Last week, Rhianna’s story, Midwinter Requiem, debuted on the site. Today, we’re going to conclude that story. \u00a0That said, just know that as with many other tales that we tell, just because one story ends, that doesn’t mean another doesn’t begin soon after. \u00a0Rhianna and I have already discussed sequels to this wonderful idea.<\/p>\n
This conclusion marks the very last story for 2015. \u00a0I hope that you enjoyed what Tellest brought you this year, and that it shows that there’s plenty of entertainment for decades to come!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Midwinter Requiem The sun rose and set in the blink of an eye, but a blink that brought a thick blanket of snow. \u00a0Ylva’s people skinned the last few rabbits and rationed the rest among the fifty dwarves seated by the fire. \u00a0The queen commanded the doors opened so she could tell whether the stone stairs were still visible with the frozen floor ever rising. Lost in silent worry for both her hunter and her people, she barely noticed the thin woman crouching by her side.\u00a0 When she finally acknowledged her, she looked upon her with tentative curiosity.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy have you come?\u00a0 What brought you here?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve seen it,\u201d the woman said. \u00a0\u201cYou will save your people.\u201d \u00a0Days among the clan seemed to have tamed her wildness, as if awakening sanity in the woman that had long been buried. \u00a0\u201cThey are lost,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n Ylva bit her lip so hard she tasted blood on her teeth. \u00a0\u201cThank you for your opinion. \u00a0You may return indoors or return to wherever you came from, but ye\u2019ll do well to leave me in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n The woman swayed her body slightly, like a leaf blowing in the wind. \u00a0\u201cYou can bring them home,\u201d she cooed.<\/p>\n Ylva\u2019s cheeks burned with rage and from the sting of the cold. \u00a0\u201cI want none of your riddles, shrew. \u00a0Leave me.\u201d<\/p>\n The woman bounded at Ylva and pointed a gnarled finger towards the moonlight dimly glowing through the thick white clouds. \u00a0\u201cGive yourself to her, as I did. \u00a0Give her your voice, your flesh, your soul, and she will transform you.\u201d<\/p>\n A shiver crept up Ylva\u2019s spine as she heard the witch\u2019s voice become desperate and deep, as if a spirit within was breaking through the surface.<\/p>\n \u201cSing! \u00a0Your voice will ride the wind and reach them.\u201d \u00a0She gripped Ylva\u2019s arm tightly. \u00a0\u201cI have seen their footprints fade and their last breaths rise into the air. \u00a0I have seen many things. \u00a0She gave me the sight. \u00a0It is my joy and my despair.\u201d \u00a0Her frail body sank into the snow as she kneeled in front of the queen.<\/p>\n \u201cTomorrow night, you shall sing a song of return. \u00a0And they will hear your call. \u00a0They are blind through the storm. \u00a0Call them, and they will hear. \u00a0But this is the gift I have promised, a warning. \u00a0You must stop your song before the dawn. \u00a0You must only use your gift when she is watching above. \u00a0Betray her, and you shall be cursed. \u00a0And you shall be alone, always alone.\u201d Tears falling from the woman\u2019s eyes froze on her pale skin.<\/p>\n Ylva turned her head toward the sky, letting the heavy snowflakes cling to her lashes. \u00a0She thought of her husband\u2019s warning to stay away from the woman, but if the hunters did not return to feed the clan, her people would have no hope of braving this storm. \u00a0Even in the faint moonlight, she could see the frozen landscape blanketed in a thick layer that nearly reached her waist. \u00a0She knew she must break her promise to Halvard and accept the woman\u2019s offer if she hoped to save the clan.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat must I do?\u201d<\/p>\n The woman jumped to her feet in front of Ylva and gripped her shoulders painfully. \u00a0She threw her head back and let out a guttural cry of delight. \u00a0\u201cDo you hear? \u00a0She will be your servant! \u00a0I have found her!\u201d \u00a0She shoved Ylva with astonishing strength, considering her weak frame, toward the entrance to the halls. \u00a0\u201cSleep now, and come tomorrow to sing your song. \u00a0She has heard you. \u00a0She will give you the power.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you? \u00a0Am I to leave you out here all night?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is almost dawn; it is almost done. \u00a0I will return when she returns.\u201d \u00a0The woman looked lighter, more beautiful but no less frightening, as she ran straight into the storm. \u00a0Ylva gazed into the blackness of the night and nodded to the guards to close the doors behind her.<\/p>\n The third night came, and the woman returned as promised. \u00a0As soon as Ylva sang her first word, her voice echoed from every corner of the mountains. \u00a0The words resonated crisp and clear, cutting through the storm like a beacon leading home. The woman smiled a genuinely kind smile, with no malice behind her crooked teeth, as she listened to the queen\u2019s powerful song.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mountains are full of a thousand voices, Ride hard through the night, my hunters<\/em> <\/p>\n The storm calmed as the moon lowered in the sky. \u00a0Across the distance, she could barely see shadows of slow-moving figures trudging through the snow, but surely they headed toward her. \u00a0The clouds dispersed to reveal a cerulean sky behind the shroud of white.<\/p>\n The sky lightened, and Ylva could see the figures in the distance. \u00a0But seven brothers had left, and she saw the figures of only three. \u00a0The dawn broke above the mountain, and a small sliver of golden light touched her hair as she sang her last note.\u00a0 In that instant, she felt her bones begin the painful buckle beneath her flesh. \u00a0A wave of white fur washed over her skin, and her teeth grew painfully long within her mouth. \u00a0The song on the wind became a wailing howl.<\/p>\n Ylva\u2019s body glowed as soon as the sunlight touched her flesh. \u00a0Bones cracked and danced under her skin that soon became covered in thick white fur. \u00a0The queen reached out her hand pleadingly toward the woman, who was too busy caressing her arms as if bathing herself in sunlight. \u00a0A growl formed deep in her throat as Ylva\u2019s body grew three times the size it was moments before, and the pain of her transformation became unbearable. The woman regarded the giant wolf looming over her with disinterest as she lightly touched her once blind eye. \u00a0It became a clear blue as the darkness left her fragile body, and she twirled in the morning light.<\/p>\n \u201cMy last vision was seeing you fail to keep your promise,\u201d she said happily. \u00a0\u201cYour husband, your people, your goddess. \u00a0You\u2019ve failed them all.\u00a0 But don\u2019t worry, you haven\u2019t disappointed me.\u201d<\/p>\n Ylva leapt forward, catching one of the woman\u2019s twirling arms in her massive teeth and ripping it from her body in one sharp tear. \u00a0The woman\u2019s agonizing scream pierced through the dying blizzard. \u00a0The great doors opened a moment later, and when the clansmen saw the huge white wolf and the mutilated woman, they advanced on the creature with swords and axes drawn.<\/p>\n Ylva ran, her giant paws pounding through the ice and snow that coated the hundreds of stone stairs with ease. \u00a0Her mind struggled against the waves of freedom that accompanied her new form. \u00a0She felt the longing to run, and howl, and hunt tugging at the last strings of her humanity. \u00a0The dawn warmed her fur as the snow fell far more softly, and the scent of dwarves and pine and blood filled her nostrils. Halvard, she thought, but she could think nothing else. The name became a mantra\u2014Halvard, Halvard, Halvard\u2014as instinct drove her onward, but she could no longer remember why.<\/p>\n It took only a few bounds for her to venture into the hunter\u2019s line of sight across the snow-covered hills. \u00a0The small dead creatures hanging from the leather ties around their bodies made her mouth water, but when she drew close enough to see her husband\u2019s face, her thoughts flooded back. \u00a0She remembered the touch of his hand on her heart, and she remembered the look of love in his eyes and his promise to always find his way home to her.<\/p>\n She sensed his fear before she could process her own and watched as he expertly aimed his bow. \u00a0The sharp tip whistled through the air and pierced her heart. \u00a0Ylva\u2019s steps faltered, and she fell to the ground, looking up at her love, seeing him smile with pride at his kill.<\/p>\n \u201cThis beast\u2019ll feed the clan for weeks, lads!\u201d \u00a0A cheer was heard through the weary band of brothers eager to reach home.<\/p>\n The deep imprints from the wolf\u2019s paws through the snow made a clear path for the wayward huntsmen to follow. \u00a0The brothers hoisted the bloody carcass onto their shoulders and began the long trek to the staircase, each silently mourning their mounts that died in the storm. While their ponies were hard-bred for the mountains, they lacked the resilience of dwarves in the cold.<\/p>\n \u201cImagine it, lads: When this is done, we\u2019ll have something other than pony in our bellies.\u201d<\/p>\n As they neared the great doors, they heard a shrill whining coming from within. \u00a0Halvard was the first to drop the beast at the doors and bang loudly with the blunt side of his axe.<\/p>\n \u201cOpen up, ya fools!\u201d<\/p>\n It took only a moment for the clansmen inside to open them. \u00a0As the wind that morning blew softly, Halvard stepped over the wolf at his feet to see the once-mad woman weeping by the fire pit in a pool of blood pouring at the shoulder of her mutilated limb.<\/p>\n When her eyes, both clear blue yet red from crying, met Halvard\u2019s, her weeping ceased and turned to laughter.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s done it!\u201d she cried, looking past him to the wolf at his feet. \u00a0Her face, much fairer than Halvard remembered, contorted into a sinister smile as her laughter filled the halls.<\/p>\n \u201cNo dreams, no visions, I see nothing! \u00a0We\u2019ve pleased the goddess, and she\u2019s blessed me as she\u2019s blessed your clan for centuries to come, never to be lost again.\u201d \u00a0Then her clear blue eyes fixated on Halvard, and through her smile, she said, \u201cAnd you, my king, have the throne to yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n A chill settled in his bones as he became painfully aware of Ylva\u2019s absence and the worried expressions on the faces of his clan. \u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s the queen\u2019s throne, and I\u2019ll not go anywhere near it without her.\u201d<\/p>\n The woman smiled again, her eyes flickering to the wolf and back to Halvard.\u00a0 \u201cWell, you could always wear her like a cloak\u201d<\/p>\n Her words echoed throughout the hall as the clan fell into a shocked silence.<\/p>\n Halvard\u2019s eyes widened as the meaning of her words took hold. He dropped to his knees and cradled the wolf\u2019s head in his hands, looking into the unseeing eyes of his transformed wife in horror.<\/p>\n \u201cNo. No, no, no\u2026 Ylva, it canna be\u2026 What have I done?\u201d \u00a0His hands gripped the fur around her neck, and he placed his forehead against her as tears of rage filled his eyes.<\/p>\n The clandaughters tending to the woman\u2019s wounds recoiled from her side as Halvard stood and approached her slowly, his voice dark and steady as he spoke.<\/p>\n \u201cNo\u2026 You. \u00a0This was your doing an\u2019 yours alone.\u201d<\/p>\n The woman smiled prettily, as if blissfully unaware a vengeful clan of dwarves surrounded her frail body. \u00a0\u201cYour queen asked for the power to bring you home safely, for you to hear her voice, and to make sure your people did not go hungry. \u00a0The goddess willed this all come to pass. You will all eat your fill, blessed with such a large wolf!\u201d<\/p>\n The laughter rising in her throat was cut short as two calloused hands closed tightly around her neck. \u00a0Halvard\u2019s voice shook as he looked into her eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cBlessed? \u00a0You, you\u2019ve cursed us since you knocked on the door! \u00a0You conjured the storm. \u00a0You transformed my wife and doomed the clan to eat their own queen to survive. \u00a0I will cleanse the Frostveil of your evil\u2026with fire.\u201d<\/p>\n With one powerful shove he heaved her body into the hearth. \u00a0Her screams of agony echoed through the halls and the embers danced high as she struggled against the flames.<\/p>\n *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Unattended, the fire had died to a soft red glow. \u00a0A silence fell over the brothers as each contemplated the significance of the legend. \u00a0Baldur looked again at the black eyes of the white fox and felt a quiet sorrow within him, imagining the horror of Halvard looking into the cold dead eyes of his beloved queen. \u00a0Gudbrand, ever concerned with duty, looked at the pile of furs on his sled, enlivened with a sense of pride at knowing his people would not go hungry. \u00a0Einar looked again at the moon with wonder at the powers he did not understand and pulled a small leather pouch from his belt. \u00a0He carefully unwrapped a large white whistle, carved elegantly with runic symbols along the length of the handle.<\/p>\n \u201cOnly twelve pairs of these whistles were made, each from one rib of our great queen, and all remain with the elder clan hunters. \u00a0When I\u2019m gone, it will go to Gudbrand, then to you, or whichever of you have your own wee lad\u2019s first, as it has passed from clansman to clansman for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n Baldur looked at the ivory instrument in Einar\u2019s hand, the namesake of the Coldwhistle Clan, with wonder and could not stop the flood of questions filling his mind.<\/p>\n \u201cBut which is true? \u00a0Was it all a blessing from the goddess? \u00a0Or a curse from some mad hag? \u00a0Did the clan ancestors really eat their queen? What became of the first king?\u201d<\/p>\n Einar raised an eyebrow at him in amusement and placed the whistle to his lips. \u00a0A low, piercing, and hauntingly beautiful sound echoed across the mountains. \u00a0The night itself seemed to fade away with the music of the whistle, followed closely by the sound of distant wolves answering the mournful call. \u00a0Warmth flooded the dwarves\u2019 bones, and they felt instantly at peace as the magic of the whistle took hold.<\/p>\n \u201cMagic is magic, lad. \u00a0A blessing for some may be a curse for others. \u00a0Halvard was surely cursed, having been the one to hunt, skin, and eat his own wife. \u00a0He ruled the clan with an iron will and kept the doors locked tight for all winters to follow, never trusting the word of a stranger again. \u00a0It\u2019s because of his example the Coldwhistle Clan grew strong through the centuries, and without that mad woman\u2019s sorcery, our clan surely would have died in an icy tomb long ago.\u201d<\/p>\n Baldur looked at Gudbrand expectantly. \u00a0\u201cDoes the whole clan know the story?\u201d<\/p>\n The middle brother shook his head regretfully.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, the secret of the whistle\u2019s power is kept between the hunters and the king himself. \u00a0The king will only use it to bring hunters home in times of desperate need. \u00a0Our clan has never gone hungry since our great queen\u2019s sacrifice. \u00a0And that is why we no longer have queens, lad.\u201d<\/p>\n Baldur nodded in understanding. \u00a0\u201cAye, because woman are tenderhearted\u2014\u201d \u00a0Baldur rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head where the eldest brother smacked him.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, you daft fool. \u00a0I won\u2019t have you speakin\u2019 of Lady Ylva like that. \u00a0It was her tender heart that\u2019s made our clan survive over a thousand years. \u00a0No, the reason, and you\u2019ll do well to remember it, is no matter how fair a dwarven woman may look in the moonlight, she might well turn into a beast by the light of day.\u201d<\/p>\n At that very moment, somewhere across the mountain, a wolf howled intensely. Einar jumped as if the spirit of Ylva herself had taken offense. \u00a0He looked around quickly and blessed himself. \u00a0The three brothers shared a deep laugh as the dawn rose over the frozen mountains and the full moon faded behind the red and purple sky.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last week, Rhianna’s story, Midwinter Requiem, debuted on the site. Today, we’re going to conclude that story. \u00a0That said, just know that as with many other tales that we tell, just because one story ends, that doesn’t mean another doesn’t begin soon after. \u00a0Rhianna and I have already discussed sequels to this wonderful idea. 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\n<\/strong>A Story by Rhianna DeAngelo
\n-Part Two-<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nOf stone and snow and sacred earth,
\nSinging songs of brave spirits defending
\nThese frost-covered lands of our birth<\/em><\/p>\n
\nO\u2019er the hills and valleys wide<\/em>
\nLet my voice be your light in the darkness<\/em>
\nReturn home to your place at my side<\/em><\/p>\n