Frozen Locks

Did you know that there was a pass, not just a pass between mountains…A pass between worlds? A pass that connects our world to the world of Myths and Legends, darkness, and Death. I bet you also didn’t know that it has a giant frozen pond connecting it all together, and that it’s begun to melt. This means that the seal is breaking, that death is coming for us all. Not everyone can see this pass, only the chosen ones, only the ones with sight, the ones whose eyes are swirling white mists, whose minds are connected to the world around them from beneath the ground to above the skies. They don’t care for anyone or anything in this world, just that the two worlds don’t clash. That myth doesn’t become reality, become the end.

The pass is the biggest, most famous gateway. It is safe and locked whilst the lake remains solidly frozen, but there are several smaller gateways to the world of Myth. Every full moon, these smaller gateways open, we can’t control those as easily, but then they don’t let the biggest of creatures through, they are manageable gateways even though they are allowing things in… or out. The most infamous gateway, notorious for mortals getting sightings is located beneath the waters of the Loch Ness in Scotland. Many ‘sightings’ of a mythic beast have been seen there over millennia, most famous of all is one which you have named the ‘Loch Ness Monster’. You are naïve though if you think that that is the only beast present within the Loch when that particular door opens...

When the full moon ceases, unless the creatures are bound to a person of magical inclination to do their villainous bidding, they are sucked back into their own world, therefore you never see them. They don’t exist outside of the full moon. Any evidence of their temporary freedom is passed on to a group of people who are ‘in the loop’, it is their job to either destroy it or discredit it, whatever the situation calls for. It doesn’t matter how much you search these areas where sightings occur, for example the Loch; dredging it, scanning it, fishing it, you will never catch what isn’t there when the moon disappears. If any of the evidence is destroyed, but the person who submitted it doesn’t cease their argument, pushes to be heard or to prove the existence of these creatures, well… that’s what mental institutions are for, we can turn even the sanest person over to them with just an order and scramble their minds. That isn’t a threat, more of a promise and a warning to not go meddling in affairs which aren’t for the likes of you mundane mortals, we have many resources at our disposal.

When the world was balanced, when you actually respected the natural order and things just breezed along, we were all safe, on both sides of the pass. Now however, things are heating up, our world is in chaos, nothing is balanced, and the locks that were put in place are becoming weak. The frozen pond is cracking, currents have awoken and are flowing faster beneath its surface and instead of checking on it every thousand years or so, we are there every four months. These visits are likely to increase soon though.

We have had several escapes before when the locks fail, instances where the pull of the receding full moon hasn’t brought a creature back. Our most famous, serial escapee is one you call ‘bigfoot’, there have been far too many close calls, we are struggling to keep them contained, to keep the locks sealed. With the invention of the internet, photography and uploading, it has become harder than ever to keep our secrets locked away and hidden. Luckily there are lots of people who don’t believe in any of it, they inadvertently do our jobs for us by shutting down these activists who are determined to ruin everything, to put everyone in danger with their internet pages, terrible photographs and ‘footprints’ that they deem to be real. It would be a real shocker to inform them that ‘bigfoot’ doesn’t even leave footprints, he’s clever enough to hide his tracks, to make them disappear in the hopes that we can’t find him and send him back.

Even though I have explained the dangers to you, I haven’t told you that the pass is a beautiful place, with two mountain ranges either side of it, close enough to the sky that it’s almost as though you could simply reach up and touch a star at your fingertips when stood on the peaks. The peaks themselves glow in the moonlight, their snow-capped tops reflecting the light like delicate nightlights, their surfaces unblemished, untouched.

The mountain slopes gradually, its not a harsh climb, and over the years, from many journeys, a pathway has been worn into the rocks almost all the way to the top. The air is cold and thin there, but fresh. There are no other scents aside from the natural earthy smell of life, the last pure air I know of. The views over the pass and the valley beyond are just unparalleled, there’s nothing else like it anywhere else. Looking out at the view as the sun rises, an orange glow like spreading fire illuminates the valley below, a stark contrast to the cold, snow covered landscape with its grey rocks and leafless trees. You get to watch as mighty shadows are being expelled, and water glints, clear and blue from the rivers, frothing as it races down the mountains…it is truly breath-taking. Then there is what you hear, or more like, what you don’t hear… the silence, the peace, it is incredible, no machines or traffic, no people, or animals… just you and your heartbeat, your breathing, the air surrounding you and the land below you.

The pass itself, the frozen pond was just as beautiful, more so… its surface was as smooth as glass, thicker than any ice you can imagine, the snow on its surface like it had been sieved into a fine powder, soft and freshly fallen. It doesn’t look at all like that anymore though, its surface is as cracked and as rough as that of a dried out, barren desert, there is nothing fresh or inviting about it anymore, nothing beautiful… just weathered, cracked ice. It looks as uninviting and dangerous as it actually is. The lock between worlds is no longer impenetrable, it’s like it’s become old and rusty, destined to snap open at any point if left unattended. The waters below its surface used to be calm, slow-moving currents, but now it’s like it’s angry, it’s fast moving and restless, relentless…it wants to be free; we listen as it races around the lake like a caged bull. Its low, rumbling roars as it pulls at the ice, tugging at the boundaries as it looks for weak points. It’s no longer a case of if it opens, but when it opens.

I pray every single day that no one is near here when the floodgates open and the creatures rush from the other side, a living tsunami of death. Everything that’s known will be undone, everywhere you think is safe will be treacherous, there will never be sunlight again, all you will see are blackened skies, shadows, rivers running red and endless night. Crops will fail, the water will turn to poison and there will be famine and disease. Mortals will wage war with each other, push their own kind to the brink for territory and what little food and water is left, that is when the creatures will destroy the last of you… That’s if you even survive the initial fallout, the creatures beyond the pass haven’t fed in a very long time and they are hungry, their appetites unsatiable.

Just remember, if you ever see anywhere that fits this description, tread lightly, because you never know what’s lurking beneath the ice, what secrets you could unlock or set free. And if you see one of our creatures, be sure in the knowledge that we are not far behind it, and it’s best to act like you never saw a thing. Pray for a long thaw, because the quicker the pass melts, the sooner the world as we know it ends.