Nath 8 Years Old:

Gaia is a frozen wasteland covered in tall mountains and deep ravines. Coniferous forests blanket the smaller mountains, their evergreen leaves colored white by the snow. Life gravitated towards these natural shelters provided by the forests and ravines. Beyond the natural shelters lay barren wastelands of snow and ice. This harsh environment left little for life to hang on by; yet life has a way.

Through the ever present drifting snow a figure running through a forest could be seen. Looking ahead, the boy could see the trees open into a clearing. Stepping through the trees what laid before him was a clearing resting upon the edge of a plateau. Near the edge sat the old woman Jenell, facing the children sitting on the ground near a bonfire. Behind her, the wind lifted snow off the ground and carried it over the edge towards the mountains shining in the golden color of the setting sun.

Hearing the hurried footsteps, she looked up at the boy. His grey shoulder length hair sticking to his face from the sweat that was turning to ice. His furs were ruffled and covered in snow from where he had obviously fallen in his haste. Smiling gently, she said “Nath! Hurry over to the fire for warmth; I was just about to get started.”

Looking at the other children spread out before her, she composed herself, calling upon her power to help clear her memory. Feeling her symbol slowly unfurl its wings on her back, she steadily gave it more energy. Jenell held the bloodline of an owl, granting her clearer memory than most other story tellers.

Nath, having made it beside the fire, felt the activation of her bloodline as he sat down and looked at Jenell. Looking at her kindly smile as she began.

“Children listen closely for this is our oldest tale, one so old that it took place in a time before the world was covered in snow. The world was a land covered in vast green forests, grass planes as far as the eye could see, and lakes so deep that even the light couldn’t reach the bottom. The creatures of old could be seen roaming these lands.”

“In a seemingly peaceful plain a rift in the very fabric of reality formed. Not by nature but by creatures from another plane striking through, releasing their energy upon the world causing the skies to turn dark with soot. The land burned and melted as the first creature stepped through almost as if they ignited the very world itself on fire. They quickly swept through all life and leveled the ground into ashen remains.”

“Having seen the death and destruction brought by the demons, the tribes banded together as one to face this new threat. However, by the time we were able to gather half the world had already been lain bare. Mutated monsters of fire and death inhabited the land where the creature of old once lived. For years we fought one battlefield after another slowly pushing back the tide. An uncountable number of heroes rose and fell during these dire times. The war covered the once peaceful land in blood, ashes, and destruction.”

“The demon's advance was unrelenting. Scattering the assembled army and driving us into a corner. During this time humanity's greatest light arose. Nathrach ‘the Great’ winning battle after another gathered the last remaining humans and started a counterattack against the demons.”

“Despite the exhausting campaign, Nathrach led the final charge into the mass of demons surrounding the rift. Every step of the way through the horde of demons left the ground running with the blood of heroes. Having reached the rift Nathrach saw it greatly expand as the greatest demon ever seen made its way through.“

Nathrach turned to the demon and steeled himself for the fight to come. The might of Nathrach caused the lands upheaval while the demon's fire burned chasms through the earth as their battle raged on for days. Having fought the demon to a standstill Nathrach realized the only way to defeat it was to seal it. Using his body as a medium he sealed the demon deep within the earth. Having sealed the demon, Nathrach's body started to turn to stone. Realizing not much time was left, he grabbed the rift with his bare hands, forcing it closed through his might alone.”

Jenell looked away from the starry eyed children in front of her and into the setting sun that plunged the world of frost and snow into darkness.

“Sadly, with the source of unnatural heat gone, what was left in its place was the opposite… an eternal cold.”