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The Flurry Forest is a living forest, like all the forests that inhabit Gaea. Like the humans, there are good forests and there are bad ones; however, the Flurry Forest has a warm personality despite it being covered primarily in ice. The Flurry Forest is kind to those who are kind to it and will provide for those it likes. The forest will protect those it likes from evil, and warn them if evil is afoot. Travelers passing through the woods can survive the harshest of blizzards if the forest desires for them to live, while trespassers and the wicked find the forest to be a harsh place to camp.

There exists a spiritual power that keeps the forest alive like blood through veins. The power was granted by what humans believe to be The White God for to them it is the White God that is the good god. The Holy Knights use the name of the White God to command easy passage through the chill of the wood for what the White God giveth, it can taketh away. The Flurry Forest is fearful of this god and yields to the Holy Knight's demands. It can lead them to whoever they seek, but the forest can also lead the one being sought out of the woods if it favored them. The forest is not fond of mages or those sorcerers and witches that would steal its power to channel their selfish and destructive spells. The mana drained from the wood slowly reduces the forest to a frozen waste.

In these wastes and barren lands, live a people known as the Ice Folk or the Jotun, the Ice Giants. The Jotun live in tents in the areas of the forest that have been drained of its mana. The giants range from 9 to 12 feet and they believe in their own gods. They ride great beasts and devour what they can in the Flurry Forest--the fauna and the mana. They are a frightening people that travelers avoid. The boundaries of their lands are marked by the skulls of trespassers stacked upon 8 ft spears, warning those not to enter their territory. Travelers still can succumb to feeding time, the time where the Jotun release their pets to hunt in the forest. Many have become food for the Jotun's beasts. Travelers should listen for horns for it is how the Jotun communicate long distances, and at night listen for howls for they are the Songs of Death. The death the beasts bring.

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Cold.

It was cold.

She rubbed her palms together, trembling, fingers freezing, barely able to move. The beating of her heart was slow, legs ached, her cheeks and ears numb and cold. Footsteps slowed, legs threatening to give in at any moment. She needed shelter. Warmth; she craved for it. Needed it. Chapped lips nearly bled, face pale and eyes tired; a dark shade of exhaustion settled under them, her usually bright eyes now dim and red from crying.

The forest seemed alive, watching The Girl as she slowly traversed its lands, covered in thick layers of snow. Thin sheets of ice blanketed the trees. Rivers were frozen, reflecting the early morning rays of the sun that seeped through the canopy of trees. It was dead silent, no birds or animals in sight. As if they knew this forest was dangerous—that it smelled of death. They were of afraid of something. Something dangerous. And they avoided it like plague.

Anastasia’s throat felt dry, aching for moisture. She slowed to a halt, leaning against a tree to catch her breath. “Grant me safe passage,” she muttered a soft prayer to whatever God was listening. A pang of desperation and dread clawed at her stomach. She wanted to scream. Cry. Curse. But she swallowed it all down and continued to walk, purpose in her stride. She couldn't stop now. Not after everything.

A pair of hazel eyes bounced back and forth, looking for shelter. The heavens must have been watching her, because just a distance away from her, was a cave. There was a small opening, just enough for her to crawl into. The new-found hope willed her legs to move faster. Faster. Faster. She stepped on her dress and fell to her knees, her face meeting the freezing white snow. She shivered. Her teeth chattered. Slowly, she got up to her feet, her legs shaking and her hands trembling. She was close. So close. Anastasia moved faster, holding her dress up to keep her from falling.

As soon as she reached the cave, she didn't waste another moment. She got to her knees and slowly crawled into the dark opening. She struggled to get inside, and finally, she breathed a sigh of relief as soon as she made it. She allowed herself to lay on the dirt for a moment, too exhausted to even lift a finger. There was more silence. It was almost deafening. Her mind wandered back to the Kingdom she had left. To her family. To her people. Her eyebrows furrowed as tears threatened to fall. She bit her lip, wincing as it bled. They were dry, chapped, and pale. She was sure she looked nothing like the princess that she was.

If it weren't for the fancy dress and beautiful hair ornaments that graced her head, no one would be able to tell she was the princess. Her long black hair was tangled up, her eyes swollen, her flesh now adorned with cuts. She used to sit on chairs made of gold, now she lay on dirt, not even knowing how she was supposed to survive. She did not know how to treat her wounds, start a fire, or even catch fish for food. She never had to worry about these things. Someone had always helped her. Now she was alone, lost and afraid.

"Oh, mother.. you believed in me too much. Now that belief will get me killed. I would be safer in the castle," she sobbed. Her voice trembled as tears sprang down her soft cheeks. She felt weak. Hopeless. Pathetic, most of all. Afraid. Anastasia slowly picked herself up and sat down, her back leaning against the wall. She hugged her knees and stared at the ground, letting the silence consume her. Soon, she will find her strength and continue her journey. For now, she will succumb to her weakness.

@HowlsOfWinter

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How long had it been?

For another individual traveling within the frozen wastes of the Flurry Forest it had felt like a lifetime. Since the green-haired woman had awoken in the shadows of the cold and desolate forest-covered hills some time ago and much like her memories her sense of time seemed hard to assess. She could’ve been traveling in the seemingly endless stream of icy rocks and frozen trees anywhere between days and months. Perhaps the inability to be certain about anything was her punishment for whatever actions she had done that resulted in her exile? That, at least, was how she came to presume she ended up as she did— a fact reinforced that she had little comprehension of her past outside of flashes and murmurs; unsurprisingly, she often wondered what those flashes and murmurs actually meant.

Unlike the other occupant of the forest, the green-haired woman didn’t feel issue to the frozen cold or death-like solitude— either due to her own personal vitality or the living forest’s own will she found herself rarely living in ill comfort and found a sort of eerie peace in the whole stretch of frozen wastes. That is, outside from the discovery of old caverns that littered underneath the frozen soil and unstable tundra that she had found herself in. Littered with old ruins and even older natural passageways underneath the forest itself, the environment that she had been wading through was interestingly alien and bait for her wanton curiosity. Such curiosity that had caused her to explore the underground caverns with eagerness to the point that she had not seen the cold skies of the forest for some time now. It was a curiosity that also led herself forward and towards the path of the other visitor to the forest, though neither of them would know it.

As she moved forward through the current passageway in the caverns with bow in hand a sorrowful cry echoed in the nearly silent cave.

I am not alone?

Out of subconscious habit, the green-haired woman disappeared from full view before moving forward again— even with the darkness of the cave, there had a need instilled in her to not be seen at all which cumulated in vanishing through her uncanny ability to do so. ‘Curious but Cautious’ as the saying went. But who’s saying? Was it her own or something she had picked up from another? A thought for another time, perhaps.

As she moved forward she came to the source of the sorrowful cry that had been uttered only moments earlier; a woman much like her of desperate condition and even more desperate emotions. She had to wonder who she was and what she was doing here in the Flurry Forest— was she lost like she was as well? The green-haired woman pressed her back against the cold stone of the cave as she carefully walked slowly to hide her approach, a look of confusion embracing her expression as she looked at the tattered and fatigued appearance of the female stranger.

There were many questions, but for some reason her instincts told her to not reveal herself.

For now, she would observe.

She was not alone.

Anastasia could feel it. Another presence. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared into the darkness with wide eyes, listening carefully for signs of another. There was only silence. Anastasia could only hear her own breathing. She scrambled to her feet and kept her back pressed against the wall, afraid of whoever—or whatever was out there. “H-hello?” she called out, her voice breathy. “Is anybody there?” Only the echoes answered back.

A sense of urgency rushed through her body, causing her to tremble in fear. Holy Knights. Have they caught up to her? The thought alone was enough to make her heart beat erratically. Anastasia knew not how to defend herself. Her screams would go unheard. No help would come. She was isolated. Away from her kingdom and her family. A small defenseless girl roaming the frozen forest by herself.

Fear. It ran through her veins like poison in her bloodstream. She was frightened. All she wanted to do was go back home to her Kingdom, back to her loving mother and father. Anastasia blinked back tears, her eyebrows tightly knitting together. She loathed herself for being weak. But weak was all she could be. “Show yourself,” she commanded with her fists clenched, mustering up all the inner strength she could.

For the other individual in the cave, there was a sense of hesitation as the command was uttered; however, there was a calling that urged her to listen.

It had only been a few seconds of reluctance to reveal herself to Anastasia; her camouflage against the elements and the human eye vanishing right before her—the equally tattered and green-haired woman appearing against the adjacent wall across from Anastasia in a sudden magical flicker. Her hand barely grasping the unstrung bow with disinterest; no hostility.

“You are not Jotun.”

Anastasia yelped in surprise. A woman! Was she not alone in the forest, after all? A deep breath left her lips, one from relief and surprise from the woman's sudden appearance."Jotun..?" she asked, still in a state of shock.That subsided, however, when a wave of familiarity washed over her. This woman looked familiar; the green hair and blue eyes were something Anastasia had recognized. "Have we met before?" She asked with a bewildered expression, her eyes squinting as she looked her over with curiosity. Hazel eyes turned green, widening as realization dawned on her.

"You.. I know you."

The woman shook her head, still trying to gauge whatever thoughts she was having. If Anastasia knew her, why couldn’t she herself recall it? There was a sense of familiarity between the two, but for the moment it seemed even the slightest bit of clarity was rather one-sided and minuscule.

“I… don’t know if we have. Who are you? Why are you here?”

Anastasia recognized her face from the many posters that emblazoned the walls and littered the grounds. The faces of the Seven Sins. "Envy," was all she could utter, her voice so low it sounded more like a whisper.

As soon as the name left her mouth, she fell to the ground, clutching her head in agony. Memories flooded her brain in that instant; her skull felt like it would crack. But these memories did not belong to her. Anastasia was seeing them through the eyes of someone else. Envy. Her doubts vanished like a bubble. Anastasia got up to her feet and looked at the green-haired woman, still gasping for air after what had just occurred. One hand was on the wall, afraid she'd lose her balance. Her head was spinning. "Y-you're one of the sins. I've been searching for you and the rest." Without warning, she ran toward the woman and grabbed her hand, squeezing it, her eyes pleading. "You have to help me. Help me find the rest." There was a desperate look in her green eyes as they stared right into her blue ones.

There was a flicker in the green-haired woman’s eyes for a brief moment as Anastasia interacted with her— Envy as she had recognized her. It was hard to tell, but the green-haired woman’s mind had been invigorated from days upon days of confusion, doubt, and speculation. It had only been a few seconds and despite things being likely clearer it did not seem that the Sin particularly grasped everything that had rushed back into her. As Anastasia pleaded with her to help her find the other six it did, however, seem like the blankness in the green-haired woman’s eyes began to clear and become replaced by something else entirely through.

Despite being a little bit flustered, the young woman looked to Anastasia with the emptiness in her voice replaced by energetic sass. “There’s no reason not to. I certainly don’t enjoy wandering aimlessly with no idea of who I am or what happened. I’m bored of this place anyway.”

There was a pause for a moment as she looked down at the cavern floor before back at Anastasia.

“And it’s not Envy. It’s Kieamiera.”

A big smile crept across Anastasia's lips, revealing her perfect white teeth. The fears and doubts she previously had subsided in that instant, replaced by relief and pure bliss."Kiemiera," she acknowlodged her name with a small nod."Fate has brought us together. I know it," she touched the woman's arm lightly, her touch a gesture of kindness. Anastasia felt more determined than ever. She had found her inner strength. A companion. A new resolve.

"We must find the rest—and soon. The Holy Knights are after us," her facial expression darkened, her eyes drifting back and forth, as if afraid they would show up at any given moment. "First we must leave this forest and find a nearby town to get our bearings," Anastasia said, slowly approaching the small opening she had previously entered the cave from. Without wasting another moment, she got down, giving Kiemiera a sideway glance before positioning herself to leave. "Let's go."

Anastasia wasn't sure how she knew, but a small voice told her fate would lead her next to Sloth.

Steel blue eyes panning towards every possible direction, Maria's interest in this snow covered woodland began to diminish. Everything sort of just looked the same; branches layered with snow, fallen trees coated in ice, and the certain patches of grass Maria always found herself slipping on. Seeing the same things over and over again got a bit annoying after a while, especially since she didn't know if she was near the end of this never ending forest or far, far from it. Maria unwillingly assumed the latter.

As of now Maria sat on a sturdy branch of one of the many tall trees in the forest, her back against the trunk and her legs dangling off the branch. Her single motivation that she was keen on completing - something that rarely ever came about - was getting out of this dammed forest. She had been walking this land for days. Or weeks perhaps? Maybe even a month? Had she been looking at this mostly white scenery for so long that it caused her sense of time to wash away?

No, that didn't matter now. What mattered was her getting out of this eerie forest of frost. Time wasn't of much concern anymore; what mattered was the present. Getting a clearer view from above the trees would give her some insight on where she was and how far she was from escaping this icy land. And perhaps seeing the frozen forest from the top of a tree would refresh her mind a little bit. This whole snow covered bark thing was getting old real fast.

The cold had not affected her muscles as much as she expected, but that only gave Maria a speedier escape up the tree with her powerful legs. Originally she wasn't far from the top, so reaching it wouldn't take time. Something like this was no trouble for Maria. It actually came as a surprise to how adept she was at the whole tree climbing thing.

As soon as her head popped up from the branches, a chilly rush of wind tousled her unbrushed hair back into an even more tangled mess. The landscape was as she predicted; like the skeletal snow covered remains of a forest. However, the wind from up there felt crisp from the cold yet somewhat fresh, as if the forest was still in its luscious green state. Closing her eyes, she could almost visualize what she felt in this breeze. When was the last time she felt this at peace?

The moment would be short lived though, as the careless movement of her foot ended up in her tumbling down the tree. As if out of pure instinct, Maria reached for her wooden weapon and fell in between two conveniently placed branches, her bō now caught on top of the bark. With a sigh, Maria stayed suspended in the air, not a hint of discomfort on her face; instead, a rather unimpressed expression.

Soon, the woman would let go. The distance between her and the ground wasn't as big anymore, yet the thud that she heard when she fell to the ground was noticeably loud. Her trusty Stick soon followed.

Maria lay there, still, and unmoving. She recalled the sight of the supposedly desoltae land, and sighed. It was clear from the sheer numbers of trees she saw scattered across for miles that she wouldn't be getting out of this place any time soon. Maybe she would try later. Or tomorrow? It wasn't like there was a time limit for her to get out of this eerie woodland; Maria had all the time in the world. But just thinking about the long walks she would have to take to escape made her drowsy.

Not even the low temperatures could stop Maria from slipping into yet another deep slumber, making her totally unaware of anything and everything going on around her. Well, it wasn't like there was anything across this stretch of frosty trees that could possibly disturb her deep slumber. This eerily silent area of snow had the perfect sleeping atmosphere; there wasn't a thing that would, or could wake up Maria now.

Right?

At the conclusion of their meet, The Girl and her new companion found that their journey was no longer arduous. The Flurry Forest guided the visitors on a straight path, leading them to another lost @Jay Kalton in her wood. Little did they know that she also kept an evil at bay.

A horn tore through the sky above the holy knights and their squads. The sound was a low bellow that shook the trees until blankets of collected snow cracked and tumbled from their boughs.



The horn sounded a second time and moments after were the numerous howls of what one would have prayed to be wolves. The howl had been much deeper and ghostly in sound. The creatures swiftly darted between trees and over fallen logs. They were unhindered in their pursuit of their next meal and were all too familiar with the ways of the wood. The Flurry Forest aided them in their hunt.


The beasts resembled dragons and lions. Their bodies were covered in sturdy blue scales that forever remained cold as ice through any temperature and white mystical fur that would keep anyone who wore it warm through any winter. From their snout to their foreheads was a mountain ridge of bone, bone that could break through the trunks of trees. They were quadrupedal with white eyes shrunk in their ferocity. The beasts were hungry, and there were units of mortal knights waiting to be devoured.

The holy knights would notice their units growing fearful as the forest started to rustle with the swift crunch of snow. Snarls and growls surrounded the platoon in a whirlwind as the beasts moved like shadows in the trees, assessing their meal.

“What are those things!?” a knight shouted, trembling and clinging to his sword and shield.

“The forest has set monsters upon us. I told you this forest was cursed!” another shrieked.

In the distance, standing as large as a lonely mountain was an entity told only in tales. Its white, icy eyes gazed in the direction where its pointed ears heard the excited whines of its pet. It resembled a colossal man. His beard blew in the arctic winds as he stood over the forest. Birds circled the massive horns that protruded like towers from his skull. Adorned in fur and steel and wielding a hammer so large and jagged with numerous ice spikes that it could tenderize a field in one swing, was the fabled Jotun—a creature seen by only few men and women and remained as a bar tale in every tavern…until now.

@Inertia
@Lord Zee
@Gowi
@HowlsOfWinter