Once upon a time, there was a man with four souls, each fighting for dominion over his body. The first was a bitter and cold man, who prefered solitude and sleep above anything else. His time in control over the man’s body forced him to be a recluse, devoid of friends and the feeling of joy.The second was a girl of rejuvenating youth and potential. Her time in control relieved the man of his reclusive nature, and brought him out to the world, allowing him to gain new experience. The third was but a boy, energetic and carefree, dressed in a bright yellow t-shirt and blue jeans. His time in control over the man was used to spread warmth and joy to everyone and everything. The fourth was a young woman, colorful and bewildering at first, but not without an aura that foreshadowed darkness. Her time in control of the man was spent gathering the attention of those that surrounded him, some traveling for miles just to the the brilliant robes he adorned; magnificent hues of orange, red, and brown expertly woven. Together, these four souls fought over the man, relishing in their brief time whenever they won. It was the existence of these four souls that created balance within the man. However, as with all things bound by time, the man’s would eventually run out.
It came to be when the man had attained a great age, that death would come to collect him. None of the souls we ready to depart from the mortal world, and thus, devised a game with death. Death, the great reaper of souls, was famed for never turning down a challenge. When the ghoulish visage appeared before the man, he asked the reaper if he would accept a challenge. A simple guessing game, with the gift of immortality should Death be wrong. He agreed, shaking the man’s hand, for how could death ever be wrong? The man presented his simple question, how many souls do I have? Death c***ed his head in bewilderment. For how can a man with more than one soul exist? Death, feeling there is some kind of trick in this question, went against the tradition of one soul, and thus had to guess. Slowly, three skinny bones crept out of the shroud of his cloak. The man laughed with triumph upon seeing Death’s failure, and explained how he had no less than four souls within him. Death, astonished, and feeling cheated, summoned his almighty scythe. Ghoulish arms broke through the crust of the earth, grabbing the man, holding him still. Death, scythe in hand, cut through the man, phasing through his body, but cutting out his souls, separating them. As the souls floated silently above the man’s body, bound by death’s power, Death still had a deal to follow through. A small casam cracked open in the crust below them, with three bodies raising out of it. The bodies were of a small boy, not even thirteen, a young girl, roughly sixteen, and a woman of about twenty five. The bodies lay limp, as their souls have long since vacated the bodies. Death put the four souls into the different bodies, each of which complimented the soul that would inhabit it. Then, the reaper summoned their hourglasses, a symbol for which their allotted time on the mortal plane was represented. He turned each of them on it’s side, preventing forward or backward progress. This was a sign that they were now immortal, and they shall always remain. Finally, Death cut off a piece of his cloak, and separated it into four equal parts. He embedded the cloak around the heart of each of the bodies before him. This would hide them for as long as they lived, which was now forever. Finally, he separated the four of them, forbidding that they never see each other. For the rest of eternity, they would travel the world, going by unseen, but affecting all those around them. Old Man Winter, Miss Spring, Little Summer, and Lady Fall.