Information
Shard the Snow Demon
Frayah
Legacy Name: Frayah
The
Glacier DevontiOwner:
erynamrodAge: 12 years, 10 months, 1 day
Born: June 18th, 2011
Adopted: 8 years, 7 months, 1 week ago
Adopted: September 10th, 2015
Statistics
- Level: 21
- Strength: 25
- Defense: 10
- Speed: 10
- Health: 10
- HP: 10/10
- Intelligence: 41
- Books Read: 16
- Food Eaten: 0
- Job: Enthusiastic Tour Guide
The sharp wind bit into the man's skin as he stumbled through the snow drifts. The leafless trees did little to block the wind, instead distorting it into eddies that buffeted him from all directions. His cheeks and nose were numb despite the scarf he had wrapped around his face, his hands were stiffened into claws inside the thick woolly mittens, and each step shot needle like pain from the tips of his toes up his legs. He couldn't see further than five feet in front of him, so he had no idea where he was, or how much longer until he made it back to the village.
The week before, he had been called to the city by the Earl of Darmin to be present for the discussion of the plans for the development of Rikse Forest. The man of course had no power, but he was among those who stood against the development, and led a very successful petition gathering the support of the villages on the edge of the forest. This didn't go over very well with the Earl who was hoping to deforest the area in order to mine. It was also said that the woods were filled with magical creatures and spirits and the Earl wasn't particularly fond of that idea either.
The Earl had to receive approval from the counsel before he could move ahead with the project, and the counsel insisted on hearing opinions from the various interested parties. That was mostly the opinions of the wealthy, who might have some small claim to the land and therefore whatever valuables were found there. Some were worried the government wouldn't give them their fair share, others were more than willing to support the proposal after having made agreements with the Earl behind closed doors. Many of the villages that supported the petition also felt some claim to the land, and as some of the counsel members were elected by many of those villages they felt compelled to listen to them as well. They eventually decided in a very close vote that the legality surrounding the project was too complicated, and ownership of the land couldn't be verified. The project would not move forward.
The man had no proof, but he suspected that the Earl was taking some small revenge out on him because of the outcome of the vote. The day after, he was mugged while out making preparations to return in the winter storm and lost everything he had. Not knowing what to do, he returned to the inn that he had been staying at during the hearing and begged the owner to allow him to stay until the weather cleared. The innkeeper had become fond of the man, and also supported the petition, so agreed to allow him to sleep on a cot in the cellar. The next day however, he seemed to change his mind. He nervously told the man he had to leave but wouldn't give a straight answer as to why. Feeling like he was being stalked and having nowhere to sleep but the streets, the man decided that he had no other choice but to try and hike back home.
He was very aware of the signs of frostbite and the dangers of exposure to the cold. The numbness was worrying him, but there was very little he could do but keep moving. In good conditions, the trip from the village to the city could be done in a day, as long as you kept up a good pace. This was very far from good conditions however, and he wasn't entirely sure how long he had been walking. He knew he was close though because he had entered the forest. There was a small protrusion of the forest between the city and his village. Most people walked around, but he had never feared the forest and knew cutting through would save him precious time, but the storm warped the familiar landscape into a strange white world, blotting out all familiar landmarks.
By now he could barely drag his feet forward as he hunched his back against the wind. Almost every part of his body was numb. An incredibly strong gust of wind knocked him sideways, making him trip over a fallen branch. Landing with a soft thud in the snow, he contemplated trying to get up. His weary, confused mind found it slightly humorous that he would die in a place he had tried so hard to protect, but he felt no anger or regret as he closed his eyes. It was hardly the forest's fault humans were so terrible with the cold.
Suddenly he heard a small strange pitter-patter sound by his head. Opening his eyes he looked up and saw a small human-like creature carved of ice and snow sitting on the branch right about his head. A snow demon, he thought, about as tall as his forearm. There were legends that these foul little creatures took pleasure in jabbing dying travelers with shards of ice. This one just seemed to like watching his death. He locked eyes with the tiny thing and it twisted its head to the side before looking abruptly to the man's right. It jumped up and made an excited chittering sound at whatever it saw, but the man couldn't twist his neck in order to look. He thought he heard the crunching sound of footsteps in snow as his body started to feel warm and he slipped away from consciousness.
The sound of chirping birds above his head startled him. Sitting up suddenly, he seemed to startle the creature made of soft buds and leaves that sat on the branch where the snow demon had sat a moment before. Well, clearly it wasn't a moment before he thought to himself as he looked around. Some small mounds of snow remained trapped in hollows or under bushes, but it was no longer winter. Bright green buds were starting to appear on the trees and blades of grass poked their tips from the mud covered ground. The air was chilly, but nowhere near cold enough to cause him concern. Looking down at the little plant creature he saw that it was budding and growing just like the forest. It looked back at him, preened some of its fresh leaves into place, and then ran off to his right with a small chitter.
"Wait!", he shouted and tried to stand up but his legs felt like he hadn't used them in a long time. Collapsing to his knees he saw fresh hoof tracks leading away from where he had been lying, towards the direction that the plant creature had run. He managed to stand on his wobbly legs and began following the trail. He still wasn't quite sure where he was but he did know the tracks were leading deeper into the forest.
Eventually his legs began to wake up and he could follow the trail with a little more confidence. After walking for about an hour the tracks led him to a clearing. It looked quite different from what he remembered without the flowers blooming yet, but he did know this place. His parents had always disapproved of him wandering in the forest, but this had been one of his favorite spots. It's where he met his friend. He suddenly laughed aloud as he realized who it was that had saved him. Part of him had begun to wonder if those memories had been imaginary, like his parents insisted, but he now knew she was real and he was incredibly grateful for that.
"Thank you", he whispered, then turned and headed towards his village. He knew the way from here. He chuckled again as he thought of how the village would react, and wondered where they thought he had been.
Credits
Background image by Thomas Renkin
Coding, story, branch illustrations by erynamrod