~840,000 BCE
The sun shined brightly onto Xena's face, causing her to quickly jolt out of her slumber. The sudden heat on her scalp instilled a sense of fear, and she surveyed the area around her, checking for any hostile creatures that could be lurking nearby, waiting for a chance to strike at her family.
What she saw was no different from usual. The landscape was made up entirely of clouds, with rolling hills of that familiar soft, fluffy vapor. Xena was a pegasus, of course. She and her tribe lived high in the atmosphere, where they would be most safe from predators down below. But there was one significant threat that still haunted them.
Dragons.
It seemed that every week, there was another attack. The ferocious fiends were never content with the food on the surface, so they took to the clouds for a bite to eat. Occasionally, they got that bite, and Xena's tribe suffered a fair few casualties because of it.
She reflected back on all the friends and family she's lost, with a tear in her eye. And now look at me, she thought to herself, I can't even feel a ray of sunlight without getting afraid.
Xena wanted to leave for a while now. The world was too dangerous, there certainly had to be a better place to live. They can't live in the clouds forever. They're being picked off, one by one. The safest option for Xena's tribe would be to move north. It's far too cold for the dragons over there. But there's no food; the north pole is made entirely of shifting glaciers, with no farmable land, and not nearly enough aquatic life close to the surface to use as a diet.
But then, Xena was struck with a realization. Might it be possible that the south pole could have what she and her tribe needs? It would be the ultimate gamble. She didn't even know if it was cold there like it is in the north, let alone if it contained any land.
Before she could think on it further, Xena heard a chilling roar. She jumped to her hooves and looked behind her, terrified to learn the roar belonged to exactly who she thought it did. A massive, hulking dragon loomed in the distance, blowing red-hot flames out of its nostrils, ready to dart in her direction at any moment.
"Everyone, get up," Xena shouted, "We have to leave!"
She blew the horn around her neck, signaling to everyone it was time to move. She took a quick glance at the sun; it was morning, so it would be toward the east. She briefly considered turning left, toward the north; but another roar from the threatening dragon changed her mind. She had no idea if the south pole would be any better, but it was a gamble she was willing to bet her life on.
"Follow me!"
With a flap of her wings and a gust of the wind, Xena rocketed up into the skies with incredible speed. She knew the dragon was too heavy for its wings to be able to keep it aloft in such thin air. Her tribe followed suit, with a velocity that was just as quick. These ponies had evaded dragons many times before, and they had the flight skills to show for it.
But it wasn't that easy. If it was just as simple as out-maneuvering them, the pegasi could easily get away from any creature as slow as a giant dragon. An enormous plume of fire erupted in the direction of the tribe, searing the wing of Xena's sister, Tyra.
"H-he got me!!" exclaimed Tyra, gasping in pain as she tried to put the flames out. She started to drop in altitude, and would become breakfast for the reptilian raider if Xena didn't do something, and quick.
"Help her out, now!" commanded Xena to her tribe, quickly darting in to assist. With the help of three pegasi, including Xena herself, Tyra was swooped out of harm's way, and they shot up into the clouds. It wasn't long before they started to gain distance from the predator, but they still had to be mindful of its incendiary beams. Another breath of fire popped into Xena's view, and she quickly spun around with expertise, narrowly avoiding the searing hot flames.
The air was getting far too thin now; even for a pegasus. The atmosphere wasn't so thin that they couldn't fly, but it was taking a toll on their ability to breathe. Xena looked down, desperately hoping the dragon had given up; and to her relief, it had. With one last chilling roar, it dipped below the clouds, deciding to look elsewhere for its morning meal.
The ponies flew back down to a safe height, resting Tyra on a small cloud. Iora, Xena's mother, always had her medicine prepared, and approached the wounded pegasus, who was gasping in pain.
"Relax, sweetie," Iora whispered to her daughter. "You're safe now." She brought the medicine to Tyra's muzzle, gently holding her head up. It was an herbal mixture, designed to alleviate pains. Tyra graciously accepted the mixture, and after a few moments, her breathing returned to normal.
"We're going to the south pole," Xena interjected. "I don't know what's there. I don't even know if anything IS there. But I have a feeling that, just like the north, it's cold down there. Too cold for the dragons. And hopefully there's land too."
"A-are you sure?" Iora inquired, a fearful expression on her face. "If you're wrong, we'll have nowhere else to go. And you have no reason to think it's cold down there! Just because the north is cold doesn't mean the south is cold too."
"Maybe it does," Xena answered, pointing to the skies. "Look at the sun. It rises in the east, and sets in the west. We already know our planet is a ball; we've flown high enough to see the curvature of our world. If the sun is only warming the middle parts, then the top and bottom, the north and south, would be the coldest parts. I could be wrong, but, I think it's worth a try."
Iora thought for a moment, and then nodded in agreement. "You always were the smartest pony in the tribe," she said with a smile. "I hope you're right. Let's go."
Xena and Iora lifted Tyra back up into her hooves, and examined the condition of her wing. She would definitely need to be carried; there were simply too many feathers that burned up in the fire. Xena called over the same two pegasi, and the three of them lifted Tyra. With a flap of their wings, they set forth, hoping to discover their new home.
One Month Later
She could feel it.
The air was definitely getting colder. Much, much colder. It seems Xena was right; just like the north pole, the south pole was an arctic. Now, she just had to hope there was land. She took a glance back at the rest of her tribe members; they all seemed very tired.
"Come on," Xena said to them, "Let's take a rest on the clouds."
The pegasi were all too eager to take a breather. They were flapping their feathery wings for hours on end; a break would be much helpful to them. Soaring up into the skies, the group located a fluffy cloud, laying themselves down and getting ready for a nap.
Minutes later, Iora and Xena were the only ones awake. They sat down together, looking up at the stars.
"Tyra's doing much better," Iora spoke. "It looks like all her feathers grew back. She'll have to live with the scar, but she's okay."
Xena nodded, turning her head to view her sister. Tyra had been flying on her own without any help for the past week, and for the most part, she seemed back to normal.
Iora continued. "So anyways... the air's been getting colder. It seems you were right about the south being chilly as well. But we haven't seen any land.. and I don't know how much further south we can go before we're at the pole."
That exact thought was running through Xena's mind for the past several days. She was fairly certain the climate would fit their needs; but if there's no land, it wouldn't matter. She turned toward the south, desperately hoping to see something. Anything.
And then... something caught her eye.
"Hey," she said, "Do you see that?"
She pointed her hoof toward a jagged shape on the horizon.
"Looks like a big wave," her mother responded.
"Yeah, it looks like a wave," she explained, "But look closer. It's not moving."
Iora leaned in and squinted to get a better look. She then stood herself up, her face starting to light up with hope. "You're right," she said in surprise, "I.. I think that's land!"
Xena blew her horn with excitement, calling all the ponies to wake up. "Come on, on your hooves! Let's move!"
Tyra grumbled and rubbed her eyes, reluctantly returning herself to an upright position. "But we just started sleeping!" she complained.
"Daelus," Xena called to one of the stallion pegasi, "You're the fastest flyer out of all of us. I want you to go back, and notify all the other tribes of pegasi."
"Notify them of what? What's going on??" Daelus exclaimed in confusion. Xena just stared back at him with a beaming smile.
"Tell them we found land."
With a flap of their feathers, the ponies were off. Daelus ventured off back north, while the rest went to explore the curious jagged shape. As they approached it, it soon confirmed what they were all hoping; it was, indeed, a large body of land. No.. not just large. A huge body of land. A massive tundra that spanned for miles, transitioning into a field of snow that stretched for as far as the eye could see. Sheets of ice surrounded the coastline, and there were few trees which dotted the frozen landscape. Looking down, Xena saw movement; and upon closer inspection, she found that it was a school of fish. The water surrounding this rocky surface was teeming with aquatic life. And as the pegasi got closer and closer, it became more apparent just how enormous this area was.
This wasn't an island. This was a continent.
Xena touched down to the ground, feeling the rough texture of the frozen soil beneath her hooves. The other ponies did the same, marveling at the massive area in front of them.
"We sure are lucky we already lived in the sky, where the air is cold," said Iora, "I can't imagine what it must be like to be here as an earthpony or a unicorn!"
Xena chuckled and nodded, turning toward the sea. She gazed at the fish in awe, circling around the formations of ice. She approached the water, leaning down; and dipped her hoof into the ocean.
"A-ah!! Dras!"
"Xena!" Iora called, "Watch your language! What's the matter!?" The concerned mother hurried quickly, soon at Xena's side, examining her daughter's pained hoof.
"T-the water," Xena answered, "It's so cold!" She shook her hoof off, doing her best to get rid of the stinging pain. "We're definitely going to need to make tools if we intend to eat these fish." She glanced around, looking for any materials she could spot. Her eye stopped on a tree; it was one of the very few trees out there, but it had branches, leaves, and most importantly, sap.
Xena jumped back up onto her hooves, making it to the tree in no time. She broke off a few branches, rubbing sap on them to keep the bundle of sticks together. She grabbed a rock with her wing and pounded the sticks together, then used the rock to sharpen the tip of the rod. Afterwards, she plucked as many leaves off the branches as she could, and started weaving them together, creating a makeshift rope.
Iora saw was Xena was crafting, and quickly rushed to help. "Everypony, come!" she called to the rest of the group, "It's time to make ourselves some tools!"
Within the hour, the ponies had assembled an arsenal of harpoons, with leaf-made ropes tied to the back ends. Xena grabbed her harpoon with her right wing, holding the end of the rope with her other. Approaching the water's edge, she prepared to throw; and with pinpoint accuracy and deadly force, she hurled the rod into the water, driving itself straight through the flesh of an unsuspecting fish. Xena tugged on the rope that she held in her left wing, reeling the fish in as all its aquatic friends scattered in fear.
Back at the tree, Iora gathered a small nest of tinder. The leaves were too wet to use for a fire, so she'd have to do without them; but the bark of the tree was, surprisingly, just dry enough, so she peeled off a piece and put it with the tinder. She placed a stick between her hooves, pressed it into bark, and spun; and a little time later, a spark emerged, and the bark was set aflame.
One-by-one, all the other ponies came back to the fire, each with their own freshly caught dinner. They grabbed some other sticks to use as makeshift pikes and forced them into the ground around the open flame, using them to skewer and cook the fish.
Tyra decided to break the silence. "Well, we made it, sis, you were right!" she exclaimed with a smile. Xena smiled back, only just now reflecting back on how lucky she is to be right. If she was wrong, either about the climate or about the land, the ponies would be far from any civilization, and without much energy or food to make it back.
"What are we naming this place?" Tyra continued.
"Well," Xena answered, "Our ancestors named our tribe after the ancient God of Snow, fabled to come from another world, far, far away. We're called the Ullen tribe, because we lived far up in the sky, where the air is cold and the clouds look like fluffy snow. But, now that we live in the actual snow, I can't imagine there would be a better way to name this place, than to also name it after that same God of Snow."
"So, what are you proposing?" Xena's mother questioned.
She pondered for a moment, before coming to an answer.
"How about... Ulluria."
Author's Note
Thanks for reading! It's been a while since I flexed my creative writing muscles for a long story, so I am a little rusty. But once I get back into the swing of things, I'll hopefully get much better! I really hope you enjoyed; next chapter will focus more on how the Ullurians built their first tribal villages in the southern arctic.
