Seton wiped the sweat from his brow, breathing heavily from exhaustion as he made his way back to the village. Even to one as large and strong as he, a heavy enough load was a challenge. The fur of the limp, bloody bear fastened to his back helped to shield him from the icy wind, and that in turn allowed him to press on until he finally reached the village. He dragged the dead creature into town before dropping it from his back and falling to his knees. He listened for the sound of cheering that always accompanied his return, but this time, there was silence.

Then he looked up and saw the house, hoisted aloft by a great icy stalagmite. His heart sank to his stomach as he raced past houses, drawing closer and closer to the icy spear until he finally saw the destruction. Houses were torn to bits. Livestock were slaughtered. Men were torn in two, and their bodies were left to freeze. Looking around, he saw the citizens kneeling in the snow, their heads hung low in mourning. Without a word, Seton lowered himself and did the same. He knew as well as everyone else that the Frost King was angry. Eventually, the man stood up once more, and started back toward the bear he had brought in.

"Seton!" called a young voice. A woman came rushing from behind, blue eyes wide with worry and pale skin all the paler with fright. She rushed to his side, removing the hood of her fur coat to reveal a mess of black hair. "You returned! I almost thought the storm had taken you!" Her hand gripped his, and he couldn't help but notice just how much darker his own skin was from hers.

"Nalia," he replied with a small smile, holding her hand firmly. "Don't worry. I made it back fine, as you can see."

"And the bear that had been stealing our goats?"

"Dead. I'll hand it over to Yidna. No doubt she'll know better how to cook it than I will. I'd probably make the whole village sick."

"No doubt," Nalia replied with a giggle. "I'll help you."

"No need," Seton stated, waving a hand. "Save your strength. I'm sure you've been through enough today." He turned briefly toward the house overhead before continuing toward the slain bear.

"Then at least let me take your ax back to the house. That should take a small burden off," the woman insisted.

"Fine," Seton yielded, "just be sure not to hurt yourself with it." He unclipped a sheath from his back, containing a hefty ax with a pole no shorter than five feet long, and a single-sided head nearly two feet long at the blade. As he slowly placed it in Nalia's hands, he saw her struggle for half a second. But she stabilized herself, and smiled at Seton.

"In all this time, have I ever hurt myself?"

At that, Seton couldn't help but smile. But he shook his head nonetheless. "There's a first time for everything, Nalia. I'll meet you at the house shortly."

She nodded, drawing close and planting a kiss on his cheek before she turned and hauled the ax away, and Seton carried the body of the bear off toward the house of one of the older women in the village. When he arrived, the woman was just returning from the site of destruction, her eyes full of sadness. But when she saw the bear, she lit up, if only a little. Her face, like most in the village, was pale, with piercing blue eyes. Despite her age, nobody in the village argued with her--and for good reason, as she could wield a knife better than most men.

"Seton!" she exclaimed. "You brought the bear!"
"I did, Yidna," he replied with a nod.

"Just in time, too. The Frost King killed nearly half our goats in the attack today, so this should help with the shortage of food."

"I could go and hunt more if need be," Seton replied, setting down the bear.

"No, I don't think you'll be called to," Yidna replied, circling the bear and looking it up and down. "The men will likely assemble tonight and discuss what is to be done about the wyvern that terrorizes us. If anything, I'd wager that you'll be sent to hunt the thing down." After she inspected the bear for a moment, she nodded to Seton, who picked it up once more and followed her into her home.

"I doubt I could slay the Frost King," Seton said as he followed the woman. "I doubt any of us could."

"Nonsense," the woman argued, gesturing to a table in the house. The wall behind the table was lined with a great number of tools for cutting, carving, and skinning. "When the men have sent you to kill, you've never once failed."

Seton set the bear down on the table before turning to the woman. "Those were wolves. Bears. Mountain tigers. But a wyvern? Let alone the Frost King?"

"A good challenge, I'd say," Yidna stated with a chuckle. "By the look of it, mountain tigers and bears are becoming a little too easy for you. And they're getting too easy for me to skin. I think we could all use a real challenge, don't you?"

"I... suppose so," Seton said, but the sight of the destruction caused by the great wyvern remained in his mind.

"That's the spirit!" Yidna said, a playful smile spread across her wrinkling face.

"I'm just... sorry I wasn't here to help stop it from attacking," Seton sighed, frowning.

"That dark face of yours is handsome," Yidna shot back firmly, "So don't go making that look with it. You'll give yourself wrinkles like mine. You did what the chief told ya to do, and you did it marvelously. Nobody can be everywhere at once, and nobody expects you to be. What we expect is for you to do what you do best, and today you did. So hold your head up a little bit."

"Yes ma'am," Seton replied with a small nod.

"Now, go run back to Nalia, she's waiting on you. Once my husband gets here, we'll get to skinning this thing here. Want me to make you a coat with its fur?"

"Please," Seton replied, before turning to leave. For a brief moment, however, he hesitated. "And thank you, Yidna."

The old woman had already grabbed one of her blades and was sizing up the bear. She waved a hand goodbye, and Seton waved in kind, knowing she was too concentrated to see him. With that, he left, returning to his own house where Nalia was, in fact, waiting.