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The maiden shivers slightly as she climbs into the southern sky. To be sure, it is warmer down here than in the northern reaches of the Edge, but Frostfall’s bitter hand has spared no inch of Helovia…except for the island, it seems. As Nasreen touches down, it is with immense surprise to find the grass still green and lush and the cherry trees still blossoming. It comforts her, this clear magic—despite these recent dark times, had it not been here that the Moon had assured her that the gods were watching? The memory gives her some confidence and puts a small smile on her face as she heads towards the Edge tent. Poor girl, if she knew of the brutal murder that took place here in her absence, she would not be so blithe. At its center, the princess finds everything as it had been: the tents are still standing and the sandy ring still invites combatants, but the island does not have the bustle of Tallsun. The Caela’s heart beats rather weakly this season it seems. Nevertheless, the girl is undeterred. She came here with a purpose, and she will follow through. Of course, what she seeks is not as vital to her herd as the herbs that the medics gather or the patrols that guards perform, but even a young thing as silly as she knows that it is not just the medicine or the muscle that brings a kingdom through the darkness. The legends whispered as a family huddles together on a cold winter’s night play their part, too. Stories were how she and Amaya kept on as they fled Th’orqui, stories were what she recited to herself on the nights that she couldn’t sleep. With dark days ahead, it is now more important than ever that she adds Helovian lore to her collection. She feels a little shy, but she makes her way to the arena and stands in the center. Letting loose a single whinny, she waits until the first face appears, and then she begins her story. There is no fanfare, no ribboned booth, nor bright display—they’ll find her, she has faith. Tell the story, and they will come. She begins with an old favorite of hers; one they used to tell back home at the sign of the first snow: There was a time long ago when winter was all ice and no softness. Instead of snowflakes, hail fell, and it was so cold that anyone managing to survive—their very breath would freeze and shatter on the coldest nights. Talvi, the Winter Bringer, he was an ancient stag, pale as frost, with feathers made of icicles, cool blue eyes, and, as was fitting, a heart of ice. He cared not for the plight of the mortal horses during his reign, what were they to him? When it came time for autumn to make her exit, Talvi would sweep in, taking delight in freezing the firey leaves off of the trees and in hearing the dull echo of his hail against the bare branches. Year after year, he would do this, year after year he would send hundreds to icy death. For Talvi was angry. His fellow Season Bringers were loved by the mortal horses—Kevat, the spring maiden, was adored by all of the world for bringing warm rains and new life. Syksy, the feisty Autumn Bringer, had quite a few stags at her disposal, and Kesa, Kesa the Summer Stag, practically had a harem of his own what with all of the amorous young mares that loved to frolick during his reign. However, Talvi was old and unapproachable. No mortals loved him. Not even the most cold-hearted enjoyed the awful days of winter. The sole pleasure of the mortals during the winter even excluded Talvi, as he had no mate and would sire no children. Then, one winter, as Talvi stalked through the lands, breathing on the trees and watching the icicles plummet dangerously from the branches, he came across a pair of young lovers stumbling through the trees. The mare was very in foal, and her young mate was nervous. Talvi’s first thought was to send hail, but before he could do so, he was interrupted as the mare began to give birth. He turned away, for he detested the new life that reminded him of Kevat’s reign. However, as he moved away, his eye caught sight of the newborn. It didn’t shudder at the cold, but lay still, for it knew not any other outside world. Talvi paused. This was something new. The young stag hovered above his mate and the newborn, proud yet fearful. Talvi watched the emotions that played across his face: joy, pride, anxiety…horror? Anger? He moved closer silently, startled when the stag bellowed his name, cursing him. The mare had perished. The stag began to weep frozen tears, for his child would expire soon as well without a mother. In that moment, Talvi took pity on the foal, the only foal that lacked the strength to detest his winter reign from birth. The filly stirred, and Talvi made his decision. Creamy flakes rained down from the sky, not hail but frozen mare’s milk for the motherless child. All through that winter, every day, Talvi provided food for the filly, keeping her alive and bright. It gave him great pleasure to see her frolick in the snow, so much so that he would forget about making icicles and freezing trees. When spring came, Talvi retreated peacefully, satisfied that she would live. From then on, Talvi no longer caused hail to fall. Though mare’s milk never fell again, he allowed delicate snowflakes to fall in the filly’s memory. Old Talvi, touched by beauty, had made winter beautiful. OOC: This is a storytelling competition! Nasreen would like to add some stories to her repertoire, and as incentive, there are prizes. The winners will not be randomly generated for this; I will be judging the stories based on creativity—so go wild! Since I’d really love these to be a little complex/possibly on the longer end, there is a 250 word minimum for each story. You may tell as many stories as you wish! Depending on the number of stories/how creative they get, the prize will either be: 1. One large item, crafted of glass, for the winner. 2. Two medium items (one each) for two winners. BUT WAIT! There’s more! Because I know that a lot of effort is put into writing things like these, everyone who enters will be put into a raffle to receive a piece of character art from me. Every story counts as one “ticket,” so the more stories you tell, the more chances you have of winning. The deadline for submitting stories is December 24 to ensure that I have enough time to write a post crafting the winner(s') item(s) and to at least get started on the character art. Have fun, and I can’t wait to see what you come up with! horse:Colourize-Stock.deviantart.com || bg: Dark-Wolfs-Stock.deviantart.com || wings: Chocomix-Stock.deviantart.com & Chunga-Stock.deviantart.com || image: impassioned-dreams.deviantart.com || table by wanda |
Please do not tag Nasreen except for in opening posts and in spars!
