Lusus Naturae

Back during the time when great beasts still ruled the earth, many things happened. Battles between the half men, beasts, and humans erupted various times over a galeaon. Kings and queens had come and gone, passing like the wind, slithering away like serpents. Then there was the great monstrosity that fell upon the land. This is where the story begins, with the great monstrosity, lusus naturae.

A rather handsome, middle-aged man walked through the stone corridors, a slight 'click' was heard as his leather boots struck the thick stone ground, but the way he walked, it was more like a jog. Something was wrong. It had been a cold morning, but now, it was far too cold. The frost had come too soon and with a great power. The man looked around with sapphire oculars, searching this way and that. He turned a corner quickly, nearly colliding with an elderly woman. This woman was dressed in a light blue dress with gold trim, the typical healers garb.
"M'lord Irving, your wife calls for you. She is in deep pain and I fear neither her nor your child will make it, as cold as it is."
Irving McBhrianin was the King of Slaibhin, a kingdom formed at the base of a mountain. Irving was a strong, brave, handsome man, standing at a height of six malowens with thick, blond locks flowing from his thick skull.
"Thank you m'lady." Irving continued his fast walk to get to his wife, Ceallac.
Ceallac was only 16 winters old when she was wed to Irving who happened to be 26 winters at the time. Irving and Ceallac had only been wed for about one winter and were now expecting a baby. This was the first time they had tried, and sadly, it was to be their last. A cold breeze swept through Ceallac's room, biting though the thick gryphon's hide blanket that covered Ceallac's small frame. Snow had just began to fall for the first time that year when she had her first contraction. Having a child on the first day of the first snowfall was considered bad luck, for the Winter Woman would unleash her beast upon the woman in labor, tearing away her strength and will to go on, and if the child or mother were to survive, the snowfall would get much worse.
Ceallac coughed harshly, dark blood dribbling from her mouth. It was cold enough to freeze a person's lungs if they did not move around much, and that was what was happening to the young Ceallac. A sharp pain shot through her body and she wailed out in pain. Irving burst into the room to see his wife about ready to give birth to their first child. Somehow, in Irving's eyes, Ceallac looked even more beautiful today than she had ever been, so fragile, pale, shining with sweat. It was the same appearance she had when they had made love for the first time. Irving rushed to Ceallac's side, gripping her hand. Ceallac's deep emerald eyes looked to Irving, pain and love combined in those deep green eyes of hers. Irving could not help but squeeze Ceallac's hand tighter and she gripped his. She had been been in this room for several hours, and the time had come. The contractions had become more painful and her body was ready for the child to come. Ceallac let out another painful scream. A nurse rushed up to the foot of the bed, pulling back the gryphon-hide blanket, revealing a small puddle of blood between Ceallac's legs. A few more nurses came up to Ceallac, trying to calm her as the pain became greater and greater. The child was coming forth. An icy blast of cold air erupted through the window as the child was released from its cage. Ceallac looked to Irving, a tear running down her cheek. Her entire body burned and ached. Irving looked to Ceallac, but neither of them had looked towards the child. The room was silent, even the wind was quiet.
"Are you not going to claim your daughter?" The elder woman spoke.
"Why should I? It will only die in a few hours."
"She is your child, and she will live longer than a few hours. I know she will. The Winter Woman has blessed her believe it or not, just look at the window."
Irving looked up from his wife and at the window. The sun was shining brightly through the thick gray clouds. The whole earth was covered with a blanket of tiny crystals that reflected the sun's radiant beams. A falcon screeched in the distance followed by the roar of a tigrine, a winged feline. Irving shuddered at the sound of the tigrine's roar, the Winter Woman's pet beast. The roar was a low booming sound, Irving was expecting the child to cry out, yet she remained silent, then the tigrine's roar echoed again, this time the baby cooed. Irving looked over his shoulder to see the tiny child looking right at him. He smiled at the child and turned to his wife.
"What are we going to name her, Irving?"
Irving gazed into Ceallac's eyes, "When I was on one of my journeys, I met many different types of people, a certain group was actually greatful for the tigrine and had built a temple for the monster. A man had tought me the names of the children and their meanings. I was hoping to name our child after one of those names."
"I hope she will grow strong..." Ceallac coughed more blood onto the gryphon blanket.
A tear ran down Irving's face, "The name. I was wanting to call her Haimati."
Ceallac smiled and closed her eyes for the last time, slipping away into darkness. The Winter Woman had taken one, but one still remained. Irving looked at his daughter and whispered, "Haimati."

"Stop it you damn animal! Get off! Ow! Stop that!" Haimati pushed one of the hunting dogs off of her. They were big animals, just like all of the other animals around Slaibhin, but the hunting dogs were the average five-hands from paw to shoulder, making them a fairly large animal.
"Bo, down." Irving's voice rang out. The dog lied down on the ground next to Haimati. Haimati had grown sometime and was now 17 winters, the same age her mother was when she had given birth to Haimati and had been killed by the Winter Woman. Haimati was a strong girl and somewhat rebellious, like most children her age. Not wanting to do what they are told, and when someone tells them not to do somthing, they go off and do it. That would be Haimati.
"Was there any success this hunt?" She chimed.
"We spotted a stag, but it got away. We managed to shoot an owl, small but will make a great stew." Irving replied in his usuall deep, rumbling voice.
"You are going to make me eat an owl? I think not! Owls are good for hunting, not eating. You know that I don't like to eat owls!" The young woman snarled.
"Would you rather starve?"
Haimati looked up at her dad, a fierce, cold look in her eyes, "I would."
Irving looked to his daughter, a hurt expression spreading across his face. He couldn't just go out and hunt again. He had been out all morning and had very little luck in the first place. What made Haimati think that he, the king, was going to go out again and have the same amount of luck again?
"Then you will go without meat for this eve. I am sorry." Irving then turned his back, and with his thick ebony cloak flowing behind him, he walked away from Haimati.
"Bo, does he ever treat you like that? I suppose he does. You are a dog after all. All I said was that I didn't want to eat an owl and he goes and explodes like that. I wonder how the hell anyone can put up with him."
Bo looked to Haimati and sighed, almost like he understood.
The girl brushed off her leather clothing and turned her gaze to the sky. A deep blue and gray ominous mixture. A storm was coming, but not just any storm. A blizzard was fast approaching. A cold breeze brushed through Haimati's hair, combing it back with long, unseen fingers. "And he caught one owl for this," Haimati snorted, "and I suppose we are going to live off of that one owl over this winter. What an idiot."

At the same time Haimati and the hunting dog were standing outside, a large beast was skimming along the clouds, massive wings outstreached. A mixture of various hues of blue, gray, and silver meandered over thousands of large feathers, two huge golden oculars, a crest of black feathers slipping between them down to the base of the large, hooked, obsidian beak of the beast. This creature blended in well with clouds at this time. This creature has been known to swoop out of its cloud cover and prey upon stags and foxes, not to mention small dragons. The giant eagle let out a shrill cry and lowered its altitude, spotting Haimati and the hunting dog. This bird, with its impressive wing span of over fifty malowens, could easily snatch the canine from the ground and kill it with a simple squeeze of its massive talons, but this wasn't any old bird. This was one of Haimati's many "friends". This bird would leave each spring and return in the winter just before the snow started to fall. Legend has it that when this giant bird flies across the land, it causes snowstorms to arise and signifies a long, hard winter.

Bo raised his head to the clouds and sniffed, the familliar scent of an old friend entering his large nostrils. He yelped out sharply and jumped to all fours, staring up at the sky. Haimati dropped what she was doing and did the same. Stare at the sky and wait. Wait for what? What were they looking at? There was a change in the formation of the clouds, then a large form could be made out. After a short amount of time, the giant bird could be seen perfectly. Townspeople rushed into their homes and began to light small fire pits and cover windows with thick furs. The snwhegal gracefully extended its legs, readying a landing. It hit the ground with a large thud and came to a bumpy stop near Bo and Haimati.
"Ays!" Haimati ran to the snwhegal and wrapped her arms around the creature's neck, burrying her face in the birds soft feathers. The snwhegal was back and winter had arrived with it. The first snowflake fell just as Ays made her landing. Either the bird was a bit late, or winter was going to be harsh this year.

Hours passed and the ground was covered with a crystaline blanket of snow. Haimati gazed out one of her windows. The windows of the stone castle had been blocked with planks of wood and fur, yet the harsh winter winds still penetrated the wood and slipped through the fur, making the castle like a freezer, despite hundreds of fires lit in large pits, which were about nine feet in diameter. She watched Ays devour a captured prisoner, her crimson blood covering large areas of snow as Ays ripped her apart, limb by limb.
Haimati was an arrogant girl and few even liked her. Animals took a liking to her, but very few townspeople did, and for that, Haimati had put a villager to death. Haimati didn't care, she had offended her and she had to be put to death.
"Stupid bitch. She wasn't even a fit meal for Ays." Haimati turned away from the window, letting the harsh wind blow through the opening. The fire pit in her room had been lit at one point, but Haimati put it out.
A loud banging startled Haimati. Someone was at her door, wanting to be let in. The heartless girl walked to the wooden door and flung it open, her father standing before her with an enraged look on his face. Irving raised his right arm, his hand in a fist and brought it down with great strenght and speed across Haimati's face. The ground met with the other side of her face faster than Irving's fist.
Haimati could feel him looking down at her like she was an enemy soldier in a battle. Irving's gaze could burn holes in Haimati's pale, dry flesh, right on through into her bones. Something about the look and the anger built inside of her seemed to trigger something in her head. Pain shot through her body as bones seemed to bend. Haimati rose from the stone floor and swung back at Irving. Everything seemed silent for a brief moment, like the silence before the storm, before a splash of blood came flying back at the girl. Haimati's hands were curled into fists, yet four long ebony spikes emited from her flesh. She looked down at Irving, lying on the stone floor in shock, four long, deep scratches running across his face. He looked up in horror at what just happened. Haimati was no longer his daughter, but a curse brought upon him by the Winter Woman.

The Winter Woman sat upon an ice-covered boulder, her long silver hair brushing back lightly in the breeze. A smile came to her lips, then a low, deep chuckle emitted from deep in her throat. Other beastly creatures looked at her not knowing what was so funny or amusing to her. Nothing had happened that they had witnessed.
"Oh! Today is a great day! The snow is falling, the ice is cold, and..." she paused for a moment and looked at all of the creatures, "Haimati, oh sweet tender child...She has been born anew! No more will Irving strike you down as trophies for Haimati has struck him down twice as fast!"
The beasts looked at her with hope-filled occulars. They were now something, not just trophies.