They moved through the frigid

landscape where they had slain

the life-giving ones

for more seasons than their

sacred tales could account.

Father North lashed them

more mercilessly than they had

ever had known;

huge offerings

were left at the side of

the trail in tiny, heart-drenched

bundles.

The lead men could see

the herd receding in the

distance, barely visible in the

dancing white sea that engulfed

them.

The elders quickly gathered,

and pointed eastward,

toward the future.

They would venture out onto the

endless ice, and follow

the prey

to the ends of an earth

they were sure

lay just past the farthest ridge

in the faceless

distance.