NationStates Jolt Archive

I feel nothing.

The snow was still fluttering softly down to the earth, already carpeted with similar snowflakes. The snows had come earlier to the northern lands, sending animals and humans alike scurrying for cover. Frost had come like lightning, arriving overnight, followed by the first snowfall of the season. It had not been a storm, simply clouds and snow falling freely from above. That had been over sixteen days ago. The snow had not stopped falling since then.

There were few animals of any sort outside. The snows had taken care of that. The woods and fields seemed lifeless, completely devoid of anything living. Even the plants seemed to have receded back into some kind of hibernation, were such a thing possible. It was almost as if the early arrival of the snows had stopped the world dead in its tracks, instead bringing a new sort of lifelessness, a new sort of death, to these lands. The world had completely changed.

I never feel anything. I cannot feel anything.

The snow changed the appearance of everything around, as well. The world was white, as if it had been wiped clean, erased, even, for something to paint the world anew. The colors that had seemed so vibrant and flowing not long ago were gone, replaced by the ever present white. It was an overwhelming color, bringing with it not only the euphoria of new things, but also the sadness of having lost that which had been there. The white was almost a sort of bell, ending the reign of the old and ushering in the reign of the new.

What made the whiteness so stark and, dangerous, almost, was the fact that few animals had been outside since the beginning of the snowfall. The snow seemed trackless, an undisturbed blanket of pure white, that signaled hope, but also fear. Men and beasts abhorred passing upon those paths that had not been broken before, and the early snowfall had created a new world, an unbroken world. To leave and journey into that world would be to chance the unknown, to break new ground. There was exultation in the breaking in of the new, but there was fear in the apprehension, and the men and beasts, as they do, saw only the fear.

I do not need to feel anything. I am beyond simply feeling.

There was also those who felt no fear or exultation. For them the discovery was simply that, a task, one that could be tiresome, but had to be done. Every snowfall, it was they who broke the land, they who tamed the wilderness. It stood to reason that they would do so. Only those who were so deeply connected with the earth, who feared nothing, but exulted in nothing, who knew that this was simply the way of the earth, only they would be able to open the land for the others. Only they could lead the way.

They were elemental, creatures who did not fear the earth, but did not lord it over her either. They were creatures born of the earth, who understood the turning of the seasons, who could comprehend how the beasts, birds, and men interacted with each other, who knew just how the earth, in all her majesty worked. They were, in a very simple sense, shepherds of the earth, though one who called them such failed to understand just who they were and what they did.

I have understanding. I do not feel. I do not need to.

The walls of Falan'gash, too, were white. This was not because of the snows. Falan'gash was impenetrable, a great monument and fortress. It had been created when the earth was young, long before any other creatures had even existed. It had been created by the creatures of the the earth, for the creatures of the earth. It was their fortress, to stand, guarding the pathways until the end of time. Every year, it stood, massive in scope, beyond the comprehension of mortals. It was a fortress that would never fall.

They lived in Falan'gash. That was not all they they did. They also protected Falan'gash. Like any fortress, it had been built for defense, defense against the enemies who came. When time itself stopped, when the gates opened, that was when Falan'gash would close. It was built for the end. Those who lived inside were not simply caretakers of the earth. They were also protectors of the earth. And when the time came, they were ready. They had also been ready. This was their purpose.

I simply stand, protect. I am more than mortal, more than feeling. I am greater.

The world outside Falan'gash was silent. It was waiting.

New. There is something new.

Darkness was everywhere. It covered the woods, hiding the silent and bringing with it that feeling of cold that the morning had lacked. It now truly seemed like winter. While before it had only been a thought, that the snows had come sooner, it was now a realization, an understanding, and to those animals who had not fled when they had the chance, it was too late. Nature would take care of their bodies. Nature always did. Those who died as they were supposed to; naturally, would give back to the earth. It was the way of the world and it was the way of the earth.

Those of Falan'gash knew this. They innately knew the subtle workings of nature, the way that the earth operated. They knew that the world had entered winter, that the changes that seemed to go on a regular scale had come earlier this year. They were deeply connected to the earth and knew this, they understood this. It was their most important work - the care taking of the woods and fields around. Besides protecting, they were the gardeners, the shepherds, and a good shepherd must know the pen as well as he knows the sheep.

The silence of the night seemed almost oppressive, but the one on the walls of Falan'gash did not seem to notice. He was cloaked, hidden, covered in his black cowl, invisible to anything watching. If anything had been interested enough to watch. Nothing of his shape was visible and, save for a slight bump at the bottom rear of the cloak, he it would seem that he had donned the shape of a man - was a man the size of an oak tree. He was alone at the walls of Falan'gash, and there he stood, almost a king of all he surveyed, the only creature awake for miles around.

Something is wrong here. The balance is awry.

There was only one part of his body that was visible; his eyes. They burned inside the cloak, a ghostly red, one that both frightened and surprised. To any creature that had been watching, he would have appeared as some wraith from a fairy tale, some servant from another universe. He was not. The servants of the earth were not kind and loving. A shepherd cannot love his sheep too much, for when they die or are killed, he needs a heart of stone. Those of Falan'gash had hearts made entirely of stone.

He suddenly turned his head, or what seemed to be his head. Had he been a human, it would have been in consternation. But he was one of Falan'gash, and not human, and so it was not in consternation. But something disturbed him and with the lithe grace of a feline, he easily leaped down from the top of massive walls of Falan'gash. It was a fall that would have broken any other creature, have killed any sheep, but it did not even damage the shepherd. With the same lithe grace he had shown, he landed on his feet (or where his feet would have been, had he been a man) and stopped for a second. Then he continued on.

The snow was still unbroken (as, indeed, it continued to snow) and he set off into the woods with ease. To any watching, he would have seemed like an angel of some sort, as he did not touch the snow and it remained unbroken, just a pure white, as it had been before. There were no tracks. Those from Falan'gash laid no tracks as they walked. There was no way for any to follow them, could any have followed them. They gave no room for any to follow. It was the way of those from Falan'gash.

The gates are still closed. Is this some new danger? What is this?

He paused again, almost glancing around. For a moment in the woods, there was dead silence. There was no sound from anywhere. It was as if the world had died, all in an instant, leaving only he from Falan'gash. Everything was still, the wind, the clouds, the animals, and the men. Only he from Falan'gash seemed alive. But that was what he was - one who was alive when all else were dead. He was from Falan'gash. He was made by the earth.

The silence endured for only a second, and then he was off again, striding in some unearthly way towards the utter darkness of the woods. Everything was silent once more.

[OOC: Aww, no replies? I feel sad.

I was going to post IC, but then, somewhere in the stormy weather and such, I lost my inclination. However, you can feel free to post! If you need to contact me, I'm on IRC often.]

Warm orange, bold red, shining yellow and bronzed leafs danced across the blue sky. A boisterous whimsically laughter floated along with the breeze. The laughter mixed with the sounds of the nearby forest, followed by yelping of a dog.

“Raassscooo!”

“Stop,” uninterrupted giggles came out of the young girl’s mouth, “it!”

A small golden cocker spaniel’s pink tongue licked at the girl’s rosy cheek.

“Nanna, heee heee, help me!”

“Sit. Rasco. Good boy.”

The dog sat immediately and looked intently at Nanna. The girl’s little hand rested on Rasco’s head. “Nan na, we just playin.” Rasco placed his head on her knee.

She bent her oval face down and placed her ruby lips on his forehead. “Tis okay. I still love you.”

The little girl stood up and picked up the dog, which was about half her size. Her green eyes looked up at her nanna. “Do you feel the cold?”

Nanna looked down at the girl who was of seven years. “My dear it is warm out, the sun’s rays can’t you feel them?” She extended her weathered arms under the sun.

The little girl didn’t blink. “No, Nanna don’t you feel the cold?”

“Nanna promise me you look after Rasco. Make sure he is safe.”

“Sure, how do you want me to protect him?”

She blinked. A crystal tear dropped from her eyelash and splattered on the blades of grass. “Leave with him.”

Nanna smiled, “Then who will be your nanna.”

“I won’t need one.”

The girl’s words did not make sense to her at all, but she knew if the girl had her mind set up eventually would come true. The little girl’s father was king of the land and what his little princess wanted she got.

A week later Nanna had packed her things and went to live with her family once again and along with her went Rasco.

Those green eyes stared at them as they left. She had not cried, but the sadness was thick in the air.

Many years later in a distant world buried Nanna next to Rasco, save and away from the cold.


The black blanket sparkled bright with the countless stars scattered.

One star radiated more than the others and shone straight above Falan'gash fortress.

Off in the distance lay a young woman dressed in a transparent white gown. She was positioned on her side and her onyx hair strewn across her bare shoulders and covered her face. Her right hand lay on the white snow and her fingers began to twitch.

OOC: Hope you don't mind I dropped in. This looks interesting and I haven't been involved in a RP in awhile.