The winter storm raged. Snow fell in waves, blanketing the earth in white. Furious winds roared, uprooting colossal trees that stood from ages of old, soon to be buried in a tomb of silence.
The blizzard was unrelenting, and never-ending; all life perished in its icy wrath. Trees that had managed to brave the winds were stripped bare, weaker branches had long been snapped, taken away by the storm.
Rivers had been frozen completely, their once flowing waters imprisoned in a thick layer of ice. Beneath its snow-covered surface, marine life lay suspended in eternal stillness; their lives stolen without mercy.
Days passed, the sun and moon rose and fell countless times, the only place indication of the passing of time as the starless sky remained dark.
Yet, the endless winter persisted. It seemed the blizzard would last for an eternity.
Until it didn't.
In the dead of night, when the moon was at its zenith, the winter storm ceased.
With the absence of gale winds, the deafening clamour of aeolian sound faded into obscurity. Only eerie silence and the soft whisper of falling snow were left in its wake.
The falling snow settled into a slow, steady pace as visibility improved, and the surroundings were revealed.
Emerging from the haze was the ravaged scene of a ruined forest. Stillness unfolded as no life existed in the subzero temperatures. Any life that managed to find a safe place to hibernate would only return when the warming spring arrived.
Suddenly, a quiet sound susurrated from beneath the snow. In an inconspicuous patch of snow at the base of a particularly colossal tree, the ground shifted gently until the surface layer broke with a resounding crunch, and a figure climbed out of the snow's embrace.
In a world where even the mightiest of creatures struggle to survive was a young boy. No older than twelve, the boy practically blended in with the winter landscape.
With long white hair that danced gently in the soft breeze and pale skin to match, he appeared like a spirit of snow. Adorning his small body was a massive silvery-black animal pelt that provided him added camouflage and, though minimal, protection from the arctic environment.
Taking a deep breath, the boy's gaze turned upwards, and he watched the moon in silence. Beneath the moon's luminous embrace, the boy sat seemingly relishing in her lunar glow.
Eventually, he tore his gaze away from the moon and started moving.
Time didn't seem to pass as the sky remained dark, but the boy continued traversing the winter wasteland, the familiar crunch of snow accompanying him along the way.
After a while, a deep, continuous hum sounded from beyond a wall of dark trees. The boy's pace picked up upon hearing the noise and he settled into a steady jog, navigating between the thick collection of trees until a vast, raging river was revealed.
Dark waters churned violently against jagged rocks, foam resting in its surface. The roar of the rapid currents was deafening, the very antithesis of the quiet world on the other side of the trees.
The boy approached the water slowly, careful not to lose his footing and slip into the icy void below, and gently lowered his head into the water, taking deep sips of the frigid but deeply refreshing water.
After he'd quenched his thirst, the boy lifted his head from the cold water and observed the river more closely.
Although the rapids were too dark to see beneath its ominous surface, a little ways away was a shallow section of the river where visibility was crystal clear, and the currents moved less violently.
Within the shallows was a dark silhouette moving between the rocky terrain of the riverbed.
The boy moved cautiously, each step as slow and quiet as possible so as to not alert the fish lurking within the shallows.
As he got close enough to keep a clear view of the water, he lowered his body to the ground, pulled the pelt over him and remained completely still.
Hidden beneath the animal pelt, the boy hid his presence. His heart rate and breathing slowed as his focus heightened.
Although the water was perfectly clear, foam still rested on the water's surface as the violent waters further out churned. This made tracking the fish a little more difficult, but the boy made sure to never lose track of this fish.
It didn't take long for the boy to get a clear look at his prey. Camouflaged with the achromatic tones of the riverbed, the fish cruised slowly in the soft currents of the shallows.
The fish was grey in colour, with a streamlined, torpedo-shaped body to help it navigate the harsh currents of the raging river effortlessly.
Time passed, as the boy waited for the opportune moment to strike. He waited until the fish was directly in front of him, and he was positioned in its blind spot before slowly raising his hidden right hand out of the animal pelt.
Slowly, an ethereal light blue energy coalesced above his hand, forming into the shape of a small, streamlined ice arrow with a wickedly sharp pointed tip. Once the ice arrow had formed, the boy waited patiently; he didn't want to risk spooking his prey:
It seemed the fish had sensed something awry, but it didn't dart away just yet. Traversing the rapids without enough energy was just too perilous.
It took a while before the fish shifted in the water, moving into a direction where the ice arrow was in its blind spot. By this time, cold sweat had formed on the boy's face beneath the pelt, freezing instantly into a small icicle on his face. Maintaining the ice arrow was taking a toll on his mental strenght.
But now that the opportunity had arisen, he did not lost it escape his grasp. Throwing his hand in the fish's direction, the ice arrow shot forward. The faint hiss of displaced air was negligible under the roar of the rapids.
It took a split second for the arrow to arrive within close proximity of the fish, appearing perfectly in line with it, it looked like the arrow would hit its mark perfectly.
However, the boy knew better. Adjusting his control over the arrow, he shifted its trajectory to make up for the effect caused by light refraction.
As soon as the ice arrow penetrated the water's surface, the fish moved instantly. It's powerful caudal fin moved rapidly, thrashing from side to side in an attempt to propel itself forward, but it was to no avail. The arrow pierced the fish's nape cleaning, killing it instantly.
Immediately, the boy jumped to his feet and started running towards the dead fish. Snow crunched beneath him as he crossed the short distance to the river's shore. Removing his pelt, he tossed it aside and dived into the water.
Ignoring the freezing waters, the boy swam directly for the dead fish that was now starting to drift downstream. Soon it would be lost in the void; the fish, however, wasn't his target.
From deep within the blackness of the river's depths, something was approaching. Alerted by the scent of blood. The sudden displacement of water caused by the unknown creature's movements pressed into the boy's small frame, threatening to push him back.
Using his feet to latch onto the rocky riverbed, the boy held himself in place awaiting the creature's arrival. Exhaling, he spread his arms wide and lowered his centre of gravity as a pair of pale eyes appeared from the dark.
Emerging from the depths, the dark silhouette burst forth. With its jaw agape, rows of razor-sharp, dagger-like teeth lunged at the dead fish.
As if waiting for this exact moment, the boy moved too. Kicking off the riverbed, he propelled himself toward the enormous predator. The heat now in view was a true goliath.
It was easily 3 metres long and silvery grey in colour. It's body was extremely thick with a powerful tail on its flank that allowed it to move at incredible speeds in the violent rapids. Massive teeth interlocked tightly around the dead fish remaining permanently exposed, adding to its monstrous visage.
The boy, now upon the beast, wrapped his small arms around its nape and held on tightly. In response, the beast thrashed violently, crashing into the jagged riverbed and breaching out of the shallow waters.
It's furious thrashing resulted in the boy getting countless scrapes and deep gashes after colliding with the riverbed, but he held on.
Blue light coalesced around his form as he struck the beast with all his might in one of its eyes, prompting it to thrash even more violently. Raising his hand above the beast's undamaged eye, a sharp dagger of ice formed in his grasp.
Attempting to end the beast with this move the boy's hand shot forth. Just behind its eye was the creature's brain, and the dagger was more than long enough to pierce through both. However, the beast wouldn't let that happen so easily.
The giant fish's mindless thrashing ceased, and with a powerful thrash of its caudal tail, it propelled them into the tenebrous depths of the raging river.