Austral

Opposed to Boreal, Sentinel of Hope and Bringer of Winter

In ancient times people used to worship Boreal, or Qhualhul as they were referred to. Austral was included in this, in fact, they were one of the most devoted followers of it. Most Norskogg were, in fairness, as that's what their purpose was, "to guard and protect the spirit of Christmas", whatever Christmas is... It was quite common to see a few of them floating around a wandering Boreal's head, dropping plants and fruit into its gaping beak. So fully devoted to the prosperity of Winter, their existence revolved around it to such an extent that once the snow melted, they would delve into hibernation, burrowing beneath the mountains and lovingly awaiting the return of their idol. Waiting wasn't an issue for them, as the confines of the ice were enough to halt all bodily functions, letting them rest as long as necessary until it was time to wake again.

This isn't an issue PROVIDING you aren't Austral, possibly the most impatient Creature to ever have lived. Each year their body would rest, but never their mind. They were always thinking, always waiting to pounce out of their burrow and return to the beautiful lands they knew so well. The beautiful, snow-covered lands of Sonaria. The reason the wait killed them was that they didn't know why they had to rest. Now, one might assume that this hibernation is due to them not being built for seasons outside of Winter, and in the case of these follower Norskoggs you'd be correct, except, Austral didn't know that it wasn't always Winter. Why would they? Whenever they left the earth and gazed longingly at their land, it was cold, and snowy, and Winter. Year after year they pondered why oh why couldn't they experience the would always, they loved playing with other creatures! and eating snow, that was also fun. This questioning was, rightfully so, too much for them. If one has questions then it is only fair for them to seek out answers, after all, the truth never hurts.

It was the year e̷͍̣͉̲̩̼̎̑͊̓͜ͅṟ̶̛̂̀̀͛̍̿̓̿͋́͜r̸̘̪̭̼͖̗̘͈͚̺̪̥͈̆̃̔̎̉̐̓͐̀͋͠o̵̧̰͉͎̅̄̀̆̄́̌̂͐̽͆͐̽̚r̵͉̈́̾̓̔̇̒͑̊̌̂̈́̾̈́̕̚̕ when they finally escaped, jumping gleefully into the air, landing into the soft blanket of snow. Except there wasn't snow, there was rock. Well, there was snow, but not nearly as much as they were used to. It was in patches. Painfully they stood back up again, but like a toddler who hit their head but no one was there to point it out, they forgot about the pain and continued to run about. They took another step. Again, their joy was halted as they stepped onto a strange material. It was, odd: green and, not cold? As soon as their paw touched it they lept into the air as if a cat and looked around to make sure no one saw that, but there was no one. Not here anyway, for in the distance they could spot creatures, so many creatures! More than they'd ever seen before. Though they tilted their head as they looked closer, it was certainly the redwoods they were looking at, wasn't it? It was in the right location but something was wrong, like the ground too. It wasn't white, it was, red. And there was more of that weird green stuff, except the ground was brown too? Something was incredibly wrong. 

They scoured all of Sonaria that day, and to their unimaginable horror, everything was different. The desert was coated in some other particles other than snow, nothing was slipping on the ice at Pride Rocks, and Flower Cove was colourful. Everywhere they went, there was that horrible green. They took another step. It still felt wrong. Where was their great leader to fix this!? Back to the mountains Austral flew, and they soon found their Boreal drinking from some hot springs, some Cenicaras hopping between its toes. It slowly lifted its head up towards the small flying creature, watching it curiously. Austral tried to explain the situation, how something was terribly wrong with the world and it needed to be fixed. Boreal blinked, then went back to drinking. As the Norskogg tried again and again to properly convey the direness of the situation, one of the Cenics missed their jump and landed on Boreal's foot, making the bird let out a quick yet bellowing cry. It snapped at the creature as they all ran away fearfully, swinging its head downwards hitting something, but not the right target. Austral was flung to the ground, tumbling into the springs, the warm water boiling the fur of its fragile body. Like a kettle it screeched, writhing as if a snail in salt. Disgusted, the Boreal left, opting to find more pure water, leaving Austral to perish as their life, their love, their god, strode away from them. 

But they didn't die. Ice sprouted from their body, piercing the water and forming a frozen crater around them. Tentatively, they stood. Where once there was fur, now there was only snow. Their beautiful hues of gold and turquoise had melted away, leaving only a body made of ice and snow. As they crawled out of the crater, they stepped onto the green ground distastefully. It turned white. They took another step. It turned white again. The despair and grief left Austral in an instant, leaping into the air and crashing down again, finally having their fall broken by a flourish of snow. Joy renewed, a grin plastered their face. The Cenicaras grew near again, watching this odd creature with interest, the same one which missed its landing stepping on a twig as it approached. Austral's neck snapped as they turned to stare, and in an instant, the Cenicara was ice. Its pack began to flee, but they could not outrun Winter. Nothing could. All of Sonaria was laid out before the Norskogg, and they were prepared to return the world to its true state. 

They took another step.

Austral is the Tyrant of Despair and Harbinger of Winter. They are currently locked beneath the mountains and have not been seen in centuries. Occasionally curious creatures will wander upon their prison, but all succumb to the cold before they are able to catch sight of them. The only evidence of Austral still being alive is their giggles, rippling out quietly to the surface They're the second oldest of the Tyrants, only younger than Sellenous, though they aren't aware of the larger creature's existence. Physically, they're an adult.

Norskoggs are usually a wonderful combination of colours reminiscent of the Aurora Borealis, but this one has no such style. Their body is made entirely of ice, with snow replacing the fur. Bones can be heard cracking whenever they move, in reality, it's just ice, but it certainly sounds like bones. Fun fact! Austral's "fur" functions like a lint roller, rocks, grit, and leaves used to get stuck in it and they'd spend hours cleaning it out. They can also increase the snow on their body by rolling in it, whenever they'd jump into snow they'd come out looking like a long Pomeranian.