must bring but gather in one place afterwards. Make it fast."

"Whaaat?" Keelan exclaimed. "I would never do that."

The fourth-ranker eyed him dubiously. "You always did."

After Brindon nodded, he decided to leave.

#

When they were all gathered—weapons strapped onto themselves and everything else, the group, under the leadership of Charles, made their way towards the tall rock from a distance. The snow storm proved to be a great pain in the neck for the journey to proceed smoothly. The path towards the rock itself was hard to tread due to the sea of snow covering it.

"Charles! What the heck are we supposed to do?!" Genevieve shouted.

"H-hey, e-everyone . . ." Keelan clenched his teeth together to stop the chattering while his spoke, but failed. "I-I'm feeling a b-b-bit c-cold."

"That isn't good. We need to find shelter immediately!" Charles said.

Being exposed to the weather outside like this wasn't good to begin with. The cold wind could greatly reduce the body's core temperature, increasing the risks of hypothermia and frostbites. It had been five minute since they left the coaches behind.

Courtney didn't look pleased. "This is colder than any storm I've experienced before. And the snow has accumulated for so many days. The unnaturalness is upsetting the balance . . . this storm might just bury this whole place if it continues." She gritted her teeth as she shivered.

"I'm surprised that it hasn't been buried." Charles said.

"It is already half-buried, see?!" Elfre yelled, pointing at how much she sank in already.

"It's not half-buried." Said Keelan with a sarcastic look in his eyes. "You're half-buried."

Elfre rolled her eyes. "Nice comeback, you dimwit."

Valeriana shivered. Pulling her beanie down further to cover her ears, she felt herself sink farther into snow. "Don't you guys have snowshoes? We'll keep sinking into snow going on like this." She told them, struggling to move her legs. The snow has reached the point below her knees.

"Snowshoes?" Tamara's voice could barely be heard.

"You do not know what snowshoes are?!" She was horrified. "How come?!"

"No . . ." Charles trailed off. "Valemnians have a different way of staying afloat in snow . . ."

"Then what?!"

The fourth-ranker pondered for a moment. He glanced between his comrades who were having deep trouble trying to walk as even he had sunken halfway into the snow. He then sighed, the misty breath barely seen as it was carried away immediately by the wind.

"Tamara!" Charles yelled, turning swiftly to look at the redhead. "It's time."

"What is it?" She yelled back.

"We have do that!"

"What's that?!"

"You idiot! That!"

Tamara thought for a moment. "Oh yeah. That!"

While the others looked confused, Tamara merely smiled before getting to work. Slipping off her glove, she turned her palm down so that it was facing the ground. She shivered slightly because of her bare skin being exposed to the chilly wind. Still, she did not let it bother her. She slowly moved her hand through the air, her muscles stiffening. She then curled her fingers into a fist with force, causing the snow below her feet to harden. It turned to something firmer and able to support weight without easily crumbling. Charles did the same.

Valeriana hastily climbed out of the snow she sank into. Thankfully, it didn't become that hard to make it impossible to escape, but it somehow became more ice-like—almost. The top layer crumbled still and she sank as deep as her ankles, but her feet did not sink in like it initially did before.

"What is this?" Valeriana muttered to herself.

Elfre growled but lifted herself with the help of Raziel. "Why didn't you do this earlier?!"

"I only remembered it now." Charles reasoned out.

"Agh! Really?"

"Just be thankful I even did."

Snow or ice was basically solidified water, so it came under the element of Charles and Tamara, who were both Larkovians and water-elementals.

"How long 'til we reach that damn rock?!" Tamara exclaimed, fighting against the strong currents that practically caused her to fall over.

"I see it!" Aneeka yelled, but fell over. She stood back up, growling in frustration as Rowe came to her aid. "I'm fine! You should be worrying about yourself."

Rowe merely smiled.

Seeing as they were making very little progress, Corvan decided to come up with an idea. Fighting against the wind currents were hard for everyone to do alone. Especially when, somehow, it was getting stronger. He was sure that everyone noticed it as well. The further they advanced, the harder it was for them to move.

He could help but think . . .

"Everyone! Stop!" The first-ranker said, his eyes momentarily meeting Courtney's. "We're not going to make it if we go alone. Grab onto each other and walk simultaneously! Our weight combined will make it harder for the wind to throw us off-course! And it'll help try to let us stay warm."

"Better trust the man!" Tamara yelled as she grabbed Brindon close, hooking her arm around his.

"Don't just pull me." Brindon said.

"Oops. Sorry."

As everyone moved to obey, Zion stood alone, holding the hood of his coat in place. The wind kept on pushing it back so he had to hold it down to keep it still.

"I really don't like this." Zion said, especially when Corvan was the one beside him.

"I should be the one saying that." Corvan answered, eyeing the other guy with his trademark glower that sent hundreds of his enemies running with their tail between their legs. Zion only returned it with equal force.

"Set aside your rivalry for later, unless you both want to get blown away. That will be unsightly." Raziel told them.

Both of them were reluctant to obey until the twins on either side pushed the two of them together, purposely squashing the two which in turn gave them no choice but to hook their arms together. Seeing them hold their heads up despite having their pride wounded was amusing.

Corvan regretted having thought this up.

"Ugh. Now, everyone." Said Corvan when they were all huddled up together like a circle of penguins. "Walk altogether in one . . ." He made a pause. "Three!"

"What the—" Valeriana didn't have time to react as everyone started walking.

"Where the heck did the 'two' go?!" Elfre screamed.

"Gone with the wind." He muttered.

After a little while, the group was progressively advancing towards the rock. They were following a steady rhythm that involved having to put their legs forward simultaneously in order to prevent messing up the pace. This was the time when they all had to work together to get to the place where they wanted to be.

"We're almost there!"

Elfre suddenly slipped. Luckily for her though, Raziel was able to hold her in place. The situation was harder than they all could describe.

The whole group stopped.

"Easy now, Elfre!" Raziel said, pulling her up.

"Don't you think this mission should've been given to a Celestial Knight instead of us?!" Zevlin yelled. "I mean, this is really hard!"

Genevieve shot him a piercing look.

"We're not even in City of Loquin yet! We're only at its doors, you idiot!" Elfre screamed back at him, scrambling to get on her feet. When she did, they all continued.

"Courtney!" Corvan exclaimed. "Can you do something about this wind current?" He inquired. "Or is it too much to control?"

"I can create a wall." Courtney answered. "I can weave currents of wind around us so that it'll act as a barrier, but to make it effective, it'll need to be as fast as the wind we're shielding ourselves from."

"I'll help!" Elfre said. "I sort of get the idea."

"Good."

Pursing her lips as they walked, Courtney and Elfre tried to focus their concentration on mustering their power. After a while, the winds around them spun, fanning the hair out of their faces. They revolved around them first but gradually got stronger and expanded until speedily spinning on a big circle around the group. The winds acted like a barrier somewhat, shielding all of them from the currents the storm produced with its own.

The air, being calmer within the circle, made the others sigh and groan.

"Why didn't we do this from the start?" Keelan asked tiredly.

"Because we didn't think of it?"

"You guys are the worst." Aneeka grumbled.