Frozen Promise by Chipka
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Description
Click HERE for the music inspiring the tale below.
***
“Tell me:
What road?
By day or by night?
What tolls?
To where do I go?
And to whom?”
—Hieronymus/Songs of the Unborn
*
Holoda understands the old gods, and recognizes the cycles attributed to them. He knows Tetherys—the god with twelve names—and Pala, His brother. He knows their wives, and the stories surrounding them. A modern man understands the necessity of gods, even as he does not worship them. Haloda is a modern man.
He is alone now. He prefers life this way. There is silence. There is peace. Since the death of his brother, he has found the company of others distressing. Maudlin. Their grief—he thinks—is a pretense and it sickens him. He will leave, soon. There are other places, where he is a stranger. Perhaps he will journey on foot to the mountainous lands, where the Ha carve homes into living stone. He may travel—across the eastern sea—to the Ruins of Sestria-Sestrián, and learn the stories surrounding that vast and dead kingdom. Haloda, being a modern man, is a master scribe (among his people and among others) and so by necessity, he must learn what he can, and write it on vellum, as Hieronymus did, as Mbuto did, before him. Haloda does not venerate the old gods of his people—or anyone’s for that matter, but the mythists and the poet-philosophers shine brightly in his own private pantheon.
Now—alone—he stands on the shore of the Northern Sea: on the sea itself—its frozen rim. For three days, the waves have been heavy. The sea has been restive. There has been snow. Warmth and cold in irregular cycles have hardened winter’s frigid precipitations, and so ice sculptures rim the sea. In the old stories, this is the handiwork of spirits. For a modern man (and Holoda is a modern man) it is something else. There is comfort in the old belief, however, and so he crosses ice, chanting whispered prayers to summer at rest in the north. He carries a sack of walnuts—his brother’s favorite.
“I’m going,” he says, as if his brother might hear. “I’ve packed. I’ve sent word to a hostel in Kartag. That is my first stop. I will find my way from there.”
He knows that his brother will not hear, but it is a comfort to speak. It is a comfort, as well, to walk across ice with an offering of walnuts. He will leave them. They will freeze beneath compacted layers of snow, of ice, and of sea-mist, hardened. They will remain encased until the warmth of spring melts the shore, and carries his offering into the water’s depths. It is fitting. Even as he rejects the old religious ways, he takes comfort in the thought that his brother lives beneath the sea, and will receive a gift when spring thaws the land.
*
More of the lake shore in Evanston, from my outing with Corey and Kate. As always, thank you for viewing and reading and commenting, and I hope you’re all having a great week.
Comments (30)
MagikUnicorn
It was cold in chicago...up to montreal grrr look this frozen wave ;-) Superb shot
NefariousDrO
This may be my favorite of all your winter shoreline photos. I love how the ice-pack looks like a series of waves frozen in the act of crashing back and forth along the shore. That your story is as intense as I would imagine that cold wind from the lake is an added bonus we all appreciate from you. The world always seems a bit different after we've seen it through your eyes. Someday I hope I get the chance to sit with you around a fire late at night, drinking something ancient like mead or such, swapping stories. Although I suspect, I'd probably just sit and listen to you tell your stories because you tell them so well.
Orinoor
Beautiful and with the music and your words, epic.
Sepiasiren
another cool shot...get it..."cool" he he he...uhm...okay sooooo--great image. I love the frosty blue feel--it is cold here so I can say I definitely feel "a part of" this image. Great work!
lwperkins
I like the idea of seeds in the ice, waiting for spring! the water looks green..but jade green, not spring green. Brr!
MrsRatbag
Wow, this is so incredibly otherworldly! What a really stunningly beautiful capture!
anaber
Its beautiful!!The sky is incredible too and the music.I Love the feeling of the empty way ahead!
jocko500
a wonderful and cold looking image
bimm3d
cold like in Romania!! :) very beautiful photo!!
kgb224
Stunning captre my friend.
CaressingTheDark
Gorgeous
mgtcs
Ohhhh....Another fabulous capture Chip, first class writing!
auntietk
This is so surreal to me, an alien landscape in limited colors, standing there as if it made sense to someone. I love the idea of ice over water, of leaving something to freeze and have it never be found again. Here, if you put something on the ice or snow, you'll just have to pick it up again when the weather warms up in a couple of days. Walnuts sinking to the bottom of the lake in the spring thaw ... what a fantastic image! Thanks for sharing this ...
bmac62
You've transported us into a whole other world. Thanks for the journey Chip. Well done. Your muses do well:)
mbz2662
The music is a perfect accompaniment to your photo and story. Yay :) If this photo could sing, it would be that music I'd hear. thanks for the treat!
helanker
A really fantastic Place, Lake Mitchigan and so frosen like the waves just froze in the middle of a movement. I love your touching story too.
GARAGELAND
Almost surreal!!!!!!!!!!
durleybeachbum
Amazing tale, and an unreal land/seascape!
KateBlack10
Eerie shot Chip - beautiful but eeerie in that snow and ice bound way that the lakefront can look at the height of winter....I especialy like the sky, did you do postwork on that? Love the narrative and song choice
flavia49
amazing!! just amazing!!
costapanos
This is very surreal. Something that one does not see here on the west coast. Thank you for sharing. I like this alot.
beachzz
The music is perfect for this foto. Haunting, otherworldly, mysterious. You do this SO well!!
evielouise
It's a beauty now who needs bryce,vue and all the others when natures provides for us lovely !!
marybelgium
superbe !
nikolais
it's stunning, Chip!
icerian
Another serious idea and its visual realization!
sandra46
super cool (actually, COLD, FREEZING) shot! great image!
KatesFriend
Yes, that is cold. The sensation of cold just seems to ooze off the image and into my room. Funny how some photos are able to do that. I suspect it is a kind of flash back effect. The colours and shapes trigger a natural response to the environment as if we were actually there. Like a premonition perhaps. Or and instinctive response to prepare our bodies for the natural onslaught that must be near at hand. Holoda must be preparing himself for a similar shock. Maybe one of culture, maybe something different altogether. Departure from the familiar into the unknown, he must prepare mentally for the the radical change in his life.
RodS Online Now!
Wonderful moody shot, if very cold looking - brrr!
CoreyBlack
This was nearly a month ago now, and I'm still cold! Great shot! I wonder how this must look to someone from a warmer climate? Anyway, a wonderful, moody pic, and fantastic writing as usual!