A Breath of Snow and Ashes

An unknown, first-person narrator reflects on Time, seeing it as something akin to God, without beginning or end. They conclude that Memory is the Devil.

Ian Murray is resting and arguing with God in the middle of the night. His dog, Rollo, senses someone coming. The forest is filled with the passing of 23 poor, dirty white men who smell of hunger and “the sweat of bad drink” (6). Their mule smells Rollo and tries to bolt. Ian runs, but an unknown object strikes him in the head, and he falls to the ground. He orders Rollo to run away and then hides himself in the leaves. The men corral their mule and depart, still without noticing Ian. Ian resumes his conversation with God, seeing the close encounter as a divine sign in response to a question he’d just posed.

In March 1773, on the outskirts of Fraser’s Ridge, Dr. Claire Fraser, or Sassenach, has come upon a burning cabin in the woods. She’s with her husband, Jamie Fraser, their daughter Brianna, Brianna’s husband Roger, Tom Christie, Fergus, and multiple others. They speak Gaelic and are Highlanders who followed Jamie from Scotland to North America.