And it came to pass that a cold embrace compassed Puck about, yet it was not grievous unto him, but full of peace. He opened his eyes and beheld only the thick darkness. As he sought to return unto his slumber, behold, a multitude of lights sparkled in the heights above him. He put forth his arm to lay hold upon the stars, but suddenly the rushing of mighty waters filled his mouth, and he could draw no breath.

Great terror took hold upon him, and he thrashed upward, his inward parts burning for the air. He brake the surface of the deep, coughing forth the waters and gasping for the breath of life. And when his eyes were cleared, he knew the place; it was the quiet lake of the green world, the very waters where the golden giants had stood.

Then a thunderous crash smote the heavens above him, so that the mighty cedars were bowed down to the dust and the mountains brought to ruin. He lifted up his eyes and beheld a great serpent, a leviathan that encompassed the whole of the firmament, as though it would swallow the earth. Its wings did blot out the sun, its tail did rend the starry night, and the very scales of its flesh did tear the fabric of the sky. And Puck was utterly consumed by dread, yet he could not turn his face away.

Then the world was plunged into utter darkness. And in the twinkling of an eye, the heavens were cloven asunder, and a flood of light—a light of all colors, yet without color—poured forth through the breach. The light fell upon the great serpent, and it writhed in grievous torment, for its flesh was burned with fire, and frozen with ice, and made anew, only to be consumed and frozen yet again. The leviathan turned unto the scar in the sky and let forth a fierce roaring that shook the foundations of the earth; yet the waters of the lake wherein Puck rested were altogether still.

Then the flood of light became as mighty chains, binding the body of the serpent. The beast strove greatly to break its bonds, tearing the stars from their places, but the snare grew exceedingly tight, until the great leviathan was burst asunder. It was broken into nine pieces, and its blood rained down upon the earth, corrupting and twisting all that it touched.

Then the transcendent light vanished, and the scar in the heavens was sealed shut. Puck looked, and lo, the world was as it had been before the tearing of the sky. He closed not his eyes, nor could he if he had so desired. And behold, the great serpent appeared whole once more, seeking to break the earth with its mighty tail. And again the heavens were rent, and the light came forth to bind and break the beast into nine pieces. Hundreds and thousands of times did Puck witness this vision, yet it altered not; the serpent that covered all things was forever shattered into nine pieces by the light of the Most High.

At the last, the gaze of Puck was drawn away by a quiet hissing in the boughs beside him. He beheld a serpent creeping through the branches, yet it was not as the leviathan of the sky; it was a subtle beast, and its form felt as a lie upon the eyes of Puck.

He swam unto the edge of the lake, desiring to follow the creeping thing. But when he had climbed forth from the waters, he saw it no more, but heard a sudden cry of great fear. Puck hastened through the thicket toward the sound, and beheld two figures, fashioned of pink flesh with fur only upon their crowns. They were filled with great shame and panic, gathering the leaves of the trees to cover their nakedness. And behold, the subtle serpent lay in the branches above them, laughing. It spake in a tongue that Puck knew not, yet he perceived its spirit—joyful in its malice, yet full of wrath as it cried out against the heavens.

And as Puck marveled at this mystery, he was suddenly lifted into the air by a hand of five fingers. An unseen voice spake from behind him, saying, "Awake, and witness the end of the ice, and the beginning of the children."

Then Puck awoke in great dread, fleeing blindly in his panic, until he smote himself against the resting body of the Tyrant. Finding her sleeping in peace, his racing heart was stilled. He laid himself upon the earth, and saw that the heavens were covered again with clouds of iron, and the bitter chill of the frost had returned. But as he passed his hand over the soil, he felt a strange thing. He laid hold upon it and plucked it from the earth: it was a handful of green grass, bearing the sweet savor of the green place. Puck stood up, his spirit kindled with hope to see the green world again, but alas, the earth beneath him was hardened and brown, the green blade was perishing, and the wind that blew was nothing but cold.

Puck bowed his head in sorrow, yet he held fast unto the dying grass. He remembered the Shard-Pack, and how they smiled at their end. He pondered in his heart whether he might be the salvation of the other titans, to grant them the peace of the green place.

Then Rizpah arose beside him, and Puck climbed unto her back. A heavy sorrow hung about her, but when the biting wind smote her face, her sorrow was turned into a burning wrath.

The Tyrant drew a mighty breath, and lifted her scarred head unto the gray firmament. "My name is Rizpah!" she roared, her voice shaking the frost. "And I shall bring our reign unto an end!"

Then Puck found his courage, and standing tall upon her crown, he cried aloud, "I am Puck! And I shall be the Witness of its end!"

And behold, a glint of light caught their eyes, shining brightly upon the crest of a distant mountain. Rizpah turned her great bulk toward the peak, and set forth her heavy feet to march.

"The Living Glacier," spake Rizpah, "shall be the next to fall."