A long time ago, about a few thousand years, this place was a luscious forest where birds sang and animals thrived happily. Looking at the frozen tundra that resided here now it was very hard to believe that. How the forest was destroyed was not clearly known; some say it was destroyed by humans, and desertification  mysteriously â€“as it was never truly explained how the desert came into the picture, or how, if there was a desert, how it turned into this tundra- settled in quickly, killing off any animals that struggled to survive until nothing was left. Whether that was true or not would never truly be known. Stories usually change over time and the truth becomes but a faint memory. It was really amazing how things can change so quickly, so easily, in the blink of an eye.<br/><br/>The bone chilling wind that whipped wildly across the barren wasteland was definitely not the most welcoming. As the two lone wolves who dared brave the cold walked, the storm covered their tracks. There was no telling how long they had been walking; it could be days, weeks, maybe even months since they first set foot in this strange land far from home. Everything looked the same. It was enough to drive one to insanity, but wolves were strong creatures. They were survivors. If you looked hard enough at the surroundings, traces of the old world could still be found, proving that this place was once inhabitable. If there were any humans out here they would stare in awe at the wolves wondering why they chose to be out here like this.<br/><br/>Beyt stuck closer to Gimmel, her brother. Sticking together was easier since they could barely see in front of their face as a white blanket obscured their vision, stinging their faces and gnawing at their paws.<br/><br/>â€œHow much further?â€ Beyt asked, shivering from the cold.<br/><br/>â€œThat I canâ€™t say for sure, dear sister,â€ Gimmel responded softly, trying to keep his sister motivated. She was exhausted. They both were. But they had to keep going, they had come too far to turn back now. â€œThe old city should be along this path, or so the old Prophet had told me. Although how accurate that might be, I really donâ€™t know.â€<br/><br/>â€œI see. We should find shelter either way, brother.â€<br/><br/>He knew she was right. These conditions were terrible, they were both tired and probably hungry as well, and the cold had penetrated their fur to where it was nibbling at their very skin. Gimmel gave a nod, â€œI think I see something up ahead. Maybe we can take refuge there.â€ Beyt followed him over to the structure, which appeared to be part of an ancient building of some kind created by humans long ago in the Old Civilization. The â€˜shelterâ€™ had little to offer but it was still better than nothing and kept the wind away at least.<br/><br/>In a place like this, there really was no saying when the storm would let up or if it would let up at all. For now all they could do was keep warm and hope to find some food out here. In the morning, they would get going again and find what awaited them in the city, why the Prophet wanted them to go there.