[DragonRider]

Zwago shivered in the frozen darkness. How long had it been? Months? Years? It was impossible to know; time had no meaning in this wretched place. No sun or moon ever ascended over the bleak horizon.

What he did know was that he was alone. He knew no word that described the feeling, but the half-numb ache in the lumps of scar tissue by his left and right shoulders were a constant reminder that it was there. It was worse than the hunger; the hard, rancid flesh of the occasional unwary Frost Fiend was barely able to sustain him. Worse, even, than the cold, so very far from the balmy jungles and volcanic isles of their youth. His youth.


The crunch of the snow under his talons echoed across the tundra as the trail of footprints behind him stretched closer and closer towards infinity...


At last he could take no more. He collapsed with a dull thud into a snowbank, unable or unwilling to take even one more step. The beating of his heart grew slower and slower as he welcomed death with silent revelry.

Suddenly, he saw something shimmer in the corner of his eye. No, not a light, but a sort of ripple in the air, almost imperceptible against the monotonous expanse of the lifeless realm. He recognized it instinctively: it was a planar rift. It could take him home! Filled with a sudden burst of energy, he jumped up and leapt through the veil before the opportunity was lost. Almost immediately he felt the heavy warmth flow over him. Home...


"? Zwago the Zmey drowned in Utterdeep."