A Tale of Winterlight, part 1

A Tale of Winterlight

Part 1: The Palace and the Tower

Snow swirled through Talesong Glen, but inside the Moongem Grotto, the mood was warm and festive as the jewel studded cave's three residents joined many others across Thiannon in celebrating Winterlight. Unlike many in Thiannon, whose lavish Winterlight garlands wound through many rooms, the trio's modestly decorated garland only stretched across the grotto's entryway, but still glittered with lights like the gems inside the cave walls.

To the grotto's three residents, having the most beautiful Winterlight garland or the most gifts wasn't the point of the festival--it was remembering Erinnor's promise of light through the darkest night, and enjoying each other's company.

"What sort of heart warming tales do you have planned for this year, Arran?" a black haired boy in the regal red garb of an elementalist asked his companion.

"Well, this first one is quite long, so I will be telling one part each night during the festival." Arran replied before singing to the plates and silverware Seios, higarima laisido...

"That never gets old.."  a black haired girl in the blue and white garb of a lightbringer as she brought a pie tin containing a fresh mint pie to the table.

"Loras makes a great mint pie...but the ones she makes at Winterlight are extra minty." the elementalist smiled as Arran got up from the table and took down his harp.

"Jelan, Loras--hear now the first part of 'The Rescue of Princess Julissa'." Arran announced before playing a familiar lullaby like melody to compose his thoughts.

When the last note died, he began  "In the days before Ho'oh lit her golden fire, before Lugia took wing over the starry night, and before any of us were even born, a great queen had three children, whose names were Julissa, Cartan, and Alun. Princess Julissa, who was the eldest, had blue eyes and midnight black hair; Prince Alun, who was the youngest, had green eyes and red-brown hair; and Prince Cartan, who was the middle child, had soft brown eyes and dull gold hair. They were as beautiful in heart as they were in looks, they lived in the most beautiful palace ever built, and the garden they played in was the most beautiful in the world."

"I'm sure it was..." Jelan mused as he pictured the palace and its garden in his mind.

"The palace stood on the borders of a great forest, and on the other side of it lay the realm of the fey." Arran went on. "But there was only one window in the palace that looked out on the forest, and that was the round window in the royal children's bedroom. Since the round window was never open except at night, after the royal children had gone to bed, they knew very little about what the forest looked like, what kinds of flowers grew there, or what sorts of birds sang in the branches of the trees. Sometimes, as they lay with their heads on their pillows, waiting for Cresselia to come and take them to the realm of dreams, they would see silver stars twinkling in the sky overhead; and below, among the gloomy shadows of the trees, other lights which danced about and flitted to and fro. These dancing lights were said to be wisps, or pairs of Volbeat and Illumise. But the three children knew them to be light fairies dancing and playing." He played a soft trilling chord to symbolize dancing fairies. "Although the Forest of Mystery, as this forest was named, was not technically in the realm of the fey, but formed the boundary between that realm and the realm of mortals, yet many fairies held nightly revels there."

After playing a dreamy improvisation to represent the fairies, Arran continued "The children wished that a few of the fey would come in through the round window and visit them. But if such a thing ever happened, it was not until after the children had fallen asleep; and when they woke up in the morning, they had forgotten all about it."

Loras sighed dreamily as Arran played another mostly improvised melody to signal a scene change. "The garden was on the side of the palace opposite to the Forest of Mystery; it was named Ananda, the Garden of Delight. It was full of flowers of many colors; and there were birds, and fountains, in the marble basins Goldeens glowed and swam. In the center of the garden was a meadow for the children to play on; but at the edge of the garden was a tall thick hedge, on which no flowers ever grew, and  was prickly with sharp-pointed leaves and thorns. This hedge also had a name, but the children did not know what it was."

"So could anyone pass?" Jelan wondered.

"It was impossible to get around the hedge, over it, or through it—except in one place, where a small opening had been made." Arran explained. "But through that opening no one passed, for the land on the other side belonged to the evil Darkrai, the Nightmare Pokemon, whose only pleasure lay in causing trouble. He lived in a large grey tower, whose battlements the three children could see rising above the hedge as they played in the meadow; and over the tower there hung, even in the brightest weather, a dull grey cloud. Inside the tower was a vast room with a hundred and one corners; and in each corner stood a child, with their face to the wall and their hands behind their back."

"But Arran, who were the children, and how did they get there?" Loras wondered as she traced a holy sign in the air, as if protecting the grotto from Darkrai.

"They were children Darkrai had caught trespassing on his grounds, and had spirited away with him to his tower." Arran explained over an uneasy melody. "This was how he had filled up one corner after another, until only one corner was left; and that one, curiously enough, was number 101."

An uneasy silence filled the grotto, save for the sploshing of the dinner dishes washing themselves. "Now, it was a well-known fact that if Darkrai ever caught a child to put in that one empty corner, he would rule the world." Arran intoned. "This meant the noble palace would disappear, the garden would be changed into a desert covered with grey stones and brambles, and the dull grey cloud that now hung above the tower would sullenly spread itself over all the heavens. The mighty Forest of Mystery, too, would be cut down and sold for firewood; and the elves and fairies would fly westward in pursuit of Ho'oh, and the world would fall silent, with no color, no music, no light."

He smiled over an assuring melody "It goes without saying that Darkrai tried with all his might to capture a child to put into that last corner. But by this time the inhabitants of this land had begun to realize the danger looming over them; and all the mothers were so careful, and all the children were so obedient, that, for a long time, the final corner remained empty."

With that, the last note of his song faded away. "And we will end our tale there for tonight."

Jelan swallowed hard--what if Princess Julissa was that unlucky child?