The Tale of Galadro

[Emrys114]

The First Sonnet of Galadro

He was born under a vibrant sun
It's said he continued its glow
His parents truly loved their son
They lovingly named him Galadro

He was raised in the land of Kalros
Clear skies but bitterly cold
Him and his brother Andros
To become men they were told

To the north his brother brought him
The reason why, he did not tell
He left Gal as the light went dim
The reason why, is not known well

And as he fought his first with fear
It was then Galadro shed a tear

 

[Emrys114]

Part One: The Boy​

Tears flowed from Galadro's eyes but, as is true for any tragedy, one can only cry for so long. As the grasp of ice on his knees grew tighter, his sobs slowed. After wiping his face on his sleeves he looked about; a thin layer of water still warping his vision. He had never been this far north. That’s why he had been so eager to travel with his older brother. He became aware of the heat on his right cheek where Andros had struck him before disappearing into the white out. He gazed down at his pile of frozen tears in utter confusion of why. He started to wonder if had done something wrong. Releasing a few final tears, Galadro noticed a figure below him. The ice was thick but he could still make out a shadow in the frozen depths. It grew larger, seemingly coming to the surface.

Galadro jumped to his feet as the shadow of a thin humanlike hand slammed against the bottom of the ice. He stood completely still; unsure of what to do. His decision was made for him as the supposed finger scrapped it's nail along the ice sheet sending vibrations through his spine. He took a step back. The hand followed still scraping along below. Fear gripped Galadro and he ran. The hand, possibly realizing that it’s victim was escaping, pursued with a menacing pace. Galadro did his best not to slip, resorting to skating along in his weathered leather boots. Looking back he saw the hand shoot off to his right causing him to make a sharp turn and run the opposite direction. This happened several more times and soon Galadro found himself on land. Looking back, he saw that the hand was gone.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Galadro looked about the area trying to figure out where he was. Monolithic pillars of ice jutted out of the ground all around him; glowing like orange and red gems in the fading light. Beyond them, he could barely make out the mountain he had come over. A cold breeze brought his attention back to the moment at hand. A quick scan of the near by ice pillars revealed a small entrance in the side of a hill. As the last wisps of light faded away, Galadro had come upon the entrance. Peering in he couldn’t see much but, as he stepped in, he found that the ground was relatively dry. Digging down, he broke through the frozen earth and huddled in the dirt below. Tired, aching, and lacking wood for a fire Galadro wrapped himself in the sheepskin his mother gave him and, though fear still gripped him, sleep soon overpowered it.

 

[Emrys114]

Galadro sat on a spruce pier at the the edge of an endless frozen ocean. Seagulls cawed overhead and he layed back to watch them fly. They swooped about and then began to circle above him. The sun felt warm on his face, and this brought a thought to his mind. He sat up and tilted his head at the frozen water. Hopping off the pier he walked over and reached out to touch the ice. Another caw startled Galadro. He turned to look and saw a crow jump over a hill. Intrigued he called to his home behind him, telling them he’d be right back. There was no response.

The first thing he noticed as he began to climb the hill was how much bigger it looked up close. The next, was how cold it seemed to be getting. He began to jog up the hill, trying to stay warm. The wind picked up and he found that the top of the hill was still very far away. The cawing of the crow could still be heard up above. Annoyed, he began to run up the hill but the faster he ran the harder the wind blew. A flurry became a blizzard as Galadro ran as hard as he could up what he could now only describe as a mountain. He paused for a moment, hands on knees, breathing hard. He gazed up, the top of the mountain had suddenly come into view. Excited he ran up and froze.

The crow sat atop someone at the edge of a cliff, and, judging by how it dug into its meal, this person was far from alive. The crow looked up at him, flesh hanging by a vein from it’s beak, and cocked its head. Galadro’s hands were cold and sweaty as his body began to shake. He looked at the hood covering the person's face. The crow looked from him to the person and then back to him. It’s head turned to one side to let one eye take all of him in. Galadro breathed faster as he could feel the commanding gaze of the crow. He stared at the hood and shut his eyes. His lip quivered and tears flowed from his eyes. He couldn’t do it.

Pain burst through Galadro’s back as someone kicked him from behind and sent him sprawling onto the crystallized ice where the crow and body had been. Colors swished through his eyes like water as he tried to see who or what had kicked him. When his eyes cleared, his mind froze and he couldn’t understand what he saw. It was his brother Andros, only his eyes were burnt like balls of ash with lines of fire outlining where his pupils had been. He sat, and it felt like someone was trying to stop his heart. It smiled, and charged with an inhuman roar a flaming fist at the ready. Galadro screamed.