Empire of Heaven

Leona listened to the crackling of the fire and watched as the embers dissolved upon the snow as they flew out of the dancing flames. Reaching out to her bag, she took out a log and threw it into the fire. She watched as the flames rose up and began consuming the new fuel given to them, letting out a sigh as she looked up to the night sky. It was truly something to marvel at, she couldn't remember the last time the sky had been so free of clouds. It was as if holes had been poked in the dark sky, and through them shone a whole new world, probably better and warmer than this frigid land. Behind her shining through the treeline she could see the pale light coming from the moon, acting as a single lantern shining through the darkness.

She let out a sigh as she was lost in thought. Looking down she watched the sleeping forms of her children snuggled up against her. Lying there was a drakar, a griffon and wolf huddled together in a ball of pure adorableness. Over their bodies lay a simple wool blanket with their heads using Leona as a pillow.

Leona smiled as the little wolf pup appeared to be dreaming, smiling as he began to kick in short spurts. Though this eventually managed to kick the blanket off of the trio, revealing their whole bodies.

The drakar boy, Illarion, was the biggest of the three, though not the oldest. His body and wings were a pattern of black and purple with a pure white colour running along his spine and wingtips. While his horns had just managed to grow out, his floppy little ears were quite adorable as they twitched in discomfort. Despite this cute little action, he was quite the rambunctious sort when awake, always having playful spats with his big sister. He let out a little noise of discomfort as he snuggled up to her.

The oldest of the three and the second biggest, Lucia, was a rarity among the griffon race as she shared her mother's rare near golden color on her plumage. Her lion part however, different from her mother's light brown, was instead a rare pure white, near unheard of amongst griffons. Being the big sister of the trio, she unconsciously wiggled back into Illarion's embrace whilst bringing her little brother to rest between her forelegs as she hugged him close.

The smallest and youngest of the three was the precious little Fedde. Though supposedly the wolves were the most warlike of the three peoples, Fedde was the exception. Small, even for his age, he was a timid boy with a soft brown colour covering nearly his entire body as darker shades ran along his snout and paws. Being awake, his most defining feature would be his kind golden eyes, different from the playful eyes of his siblings, Lucia's being brown and Illarion's being a deep shade of purple. Smiling in his sleep despite the discomfort of the sudden rush of cold, he snuggled into his sister's tight embrace and let out a little coo.

Watching on, Leona smiled as she used her magic to gently place the blanket over the children once more without disturbing their sleep. As the trio settled into their little snuggle cocoon, she returned her gaze to the sputtering fire. Looking into the flames, she began to reminisce over how much life had changed over the past year.

…

The sound of snow crunching and heavy panting could be heard among the trees. In the distance, from beyond the treeline, screams could be heard from fathers, mothers and children alike. There was no clinking of blades, no war horns and no cries of battle. It was the sound of a massacre.

A plume of snow was thrown up as a griffon broke through the dense foliage of the fur trees. Her eyes wild with terror, she gasped for breath as she clutched her child with her blood soaked wings. Looking from left to right she looked for a hiding spot, finding an upturned tree with just enough room for her and her child. Limping over to the hiding spot, she shuffled her way inside and waited. As her breathing calmed she noticed to her horror as the screaming stopped, the air was filled with naught but deathly silence.

She looked back at her child and choked a sob at the sight. She was laying there on her back, clutching her mother for all her worth. Her eyes were closed and a steady trail of tears were escaping from them as she muttered to herself.

"Father… father please… don't go… father… please…"

The griffin mother slowly and gently pried her child off of her back and held her in the embrace of her forelegs. Her sobs were muffled as she sought refuge within her mother's chest plumage. The mother could do nothing but stroke her child and whisper to her lies of how everything would be right. For just as strong as she appeared, she was heartbroken, she had watched as those beasts tore her husband to shreds for them to make their escape. She had watched as the love of her life was taken from her, her home was taken from her, every one of her friends were now just screams left echoing upon the mountainside. All she had left was her child, her sweet innocent child.

Her lament was broken however as the gentle sound of snow crunching below something was heard outside of their shelter. To her horror she counted not the sound of two pairs of limbs, but four. The sound edged closer, growing louder in volume as the air around them seemingly began to cool even further. Then the breaking of branches began before it was finally within their sight.

Emerging from a line of pine trees like a ghost came an eight legged beast. Treading forward, it had the features of a giant spider, yet it was as if it was possessed by bloodlust. It's entire body was a sheet of ice, white and blue colours weeping throughout its surface akin to a drop of blood in water. It's eyes, eight in in number, had a pitch black colouration, displaying nought but soulless cruelty. It's legs, protruding from its body, ended in pointed ends with hooks running along the inside the leg. Two giant fangs hung from its face, dripping in blood as it edged closer to the griffons' hiding spot.

Beneath the tree, the mother clutched her child as she let out a shaky breath before holding it. She pushed herself towards the ground and tried her best to conceal herself as she heard the continued crunching of snow and clattering of the beast's fangs. As she listened, the crunching stopped just outside and for a moment she thought her heart stopped. Just then, fate intervened as a previously unseen hare sprang from out the tree into the clutches of the beast. It's squeals of pain echoing throughout the woods before falling silent, the air instead being filled by its blood dripping against the snow.

The mother opened her eyes and eased the grip on her daughter for a moment, pausing as the silence continued before being broken by the sound of the hare's body dropping onto the snow. Flinching but remaining silent, she continued hiding in silence as she heard the beast move off into the woods' once more.

Leona and Lucia were finally safe, as they cried in each other's embrace.

…

It had been two months since the destruction of their home by the frost spiders. Since then they had flown from village to village trying to find a home but with food at an all time low, their chances of finding somewhere permanent was slim to none.

The cold air flicked at Leona as she made her way down the disheveled path, it's maintenance having been ruined ever since the cold set in. Walking on them you'd occasionally see the odd abandoned campsite, and the odd frozen corpse laying strewn out next to them, lost to the elements. Continuing onwards however, she made it back to camp with the hares she caught earlier. Laying by the fire was faithful Lucia, keeping watch so their one source of heat doesn’t run out. Since the beginning of their flight, she had been a cornerstone of happiness for Leona, always trying to cheer each other up no matter the troubles they faced. Leona however knew her weaker side, knew how she cried herself to sleep and whimpered the names of those she lost.

“Dinner’s here,” Leona called “five hares and plenty of icy beverages!”

“Five? Good hunting mom! I see those wrinkles aren’t stopping you after all.” Lucia replied.

“Hey! I’ll have you know I'm very attractive for my age! Besides, I’m not taking advice from a griff who just a couple months back made necklaces out of twigs and bones.”

“Wha- that was one time!” Lucia pouted

“Hah, sure it was! Now get off of furry bottom and help me skin these”

Settling down, the two of them began the fragile work of removing the delicate skin from the hares, then drying them next to the fire. The meat, however little, would prove itself as the most valuable part as surviving in this cold is next to impossible without the proper sustenance, your body would just give out. Nonetheless, the hares were on spits and cooking, filling the air with the delicious smell of meat roasting by an open fire.

Huddled next to one another, the pair sat in silence as they nuzzled one another lovingly and affectionately. The clearing they had chosen was surrounded on all sides by thick pine forests with a fallen tree lying to their left. The forest protected them from the majority of the wind, only a light breeze brushed against them as they cuddled, blowing the smoke away from their faces.

Listening to the crackling of the fire, Lucia cooed as Leona nipped loose a feather that was on its way out. However, as she opened her eyes, she spotted movement by the dead tree. Looking at it, she noticed small openings across its surface. It must be hollow, she thought as she lifted her head up. Leona looked quizzically at her as she did.

"Something wrong, dear?" Leona began. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, mom. Just umm, stay here for a minute, nature's calling." She said as she stood up.

Cautiously approaching the log as Leona looked on in confusion, Lucia reached the end of it. At the end, she saw that her guess was right. A giant hole adorned the tree, making its way nearly all the way through it. Slowly lowering her head, she looked inside. As her eyes adjusted, her ears noticed the sound of gasps and scampering, she nearly did the same at the sight of what was inside.

There, huddling against the end of the log were two little children. The larger was a drakar, baring its teeth at her, yet its body was weak and malnourished, its eyes instead of the ferocity of a predator showed the fear of a terrified child. Between its legs however, lay an even more pitiful sight. A wolf pup, its eyes closed and its body stuck in the fetal position whilst huddling beneath its larger companion, shaking and crying as it did.

"M-mom?" Lucia began in a confused tone. "Come over here for a second, I got uhh… got a situation over here."

"What is it, dear? Did you catch anything within that trunk?" Leona asked as she made her way over.

"Yeah umm, I guess you could say that but uhh, these sure as frost ain't what I'd call edible."

Raising an eyebrow towards her daughter, Leona stopped and looked inside the log as Lucia was still just as dumbfounded on what to do. Leona however just let out a chirp at the sight and looked up at her daughter in childlike glee.

"Lucia! These are adorable! Just look at them!" Leona exclaimed, gesturing towards the log.

Giving a glance at the hole, she saw the children just as confused as she was.

"Yeah, mom but aren't they dangerous?" Lucia asked as her mom began walking off towards the fire.

"Oh pish posh, they're only children. Besides, the only thing out here that doesn't want us dead are those hares there. Speaking of!" Leona cheerfully said as she picked two skewered hares from their place near the fire before running back to the log.

"Now little ones, I'm gonna leave these here. Us two are gonna be resting by the fire. If you wanna join us, you're welcome to. It'll be a lot warmer than that log."

…

It took some coaxing in the end but Leona succeeded. They were shy in the beginning, forming their first connection to Lucia despite her more nervous nature. However, as Leona was out hunting, it was Lucia that calmed their nerves, assuring them of their continued safety. As such, Leona's continued coddling eventually succeeded. She remembered how she cried tears of joy the first time little Fedde called her mom, it was one of the best moments of their life.

As they opened up however they revealed their past. Which, surprisingly and sadly, had a similar tone to that of Lucia and Leona. The frost spiders where not show discrimination in their bloodlust as apparently along with the griffon settlement, both a wolf and a drakar settlement fell to their rampage. Alone without parents, they had wandered aimlessly with little to no hope for survival till they met each other. At which point they began surviving off of the rare squirrel and lemming. They were on their last legs when we had found them, sheltering from the elements inside that log as they couldn't find any firewood. It was truly a miracle they survived at all, one which Leona would be eternally grateful for.

Leona was broken from her thoughts however as she felt something rustling against her belly. Looking down she was met with the sight of her children waking up, chirping and yawning ensued, to Leona's mirth. They all sounded so adorable in their groggy awakening. Lifting her head up, Lucia looked at her mother with tired eyes.

"Wha-" Lucia paused for a yawn "What time is it?"

"Well it's bedtime for you… but in grown up time it's just about midnight." Leona said, pausing as she looked up into the sky to measure the moon's height.

This prompted the others to stick their heads up to look into the sky. Quickly, their eyes went from droopy and tired to wide and gawking. Reflecting within eyes you would see a galaxy's worth of stars filling their vision. For children who had always slept under storms and cloudy nights, it was truly a rarity, one that they would surely remember. Little Fedde stood up and sat in front of the others, looking up at the moon he was filled with a strong urge to say something, anything. Yet when he opened his mouth, all that came to him was the smallest howl the valley had ever heard, sounding like a whistle in a starlit theater. His siblings looked on in surprise at his behaviour, Leona however, having observed such a sight before during her hunting trips, merely smiled at the little pup discovering something new.

The smile was broken however, as when the howl came to an end, a melody echoed. Looking around, the quartet couldn't locate the source, which was strange for a forest. It was as if the air itself carried it through the land. The melody eventually opened the way for a voice, kind and gentle yet holding such weight upon it that you'd almost bow in reverence at just its sound. Soon, two others joined with it, both beautiful in their own way. Yet for the family in the clearing, the strangest was what they sang of. A holy lord? Souls? What god could there possibly be out here?

However, for all their doubt at the voices' words, when they looked up and saw the stars and the auroras seemingly dancing to the melody, they couldn't help but to at least hum along to the tune. Little Fedde looked most eager and joined in at the chorus, yet he was not the only voice. All around them, new voices started singing, small and high pitch, dark and hoarse, they all began singing. Soon even the trees started to seemingly sway in kind, the wood moving and groaning under its own weight, forming words and soon began to even sing along. Even the mountains surrounding them, their prison, began to hum as the wind struck their side.

So it was no wonder that when the chorus struck once more, that Lucia, Illarion and Leona began singing together with Fedde. They did not know what god would listen, but whoever had power to bend the world with their voice alone must be someone special. More so, when they sang it felt as if a warmth had filled an empty space within their hearts. Like something they didn't even know they had lost had come back to them, something so precious yet forgotten. Yet soon the song came to an end, with the lone voice saying the final words.

Falling asleep that night, wonder and hope filled the minds of the little ones. For Leona however, her sleep was filled with a strange dream. A biped, standing upon a rock holding a sword. Down below lay an orchard, seemingly being strangled by the shadow of the rock. Yet with just one strike with his sword, the creature managed to cut a rock over ten times his size in two. The shadows seemingly disappeared, replaced by a warm light, shining throughout the land. Staring up at where the creature once stood, she saw the outline of it, floating in the sky with a massive pair of wings adorning it's back, seeming to bask in the light of the horizon. The dream came to an end however, as bells sounded throughout the land.

Waking up, Leona still had her eyes closed as she focused in on a strange noise coming from the woods. The sound of someone humming and the creaking of wood against snow.