The very air held its breath, the winter wind held in check,
and snow settled softly with barely a whisper on the tundra. A fire blazed proud in a circle of sod at the
center of a winter gathering in the darkest month. About it hardy creatures of the North
gathered to celebrate the coming solstice.
Arctic foxes and snowy kitsunes, snowy owls and icebirds with elegant
plumes of frosty feathers. Great bears
blended in with the snowdrifts blinking sleepily. Snow cats padded softly around settling as
they saw fit. Ravens perched as they
would, black and white alike. The North
Wind swirled softly near the edge of the light with the spirit of a bard dark
and lovely in his embrace a smile on her lips.
Ice demons quelled their violent habits to join the peace accord for the
festivities. A woman dressed all in
white sat near the fire her feet tucked neatly under her skirts. Around the perimeter a great snow dragon
curled in a half circle with a phoenix perched between his wings. The aurora borealis shimmered overhead
against a backdrop of twinkling stars. Sitting
cross legged before the fire a tall man with long white that brushed the snow
raised a flute to his lips. A haunting
tune rang across the tundra. Tucking
away his flute he spoke. “Not so long
ago, on this very tundra, a lost soul cried out to the world.”
Piercing the winter’s night with its brilliance
A voice tuned the darkness to its minor chord
Haunting the space between ground and sky
Reverberating through shadow and fleeing light
Holding the air captive with its plea.
Its aching melody wound around the cold
Wafting with it forth from the North
Over tundra hushed with snow
Through forests twisted by time
It moved south across the world.
Its melancholy touched others in their loneliness
Where they had withdrawn into shadowed solitude
In forests thick and tundra vast and deserts barren
They resonated as many, as one
They turned North, and listened.
Jinni in their sand swept deserts
Heard the whispers in the cold night wind
Pulling shawls about themselves
They turned away
Not for them the frigid North.
A poet in his cavern dark
Felt the dark notes touch his soul and shivered
Knowing temptation could be his death
He delved deeper towards another mystery
Not for him the treacherous land above.
A heartbroken lover left alone
Was lifted by the beauty in the song
Too late to stop her fateful plan to follow
As she threw herself at death
Not for her the quests of the living.
An isolated queen of winter
Shook with the vibrations of that lonely voice
Felt its echoes as aftershocks in her own soul
Her past had made her a compass needle
Her will would make her fly.
A demigod of frost and music
Hummed a quiet harmony
Syncing into rhythm and understanding
Purer than he had ever known
He lifted his voice in song.
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