"Sisters"

.I.

*It is said by the Elves that the world began with Idalidar, the Shining City. A place of purity, light, and life unending. From there the first of the immortal Elves came to the realms of earth on white ships, to help and disciple the ancestors of humanity.*

*It is said that from one of those ships came two sisters, born of immortal blood, raised in the light of Idalidar. Both had ambition, but their aspirations differed much. The elder of the two sisters took to the Feywild, where she became known as Ryvenn, the Queen of Winter. The younger took to the world of men, and was known as Leirra the Lady of Silver to some… but to others, she was the Cunning Deceiver.*

*And thus both Queens grew in power, and being born of Idalidarian blood, they were destined to be elevated. The Queen of Winter was the Goddess of Winter, and the Lady of Silver was the Goddess of Silver Tongue. It was Leirra who slew the god of death, whose name is forgotten to legend. It was she who took the mantle of soulkeeper, and whose ambition would drive her further yet. Leirra, goddess of death, trickery and illusion, would not stop with godhood.*

.II.

*And so the council of the elves, those few who were not ensnared by Leirra's deceptions, knew that the Goddess of the Silver Tongue had to be stopped. From among them came Gwyladrien, Maiden of the Singing Moon, who ventured deep into the Feywild in search of Winter's Queen. It was Gwyladrien whose feet could never be lost, wherever they tread, and whose song could entrance even the Fey.*

*Thus with bare feet she strode into the frozen palace of Ryvven, and begged her to return to the unhappy world, one last time. At the mention of her sisters name, the Winter Queen accepted.*

*And thus on the eve of the Winter Solstice did Ryvven return to the world of men, and tasted the decay of mortal earth once more. Through the mountains and skies she wandered, and those below beheld her form against the pale moon and shuddered. The time for the sister's reunion had come.*

.III.

Ryvven, the Queen of Winter, wandered the mortal world once again in search of her sister, who's lies and deceptions had made her a goddess among men. Her form moved across the night skies like an aurora, and her face shown pale as the moon. And when it reached Leira's ear that Ryvven was searching for her, she beckoned the Winter Queen to her domain in the Realm of Shadow; for when she slew the god of death, his domain became hers.

There in the fortress of obsidian, where death had kept the souls of all mortals chained in dark dungeons, the sisters dined. Leira spoke softly and passionately, with speech like honey, as of a loving sister reunited with family. Ryvven spoke sparingly, with a voice as cold as winter, as one who saw through the false love of the Silver Tongue. Often did she lift a glass to her lips, yet not a sip did she drink, for she knew of her sister's poisons. Leirra beheld this, and knew that for the first time in countless moons her lies had been seen.

And thus the Queen of Winter departed from the palace of shadow, untouched by poison or charm. Upon the black doorstep she promised to return soon, and though her words were kind, her voice was of ice, and the Goddess of Death knew in her heart that their next meeting would be far less pleasant than the first.

.IV.

They were once sisters; twins of light, from the kingdom of radiance: Idalidar, the Shining City. Great beauty and wisdom were in their every aspect, and in their flesh was life eternal. Once they were undying maidens, and now they were but mortal goddesses.

Ryvven, the Queen of Winter, had arrived with her legions at the edge of her sister's domain, which had once belonged to death. Leirra, goddess of deception, mistress of illusion, and now the keeper of souls had reigned over the kingdoms of men for long enough. On that day, Ryvven fulfilled her vow to return, and from her obsidian window, Leirra beheld her sister with seething. From those dark fields, only a single goddess would emerge.

As Leira strode from the black gates to meet the Winter Queen, Ryvven's legions drove forward into the onslaught of living shadows; nightmare wraiths and black behemoths that the god of death had kept chained since his dungeons were built. As a great battle was fought below, Leirra and Ryvven strode to meet one another in the skies. In the hand of winter was a scythe, and in Leirra's, a great spear. Both were pitted against each other, and as they fought, the dark sky stormed with white fire and ice, so tremendous was the ferocity of the sister's clash.

And thus after a battle that spilt the blood of thousands, and which laid to rest many a sleepless wraith, victory came to the Queen of Winter. With a blow that cleaved both shadow and storm, the crystalline blade of Ryvven shattered the spear of Leirra, and it's fragments were scattered asunder. With her arms outstretched, Leirra lunged for her sister, and both clasped each other's throats as their divine forms shone with a blinding light. Then, in the sight of all and with an eruption of holy light, Ryvven tore the divine essence from the goddess at her throat, casting Leira away and scattering her form to the sky like stars. Where they were once two sisters immortal, there was now only one: the goddess of winter, the goddess of death, the sacred soulkeeper.