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Farewell Starlight Mountain

Alora always dreamed that the outside world would be like the ice paintings in the Great Hall: Free and Alive.

By Ethan WarcholPublished 3 years ago 9 min read
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Farewell Starlight Mountain
Photo by Ryan KLAUS on Unsplash

“When the Guardians left Earth, all that remained was a sheath of cold ice. Humanity and animals alike were sent into long seasons of shock. Dying, surviving, eventually adapting. What crept underneath the earth was neither, and yet both. The frozen era of Blegaia had begun and with it, a new civilization of explorers.”

- Lady Adira VII of the Knightfall Family

A stream of white light poured into the opening from the Sierra Doors, illuminating the metal walls within Mount Sonya. Alora was saddled on her trusted companion, Fontu, a giant snow elk. She inhaled and exhaled slowly, with her eyes closed, listening to the repetitive chants from her mountain community. Her father, Chief Yonder, approached Alora from the right side, carrying the ceremonial charcoal paint. The endless frozen storm had forced them into years of solitude. This was the first time the Sierra Doors had opened and Alora was chosen to venture into the cold tundra.

She gripped Fontu’s cream-coloured antlers that sprouted from his soft fur. Yonder pressed his thumb in the stone bowl and painted black streaks on Alora’s caramel face. For Alora: two stripes across for clarity, one stripe down for bravery, and two crescent moons for power and wisdom. Yonder moved onto Fontu; two circles for speed, two swirls to avoid danger, and one palm print for family.

Remember Alora,” Yonder exclaimed, “The headwind will give you strength. It will carry you across the bitter terrain far and fast. The elders believe that you’ll have 100 suns to find it. After that…”

“I know father, don’t worry. I’ll be back before then.” Alora bent down and kissed her father on the cheek. She was ready.

Alora patted Fontu twice on the neck. He made one last mellowing roar before galloping through the shimmering entrance. The ground was too harsh to travel by foot, but for Fontu, it was paradise. He jumped across ice ditches and stormed through the heavy snow. This was Alora’s first time leaving the safety of Mount Sonya. The tribal history accounts that most frost mappers are chosen at 20. Alora just turned 15. She spent most of her childhood preparing for this moment. Traveling in the open air, across the barren landscape.

Alora always dreamed that the outside world would be like the ice paintings in the Great Hall: Free and Alive. The paintings never mentioned the cold. Even with her Level-5 thermal clothing, she could still feel the piercing cold creep under her skin. Alora rubbed her face; the landscape was painted in shades of light green from her binocular goggles. Father told her that the brightness would only hurt the first few days.

In the past, frost mappers would explore in packs of twelve. After countless generations, the white elks from her tribe died off and the community dwindled with offspring. Alora was the only person suited for the long journey. Everyone else was either too old or too young to survive the harsh conditions. All that was left from the ancient tradition was Fontu and Alora.

After twenty miles, the two stopped to rest near a giant boulder. Fontu dug up and found some hidden grass beneath the snow. Alora placed her bag against the boulder. She turned around and glanced at Mount Sonya in the distance. It was only a grey pimple on the horizon. Alora enhanced the lenses within her goggles; she saw the sheath of ice covering the outside of the Sierra Doors. The birth of the warm sun had melted the snow above the entrance, creating inverted towers of ice around the perimeter of Mount Sonya. Alora continued scanning her home. It was beautiful and yet terrifying. Not Free and Alive she thought. Her people were stranded and fading with time.

She noticed an alarming sight at the peak of the mountain. A human statue. The female figure was roughly 50 feet tall, her stone face glistened in the frosty heat. Alora was puzzled. No one, including her father, had ever mentioned this giant statue. Despite its static pose, Alora could sense the flow in the figure’s hair, the curves that carved into her dress, the delicate hands near her chest that held a single flower. Alora enhanced her goggles further. She read a faint engraving at the base of the statue.

IN HONOUR OF LADY ADIRA

WHEN THE STORMS FINALLY SUBSIDE, AND WHEN THE SUN BEGINS TO GUIDE, THE PEOPLE...

The engraving had faded into the stone. Alora retracted the lenses covering her eyes. What did the message mean? Who was Lady Adira? Why did no one tell her? Does anyone even know who Lady Adira is?

Fontu stopped munching on the frozen vegetation and playfully licked the back of Alora’s hood. She smiled and brushed the white fur above his snout. They huddled near the boulder for comfort, while the pink hues of the sun fell below the horizon.

The following morning, Alora ate a packed loaf of bread, gathered some water droplets from the boulder, and hopped on Fontu’s saddle. They rode for several suns north with the wind driving them forward.

10 Suns: Alora spotted frozen bare-bone trees and more grass for Fontu to eat. The black streaks from her father have all disappeared.

30 Suns: The ground slowly thawed and turned into a marshy white floor.

50 Suns: The only splotch of white on the windy landscape was from Fontu’s coat.

70 Suns: Alora came across a flat cliff that encompassed her field of vision. Fontu halted a few feet near the rocky edge. Alora scrambled within her bag to find and wear - for the first time in months - her binocular goggles. The green tint of the lenses showed a subtle hill roughly 10 miles away. She zoomed in and observed a brown mountain covered with a white peak of snow. The rocks were stained from the warm sunlight.

Alora’s eyes widened. She looked closer at the top of the mountain and saw an identical figure of Lady Adira, with the same engraving written beneath. This message was complete.

IN HONOUR OF LADY ADIRA

WHEN THE STORMS FINALLY SUBSIDE, AND WHEN THE SUN BEGINS TO GUIDE, THE PEOPLE WILL JOIN THE STARLIGHT, AND COVER THE GROUND WITH FIELDS OF MARIGOLD DELIGHT.

The same statue? Had Alora wandered home by accident? She patted Fontu twice on the neck and they trekked down the cliff, sprinting to the face of the mountain. Alora’s mouth dropped at the sight of the giant metal doors. Were these her Sierra Doors? Had she returned home after all this time?

She climbed off Fontu’s back and cautiously approached the silver barrier. Alora inhaled and exhaled the cool air slowly. She knocked twice and waited an eternity for someone to answer. The echoes rumbled throughout the wall. The Door steadily opened horizontally. Alora pressed forward, “Hello? Father? Anyone?” No answer.

A small figure crawled from the darkness. Alora gasped before jumping back. Fontu lowered his face and roared at the figure. It approached Alora on all fours, with ragged hair all over its body. Its eyes had that purple hue she’d only seen from the fireflies within Mount Sonya. What was once a sign of peace has now turned into a sight of terror. The beast softly spoke, but all Alora heard was incoherent grunts and groans.

Alora grasped the make-shift spear she carved many suns ago. She aimed it directly at the beast, which crept outside the doorway. “Don’t come any closer! I’m warning you! Wh-Where is my family? Where are my people?” The beast only grunted in reply. Another beast scurried from the shadows, holding an orange item in its palm. It was a flower; the same flower she had seen twice from Lady Adira. The second beast made a soft groan and held the flower out. Alora laid down her weapon and kindly accepted the offering. She had never seen a flower before. The only depictions of floral beauty came from the ice paintings from her Great Hall. Alora instinctively held the orange flower to her nose. The faint sweet aroma was enchanting and the spiralling petals were hypnotizing. Alora shed a tear from her cheek, “Beautiful, it’s beautiful. Thank you,” she said.

The two beasts gestured for her and Fontu to come inside the mountain. Alora hesitated. She had a journey to complete, a promise to keep for her family. To return with the new finding. Alora needed to return to Mount Sonya. Within seconds, a grumble arose in her stomach. She missed everything, not just her father, but the fire festivals, the ice paintings, and the lights, the ever-present fireflies that flew above the high cavern ceiling. The chanting and songs that celebrated the New Sun were all inspired by those fluttering purple lights.

Alora’s gaze returned to the figures in front of her. The second beast starred at Alora curiously and intently; it stumbled upwards onto its two feet. Suddenly both creatures violently sniffed the open air. Fontu made a fearful yawp. “What’s the matter?” Alora asked.

Fontu’s antlers gently nudged Alora forward into the doorway. The two beasts grunted even louder and looked across the sky in anger. Alora followed their footsteps inside the mountain.

Before the doors were able to close, Alora noticed the sun leave the sky, the warm air escaping the landscape. The elders were wrong. The storm had arrived 30 suns early. Alora attempted to leap into the frosty wilderness, but Fontu galloped in front of the entrance. “We have to go Fontu! Quickly!” Fontu kindly lowered his antlers and made a mellowing cry. Alora sobbed. She crawled into a ball on the rocky floor as the doorway closed for the last time. Alora lifted her head from her lap and noticed the pairs of purple eyes staring at her. The same two beasts that greeted her lent a comforting hand. She was lifted to her feet.

Alora was an outsider inside a mountain filled with unknown creatures. They seemed sincere, but their appearance was foreign to her. They all had dark brown fur covering them from head to toe. Their teeth were enlarged and their limbs were elongated. Alora tilted her head up, no lights, no fireflies. The crowd of beasts continued making grunts and yelps around her.

A long roar silenced everyone. A silver-haired beast walked forward from the crowd. He observed Alora, noticing the flower in her palm. The silver beast made a sharp glance at the original two, then back at her. Alora held the flower back to the leader. He gently pushed it back for her to keep and motioned Alora to follow him. During that moment of guidance, Alora felt strangely calm. The tears began drying from her face, while the howling snow grew stronger outside. She would have to live most of her life here. Away from all that she had known. Away from her family and community. Away from her starlight mountain.

Short Story
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About the Creator

Ethan Warchol

I love science, art, and the curiosity found in-between.

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