Winter - Chapter 1 Tigers

This photomanipulation and eight others have been entered into the Holiday Challenge hosted by CAStock. My nine entries create an illustrated short story of love and betrayal set in the Long Winter years 2201 to 2222 AD. 


CHAPTER 1 ~
The Siberian tiger, his belly full, hesitated for a moment surveying the snowy woods. Satisfied, he crouched down and lapped the still water. Then he continued south following the animal and human migrations. 

Spawned by the weapons of the Great World Wars, thick blanketing clouds hid the sun and denied the earth its heat. Cold gripped the land. Bitter, bone-chilling cold. Most died slowly of disease, starvation, or hypothermia. But some were spared. The surviving people, organized into clans, became nomadic hunters and gatherers. Their livestock and some meager crops supplemented what they could find. It was important to be watchful; not all clans were friendly. As heavy snow and ice edged around them, they moved south again and yet again. 

Not all living things suffered from the lengthening cold. Many tigers now roamed the forests and valleys, preying on the weak and dying. They were well fed and no longer in danger of extinction.

Stocks used:
Orchids (Challenge Stock Photo) castock.deviantart.com/art/Whi…
Tiger and Pool drezdany-stocks.deviantart.com…
Forest Scene steppeland.deviantart.com/art/…
Trees with Vines attemptestock.deviantart.com/a…
Frosty Leaves athenastock.deviantart.com/art…

Photomanipulation processed in Adobe Photoshop CS3.