A warrior who has traded the battlefield for a quiet life behind the plow finds that the sword cannot be set aside so easily. As threats gather around his village and the peace he has built, he must weigh his oath to protect against the cost of taking up arms once more.
Iso, you're awake! Yeah. Kaelin went to the military camp. He won't be back until the day after tomorrow. He left just like that? Are you going out?
I'm going to check the ridge and see if I can find some lichen. Our food supplies are almost gone. I'll go with you. Iso, you don't have to. There's nothing up there.
More people means more hands. Kylan's family only eats twice a day. Last night's meal was both lunch and dinner. I'm too familiar with what it's like to go to bed hungry.
Since I can find food, I can't just sit here and wait. You two can go, but don't wander too far. Stay around the mountain foot near the settlement. Anything edible up there was picked clean long ago.
If you can't find anything, come back early. The wind is strong on the ridge, so don't stay out there too long. Maybe we'll actually find something today. As long as there are plants on that mountain, I'll find a way.
Everything near the mountain foot has already been picked clean. We might end up coming home empty-handed again today. Let's go higher. Places others don't want to climb might still have something left.
Here. The sheltered side didn't freeze completely. There's some here too. Fern roots. They're frozen but still edible. Soak them and cook them into soup.
Iso, you're from the Innerlands. How do you know all this? I heard about it before. The mountains have more than just lichen. There are things hidden in cracks between rocks and under dead roots. You just have to search every spot and get lucky.
My fingertips are tingling. I can sense the plants nearby. The frozen soil goes down about a fit, and this land is extremely barren. It can't support much growth.
But my power can already break through the frozen soil. It can wake up what's sleeping beneath it. Once the ice melts, I can make the land fertile again. Then we can plant crops.
But for now, the food shortage is still urgent. Isso! There's a whole patch over here! Keep scraping there. I'll check this side. Reviving frozen soil.
It's ten times harder than anything I did in the apocalypse. It worked. It's only a patch the size of my palm, but my ability is still here. Slowly, I can feel it recovering.
Once the ice melts, this land will be ready for planting. Iso! Let's go! Coming! This is my ability evolved. I can sense plants from far away now.