Chapter (19):the trial of bow part 3
In the snowy plains of Freljord....
In the village of Vaduso....
Ashe was sitting with her men in a certain house, and they were discussing among themselves what they would do.
"So we have survived, but what do we do now?" Dago asked.
"We wait until the scout who will be our guide and show us the beast's path arrives," Ashe replied.
"War Mother, why don't we just leave? Since the beast threatens the village, we can escape when it comes," spoke one of Ashe's warriors.
"Because we can't leave, even if we wanted to, my friend," Dago replied.
"What?" he replied in shock.
"Have you forgotten how those archers surrounded us? If it weren't for War Mother Ashe, we wouldn't have been able to spot them, and also—"
"The land here is snowy plains," Ashe completed Dago's sentence. "That land is the best environment for archers. The moment we move away from the village or do anything suspicious, we will be pursued and surrounded in less than an hour."
"Even if we miraculously get out, they will find out where our village is sooner or later."
"And what happened with the Ursine will repeat itself," Dago answered with some anger in his voice.
When Dago finished his sentence, everyone looked down in thought.
"Get ready," Ashe spoke as she left, followed by Dago. They stood and stared outside.
"By the way, are you—"
"Prepare yourself, Dago. Soon, you may not have time to rest," Ashe interrupted Dago's words.
"Ashe, I know this isn't the only reason. Is there something else on your mind?"
"Nothing, Dago. Nothing," Ashe spoke with indifference and sadness.
"I... I don't know what goes on in the War Mother's mind. Please tell me so I can understand what you want."
"I just want to resolve matters peacefully, not with killing and bloodshed. Even though everyone desires that, I'm just tired of having to fight everyone around me over something small," Ashe spoke and sat down.
"I... Ashe, this is..."
"Strange? Foolish? Yes, it is indeed foolish. But merely surviving without trying to change the situation—then what do we live for? I have decided to change Freljord."
"Dago, will you stay by my side even if this goes against everything you've ever believed in?" Ashe asked as she sat down. Dago followed and sat near her.
"Ashe, you may not know this, but fighting is something natural that happens between tribes and villages. Anyone would do this in Freljord," Dago spoke.
Ashe looked down, but Dago held her shoulder and looked at her.
"But since you arrived here... everything has changed. We no longer pray to the goddess or pillage to survive. We can sleep without worry or panic because you are here, because you are our mother."
"Thank you, Dago," Ashe replied.
Step.... step step
Both Dago and Ashe looked forward and saw Kalen with five archers beside him.
"Are you ready? The guide has arrived," Kalen spoke.
Ashe looked at Dago, then back at Kalen, and stood up.
"Yes, I am ready."
"Good, because she is waiting for you," Kalen spoke as he led the way.
....
Outside the village
Ashe was with five warriors, while Dago stayed with the others inside the village as a precaution.
"So these are the ones who will go with you?" Kalen asked.
"Yes," Ashe replied. "And where is the guide?"
"She is on her way," Kalen answered, turning in another direction. "Oh, speaking of the beast..."
Step... steps!
Ashe looked forward at the sound of footsteps walking deeply in the snow and saw a woman who appeared to be in her late twenties, with orange hair, a face full of scars, wearing blue clothes with white coats, holding an axe with real ice in one hand and a sword in the other.

(Note,is from Legends of runeterra:Revna the lorekeeper)
"Is this the guide?" Ashe asked.
"Yes, this is Revna, daughter of Reika," Kalen replied.
"I see, but why not?" asked Ashe, pointing out that she doesn't carry a bow.
"Oh, that's because she isn't one of us," kalen replied
"What do you mean?" Ashe asked.
"She's adopted, to be precise. We found her near the snow when she was a child, clutching her weapons tightly. When the Lore Mother saw her, she decided to raise her, and she became one of us, even though her way of dealing with things is different," Kalen explained.
When Revna's eyes met Ashe's, she stared calmly and then walked toward her quietly.
"Hello, you are—"
Before Ashe could finish her sentence, Revna grabbed a strand of her hair and began smelling it. Ashe felt chills and suspicion toward her, and all of Ashe's allies looked at Revna in shock and confusion.
Ashe's allies didn't know what to do in this situation; they glanced at each other and slowly, hesitantly, drew their weapons.
"Your hair, it's white?."revna screaming
"Yes,yes! he's white it's a problem ?" Ashe. Asked
"Were you born with it!!?" Revna replied with scream
"No, no it turned white when I used Avarosa's throne,"Ashe answered
"I see, and eyes.... your eyes too!!!! It's changed," Revna said screaming, staring intently at Ashe's eyes.
"Yes, but why are you screaming on my!?" Ashe asked in confuse
Suddenly, Revna grabbed her while her other hand tried to open her eyelids to confirm their color.
In Ashe's eyes, she had transformed from a warrior into an scream warrior.
"Take your hands off her!, you strange shaman!" shouted one of Ashe's warriors, moving toward her.
"Revna!!!!" Kalen shouted, pulling her by the shoulder.
"Excuse me for a moment, Ashe. I need to have a little talk with Revna," Kalen said.
"Ah, yes," Ashe replied as Kalen left, dragging Revna away.
"Are you okay?!" asked one of Ashe's allies.
"Yes, I'm fine, but that was a bit strange," Ashe said, looking in the direction they had left.
....
Behind a certain tent.....
"Revna, in the name of everything sacred in Freljord, what were you doing?!" Kalen shouted angrily.
"I was checking something about her," Revna said.
"Really? And how do you think it went?" asked Kalen.
"Good?" Revna replied indifferently.
"Catastrophic! I can't believe this. This is why Reika made me accompany you—so you wouldn't do anything weird."
"I was checking if she is truly an Iceborn, to prepare for the treachery of winter."
"Don't lie to me; she's literally holding a weapon made of true ice in her hand. You're 27! I know you're not blind or stupid. You did this for a specific reason. Tell me, what was the real reason you acted like that?" asked Kalen.
"When I used the True Ice axe, I didn't undergo any changes. I was wondering how I would look, and..."
"And?" asked Kalen, crossing his arms.
"She looked like Avarosa in my mother's tales. And perhaps there's a connection between her appearance and the corruption of the True Ice around the village."
"Alright, but on one condition!"kalen replied
"I'll accept anything"Revna said
"You can be with Ashe as long as you don't pull any Nightshade Shaman stunts, and you must not be aggressive until we prove if she is worthy. We're here to determine if she is truly qualified or not."
"I understand. By the way, who are those sorcerers you mentioned? Are they good shamans or worse than the Frostguard?" she asked.
"No! They're worse than them. They're the worst group of shamans in all of Freljord!"
"What? I've never heard of such a group! Who are they?"
"Don't worry, they're all dead. It's a long story. We'll talk after we finish dealing with the beast," Kalen said.
"Yes."
"Thank you," Kalen said, leaving and heading toward Ashe.
As he left, Revna had a faint glimmer in her eyes.
Returning to Ashe…
Ashe was speaking with one of the archers from Vaduso village, who had been standing to Kalen's right when he came to her. They were discussing something. While they were talking, Kalen's follower noticed he had returned and went to him.
"So, everything is good?" the warrior asked.
"Yes, we were talking about our positions for the journey and organizing the supplies."
"So, where will we be?" Ashe asked.
"You will—" Kalen glanced at Revna for a second. "You will be with Revna to lead the way. You'll be with her in case something unexpected happens or the beast comes for her, since Revna was the last to fight it."
"Besides, all of this is for your trial," Kalen replied.
"I understand this," Ashe said, staring at Revna for a moment.
"And before you say anything, don't worry, I spoke with her. She won't act that way, I assure you, by the name of our Lady."
"She acted like that because she hadn't seen... another Iceborn like her."
"Is that true?" Ashe asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes!" Revna exclaimed for a second before Kalen glared at her threateningly. "Uh... I was just nervous and excited to see someone else like me," Revna said.
"I understand that. Iceborn are considered outside the civilization that the Freljord is now. I completely understand what you did," Ashe replied.
"Thank you for your understanding," Kalen said with a relieved sigh.
"But I still don't understand why you sniffed my hair, but it's fine," Ashe answered, still feeling suspicious.
"Ahem, as I said, she's just nervous. Don't take it too seriously. Remember, you have another goal: the Winter's Treachery," Kalen said.
The moment Winter's Treachery was mentioned, the atmosphere around the Vaduso village warriors changed, their indifferent looks replaced by ones filled with hatred and malice.
"This beast must have really caused them trouble," Ashe thought.
"Now, let's not waste any more time and go," Kalen said.
Everyone nodded and followed Kalen, including Ashe, who followed him north, where the beast awaited for her trial. Ashe, Revna, and Kalen were at the front, while Ashe's sword-bearing warriors advanced in the middle, followed by the archers, and then the porters. It was a traditional formation for any expedition.
They left the village and saw the True Ice, corrupted and tinged with a light purple color. They gazed at that ice with worried looks and then departed north.
They moved in a straight line through the middle of the snowfield. Their path was smooth, without any obstacles or animals, perhaps because the beast had hunted nearly all the animals in the area.
"The place is completely empty, like ghosts."
"All because of the Winter's Treachery!" Revna replied.
"So, Kalen, tell me, how exactly did the True Ice become corrupted?"
"No one knows the event. It happened a few years ago."
"At first, we thought it was the rotten blood of a beast in the ice, but after years of Revna monitoring it, we discovered it wasn't just blood."
"The dark purple color started increasing and becoming more pronounced over time. And the more you stare at the corrupted ice, the more you feel like you're staring into an abyss."
"A mutual feeling. Revna, did you feel anything strange when you saw the corrupted ice again?"
"Hmm, no?" Revna replied.
"You didn't feel anything strange when you touched it?" Ashe asked suspiciously.
"I touched it while I was examining it, but nothing out of the ordinary happened to me," Revna answered.
"Did anything happen before that?" Ashe asked.
"Nothing at all," Kalen replied.
"That's strange. Ice doesn't corrupt overnight," Ashe said.
"Why do you want to know this?" Kalen asked skeptically.
"Because perhaps this beast has the ability to corrupt ice. The wild animals in the Freljord come in many shapes and sizes, and what they can do differs from one another. There are even dragons," Ashe said.
"You're right, but sorry to disappoint you, this beast doesn't possess such power. We confirmed it doesn't have such an ability. If it were true, it wouldn't have waited for generations to attack us," Kalen answered.
"So it doesn't have a special power," Ashe said.
"And some from the village say it's a curse from the Goddess," Revna said.
"What does the Goddess have to do with this? I haven't heard of any appearance of the Goddess; only records exist from 3000 years ago," Ashe said.
"Fear makes many things," Revna replied.
"Wait... you? How do you know this?" Kalen asked.
"Know what?" Ashe asked.
"About the disappearance of the Goddess," Kalen replied.
"The Notai people told me," Ashe answered.
"They came to your village too?" both Kalen and Revna responded.
"That means they came to your village?" Ashe said.
"Yes, but they didn't stay long," Kalen said.
"Among their stories, there was a strange one I was drawn to, especially Revna," Kalen said.
"What is it?" asked Ashe.
"The Voice Eater," Revna replied.
"What is that?" asked Ashe.
"It's a small story told to children, about a monster that uses its victims' voices to lure more prey to eat them. That's why someone in the tribe told us something important."
"No matter what happens, don't be drawn towards a voice in the dark. Perhaps that thing is waiting for you to become its new voice," Kalen said.
"That's a bit dark. What if there really is someone who needs help? Wouldn't you help them?" Ashe asked.
"That's because it might be real," Kalen replied.
"And why is that?" Ashe asked.
"Well, that's because—"
While Kalen was speaking, the ground suddenly shook, making all of them stop.
"What was that?" Ashe asked.
"Revna, is that?" Kalen asked.
"Yes," Revna replied.
Hisssssssssssss~
"Whoa, what is that sound?" said one of Ashe's allies, turning and searching for the source of the sound.
"It's here, the Winter's Treachery is here!" Revna shouted.
"But there's nothing but snow. Where could it be?" a warrior asked.
"Really, where is it?" Ashe asked, readying her bow towards the sound's source.
Ashe was searching, but even with her vision, there was nothing but snow. While she was looking, Revna was looking downward, holding her axe.
"Hey, it's a lizard... a lizard that can... all of you, move away immediately!" shouted Ashe.
"Hey, Ashe, what are you doing!?" Kalen asked.
"Below, it's below, underground! Everyone, move back!"
"What?!" Kalen replied.
"Everyone retreat immediately, that's an order!" Kalen shouted.
Kalen immediately ordered everyone to retreat, but it was a little too late for that. Suddenly, the earthquake sound grew stronger, culminating in an explosive sound.
Boom!
What emerged was a lizard, like a sandfish skink, but white in color with white scales and a savage, strange shape, especially its shovel-like tail, and its red, mosaic-shaped fly-like eyes. The problem wasn't the lizard itself, but rather…
"Is this the Winter's Treachery?" Ashe asked.
"Yes, this is it," Kalen said tensely.
"You said it was a beast, but you never mentioned it was this…
Its size… the Winter's Treachery was about 20 meters in size…
"The size," Ashe replied.
And this was the official beginning of the Trial of the Bow.