She tucked a final strand of frost into the bark and stood up. With a single leap, she took to the air, her silhouette a sharp flicker against the wide, wintry horizon, leaving behind a world of white perfection for those below to dream about.
"The solstice is coming," Kael shouted over the wind, his eyes bright with cold fire.
Elara nodded, looking out over the vast, sparkling valley. In the distance, the Great Frozen Falls stood like a cathedral of glass. Thousands of her kin were there, illuminating the ice from within using captured starlight. From this height, the world looked like a perfect, unmoving portrait—a still image of peace held in a fragile balance of ice and magic.
