"I've not heard of it."
"You won't. It has been erased from time and memory. An inconsequential town that fell in the conquest of the North." Edwyn waved for her to head upward with the path. "Jiro Tatsu and Alvar Kitsune were still young warriors, looking to make names for themselves. Fearsome warriors and closest companions, but very different men. They split their forces that day, on the former emperor's orders. Have you heard of Icewynne?"
"My father mentioned it. A pretty town on the side of a snow-covered mountain. He took my mother there when they first married."
Edwyn smiled. "Yes, I recall that. Icewynne is indeed beautiful. That is the town Jiro Tatsu conquered. He rode in, demanded their surrender, put a few objectors to the sword, and captured the town. It pledged fealty to the empire, and he left it exactly as he'd found it. Over in Silvershore, Alvar Kitsune also rode in and demanded surrender. Then he put every objector to the sword, along with a few dozen innocents as a lesson in resistance. The town begged for mercy. He accepted it and made as if to leave. I was hiding with your mother and my wife, and as he rode past, I saw him throw sorcerer's fire into the livestock enclosure. The straw and the wooden buildings caught flame, and the town burned. Then Alvar told the emperor we must have burned our own town in spite, so the emperor ordered Silvershore razed and stricken from all history books."
They climbed a particularly steep section of the path in silence, and Ashyn looked back to see if Edwyn was having difficulty, given his age, but he didn't appear to be winded or struggling. When they reached a flatter section, he continued speaking.
"When Alvar Kitsune was exiled, I was more pleased than I ought to admit. I would certainly prefer not to be on his ancestral lands. However, as you may have noted, that dragon skull is embedded in the cave wall. Unmovable. This, then, has become one of our sacred places, despite the proximity to an old enemy."
"Sacred places?"
He smiled. "More on that soon, child. For now, there is a cave opening hidden just ahead. Inside, you will find your friend."
If Edwyn had not told her that Ronan lived, Ashyn would have believed she was viewing his corpse, laid out for her to send his spirit to the second world. He lay absolutely still on the straw-filled pallet. His brown skin looked as pale as hers. His eyes were closed and dark-lidded as if bruised. She had to take his hand to feel his pulse, and even then, the chill of his touch sent one through her. As she lowered his limp hand back to the pallet, Tova whimpered.
A woman crouched beside Ronan's supine form. She wore a thin cloak of hemp weave. Her hood was pushed down, revealing a woman perhaps in her fourth decade, with graying yellow hair. The healer, Ashyn presumed, along with another older woman who seemed to be her assistant. Ashyn did not want to bother the healer, who was busy, but when she asked the assistant about Ronan's condition, the woman didn't lift her gaze.
"She does not speak the common language," Edwyn said. "The North may have been conquered three decades past, but for many of the small settlements, that is their protest."
"Not learning the empire's language?" Ashyn said, looking over. "One would think that wou
ld be more hindrance than help."
He shrugged. "People do what they can to retain some power when most of it has been stripped from them. I am not particularly opposed to life under the emperor. We feel he often forgets us, likely because we have little to offer but snow and ice, but he does send warriors to protect against the tribes, and wagon trains of rice to sustain us during the long winters, so I offer him my fealty and learn his language. Others do not."
Ashyn went to examine the bandages around Ronan's neck. The assistant jumped then, as if to stop her, but halted at a word from Edwyn.
"Is the wound closed?" Ashyn asked.
"Yes, it has been sewn. The problem is the loss of blood."
"Then he needs fluids. Water may not replace blood, but it does aid in its replenishment."
"You know healing, child?"
"Mostly from books. Battle healing is one of a Seeker's responsibilities."
"Ah, I will admit that I know little of your position. There has never been a Seeker in the North. It is an imperial custom."
She turned, frowning. "But it's not a custom. Moria and I hear the second world, at least when the spirits choose to communicate. I can soothe spirits and Moria can banish them. That is not merely training."
"Perhaps, but it is not the gift of every twin girl either, is it? Only those the empire allows to survive."
Ashyn nodded and turned back to Ronan. The empire was a place of both kindness and cruelty. Right now, she needed to focus less on that and more on her immediate corner of it.
"Has he woken to receive liquids?" she asked.
"No, he has yet to regain consciousness. Which is the problem with replacing his fluids."
She leaned over and laid her hand on his forehead, clammy and cold beneath her fingers.
"Ronan?" she said. "It's Ashyn. Can you hear me?"
No response.
"If you are conscious but too weak to open your eyes, can you let me see you move?"