Isolated from civilization, hundreds of kilometers away from the closest city, surrounded by land and more land, is the location of Mountain Apolaia. Covered mostly, in freezing ice for most of the year, and the target of a weather capable of frightening even the bravest of men, skiers know it as the mountain with the toughest slopes on the planet. The slopes are divided in two sections, the slopes of submission and pride slopes. Although both extremely difficult, most men, with the least sense of self-preservation, take the “easiest” slopes, submission slopes. While the more audacious skiers that challenge mother nature, take the pride slopes, which often results in severe injuries and even death. On the base of the mountain, in a small village of a couple thousands habitants, lives the Thanatos family. A small family, composed only of the father Harry and the son Bartholomew. They live in a small yet conformable wooden house, heated by the warm flames of the fireplace. Although small in numbers, the Thanatos family, specially the father, have gone through a lot in the past decade. For years, Harry had to carry the burden of losing his wife and daughter to the evil slopes of pride, leaving him responsible for raising alone his only son, small Bartholomew or Barry. Surrounding Barry with endless fatherly love, Harry tried to raise the boy the best he could in the given situation. He taught Barry everything he knows, from walking to reading and writing stories. Barry grew to become a strong and handsome young man, dreaming only about the day he would ski for the first time. Day after day, stubborn the way Barry is, he bombards his father with the desire to go skiing for the first time. Harry tried to keep his son away from the sport that took the two most important people from him, but he could not. Every day he sees his 12 years old son staring at that mountain, and to the brave skiers that that had the courage to defy it, impressed with the mix of beauty and darkness that the Apalaia mountain transmits. And so, when Barry’s 13 birthday arrives, while his son is still sleeping, Harry grabs his old pair of skis, unused since his wife and daughter death, and another one for Barry. After leaving the basement that stores both pair of skis, he goes up the cold stone stairs and enters in Barry’s room to show him the
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There is not a single submission slope in the Mountain Apolaia that Barry fails to go on. Although his father prohibited him from ever going down the pride slopes because of the fatality in the past, every day Barry is out there, in the mountains, he feels the enormous temptation to go down the more dangerous slopes. Almost daily Harry has to confront Barry on the matter because Barry had grown to be way too stubborn. Barry could not comprehend that his father wants only the best for him. He thinks his father did not trust him as a skier; that his father is unnecessarily afraid of him skiing in the pride slopes. And so, he decides to prove him wrong. Without making any noise, Barry grabs the old GOPro he keeps stored in his bedroom, leaves a note in his bed, and heads out to the
There is not a single submission slope in the Mountain Apolaia that Barry fails to go on. Although his father prohibited him from ever going down the pride slopes because of the fatality in the past, every day Barry is out there, in the mountains, he feels the enormous temptation to go down the more dangerous slopes. Almost daily Harry has to confront Barry on the matter because Barry had grown to be way too stubborn. Barry could not comprehend that his father wants only the best for him. He thinks his father did not trust him as a skier; that his father is unnecessarily afraid of him skiing in the pride slopes. And so, he decides to prove him wrong. Without making any noise, Barry grabs the old GOPro he keeps stored in his bedroom, leaves a note in his bed, and heads out to the