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Ice covers land and sea equally at the top of the world. The ice did not allow for trees to grow, did not allow for grass to cover fields, it did not allow for much life to flourish. The ice was endless, going for thousands and thousands of kilometers. Every year it would grow, bridging islands with ice across the waters that were colder than the ice itself. Only the sun would force the ice to retreat back north once a year, but its approach was slow and steady. Every day it grew further than the previous day, like a heartbeat picking up in pace in anticipation of the warm weather to come and all that it brings.

This day was the sun barely gave a beat at all before it quickly returned back below the horizon. The migratory birds were still far off from visiting this frozen land. Any little life that was in the north would have to wait longer for the relief from the darkness.

Across one particular snowy field, not all was still though. Rocks and great boulders that were not buried under the ice provided deep contrasts to the ice surrounding and covering them, but that contrast was disturbed when a white figure crossed in front of them. Difficult to see, the white figure climbed on top of one of the large boulders and stared at the southern sky where the sun had retreated.

Moving quickly across the sky tore a red boreal aurora, giving the stars a red tint. One line at first, then several more accompanied it and waved through the night sky.

The creature watching them stayed crouched on top of the boulder, motionless as he stared intensely at these boreal auroras ripping across the sky. In his eyes, one would be able to see the red auroras reflect back, and all the stars in the sky as well. The universe in his eyes contrasted the white fur, which gave the illusion that the universe was clearer in the eyes of this creature than what could be seen above.

In his eyes, it could be seen how this creature studied one boreal aurora strain in particular. Ignoring the usual gradual dulling in color, this one almost instantaneously turned a bright blue.

Whiskers twitched, ears stood tall and the long tail slowly waved back and forth. The arctic fox upon the boulder studied this new blue aurora surrounded by red. He could sense that something terrible had occurred in the South, something upset the world itself. However, in the sea of red was the blue streak holding strong; not being drowned by the corrosive red boreal auroras.

Air and mist noisely erupted from nearby, distracting the arctic fox from his gaze up at the sky. The universe in his eyes disappeared as he turned toward the sound and he could see the ice and mist in the air not far where an aquatic mammal had just come up for a breath. Another eruption came from the same opening in the ice, as there seemed to be a pod of aquatic mammals.

The arctic fox knew that they were predators of the sea, large killers that migrated great distances but were often in the arctic ice. They gave him an easy feeling that these pods helped maintain the balance of life here in the north.

He had witnessed them protect that balance; not more than a year ago the arctic fox came across a strange wooden structure that seem to have come no where, floating in the water but stuck on the ice. Strange creatures of the South were crawling all over it, trying to get it free. The arctic fox never got a feeling of fear and dread as when he first laid eyes on those creatures, covered in the skins of animals and reeking of death of aquatic mammals. They were black holes intent on consuming everything they came across, and they had upset the balance of life. Pods of the aquatic mammals had retaliated; while the creatures of the south were trying to free their wooden structure of ice, the ice beneath their hindpaws shattered, and one by one they fell in the sea to never resurface.

His eyes now reflected his natural color of a bright, saturated blue like a newborn, the arctic fox glanced back at the sky once more seeing the red auroras slowly dulling into warmer colors of orange and yellow and green. The boreal auroras danced across the sky as they normally would, no longer tearing across it.

Jumping down from the boulder, the arctic fox continued searching along the coast of the sea in search of food.

Naked and on the shoreline, the arctic fox did not feel the cold at all. His fur was thick and could withstand the cold easily even though the cold could freeze a freshly killed body solid faster than an hour. Never had the arctic fox known the need for clothes, not like there was much to make clothes out of when nothing grew here.

His nomadic lifestyle did not support owning possessions anyway. The only thing he once owned was a primitive spear that he made but he found that it wasn't necessary for hunting and too much of a burden to carry with him. The only shelter he had known was that of his own fur. Far different from the cities of the south, but he did not even know about the existence of such structures.

Paying close attention to the scents that lingered in the air, the arctic fox traveled across the dangerous ice. The shore was frozen with heavy ice floes stretching out occasionally. Jumping onto one of the larger ice floes, the arctic fox stared across the sea for a moment, listening, smelling and waiting.

The arctic fox's hindpaw soles were protected by longer fur that grew between his digits, so he couldn't feel the cold of the ice but his traction was reduced slightly requiring him to use his black-colored claws. The lap of the waves at the shore filled most of his hearing, but in the distance he did hear a small splash out over the ice. The origin of the sound was likely another type of aquatic mammal coming up for a rest.

Silently and swiftly, the arctic fox moved across the ice and hopped onto an adjacent ice floe. Light and swift, he never risked an ice floe tilting under his weight or slipping off with the use of his claws. Further away from the shore he went, pausing occasionally to sniff at the air and listen carefully to the ocean. Subtle clues guided the arctic fox as he jumped from one ice floe to another.

Even if it were midsummer light, he would not be able to see the shore that he had originated from, the horizon having left it behind. He had travelled quite the distance, but he could still sense that the aquatic mammal resting on the ice was still there.

After making a long jump to another floe, the arctic fox felt a small tingle in the back of his neck. He could sense that below him was the pod that had earlier taken a breath back close to the shore. They were heading in the same direction, seemingly for the same purpose. The arctic fox did not neglect that if they wanted to, they could make a meal out of him as well. He was still young and growing so that made him a bit of an easier target than if he were at his prime.

Thankfully the pod did not stop to investigate the land creature jumping across ice floes and continued on their way. They were much faster than he was so he stayed and listened. No more than a minute had passed before he heard a great crash in ice that echoed across the frozen sea, and he could sense a life force had disappeared. The pod had beaten him to his meal.

Knowing that there would be scraps, the arctic fox was not deterred and continued on his way. Jumping several more ice floes it took the arctic fox another five minutes before he reached the sit where blood was still in the ocean. He could smell it strongly with the sea's sat. Shattered ice was scattered around the kill site too, most of it still floating with the blood.

Bits of flesh were seen still floating around, and the arctic fox got as close as he could before he reached out and grabbed a small piece of blubber. He quickly devoured and it and continued to scavenge whatever remained floating of the pod's kill. Skin, fat and other minor tissue was quickly consumed. All had an obvious strong salty taste but it was food, and food was incredibly scarce in the ice. His stomach was hardly full, but the food would help him endure for a few more days at least.

Too preoccupied with the food, the arctic fox was not able to sense that the pod was still beneath him in the water. A couple of them had taken notice, and the fox only sensed its approached when it was a few meters beneath him, moving at an incredible speed. A second later, the aquatic mammal broke through the ice, throwing the arctic fox into the air as well.

Surprised, the fox flailed in the air as he fell back toward the sea. He could not control his descent, and even though he landed on some ice, his velocity broke right through. Painfully breaking through the ice and with a large splash, the arctic fox had been submerged in the dark waters of the ocean, surrounded by a dozen or more killer aquatic mammals.

There was no light under the water, but he could still sense the pod swimming around him. One made a charge at him, and he tried to dodge but he could not swim. The aquatic mammal, that weighted ten thousand times his own weight, crashed into him and pushed him further away from the surface.

His ears were not built to hear under water but he could hear the excited chatter of the pod while they squealed to each other. Another rammed him, forcing all the air from his lungs and pushed him further beneath the surface. Injured by the last ram, the arctic fox tried to gain his bearings while he floated stationary in the water.

The arctic fox realized that he had been pushed at least a dozen meters beneath the surface. He could only tell where the surface was because he could still see the boreal auroras bright above. His body had been slammed into twice now, and he could feel the pain of bruises and possibly broken bones in his limbs and torso. The water was not capable of piercing all the way through his fur coat, but he could feel the chilling effects sinking in. All around him he could hear the dull squeals of the aquatic mammals. There was no light other than the auroras above, and yet the arctic fox could still see the killer creatures swimming around him clearly.

They were playfully swimming around him in circles. Not one bothered to charge at him again because they all knew that he could not escape. If he made one move to swim back up, they would most certainly attack him again.

One creature had figured that they had waited long enough, and he swam out of the circle to turn around and start gaining speed while he charged the arctic fox for the third time.

Not afraid to die, the arctic fox stared at the creature charging at him from over a hundred meters away. His death would only be the continuation of balance to life on this planet; he did not need to fear it.

The aquatic mammal was ten meters away when another call came from one of the others. This one was much louder, much clearer than all the others and it had one meaning: disengage. The charging mammal obeyed and immediately changed direction, missing the arctic fox by less than a meter. The wake hit the arctic fox and he was pushed back and spun around, but death had been avoided for the moment.

Lungs started to burn as they demanded oxygen, but the arctic fox still made no attempt to swim back toward the surface. Fighting off the dizzying effects of being hit by such a force of water, and lack of oxygen, the arctic fox was curious on why the mammal had changed his direction.

Out of the mammals appeared a large one, this one the arctic fox could see as clearly as if it were day. It almost seemed to radiate its own boreal aurora it was so bright. It was clearly the matriarch of the pod and it was her voice that forced the younger one to not finish off the arctic fox.

She swam right up to him but stayed stationary about two meters away. It was easy to see how large these creatures were at this distance. She was easily two hundred times the size of the arctic fox; her strength could kill him without any effort. Instead she stared at him, and the arctic fox stared back.

No calls were made from her, and yet the arctic fox seemed to understand. She was apologizing that her pod put his life at danger, and that she believed the fox needed to be protected, all for the sake of life's balance.

The fox realized that she was like him. The matriarch was the alpha because she could sense the balance of life, she can read the world through the auroras, and understands the delicate prey and predator relations of the world.

The matriarch moved slowly toward the arctic fox. "I will take you back to the surface," she seemed to say and she swam very close to the arctic fox. He understood and grabbed her dorsal fin as she passed by. With rapid acceleration, the matriarch headed straight for the surface with the arctic fox hanging on tightly.

With a massive splash, both the black and white aquatic mammal and the arctic fox broke the surface. The arctic fox instinctively inhaled sharply, feeding as much precious oxygen to his lungs quickly. The matriarch splashed back down, sending salt water in every direction but she did not dive back down.

The arctic fox jumped off her back and onto a nearby ice floe. He turned back toward the matriarch, who still was clearly seen even with most of her was submerged. Exchanging a glance of gratitude, the arctic fox jumped to a nearby, more solid ice floe. The matriarch quickly dived back down to rejoin her pod.

Watching her go down, the arctic fox steadied himself the ice floe a little weary of the dangers beneath it now. The sound of the splash caused by the matriarch's dive slowly faded, until he heard the pod coming up for another breath a great distance away. They have moved on, having already eaten and probably to hunt for their next meal; which the arctic fox was aware was not he this time.

No longer able to hear the shore that he originated from, the arctic fox tried to find some visual clues but the ice floes were not familiar. The blood from the kill had washed away now, or was drowned out by the salt that was he was covered in.

Glancing up at the sky, the arctic fox the auroras still dancing and shifting in colors. The boreal auroras came from the south, so the arctic fox followed them the best he could and headed back north navigating over the ice floe field.

The ice did not cover the entire sea, so he had to change his direction a little but after jumping over hundreds of small ice floes, the arctic fox found himself on a much larger iceberg. He could not sense any other land creatures travelling the ice, and the iceberg was much too large for predators of the sea to pose as a threat. It was relatively safe on the iceberg, and after the exhaustive day he has had, he figured it would be a good place to rest.

Lying down behind a small wall of ice, to best shelter himself from the wind, the arctic fox curled up and closed his eyes with his tail falling over his nose. Coincidently the auroras stopped as he fell asleep.

Over the next few days, the arctic fox scavenged food where he could. Most of his food he did find was frozen in solid ice, even small bits of meat but with some effort he was able to sustain himself out on the ice floes. Every night the blue aurora from the first night would return, glowing a little bit brighter almost as if it were getting closer.

The arctic fox tried to read what the world was going through, but the blue aurora confused him. Never had one been so persistent over so many days.

Land was not seen until over a week of having first set out across the ice floes. Grateful to be back on land, the arctic fox knew that he was in unfamiliar territory. He was nomadic since he left his parent's den, so seeing unfamiliar territory was nothing too startling.

Eating the small scraps of food that washed up on shore, and taking a few small rodents beneath the ice for his meals, the arctic fox spent another few days traveling this new land. The shore was straighter and longer than most before. He had visited many islands, but this island was obviously much larger than any he had been on before.

One night while searching for food, the arctic fox noticed the blue boreal aurora had returned as it had for every night for two weeks. This night it faltered; not just by fading but something had affected it as even the stars behind flickered.

The arctic fox watched the battle of the light and something dark, and many times it seemed the blue aurora would dissipate. An hour had passed and the light was still suffering from darkness, until a splash of red spread out from it turning part of the aurora purple. This threatened the aurora more than anything before and it had nearly disappeared completely from the sky.

Persistently the blue streak did not fade, until it grew stronger and seemed to have beaten the darkness that threatened to have it disappear. Still with a splash of purple, the blue aurora still shined brightly. The messages from the world were confusing but this one was clear, that something was attacking this particular strain of life.

Throughout the night the auroras slowly faded naturally until no more lights of the sky came from the south. The next couple nights the world did not send any messages from the south while the arctic fox explored the new land that he had come across.

Still able to sense the world around him though, the arctic fox fed on little and kept vigilant to any other predators. Aquatic animals, fish, crustaceans and mammals alike, were the most common that the fox could sense nearby since he stayed close to the shore. Land was still populated, no matter how sparsely separated they all were so he could sense some rodents beneath the ice occasionally.

During the brightest time of the day, the arctic fox was travelling more inland. He crawled on the ice and snow, carefully listening for any sounds of skittering coming from below the ice. He sniffed at the ground for any signs of one of the popular rodents that he favored but there was nothing. For dozens of meters, he slowly progressed only sitting up every now and then to listen and smell the breeze for any signs to possibly scavenge another predator's kill.

So far inland, the arctic fox was a little confused when he thought he sensed a creature similar to the matriarch he had encountered. Stopping in his tracks, the arctic fox stood up and listened carefully across the tundra. Taking small but deep breaths, the arctic fox analyzed every scent in search of the origin of whatever creature he was sensing. It felt strangely familiar.

The light breeze eventually drew a new scent with it, that of unclean fur and the stale scent of dried blood. Scuffling could be heard on the back of the breeze as well.

The arctic fox had seldom seen other bipedal creatures. He was only familiar with his parents before he left, and just a few of his neighbors. The big white bears were not the most pleasant to deal with. Here in this strange land, there seemed to be another.

Curious, the arctic fox followed the scents and sounds in search of this newcomer. Climbing over cliffs and large rocks, the fox followed his nose for a few kilometers before he sat on top of a large rock overlooking the tundra. In the far distance, he could see a large creature slowly walking across it. There was no sense of searching for food, no sense of following a territory path, no sense of being native to this the arctic tundra.

Daring to get closer, the arctic fox adopted more stealth and stayed low to the ground. Changing direction now and then to ensure he stayed downwind of the newcomer, the arctic fox slowly approached and allowed his fur to keep him camouflaged. He moved slowly and carefully watched his steps to avoid making any noise. It was a long process at his pace, but stealth dictated his actions.

Hours went by before the arctic fox gained a close enough vantage point to get a better glance at the stranger. Peering over a rock ledge, he was finally able to see the stranger in better detail.

White fur covered the top of the stranger, with a long tail draping down to the ground. Black fur was beneath, covered in some clothes that the arctic fox had rarely seen before. It took him only a moment to realize that there were two, one was being carried on the back of the other; an arctic fox on top of a black wolf. The native arctic fox had only seen a wolf once, and it was white furred like the rest of the inhabitants of the north.

The stranger arctic fox seemed unconscious, and the stale scent of dried blood seemed to come from that one.

The wolf that was carrying the other pushed on, but it was obvious that he was weak and exhausted. Not only in his pace, but how his hindpaws dragged and he stumbled frequently.

They were in terrible shape but the observing fox could sense something else in them. It was similar to the matriarch; these two strangers seemed to have a bright aura just like her. They were valuable to the balance of life.

Unsure on how to proceed, the arctic fox followed them as the wolf pulled away slowly. Obviously they were from the south, and the previous encounter with southern creatures at that floating wooden structure was not pleasant so the arctic fox was hesitant. However, he could sense a brightness coming from them.

Watching from a safe distance, the arctic fox saw the wolf carrying the other arctic fox for hours. Never stopping once to rest, never stopping to search for food, never stopping to drink. It was obvious why he was so weak.

Even native to the arctic tundra, the arctic fox had to lap up some snow now and then to replenish.

After several hours the arctic fox pulled ahead of the two strangers, and found a good perch to watch them from. The wolf was too weak to notice that he was there and was walking within ten meters of him when the black wolf stumbled again. This time he didn't catch himself, and he fell flat to the ground, the arctic fox on his back landing on top of him.

Watching for several minutes, the native arctic fox was unsure if he should go help them or not. The wolf did not move from underneath the arctic fox for a while. Hesitant to approach, the native fox decided to move a little closer but that's when the wolf again moved so he remained still.

The wolf was pushing himself, and the arctic fox he carried, up with significant effort. It was obvious in how his arms shook, and how he slowly and shifted his weight, and the weight of his companion. He pushed himself up to his knees, with one paw holding on to the ground tightly so that the weight of his companion would not have them fall over backwards.

With even greater effort, the wolf tried to put a hindpaw underneath him to stand up. He managed, but rested for a few seconds before he pushed himself to stand once again. Simply to get back up took the wolf nearly five minutes and he shakily took another step forward and continued forward but he changed direction this time and headed for a ravine between some frozen rocks.

Staring after them the native fox resumed following them but the wolf had quickly disappeared behind the rock wall. Slowly, he followed them behind the wall.

Pushing himself over some rocks, the fox wondered why this wolf that was so weak chose a more difficult path. Hoping to catch sight of them again, the arctic fox followed their direct path into the ravine.

A black paw came from behind a rock and grabbed him by the throat, forcing the native fox into the rock wall and pinning him there with surprisingly strength. The grip was tight and compromised much of his airways to his lungs.

Staring at him were wide orange eyes, lips curled back and deep throated snarls. In the wolf's other paw was a long blade held and pointed at the native fox's throat.

The native fox was surprised but did not express fear as he stared at those large orange eyes. Desperation was the immediate emotion the fox could sense. Fear, anger and hatred could also be seen behind them. Focusing on those eyes, he saw that the wolf was forming his own conclusion of the strange native that had been following him.

"Why are you following us?" the mature voice of the wolf asked, his lips covering his teeth again and his grip loosening. "Who are you?"

The native fox had not used language in months since he last encountered another. He certainly had his own share of questions, but as he was being threatened it was his turn to answer the questions. "Kiviuq." The wolf looked at him a bit confused, not understanding what he said so the arctic fox repeated. "My name Kiviuq."

The wolf's fierce appearance faded back into the weak one that the arctic fox had been following. Releasing Kiviuq's throat, the wolf turned back to where he had set down the unconscious arctic fox. The wolf showed insecurity and confusion. He had no idea what to do next.

The native fox could now see them up close, and noticed that both the wolf and arctic fox were young adults, a little bit older than himself.

"You are weak," Kiviuq said recalling how to use language. "You need rest."

"I can't," the black wolf said, kneeling down next to the unconscious arctic fox. "They'll follow us anywhere."

"Who follows?" questioned Kiviuq.

The wolf ignored the native fox and tried to pick up the unconscious fox again but was struggling.

"No," Kiviuq said, stepping closer and stopping the black wolf from picking up the arctic fox. "You are too weak. Rest. Here, you are safe. No predators. No enemies."

The wolf looked up at him blankly for a moment. "You're a native this far north?"

"Yes," Kiviuq answered. "Stay, rest. I will find food."

"No," the wolf started to say but Kiviuq was firm and pushed the wolf back against the snow.

"Rest," he said firmly. "I will protect you if there are enemies."

The wolf's body agreed, but his mind was in turmoil and wanted to insist on keep moving. Though the exhaustion was too much and overcoming the wolf. Kiviuq watched as though he could not calm his mind, the wolf stayed motionless and stared at the unconscious fox.

"Stay, I will bring food." Kiviuq insisted, slowly backing up to leave the ravine. He hoped the wolf would not leave if he were out of sight. With one final glance back, the native fox left in search to find food for these two strangers.

Never had he to care for anyone other than himself, and now that he had to find food for two others, Kiviuq wasn't sure he'd be able to do it. Determined to help, the arctic fox searched for all the food he could. At first it seemed like a daunting task but he covered as much ground as fast as he could.

For several hours he searched and managed to dig up a small rodent and steal a six-legged crustacean from some birds. With two small meals, the fox hurried to return to the ravine.

He had hoped that the wolf would not move anywhere, but he was legitimately surprised to find him still there with the arctic fox. He looked to have been sleeping but bolted awake at the sound of the approach of Kiviuq.

Without saying anything, Kiviuq offered the six-legged creature of the ocean to the wolf. Although hesitant at first, the wolf accepted and quickly devoured the creature, most of the shell included. Satisfied, the native arctic fox tried to rouse the unconscious arctic fox by placing the rodent in front of his nose.

It didn't work so the fox tried nudging him gently but that also failed.

"Stop," the wolf said shakily. Glancing at him Kiviuq could see that he was on the verge of tearing up. "He won't wake up!"

Kiviuq saw that this greatly disturbed the wolf, but he focused on the unconscious arctic fox. He was definitely alive, but why he was not waking up Kiviuq did not know.

"Everything is gone," the wolf continued without any prompting. "I had thought we could stop them, but the Enes were too strong. How many are dead now because of me?"

Kiviuq did not know what he was talking about, but listened regardless. He could see the stars shining brightly above. The wolf and unconscious fox seemed to catch all the light since they glowed brightly in his eyes, just like the matriarch when he was under water.

"They're too strong," the wolf continued to ramble. "They are destroying every force of this world, how could I be so naïve thinking I could stop them? Not even the Mika faction could stand up to them."

"I do not understand," Kiviuq said turning back toward the solemn wolf. He had the sense that the wolf wasn't exactly talking to him particular. Instead Kiviuq focused on the unconscious fox and stared at him; the slight glow that he could see made him so visible. Concentrating on the unconscious arctic fox, he was able to see that he had suffered a lot of injuries, many recently too.

It wasn't so easy to see, but the fox had his body invaded by a toxin; poison that invaded his body through a wound. Kiviuq had only seen that on a dead washed up aquatic mammalian, something poisonous in the sea had struck it but he could sense that was not the case here. The poison was stolen, robbed from the natural world to be used for a perverse intent.

The poison had entered the body through a blade wound that had caught the fox's right paw. Picking up the wounded paw, Kiviuq unwrapped the bandaged and examined the wound. The effects of the poison weren't too severe but they had left the arctic fox in a coma. Life had been perverted here; the use of this poisoned was an instrument of something far greater that threatened to destroy this entire world.

Still able to see the aura of the fox, Kiviuq reached out to touch his chest. What happened next was unexpected; the aura, much like the boreal auroras, danced around where Kiviuq touched and the fox twitched beneath the touch.

Removing his paw, Kiviuq watched carefully as the fox slowly moved around. He could hear the wolf had taken notice, but it sounded as if his voice was a kilometer away.

"What did you do?" the wolf asked, noticing the reaction. "Your eyes, they're solid black!"

The once-unconscious fox's eyes opened, a deep brown of the older fox and he slowly sat up. Kiviuq's stopped concentrating so much and stepped back from the awakening fox.

"Snowy!" the wolf said, immediately wrapping his arms around the fox, and licking his face rapidly.

"Midnight," the fox weakly muttered. He looked up at Kiviuq, a bit confused at first but kept his attention on the wolf. "I'm okay."

"No you're not!" Midnight practically yelled. "You wouldn't wake up! It's been weeks! You are not okay. You need to rest."

Kiviuq kept his distance while he watched. The arctic fox called Snowy stared at the wolf for a moment before agreeing and lied back down.

Above them the sky exploded with bright auroras, drawing all of their attention. Kiviuq immediately recognize it as a dangerous sign, and these two seemed to know something about it.

"Who are you?" he asked, both of them. "Why are you here? What is happening in the South?"