He had walked many miles South, through meadows of ice and snow.
Eventually, the snow started to fade from the landscape as the male wolf kept on his journey, leaving the taiga behind. When he finally stepped into the northern border of the Sunspire Mountains, there was no white: only a barren land of ash and loosen earth swirling with the gale; a torment to Amaguq's sole eye. The air was heavy with electricity, its scent harbinger of a storm to come.
The few trees lie scattered across the scarred land, naked, dry, distorted by the strong winds, bark filled with scars, some of them displaying black burnt patches, or burnt as a whole, beyond any chance of recovering.
But there is one tree in there, an ancient one, who endured more than any other: its wide trunk was sliced in half by a thunderbolt a couple of years ago. And yet, surprisingly, the broken tree still lives. Amaguq could feel it.
To anywhere he looked, he could see the few residents of that place struggle to survive the inhospitable land: from the trees to the bugs, to the prying vultures and the slim foxes who happen to pass by.
The battle between life and adversity is a constant, and every living being is tossed to the odds. Amaguq fell in love with it!
A couple of meters ahead, he found a skull, half-buried by the ash: he recognized it, purely by its shape, as being the one of a fallen doe. Her scent was long gone, overtaken by the bittersweet scent of death. Amaguq crouched to sharp his teeth on it for a while.
Eventually, the snow started to fade from the landscape as the male wolf kept on his journey, leaving the taiga behind. When he finally stepped into the northern border of the Sunspire Mountains, there was no white: only a barren land of ash and loosen earth swirling with the gale; a torment to Amaguq's sole eye. The air was heavy with electricity, its scent harbinger of a storm to come.
The few trees lie scattered across the scarred land, naked, dry, distorted by the strong winds, bark filled with scars, some of them displaying black burnt patches, or burnt as a whole, beyond any chance of recovering.
But there is one tree in there, an ancient one, who endured more than any other: its wide trunk was sliced in half by a thunderbolt a couple of years ago. And yet, surprisingly, the broken tree still lives. Amaguq could feel it.
To anywhere he looked, he could see the few residents of that place struggle to survive the inhospitable land: from the trees to the bugs, to the prying vultures and the slim foxes who happen to pass by.
The battle between life and adversity is a constant, and every living being is tossed to the odds. Amaguq fell in love with it!
A couple of meters ahead, he found a skull, half-buried by the ash: he recognized it, purely by its shape, as being the one of a fallen doe. Her scent was long gone, overtaken by the bittersweet scent of death. Amaguq crouched to sharp his teeth on it for a while.
March 01, 2021, 11:07 AM
Amaguq managed to survive the harsh land by following vultures to the carcasses. It wasn't a very dignified life, but Amaguq didn't complain. So long as he lives to see another day, he's satisfied.
One night, a thunderstorm tore the skies apart, bolts cracked the clouds with a roar so high the earth beneath the wolf's pads trembled. Amaguq could feel his legs shaking, his mouth drooling with anxiety, his instincts screaming for him to flee... And yet the spectacle was so utterly beautiful Amaguq couldn't move: couldn't do anything other than gazing the skies with reverence.
At least until one of such bolts flashed in the corner of his eye. Before he realized it, one tall, slim tree that was standing next to him was set ablaze, and the flames took no time taking over its dried body: the trunk, the branches, everything was engulfed in flames.
Such beauty, such danger! To witness such a thing was surreal! Amaguq felt blessed by every breath he takes, every heartbeat, the feeling of the fire warming his fur... It is truly the Gods' blessing! And also, a warning to the wolf's good sense: if he wishes to thrive, he must keep going. Amaguq had lost some weight since he got there, and the meat scraps he managed to find may have kept him alive so far, but the wolf faced the harsh reality: in a long-term scenario, that place will take whatever meat he's got left around his bones.
He would be condemned to be another dried skeleton in the wasteland.
One night, a thunderstorm tore the skies apart, bolts cracked the clouds with a roar so high the earth beneath the wolf's pads trembled. Amaguq could feel his legs shaking, his mouth drooling with anxiety, his instincts screaming for him to flee... And yet the spectacle was so utterly beautiful Amaguq couldn't move: couldn't do anything other than gazing the skies with reverence.
At least until one of such bolts flashed in the corner of his eye. Before he realized it, one tall, slim tree that was standing next to him was set ablaze, and the flames took no time taking over its dried body: the trunk, the branches, everything was engulfed in flames.
Such beauty, such danger! To witness such a thing was surreal! Amaguq felt blessed by every breath he takes, every heartbeat, the feeling of the fire warming his fur... It is truly the Gods' blessing! And also, a warning to the wolf's good sense: if he wishes to thrive, he must keep going. Amaguq had lost some weight since he got there, and the meat scraps he managed to find may have kept him alive so far, but the wolf faced the harsh reality: in a long-term scenario, that place will take whatever meat he's got left around his bones.
He would be condemned to be another dried skeleton in the wasteland.
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