Cold is the Void

[Amaterasu]

Quest time!

[spoiler]

Void Entrance Quest

Location: Frozen Fields
Requirements to complete (can be started earlier). May be completed alone or as a group.
5+ ATK between entire group (may use powered-up stats as basis). Requirement lowered by 1/2/3 if you have a Tier 1/2/3 Super Attack.
8+ SPD and/or DEF between entire group (may use powered-up stats as basis). Requirement lowered by 1 for each Power of any type.

Difficulty: Extreme (20,000-40,000 words dependent on writing quality)
Reward: Void entrance in the Fields.

Traveling across the Frozen Fields is a journey in of itself. The frigid winds, hostile wildlife and treacherous terrain make getting to the foot of the mountains a fitting test for those who dare to try and traverse them.

The frigid winds at the mountains are so strong and freezing that even the most resilient primes will find themselves pushing themselves to move, and making flight all but impossible. That is except for the blue dragonflight. This is where they make their homes, eating the local mountain giants for sustenance. Sapphiron himself makes his home at the highest summit. But perhaps there, at the ceiling of the Omniverse, you will break through. Perhaps there you will find the gate. [/spoiler]
As usual, wordcount is tracked at the bottom of the post.

Amaterasu stood at the gates of Dwarfholm with four Fur-Selkies laying nearby. Oki and Fiara had packed up earlier that morning and were ready to depart, the Fur-Selkies were loaded with provisions and the necessities – tinder and wood for fire, dwarven tents, cooking pots and so on. All they were waiting for were the dwarven expedition group that Amaterasu had hired.

“Do we know what the ascent looks like?” asked Fiara whilst strapping her backpack onto the Fur-Selkie’s back. Of course, having a Prime in their midst meant that they did not need to bring along masses of luggage, but in case that they needed to set up camp rapidly or that Amaterasu was separated from them it could not hurt to bring a little extra along. The Fur-Selkies were excellent pack mules and the dwarves were light enough that multiple could sit on a single animal’s back. The expedition dwarves had agreed to bring them as far as the Fur-Selkies could carry them through the snow, but no further – they feared the dangers lurking there, even though they had participated in their share of battles. These mountains were more dangerous than the rest of the Frozen Fields, and not yet explored. In other words, no number of dwarves could aid Amaterasu and her group, because there were no reliable maps.

“No. Or well, we know a part of the path will be relatively flat, that one we have got on maps. But a few days into the expedition we will be reaching the uncharted area, so beyond that we’ll be moving blindly.”

“Do you think that we can brave the ascent without training? That mountain looks real steep if looked at with binoculars.”

“Oki has experience with mountains”, noted Amaterasu. “We two will just have to follow his expertise on the matter. It won’t be easy, but I’m confident that we’ll make it.”

“And what will happen when we reach the mountaintop? The dragons?”

Amaterasu sighed. “That I cannot say. The last bit of the expedition is going to be the most interesting, no doubt.” She was glad that Fiara and her had made up after their fight in the bathhouse. In retrospect she realized what a fool she had been. Her decisions had been clouded by fear, she had forgotten about the bigger picture; about what really was important. Fiara had forgiven her faster than she had thought she would, but it just served to remind her who Fiara was. The Celestial Brush Kami and her were nearly inseparable. Even major quarrels were set aside after short times... they could not be angry at each other for long.

Soon the group of four dwarves, the expedition group, arrived, equipped with their own provisions and maps. Due to the anticipated dangers of the treacherous mountains all four of them had packed their own tools, meaning that even if three of them died the last one could still lead them. Brief greetings were exchanged, hands were shaken and equipment was gone through – as per their request Amaterasu had prepared a list of items that they had so that the dwarves could determine what was lacking or excessive, to have Amaterasu extract the Omnilium or summon new objects as necessary during the journey. Truly, having a Prime in their midst was making things a lot easier.

Just as they climbed on their Fur-Selkies the sound of hasty footsteps and a voice resonated through the corridor: “OI! Wait up!”

“Urist?” Amaterasu exclaimed. “Oh, I’m sorry. I should have said goodbye yesterday.”

“Like hell you shoulda. Ah’m comin’ along!” the dwarf said as he planted himself before one of the Fur-Selkies. He was fully equipped to go out, Amaterasu noted.

“Urist, you...” she began, but then caught herself when she remembered. It was the exact same situation as yesterday, except that she had even less say in Urist’s decisions than she had in Fiara’s. “Are you sure you want to join us?” she rephrased her refusal into a question. “We are going to be climbing to the highest peaks of the Roof of the World. We’ll meet the fiercest predators, including the dragons if we make it this far, and the most dangerous climate that the Frozen Fields has to offer. And if you die, I cannot bring you back, unlike Fiara and Oki who I both know very well.”

“Ammy. Before ye try discouragin’ me any further, tell me: Do I look like I’m unsure?” the dwarf asked simply. Amaterasu looked him over, and eventually shook her head with a little smile. “Then stop jabbering and lemme join ya.”

And so the dwarves distributed their seats: one of each of the expeditionary dwarves sat with Amaterasu, Fiara and Oki respectively, taking the front and holding the Fur-Selkie’s reins. The fourth one was given a little extra cargo to carry and held Urist and the fourth dwarf of the expeditionary group on its back. They took Urist’s last-minute joining with stoic indifference and instead discussed the new conditions between themselves calm and patiently.

Finally, the gates of Dwarfholm were opened to allow the Fur-Selkies out, and Fiara and Amaterasu cheered loudly as they slid out into the morning cold. The Fur-Selkies’s fins and stomachs were quickly coated with fresh snow to allow them to accelerate to their full speed and they laid closer to the ground to reduce the friction of the air and spread their mass across the ground, thus reducing the risk of breaking any ice caps hidden beneath the snow. Despite having this area around Dwarfholm among the best mapped of the entire Frozen Fields and thus being very well aware of fissures, craters, lakes and other hazards concealed beneath the virgin snow the dwarves refused to take any risk and had the Fur-Selkies form a line of four, with ample distance between each of them – enough that if the frontmost suddenly stopped or identified a hazard, the second would have more than enough time to grind to a halt without crashing into the back of the first, or to find a route around the hazard, with the same going for the third and fourth. Unfortunately, this setup made conversations from one Fur-Selkie to another borderline impossible if not by hand-signs like the dwarves used. But that was a small price to pay for safety.

Amaterasu did of course take the lead, being the one with the least to lose if the frontmost Fur-Selkie suffered an unfortunate fate, as a Prime could respawn. Oki came second, Fiara third and Urist was fourth and last. This decision was mainly made by the dwarves since Amaterasu trusted in their decisions on this matter.

The journey started out as well as it could. They had chosen a good day for their departure even though it had been by coincidence: the sky was clear for the most part, the only snowstorms and clouds were far away and moved away from them, judging by the wind. The chilling air was dry and the wind came from diagonally behind them, blowing down the mountain. Of course, all of this was subject to constant and unexpected change throughout the course of the days and they would be constantly exposed to the elements from most sides until they reached the mountain. After that... well, after that it was up to Oki’s expertise to keep them on the mountainside where no winds blew.

Hours later...

The first day went by without any complications. A few minor hazards popped up but the Fur-Selkies displayed their instincts to dodge even the smallest obstacle. When they settled down late in the evening to set up camp underneath an overhang, they were in good mood, for the most part – the lead dwarf that had sat with Amaterasu was furious at having overseen the hazards and was correcting the maps where he had made notes throughout the day, then shared it with his coworkers. The Frozen Fields were an evershifting landscape, but the dwarves did their best at keeping good records. It was a hit to their personal pride that they had nearly caused an accident.

Amaterasu on the other hand set up the tents with Fiara and Oki and huddled up with them. Urist had brought his own, the dwarves shared another, everything was well this way. When she fell asleep, the warmth of Oki to her left and Fiara to her right, all three in their sleeping bags (a modern dwarven item) made her feel comfortable. Her last thought was to that she was happy to have taken Fiara along, before she drifted off to the land of dreams.

1.438/20.000 words.