Chapter Fifteen

Clairevane

                Winter was coming, that was the phrase that so many people of the old had feared greatly for it reminded them of the harsh and vengeful season of death. To them this was the time of the year when the trees died, the birds flew south and animals went into hibernation. The dreadful season of nothingness, pertaining to the fact that nothing grew and everything stood still. It was in this arid climate that a nation sprang forth, a nation that was bigger than anything Celaria had ever expected. Ignorance and beliefs of the old sages led the people to underestimate the power of the frozen tundra and the roaring seas.

It was a nation built upon the power of the oceans and as well as the cold and almost uninhabitable climate of the north. A nation that harnessed the coldness of the season and turned it into something so powerful and fearful that even mighty Valtareau took cautious steps in dealing with it. The regnum (kingdom) of Clairevane this was what this nation came to be known as. They were the mighty builders of the cold north whose hydro power plants gave light to the whole Celarian continent. They managed the water circulation of the Rysian Ocean ensuring the steady supply of cold water towards the warm waters of Shou. They were the leaders in naval warfare at the same time the architects of water systems all over the continent building dams and controlling the rivers, lakes and streams of the regnorum(kingdoms). Their position required them to mingle with people this led to their stoic business attitudes mirroring their cold personalities like the land wherein they lived.

Most of them found socializing as bothersome task and would only entertain guests if it were about important matters. The double faced hermits of the north as they were secretly called, this refers to their indifferent treatment of travellers passing by their docks. This act of blocking out the rest of the world lasted for thousands of years until the birth of a princess that would change the heart of the people.

                   Clairevane was located at the top most part of the Celarian continent cornered by two bodies of water the  ever powerful Rysian Ocean and the Heiyan Bay. Large and interconnected mountain ranges decked the border separating it from Valtareau while gorges and valleys marked the western part of the regnum (kingdom). Rivers and lakes outlined some of the country’s physical façade all of which are filled with freezing waters and are capped with solid ice. Snow covered the mountains as well as the whole land. Livestock was the main food source of the people along with seafood. A peculiar type of crop grew amidst this harsh climate providing the populace with a source of carbohydrate. It was a type of plant that resembled wheat but with heavy stocks and stems covered with fur like tendrils that appeared like a sheep’s wool. All over the land, which stretched on for miles, the only thing one could see was a pristine landscape covered with snow.

The climate made it an utmost necessity for Clairavanians to have heavy multi-layered clothing which was later on adapted by Valtareau but minimized to fit their climate. Skirts were made from heavy fabrics that blocked out the cold as well as animal fur that served as the under garments of the people. Due to the minimal supply of sunlight people had blonde hair that was either ash blonde or for some who had purer bloods a platinum blonde. There were rare cases wherein people were born with black hair this was mainly due to the genes that they had received from their non-Clairevanian parent such in the case of the crown princess Yukie who would then become queen.

The trade of the people was fishing and ship building. They were also merchants who traded fur and other goods such as metals and minerals. Though they were mainly fisherman they had acquired knowledge about water that was so deep that they became engineers in the end who were masters of hydrology.

                It was in this cold and almost uninhabitable climate that an ice princess was born, though the blood of her ancestors were cold she had possessed a heart so loving and genial that people called her the warm ice.  She was the crown princess of Clairevane. She was a princess who resembled the edelweiss flower of the ice mounts, with her platinum blonde hair and fair skin that shone like moonlight. She embodied winter and her nation. Many people called her the child of peace because her birth had ended the War of Fire and Ice as well as the Fifth Heiyan war which was war between the two continents. The War of Fire and Ice was a decade long war between Valtareau and Clairevane. It was a war that occurred due to the infidelity of Crown princess Boa to her betrothed the Crown princess Yukie. Boa was Valtareau’s heir while Yukie was Clairevane’s. Boa had a liaison with one of her generals; this was discovered by Yukie herself as a result Clairevane wagged war upon Valtareau as act of redeeming its lost honor. This war had torn the continent into two with each regnum having its own allies, creating an atmosphere of chaos that allowed Aone leader of Tartharac to find a weak spot in the shield of the impenetrable Celaria.

                The war of fire and ice ended in the treaty of El Hazard the capital of Winaris the regnum of Wisdom. Valtareau paid the price for its crime since infidelity was a taboo in Celaria, two large ships filled with treasures were sent to Nieves from Erable and two ports which included three prime cities were handed over to Clairevane as a compensation for the law of the land. The law demanded the life of princess Boa which Valtareau was unwilling to give. The last treasure to be handed over to Clairevane was the seed of princess Boa, the payment of life that the ancient law demanded.

                It was from this seed that Jessica was born as a result of artificial insemination. Jessica the warm ice that melted the frozen heart of the hatred filled bereaved then princess of Clairevane Yukie. The child’s birth changed a nation who was fully intent on harboring anger for ages. She changed them in ways that they could never fathom. She paved the way for Valtareau to find a chance to correct the wrong deeds that they had done as a result a new allegiance was formed bonded not by words but by blood.

                A beautiful snow angel sat peacefully in a field full of flowers her dainty hands worked effortlessly as she braided the stems of thorn less roses and mini dahlias. She was out of place in the spring like scenery of the flower fields, her platinum blonde hair screamed of winter while her eyes reminded one of the seas. She had pale skin that glowed in the sun like the pearl of the oceans and lips as red as blood. Though she was out of place she never minded her surrounding her child like nature merely dismissed all notions of belonging to a certain place alone. When she had finished her work she smiled happily and inspected it in the air. She wore it on her head and proceeded to make another one. Her hands were busy with the crown while her mind flew to other thoughts. Her name was Jessica she was the ever childish princess of Clairevane. Her eyebrow’s came together in frustration as she recalled the conversation she had with her younger sister Tiffany. The younger girl chided her heavily for running away yet again. The princess had been missing for the past few weeks and had caused her mother as well as her kingdom to be worried tremendously, an act she was an expert at doing.

                “Jessie seriously I am running out of excuses! Your mother has been searching all over for you! I can’t keep you here for long!” Tiffany whined as she stared at Jessica gravely.