Duskfire Glacier absolute and pure

aw! <3

Since his meeting with Faust, since his quiet acceptance into the ranks, Astier had prowled the glacier without rest. He was not one to wander aimlessly, yet even he found solace in movement when his thoughts pressed too heavily upon him. Submission did not sit easily on his shoulders; it gnawed, insidious, threatening to unmake him. A sharp inhale. A slight shake of his head. He buried the thought beneath layers of pride, where it would remain untouched.
Spring crept upon the land, subtle at first; the slow trickle of melting ice, the distant trill of birdsong. Life stirred in the valley below, golden warmth pressing against the cold. Unwelcome; unforgiving; It would soon chase him higher, further north, where winter still ruled. His thick pelt, once his precious shield, would betray him in the heat. The shedding would come, but it would not save him entirely. The wraith would endure, as he always had.
Frigid gaze swept the mountainside, searching. Higher; always higher. Then, at last: a cave, vast and dark, its shadowed mouth yawning open before him. He stepped forward, slow and deliberate, claws scraping against stone: a mark, a claim. 
Faust had his word; Astier would leave his mark upon this glacier. And he always kept his word.