Duskfire Glacier Illusions of the sunlight.

Malachi couldn't read the thoughts passing through the stone man's mind, nor did he pretend he could. The youth only hoped Njal would see the reason in his argument, that leaving in the dead of winter would not serve to further the father's commitment to his daughter's safety in any way.

He took the frustration that wrote its way across Njal's hard-set face as a sign his words had settled against the Sveijarn's hasty plan. But when Njal turned away with only a puff of air in reply, Malachi's conviction faltered. He let his own breath pass from his lips in a noiseless sigh, and though his shoulders sagged, they did so only in defeat.

When Njal finally turned, Malachi couldn't bring his posture to change. The knowledge he'd convinced Njal to remain through the winter should have filled his heart with satisfaction, yet the words only served to sink him further. If the man's mind remained set, he could do nothing to force Njal to stay once spring hit, even though he wished with everything he could. Not because it would be for Njal's own good, but because it would be for his own. When he'd stepped up to lead, it had been under the conviction Tuwawi and Njal would assume the position of leadership once they had returned. Now it was becoming clear to the youth his hopes had been but a fantasy, and his commitment one he could not escape. Pride prevented him from stepping down, shame from abandoning those in his care, and duty from running from his ties completely. That he even had these thoughts brought the boy insurmountable guilt, and so he shut them away until they became a mere and constant buzz somewhere in the root of his soul.

So the silence consumed them, and Malachi watched wordlessly as Njal took leave of his company. The boy's eyes lingered upon the man until he disappeared from sight, and soon Malachi found himself alone once again on the line between Duskfire and every luring temptation the world had to offer beyond the Glacier's shattered bounds.