Juno. 1276 Share Posted January 7, 2021 A Frozen Year The Dedicant Trial of Melinoe -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Melinoe awoke amongst the freezing snow, a massive headache racking her as she came to. She was dressed in barely anything which were the clothes she had been wearing earlier; she now cursed herself for not covering up more. Beside her was a stag femur, a pouch of seeds, and a six inch dagger, all of which she quickly grabbed. As she sat up, she took a look around her environment, greeted by only mountains, ice, and more snow; a pure white wonderland. The ground was rock solid and atmosphere frigid, with no other terrain spotted for hundreds of miles. The dark elf was actually stationed at the bottom of one of said mountains. Another curse left her lips as she hauled herself to her feet, shivering madly as her bare skin fought against the chill. It was clear that she needed warmth and shelter quickly, or she would die. So off she went, bare feet frozen as she hiked across the icy ground. She was soon able to find a cavern, though it certainly provided not enough warmth. Icicles hung from the ceiling and ice caked the walls, only some spots of the ground weren't frozen. The woman had gathered a few sticks along the way, which she set down before going out to find more wood. Lucky enough to find a couple larger pieces, she returned to her cave and quickly set to work on a fire. If there was one thing she was good at, it was making a fire, having done so several times. Melinoe came from a traveling banditry group, and was pretty good at survival; when it wasn’t in a frozen hell in the middle of nowhere. While she had some skills, it was clear this wouldn’t be easy, and death was more likely than she hoped. Meli gave up on the seeds, for in this cruel environment, there was no possibility of growing crops. She would have to hunt and search for berries for the next year, while also using the fur to keep warm. The first thing she hunted was a bear, mostly for its pelt. Melinoe knew she wouldn’t survive the night without the warmth. Jumping on the creature’s back and stabbing it with all her might did half the job, and eventually she was able to kill it, though she suffered her own injuries. Stained with a combination of the bear's and her own blood, she skinned the beast. She now had her pelt and first several nights’ meal, though not without injury and struggle. She tried to remain hopeful, but the odds weren’t in her favor. A couple months had passed and things were going decently. She had made a wooden bowl using a large piece of wood and the dagger, filling it with snow and placing it by the fire. She did this daily to get her water from the melted snow. Melinoe had certainly lost a lot of weight and muscle mass, as well as had a matted mess of hair, but she was alive. She continued to hunt and use her knowledge to eat the safe berries and leaves. The ice in the cave had mostly melted due to the fires she had running constantly. She spent most of her day looking for food and firewood, keeping herself as busy as possible. The dark elf hated boredom, and would not fall victim to it. As the fires she lit continued to melt the icicles away, Meli noticed one that didn’t seem to melt. As she got a closer look at it, she noticed it wasn’t an icicle at all, feeling nothing like such as she touched it. She broke the crystal off the cavern ceiling and kept it with her, noticing its faint glow when it was pitch black. It was about five months in when everything truly took a toll. She was running low on energy and lonesome dreams plagued her nights. Meli couldn’t remember the last time she cried, until she began to dream of her children and their father. Her son and daughter’s adorable giggles and her love’s bright smile brought tears to her eyes, resulting in her first meltdown in decades. She didn’t sleep that night, and struggled for several nights after that, her motivation waning. At one point, she even stopped eating, questioning what the point even was. That night, as she stared into the fire, she heard the howl of a single wolf, completely alone. She was used to hearing the songs of a pack, there being some wolves in the area, but this was her first time hearing one by itself. It sounded sad to her, almost like it was crying, and as Meli hummed along with it, she realized that she would not die alone. She would see her dear children and love again. The next day she got right back to it, resting only as she came across a single dead wolf not too far from her cavern. She said something softly to the dead animal before putting it's remains to use; wearing it's fur as a memento of what could of been her. She was reaching the end now, and thank the Aspects for that. The dark elf had a couple infected wounds, was suffering from malnutrition, dehydrated, and waning in spirit. She had to fight to survive; the environment, creatures, and her own inner demons. She was tired and missed her family, regretting the year she was away from their lives. During one of her final days, as she was out hunting once again, she noticed something strange happen in the sky, something she’d never seen before. A dark shadow was moving to cover the sun it seemed like, which the elf couldn’t exactly wrap her head around. She just stared at the sky, dumbfounded until the dark shadow moved to completely block the sun, only a white ring of it’s light peeking out around the edges. The world went as dark as dusk for a couple minutes, and wolves began to howl as if there was a full moon, Meli looked around in complete amazement. “Is this an eclipse?” She wondered to herself as the event finished and she started back towards her home. Perhaps it was a symbol of the change this journey had brought within her. She spent her final night reminiscing on the lone wolf and the eclipse she witnessed, sighing softly as it was about to come to an end. When she woke, it was to Miven shaking her, the dark elf unable to speak at first as she was dragged out of her year long home. Seldom words were exchanged on their trip back, and no smile graced her lips until she finally spotted her and her love's house in the Father Grove. "Finally," She murmured softly as the two neared. "I'm home." 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaiderBlue 609 Share Posted January 7, 2021 Some elf prepared some tea for the woman’s return. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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