** A thief with very exceptional skills is trying to steal the most precious thing from the ruler of snow, ice, and frost: the winter itself! **
"When she embraces you, your heart turns to ice.
She comes in the night when you are all alone
And when...
Once, many years ago, far in the cold north, lived a tribe full of faith in miracles and myths. In the land of Aubrun, gifted with green meadows, rolling hills, and dense fir forests, every child knew the legends about mirrors - a fairytale passed down from generation to generation.
Beyond the surfaces lay worlds, hidden from their own and full of mystery and possibility. People spoke of a mysterious power that lay beyond the shimmering surface of mirrors or endless paths and gates through which one could reach realms one could hardly imagine in one's wildest dreams.
The people of Aubrun had a deep reverence for the mirrors and the myth of the worlds behind them, knowing even the Rulers of the cycle and bowing their heads in respect and humility before their might.
Thus, they always carried the belief in legends to their descendants. Whispers and murmurs were whispered to the children in the evening hours and did not leave their hearts even in adulthood. Numerous legends were known in Aubrun about wyrms in caves or creatures in the forests. None, however, was as well known as that of the gates behind the shimmer.
Many generations told each other about the doors behind the reflecting surfaces and the wonders or horrors that could await one behind them. Every child knew that the only thing that prevented them from entering this world was the reflection that looked back at them from the glass.
But despite the stories and legends, the truth about the world beyond Aubrun remained a mystery, a secret that could not be revealed. So people continued to look into the reflecting surfaces in search of knowledge, understanding, and the power to shape their destiny.
But what if someone did not possess a mirror image?
This is not the story of a noble knight or a hero sung about in numerous legends of Aubrun. It is not a tale of a prince or hero - this is the story of a thief.
He was not born in a castle, nor did he walk in marble halls. No one adorned him with jewelry, he did not dress in noble fabrics, nor did life give him anything. But this world had its balance, and where it denied something, it offered something else.
Thus, even as a child, his parents were no role models for the boy. They were thieves and riffraff, cutthroats, and good-for-nothings. But even when they passed away early due to their atrocities, his life did not take a better direction.
Among the people of Aubrun, one was different from all the others. He was a rogue, a thief, a man of cunning and skill. But this was not what set him apart from all others. When Keir looked into mirrors, at shimmering silver, or the surfaces of peaceful waters, no likeness of himself gazed back at him.
Keir was unique - in this and every other world.
But being unique was not always a gift. For what some might have admired, Aubrun's inhabitants feared. Had Keir's life begun in warm halls under the eyes of the right people, perhaps he would have become a hero... but fate had other plans for the boy.
What people do not know, they like to fear. Thus, even Keir, without his reflection, was for many a bad omen, a shadowy figure or a creature without a soul. Some threw stones at him, and others changed sides of the street or spat when they saw the boy. Without the protection of his parents and driven by hunger and despair, Keir fell onto the wrong path at an early age. So he was just seven years old when he first saw the other side. It took no more than a touch and a little breath. As soon as he touched the surface, it rippled as cold water, and Keir dived in... that's how his new life began.
From that hour, he could enter and leave any mirror.
They were his door - and he alone possessed the key.
Years went by, and the boy became a man, the little pickpocket famous and infamous. A thief was making his mischief in Aubrun, about whom people now whispered and whispered. It was rumored that he was able to travel through mirrors and surfaces as small as the shimmer in a vase or a small silver spoon. Undoubtedly, he would have become a legend if his fame had not gone to the snatcher's head at some point.
So that night, driven by arrogance, he stepped onto the false mirror.
Of all places, it was the princess's chambers that the thief had chosen because she possessed the most beautiful jewelry in the land. But this time, his pride was to be his undoing. For as enchanted as the young princess was by the charming thief, her guards did not share this indulgence. So the biggest thief in the country ended up in the hands of the royal guards.
But this was not the end of Keir's story.
For where the path of a thief ended, the legend of the Winter Thief was to begin.
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That was the prologue to the Winter Thief! I hope you enjoyed it!
