You've been walking through the ice fields for days, and you come across a cave.

Inside, you see an ancient-looking creature sitting near a fire. Your footsteps startle him and he turns to you, scowling.

'Who are you?'

Alarmed, all you can do is stammer; this creature looms at nearly 7 feet tall.
'Trying to steal our water again? I wish you humans would just leave our fields alone. By the looks of it, you've been trudging through the fields for about four days. Well, here. Take a seat. I have a pot of Pherret stew on, and I caught more than usual.'
Sitting down on the makeshift seat, you see that this Great Animal has no belongings, just the fire pit that he is cooking the stew over, and what looks like a very old letter - it looks like it would disintegrate if you touched it. Though, next to the entrance, you notice a large pail of water. There's something about it though - it's almost glowing.

The creature catches you staring, and lets you know. The gutteral growl that escapes his mouth reverberates off of the cave walls, and it almost looks as though it's going to cave in on you.
'I'm-- I'm sorry,' you stammer, looking to the ground.
'The stew is done. There's a bowl next to you. Come get some, keep warm.

'So, little one, I usually entertain my guests with a story. Just allow me a moment to choose the right one.'
Standing at the pot, the Great Beast closes his eyes momentarily, opening them seconds later with a smile.

'Never trust anyone.'

'Three words to live by; simple, yet impossible. It's only in our nature to want to trust the people we love.

'That's where I went wrong. There is something you should understand. My people are a dying race. Unlike mortals, we cannot reproduce. Our Father created us by hand, and left that piece out.

'Of the thousands he has created, I'm unsure of how many survive today. Immortality has its perks, yes. Death can only come to us if we are relieved of our lives. Other than that, we could reign over this world until it withers and dies.

'Knowing we will not leave behind a legacy for our children, however, has caused somewhat of an issue. You see, after being around the same people- and I use the term as a relative one- the lack of change can cause rivalries. Of course by rivalries, I mean trying to wipe each other off of this god forsaken rock.

'One of my brothers decided to play God. That never made much sense to me; your kind, save for a select few, know not of ours. There was nothing to be accomplished by murdering his brothers. No one will know.

'Well, now they will. I will tell you my history, and how my brother brought destruction to my people.
'About 1,000 years after our Father created us, life became rather tedious. Naturally, we began killing each other.' At this, he laughs a soft, cold laugh.

'Encroaching on each other's land, stealing, you know... It was comparable to thousands of teenagers left to their own devices.

'As I said, one of my brothers crossed the line. He gathered a small group of his friends and formed a hunting party. This 'family' would enter the homes of their brothers and sisters and annihilate them.

'When I had said it took a lot to kill us, I was not exaggerating. Not only do we need to be dismembered, the dismembered body must also be burnt, the ashes spread in a body of water.
'For decades, and at the expense of approximately 400 of our brethren, we did not know who was committing these ... disgusting crimes- until they slipped up and killed my darling Ruby, along with four others.

'These killers had not counted on my servant, Hugh, coming to the property that night and witnessing the massacre.
' The last sentence was painstakingly slow, and he finally looks up at you.

He clears his throat and continues, 'After informing several of my closest brothers, I made a plan to seek revenge. I planned to give them the illusion that they had gotten away with it, so we bode our time. One year of silence.'One night, I set out to their complex with three of my brothers. Upon reaching our destination, I turned to the three of them and said, 'This is the end. If you wish to return to your homes, I will understand.'

'Half expecting them to tuck tail and run, I was taken aback when Michael, speaking for all three of them, responded, 'We are men of conviction, O'Brien. These beasts took the lives of their own family in cold blood. For sport. And they will pay- with their lives.'

'And with that, we entered, unsure of the outcome, entirely prepared to die for our fallen kin.'

Sticking his nose in the air, O'Brien says, 'I shall return momentarily, human.' Watching him go, you notice his gait is ... off. He limps, favoring his right hind paw. This, however, does not phase him as he crouches down so that his torso is less than an inch above the ground, and then leaps on top of a pherret. Seeing this ferocious beast flying at him, the small animal attempts to leap to the side, but it is a futile effort. He snaps the pherret's neck and returns, tossing it onto a pile of previously caught prey.

Noticing your awestruck expression, he smirks and says, 'There is a reason I live here, child. Separate from my initial reasoning. And that is the abundance of lost and confused prey. Oh, and the occasional human. They're rather gamey.'

Your eyes widen, and he lets out a bellowing laugh. 'I do not plan to eat you, young one. I have great plans for you and being eaten is not one of them.

'Allow me to continue. Upon entering the complex, we realized we caught them at a disadvantage; they were sleeping. We snuck up on them and each of us ripped the head off of the man in front of us. Once we had done that, we went into a frenzy. Revenge is a nasty thing. With all our planning, we had never imagined what they had in store for us.

'After cleaning up our mess, we poured the ashes of the traitors into a container and made our rounds, checking the area for other inhabitants, human or otherwise. Upon entering the drawing room, I see stationary laid out on the table, next to a block of wax, a candle, seal stamp, and a pen. I hadn't thought that they had been expecting us. Picking up the stationary, I see a half-slip of paper with my name on it.

Dear O'Brien;
I knew you were coming, and have alerted Cas. He and his 'hunting party,' as you call them, will be on their merry way once you have read this letter. Upon finding our home empty, they will place the last piece of the puzzle together. Over the past year, I have been feeding our Magistrate bits of information, anonymously, pointing the finger at you and your 'friends.' They will, after tonight, realize that you -not I- are responsible for the murders and the near extinction of our kind. We're down to 200, O'Brien. And it's all your fault.

Forever yours,
James

'In a mad rush to leave, we were fumbling around and bumping into each other. We did, however, escape with our lives and dispose of the ashes. Ever since then, though, we have been in hiding. Two of the my three brothers that joined me on that fateful day have since died. Michael and I still keep in touch, though the communication is spotty.'

The last time I spoke to Michael, I recounted the tale of how I killed James and Cas. I took no pleasure in doing so, but it was necessary. They were in a small shack just outside Peka Glade when I found them. I tore them to pieces and spread their ashss in the spring.

As I'm sure she knew it was me that killed them, I took to hiding from the Magistrate.

For a moment, you see a shimmer in the Great Animal's eyes. And just like that, it's gone. 'What of all your brothers? Do you know how many are left?' is all you can manage before a lump forms in your throat.

'I know not of my brothers, aside from Michael. Knowing that the Magistrate and her cohorts are after me has deterred me from seeking consult with any of my brothers and sisters. I do know however, that for a short time, the massacres continued. Which must have dwindled the population.'
At this, he smirks, and says under his breath, 'For all I know, Michael and I are the last two remaining.'

'There is something I haven't told you, young one,' the Great Animal sighed, walking over to the pail of water.

'When the ashes of my kind are spread into a body of water, the water is imbued with a magical property. In this case, the water being as cold as it is, when ingested by an animal, they become glacial. They become one with the water. It is a beautiful thing, I cannot deny it. And I apologize for my surly tone earlier, but this is my Ruby's final resting place. Her remains... Her soul. It's here. It hurts to watch buckets of her soul being taken. I've tried to explain this to other wanderers, which may, I imagine, account for the stories of a yeti in this field,' he chuckled.
'Me, a yeti. Hilarious,' he roars.

'Time to get to the point, young one. You are welcome to that bucket there, and to use the contents within. So long as you use it to commemorate my Ruby, and to make my story known. I am tired of hiding,' the Great Animal swallows loudly and wipes at his eyes with massive paw-like hands, moving towards you with the pail.

'It's time to make changes. I have faith in you. Please follow me; I will lead you out of the field.'
O'Brien leads you out of the field, to the entrance and chuckles.

'In all my years, I'd have never thought I would be entrusting my legacy to such an inconsequential being. But I am sure you will prevail. If you should ever need me, child, simply visit the entrance. I will come to you.'

And with that, you walk home, proud. Not that you found your way to the end of the glacial wasteland, but that you have a very important job to do.


In memory of Ruby


Story by Burton

Backgound image by Jennifer Latuperisa-AndresenProfile template by Lea.