Introduction to the Snow

Time is an infinite loop, there are as many worlds as there are stars in the sky... infinity is something hard to grasp, truly, but us simple souls were never intended to understand.

On a planet like your own, with a god alike one you may or may not believe in, there were ancients... foolish souls not blessed with knowledge or the ability to understand truly what was meant to be. These ancients had no magical powers; they could not bless the land they walked on like a demigod nor could they rearrange the stars like the most powerful of souls; but they had the most special power of all... the power to grow, to learn, to be knocked down and get back up again.

Until that changed. 

A man only known through whispering and local legends emerged from the shadows one dreary evening; nobody really knew where he came from... but despite prevalent rumors of him being the devil himself, most ancients were more than intrigued when they heard of his discovery.

"It can cure any ailment, it can keep you young forever!" The snakeoil salesman sang regularly, and from his small wooden cart he'd waltz with his guests while handing out his magical potions. A strange concoction of mostly gunk... but one ingredient in particular stood out among the rest. A newly discovered mushroom from the bogs of Bremmington, deep beyond the woods where he set up shop. The spores of this mushroom stopped the aging process completely... with just a sip you could live an extra thirty years, and by the end of it you'd look like you hadn't aged a day.

His business started small, but word quickly spread around. Anyone who was anything needed a vial, and when demand rises so do the prices. The potions flew off the shelves, the mushrooms making their way into soups and cakes and luxury chocolates. 

Soon, the Hatter had taken the throne, first as the richest man alive... and not long after as the overlord of the planet. Basically the same position, right?

For ninety years he sat on that throne, in a castle lined with bombs and traps to ensure his permanent immortality. However on the dawn of the ninety-ninth day of his ninety-ninth year as king, a riot broke out. Storming themselves up the tall staircase of his castle was an outraged mob, hungry and poor but strong from their everlasting youth, the small rebellion overtook his city.

Barricaded in his room, The Hatter's slick stature and wits couldn't override the screams of a thousand people, the greatest gift of life swindled out of them... all coming for his head.

He was afraid of the end.

So he took the rest of them down with him.

With the single press of a button, the city was reduced to rubble, the planet split in three from a blast that nobody could survive, not even the immortal.

All souls left their Ancient's bodies but... because of the spores, the Husks of some ancient's lingered. They wonder the earth now, empty, filling themselves with the useless consumption of goods and treats provided by--

...

Day shot up from his nap, a puddle of drool pooling on the table below where he was hunched. The familiar tune of an almost unfamiliar pop song rang throughout the convenient store, as Husks perked up from buying cereal and sugar filled donuts to face the store's manager. Day smiled awkwardly and blushed, as if they knew what he had done was embarrassing. Like they knew anything at all.

Day grabbed his flip phone, fumbling with it in his hands, his paws being too big for the buttons. 

'Incoming call: Dad'

Day sighed, as he answered.

He knew, in a dreary building in the rubble of the ancients, amidst overgrown mushrooms and colorless graffiti from Husks who no longer knew how to draw, was his father sitting atop the tall castle tower that once held The Hatter. As his dad puffed on cigars and drank cider, counting his money atop the throne of a fallen king, Day shuffled around in squalor in one of his father's many store branches.

"Hey Da-" Day muttered, but before he could complete his thought his father was already ready to talk business.

"Hey Day-- good day isn't it? You can almost see the sun, huh?"

Day let out a forced chuckle as he looked out the window onto the destroyed city. No sun, just smog. As usual. It was the same greeting, same joke... every day. "What is it-"

"Well, your old man was looking through your records, you haven't had any new customers lately..."

Day groaned, "That's not my fault, the Husks don't change their routines. How am I supposed to get more in the store to buy sweets when half of them walk around town looking for free food in the gutter?"

"Mhm... so instead of working on advertising you've been doing what? Roleplaying as a knight with old sticks and helmets made of tinfoil?"

Day became choked up, embarrassed of himself, "It's for practicing self defense! I swear half these Husks have been staring into my eyes like they wanna pluck them out of my head..." Day looked beyond his cash register, at the lifeless bodies shuffling around the store.

"I don't pay you to be a nerd , Day." Dusk muttered, a twinge of disgust in his voice, "Like really, out of all things I read to you as a kid, you had to focus on the fairytales?"

After an awkward pause, Day sighed, "Is there anything else?"

"...Look, I'll just cut to the chase, you're gonna have to cover the nightshift at store 194 again," Dusk managed to say through puffs of smoke, smoke Day could almost smell from the other line.

"Wh-What?? But I haven't gotten a minute of sleep in days!" Day held his hand to his head, gripping his hair in frustration as he bent back onto the counter... he knew if the Husks weren't looking before, they were certainly looking after he raised his voice, "Dad please-"

"It's 'Sir', Day," Dusk commanded, "When you're on the job it's Sir. I'm your boss, and you will treat me as such."

"... Yes Sir." Day muttered, shriveling up into himself out of shame.

Dusk's voice suddenly shifted, "Atta boy! Can always count on you, I'll call again in the morning."

The call abruptly ended, as the moment it was over Day threw his head onto the table in frustration. He groaned, covering his mouth with his forearms and gripping his ears in an attempt to almost rip them off his own head. 

Day looked up at the clock, it was almost twelve thirty. Which meant he had just enough time to grab a coffee and head over to his next shift, starting in an hour. He sighed, as he walked over through the aisles to the drink making machinery in the back of the store. A weird amalgamation of contraptions... one lever produced milk, another a slushie, another coffee.... when was the last time he cleaned it? ... Ah, who cares. If he got sick and died, at the very least he might get off work for a day.

...

Day shuffled outside, bundled in a scarf and light sweater. Ashes fell from the skies, as the smell of burning plastics and whirring machinery made him cough.

The skies were so polluted... he never knew if it was because of the bomb that killed the ancients, or if it was because of his father's factories. Either way, he knew he couldn't see the stars that night... but he had always kept one myth from his childhood bedtime stories close to heart.

It's said if you wish upon a star, your dreams might come true... though he had been wishing on the stars just out of his sight for years, he still did it every opportunity he could. Just a small sip of coffee, and a thought that he'd only keep to himself on that night.

The dream of anything changing, of him being more than what he was. The wish of something new. To meet someone new.

...

...?

Day noticed, looking up into the sky... was a star gleaming through the smog?

A star... no-no a-

Day jumped as he realized a shiny asteroid flying through the air, flinging itself towards an abandoned building on a distant hill. He watched in awe as the flying object crashed down in the span of a millisecond, the bang from the impact filling the air. Day dropped his coffee as it hit against his leg and splattered onto the floor; he ignored the burning of it dripping into his socks and shakily brought out his phone.

1AM. He had to be there by two, and that crash was... too many miles away. He couldn't be late to his job, his dad would kill him. He faltered, looking past the crosswalk and into the dead hills. Day looked back up at the sky, and though he knew it was insane, it was foolish-- it was impossible...

Maybe one of those stars had heard him.

Quickly Day shoved his little phone back into his pocket. If he ran-- maybe he could be to his next shift before his dad knew he was gone.

---

The hills of the city were always Day's least favorite part of his home. Dark, dreary... it was where the bomb had hit-- right next to a hospital that somehow was still standing. Standing alone, as if to defy the disaster itself, it was mainly in tact. Call it good architecture or maybe just luck... that hospital stood amongst rubble and dead overgrowth.

Day panted, running up the hill where the hospital stood as the sun began to rise... turns out, it was farther than he thought it was.

The dead grass beneath his feet made a crunching noise that sounded like he was walking on bones. He figured he might as well be, as the carnage of the world around him got worse with every step towards the crash site of the mysterious object.

Finally, exhausted, Day saw a glowing ahead of him. He pushed himself a few more quickly paced steps, onto the doorstep of the hospital where a crystal was embellished into ground.

Day felt... something come from the stone, a strange, chilling energy radiating through the air as he inched his paws closer towards the hole. Sparks flew onto his hands, and as he flinched when they touched them he realized they were... cold.

He pushed away stone and concrete, digging his claws into the ground and getting dirt under his nails. With a strong yank the object popped out of the floor; a strange looking blue crystal in the shape of a moon.

And after a few moments of staring at it in awe, letting is slip through his fingers and rub against his pawpads, Day felt... nothing.

The adrenaline sunk away from his bones and back into his chest, as he angrily gripped the stone. He knew it had to mean something but-- it should've been something or someone else. Anyone else in this cold, cold world of Husks and broken machinery-- not a vague sign from a higher power. He had missed his shift for a rock.

Day sighed. After a few moments of sitting there, letting himself process the situation... he knew he had to get back to work. His mind buzzed with ideas of excuses so his dad wouldn't dock his pay. He got up and turned back around, as he readied himself to run all those miles back to his shift.

He had gone the-

"Wrong way." someone said behind him.

"Yeah, wrong w... wait-" 

A shiver went down Day's spine.

He had never heard another voice aside's from his dad's-- aside from the recordings of the ancients and the groans of the husks-- this planet was barren- he-

He swiveled around, just to hear the clicking of someone prancing up the stairs in the hospital.

"Hey-- w-wait!" Day ran, the stone clutched in his hand he hurried through the doors and looked up the many, many stairs into the hospital's upper quarters, "P-Please! Who are you?"

A devilish giggle rang throughout the empty halls, as day stumbled onto the creaking stairs. He practically threw himself up them, pushing past cobwebs and dust bunnies and lunging himself closer to the mysterious figure at the end of the hallway. He fell onto the tiled floor, as the figure went through a corridor at the top of the steps. The figure ran into a door at the end of the hall, slamming the door shut behind them.

"Don't go- wait!" Day cried, forcing himself up. He stumbled to the door, swinging it open only to find nothing on the other side... Nothing but a half destroyed room, two hospital beds, and a broken TV. Day looked around... there was no closet, nowhere to hide... and as he looked over the edge into the city there was no figure fleeing past the hills.

Day fell to his knees.

Was that his wish? Did it just... slip through his hands?

He could barely process anything anymore. He fell and he cried, tears of frustration. He knew he'd mess it up, he'd always mess it up. The stars had given him a chance, and he blew it. There was someone else... there was... static.  

Day could hear static?

He looked around, over to the broken, cracked TV that had fallen off it's perch onto the floor. It was one from the ancients-- a machine his dad could never figure out how to work. But it was working... and it was on.  

Day wiped the tears from his eyes, entranced by the sound ringing in his ears. He could almost hear voices on the other side... he could almost hear some sort of catchy jingle and beautiful music... As he was lulled closer to the machine, he reached out his hand towards the cracked glass. He could almost make out figures-

---

X yawned. Another day gone by, another beautiful sunrise on the horizon beyond his wishing well. It was a perfect morning... or, it would be a perfect morning, had a cop not arrived on his door. And that cop was getting frustrated with his attitude.

X stretched as the tired figure of authority went on, "And that's how much rent you owe this week-- on top of your parking tickets..."

"Aguhh... First can we not do this so early? I can't think of any funny rebuttals at six AM..." X sighed, floating over to a nearby couch in front of a strange contraption whirring with static. He didn't really know what the thing was-- last time he had touched it with his watery-ghost-hand he had gotten a nasty shock. So he bonked his fleshy head on it, attempting to make it change channels by hitting it. It worked sometimes. First rolled her eyes.

"And another thing, that ancient device has been disturbing the locals..." First said, walking over as X slouched on the couch, "The king demand I remove it."

"What?? Oh come on, first the higher rent, now this?" X groaned, "I don't even know why I pay rent, I live in a well!"

"WELL you should get off your ghostly butt and get a job! Being undead doesn't mean you get to be a pain in my-"

X whined, grabbing First's hand and tugging her towards the couch.

"Cmmmmmon First.... this thing is so cool!! You can't say it's not. Like look!" X bonked the machine again, as it whirred and sputtered, "I don't see how the ancients were that bad if they made cool stuff like this."

First stared at the contraption, as it buzzed. It was enchanting... not like any magic she had known of. It was... cool. They stood in front of the machine, X giving First puppy eyes as she scowled.

"Fine, fine, I'll tell the king to let you keep this ONE piece of Ancient tech," First groaned as X silently cheered, "BUT. I get all the coins at the bottom of your well for a week."

X smiled, "Whaaat? Come on--"

"AAAAAAAAAAA-"

"...Wait, what is that?" First asked; inched back a bit from the machine as a screaming could faintly be heard on the other side of it's glass. X looked at it, getting closer to the screen but not close enough to touch it.

"I think that's just the sound it makes!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-" X screamed back, until suddenly a strange figure shot out of the contraption in a sudden burst of light. X's head was separated from his watery body, as Day rolled for a few inches with him clung to his chest.

Day rubbed his head in pain... then looked down at his paws to see X's detached head.

"... uh, hi?" X said, a goofy smile on his face. Day shot up in shock, throwing X's head down onto the floor as he yelled in horror. The rest of X's watery body trickled back to the stump of his neck, as he and First stood, watching this mysterious figure back up in terror.

"I--OH MY GOD YOU'RE-- You... wait, you're alive??" Day asked, wiping his hands off on his sweater, "You talk??"

"Uh... no and yes? Those are some questions with some... obvious answers," X laughed, "You're funny!"

"He's not funny-- he's... who is he??" First asked, as Day got up and stared intently at her, then to X. First backed up a bit.

"Y-You talk... I've never met another person who could talk... Oh my god I have so many questions I..." Day rubbed his head, his excitement waning to confusion as he looked around aimlessly at the beautiful foliage and butterflies dancing in the air around X's well, "...Where am I?"

"You're in Morn?" First said... her suspicions growing, "Where else could you possibly be?"

"Well, on earth?" Day shrugged, as X and First gasped dramatically. They looked at each other in shock and horror, as Day became a bit freaked out at the reaction, "wh-what?" he stuttered.

"Earth?? Like, the ancient Earth??" First gasped, "That place hasn't had life in eons I... This is quite a discovery!" First thought for a moment before an idea came to her mind. She slowly began to smile, "The kind of Discovery that could get me promoted!" 

"Oh boy here we go," X nudged at Day, as if they were both in on some kind of joke that Day didn't know the punchline to.

"What," Day asked, as First grabbed his wrist.

"You are just what I needed to become a higher rank in the guard-- King Wicker is gonna have a field day when he meets you..." First said looking straight into Day's eyes... as he avoided eyecontact nervously, "You're under arrest!"

"A-arrest??" Day panicked, as X giggled at the notion.

"Don't worry, it's not serious. Her handcuffs were taken away a while ago- just follow us?" X gestured towards the hills beyond the well. Along the horizon Day could make out a city... no- a kingdom? One without mushrooms and rubble.

First led the charge as X followed suit, the two bantering along the way.

Suddenly, Day's pocket began playing that familiar tune, the hum of his phone not making it to his new friend's ears as they walked ahead of him.

Day picked up the device, the only contact in it was calling him once again. He looked down at the phone and then back to the strange contraption he popped out of, back to the phone. He picked up the call.

"Hey Day, good day isn't it? Weather's great... you can almost see the sun," Dusk went on about his usual greeting, as Day looked up at the bright horizon with these two strangers leading the way to a newfound world, beyond the grassy hills and flowers. The sunrise was like something he had never seen before.

"... Yeah. Almost."