Essence of the Winter Night

Pet Name: SilentWhisper
Owner: Amnesia
Theme / Type: Wintercursed Jinx
Born: December 13, 2013
Gender: Female

MisticPal Name: Icebringer
MisticPal Age: 3832 Days

Battle Portal Stats

Level: 6
Hit Points: 22 / 24
Strength: 27
Defense: 4
Speed: 23
Intellect: 16
Misticpower: 2

Books Read

Books Read: 1/373 [ View Books ]

Exotic Foods Eaten

Foods Eaten: 9/1254 [ View Foods ]

Silence of the Ice

... I don't talk much... And there is a reason for it...
... You can call me Silent... or Whisper... or both. I don't really care...
... I don't remember... Hardly anything from the time before the castle... I only know that it was dark... and cold... So beautifully cold... I think there was something, someone. But I just can't remember who...
... I like the cold... It stings and bites and makes you forget... It feels so nice. It is all I ever feel...
I know it's out there...

Chapter 1 - Calling

It was a beautiful winter evening, the Monster spent its time looking through the window at the falling snow. It was the first proper snow this year, and it couldn't wait for the sight that awaited it the next morning. Azaveus was sitting in an armchair near the hearth, reading a book, yet still glancing every few minutes at his master.
"I didn't know you loved the snow so much." The wolf commented.
The Monster sighed and turned its gaze from the window to reply.
"It's not really that. I think I just.... missed it."
Then it turned back to the window and continued to observe the steadily falling flakes. The old wolf shook his head but didn't say any more. He had long stopped questioning his master's motives.
A couple of hours later Azaveus went to bed, while the Monster decided to still observe the snow for a while. At one point the fire of the hearth went out, but the darkness which then filled the room only enhanced the snow's beauty. Yet eventually the Monster too needed to head to bed. Looking back only one last time.

That night, dreams of the frozen forest filled the Monster's sleep. It would wander endlessly through the snow covered lands, searching. Yet it didn't even know what it was searching for. A way out perhaps? No, it didn't feel like it. It was more like there was something... calling for it. A voice that wasn't even really there, but yet it still rang so clear in its mind. And so it kept walking through the dark woods. Until the morning melted the dream away.

The Monster woke slowly, it really didn't feel like getting up. Until something brushed against its foot. Startled it jumped and turned around, hissing at whatever creature would stand there. But the only thing it saw was the end of its blanket vanishing out the door, accompanied by the sounds of rocky paws.
"Kaernk..." The Monster sighed, relaxing yet still visibly annoyed. It got up and followed the mischievous pet 'til they reached the living room. Azaveus wasn't there, and Kaernk was already half done making a nest out of the stolen blanket. The Monster was about to scold the pet when something white caught its eye. Walking over to the window it was met with pure brightness, the shine of the endless blanket of snow was sheer blinding. Yet it couldn't help but stare in awe at it. Only when Kaernk made a noise did the Monster turn its gaze from the snow. The rocky creature was lying in his makeshift nest and pointed his muzzle at something on the small table. It was a piece of paper, upon further investigation it turned out to be a note left behind by Azaveus. He left to get supplies from the nearby town, he most likely won't be back until evening. The Monster looked at the letter in thought, looked at the snow outside, then at Kaernk who was pawing at the burnt out hearth.
"Kaernk, how would you feel about a little walk?"

Chapter 2 - A Stranger in the Snow

Kaernk ran playfully through the white blanket, carelessly throwing the snow all around and snapping at it. The Monster chuckled at the pet's enthusiasm. This world was still fairly new to the water lurker, so it was no surprise it was excited about the snow. The Monster couldn't wait to see the little creature's reaction when they got to the frozen lake. With Kaernk busy playing in the snow he started falling behind, it was only when all sound of playing was gone that the Monster turned around. Kaernk was standing motionless on a hill, seemingly looking at something. When the Monster got to the pet it turned its gaze at the scenery. It was definitely a beautiful sight, a wast white clearing surrounded by snowy woods. But it was obvious this was not what Kaernk was actually looking at. The Monster followed its companion's gaze and finally spotted the movement in the distance. A dark figure was just leaving the clearing and vanishing into the woods. Odd, usually no one ever goes so deep into the woods, especially not during winter. But this creature was definitely not human, and it didn't look like any of the native animals either. In any way, it wasn't heading towards the castle, so there was nothing to worry about. For now.

Kaernk and the Monster spent most of the day playing at the lake, by the time they returned to the castle Azaveus was already back.
"So, did you two have a fun time?" The wolf asked.
Kaernk replied with a happy growl and skipped off to his makeshift nest that was still on the same spot they left it. Only that now a fire burned in the hearth and warmed the whole room.
"How was it in town, any trouble?"
"Even the people of Altstadt cheer up a bit around this time. And they don't know I'm from the castle, so no one ran away screaming when they saw me." Azaveus chuckled at the thought. The Monster chuckled as well, but then became silent, brooding.
"Say Azaveus, have you seen anyone on your way back?"
The wolf gave his master a puzzled expression before thinking back on his trip.
"Haven't seen anyone outside Altstadt... Why? Did something happen?"
"It might have been nothing, but Kaernk and I spotted something out there. It was pretty far away, but it didn't look like anything from the woods."
The wolf thought the whole situation over.
"It might be unlikely, but could it have been a Gatherer?"
"As far as I could tell it looked nothing like the Gatherers I read about. It could still be one, but in that case we have no information about it. At least it wasn't heading for the castle."
The two then moved on to more positive topics, and continued talking into the late hours.

The Monster found itself again in the same forest as the night before. At first everything seemed like last time, black sky, snow covered ground, and a sea of trees that went on and on. But after a while it spotted something, there was a creature in the distance, hiding behind the trees. The Monster started following it, eventually breaking into a run to catch up with the stranger. But no matter what it did, the creature still stayed out of reach. At one point it turned around and the Monster saw its glowing yellow eyes.
"Find me."

Chapter 3 - Silent Whispers

The Monster was brooding ever since it woke, it was sure now that those were no ordinary dreams. Azaveus greeted it, taking its thoughts off the grim topic. It then noticed Kaernk standing by the window and staring outside. He called for the pet, but got no response.
"He's been like that since I got here, who knows how long he's been standing there."
Azaveus'es comment wasn't really reassuring, this behavior was unusual for the pet. Something was wrong.
"Kaernk, are you alright?"
The Monster approached the critter, at that Kaernk finally turned around and growled, sounding as if it wanted something. It then turned back and pawed at the window, growling again.
"Seems he wants to go on another walk." The wolf said.
"I think it is more than that."
The Monster looked into the white distance, knowing that there is something out there, something that is calling for them.

Luck was on their side, it hadn't snowed the past day nor this, so they could easily find their tracks from the day before. Azaveus wanted to come as well, but someone had to stay by the castle. And besides that, this seemed to be something the Monster and Kaernk had to do on their own. It didn't know how, but the Monster was convinced Kaernk had the same dream last night. Soon they arrived by the hill and continued on towards the spot where they saw that creature before. The walk across the long clearing took several minutes, but after some searching they found the mysterious creature's tracks in the snow. That was only the beginning though, the stranger was a day ahead of them, it would take a while to find it.
Hours were passing yet they still hadn't found it, whatever this creature was it seemed to have walked through the whole forest. The two eventually had to rest for a bit, the Monster made a small shelter out of snow, to keep them both at least somewhat warm. Inside their shelter Kaernk curled up to the Monster and fell asleep. And without realizing it, the Monster fell asleep as well.

This time they were both in that forest, and the creature was there as well, looking at them from not far away. It was still hard to make out, they could mostly just see the yellow eyes, everything else seemed hidden by shadows. The creature started walking away, speeding up as soon as the two went after it. Yet again the Monster was not able to catch up with the creature, but it couldn't stop following the ethereal whispers that echoed in its mind.

They woke up, yet the whispers in their heads were still there. Upon leaving their shelter they noticed that it was now night, and the scene before them was identical to their dreams. There were no footprints in the snow, but they didn't need them anyway, the whispers would lead their way. They ran and ran, the whispers becoming louder and louder, until they suddenly stopped. The Monster and Kaernk were confused at first, but then they saw it. A little further ahead, lying on a pile of snow, was a black griffin-like creature with the all too familiar yellow glowing eyes. The two approached cautiously, but this time the creature didn't flee, it just looked at them.
"Who are you?" The Monster asked.
Yet the creature gave no response, staying there motionless as if frozen.
"What are you?" It tried again.
Still no response.
"Why are you here?"
At this the creature looked to one side, then the other.
"Searching...." It replied.
"What are you searching for?"
"I... Don't know..."
They were both silent now, something was seriously off about this creature. But for some reason the Monster didn't feel threatened by it. Instead it felt pity, but it didn't know why. Brought back from its thoughts it saw Kaernk walk up to the strange creature and sniff it. He walked around the snow pile, nudging the creature here and there, and then settled for tugging at its wing. Kaernk was something like the castle's guard dog, but now he was obviously playing, for some reason he really seemed to like this creature. And the creature didn't seem to mind him either.
"I don't really know anything about you, but you don't seem to be a threat. The nights are cold, and you never know what might still be hidden in these woods. If you want, you can come with us to the castle."
The creature stayed silent, but then it nodded in agreement. With that the three started a long walk back to the castle.

*Chapter 4 coming once the pet is boxed and after Albtraum's story is completed*

-Gallery-