A bird wheeling above him, the stag watched it dip and dive. The world had suddenly grown cold. Roe and the apocalypse had disappeared....

My fur was caked with frost, but for some reason I didn't care. The cold wind felt friendly, the tern up high seemed happy to see me. That was when she dove and skimmed over the white expanse. I followed, running again over new fallen tundra.

My breath was so warm that it puffed with smoke ahead of me, quickly falling behind as I raced forward after the tern. My laugh was drowned out by the sound of cracking and popping. Ice broke as I skidded to a halt.

The vast sea of water broke, vague outlines of waterfalls and whitewater took form out of the path the ice had made. Vague outlines of home.

Trees of pure ice surrounded me as I walked. Oh were they gorgeous. Their branches tinkled like glass, like falling icicles. They were so gorgeous I did not notice the beast looming in front of me until I was upon him.

A large ice-bear breathed the same air as I did. The tern I had been following was with him, and they were partaking in a meal. I felt compelled to join them.

A moment later I was nibbling on something I never thought I would have tasted: Meat. The meat was vaguely familiar, I couldn't taste it, but it was warm against my lips and slid wetly down my throat. As I ate, I could feel the animals smile. The bear gorged with me, while the tern and a few other birds began to do something....

I grew tired, seemingly falling asleep where I stood. I think it was the meat that tired me.

The birds worked his antlers like malleable clay, adding snow and ice to make them heavy and many-tined. They took the blood from his face, the skin from his meal, the bone from his meal to create a mask for him. As Iphea awoke, they smiled upon him.

I was not adorned. These antlers are heavy and this mask hides my face. Why do I wear all of this? I asked, enraged that they would change me this way.

The bear answered simply: Do you not want this, Iphea? Do you not want to name your daughter?

I lowered my head, bowing to the totem.

Follow the tern, Iphea.

And I did. It led me home.