Thundar Stormstrider's Arc

Chapter 6 of 10

Thundar climbed the steeper rocks, following the pull in his chest. The slope rose sharp and gray, and a huge mountain loomed ahead, its top swallowed by a thick white cloud. The higher he went, the thinner the air felt. Each breath gave him less. His chest burned. His knees shook. He stopped at a strange formation near a ridge. Lightning hung frozen in the air, its bright tendrils fading into nothing. A storm giant's power, brought low by something he could not punch or push. Thundar reached for it, and his hand passed through cold, empty light. Even the sky's fire was dying here. He fell to one knee. Through blurred eyes, he saw a small wooden hut tucked against the rock. A thin curl of warm air drifted from its door. He crawled toward it, dragging his great weight across stone. The door gave way. Inside, the air was rich and full. He pulled it into his lungs in long, shaking gulps. His head cleared. His hands steadied. Thundar sat on the wooden floor and breathed. He was alive, but the climb above had just shown him its price. The hut could hold him for a night, no more. Beyond its door, the thin air still waited, and the peak still pulled.