3. The Ice Maiden.

The Ice Maiden.


  • It was a cold, frotsy morn in the coldest relm of Farun. The ship creaked and moaned loudly as it ever shifited through the thick ice. The sailors moved about clad into thick coats and furs, stamping feet and drinking hot wine to the stay awake.
    A woman stood at the edge, clasping to her red rob trying to keep warm. She blew out some air and wacthed it perform swirls , she blinked her deep blue eyes and looked out over the barren world. Untouchable the men had called it, it was here that she as going to find her power and god.


  • Just some pretty little picture I found to fo nicley with my story!
    http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/fp_gallery/fp2/Auril_p91.jpg

    http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/fp_gallery/fp2/Auril_symbol.jpg


  • It had been days now, crawling in the snow as a mixture of madness and numbness ran further up her body, long ago had she given up the longing for food and warmth, now it was just a racking sickness that made her gut twist over it self if she just thought about a thick hearty broth next to a hot sizzling fire. In this final thought the snow storm cleared quickly, too quickly be natural. She felt the sun bathe her body in a warm sticky light, she almost hissed as she covered her eyes and buried her self under the snow.
    Mortal tiredness finally took over her body and she fell into a contented sleep in her little hovel.

    She awoke to the sound of crunching snow underfoot, something getting closer to her little hole. Quickly she darted from the hole and rose to her full height, arching her back to look fierce and grim. The wolf that had smelt her scent trembled and cowered from her aura. Only seeing that is was a mere animal, she knelt and held out a hand, smiling a somewhat feral smile. The wolf trotted up and started to lick her hand, seemingly to have forgotten the little earlier scare. Suddenly it bit down hard and drew blood on her hand and scampered off into the distance. The woman cursed and spat, pushing her hand into the snow to try and soothe it. As the blood met the snow, she could feel it burning. She yelped out and yanked her hand away; she cradled the burning hand to her breast as she watched the blood burn into the snow. The droplets had formed a strange pattern in the snow: a shape of a snowflake, on a diamond. It was hard to make out but this was the symbol of Auril. The woman looked down at her hand and opened it up; the cut was a perfect match to the symbol in the snow. She stretched her palm flat and pressed her hand hard onto her chest, feeling a searing pain as the pattern made its mark in her pale skin. She collapsed forward, the last of her energy spent in this beautiful ice dream. Slowly she closed her eyes and embraced the wonderful healing cold.

    Wake up you silly mortal, I am done with your test, you are worthy of me, you even burnt my symbol upon your breast, few do that, the heat scares them to much. I will grant you powers pitifully one, in return you wander in my name and bring forth more followers. Do as you please with my magic, I am no Mystra…..
    The woman groaned and sat up, touching her head, she looked up startled, seeing that she was in a small hut like thing, a fire burning brightly near by. She was wearing a simple white robe, wrapped up thick in furs. She could feel her self choking in this heat, it was intense and horrible. She held out her right hand at the fire and mumbled some prays.
    “Cast out the fire!” She hissed, she felt a prinking coldness leave her body and shoot out at the fire, it fell dark in the tiny area, a cool draft entering from the door way and brushing over her face and hair, almost stroking her in a soothing way.
    The woman could’ve sworn that she has head someone whisper: Well done mortal, the fire is no longer your friend….
    She scrambled from the too warm furs and bounded out of the tiny space, straight into a man carrying some logs. He fell back fairly confused as the logs rained around him. The woman also sprawled over him in a tangle.
    “In da’ great name of Bane!” The man cursed. “Ya gave me a really shock der lassie!” He said in a gruff tone. He picked himself up and dusted off the snow and dirt, then offered a hand to the woman.
    “Nay need to be runnin’ off into the da cold again lassie, had enough trouble the first time getting’ ya here!” The man laughed heartedly, only a matter of days ago she would’ve been moved by the mans laughter and jolly demure. Now she was disgusted with his kind gestures and soppy grin.
    She battered the hand away and stood up her self, levelling his eyes and giving him an icy cold stare.
    “Ay lass, nay need to belike tha’ just tryin’ to help a homely lass from dieing in da cold snow this time o’ year.” He waved his hand a moment as a sorry and bent down to gather his scattered logs.
    She closed her eyes a moment, and felt a cold sting of anger sweep over her, then calmness, mixed with a sudden urge to play along.
    “I am dearly sorry Sir, forgive me on this foul meeting, I was scared for where I was and what would happen to me.” She said promptly, to cover up her icy stare, she bent down as well to help the man pick up his logs and pile them up near a cooking pot.
    “Ah be Granan, wood cutter master.” He beamed with a infectious grin.
    “I am Sera Datson good sir.” Sera replied, she bit her tongue not to add follower of Auril.
    Granan held out a rough hand and shook hard and firm with the pale hand of Sera. He stared at the tall pale woman a moment longer and set to chopping the logs into smaller parts. He stuck his head into the wooden hut and gasped.
    “Wha’ happened ta me fire, Ah had put plenty o’ wood to last days!” he mumbled to himself.
    Sera shrugged and took a seat on a fallen log, quite a distance from the bubbling pot, she casually lifted her robe to reveal a long slender leg, looking at the bite marks and claw markings dotting the pale skin. The man turned to have a look at the strange woman, then spun his head around quickly again, blushing brightly, wasn’t common for a woman to show her bare naked leg in these parts. Sera smiled to her self and revelled in this new power she had over the man.
    In a matter of hours she was laying in the hut, sighing contently as she heard the man’s light breathing, watching his chest rise and fall, rise and fall. The flame of his life beating and beating, it was begging to be put out.
    She leant over Granan and made her presence known; he stirred and smiled to her dreamily. Gently she pressed her surprisingly cold lips to his warm tender lips. He kissed her passionately a moment, before his eye opened wide in fear. He shook to escape and tried to push Sera off him. In a few moments he fall back down, his lips ice cold and his internal flame snuffed out so easily.

    (this is how Sera got her powers and found a neat goddess evil cackle, I would like people to comment if not demand it about anything in my writing that bothers them, etc…...
    Just a fun little story that was fianally finshed, can't let me self think that I started this all the way back in Feb! GAH!! Must finish more writing!!!)


  • The dragon curled around it self and glided away from the place, the frozen men standing like a great show of morbid art. Some of the men stood gawking at the empty sky, some still in a mid stride. A feeble attempt to escape…
    The icy dragon, over come by such power, focus and energy, it was gently falling from the sky, it's gracefully movements becoming slow and aged, it disappeared over the horizon, a great blue light beaming out against the setting sun.

    A woman lay in the cold snow, her naked body covered in crystals. For a moment she was a frozen work of art. Then her breath racked her body and forced her to live again, she lay, coughing and wheezing in the snow shivering and trembling. She brushed back her black hair and looked around the icy waste land, soft mountain peeks rising in the distance, leagues away from her. She scrambled up and started at a mad run, she had to find warmth, clothes and food. Her breathing became paced and even in the cool snow, her thoughts beginning to wander as the numb ice crept up along her legs.
    “What was happening at home? Was Dante missing her? Was Gaedyn angry because she hadn’t left him a letter?” The thoughts kept on whirling around her head, fist they started to think of home and secondly the thoughts reflected her past and how she’d come to Narfell, third of all the thoughts went over to her god, how she’d intended to find him.

    Auril….
    She stopped in the snow, wondering who had spoken this name, Auril, it sounded familiar somehow…

    She carried on walking deep into the night, in a state between madness and hope. She knew this strange goddess was going to help her, but when was an answer which she didn’t know. She had to get into the goddess’s state of mind before she could be plucked from this cold hell.
    No, No, cold hell, this icy place is a heaven to her new goddess, all the vast cold and no life growing. The woman grinned to her self a moment.
    Slowly a snow storm began to build up, getting harsher and harsher, visions of home and warmth spread over her. She saw Gaedyn sitting by the fires with her, smiling to her, a warm scene. More and more visions like this came over her.
    In this storm she was treading, her human body couldn’t seem to take anymore, each step and battle to give way to the next. Yet she moved on slowly and grudgingly, feeling the numbness creep up her legs. She felt it creep up and her legs give in, she couldn’t move what she couldn’t feel. She lay flat in the snow and started to weep, she wasn’t strong enough for this great goddess, and she was weak-Someone to take comfort in the fires flame, one whom couldn’t take true endurance. She looked up and felt the storm freeze the salty tears on her face then the tears snatched away in a batter of an eye lid. A soft but firm voice spoke to her, kind yet edged and hard.
    I choose one’s who are able to tread a mere storm, a simple test. And this test is not a hard one mortal. As I reclaim, you have had many harsher tests that this! In the cold planes there is no space for tears and pity, only the strongest survive….. You must separate your old self from the new one, if you wish to attain right to bare my name as your mighty goddess.
    Now raise mortal! Now prove to me you can tread this child’s storm!
    The voice faded, the ringing of faint laughter about her ears. The woman gritted her teeth and let out a howling laugh.
    “The goddess chose me! I have right to bear her name as my goddess! I shall not fail this quest! This weak body shall know its limits when I wish it so!” The woman screamed to the wind, she could feel a soft icy laugh lingering on the winds storm. She started to drag her pitiful self forward, clawing at the snow and slowly started on her test again.


  • Strange enough for the woman, she still could see the bubbles rising up from her burning throat, the air escaping her lips. The icy water were simply stunning, the setting light breaking though the suface and onto her face were something worth dying for, to see this last sight, it was enough to let her slip into the next world.
    Her eyes rolled back and again the burning dertest was nearly under foot, yet this heat wasn;t at all pleasnt, in fact it made her cringe awau from it, the heat made her dizzy and very afraid of it. Sge screamed out as it burnt her feet and her body.
    "I call that God! Save me!!" She screamed. Indeed that God called her. She was plucked swiftly from the plains of death, it looked like a single cold wave had covered the place…... This was the heaven she was destined for!

    The ship carried on sinking into the deep, the light breaking though the waves had faded, yet a bright blue light started to glow, flickering like a candle, that it may burn out with a single breath.
    But it grew stronger, and brighter, the ship became covered in the light, tearing it apart, breaking the wood and metal. Then in a sudden, beautiful movement, the light spirled upwards like a grand dragon, racing to the suface faster and faster, until it shot out of the claws of death.

    The sailors stood there, both awed and afraid, the dragon howled at them , letting a cold burst of ice from it's throat.....


  • Then, the ship jerked to a sudden stop, the men yelled and screamed as it grinded along the ice, losing control, the captain and a few men cursed as they piled at the wheel to keep it steady. In a sure movemnt the the ship alomst lunged to the side and the men were thrown from the wheel, scattered about quickly. The woman curled up into a ball, covering her frail body with her hands and muttering fake prays to herself. The ship wailed and began to alomst chant against the moaing wind, the sails snapping and falling limp. Something was at work here….
    The ropes then seemed to dance in the air as the mast itself began to buckle and break. The air was filled with thick fumes and screams, the men all abanonded their duties and fluing themselves over board. The woman still huddled up felt a heavy weight land on her. She winced and felt blood and bile rising up in her throat. Part of the mast had fallen on her, pinning her slim body to the deck. She scrambled to escape, clawing at the wood until her hand were bloody. A shrill piercing sound escaped the air, the boat was again whipping and squealing in the wind, in the cold ice. It was sinking

    Most of the men had left the boat, however the captain stood proud and tall at the helm of the wheel. The captain must always go down with the ship The woman felt her sigh clouding, the smoke filled her lungs and made he gag. Her eyes rolled back and she blacked out.
    The soaked and disheartned men wacthed in horror as the ship slowly sank into the icy depths of the cold sea. The brave capatin saluted his men and smiled at them one last time, he held his head high as he felt the breath torn from his body, the water was cold but ever so welcoming…..