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HERE THEY ARE!!! IT'S DONE!!! BEHOLD!!!

Welcome to Snowfall!Dreamtale, an AU set in an eternal winter and plagued with a terrible fate. Old and new faces are awaiting, so let's get some introductions down, shall we?

THE BROTHERS Wren (Dream) His prayers are sung with every waking hour, a guiding light in the heart of the cold. He's very social and is often helping out in the village, an errand boy who occasionally delivers Golden Apples to the ill. His mentor and close friend is Neil, an outcast who's gotten Wren's help in rebuilding his home and life. He's not as close to his brother as he'd like to be, rarely getting time to talk or even see him, but he still loves Gale and hopes he's doing well. As much as he loves the villagers and being able to help everyone out, Wren is more than often overworked and exhausted with how many duties and responsibilities he's tasked with. He's an extreme people pleaser, feeling guilt and shame whenever he's unable to complete a task. Gale (Nightmare) Not as beloved or acknowledged as his brother, but still carries hope wherever he walks. Instead of constant bullying or harassment, Gale is constantly faced with avoidance and a growing fear of his presence. He finds that villagers are uncomfortable around him, and despite his attempts to be social, he's only been met with backs turned and whispers among crowds mentioning his name. While most people blame Nim for the state of the village, very few believe Gale's creation also brought the blizzard. Gale slowly became envious of and mildly irritated by Wren. Not only were they not as close as the original Dream and Nightmare, but Wren was constantly praised and put on a pedestal that Gale would never be able to reach. He never wanted to have that much adoration, but he wanted to be treated like he wasn't just a walking mistake. Gale also dislikes how much of a people pleaser Wren is, occasionally having talks with him about it. It's hard to ever get Wren to talk about his personal feelings, something Gale usually has to force out of him. Arguments are, unfortunately, not as uncommon as either brother wants to admit.

"Wait who the heck is The Prophet?" Well...

The Prophet (OC, Pre-Incident) ...Here she is!! As mentioned, she's Gale's mentor and the only person who actually likes having him around. The Prophet was the one who volunteered to raise the guardians, but after Wren became closer to Neil (and since Younger Wren was a little intimidated by The Prophet and her house full of trinkets and "witch-like" behavior), she ended up raising Gale alone. She's very fond of the little guardian though, raising him like a mother through the best of her abilities. She always considered it destiny, raising someone like Gale to be a powerful influence on the community... If only she knew how powerful... The Prophet (OC, Post-Incident) Drained of hope and life, The Prophet was reduced to a quiet, sulking shell of her former self. She's one of few survivors of The Hour of Atonement (The Apple Incident), and has ever since believed herself guilty for Gale's demise. She's now disgusted by the thought of having ever worshipped Nim, seeing as she's only hurt the people she cared about including her own son. And it seems the cycle of torment didn't end for the boy, not even when she tried to protect him from the truth: That FATE was against him from the day he entered the world. ...And even if the man she works for isn't the boy she once raised... ...She will devote her life to ensure he's never hurt again.

...And speaking of...

THE KING (Corrupted Nightmare) The one who rose from the Hour of Atonement. He is hatred embodied; A force of nature that tears down any and all it passes. Forests burn in his wake, skies above turning a deep red as they bleed, and all who dare oppose him are executed. His form lacks a mouth unless deeply angered, to which his face will tear itself open and reveal rows of jagged teeth. It's a constant reminder of what the people beneath him tried to take from him.

For a HUGE infodump about the story of this AU (From the birth of the brothers to the apple incident), keep reading and good luck.

So, the start of this story is the same: Nim is one day killed by a greedy human, Dream and Nightmare are created, and the Tree of Feelings is left in the hands of newer, younger guardians. Dream and Nightmare are, like their mother, heavily praised and adored by the village (Yes, even Nightmare, though not as much), but there’s still an issue regarding the brothers: Who’s going to take care of them?

Despite all of the praise and adoration that was given to the brothers, many of the villagers were too busy with their own lives to watch over the two of them. So, with narrowing options, The Prophet— a village elder known to have future sight— and Neil— a village outcast living in the forest— would end up becoming caretakers for Dream and Nightmare respectively. As time passes, the brothers would change their names as suggestions from their mentors would be passed: Dream would go by Wren, and Nightmare would go by Gale.

Some time after the brothers are born, a heavy snowfall and sudden blizzards plunge the village into a deep, devastating winter. In a community that was heavily devoted to her, the village believes that it was Nim’s doing in an act of revenge for her demise. As the snow continues to fall, food becomes harder to harvest and people begin to fall ill. Wren has to run to the village and treat the sick villagers, often running to and from the Tree of Feelings to deliver Golden Apples. Amongst the villagers fallen ill, The Prophet unfortunately is one of them, devastating Gale and making him beg to Wren for help. Wren is unable to lend any of the apples he's picked, making Gale rush to the Tree of Feelings to pick one himself. Unlike the original Dreamtale, the Tree doesn't immediately begin to rot and decay; The process is slower, spanning a few days after Gale picked the apple.

Once he makes it home, Gale hands The Prophet the apple, but she's skeptical of its healing capabilities; Though, seeing how hopeful and afraid the young guardian looks, she decides it's worth the try and eats it. As soon as she does, a vision strikes her. A warning of what's soon approaching...

...That the world is ending in 3 days.

On the first day, the Tree began to show more apparent signs of damage. The Dark side of the tree seemed to be growing, spreading to the Golden side, but Wren was able to use his magic to keep the balance in check. Meanwhile, The Prophet was beginning to grow sicker. She started eating less and would lock herself in her room with nothing but her visions. Gale wasn't sure what to do, but he did his hardest to reach out to her. In the times they were able to eat together and see each other face to face, The Prophet would ask Gale increasingly worrying questions: What he thinks he’ll do if someone ever tried to kill him, if the villagers will ever reconsider worshipping Nim, and— most upsetting for Gale— if Nim deserved to be slain.

By the second day, the damage worsened. The apples were irreversibly decomposing, and Wren wasn't able to do a thing about it. Terrified, he ran to The Prophet's house to get an explanation out of Gale. He couldn't tell the village about this. He knew he'd have to, but he was afraid to. That same day, the brothers got into a heated argument as their emotions were swelling, and the conflict ending with Gale forcing Wren to leave. The night ended with Wren making his announcement, upsetting the entire village and unintentionally convincing them that Gale was trying to kill them all. Wren, unable to calm the angry mob and afraid to confront Gale after their fight, ran back home in tears. It was the worst he'd ever felt.

On the third day, the Tree was fully corrupted, illness spreading like wildfire as the Dark Apples took over. The only Golden Alples left were hidden in a basket in Wren's house, the apples that weren't given out previously. Wren himself was reaching a breaking point: Everyone was angry at him, and their negativity was only worsening as the Tree slowly withered. He'd break down in his bedroom, so overwhelmed by everything that for once he couldn't bring himself to work. Neil had to enter and comfort Wren to get him to calm down, but even then he was still scared.

Things weren't any better for Gale. No matter what he did, The Prophet would not talk to him. He'd hear her from the other side of the room, muttering about the terrible things the future will bring and how bleak everything looks. It drove him mad trying to get to her, but eventually the angry mob outside their house forced the both of them to leave. Gale is badly injured during his and The Prophet's escape from the village, but they manage to escape. In the deep forest, Gale shouts at The Prophet for everything she's been doing. He lets out ALL of his pent up emotions, the climax of his outburst being when he grabs Prophet by the shoulders and BEGS her to explain why she even chose to mentor him, and if she just did it out of pity or for an actual reason. His eyes, lit up with pure hate from the depths of his soul, get The Prophet to look at him.

...Then she answers. She says it's because she knew he was destined for greatness, destined to change the world. She holds him close, admitting that she just wanted to let him live a life he could feel comfortable living in the absence of his mother. But, then she admits that she failed-- that it was never going to work. Nothing was going to work. The world was always going to ruin everything, and his destiny was going to end in misery. And when she looks back up at Gale, she tells him why she's no longer phased by that truth.

Because she realized, from the look in his eyes, that it was HIM who stood when the world fell. He, and he alone, would bring everything to an end.

...Then the days ran out. Today was the day it all ended. Gale and The Prophet had gone missing, and both Wren and the villagers were looking for them. Their search wouldn't be long, as they'd both meet at the Tree of Feelings, now surrounded by a near-suffocating aura of negativity. And...Gale. Standing below its leaves, holding one of the apples he plucked from the Tree. Wren tried to run over, but the mob beat him to his brother. They wielded pitchforks and torches, and they wanted to kill Gale.

...But Gale had a revelation as the mob surrounded him. As rocks pelted him, he pulled the apple close to him and told the crowd that he admit he was never meant to be happy. That he was ready to accept fate for what it was.

...And then he bit into the apple. The villagers didn't stop though, and as he began consuming the rotting apples from the ground, they attacked. He pushed and shoved, but the blows kept coming. Pitchforks stabbed into his body, yet he was filled with an insatiable hunger that wouldn't let him stop. Wren screamed out for them to stop, only for a louder, much more agonizing scream to cry back. As Gale began to writhe on the ground, Wren was able to peer through the crowd. A black substance ran down his sockets and bones, and as the mob continued to kick and pry away at him, his body exploded into a cluster of tendrils. Absolute bloodshed erupted as Wren watched Gale’s body dust.

The amalgamation of tar, tendrils and eyes came to be known as The Blight, and after it devoured its prey in a sea of black, it set its sights on Wren and his basket of apples. Wren tried to run, but was quickly slammed to the ground, grip on the basket slipping as the apples hit the dirt. He was only able to save a single fruit as the rest were smashed, clutching it to his stomach as he cried. He prayed, as he held the apple closer to his mouth, that he would be given the strength to make it out alive.

He ate the apple, blessing himself with its power as the behemoth approached him. Now, with only the want to survive and to vanquish the dark, Wren summoned a weapon to aid him: Not a staff, but a spear. Unfortunately the battle didn’t last long, as despite his newfound power, Wren was still far weaker than The Blight. He fell to his knees, and with one last breath, he apologized for failing his brother as he was turned to stone.

…From there, it rampaged through the village, destroying everything and everyone in its sight. The villagers— the ones who hadn’t partaken in the mob— were accepting of their fates, an empty look in their eyes as the beast slaughtered them like cattle. Very few still carried hope in their hearts, allowing the negativity infesting the lands swallow them whole. Those who still resisted were either killed or escaped by the skin of their teeth, one of the survivors being Neil.

Everyone else was dead. Everyone, except for one last villager biding her time in the alter. She’d snuck into the village while the mob was approaching the Tree, and ever since she’d been standing before the stained glass of Nim’s image. The Prophet— awaiting her judgement— kneeled and began to utter one last prayer as death began drawing near.

…But as the door was ripped off its hinges, and as the wriggling mass of tendrils crept closer… The Prophet felt its presence approaching slower and slower; Until it was looming over her.

…Then the shadows began to twist and contort, shrinking as it merged together to form… Someone. The Prophet kept her head down, alarmed by what she feared to have seen. The beast… it spoke. In a booming, distorted voice, it demanded to know what it was. Endless thoughts and feelings and hatred were clawing at its insides, instincts begging to be acted upon and memories of people it couldn’t recognize, yet people it felt so closely connected to, that it felt like they were past lives of its own being. It felt powerful, yet weak as it stopped its rampaging and loomed before The Prophet. Its wrath had calmed, yet it was still furious at itself and the world around it. When she tried to utter a word, it snapped and nearly tore her apart with the tentacles splitting from its back. It was overwhelmed. It was lost.

It was… nobody. Nothing. Barely human or animal. It was blinded in one eye yet it felt like it could see everything…

…The Prophet muttered words as it— the aimless creature with a piercing stare— looked down at her. How he wanted to kill her. How he wanted to kill everyone else who dared to walk the earth as him, and to plunge the world into the deepest darkness. But, his spiraling thoughts were halted as she raised her voice.

“…I warned him,” She said. “that one day, he’d be destined to change the world.”

“…I used to fear that he would be hurt one day. That there would come people who’d hurt him, maybe even kill him.”

She looked up, facing the entity in front of her.

“…What an idiot I was. And what an idiot the boy would be to fear injury, and disease, and death.”

“…Because one day… he would overcome death itself.”