The kings have traveled from far away
They follow the bright star, never to stray
Past shepherds and their flock, they do not delay
To bring gifts to the newborn fawn of the hay


The first to come is Kody, the king of wolven clan
His ebony fur shimmers beneath the starlit land
His gift to the fawn to rise and command
The lupin stone of scarlet firebrand


The second king is Crucio, of pride and tone
The silent reaper of fearful crone
His gift is meant only for those of the throne
A sacred relic, a dragon’s wishbone


The third is the ruler of science, Mar Sart
His crown bears truth of a deer so smart
The gift he brings is closest to his heart
A golden key with knowledge to impart


The three bow to their fawnly king
Gifts to lead, master, and inspire they bring
They see the future as bright and brimming
As the Great Star above on this holy evening

Author’s Note – This story was included this year in honor of those who celebrate Hanukkah during this time.


On an autumn day, a doe met a kind stag, and the two were soon mates. Ourania was looked on with favor by her mother, Ma, and the doe loved her mother dearly. Ourania and her new mate soon decided to migrate to a new home far away, and once every year her mother would come to visit.


But when they arrived at their new home, Ourania soon discovered that life had become more difficult. There were new challenges for the couple to handle, such as low food sources at times as well as predation from coyotes. Ourania was lucky that her strong stag could protect her, but the night time was especially terrifying for her when she heard the coyotes call. But there were other things that were troubling to her in this new place. The environment was not as clean as Ourania had liked. The water in the streams tasted odd, and the air had an unusual smell.


When Ma came to visit, she learned that Ourania was miserable in this new home. ”Mother, I hate this forest. The grass and berries taste terrible, and there are too many coyotes attacking us. I’m on edge every night just thinking about them.”, Ourania spoke.


[=#EDDA74]”Oh mon enfant, it is quite belle here, no? Why not give it some time, I am sure you will love your new home then.

The Forest was filled with snow, and the Pond was frozen just enough for the fawns to slide across on their little hooves. The adults laughed and conversed while the little ones bounded in the snow, leaving hoof tracks and even trying to draw their pictograms in the snow with their hooves.

Deep in the Birch Forest, four young deer worked on a creation. ”I just love the idea of making a dragon in the snow!”, Kamikazi said excitedly.

”I thought it was some weird deer…”, Seda spoke.

“It’s a ‘kirin’, kind of a mix between a dragon and a deer.”, Anjali explained.

”Well I’m going to just love it when it’s finished!”, Blue said happily.

The four continued to build on the snow creature. They put leaves down it’s sides, giving it a green stripe for a bit of color. The mane of the kirin was covered with willow leaves. They put long stalks of field grass on the snout to give it whiskers. And even the eyes were made from special pale-blue stones that the Twin Gods gave them.

The four were very pleased with their creation, as the snow kirin sat like a statue, guarding and protecting them with a pose much like that of a gargoyle. But then Seda tilted his head, ”It doesn’t have antlers…”, he spoke.

”Hmm…well we could go find some fallen twigs for antlers I suppose…”, Kamikaze suggested.

Anjali shook his head, “I think we could find a real pair of antlers, I’m sure someone’s shedding theirs this late in the year.”, he thought.

[=#6666CC]”Oh good idea!

Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
“Peace on Earth, goodwill to men”
Hark the herald angels sing
“Peace on Earth, goodwill to men”

The fawns and young deer sat around the elder, his chiseled face smiling upon them all. The gods provided them a fire this cold night, and all around were old artifacts, reminders of those who lived long ago. The deer sat by old helmets, guns, bullets, and other decaying things that they knew very little about. They simply passed by these things on a daily basis, never understanding what a “man” even was.

“Sir? What does that mean? ‘Goodwill to men’?”, one of the fawns asked.

Iaurdagnire smiled, as he is asked this question each time he sings the old carol. “Ah yes, the mystery of men. Well, look all around and you will see the old things men used to have. See, these odd, unnatural things were like their antlers and fur. They used them to fight one another, and over time, they ceased to exist.”, he spoke to them.

“What did a man look like?”, a different fawn asked.

“Oh they were like monsters. They wore great big iron pots on their heads, walked on their hind legs, and carried terrible shooting things, with knives on them. And their eyes flashed, and had strange snouts on their faces that go all the way down to their stomach.”, the storyteller certainly made the fawns shiver when he described them.

“But how?

Dawns light arose over the deerling's pelt drawing him from the resemblance of sleep to see the wind brush through the thicket. Shifting his wieght onto spendly legs Xair slowly pushed from the ground and shook his pelt, still to young to hold onto any mask or spell for very long his pelt remained simple. Eyes darting about in morning cuation before stepping out into the dulling grass spotting no others around, leading to a peacful morning.
The spring was also clear that morning, but the fawn was still carful remembering the last time he drank from the strange fountains lead to him hopping around as a rabbit. Bending down slowly Xair dipped and drank dreading the strange feeling that fallowed. Befor long the male fawn found himself feeling very small and mucusy. Instead of a rabbit the spring had changed him into the being of a small frog. Giving a small croke of dissapointment he waited for the spell to end before moving off to look for the violet flowers that bloomed around the forest floor in small to large patches of color.


~~~~

~Zar

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