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Soo yeah.
Yesterday I entered this short lil' story here in a writing contest at my school.
Analecta is this writers club thingy that's been around since my dad went to this high school. xP
Sooome of the names are hard to pronouce, I know. Sooo, I shall show you how!
Szech: (Zeh-ch), Eruhnlin: (Eh-rune-lin), Taghe: (Taj).
I think thooose are all the weird spelt ones. >>;
No worries, even I have a hard time saying them. xD
Mmk, I will shup up now.
Here you go, enjoy:

Nobody could recall when Winter first started. For those who resided within Szech, it was all they knew. It was there when they were born and would still be there when they died. Perhaps it always was there and always will. No one could be certain...

"Civeenlehna de yoto mekanotaghe", she uttered the last words of the ancient summons. An unnatural wind rustled through her hair and roused the freshly fallen snow to its dance once more. From the distance his comforting call reached her, raising her rose lips in a smile upon her pale face.
Shortly thereafter, descending from the skye, was the great ivory winged lyon. He landed softly before her, bowing low to the ground.
"Milady Skafotte, what bade you mine presence?” inquired the lyon still crouched to the earth.
She walked toward him and began stroking his hoary mane.
"Taghe, how many times must I tell you, call me Eruhnlin?" she chuckled.
"Forgive me, Mi...Eruhnlin...” he replied, slightly embarrassed.
She began her way through the snow shrouded forest.
"Taghe..." she started.
"Yes, Eruhnlin?" he answered, curiously.
"Tonight we journey to the town of Gheldshin, where we shall stay 'till dawn then make our way to her mountains."
He nodded in acknowledgment before asking, "But Eruhnlin, what brings us out to this town?"
She stopped suddenly, turning around slowly, expression as cold as the ice that surrounded them.
"Look around you, Taghe. Look at this never ending white death. Have you forgotten your quest, our quest?" she said angrily.
For centuries the quest to end Winter had been the task of the Skafotte family. Passed down from generation to generation, all had failed to complete it. Taghe, the white winged lyon, had been created solely to aid them in vanquishing Winter. He had lived to see hundreds of her kith born to it and die of it.
"Of course not!" he roared.
"Good..." she said quietly.
"Well then", she continued, "as you know, for the past few years I have been studying the ancient texts and have pasted from town to town gathering their legends and...I believe I have found it."
"What have you found?" queried the great beast.
She smiled and whispered, "the heart of Winter."
The lyon's eyes grew wide in shock.
"Y-you are s-s-sure?" he stammered, unable to believe what he had just heard. For hundreds of years her kith has searched for Winter's cause. They had all searched for reasonable causes; something had changed in their air, a curse had been left by a powerful rogue sorceress, pollution of the land, and many other reasons had been dreamt up. But none had thought the land had a heart like those who roamed it. None but her mother, who had died before she could see her dreams realized.
Since her mother's death, Eruhnlin had continued her mother's work. She had vowed to find the heart of the land, and would stop at nothing 'till she did.
"Yes, I am quite sure" she grinned.
"Let us make haste then," she went on,” I can hardly wait for Spring's first blossom."
The lyon crouched low to the ground once more, letting the maiden climb atop his winged back. Once safely secure, her hands entangled within his mane, he beat his mighty wings and they rose to masquerade through the skies.
The winds tossed Eruhnlin's ebony locks as they flew. The stars kissed her cheeks. The great lyon and fair maiden were one as they conquered the heavens.
Hours later into the night, their dance above the land ceased. They had arrived in Gheldshin and quickly found their way to the nearest tavern.
That night the pair dreamed of things they had ne'er known. They dreamt of bathing in the sun's warmth as birds and animals pranced around them. They dreamt of the fabled flower and its pleasant aroma. They dreamt of all the beauty Winter's death would bring.
Not before long, the sun's rays called them back to their cold reality. They packed many days’ rations and bedding. The maiden girded herself with her mother's blade and made her way to the icy peaks of Gheldshin, accompanied by her lifelong companion.
They spent many days wandering the summit. Eruhnlin would not say what they sought, but silently wandered the mountain paths. Many days had passed, when at last, she spoke.
"We draw near, come, this way." They stood before an opening in the side of the mountain, almost completely cloaked in ice. Unsheathing her sword, she made entrance for them.
The cave wound downward for many miles. They walked in silence for what seemed like days. They journeyed unceasingly.
At long last the way ended. They found themselves in a circular white room with many strange markings upon the walls. The pair was enchanted by the site. Never before had they seen such a thing. After a few moments of their stunned awe, they noticed an alter in the midst of the room, a faint glow emitting from it.
Their pulses raced. After so many years, they had finally found it; the heart of the land.
Eruhnlin walked toward it ever so slowly, as if afraid it would spook. Upon a violet cushion lay the largest and purest gem she had ever beheld. Within it, the light of the world faintly shone. It was all too obvious it was dying. The light of everything that lived flickered before her. She reached for the jewel, and in the moment her hand grasped it, everything became clear to her.
The lands magic was dying. The hearts of its people had grown cold and unloving, leaving it nothing to thrive on but its self. Centuries of devouring its own life force had left it frozen like the love of the people who dwelled in it. The everlasting Winter was no curse, but the effect of man's hate.
At this burst of knowledge, the maiden fell to her knees weeping, overwhelmed by all she had learned. The planet's pain became her own. She lay gasping before the alter, tears frozen to her cheeks, and willed the planet to feel love again.
She summoned every memory of her mother, every joy spent with Taghe. She forced every ounce of her being into the heart of Szech.
Taghe, realizing what was happening, cried out for her to stop but he was too late.
As the light faded from the maiden's eyes, the gem grew brighter, illuminating the whole chamber in a brilliant green light...

On the morning of her burial, the first flower Szech had known in centuries bloomed.