Winter Workers

Mikansu shivered and her fur puffed out as magic flowed from her too. "Ah!" She gasped, then slumped down next to Anori and leaned against him, breathing heavily. "Ah... ok... we're done," she panted. "I don't... wow that's a rush. Back when I was in Spring, we... we had a whole team to open major portals. Six spirits at once. Nine sometimes. Never did it with just two." She gave him a slightly dazed grin. "Damn, we're good."

Anori made a small nod. "So we are." Now that the spell was complete it wasn't necessary for them to be so close, but it didn't do any harm. In fact, the weight of Mikansu's body against his side felt faintly pleasant in a warm, comfortable, distracting way as her fur brushed against his.

As the two Winter workers watched, the seawater started to ripple back and forth as if the entire cove was a bowl being swirled back and forth by a giant. Then suddenly the waves neatly cancelled each other out, and the water became flat and still. Spirals of frost spread fractally across the flat surface. Simultaneously the air started to ripple at ten different spots closer towards the beach, and then multiple portals opened just above the freshly formed ice. Each was a spherical region of elsewhere, offering a view to the southern continent where the forces of Winter were assembled and waiting.

"Absolutely perfect!" Mikansu muttered smugly. She nodded to Anori. "And now... do you want the honours?"

"We can both do it." The two Winter spirits drew a deep breath, raised their heads, and then together they let out a long, drawn-out howl that echoed across the entire cove. "Owwwoooo!" At their summoning, the other Winter spirits advanced forward and out of the portals.

---

Anori strolled back up the beach, having walked across the now ice-covered cove. Meanwhile all the portals were wide open and Winter spirits continued traversing through--they marched through in groups and headed up the beach, where they exchanged greetings with the waiting Autumn spirits.

Anori didn't have the latest count, but he knew there were thousands of Winter spirits, even though they had the least numbers of all the seasons. Like the Autumn spirits, Winter sprits mostly took on animal forms, with a particular emphasis on creatures adapted for cold environments, often with thick woolly fur coats.

Anori was looking for one spirit who should have been easily recognizable, but whom he did not find. "Where is the Winter Lord?"

Mikansu reared up on her hindlegs to glance around. "Lord Hazak isn't usually subtle. Is that him over...? No, no I was mistaken. Perhaps he hasn't come through yet?"

Anori shook his head. "The Winter Lord usually leads the charge and is the first one through the gateways. Let me ask around." He trotted forward towards the spirit who had been first through the portal--another greater spirit who was on the beach, with the form of a large feline. "Siga!"

Siga resembled a snow leopard, but the black rosettes on her grey fur were all moving in slow circling patterns. As a greater spirit of Winter, she had also worked as part of the Winter advance party previously, and even with Anori before. Now she was gesturing about and directing groups of lesser spirits as they marched through the portals, spreading them out across the open space of the beach.

Siga paused when she heard her name called, and she beckoned for another greater spirit to take over her role. "Anori! There you are. Good morning--wrong, excuse me--good evening to you. And you too, Mikansu. Good job with the portal array. Where's Hazak?"

Anori shook his head in confusion. "Why are you asking me? You're his second-in-command. Was he not with you on the other side of the gateway?"

Siga had a graceful, easy tone. "Second-in-command is such an overstatement. I prefer to think of myself as... more like the Winter Lord's aide or secretary? And I take it from your question that Hazak hasn't arrived yet. No, he wasn't with me on the other side. He decided earlier today that instead of using one of the portals, he would take the scenic route."

Again Anori shook his head in disbelief, and now Mikansu did too. "The scenic route? What is the scenic route? You mean over the ocean?"

Siga nodded. "If the Winter Lord wishes to fly intercontinental instead of taking a portal, who am I to stop him?"

Anori blinked. "Siga, you are second-in-command of Winter. I think it is entirely within your right to call out the Winter Lord when he gets silly ideas."

Mikansu looked thoroughly amused by this exchange. But then her smile faded and she hurriedly nudged Anori's side with her paw, glancing back over her shoulder. "Hey, hey! The big bear is coming!" she hissed.

Anori smoothly spun around and dipped his head in a bow. Mikansu and Siga bowed as well. "Lord Quiwin," he politely acknowledged.

The Autumn Goddess, the Lord of Fall, grandest spirit of the harvest season, Quiwin, stomped up with her heavy gait. She resembled a huge brown bear, but with eyes of startingly sharp orange colours, like flame. An entourage of Autumn spirits trailed behind her curiously.

"Anori, Mikansu!" she boomed in a voice that was warm, deep, and regal. It was gravelly, but commanding. "Most impressive work on that portal. And to you, Siga, my welcome to the north. Now where is Hazak? Everyone waits for him before we commence the feast."

Anori made a good effort of glancing around. He swept his gaze across the coast, and even tried reaching out with his magic to sense the surroundings, but of course the Winter Lord wasn't here. "Unfortunately the Winter Lord has been delayed on route."

"His loss then. Let the feasting begin!" Rearing up her hindlegs, the Autumn Lord let out a deep, resonant roar that echoed across the cove, like the thunderous rumble of an Autumn storm. Magic poured out from her, and suddenly the numerous wooden tables were filled with food. This led to barely controlled chaos, as both Winter and Autumn spirits went to get a meal. Some of them quickly sat down at the tables, whereas others grabbed food and walked, flew, or just teleported off to eat it elsewhere where there was more space.

The Autumn Goddess gestured with a massive, clawed paw. "Anori, Mikansu. Come. Join me at my table. Let us eat together."

Anori hesitated. "I appreciate the offer, but we should monitor the portal array for stability..."

The bear let out an amused grunt. "Your work is done and it is well done. Siga can monitor the portals. So come, take a rest and fill your stomach instead. You two have worked hard enough over the past fortnight."

Anori was tempted to decline again, but Mikansu looked hungry and curious, and so he nodded agreement. "Very well." Strictly speaking, Anori and Mikansu were Winter spirits and they were not obligated to obey a command from Autumn, but it was hard to turn down the offer of food.

Anori padded forward with Mikansu right beside him, and the two wolves followed Quiwin as she stomped over towards the largest, biggest table on which platters of steaming food were waiting. Many of the most powerful and senior spirits of Autumn were already waiting, but there was space for them to join in. The spirits were already eating, snapping up food with their jaws, picking grain with their beaks, or even (if they had exotic forms) just absorbing the energy and sensation of the meal without really having a mouth.

Long, long ago, the tables would have been filled with the natural bounty of the forest--nuts, berries, or wild game meat--plain, simple, and raw, all conjured by the power of Autumn. But in recent times, things had started to change. Those cloaked Autumn spirits mounted on horseback who represented the civilized realms were increasingly pulling their influence, and now the food was served on silver platters, rich, cooked, and magnificently seasoned. Anori cared little for humans or for civilization, but he definitely acknowledged that Autumn feasts tasted much better now.

"Eat," Quiwin told the two Winter spirits. "To bring the Autumn-Winter transition to today has been a major undertaking. Everyone in my season has been working extremely hard, but your efforts over the past two weeks deserve recognition as well. I'm sure it must have been difficult to work alone, separated from your season, on such a monumental task."

Mikansu darted her head out to grab food off the table--a roasted leg from some sort of large bird--a turkey, perhaps. She casually leaned against Anori as he sat beside her. "Oh, we weren't really working alone!"

Anori nodded, and he also took a paw's worth of grilled, seasoned nuts to eat. "Yes, I have nothing but good things to say about the Autumn transition representatives. Vee and Hasteos have been helpful and cooperative."

Quiwin dipped her head, then she ate half of an entire pumpkin, raw, in one huge bite. This made a big crunch, which wowed some of the lesser spirits and made Mikansu snicker. "You work well with us. As you surely know, Autumn would always welcome you if you wanted to join us long-term, rather than merely over the transition period. Your talents would be well used."

Mikansu had been gnawing on her turkey leg, but she glanced curiously at Anori. He smiled politely. "I appreciate the thought. But I'm satisfied with my position at Winter, and I'm not looking to make a change soon."

"Fair enough," replied the Autumn Goddess. "But know that my ears are always open if you want to explore opportunities."

Before the conversation could continue, one of the greater Autumn spirits stood up and pointed a gloved hand towards the ocean. "Splash over the water! Wings approaching."

Mikansu chuckled. "The boss is here, fashionably late," she murmured to Anori.

Anori turned back to the Autumn Goddess. "Our apologies, Lord Quiwin, for the interruption to your meal. Please excuse us..." Leaving his food on the table, Anori pushed up into a stand and trotted forward, joining a growing crowd of onlookers. The array of portals was still open and groups of Winter sprits continued steadily marching through, but now the movement slowed as everyone turned around to stare out over the ocean. Even those already seated at the tables turned around or stood up to get a better view.

In the distance, a spray of water was visible and getting increasingly large. Anori padded forward onto the frozen beachfront and stepped out onto the ice, then he sat back on his haunches and reached into a pocket dimension. He liked to keep his notebook and pen slung around his neck, but there were other useful things he carried around. Out from thin air he pulled out a short, collapsible telescope made from gleaming copper metal, and extended it smoothly, before raising it to his eye.

Mikansu trotted over and sat beside him. She'd brought along her turkey leg, carrying it in her jaws, and now resumed nibbling on it. "That's Hazak, I assume?"

"Indeed." Anori lowered the telescope after confirming the identity of the approaching group. When Mikansu gently prodded his side with her paw, he passed over the telescope to let her have a look too.

Coming in fast and low over the waves was a huge dragon with scales coloured a pale blue and white, with wings flapping hard and kicking up a spray of water from each downstroke. Flying alongside in neat formation were a quartet of snow owls and a cardinal, trailing behind the dragon's wings. Instead of flying straight into the cove, the Winter Lord turned sharply at the last moment and flew along the line of the beach. The dragon opened his jaws and spewed frost upwards, causing a flurry of snowflakes to pour down along the beach as he flew, eliciting cheers and roars from the Winter spirits, and even impressed gasps from some of the Autumn spirits. The dragon circled around the whole cove, then approached again.

With a tremendous gust of icy wind, the Winter Lord touched down on the beach. He held his wings open for a few seconds, enough time for onlookers to admire, and then he folded them shut and strolled up the beach on his four legs. "Winter has arrived!!" he bellowed, which got another loud cheer from the Winter sprits.

"Wooooh!" Mikansu happily cheered along--Anori was more stoic. "He does know how to put on a show," Mikansu noted with a grin.

"You are correct," Anori agreed. He hopped up to his feet and strolled forward to greet their boss.

Potent, icy magic radiated from the Lord of Winter and invigorated the crowd of lesser Winter spirits who had gathered around him. They eagerly followed after him, and some of the bolder of the lesser spirits even dared to scutter up his massive legs to perch atop his back and his furled-up wings.

However, Anori, Mikansu, Siga, and the other greater spirits of Winter were not so easily charmed by the flow of magic from the Winter Lord as lesser spirits might be. As greater spirits they were powerful as well, and thus their loyalties to the Winter Lord came not from his considerable raw power. Instead, Hazak had an easy charisma and a knack to leadership, as well as a striking vision of what he wanted the season to be. Despite the harshness of the season he led, the spirits of Winter were well fond of their leader.

As Hazak strolled up the beach, Anori bent his forelegs in a half crouch and bowed his head. Beside him, Mikansu followed his example. Whereas lesser spirits showed adoration, greater spirits showed respect. "Winter Lord. Welcome to the northern continent."

"Anori! There you are!!" Rather than returning a bow as was proper, Hazak trotted over to Anori and used his forepaws to scoop the wolf up into a hug, balancing on his hindlegs and his tail.

"Ouugh--aarrrgghhh..." Trapped in a hug by the large dragon, Anori winced from the sheer unprofessionalism of it all, but Mikansu caught his gaze and she laughed.

Of all the different leaders of the seasons, the Lord of Winter was ironically the warmest--Hazak treated all his spirits kindly. Though the hierarchy of command was still present, and his orders had to be followed, Winter was a small enough season that it felt like everyone could know everyone. "What an excellent portal array you've set up here! We've been missing you already for these past two weeks!" Hazak thundered.

"Yes, thank you. We've been... the season transition is ready, if you want to..." Anori tried to say, but Hazak cut him off.

"Of course it's ready! I told you to push it forward, and I had absolutely confidence that you could get it done. Oh, if only I had more spirits like you, just imagine what our season could do," Hazak loftily declared. He finally put Anori down on the beach, before throwing a wink at Mikansu and gesturing at Anori with his paw. "Mikansu! You're lucky I put you with Anori. I told you--he's good, isn't he?"

Mikansu was grinning. "He's very good."

Anori blinked. "I--"

"Don't be so modest!" Hazak boomed, before Anori could even be modest. "Your Winter work is the best."

Personally Anori did not consider himself motivated by the need to seek validation and praise from others. He did his work because the Winter season was essential, and he did his work well because he could not tolerate it being done any other way. Nevertheless, a faint smile crossed his snout when Mikansu grinned at him, and it did feel good to have their accomplishments acknowledged.

Like a chaotic Winter blizzard, Hazak swept noisily onwards up the beach. He joked and he thundered with laughter, and his mirth was contagious. "Is that you, Siga? I hope you weren't jealous when I said Anori was the best of the greater Winter spirits? I meant excluding you, of course! Hohoho. You should have joined me on the flight--it was most rigorous! What do you mean you don't have wings? Get some wings. Or I could have carried you? Maybe next time. Ah, Quiwin! So good to see you again. Have you put on weight? I see you started the Autumn feast without me!"

Anori shook himself from head to toe, getting his white fur back into a neat, proper condition. He glanced at Mikansu, who was still standing beside him. "You did good too. We were a good team together."

Mikansu raised an eye ridge. "Were, past tense?" she casually asked. "The season is only just starting, Anori. We have plenty more work to do together." With another sly grin, she turned away and headed back up the beach, with her tail brushing against Anori as she slid past him.

---

A Winter blizzard swirled around the forest, reducing visibility to near zero as thick snow poured down from the clouds. Autumn was gone now, as were the Autumn spirits. It had been a week since the handover, and the cold season was well underway.

A wolf with fur of pure white stood atop a mountain, careful chanting out a spell. A normal wolf would have been frozen solid in such harsh conditions, but Anori felt none of the cold even as wind and snow threw themselves against his body. Being in the middle of the icy storm made him feel alive, as he let his magic flow outwards, directing the snowfall over the forested mountain range.

What did manage to distract him was a portal carving its way out of the air right beside him. Another Winter spirit stepped out--Mikansu, who had bright, highly reflective orange stripes in her grey fur today, making her just a little more visible amongst the snowy whiteout. "Hey, hey! Anooori!" she yelled, making herself audible over the wind. She scampered over to Anori and bumped her head against his shoulder, which definitely distracted him from his magic. "Hazak wants to see you."

Anori bit off his spell midsentence. "Does he? Very well. Where is he?"

Mikansu nodded upwards. "In the cloud, about five klicks south of here."

"Got it. Take over for me, would you?" Anori gestured around the mountain summit. "Control the snowfall in this region."

Mikansu nodded. "Sure, whatever you want."

"Just layer it all down, slather the whole mountain with snow. But you have to watch the temperature and humidity--right now the conditions might cause an avalanche." Anori paused. He sat back on his haunches and briefly checked the notebook that was slung around his neck. "Actually, strike that. I think we're overdue for an avalanche on this mountain's east face anyway."

Mikansu cocked her head. She tapped a paw down against the mountainside, and Anori could sense her sending out a thread of magic to examine the snow-covered slope. "But that'll knock down a lot of the trees in the valley."

Anori shrugged indifferently. "That's Winter--things break, things freeze, and things die--that's what we have to do. If you don't want to trigger the avalanche, I can help you do it later. I'll be back once I've seen what Lord Hazak wants from me."

Mikansu hesitated and she shifted her weight between her paws, but then she nodded agreeably again. "It's what we do. Ok, sure. I can do it."

"Very good then. See you later." With a shove of the magic within him, Anori leapt upwards and ran into the sky. His paws stepped on air like it was solid ground, leaving glowing white paw prints that shimmered into snowflakes, dusting down onto the landscape below.

---

In the middle of a dense blizzard, the Lord of Winter hovered in place, his wings beating steadily as water and snow and magic swirled all around him. Flying in formation around the ice dragon were a dozen lesser spirits who took the forms of birds, including snowy owls, blue jays, and a cardinal--all of them directing the magical power that Hazak was pouring into the storm, spreading it out into the vast surrounding storm clouds around them, and adding their own power as well.

Siga, the snow leopard greater spirit, was also nearby, sitting on a cloud top slightly further out. Rather than directly feeding the blizzard's strength, she was guiding the storm's direction on its pre-planned course. She nodded an acknowledgement as Anori came running by through the sky. "Hazak was looking for you!" she yelled.