General History of Snezhnaya

Vol. 1

Preface
To the Tsaritsa of All Snezhnaya, Eternal Sovereign Under the Pale Star, Protectress of the Fae Kindreds and of the Lineages of the Peoples of the North, Holy One of All Winters, Sovereign of Grace and Absolution, Grand Suzerain of the Princes of Snezhnograd, Glupov, Kitezh, and Belovodye, Ruler and Conqueror of the Frozen Lands Beneath the Aurora, Devoted Bestower of Boundless Grace, Anastasya Feodorovna Snezhnaya, and to our beloved motherland:

Hail, Your Majesty! Only by Your sacred glory has a mortal such as I been released from the afflictions of my former days. By Your solemn compassion, vast as the frozen expanse, am I permitted to stand shoulder to shoulder with the noble immortals, and, with a coarse and inept hand, to endeavor the chronicling of the complete history of our motherland. I shall not boast of this labor: for all of it rightly redounds to Your supreme glory.

This general history reaches back to the legends of the Age of Polar Night, sets down in its middle passages the campaigns of Tsar Monomakh, and in its concluding chapters sings the great deeds of Tsaritsa Anastasya. The old world is dying, the new world is waking. Time and again has history shown us that virtue, not force, is the blade with which the world is renewed. The conquests of Tsar Monomakh were, to be sure, as fierce as the harshest winter gale. Yet as for You, Your Majesty: if the happiness that Your exalted virtue brings could be set alongside Your glory, then You must be more blessed than any living being that walks this earth.

Most Gracious and Merciful Sovereign! With infinite reverence in my heart, I present this book to You.

Your loyal subject and child,
Y. S. Klyucheva

Volume I: Legends of Hyperborea

Historical materials from many diverse sources all bear witness to the following: that in an ancient epoch beyond our imagining, the vast frozen land now called "Snezhnaya," robed in silver snow, was not always so grim. On the contrary, this place once enjoyed a warm climate and lush vegetation, and was a carefree and bountiful plain.

Though we cannot glimpse the true likeness of that age, nor can we determine whether the circumstances recorded in the writings of the ancient fae nobility arose from fact or from their fair and abundant imagination (even that most ancient of records, The Volkhov Chronicles, is thousands of years sundered from the golden age its author claims to describe), still, if we choose to trust in those fae poems that at least draw upon legend, then upon this land there once stood a realm named "Hyperborea." Grand Duke P. N. Kostomarov wrote thus:

"[They] possessed incomparable virtue... The cities they raised gleamed bright like gold. Because spring was unwilling to depart from that blessed land, it was ever warm spring there. There was no burning summer heat, no piercing winter cold... The people nourished themselves on the honey and dew that fell from the heavens above. So it was for hundreds of ages... until their descendants, in ease, lost their nobility, whereupon spring forsook their homeland, and the long winter followed close behind..."

The contemporary Songbook of Saint Strivozha (said to have been composed by "The Pure One" Strivozha herself) tells a different legend: The eternal King of Light could not tolerate the coming of darkness, and so he imprisoned his daughter in the world of darkness, wishing to illuminate the fading land with her radiance. The King of Hyperborea drew her out from deep within the earth as bright as daylight, and from that time onward there was night in the world, and she came to be called the Mother of Night. They lay together and bore seven Preexistent Gods and twelve Preexistent Men, whose descendants multiplied upon the earth and founded Hyperborea, Hyperborea of gold and white stone. Realizing that the alternation of day and night could no longer be prevented, the wrathful King of Light destroyed Hyperborea, slaughtering the bloodlines of the seven Preexistent Deities to the last. Only the young son of the final monarch survived by chance: Tsar Monomakh. And it is for this reason that he was rightfully to rule over all fae and all of humankind.

In any case, strange fables must ultimately cede ground to true history. Before the founding of Kitezhgrad, Tsar Monomakh did in truth wander the blizzard-swept lands for hundreds of years in the aspect of a young hero, unequalled in valor. It was during this time that he came to know those great heroic companions who would in later days stand at his side in battle, and that he first sketched out the form of that realm of virtue and mercy which he dreamed to found.

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Vol. 2

Volume III: Monomakh's Travels

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During the reign of Tsar Monomakh, nearly all the fae kindreds would boast of the long history of their loyalty to him, comparing themselves against one another in the hope of securing more favor for their kindred. Even so, none would contest that the Snegurochka of Hesperides were closest to him. The reason was plain: Tsar Monomakh never concealed the relationship between himself and the grandmother of the first Grand Duchess of Hesperides, the "Knyazhna of Blood" Yalyane Morevna, and on several public occasions even called her his teacher.

Yalyane Morevna appears only sparingly in the annals of authentic history (she vanished without a trace before Tsar Monomakh founded Kitezhgrad), and the vast majority of accounts concerning her come from folk legend and song. It is said that she was a survivor of Hyperborea. Unlike the later Snegurochka, whom popular imagination depicts as cold and retiring, she was known for the extraordinary savagery with which she plundered and razed many fae kindreds, thereby earning her ill name of "Knyazhna of Blood." Yet consider courage, ever praised as a virtue. Could it have originated amongst uncivilized ancient peoples by dint of mere hunger for glory alone? Let us then hazard to say this — before courage became the merit by which the world is renewed, it was a crime. Plunder was its cradle, and greed its nurse.

Yet even having said all this, it is worth noting that Yalyane Morevna appears never to have ravaged the human clans that in that age wandered destitute upon the snowy plains. Quite the opposite: a considerable body of accounts, including The Davograd Chronicles, claim that she once took human beings into Hesperides, and gave them her protection against monster incursions. The author of The Davograd Chronicles reviles her as "a soulless wretch, a slave who could only wag her tail before her former masters," but never once details her greed, or what treasures she gained via pillage. Whatever the truth behind these accounts, she certainly did not kill the young Tsar Monomakh. Instead, she permitted him to come to her kindred, and she taught him the art of the spear.

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Thus it came to pass that young Monomakh, having taken his leave of Yalyane and set out upon his travels, came to meet the man who would in later days become his most trusted counselor and the first Commander of the Druzhna: the young progenitor of the shapeshifters, Filipov Vseslavyevich. It is said that at first Filipov held Monomakh in profound contempt, deeming his own wisdom far beyond that of the future Tsar. Though Monomakh of his own accord offered him crystals of the purest kind, hoping to become his "Synaimos" (a word from the fae tongue, which may be roughly rendered as "comrade-in-arms," "brother," or "kinsman"), Filipov did not accept these gifts. Instead, with brimming confidence, he issued a challenge to Monomakh, demanding that the latter submit to him.

Many accounts of this contest survive; the most credible version runs thus:

First, Filipov became a weasel, destroying all of Monomakh's weapons: sword, spear, bow, and shield. He thought that by this means Monomakh would be unable to fight him. But to his surprise, Monomakh seized the weasel by the scruff of its neck and hurled it as one would a spear, right over an entire mountain.

Then Filipov took a falcon's form and dove at Monomakh, hoping to tear out his throat. Monomakh seized the falcon by the scruff of its neck and hurled it as one would a spear, right over two mountains.

Then Filipov became a white wolf and lunged at Monomakh, hoping to tear out his throat. Monomakh seized the wolf by the scruff of its neck and hurled it as one would a spear, right over three mountains in a single throw.

Then Filipov became a great bear and lunged at Monomakh, hoping to tear out his throat. Monomakh seized the bear by the scruff of its neck and hurled it as though one would a spear, right over four mountains in a single throw.

Then Filipov became a bull as large as a small hill and charged at Monomakh, hoping to trample him flat. Monomakh seized the bull by the scruff of its neck and hurled it as one would a spear, right over five mountains in a single throw.

Then Filipov transformed into a giant as vast as a mountain range. He charged at Monomakh, hoping to smash him flat. Monomakh seized the giant by the scruff of his neck and hurled him as one would a spear, right over six mountains in a single throw.

Then Filipov donned Monomakh's own likeness and charged at the future Tsar, believing that he could not bring himself to strike his own form. But Monomakh seized him by the scruff of the neck and hurled him as one would a spear, right over seven mountains in a single throw.

At last, Filipov was moved by Monomakh's purity of heart, accepted his offer, and became his most loyal Synaimos and his dearest friend. Legend has it that they once sailed together into the belly of a great whale, and that they once faced down a dragon upon the snowy plains for seven days. Such accounts are today beyond any means of verification, but what is not in doubt is that every ancient chronicle couples the name Filipov Vseslavyevich with "cunning," "quick wit," and "victory." In all his long life, this far-seeing strategist met with defeat only three times. First at the hands of Monomakh, the second at the hands of his own wife, and the third at the hands of the pitch-black calamity that welled forth from beneath the earth.

It must be noted that in that age, the divide between the fae and humankind was as impassable as a glacier everlasting, for the fae were noble, courageous, and steadfast, whereas humans were fragile, small, and of no consequence. And so, when the traveling Monomakh and Filipov first encountered the woman warrior Nepla Korolevitsna, who stood guard over a human clan, both youths were struck with alarm. The Volkhov Chronicles say that she carried a war hammer heavier than the two of them combined, rode a horse that could breathe fire, and by naught more than a single furious shout she brought Filipov Vseslavyevich's warhorse to its knees. Monomakh flung Filipov (transformed into a venomous serpent) at her, hoping to intimidate her, but she seized the serpent by its tail and threw him back, right over three mountains in a single throw. At last, at the cost of one of his own eyes, Filipov succeeded in bringing this champion down from her horse. By the law of that age, the victor had the right to put the entire clan of the defeated to death, or else to enslave them. But the young Monomakh did not do so. Rather, he spared this human clan, and directed them to settle at what would later become Port Belovodye. Fearing that Filipov might harbor resentment, he said to him (as The Belovodye Annals record):

"Filipov Vseslavyevich, my Synaimos, my good brother, forgive me. I do not wish blood to spill upon the pure white snow. This is the tenet of mercy, which my teacher Yalyane Morevna taught me."

And Filipov replied:

"I bear you no reproach, Monomakh, my Synaimos, my good brother. So that your heart may no longer be burdened with guilt, I shall take her to wife, so that you need have no cause to fear my grievance."

In alarm, Monomakh hastened to dissuade him, for the fae were long-lived, while human lives were ever as brief as a snowflake in winter. Filipov replied: Her arrow has taken one of my eyes, and her valor and beauty have taken the other. I was already blind. What does it matter that a winter's day is short? And so he was joined in matrimony with Nepla Korolevitsna.

Yet this marriage lasted even shorter than they had first foreseen. A human life passes in an instant, and even the mightiest warrior cannot escape the calamities that fate lays down. A single sudden sickness is sufficient to take a human's life. But for Filipov Vseslavyevich, death ever refused to open its doors. His grief could not overcome his friendship with Emperor Monomakh nor the oaths he had sworn, and so he had no choice but to go on living. It was precisely for this reason that, thousands of years later, when someone summoned before him the phantom of his dead wife, this sorcerer, master of lies whose long life was replete with feats of cunning, believed almost without hesitation the words of that itinerant charlatan, and from that day forth ceased to caution Tsar Monomakh to beware this mad monk of unknown origins.

It is said that the pitch-black calamity that welled forth from beneath the earth took on before him the likeness of Nepla Korolevitsna, and bade him forsake Tsar Monomakh's army and come to her side. Grand Duke Filipov replied that his own shape-changing art must be the finer of the two, for the true Nepla Korolevitsna had a mole behind her ear, yet his adversary had overlooked this detail. His foe hastily swept aside a lock of hair and bade him look again. Filipov Vseslavyevich then burst into laughter, and laughed until tears ran from his eyes, and said:

"She had no mole behind her ear. That was a lie, and yet you rushed to be taken in by it. All the world longs to be deceived. You (the pitch-black calamity) are so, and so am I."

And so he led his army onward in battle. It was only when word came of Emperor Monomakh's death that Grand Duke Filipov abandoned his army. None know his whereabouts to this day.

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Volume VII: Monomakh's Great Expedition

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We cannot determine the true intent behind Vaselisa Strivozha's deed, nor learn what precisely she said to King Miscislav's envoy. It must be said that we have no wish whatsoever to defame Saint Strivozha, "The Pure One," and still less to impugn the gallant loyalty that has endured through generations of Vila. But for the sake of strict historical record, we must set down the facts as they stand: Neither the Volkodlak coalition nor the "Blood-Devourer" King Miscislav himself ever attacked Vila territory, even though the Vila had publicly denounced and shamed them, and then turned to render tribute to the royal court of the Pale Star.

By manner of contrast, upon learning that the daughter of Vodyanoy the Lackland — another Vaselisa, the "Zmey Maiden" Vaselisa Vodyanovna, first Grand Duchess of Volgograd — had defected from the Volkodlak coalition and pledged her allegiance to the young Emperor Monomakh, King Miscislav seized upon the occasion at once, leading his forces against the domains of the Water Imps, who yet remained his loyal allies, and made great slaughter and pillage of them.

In any case, according to "A History of the Snezhnyi Expedition," Filipov Vseslavyevich came to the court of Vaselisa Strivozha at the close of the war, cast a long sword upon the table before her, and spoke to her thus:

"More changeable am I than you, my lady, and so I understand: The wind, like a lie, cannot be grasped in one's hand. But mark my words, fair woman, wise Vaselisa. When winter comes, even the wind shall be frozen still."

And Vaselisa Strivozha answered him thus:

"No wind, however cold, can blow the clothes from a person's back, my good Vseslavyevich. Indeed, the colder the winter, the more tightly shall the people wrap themselves."

At this, Filipov Vseslavyevich burst into laughter, telling her that this sword was a trophy of war which Emperor Monomakh had sent to her, in the hope that she would remain, as ever, an ally to the royal court of the Pale Star. Strivozha gladly accepted his request, and she held a banquet that lasted seven days and seven nights.

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