Waren Mongrat squinted through the cold autumn wind that roared through the pass a few hundred yards ahead of him. Small bits of rock and leaf hit his face as the chilly wind pulled at his cloak and scree tumbled down the nearly invisible trail behind him. The trail was faint, despite the full moon that glowed ominously in the star-filled sky.

The young man glanced over his left shoulder, teeth bared in a desperate rictus to help him breathe in the maelstrom. He could still see no movement, but that could change any moment. No, that would change any moment.

Waren gripped the reins in his teeth for a moment, using both hands to wrap the throbbing, gently writhing form he held tighter in his cloak. "It's warm," he thought as he tucked the shape tight into the saddle in front of him, gathering the horse's reins in his right hand again. "Feels good."

Another gust of wind slashed at Waren, nearly blowing him off his horse and seeming to make a grab for the human-baby sized object he was transporting. "Begone foul wind!" he shouted, then put his heels to his mount to speed the tiring animal to the top of the pass. "Only half a mile," he muttered, hunching over to take advantage of the warmth from his prize and to hide from the wind.

Glancing over his shoulder regularly, Waren tried to help his horse see the difficult, rising trail before them. As he did so, he found himself marveling that he had actually retrieved the Conduit. His people, the Clans, had always been the caretakers and protectors of the Conduit. The marauding Radlens had killed nearly every member of Waren's clan, the Clan Grat'ken, in order to get the prized object. Waren still couldn't understand how Radlens had known of Clan Grat'ken's weakness and vulnerability. Clan Grat'ken had not had the conduit in decades, and thus it had been their turn in the cycle. But the whereabouts of the Conduit had always been kept secret in order to keep it safe. The Clans were the only people who had the Lore necessary to properly care for the Conduit.

"Can't have it!" Waren muttered, tasting the snow that the mountain wind was promising. "They don't understand. Nobody can understand!"

The Conduit pulsed. Then pulsed again.

"No."

As the heat coming from the tightly wrapped form in his lap began to build, Waren suddenly understood that he would never get the Conduit back home in time, never get it into its Sanctuary before the Birth.

"No!" Waren began to scan the side of the mountain.

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