It had been years since we had been forced to leave our homes. Since the human’s first created their technologies, the world began to heat. It became so hot that our kind could not live anywhere near them. I remember in my early years having to travel great distances through the night to avoid the sun. I remember watching many of our kind die from the heat of human survival. I came close to death too at one point.

The only land we could live safely on was the land of ice that floated far in the sea. But there were was hardly any food to be found there. And recently humans began to inhabit there too.
 But now it was our time.

Our greatest mages gathered together one night under a full moon. They harnessed their strongest magic and sent it high in the sky and brought the dark clouds down from the heavens. That was when the snow started to fall.

And kept falling.

Now, all of the lands were covered in a thick cover of our snow. We could leave the great land of ice and spread out. We could survive now without having to worry about the human’s heat. I didn’t know much, but i did know that it was due to their ‘iilektrisity’, which was failing them now. Without it, they couldn’t survive in our cold.

It had been months since the spell was cast. I was walking slowly through the human’s large village of metal, watching the snow gently fluttering to the ground. in front me three of the icelings ran and played. It cooled me to see them playing without a care in the world, when only moons ago we were on the verge of dying out.

When one of the icelings suddenly sat in the snow, i slowly walked up behind her. I leaned over to see her holding her hands close to herself, as if she were holding something precious. Her face was contorted in concentration. To my delight, a small white light began to sparkle in the middle of her hands. But just as quickly it had disappeared, and the iceling sighed in disappointment.

“Don’t me discouraged.” I soothed as i sat beside her. I held my hands out, just as she had done. Instead of a small sparkle, i concentrated and felt the coldness stretch over my hands. A bright light shined from my hands, and the icelings gathered in awe. I relaxed my concentration, and the light disappeared. “you’ll get it eventually.” I encouraged, offering a gentle smile. 

“Adair, what’s that?” One of the icelings asked, pointing off into the distance. I looked up into the darkness to see a tiny speck of light in the distance. I squinted hard, trying to figure out what it was. It had an orange tint, and it looked like it was…dancing.

Recognition hit me, and my breath caught in my throat. That could only be one thing. I quickly stood up, ushering the children away.”Go, find the elder and tell him what you’ve found!” I said urgently, pushing them away. The icelings now looked frightened, and obeyed immediately. They ran as fast as their little legs would carry them. I watched, making sure they were really leaving, before turning back to the orange speck. With a misty breath, i began to walk towards it.

When i got close, i hid close to the tall village houses to stay hidden. As i got closer, i realized with growing anxiety that the speck was almost like an inferno on top of a large pile of burning wood. Around this inferno sat a large group of people. I had heard that humans were pink in colour, but while their faces were pink, borderline red, their backs were almost as pale as my own. They all looked immensely thin too. A few were cuddled in amongst themselves, holding on as if to keep themselves warm. But the feature that caught my attention was their eyes. Even though i was a spirit of the cold, their eyes sent an uncomfortable chill through me. Some looked fearful, Some had anger blazing in their eyes. Some looked like they had just…accepted what was happening. Had given up on their lives.

A scream echoed through the village center. I stepped closer into the shadow of the house on impulse. A woman came running out , carrying a limp child. The circle parted, then gathered around her. The child was just as pale as she was, but he also looked close to death. Humans were covering the child with layers upon layers of clothes. But the child did not respond.

“come closer to the fire.” someone said, a hand on the now sobbing woman’s shoulder. It took her a moment, but she shakily stood up. That’s when i noticed her body. I was amazed she could even carry that child with how thin she was. She stumbled closer to the fire with one of the humans supporting her. They sat down, and that was how they stayed. The other humans whispered amongst themselves, but other than that they did nothing to help.

 I wanted to keep watching, but i had to get back to my clan. I had to explain what i had seen to the elder. But as much as i wanted to run away, i also wanted to stay and keep watching them. There was something uncomfortable siting in my stomach. the elders said that humans were creatures of fire. They were dangerous and could not be trusted. But as i watched on, i could see too many traits that were just like us.

A dark thought began to tickle the back of my mind. What made them so much lesser than us? Weren’t we just doing the same to them? I quickly pushed the thought down to the deepest part of my mind, and quietly stood up. I took a step backwards, then another, my eyes never leaving the group. Once i was far away enough, i turned and sprinted away. I couldn’t think like that. They were bad. The elders were never wrong.

…weren’t they?