At the foot of a snow-covered mountain, there was a small village that could only survive thanks to the protection of its two guardians, whom everyone called the Winter Sisters. The older sister’s name was Kari, and she defended the village from above on her huge ice dragon, while her younger sister Raya rode a snow unicorn into battle whenever any dangerous beast attacked.
Out of gratitude, one of the villagers gifted them a beautiful beast collar, adorned with powerful stones that could enhance the owner’s strength tenfold. The two sisters happily accepted the gift, but soon realized that there was a problem. How would they decide which one of them should have the new collar for her beast?
“I’m the older one, and my beast is stronger, so the collar should be mine,” Kari said.
“No, I’m the stronger one, because I trained with my beast more. I deserve the collar more than you do,” Raya replied.
“Then let’s have a duel, and the one who wins will get the collar,” the older sister suggested, and the younger agreed.
And so, they began to fight. Their battle was friendly at first, but it slowly became more violent. The ice dragon’s blue fire left marks on the snow unicorn’s skin, and the unicorn’s magic cracked the dragon’s sturdy scales. Still, the two sisters didn’t stop, no matter how tired their beasts became. It wasn’t about getting the collar anymore; both of the women were now driven by their stubborn pride.
“Give up before your dragon can’t fly anymore!” Raya shouted.
“Your unicorn’s horn will break before that happens!” Kari retorted.
When the two beasts heard that, they realized that their owners no longer cared about them. The Winter Sisters were so blinded by anger that they both wanted to win at all costs. But their beasts didn’t want to harm each other; they grew up together, and despite being different species, they also considered themselves siblings. They only wanted a friendly spar, not a merciless battle.
The ice dragon lay down on the ground and folded its wings. The snow unicorn bowed its head, sticking its horn into the ground.
Bewildered, the two sisters looked at each other and then around them. There were no villagers outside: the cruel fight between the guardians scared everyone so much that they hid inside their homes, looking out of the windows in silent terror.
Only one person remained outside — a young boy with his direwolf. Despite being smaller and having a weaker beast, he stayed behind to make sure nobody would get harmed, helping others find shelter and protecting them from the impact of the battle.
It was in that moment that the Winter Sisters knew what they had to do. They handed the enchanted collar to the boy, bowing their heads in shame.
