Once upon a time, there lived a mythical stag named the “Glimmer-Stag”. It had soft fur as white as snow and antlers that glittered. Hunters who successfully hunted it down would be crowned the King of the Kingdom, and wore the stag’s hide as a cape. Naturally, everybody wanted the kingdom’s riches and people to themselves, so they got ready to hunt down a snow-white stag. There also lived a girl, whose name was Lillian. Ever since she was young, she would venture into the forest and look for different animals.
One day, she stumbled upon the Glimmer-Stag, resting on a spot of green grass illuminated by sunshine. Ever since, they had shared an extremely close bond with each other, learning to communicate with each other through body signals. However, one fateful day, Lillian went to go see the Glimmer-Stag. The hunters were also looking for the Glimmer-Stag, and had found him resting underneath the warm sun. Just as they were about to shoot the arrow, Lillian jumped in the way, and the arrow killed her.
Both stag and hunter stared in horror at the little girl lying on the forest floor. Ruby-red blood poured around her. Since then, the forest and village started seeing decay. The leaves wilted and the crops wouldn’t grow. This was because the stag didn’t complete its migration to the North of the Ice People. Lillian’s sister, May, knew this. She loved reading and one day found a book about the Glimmer-Stag.
May searched in her sister’s room and found a crown made out of flowers that had a paper next to it: For my best friend, Shiny Glimmer-Stag! The flowers were rotting, but May knew that it was special. Maybe she had to find the stag and give it to him? That was her first idea, since the stag was likely traumatized and scared of humans. One day, she approached the edge of the forest and searched for the Glimmer-Stag. When she found it, the Glimmer-Stag stared at her, terror clouding its glassy eyes.
But, as if it sensed something in May, it stopped. It sniffed the flowers woven into a crown. “This was what my sister made for you.” May whispered hoarsely to the stag. The Glimmer-Stag bowed its head, and May placed the flowers atop his head. The flowers pulsated, then started to glow. The petals fell off. May gasped in horror and awe as the flowers regrew themselves into brighter, bigger, and prettier flowers. However, the hunters came again, intrigued by the strange glow.
Once again, an arrow was aimed, and once again, came the same result: a dead child and a scared stag. However, the forest began to heal. The flower crown had touched the stag’s heart, and made the focus of migrating bolder and sharper. The stag migrated, bolting into the dark forest depths. The leaves regrew and the crops began to grow again, but at a terrible cost. This is what greed brought the village to do.