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Snobii · The Monster Catcher's Journal

• 0:41
  Hello travelers and monster catchers Abound I'm stelliferous and you've crash landed On the monster catchers journal podcast. So the glyph
• 0:44
  that I will be telling you about today, which
• 0:46
  is named Snowbee, has three forms. The first
• 0:51
  form is called Flakeles. It's a snowflake. And
• 0:55
  then the second form is Snopact, which is
• 0:57
  a snowball. And the final form, which is Snowbii,
• 1:04
  the one I'll be talking about today, is a snowman
• 1:07
  with a snowflake For a accent on its head. So
• 1:13
  more like a, you know, headband or something.
• 1:15
  And I hope that you enjoyed this story today.
• 1:18
  And let's see. As always, I forgot to grab my
• 1:28
  book and quill glyph. You know, the one that
• 1:30
  logs all captured glyphs into its archive. It
• 1:38
  would have... scald at me if he'd known I left
• 1:43
  him behind again, pages fluttering in disapproval
• 1:46
  like a disappointed librarian. But the excitement
• 1:49
  of discovering outweighed the lecture I knew
• 1:52
  was coming. Zena and Luna were already geared
• 1:55
  up and waiting by the rover when I realized it,
• 1:58
  snow swirling around them in ghostly halos. Well,
• 2:03
  we'll have to do it old school, I sighed, tucking
• 2:06
  my glyphic belt tighter around my coat. Manual
• 2:10
  log entries, no book and quill glyph this time.
• 2:17
  Luna just smirked. You said that like we're not
• 2:21
  going to end up frozen halfway through another
• 2:24
  storm. Optimism, Luna. Try it sometime, Xena
• 2:29
  teased, bumping her shoulder as she loaded the
• 2:32
  last crate of supplies. And just like that, we
• 2:36
  set off towards Frostfane. An abandoned mining
• 2:40
  town buried in the northern edge of Nibiru's
• 2:43
  snow belt. The name alone sent a chill through
• 2:46
  my spine. Not because of the cold, but because
• 2:49
  of the rumors. They said the town was haunted
• 2:52
  by something ancient. A glyph made of snow. That
• 2:56
  never melted. A watcher with a snowflake crown
• 2:59
  who appeared when the air felt silent. The journey
• 3:05
  took half a day by rover. As we crested the last
• 3:09
  hill, the horizon cracked open into white. Endless
• 3:13
  snow -filled, broken only by the faint shapes
• 3:16
  of buildings half -swallowed by frost. The old
• 3:20
  town still stood, though, barely. Wooden saloon
• 3:24
  doors creaked in the wind, and ghostly icicles
• 3:26
  hung from the broken signs like frozen things.
• 3:30
  Every sound was muffled, the world painted in
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  a colorless stillness. This place gives me the
• 3:36
  creeps, Luna mutters, rubbing her gloved hands
• 3:39
  together. That's because it's too quiet, Zinna
• 3:41
  replied. Not even the wind wants to come here.
• 3:44
  I activate my handheld detector. Faint resonance,
• 3:48
  static, interference, but no visual reading yet.
• 3:53
  A possible sign of a powerful glyph masking its
• 3:55
  presence? We followed the cobblestone street
• 4:00
  to what looked like an old western -style restaurant.
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  Swinging doors, frosted windows, a rusted sign
• 4:08
  reading the frosted fork. Warm light flickered
• 4:12
  through the glass, and for a moment, I thought
• 4:14
  maybe the rumors about the town being dead were
• 4:16
  wrong. Inside, it was a dim and smoky smelling
• 4:20
  faintly of cinnamon and melted wax. A dusty piano
• 4:28
  sat in the corner, a single candle dripping beside
• 4:30
  it. Every head turned as the three of us stepped
• 4:33
  in, the kind of collective pause that freezes
• 4:37
  conversations mid -laugh. Behind the counter
• 4:41
  stood a woman with a towering beehive of chestnut
• 4:43
  hair, styled perfectly despite the cold. Her
• 4:47
  apron was old -fashioned, her smile polite but
• 4:50
  tight. Afternoon, she said in a voice smooth
• 4:53
  as syrup, but cold as the snow outside. Travelers
• 4:57
  don't come here much anymore. We're not tourists,
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  I said, stepping forward, trying to sound calm
• 5:02
  even though the air felt heavy with tension.
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  We're looking for something, or rather someone.
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  Do you know where Snobby is? The name hadn't
• 5:12
  even finished leaving my mouth before a chorus
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  of gasps rippled through the room. A glass shattered.
• 5:21
  The piano player's hands froze mid -air, mid
• 5:24
  -key. One man muttered a prayer under his breath,
• 5:27
  another turned pale and hurried out the back
• 5:29
  door. The woman behind the counter just stared
• 5:32
  at me, her eyes wide but unreadable. Then she
• 5:36
  leaned in, lowering her voice. You don't want
• 5:38
  to be asking about him, child, she whispered.
• 5:41
  Snowbee don't like being disturbed, and the snow
• 5:44
  here listens when you speak his name. The flame
• 5:49
  of the candle nearest us flickered violently,
• 5:51
  then snuffed out. Luna and - Zena both looked
• 5:55
  at me. Zena's hand was already inching toward
• 5:58
  her glyphate belt. I exhaled, slowly filling
• 6:02
  the static from my detector pulse again. A faint
• 6:05
  blue light on the display. Too late, I said softly.
• 6:09
  He's already listening. We stepped back outside,
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  and that's when I saw him. At first I thought
• 6:20
  it was just another snowdrift piled. high near
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  the old saloon porch, until it moved. The heat
• 6:28
  shuddered, rose, and towered above us, a figure
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  taking shape beneath the flurries. He was enormous,
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  at least twice my height, built of packed snow
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  that shimmered faintly with blue frost light.
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  His eyes, twin chunks of coal, burned like black
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  stars, and his carrot nose looked sharp enough
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  to pierce. ice itself. But what caught my attention
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  most was the icicle protruding from his head,
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  spiraling upward like a crown. It wasn't ordinary
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  ice. It pulsed faintly, rhythmically, as if alive
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  with ancient energy, a glyph energy unmistakable.
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  My fingers tingled as the cold aura rolled through
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  the air, vibrating against my soul. I didn't
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  have a wristband or tracker like some catchers
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  did. All I had was an instinct, years of field
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  experience, and the faint hum of power that glyphs
• 7:29
  always seemed to leave behind. Luna! Zena, I
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  whispered, my breath turning white. That's him.
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  That's Snowbee. The Snowbee's cool eyes shifted
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  towards us for a moment. There was silence, just
• 7:44
  the creaking of the old wooden... Signs swinging
• 7:47
  in the wind and the faint whistle of air through
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  broken window panes. Then Snowbee roared. It
• 7:54
  wasn't just a sound. It was a blizzard in a single
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  breath. The gusts slammed into us with such force
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  that I stumbled backward. Snow exploded in every
• 8:05
  direction. Icicles, or crystals, sliced the air
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  like tiny blades. The ground quaked as frost
• 8:13
  crawled up from beneath our boots. Within seconds,
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  we were buried waist -deep in snow, cold, heavy,
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  suffocating. Get cover, Xena shouted, shielding
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  her eyes as Luna's glyph Myrno tried to melt
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  the forming ice walls with a burst of light.
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  But Snobby was relentless, his arms twisting
• 8:34
  and reshaping like storm clouds given form. He
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  didn't move fast, he didn't need to. The storm
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  did it for him. I could feel my fingers going
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  numb as I reached for my glyph book. only to
• 8:45
  realize that I had left it at home. Its pages
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  would have fluttered if I would have brought
• 8:51
  it with me. Its ink would have glowed faintly,
• 8:54
  if only it was with me. But I didn't bring it.
• 9:02
  Luna gave me that are -you -serious -right -now
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  look, brushing snow from her coat. You didn't
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  bring him, remember, she said, her voice muffled
• 9:10
  by the scarf pulled tight around her face. My
• 9:13
  stomach dropped right. I'd left the glyph -logging
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  book behind. All the energy readings, all the
• 9:20
  documentation, not with me. But then I remembered
• 9:24
  Orabeak. I spun, gripping the glyphid at my belt.
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  Orabeak, now! The glyphid hissed open and Orabeak
• 9:32
  emerged. Shining like molten gold, he wasn't
• 9:35
  a bird. Not even close. His body was a gleaming
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  scarab, smooth and armored, with legs that...
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  clicked against the snow like twin suns, the
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  frost clinging to the town seemed to recoil from
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  the heat, and his duck -like beak prominent in
• 9:56
  every feature. Snowbee's cool eyes narrowed,
• 10:00
  the icicle atop his head pulsed with icy light,
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  and the snowstorm around him writhed with living
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  tendrils. I took a deep breath, or a beak, shining
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  sun. The golden light erupted from his body.
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  The beam was blinding, not just warm, but scorching
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  with energy, turning frozen streets into steam
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  and melting snow walls in seconds. Snow hissed
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  and vaporized, revealing the warped wooden planks
• 10:34
  and icicle -laden roofs of frost vein. For a
• 10:39
  moment, it looked like... Sunlight had finally
• 10:42
  broke the eternal frost, but Snowbee wasn't done.
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  The giant snowman staggered, dripping from the
• 10:48
  heat, but then the icicle crown blazed with renewed
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  energy. The snow under his feet surged upward,
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  coiling like icy serpents. Aurabeak struggled
• 11:01
  midair, his scarab legs kicking against the frost,
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  but the snow coils lashed around him. Guys! He's
• 11:09
  pulling energy from the environment, I yelled,
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  dodging a spire of ice that shot towards us.
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  Luna reached for her glyphid. Do you want me
• 11:18
  to send in Myrno? Not yet, I shouted. Orbeak
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  flared his golden wings. Yes, scarabs could unfurl
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  radiant wing -like plates. And blazed towards
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  Snobby, focused all his energy into the shining
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  sun. Snobby slammed both massive arms into the
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  ground. I shot up and jagged pillars around us,
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  trapping us in a glowing, crystalline ring. His
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  button mouth twisted into what almost looked
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  like a grin. He wanted a fight, and we were about
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  to give it to him. I set my glyphite on the snow
• 12:00
  -crusted ground, carefully keeping my distance.
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  Snowbee was enormous, a towering snowman with
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  an icicle crown that pulsed with icy energy.
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  One wrong step, one careless move, and I'd be
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  buried in a flurry of jagged snow or impelled
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  by one of his ice spikes. The glyph it whirled
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  to life, its golden glow reflecting off the snow
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  around us. Orbeak's scarab body shimmered brilliantly.
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  The duck -like beak pointed forward, radiating
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  concentrated energy. I crouched low, eyes never
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  leaving Snowbee, as the snowman shifted his cool
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  eyes, tracking us like dark embers. The air around
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  us vibrated with power, even from a distance
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  I could feel it, a pressure that pressed against
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  my chest, cold and heavy, carrying the weight
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  of centuries of frost. He raised one massive
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  arm, and a wall of snow twisted upward like a
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  frozen tide. Stay calm, I muttered to Luna, who
• 12:59
  was right beside me. glyphic at the ready. Remember,
• 13:04
  he's reactive, not mindless. Watch his movements.
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  Wait for the opening. I activate my glyphic containment
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  protocol. The device expanded slowly, forming
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  a luminous net around Orbeak, the light glowing
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  bright as the scarab channeled the shining sun,
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  blasting heat outwards and waves that soften
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  the surrounding ice just enough to create a small
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  clear clearing. Snowbee let out a roar that rattled
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  the ground beneath us, snow and ice spiraling
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  violently, but the glyph it held firm, anchoring
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  in place. I could see that Snowbee's icicle crown
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  was flashing, pulsing faster with energy, clearly
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  reacting to Orbeak's attack. Keep him busy, I
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  shouted to Luna. Don't let him focus all his
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  energy in one spot. The snow swirled like a storm
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  at our feet, but the glyphid held its ground,
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  forcing Snowbee to shift back and forth as Orabeak's
• 14:09
  shining sun worked against the freezing aura.
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  I felt a bead of sweat form under my scarf, not
• 14:16
  from the heat, but from the tension of keeping
• 14:19
  the perfect distance while directing my glyphid.
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  Every second counted. One step too close and
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  Snowbee's ice wrath would turn the battlefield
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  into a frozen tomb, and yet somehow, amidst the
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  roar of wind and the shimmering golden light
• 14:38
  of Orobeak, I could see the flickering of Snowbee's
• 14:41
  button mouth. Curiosity, maybe. Even recognition
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  he wasn't just a snowman. He was intelligent,
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  aware, and immensely powerful. I adjusted the
• 14:51
  glyph it slightly, angling it to create a protective
• 14:55
  barrier. while letting Orbeak's golden beams
• 14:58
  pierce through the storm. Slowly, carefully,
• 15:01
  I began guiding the battle, respecting the giant
• 15:05
  snowman, but making it clear this fight was our
• 15:09
  only chance to capture him. The glyph had pulsed
• 15:16
  once, twice, and then with a bright, almost audible
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  snap, it engulfed Snowbee. The snowman's massive
• 15:23
  form shimmered under the golden glow of Orabeak's
• 15:26
  shining sun before being fully absorbed into
• 15:29
  the containment field. I exhaled slowly, muscles
• 15:33
  relaxing for the first time in what felt like
• 15:35
  hours. Carefully, I picked up the glyphid, feeling
• 15:38
  the residual warmth from Orabeak's attack hum
• 15:42
  faintly through its surface. Then, as always,
• 15:45
  I slid it into my bag, securing the straps so
• 15:50
  nothing could escape. "'Snowbee was contained,
• 15:53
  at least for now. "'The silence that followed
• 15:55
  was almost deafening. "'Then movement at the
• 15:58
  edge of the street caught my eye. "'Figures emerged
• 16:00
  from the buildings, cautious at first, "'then
• 16:03
  slowly moving closer. "'The townsfolk of Frostfane,
• 16:06
  pale, red -cheeked from the cold, "'their eyes
• 16:08
  wide with tears, stepped out into the clearing.
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  "'They carried blankets, shovels, and trembling
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  hands. "'They surrounded us, murmuring to one
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  another. Relief and sorrow etched across every
• 16:22
  face. One woman clutched a scarf to her chest,
• 16:26
  tears freezing as they rolled down her cheeks.
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  Children peeked out from behind wooden posts,
• 16:33
  their eyes wide with awe and fear. Aye, we thought
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  we'd never see the sun again, an older man whispered,
• 16:41
  his voice shook. Every winter he came, and people
• 16:44
  disappeared, families gone, homes buried, our
• 16:47
  parents, our siblings. The barkeep stepped forward,
• 16:51
  his beehive -shaped hair even more pronounced
• 16:58
  in the snowlight. His eyes were red -rimmed.
• 17:02
  You don't understand, he said, his voice trembling.
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  Snowbee, he's taken many from us over the years.
• 17:11
  We hid, we fled, we tried everything. No one
• 17:14
  could stop him. I swallowed, feeling the weight
• 17:17
  of what we'd just done. This wasn't just a capture,
• 17:20
  this was the end to a long shadow over Frostvane.
• 17:23
  The first time the villagers had hope in years.
• 17:27
  Luna wrapped an arm around me, shivering, her
• 17:30
  voice soft. You did it, Salifaris, you actually
• 17:33
  did it. I nodded, lifting Aura Peak from the
• 17:36
  snow beside me. The golden scarab glimmered faintly,
• 17:40
  exhausted but triumphant. We did it, I corrected
• 17:44
  her, together. The villagers started to gather
• 17:46
  closer. The crying slowly turning to murmurs
• 17:51
  of gratitude. The barkeep came up to me, shaking
• 17:54
  his head in disbelief. We thought this town was
• 17:57
  cursed forever, he said, but you've run into
• 18:00
  it. It's to him. I looked down at the cliffhead
• 18:04
  in my bag, the faint hum of Snobby's containment
• 18:07
  resonating through the leather strap. I didn't
• 18:11
  feel victorious, not exactly. I felt responsible,
• 18:15
  responsible for a creature so powerful it could
• 18:17
  bury an entire town in ice, responsible for the
• 18:21
  lives lost over the years, and for now, responsible
• 18:24
  for containing his safety. For now, Frostvane
• 18:28
  was safe, and Snowbee, the frost memory glyph,
• 18:32
  was logged. I didn't waste a second with Snowbee
• 18:38
  safely contained in the glyph it tucked securely
• 18:40
  in my bag. I headed straight to Orion. The streets
• 18:44
  of Frostvane blurred behind me, steam rising
• 18:47
  from melted snow, and my thoughts were spinning
• 18:50
  faster than the wind. I arrived at his study,
• 18:53
  the warm glow of lanterns cutting through the
• 18:55
  chill that had followed me like a shadow, or
• 18:58
  unusually met me with measured calm, his words
• 19:01
  precise and deliberate, sometimes almost too
• 19:05
  cold, like they had been polished over decades,
• 19:08
  or discipline. I expected the usual lecture about
• 19:12
  keeping my glyphs safe, about proper containment,
• 19:16
  and about keeping my glyphs safe as well, and
• 19:20
  about my careless forgetfulness in leaving the
• 19:23
  book behind. Instead, he surprised me. Keep Snobby,
• 19:27
  he said. His voice was low, almost hesitant.
• 19:29
  He leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled,
• 19:33
  eyes unusually thoughtful. You might be able
• 19:37
  to help him. I froze. "'Oria never said things
• 19:40
  like that. Ever. "'He wasn't the kind to suggest
• 19:43
  keeping a wild, potentially dangerous glyph.
• 19:46
  "'Instead of handing it over for study or storage,
• 19:50
  "'his expression held no humor, no trick, only
• 19:54
  seriousness, "'as from unfamiliar trust weighing
• 19:58
  in his eyes. "'Sorry, and on, you know. "'Help
• 20:03
  him,' I asked, my voice barely more than a whisper.
• 20:07
  "'Yes,' he replied. Most catchers would seal
• 20:10
  him and forget him, but you, you understand them
• 20:13
  differently. You see their patterns, their emotions,
• 20:17
  that storm he cast over Frostfane wasn't just
• 20:20
  defense. It was sorrow, frustration, loneliness.
• 20:23
  If anyone could guide him, or even heal what's
• 20:26
  left of him, it might be you. My stomach tightened,
• 20:30
  responsibility passed down like the snow snowbee
• 20:33
  had thrown around the Frostfane heavier than
• 20:37
  any weight I'd ever... ever felt before. Are
• 20:40
  you sure, I ask. My hands tightened around the
• 20:43
  strap of my bag. He's huge, Orion, and strong.
• 20:47
  I almost got buried out there. Orion's eyes softened
• 20:51
  just a fraction, and he leaned forward. I know
• 20:55
  that's why I didn't stop you. I know you're careful,
• 20:57
  Stella Ferris, but more importantly, I know you
• 21:00
  can connect with him. I swallowed, nodding slowly.
• 21:04
  For the first time, I didn't feel just like a
• 21:06
  catcher. I felt like someone who could really
• 21:09
  make a difference for a glyph, not just record
• 21:12
  or contain them. Then I'll keep him safe, I said,
• 21:16
  my voice firm, carrying more conviction than
• 21:19
  I expected, and I'll try to help him. Orion gave
• 21:22
  me a small, approving nod, something almost like
• 21:25
  a smile. Good. That's all I ask. I left his study,
• 21:29
  feeling the weight of the task ahead, but also
• 21:33
  a spark of purpose. Snobby wasn't just a captured
• 21:36
  glyph anymore. He was a chance. A chance to do
• 21:40
  something no one else could. And somehow I knew
• 21:43
  this was only the beginning for me and Snobby.