Location The Icewall Gates

[Cheshire]

Moderator Intervention Moderator Note: Hello Anima. I know you have been contacted by Onyx but mention it here as well. You need to finish your CS and have it correct before you can start threading. I'm sure Onyx would be more than happy to help you work everything out (and I am more than willing to help as well). Once you have it straightened out you can start threading again. I don't want to be mean but we need to keep it fair. Fixing your CS will like ten or fifteen minutes at most. Thank you and happy threading. ~Cheshire

[Akiimu]

Akiimu slowly approaches the Icewall Gates, his heart in his throat, his cloak violently flapping in the horrid, ice cold winds. His blistered skin was a bright red and his eyes felt like 2 ton weights were pulling them down. He hadn't slept in 3 days and hadn't eaten in 5. His body was running on fumes and he knew that he needed food and shelter quickly or he wouldn't survive for much longer. He trudged on, his only reason for moving, what waited for him on the other side of the gates. As he approached and the gates the Icewatch came into view. And the steady gaze of the guards, and even his kin the Kelvic, made him uneasy. He knew it would soon pass though. very soon he would be on the other side and it would be smooth sailing from there. He could start over. As he passed, he gingerly nodded to the guards and ran his hands along the smooth icerock archway of the Icewall Gates as he feverishly walked into the great city of Avanthal, and a fresh start for a weary traveller.

[Aleath]

5th Day of Winter, 510 A.V. Aleath was slowly walking towards the Icewall Gates. She was admiringly looking around. So this was the place where her father was born. She always considered herself to be more Vantha than Human and even at home the people recognized it and maybe it was the reason why they practically threw her out of the house she was born, when her father died. The wind blew stronger, so she quickened her pace, her loyal friend was, as always, next to her. She thought that she was used to cold, but this was nothing she has ever experienced. "Remind me to buy some cloak later, Shade." she grumbled to the dog. Finally she reached the gates and quickly walked through them.

[Rhuryc]

1st Spring, 511AV There was nothing else like it. The gate was brilliant. The material stunning, unique, awe striking. When Rhuryc came into view of the massive structure he had not approached the entrance, instead he strolled right up to the icerock and stared unwittingly into its depths. His eyes latched onto the design with a keen examination, the gears in his mind grinding in his exploration of the marvel. What was it? How did it hold? Who crafted it? Did they work with such brilliance always? His palm laid to rest on the outer confines of the gate, the cool, sturdy surface an exhilaration in his mind. He could stand there for hours. Fortunately, much to his chagrin, that was not to be the case. The stare brought him back to reality. One of the Icewatch guards was polite enough not to call Rhuryc out, but the quirked brow and interested demeanor spoke volumes. With a cough, the man backed away from the wall and gave the guard a curt nod, that of which was returned with a slight grin. His boots crunched as he made his way back to the entrance and muttered in heavily accented Vani. "Evening." One of the guards chuckled but neither made any move to halt the man while he passed through the gate. As good an impression to make as any, Rhuryc was glad to finally have reached his destination, even if he had no idea just where it was that he had been headed in the first place.

[Larina]

Spring 3, 511 AV Today a lighter, powdery snow fell from the clear sky. This was a welcome change of pace from the almost blinding bucketfuls that had impeded Larina’s travels. She held out her gloves and watched the tiny flakes settle on her hands; they didn’t even melt anymore, she was so cold. A sudden gust of wind made her flinch and withdraw her hands back into the folds of her cloak. She was nestled in the back of a small horse drawn cart next to some boxes of dried goods. Traders generally welcomed a bit of protection from Kelvic’s while on their trade routes, and Larina was no exception. She had certainly paid her way and then some by protecting the merchants; dire animals were beastly to fight and seemed drawn to the smell of the horses. Larina considered the size of the dire monsters and began to wonder about exactly why they grew so big. They must start out as small babies, like any other animal. But there aren't any other animals that large. It must be something about Taldera that makes the grow that way. The cold? No, Vanthas live in the cold too and it doesn’t turn them into giants. What about their diet? Animals, vegetation, roots, and nuts most likely. Nothing really special about any of them, and the Vantha eat them too. Though, Vantha do have trade routes to get exotic fare as well. The dire creatures probably have to eat snow for a water source. But the Vantha…? Do they eat snow? They build with it, surely. But they might have underground aquifers and wells to get fresh water. Then it must be the snow that makes dire monsters so large! But that means, if someone eats some of it… Do you think…? As Larina was about to lick the snow from her gloved hands, the cart driver gave a shout. Larina looked up and saw the colossal ice gates before her. Her thoughts went rather numb for a moment at the sight, but she immediately started to give them a good look over. Their position, their relative strength and defensive position, their aesthetic beauty. Larina was thoroughly impressed as the merchants’ little cart lumbered closer and closer to the magnificent gates. Two enormous polar bears sat at attention before the gate, and Larina could tell by instinct that they too were Kelvic. She sat upon her knees as the cart passed by the bears and gave a very small bow to each one in respect for their service. One of the bear’s gave a short nod in reply, while the other practically beamed down at her little gesture. Once inside the gates, the cart came to a halt and the traders’ hopped out. The leader among them came over to Larina, ruffled her hair, and asked, “Are you sure you’re going to be alright here, little one?” Believing she deserved a bit more respect for protecting them on the voyage, Larina swatted away his hand and said, “Yes, thank you. I’ll be able to make my way just fine.” He shrugged his shoulders and headed back to the others. Larina stood at the threshold of Avanthal, ready to make her way into the city. Though, she did give one last glance back at the gates and wondered idly what would happen if she licked them.

[Fantol]

511 AV, 2nd day of Spring Fantol approached the Icewall gate in a fast stride. It might be spring, but the chill of winter still clinged to the early mornings. The sun was rising in the east, casting a brilliant blaze over the icestone wall, shimmering in an array of colorful lights. But he had no time to regard the splendours of nature. Rubbing his arms against the cold, all he could think of was warm shelter. His dark gray cloak blew sideways with a gentle wind as he entered, unable to contain a shifty glance at the guards. Least of all did he need their attention.

[Sharth]

Spring 65, 511 AV

Sharth trudged along through the snow, his limbs aching. His black fur had long since camouflaged white to match his surroundings, a feature of his people. His large size and long limbs made it easier to travel through the snow. His fur helped to protect him from the elements, but he was still frozen through and through. Each step caused him to lean against his large quarterstaff, a gift from his father. His large backpack still felt foreign on him, but a traveler needed a lot of things to survive. He had thought he was doomed many days ago, trudging through the terrain that was vastly different when compared to Spires.

He had almost ran out of food thirty or so days ago, but he was discovered by some Vanthan hunters or trappers. He couldn't be too sure, some of the lingo was confusing. They helped him out some, and managed to get him near the city. It had been fifteen days since he'd seen them and he was starving. He had lost a good amount of his body weight in the journey. He was glad to see that it wasn't snowing today. He was tired of his fur growing damp from the constant snow.

A glint in the distance caught his eye. He stopped and pulled his spyglass, a rarity he purchased before having left town, and held it up gingerly to his eye. It appeared to be a wall made of ice, with two people and two bears standing guard. He smiled. He'd finally arrived to the magical land in the north. Avanthal.

He put his spyglass away and continued toward the gate, a slight spring in his step. He hoped this town had some food to eat and friendly people to enjoy. He smiled as unmenacingly as he could at the guards as he passed through. He knew his people didn't travel often and were often imposing figures. He was now in the land of Morwen. Maybe he would get to meet the queen of ice.

[Conner O'Brian]

70th of Spring 511AV

Conner rode up on his great white horse, as he stared in awe at the great gates. They were much taller than he expected. He assumed the name Ice gates was just a nick name, but they truly looked like ice. Was it an optical illusion, or did they honestly build the gates from actual ice? Conner had no idea, but it was really fascinating.

Two large guards along with polar bears, actual polar bears, stood at the mouth of the gate. The Guards seemed less than interested in Conner, they simply waved him on, and continued to stand their watch. One of the Polar bears seemed interested by the dead fox hanging from the horse's saddle, but did nothing. Conner smiled nervously at the bear, not knowing what either of the polar bears truly were.

He continued through the gate with out incident.

[Erik Larou]

3rd Day of Summer, 511A.V. The constant crunching of snow filled the air as the caravan advanced along the frozen landscape that made up Taldera. Bringing up the rear of the group was a tall young man too busy trying to keep his hands warm to be able to play his violin. "Wouldn't it have been easier just to hire a ferry across the sea?" He calls to the lead cart. A scraggly bearded face peeks back at him. "First, that would cost us money, which for a trader like myself, is bad. Second, quit your whining. It's not my fault you forgot to buy yourself a pair of gloves! Finally, You didn't have to come with us, but if you want, you can turn around and head back. Alone." And with warm display of compassion the scraggly face disappeared once more. "Prick." Erik muttered under his breath, thankful that he had at least gotten snowshoes. But the man had a point, he wasn't forced to come along, not by anyone there anyway. It was his own inability to stay still for more than a few weeks. Sure, he could just headed to Alvadas and waited for the next ship willing to take him to Syliras. "But no, I just had to go right now!" He chided himself before stifling what was almost a sneeze. "And now I'm stuck with this a-aaa-ACHOO!" A forceful sneeze interrupted his sentence and caused his jacket to squirm. Moments later a fluffly orange head poked it's way out though the neck of the jacket. "It's alright TJ." He sighed, scratching the cat under it's chin. "I'm just coming down with a cold is all". The head quickly disappeared again, hiding from the frigid air as the wind began to pick up. "Hey, maybe we should stop and set up camp for a bit? I gotta bad feeling about the weather." Erik called once more to front of the Caravan, his voice nearly drowned out by the flapping of fabric. It would take an idiot not to recognize the approaching storm. Once more the scraggly faced head appeared. "What's wrong? Afraid of a little wind?" The caravan leader snapped back at him before disappearing back behind the cart. Erik was about to try again, albeit in a significantly less friendly manner when a sudden gust knocked him on him off balance. Visibility dropped to only a few feet in a matter of seconds as the snowstorm hit. Erik braced himself against the winds, slowly moving forward, trying to keep up with the rest of the caravan. Fifteen chimes later, the storm died down almost as quickly as it had come. Erik paused to look around, the caravan was nowhere in sight and the tracks were covered by the fresh snow. In the distance he could make out a shimmer of light, the reflection off of one of the pans hanging on the back of the rear cart! It was a full three bells before the source of the reflection came into view; A massive set of gates made of what appeared to be solid ice. If he hadn't been here before, he'd have called himself mad right then and there. Even though he knew he would find hot food and shelter, he still let out an audible groan. "I hope someone up there is getting a kick out of this. I travel through Taldera two times, just two, and both times I get caught in a petching snowstorm! Both times I wind up here! I don't know whether I should be enraged or thankful I'm not going to wind up as wolf chow." No matter what the appropriate response may have been, he put on a smile as he passed the Icewatch guards with their massive polar bear mounts and entered the city of ice.

[Soulemn]

She blinked twice, what day was it? Ignoring her own thought, she pushed her tired feet forward. For nearly 3 weeks she has been tredging through the dense snow, both forms completely worn out. In human form, her thick hide boots slipped right into a soft patch of snow, sending her knee deep in bone-chilling powder. Angered, she pulled herself up and stood there, angered to the point where she needed to focus on her breathing. Controlling her anger was getting easier with each passing month, but as the anger recessed sorrow began to gather at the edges of her eyes. Was she making a mistake by going to the unknown? Why was it so difficult, no matter the way you lived your life? Diverting her eyes from her pathetic rant, she saw what she had sought.
Glowing as pure as the fur of her mother, she saw the grand Icewall Gates. This wasn't the first time she saw these walls, but it was the first time she approached it on purpose. Travelling from small settlement to small settlement, she has learned enough from them to gain enough confidence to go to the big city. The first time she saw the glow, she believed she had reached the Gods, that on her journey it was finally her time to receive full happiness. Of course, shortly after trying to approach the glow, her right hind leg was swept from underneath her and... well, that's a memory better forgotten. She was here now, and without the threats of being skinned.
Making her way to the entrance, her right boot squished with every step. Rolling her eyes, she might as well stop and allow her boot to dry along with her foot before entering the city....