Glacier MontreI find myself at the edge of a snow-covered cliff, looking out towards the vast blue ocean, with nothing but ice and more ice in sight. Some snowbirds fly past, calling to each other in song. I move away from the cliff and trudge through the snow, heading inland.
Why am I here, again? Oh, yes. I was sent here on a solo expedition at the South Pole to investigate the melting ice caps. Why me? Because I'm a Glacier Montre, that's why. I have skin as thick as a whale's and eyes as sharp as an eagle's. The bitter cold of the South Pole should not be anything resembling a problem to me - or so they think. Keldion the Heladion, my friend and assistant, followed me on this trip and has been a great help so far.
The chill is starting to get through my pores. I should better head towards the mountains to find shelter. Keldion agrees.
23 May 2012, 6:41pm
It's getting more and more chilly, it might be that I'm coming down with a bit of a cold (no pun intended), but I have to brave through the storm and the hail to get to the polar ice caps. I managed to get a few miles in throughout the day but the sun has disappeared from the sky, and so I rest for the day.
The wind is picking up and I can see a blizzard coming. I'll need my Defense Crystals to protect me, but it won't hold for too long. Where is my blubber when I need it the most? (silently cursing the fitness instructors who told me to lose weight)
24 May 2012, 11:31am
Oh! Right, we're making fantastic progress towards the peaks of the mountain ranges of the freezing South. Both Keldion and I have powerful wings that we are using as sails to propel us along the ground with the wind. A few wild animals were seen, such as a polar bear or also known as a Glacier Anyu, and a cheeky little snow rabbit, the Glacier Kanis, who threw snowballs at us. Keldion caught some of them and kept them in our bag of supplies, just for laughs.
Very soon, we'll reach the foot of the highest mountain in Antarctica, the Vinson Massif. When that happens, the most arduous part of the journey will commence, which many have attempted but not many have survived. Keldion and I are uncertain of our chances, but that will be when our tough training at the research centre in the Climate Change HQ will come into play.
26 May 2012, 3:15pm
We (Keldion and I) came across a marvel of nature, which is the exquisite snowflakes that fall in the softest powdery snow. The flakes that we found were radiating with a strange warmth. I decided to keep them in our frozen chamber for investigation and lab testing later at the HQ. They may give some clues as to what is going on in the ice caps.
We also found some frozen matter. This was particularly interesting because it appears that even the darkest matter had been frozen by the cold in this parts of the world. It was a wonder that we had not frozen over as well.
27 May 2012, 6:20pm
It was smooth-sailing today, what with our wings as sails and all, but I can sense bad weather coming from the other side of the continent. We had better prepare ourselves for the worst but hope to reach the mountain as soon as possible. Unfortunately it's just white land from here until the horizon, no rocky ground in sight.
29 May 2012, 7:15pm
The past two days have been a hell of a time, although this hell was sheer cold. A blizzard blew in our faces for a whole day on the 28th, and even our mighty thick fur coats could not shield us from it. Keldion and I used the Freezing Tear Crystal to create some sort of an ice shield to hide in but it broke down not long after the wind started picking up speed. We could only manage to bury ourselves under the snow to hide from the bitter wind and hail.
We survived that ordeal, however we awoke to find ourselves buried deeper than we had imagined under the snow. Neither of us were sure whether the other was still alive. We just kept digging and digging upwards, and finally after an hour of anxious calling to each other, we finally got to the top of the thick layer of snow. Unfortunately the snow was still fresh and soft, meaning that we kept crashing into more layers of snow. With a breath of frost I froze a patch of snow to stand on. We then continued our journey in that manner, freezing the snow just beyond us.
We eventually reached the bottom of the highest mountain in Antarctica: the Vinson Massif. Its magnificence and greatness astounded me, and I wondered how I might be able to reach the top, but it was our appointed task and we must accomplish it at all costs. Tomorrow, we begin the hike up the mountain, where greater dangers await us.
30 May 2012, 6:05pm
The air at higher altitudes is getting thinner and thinner. It's harder to breathe, mostly due to the lower partial pressures of oyxgen, but also because it's getting harder to climb up the steep northern face of the Vinson Massif. I had a bit of a scare when Keldion slipped and nearly fell several hundred feet to certain death, if he had not caught its tail on a rock and swung himself to safety.
We got to a shallow cave which would provide adequate shelter for the night. We had a fine dinner with frozen fish that we caught earlier on in the journey, and some thick snow-bushes that grew on the barren rocks. Just a few more days, I believe, and our mission should be complete.
31 May 2012, 10:20am
I awoke to the sound of grumbling rocks, and my instincts told me to run. I grabbed a still-sleeping Keldion and rushed out of the cave. In an instant, the cave was no more; the rocks had caved in. We had narrowly escaped being crushed to death. We decided not to sleep under anything that may give way.
Fortune was not on our side today; we narrowly escaped more danger when a small avalanche fell just beyond us, as we climbed. Had we gotten caught in it, we would have been carried to the bottom of the mountain, crushed or frozen. It was then that we decided not to risk anything else. We half-flew, half-climbed vertically up the cliff. It was tiresome work and we were quickly exhausted, but it meant that we got higher in a shorter amount of time.
I can now see the top of the Vinson Massif. Something's strange, though. There's some kind of a glow near the top. We'll be up there soon to investigate that glow. For now, we'll have to rest from all that flying in the thin, cold air.
1 June 2012, 6:15pm
We came upon the glow which came from three round orbs among the rocks near the top of Vinson Massif. There was several Icy Touch jewels scattered around them. When we crept closer, I realized that the orbs were Entranced Snow Fairies! We quickly picked them up and tried to communicate with the snow fairies. They told us to use the Icy Touch jewels to pierce the orbs, and they would be set free. We did so, and they broke free, much to our joy and theirs as well.
They then proceeded to tell us what had happened; an evil witch had caught them and set them into the orbs by magic. The other snow fairies (there are many of them!) had flown away, but much damage had been done: the ice caps began to melt without their magic. It seems that the global warming that had been going on was a result of that. But now that they were free, there was some work to be done to repair the damage.
The released snow fairies gathered all the other fairies, and they came quickly, rejoicing along the way. They performed an intricate dance around the peak of the mountain. Great waves of white, cold light began to shine from the circle of fairies, swirling around the great mountains and across the snow-covered terrain. I could feel a breath of cold but fresh air sweep through my fur and feathers. Soon it was all over, and the light began to fade. The fairies gave to us two keys that would protect the world from overheating.The fairies thanked us profusely, and we returned the thanks to them as well, and then they disappeared into thin air - literally.
At that very moment, it seemed like the earth then was smiling. I hope that global warming will only be a thing of the past and never again will cause much pain and terror in our world.
I then measured the height of the snow layer at the top of the mountain as was instructed by the HQ, and left a small flag with the HQ's mark at the top. With that done, Keldion and I began our descent down the Vinson Massif. The snow fairies were kind enough to create a strong wind northwards that we glided on with our wings to the ground safely.
Now we will spend the night at the foot of the mountain and we will start our journey home tomorrow.
3 June 2012, 1:28pm
We have finally arrived at the edge of the great continent. A ship is waiting for us at the coast. I gave Keldion and great hug. The great Vinson Massif is standing tall and strong behind us, and if I look hard enough I could see the snow fairies dancing at the peak. I feel relieved and glad. We have accomplished our mission and surprisingly, we are still alive! I'm quite certain the bosses at the HQ will be quite pleased with our report, but there is some concern that there is a witch out doing terrible things, I wonder what she's up to right now...
So, now I'm about to board the S. S. Anne back to the HQ and then to my home. Until then, the next mission - maybe to the Himalayas, or to the North Pole - wherever fate and fortune and the HQ will bring Keldion and I; over and out.