DarkWinter3

You stumbled upon the Vault of Knowledge, cape ripped and mangled from the attacks of the krills that had suddenly appeared near the gate to the temple of Wasteland.

You had not expected those beasts to appear again after meeting their kind at the start of the Golden Wasteland. Traumatized by your harrowing encounter, you are comforted by the soft and quiet atmosphere which the Vault brings to you.

There are rows and rows of unlit lanterns on the shelves of Vault that reached to the ceiling, forgotten by time and its passing. You believed that these objects used to collect the lights of spirits who used to live in Sky. They recorded every moment of their life in detail, their knowledge and their wisdom. Yet without the proper care from a living being, these lanterns could only sit on the shelves, waiting for someone to summon them again.

Finding safe haven within such a vast and empty place, you decided to explore. You also made a mental note to retrieve your lost wing lights at the other realms once you have found the Vault Elder’s tomb.

After absorbing a few more wing lights to strengthen your flight power, you suddenly found a book lying on the second floor of Vault.

It was sneakily hiding behind a ladder and you would have missed it had your light emitted from your body not found it. Years of neglect had left the brown leather-bound book covered in a thick layer of dust which you blew it off to read the cover clearly.

With gold cursive lettering embossed on the bold cover, it reads as “The Lone Traveler’s Diary and other Short Stories”.

Curious to find out more, you found a cozy spot within the room before slowly peeling the cover off from the pages to read.

The Lone Traveler’s Diary and other Short Stories

Now it is start of the Days of Feast (Christmas).


Contrary to what many people believed, my real-life name differs differently from my Sky name, Winter. And so is the place where I lived. There has never been any snow. It was just rain… and more rain. But when there is no rain, the unforgiving sun scorched your butts until you can smell cooked meat. And I dare say that there won't be any miracle of seeing snow in my place in the future too. 


Of course, I'm exaggerating about the cooked meat part.


It only gets unbearably hot in my place. Compared to other places where summer is literally 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), I think the place where I live is slightly better. It gets cooler with more rains at the start of the year but then gets slightly hotter with less rains when the year comes to the end. It's a good place, with good systems and no natural disasters. 


Anyway, I just love the season of Winter. 


It's pretty obvious why I would love it. Winter is the season of snowball fights, ice skating and warm cocoa by the fire. I'm also well aware of the downsides to it. Shoveling snow off your pavement and roads, skidding on black ice and the deadly combination of cold and wind. 


The power of travelling around the world just lets you see the reality behind the Winter season. There's always two different sides to a thing, it's just a matter of which side you look favourably upon.


When the world turned upside down, it means that I couldn't travel anywhere but within Sky. It was a bit of a bummer. During that period of time, it was also difficult for me. I was at a foggy road with no clear directions on how to move on with life. It was an important road too. But, I had to move forward… even if, it's a road that I don't have a clue where I might end up. 


So, knowing that the Season of Dreams is coming and the ice-skating rink back means a lot to me. I couldn't ice skate in reality anyway… but doing that in Sky is a hundred times cooler for me. 


I literally worship the ice rink in Home.


And I take this opportunity to take lots of shots there. Even held a heart giveaway for it too.


When I was a moth, I didn't appreciate the beauty of the rink. Now, I deeply regret that so I'm making up for it by running around in the rink while spamming emotes. Skating while emoting just makes it seem like you are enacting some story. It reminded me of ballet too. Perhaps, someday, when I don't feel much of the pressure of money, I can hold a season pass giveaway by hosting a talent competition at the ice rink. 


I know the ice rink at home will melt away soon but that doesn't mean it won't come back. It being gone now doesn't mean forever. But I will miss it.


With just the last few days for Season of Dreams to end, this also meant that the ice-skating rink won't last much longer. Winter can't last forever. Nevertheless, I made some good memories hanging around it. And I will be able to make more when it comes back again.


Sky Log #14: All Hail... The Ice Rink