One winter night in the Howling Pass, Midnight Storm and I were ice skating under the Winter Star. We skated past a snowman and some candy cane decorations.

On our walk back to the cabin, we noticed smoke coming out of the chimney. Hawaii must have started it in anticipation of our return. We quickened our pace as we did not want to keep him waiting for long.

We hurried through the door, as the bell chimed above our heads.
"I made some hot cocoa," said Hawaii "Come get warm."

Midnight Storm and I took the mugs from him and settled into the living room near the warm fireplace.

We stayed up past midnight drinking hot cocoa and decorating a freshly baked gingerbread house.

Nestled warmly into bed we looked out at the icicle covered window and watched the aurora as we drifted off to sleep.


Words used: Howling Pass, ice skating, star, snowman, candy cane, cabin, chime, hot cocoa, fireplace, midnight, gingerbread, icicle, aurora.

It was somewhere around midnight when the blizzard set up, Alice was caught off guard while crossing The Howling Pass. She had bin ice skating with her friends, enjoying a hot cocoa and was now on her way back to the cabin she was staying at.

The sudden blizzard made it hard to navigate the terrain, there in the distance was that a person? Alice struggled threw the snow only to realize there was a snowman in from of her. With all the snow around her and the slide embracement of mistaking a snowman for a person she almost missed the nutcracker lunging for her, the shovel missed but the nutcracker did mange to hit her with his candy cane. If only she had not given her sylesties a day off, then this nutcracker would not even have had a chance.

But all of a suddenly the nutcracker got hit from behind and quickly ran away. Leaving Alice with her savour. She could hear singing, softly but getting louder as a shade was getting closer to her, and as the got closer the blizzard seemed to lay down. With the snow no longer blinding her Alice was finally able to see how had saved her from the nutcracker.

Before her Alice saw a beautiful Nephini, a Frozen Berries Nephini she realized in delight had come to save her. He was absolutely stunning, as a breeder she realized she was dealing with a mythical rarity since she was able to recognize 4 different visible traits on him. Of course with leaving her party at the cabin she also left her traps, not expecting any encounters.

Would you like to come home with me? Alice asked the Nephini, while she held out her hand with a piece of gingerbread. She knew how to handle Nephini, had known for years but wild Nephini where always capable of surprising you. This one definitely did instead of carefully taking the gingerbread or running off. He threw himself into her arms and curled around her neck. Clearly content the Frozen Berries Nephini started to softly sing again while Alice walked them back to the cabin for a good night sleep. Because she knew that in the morning everyone would be exited to meet her new friend.
The End

Winter is here! It's that time of year!
Time to dress our hot cocoa with whipped cream and candy cane~
while taking midnight sleigh rides, down an icicle lined lane~

Time for Ice skating under Aurora filled skies~
Perhaps we'll even squeeze in a bit of caroling, but for sure
We'll take time to stuff everyone's stockings with their favorite, surprise!

The Howling Pass is open, and we all know who's there
Father and Mother Frost, along with their Nutcracker gaurds,
and of course everyone's nightmare > >

Tyrielle...>:C

She'll try again this year, just like she does every year
with a blizzard in hand, and her minions, how dare!
We'll build Snowmen again and again
Till she's fled back to where...

Well no one knows for sure, but we'll be there
when she tries once again!
But until then...

We'll build gingerbread houses,
Cut paper snowlflakes, in many shapes!
Faelora, Griffi, and many other sylesti!
and tell serene stories of festivals past~

Merry Murderboards to all~
and to all, a Happy Winter Fest :D!

A little pink egg with an even lighter pink wispings around it gave a wiggle, then a wobble. It stilled, as if nothing happened- before a small crack spiderwebbed down from the top of the egg.

With the eggshell weakened, and one good firm push from the inside, a small white creature burst forth into the howling pass. A little Gelid Dawn Ryori opened their eyes for the first time ever to see a landscape of nothing but white. Their first moment is cold and smack dab in the middle of a blizzard!

The little ryori took its first few steps into the unknown, with nothing but their instincts to guide them. They look around, before looking up. They saw the sky, the midnight sky. The little creature gasped in wonder, eyes sparkling with all the wonderful beauty they witnessed. The aurora borealis was dancing with twinkling stars that filled them with such delight.

Hours or minutes go by, the ryori could not tell. The only thing that brought them out of their trance was the roar of a distant polar bear. The sound startled the hatchling, causing them to instinctively tense up. It wasn't long before they fled the area, just to be safe.

They ran until their little legs could run no more. They stilled for a moment, starting to pant. Once they had caught their breath, they looked around to try and figure out where they were. They of course didn't know, and worse yet all they could see was a blanket of white.

After a moment of compilation, they took their first steps into the unknown. They had no clue where they were going, but they simply walked, and walked, and walked some more. They walked past some mean looking people who were ice skating, they passed a couple of ferrikki building a snowman, briefly chased after a small flock of birds with glee, and crossed a frozen lake with flickers of color below the ice.

The hatchling walked until it came upon a cabin that seemed to be made of gingerbread. They wandered up to the sweet-smelling cabin and took a small tentative nibble of it. Oh! How delightful! They took another bite, a big one! Then another before

"Hey! Don't eat my home!"

The hatchling made a startled sound as they were lifted into the air. Their little legs flailing, not liking being held. especially by an unknown creature!

" Easy, easy little fell!", a soft voice hummed as they were turned to look at a kindly man.

"What's a wee thing like you doing out in this weather? You can't be much older than a few days old." The man rumbled thoughtfully, more to himself than the hatchling.
The man carefully cradled the hatchling against his chest as he stepped inside of his house. Once inside he fetched some towels to dry the little creature off. He then fed the hatchling some stew, and the hatchling found such delight in the warmth it brought.

Once the hatchling was dry and well fed the man set them up wrapped in a blanket; on top of a pillow right in front of a roaring fireplace, a cup of hot coco not too far away. With a contented sigh, the hatchlings' eyes drifted closed, softly starting to snore.

This had been a grand first day.

Walking through the Umbra Forest, I felt the chill of a blizzard forming. It had been a long day of getting attacked by zombies, but now the attacks had finally stopped, giving us a much-needed break. I turned to Kiwi, my newest party member. "Kiwi, do think you can try and find a spot where we can take refuge from the blizzard?" The nytekrie nodded and darted off. As I waited for Kiwi to return, I watched Nightshade, my starter draeyl, slowly creep up on a goose, trying to get a closer look at it. A sudden, sharp chirp from Kiwi scared the goose off, and Nightshade hissed in annoyance. Kiwi ignored him, rushing over to me. "Did you find something?" Kiwi nodded and sprinted off, stopping to make sure I was following her. Sighing and gathering my things, I followed Kiwi through the woods, eventually coming to an old, abandoned cabin. A faded sign on the door read "Welcome travelers! Please feel free to come inside and spend the night." Admittedly, I really did not want to spend the night in a creepy-looking cabin, but the party was clearly exhausted, and Kiwi looked happy to have been able to help. I frowned and gritted my teeth, praying the place wasnt haunted and opening the door to let my party in first. Nightshade gave me a slightly concerned look that said "are you sure about this?" before stepping in after the others. Inside the cabin, I took a look around. The inside definitely looked warmer than the outside did.The walls were decorated to resemble a candy cane, with some tinsel and holly scattered around as decoration, and a big christmas tree resting in the corner. A fireplace stood in the back of the room, and my sylestis had already gathered near it. I lit the fireplace, peeking outside to see that the blizzard was now in full force, making it impossible to see even a single star in the night sky. "Guess we're gonna be stuck here for the night, might as well settle in." I said, sitting in front of the fireplace. Eventually, I drifted off to sleep, exhausted from the days events. Suddenly, I was woken up at midnight by Watermelon, who was chirping excitedly. I sat up, rubbing my eyes. "Huh- whats happening?" I said, hearing a chime coming from somewhere outside. She ran over to the window, where the other 2 were already looking out of, their expressions filled with wonder and excitement. I sat up and made it to the window, where I noticed that the blizzard had cleared. Looking at the sky, I gasped as I saw the aurora, shimmering in various greens, pinks, and blues. It really was as beautiful as the stories said it was. I couldn't believe that I had finally been able to see it after having only heard about it from stories. We sat at the window for a while, admiring the aurora.

The next morning, as I stepped out of the cabin, I saw an icicle fall from the roof. As my sylestis jumped out to play in the snow, I decided that a break from daily training was in order, and wandered off to go build a snowman.

The Howling Pass had never looked so desolate or so beautiful as it did that night, the coldest of the year. The light of moon and star danced across the landscape, transforming every pine needle to an icicle, deepening every shadow to an abyss, and glittering eerily off of the frozen lake.
It shone down as well upon an adventurer and her three sylesti companions trudging their weary and silent way through the snowdrifts piled high upon the lake. A sudden gust of wind blew a flurry of snow down upon the smallest of the party and she leapt back, snarling and stamping furiously.
"Isn't it cold enough already?" she cried, "Must the wind torment us too?!"
"You can ride on the sleigh." Offered the adventurer.
The smallest one grumbled under her breath and stalked ahead. Less than half the size of her companions, the arduous journey had left her short of both breath and temper.
"We should be home before midnight," the adventurer said encouragingly, "think of blankets and hot cocoa and a crackling fireplace."
"I would be content with a cave," the largest among them said dryly, "and if we are truly fortunate there will be no polar bear within."
"A polar bear if we are fortunate." Smiled the third, her fangs glinting in the moonlight.
"What about you?" the adventurer called to the smallest one. "What are you thinking of?"
"I'm thinking of us being buried under an avalanche." She replied stiffly, glaring up at a particularly massive snowdrift on her right.
The other sylesties chuckled in unison. "Only you would be buried." the largest one offered.
The smallest one opened her mouth to spit a reply when a sound like tinkling bells interrupted her. A glowing form passed below the lake's frozen surface. The party spun around, readying for an attack. Again the sound came and another, a sharp chime. Colourful shapes were swirling beneath the ice and now the sounds were echoing from every direction. Lonely calls, soft yearning whistles, deep sorrowful drum-like beats, all blending into a haunting medley. On and on it went, for how long no one knew. And then, abruptly, the sounds died.
The smallest one shook her head dazedly. "What was that?"
"The kelpari were singing," the adventurer whispered. She looked uneasily to the horizon where heavy clouds were beginning to form, "and it means a blizzard. Let us go."

Words used: Stars, Auroras, Blizzards, Caves, Avalanche, Ice Skating, icicle, nutcracker, Snowmen, shovel, Hot Cocoa, candy cane

Ethernia's Legionnaires rarely venture into The Howling Pass, beyond manning the gate to the deceptively peaceful-looking expanse of white - and with good reason. For all the stars that dot the sky at night, nestled amongst the streaks and waves of pink and green painted by auroras against the night-black darkness, there is danger hiding in the beauty. Griffis prowled the area, ready to pounce on the unwary and unprepared. Blizzards that suddenly spring to life, with only caves and the dense cluster of pine forest near the entrance providing some respite.
And yet, there is merriment even amongst the danger.
Once, an avalanche struck, demolishing the temple that had sat in the middle of the perpetually-frozen lake, its presence in the middle of the popular ice-skating spot strangely out of place. The remains were cleared away, an enclosed area ringed by icicle-wreathed trees springing up in its wake. Guarded by nutcracker soldiers, Sylestians could build snowmen, piling up snow with their shovels, or enjoy a delicious cup of hot cocoa and munch on a candy cane.