Submission (#8876) Approved

reward for Strynhalde please

The cottage was unusually quiet that evening.

 

Aresia sat at her little worktable with only a handful of candles lighting the room. Their flames flickered softly whenever the wind slipped through the cracks around the windows, throwing long shadows across the walls.

 

Outside, the night was dark and still.

 

Inside, Aresia was making something that looked like it belonged to the night itself.

 

A mask.

 

It rested in front of her, unfinished and pale beneath the candlelight. Aresia had spent most of the evening deciding exactly what she wanted it to look like. She knew it needed to be spooky enough to ward off malevolent spirits, but she didn't want something that was simply frightening.

 

She wanted it to be beautiful.

 

Something mysterious.

 

Something that looked as though it had fallen out of a dream.

 

Aresia picked up another small carving tool and carefully worked along the edge.

 

The mask began taking shape.

 

Its silhouette curved elegantly around the face, with pointed edges extending upward like small horns. Above the brow, she carved a crescent moon.

 

Then another.

 

Then tiny stars.

 

Aresia paused.

 

She stared at them.

 

"More."

 

She added another star.

 

Then another.

 

Soon, the forehead of the mask was scattered with tiny celestial shapes.

 

The eye openings were the part she was most particular about.

 

She wanted them to look almost unnatural, as though whoever wore the mask wasn't quite looking at the world from the same place anymore.

 

Aresia carefully widened the openings and shaped them into sharp, sweeping points.

 

She leaned back.

 

The mask looked back at her.

 

Aresia tilted her head.

 

"You're creepy."

 

She smiled.

 

"Perfect."

 

She wasn't finished.

 

The mask needed something else.

 

She reached for a collection of little decorative pieces she had gathered over time. Some were polished stones. Others were tiny pieces of crystal that caught the candlelight.

 

Aresia selected several of the smallest pieces and carefully attached them around the mask.

 

When she tilted it toward the candle, the crystals glittered.

 

They looked like stars.

 

Aresia's expression softened.

 

She imagined the mask beneath a moonlit sky, surrounded by darkness, its little crystals catching every bit of light.

 

It was spooky.

 

But not ugly.

 

It was almost peaceful.

 

Like the night sky hiding something beneath all those stars.

 

Aresia continued decorating.

 

She added thin curling lines beneath the eyes, almost resembling trails left behind by falling stars.

 

Then she added a few tiny points along the cheeks.

 

Finally, she placed one larger crystal at the center of the forehead, directly beneath the crescent moon.

 

She leaned back again.

 

This time, she was satisfied.

 

The mask was complete.

 

Aresia picked it up carefully.

 

For a moment, she simply held it.

 

She had made plenty of strange things before. Snow creatures. Ice sculptures. Gourds with ridiculous faces. Decorations for her chaotic little garden.

 

But this felt different.

 

The mask wasn't just something pretty.

 

It had a purpose.

 

It was meant to protect her.

 

It was meant to help her cross somewhere that wasn't quite the ordinary world.

 

The Veil.

 

Aresia had heard enough stories to know that the Veil was not a place to wander into carelessly. It was a strange boundary between worlds, a place where the feydream form could be realized.

 

The thought made her ears twitch with excitement.

 

And just a little nervousness.

 

She looked around her cottage.

 

Everything was exactly where it belonged.

 

Her blankets were folded.

 

Her candles were burning.

 

Her little decorations sat quietly around the room.

 

The familiar warmth of home surrounded her.

 

Aresia suddenly wondered what her cottage would look like from the Veil.

 

Would the walls change?

 

Would the candles burn differently?

 

Would the shadows become something more?

 

And, more importantly, what would she look like?

 

She looked down at the mask.

 

There was only one way to find out.

 

Aresia stood and carried it toward the largest mirror in the cottage.

 

She held it against her face.

 

The reflection staring back at her looked strange.

 

The celestial shapes framed her eyes.

 

The pointed edges gave the mask a slightly sinister appearance.

 

The little crystals shimmered.

 

For a moment, she almost looked like some mysterious creature from a storybook.

 

Aresia smiled.

 

Then she lowered the mask.

 

"Definitely spooky."

 

She put it back on.

 

This time, she didn't take it off.

 

The candles flickered.

 

The room seemed quieter.

 

Aresia stared into the mirror.

 

Something about the reflection felt different now.

 

The celestial mask seemed to absorb the candlelight around it. The crystals glimmered faintly, and the crescent moon on her forehead appeared almost silver.

 

Aresia reached up and adjusted it.

 

Then she whispered to her reflection.

 

"Don't let anything creepy follow me home."

 

She paused.

 

"...Actually, that sounds like something I should have said before making the mask."

 

Aresia giggled.

 

Even mysterious journeys into the Veil couldn't completely stop her from being herself.

 

She returned to the table and began gathering what little she thought she might need.

 

Nothing excessive.

 

For once.

 

She checked her belongings twice.

 

Then she looked at the mask.

 

It was beautiful.

 

Strange.

 

A little frightening.

 

And completely hers.

 

Aresia approached the cottage door.

 

Before opening it, she looked back.

 

The candlelight illuminated the room behind her.

 

Her home looked warm and safe.

 

She wondered if the Veil would feel the same.

 

Probably not.

 

That was part of the reason she wanted to see it.

 

Aresia reached for the door.

 

The mask glittered beneath the candlelight.

 

For just a moment, the stars carved into its surface seemed brighter than before.

 

She froze.

 

Had they actually moved?

 

Aresia leaned closer to the mirror.

 

Nothing.

 

Just crystals reflecting candlelight.

 

She smiled.

 

"Okay."

 

Her paw rested against the door.

 

"Let's see what you can do."

 

The door opened.

 

Cold night air slipped into the cottage.

 

Aresia stepped outside.

 

Behind her, the candles continued flickering.

 

Ahead of her waited the darkness.

 

And somewhere beyond that darkness was the Veil, where dreams could become something more than dreams.

 

Aresia pulled the celestial mask firmly into place.

 

She wasn't sure what she would find.

 

She wasn't sure what her feydream form would look like.

 

She wasn't even completely sure she was brave enough.

 

But she was curious.

 

And curiosity had always been stronger than fear.

 

With one final glance back at her little cottage, Aresia stepped forward.

 

Toe beans slightly sinking into the snow. 

 

The stars above seemed unusually bright.

 

And as she disappeared into the night, the crystal on her mask caught the moonlight and shimmered like a tiny falling star.