1.


Hoo whoo~?
--
Only a flurry of feathers, an owl swooped down beside her, just missing the targeted mouse. She remembered her place and stood. At nearly two feet tall, the spirit was the stronger guardian of the forest. The Keeper was on their way and she was to wait for them. This was the job given to her by the village elders. Her full attention was necessary.
Something moved far in the distance. The spirit turned toward it to see a rough character, beaten by the elements and seemingly confused. This tangle-haired girl with a dirty, torn dress was no doubt who she was waiting for. She stepped out onto the path so she could be seen.
“Miss?” Ryni the Guardian called.
The girl looked at Ryni with empty eyes. She clearly knew nothing of what was going on. A small sound came from her slightly parted lips but it couldn't be understood. She took a few steps closer to Ryni and lifted a hand to her face.
“Me?” This was nearly inaudible.
“Yes. You are the one from the legend aren't you? I was sent here to escort you to the village,” Ryni explained.
“Oh,” She mumbled.
Ryni knew she wouldn't get many words out of the Keeper. She made a motion for her to follow and led her down the path to the village gate.
The wall spread eleven miles wide and ten feet tall, roughly outlining the village and its main resources. Ryni's forest was continued inside the gate but was there guarded by village warriors. The gate was closed when they arrived. The sun was only then rising. The night watchmen were sitting with their eyes closed, the lazy bunch they are.
Ryni walked up to the closer and lightly tapped him on the shoulder. “Older brother? Open the gate. You know of my mission?”
“Yes, yes Ryni,” He yawned. He stretched and stood, a normal, young man. He caught his partners attention and they put their hands on the center of the gate. Together, their force was somehow enough to open the two heavy wooden doors.
The man wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. “Shouldn't you have been here sooner?”
“Shouldn't you have opened the door sooner?” Ryni was quck to shoot.
“Hm.” The man spotted the girl Ryni had been leading. His eyebrows rose, questioning. “So this is your charge?”
“Cero! How dare you speak of the Keeper in that way? You are to be respectful of her,” Ryni chastised.
“That is so.” Cero bowed. “My apologies.”
The girl simply looked at him. “Oh,” She whispered.
Ryni again made a motion for the girl to follow her into the village and leave Cero and his partner behind. She didn't hesitate.
The forest inside the gate was much clearer, not much more than a scattering of trees. The dirt path followed the way of a stream only a few feet across. The early morning sunlight lit the dew on the ground and on occasion a butterfly would stray into view.
“I'm worried,” The girl said. It was the first intelligible sentence to come from her.
Ryni took notice of the roughness of her appearance. How long had she been wandering through the forest? “You've nothing to be afraid of,” she comforted, “as you are the Keeper Areese, yes? When we get to the village, you'll see.”
“Oh,” She whispered again.
--


They arrived at a large building after navigating through the usual hustle of daily village life. It was taller than the other buildings as well as bigger. The roof was high and blood red with three stone chimneys. There was a sign above the door with an official looking symbol engraved on it. An owl was perched on a window.
Ryni knocked. A man in a uniform similar to Cero and the other watchman's greeted them and led them inside. It was a building like a city hall. Doors lined the halls until the center of the building, which was a large round lobby-like opening. A spiral staircase circled around the room and up to a higher, opened floor. The man led them up these stairs and around to a pair of doors marked with the same symbol as that outside. He nodded at Ryni and left them there. A servant woman opened the door before a word could be said.
“The Guardian Ryni and the Keeper Areese have arrived, ma'am,” She announced to the one sitting inside. Speaking to Ryni, she said, “Master Nette has been waiting for you.”
The one inside, who was Master Nette, looked at the servant to tell her to bring them in. She gestured to a couple of chairs. “Please sit. I'm glad you've arrived. I was expecting you sooner.”
“I'm sorry,” Ryni apologized, “but I couldn't find her for quite a while.”
“It's fine,” Nette responded. “Areese? What happened to you?”
Areese looked at Nette with a nervous face. “I don't know,” She answered quietly. “Where is this?”
Nette had always assumed that the Keeper would know what was going on. It should be instict, shouldn't it? That was the way the legend had read. She stood and took a few steps to a shelf full of books. She took the largest one and opened it to a page marked with a silk ribbon. Her finger traced a few lines until she found the exact words she was looking for. Still looking at the page, she took her seat.
“What I have here,” She said, “is a copy of what is left from the original document. It was written by a founder of the village, the Seer. Part of it was stolen some time ago. It does a good job of explaining why you are here. Also, this is the Village of Bellyn, since you asked.”
Nette handed the book to Areese. Areese read the article:
The Legend of Snow

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 15.07.2011

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