Draska was born in the second winter on Targa Blue.As we all know the second winter is a violent though short lived phenomenon of nature that occurs only once every seven years.To be born in that cycle is to be cursed to a life of misery and pain say the native Whisperers.Most Targans go off world to give birth if their time falls near the second winter but Draska's mother was deaf,dumb and blind .She lived in the base of a hollow tree with an old dwarf named Moldo.She adored him because he had saved her life when she was thrown away by callous parents when she was an infant.
Dwarves on Targa Blue live forever and never age at all so when she grew up he asked Shale if she wanted to be his wife and of course she happily agreed.When she found out she was going to have a baby,Shale danced about madly and kissed her husband and the dog.Moldo could communicate with her thoughts and explained to her that the child would be born cursed due to the time of birth but she refused to believe that.
As the howling Banshee winds tore through the forest above them,Shale and Moldo descended into the depths below the enchanted oak.In the candlelit cavern amid the tangled roots,Moldo nestled his wife in eider down and feathered quilts.She was not bothered by the sounds above as she was not able to hear anything but her husband's sweet thoughts for her and the baby.
Moldo smoothed her hair and kissed her face and sang a mental serenade to her all through the long winter's night.Finally just after Midnight,the tiny child found his way into the world.Moldo laid the infant upon his mother's breast and covered them with the softest of their blankets.Then he lay down beside them and waited.He had lived eleven hundred years without an heir ,hiding in the witch wood but now things would be different.
It was his sworn duty as a Father to take his son to the Great hall of Truth .He lay there far below the raging winter winds and wondered why he had allowed this to happen.
Shale turned her milky blue eyes towards her husband and saw the usual aura of colored light that she always saw around him.Now she was thrilled to see that same glow around their son.She snuggled him close and smiled .This was surely a gift from the great God above.How could such a beautiful life be called cursed.
Moldo laughed to hear her happy thoughts and made his way slowly back up to take a look at the weather.In the ground level rooms,the air was frigid .He opened the door and a great gust of icy air knocked him backwards to fall over a footstool with a thud.Before he could jump up and slam the door,a black ball rolled in to land beside him.
Moldo sprang up and quickly shut the door,then climbed up on a wooded chair away from the dark ball.He reached over and grabbed a long spoon which hung on the wall and gave the ball a poke.
"Ouch,"yelled the ball ,"Stop that ,"it cried.
Moldo screamed but Shale could not hear him and he was too frightened to think about thinking.
"What or who are you?"he asked,"Are you a demon?"
"No,of course not,"answered the ball with some annoyance.
"Roll me somewhere warmer and I will show you,"it instructed .
"I swear I will do you no harm and perhaps I may do you some good,".
Moldo took down a meat cleaver from the wall and said,
"Alright,but I warn you,I have a weapon to defend myself."
The dwarf pushed and shoved the ball down into the warm cavern amidst the roots below .When he stopped,the thing gave a great shivering shake and began to unroll itself.The outside was black cloth from which first one arm and then another projected.Then two very short legs began to unbend and a craggy head raised up from the middle of the whole thing.
"Why,you are a Blizzard Wizard!"Moldo laughed "And I have found you.You must grant me anything I wish before the day has past."
The ancient being coughed and reached in his pocket for his pointed hat."Well,at least I have wound up with a believer,"he mused ."So,have you any grog?I need a warm up ."he said as he pulled the hat down on his balding head."You would never have found me if I hadn't been so cold.I had to seek shelter.This is the coldest second winter I have seen in a thousand years or more."
The dwarf hurried to bring the wizard a gourd full of grog and a crust of bread to go with it.He could not believe his good fortune but he had to keep a close eye on the visitor .Legend had it that if he could sneak away without granting the wish ,all would be lost.
As the wizard drank,Moldo told him of the birth of Draska and his fears of the curse.Deeper in the root cave,Shale nursed her infant and thought out to Moldo.She was feeling frightened and alone.
Moldo finally tuned back into his frightened wife and sent her a reassuring message.He had to make a big decision now and he was at a loss as to what to do.Should he wish for the removal of the curse on his son or should he wish that his adoring wife be made whole?
He watched the Wizard finish the last of his drink and offered more.When the man refused,Moldo said,"Will you come with me to meet my family good sir?"
The wizard sighed and said,"My name is Abbu Da Gast,and yes,I will accompany you because I am not yet ready to freeze to death outside."
Moldo led the way through the twisted roots to the little den at the bottom.He went to his wife and held her close,telling her of their good fortune.Tears fell from her sightless eyes as she implored him to cleanse their son of the dreaded curse.Moldo took the baby in his arms and smiled as Draska played with his beard.Abbu Da Gast could see what an advanced child this newborn was.He remarked,
"What an unusual boy!He will surely overcome anything that befalls him.I can see it all now.You must not waste your wish on one who does not need it.On the other hand,think how wonderful it would be for your wife to see his face.She could make his childhood so much better if she could hear his voice and sing him a lullaby."
Moldo looked at her and put the child down on the quilts.
"I have made my decision!"he announced ."I wish that my wife should regain all her senses and faculties at once."
Abbu Da Gast stood up to his full height of four feet and laughed .He spread his long arms out over Shale's head and whispered something in a sing song tone.The still flames in the candles started to flicker and a stiff wind came spinning through the den.Every candle was snuffed out at once and then a sound never heard before rent the darkness.Shale began to scream!
Moldo tried to find her in the blackness but she was terrified and started climbing for the surface .Being able to see in the dark,Abbu Da Gast picked up the baby and held him close.
"A little too much for Mummy all at once,"he cooed ,wrapping his long black cloak around the child.
In the room above them,Shale stared wide eyed at the horrible dwarf that was her husband and screamed.She turned and flinging open the door,ran madly out into the blizzard with Moldo fast on her heels.The door swung shut and all was silent save the howling of the wind.
Abbu Da Gast wrapped the baby in a blanket and began to sing him an old song his mother used to sing.
The eerie strains slithered and writhed around the gnarled roots of the dark cellar ,rising to hang in the icy air above.
Oh, the winter wishes are the curse
foretold so long ago.
the second winter must give birth
to misery and woe.
come to my arms accursed child
the witches know your name.
by eels and toads and lizard's bile
you'll never be the same.
The baby seemed to hang on every word,fascinated by the wizard's voice.When the song was through,Abbu Da Gash swaddled the child tightly and rose up into the upper room with the baby in his arms.The bright jingle of bells signaled the arrival of his carriage outside .The door opened to reveal a beautiful woman dressed in red with a ruff of white fur around her exquisite face.
"Bravo,my son,"she cried,"You have found me the perfect grandson at last! Hurry we must return to the cliffs at once."
They boarded an enormous carriage sparkling of colored lights cutting shining swaths through the falling snow.It thundered off through the woods pulled by six fiery beasts who then took flight above the frozen trees.Inside the warm interior,Queen Silver Scales took the baby in her arms ,examining him from head to foot.
"A rare and wonderful find,"she whispered,"Thank you my son.Did you have any difficulties?"
Abbu scoffed,"It was too easy.I simply pretended to be their benefactor .They were not expecting the curse to be disguised as a blessing.No one ever is."
"There are so few to choose from anymore,"she lamented,"But no matter.This is cause for a celebration.We must have a naming ceremony when the moon is full."
Far below them Moldo struggled to drag his half frozen wife back to the enchanted tree trunk.Pulling her through the door,he stumbled down into the cellar with her frigid body.Climbing into bed with her he fell into a sleep of sheer exhaustion.Many hours passed before he woke to hear her moaning,"My baby,my baby,where is my baby?"
A thin shaft of light managed to find its way down from above and in that dim column Moldo saw his wife rocking back and forth with the child's blanket in her arms.
"The wizard!,"cried Moldo and jumped up to shake his fists at the world."The wizard tricked us,"he said out loud and was surprised to see that Shale could hear him.
Shale wept bitterly in Moldo's arms,"I'm so ashamed,"she told him,"I didn't mean to hurt you.I was just so overwhelmed.I had never seen or heard anything before."
The words came slowly and with great effort.She had hardly spoken before either."Moldo,my husband,you must bring back our son."
The dwarf hung his head and muttered,"I will find him if it takes forever.The second winter ends in a fortnight.I will be ready to go as soon as it is over."
But Shale could not wait to find her baby.She felt strong and filled with power .She could see,hear and speak,she was a god.When Moldo fell asleep a few hours later,she put on three layers of clothing and Moldo's fur coat.She wanted to kiss him but she was afraid he would awaken.She found a leather pouch and filled it with bread and cheese and a gourd of grog.beside these she placed acorns,buttons,a needle and thread and a small mirror.Holding up the mirror she looked at herself for the first time in her life.She had nothing to compare herself to except the horrid little dwarf but she was satisfied with her appearance.The long yellow hair fell in waves around an oval face with big blue eyes and cupid's bow lips.She smiled and then closed up the pouch and put it over her shoulder.
Wrapping a thick scarf around her face,she threw open the door taking the full onslaught of the winds.It had stopped snowing and she could see the broken shards of the cliffs known as the Silver Swords in the distance.She gasped as the frigid fingers of the second winter tightened its icy grip.Steeling herself against the onslaught ,she stepped out into a steaming pile of horse droppings.
"Good,"she cried,because she could,"This is a way to follow you."and she began to run off down the trail between the ghostly trees keeping track of the horse droppings along the way.Suddenly they stopped and she knew what that meant,flight.She closed her eyes and focused on her baby, using all the senses she had developed over her years of being deaf and blind. Glancing around in the moonlight,she spied a dark space in a snowbank up ahead.Shivering uncontrollably she ran toward it to find that it was a small cave.
Inside the cave Shale could smell an animal.She had crawled to the back of the small opening and huddled there shaking violently when she felt a cold wet nose against her cheek.The creature sent a thought of fearful curiousity which Shale caught along with a vision of the animal itself.
She reached into her pouch and brought out a handful of acorns which brought forth a series of high pitched squeaks.Shale smiled and put the nuts down beside her.They quickly disappeared.Within minutes,the swamp squirrel was snuggled up inside Shale's coat ,cozy and warm.The woman curled up and dozed off for an hour before she continued her quest with a new companion along for the acorns.
Burning brightly through the cold night air,the wizard's carriage
roared into view above the highest cliff in the Range of Swords.Scattering sparks across the cobblestones,the wheels ground to a halt and the driver flew down from his seat to open the door for his master.Queen Silver Scales stepped out gently with the child in her arms followed by Abbu Da Gast.The courtyard filled with the inhabitants of the castle eager to catch a glimpse of the new Prince.Only one person did not join the happy crowd,a young denizen of the dungeon,hung her golden head and wept.
Haven knew the pomp and circumstance of the palace life.She too had been stolen as a babe in arms.She too had been raised as the child of the queen but no matter what they did , she would not conform to their evil ways.In spite of seventeen years of mentoring ,Abbu Da Gast had finally given up on his prize pupil.Still ,she could have been allowed to simply exist within the confines of the castle had she not overtly challenged them.Thus she was now and forever a prisoner ,albeit a well treated one.
Crookshank,the prison guard,had known her all her life and loved her like a daughter."Haven,my dear,"he called,"Can you hear the commotion ?"He unlocked the cell door and came in with a large tray.
"Yes,Uncle,"she answered,"They sound happy."
"Yes,it's the new heir to replace you,"he replied sadly,"Come now and try a little soup.Missus has baked your favorite muffins too."
He took the cloth off the tray to reveal a steaming bowl of lentil soup and two crusty muffins.Sitting it down on the rough wooden table he said,"Please eat .You must keep your strength up so that when I can arrange it ,you may escape this place."
She smiled and reached out to hug the old man."Thank you Uncle,I will try."
A loud noise got their attention then as two soldiers came dragging in a ragged young man.They threw him into the cell next to Haven's and slammed the door.
"Thief!"they tossed back over their shoulders and were gone back to the festivities.
The young man spat at them and rattled the bars.Crookshank said to Haven,"It's the new stable boy from the village.he must have stolen something.I will go and find out and come back as soon as I can."
The young man turned his attention to Haven as soon as the guards were gone.He ran his fingers through his short auburn hair and dusted himself off.She laughed to see him preening when his face was smudged and his clothes were torn.
He stopped abruptly and looked over at her,"What's so funny?"
"Nothing,"she said ,turning away to sit down at her rickety table,"Nothing at all.What's your name?Mine is Haven."She was glad to have someone to talk to.
The light from her prized lantern shone into his cell revealing a growing blood stain on his sleeve."You're hurt,"she said,"come closer and let me see."
"It's nothing,"he mumbled,"Hey,are you going to eat those muffins ?"
"I'll share with you if you let me look at your wound,"she offered.Her caring nature always reached out to help anyone in need.
Reluctantly he came to the bars and she tore away the sodden sleeve exposing a long gash on his forearm.He grimaced as she poured some water from her own jug onto a strip of cloth and began cleaning the cut.Then she tore off a strip of the hem of her dress and used it for a bandage.His green eyes sparkled with humor in the lamplight as she finished the job.
"Now I ask you,what's so funny,"she remarked.
"The great Princess Haven playing nursemaid to Colin the slave.
Nobody would ever believe it.Now can I have my muffins?"
She handed him the bread and sat down to eat her soup.The savory liquid warmed her and she watched him as she ate pretending they were friends at a picnic.Between bites of muffin he said,"I suppose you're wondering what I stole,aren't you ?Well it was two loaves of bread to take home to my sisters.They are little and got nobody but me to look after them."
Bringing the last of her soup to Colin,Haven sighed and said,
"The people below are starving and the queen doesn't care."
He brushed the crumbs from his lips and grabbed the spoon.She held the bowl up to the bars so he could scoop out the last of the warm lentils.
"Thank you Princess,"he said,"I will find a way to repay you."
Above them in the castle,the revelry continued.
The sounds reverberated through the frozen forest .Shale tilted her head and listened and then set off in the direction of the commotion.
Crookshank returned with a heavy cloak and a knapsack.Entering the cell he clutched the girl to his chest and whispered,"You are leaving now.It is your only chance.The merriment will be our best hope for covering your escape."
Haven shivered and looked at the young man."Only if he comes with me,"she told him."He will have his right hand chopped off for simply trying to feed his family if he remains."