Dreams of cold and wind were interrupted by a flicker of warmth and the crackling of fire. Slowly but surely, the gentle heat drove the frozen haze away until I regained some feeling in my body. Everything ached as I willed my limbs to move.
It was hard to orientate myself, but there was a familiar softness around me that felt like a blanket and my head was resting on a pillow. The raging wind was faint in the background, but definitely still there. Howling, whistling, speaking the language of old.
With painstaking effort, I pushed myself up from the bed. My entire body protested, but I didn’t want to give in. “Where am I?”
“You’re awake,” a female voice replied, sounding vaguely familiar. Where had I heard that before?
I turned towards the sound, trying to identify the source.
Noth
