The ICE Temple

[torstan]

So I made it into the final minutes of the ICE contest with this entry:



The WIP thread is here: http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=4025

In ancient times a dragon ravaged the lands. Thousands of people were slain and cities burned to the ground. First the people turned to the gods of summer and spring, but they were too fey. They helped when life was good and wouldn't understand disaster. They turned to the god of autumn, but she told them that bad times were inevitable and that they must accept their fate and ride it out. Finally, in desperation, they turned to the cruel god of winter. He understood bad times and hard choices. When people are desperate they will do desperate things. He would handle the dragon, but the people must make a pact. One virgin sacrifice every midwinter's eve. The people wept but they had no choice.

The dragon was lured to a high mountain top in with a cascading river, but today there was nor river, as it was dammed with a wall of ice. As it flew closer the ice cracked and a avalanche of water engulfed the beast. The god of winter spoke, and the water froze, trapping the dragon in an enormous icicle. The people heard of the event and celebrated. The king knew better and sent his best climbers to see for themselves. They saw the dragon in the ice and were joyous, but then they looked closer and saw that above the dragon lay a vaulted pillared hall, and at the end, overlooking the valley of the cities, and whipped by icy winds, stood a cold butcher's block of solid ice - an altar for the price of the deal.

In the following years, steps have been carved to make the perilous climb possible. Every year, in the dead of winter, the priests take the god's prize to his lofty temple and keep their people's pact lest the dragon return.