01 Winter is Coming

Year 1356, 298 of the Julian Calendar (1)

On the outskirts of the Empire, there existed a village named Oakwood. Like its neighboring villages, Oakwood was a small village with a population of no more than 100.

There was minimal usage of the Empire's currency in the village, as it was only used during trades with foreign peddlers who came in the summer. Trades between villagers were done through bartering, with popular goods such as cattle and firewood being traded.

In the village lived a family of lumberjacks, the Patel family. The Patel family was a simple family consisting of four members: Paul Patel, Eva Green, Louis Patel, and Emily Green.

In the middle of a forest, Paul could be seen chopping down trees as usual. This was evident as only trunks were left in the surrounding area. This particular act of his had been increasing in frequency as winter approached.

"Dad, aren't you going overboard? Our house can't store all these logs anymore," complained an 11-year-old boy named Louis.

"Nothing wrong with being cautious. Who knows, maybe winter will last especially long this year," replied Louis' dad, a burly, 6' 5" ft middle-aged man named Paul. (2)

"It's getting late. Let's start to pack things up. Louis, go get Henry for me!" Paul demanded after realizing the sun was setting.

"Sigh Fine, just make it quick," replied Louis in a resigned tone.

Louis ran back home before returning with a horse dragging a sled with its large body, from afar, Louis looks to be slightly pale and out of breathe.

"Pant pant Here, hurry up with it," said Louis, panting and looking as if he would pass out at any moment.

"Haha, think of it as exercise, son, considering you will be cutting trees alongside me in a few years," Paul jokingly said as he carried the logs littered on the ground to the sled.

"In your dreams! I'm going to enter the military and become rich, not chop wood till I die," said Louis naively.

"Sure, sure. Which army would accept a weak and scrawny boy like you?" jested Paul.

Having his pride hurt, Louis went for Paul's weak point. "At least I'm not someone who would kneel to a woman and beg for her mercy."

"Why you! Get over here!" Feeling attacked, Paul, with his pride at stake, attempted to capture Louis and go for a tickle.

Louis immediately ran, expecting this and hurling attacks that further destroyed Paul's pride, such as "You can't catch me, old man" and "Seems like age is catching up to you, you should retire early."

This little dispute went on for quite a while. Realizing that the sun was setting, both of them decided to have a temporary truce and head home. Even during their 45-minute journey home, they still constantly bickered, only stopping when they arrived in front of a two-story log house. Finally, they heaved a sigh of relief and laughed as another tiring day had passed.

From a slight glance, the house did not stand out at all in comparison to the others, but upon careful observation, those with keen eyesight might notice that the surface of the wooden wall was extremely well-polished, a characteristic that should not have been present at a house located within a small village on the outskirts.

Pushing the door lightly and entering their home, the pair of father and son were soon welcomed by a drooling aroma.

"Welcome home!" said a woman holding a spoon in her right hand. The woman looked around forty, with a few freckles and wrinkles visible on her face. Eva Green, she is Paul's wife as well as a mother of two.

"Louis is back?!" A loud shout of excitement could be heard from upstairs, followed by heavy stomps, as if made by a giant from a storybook.

Contrary to what they expected, a tiny girl not older than 9 years old emerged from the dark stairway. She was Emily Green, the youngest daughter of the Patel household and someone who loved her brother very much.

Emily leapt towards her brother, Louis, but was unexpectedly caught mid-air by an arm thicker than her waist.

"Why?!" Emily cried out, expressing her discontent as Paul had ruined her reunion after half a day of separation.

"Give your brother a break, he helped quite a lot today, so he must have been tired," responded Paul nonchalantly, seemingly uncaring of his daughter's frustration.

"FUCK! I hate you, Dad!" cursed Emily before turning her body and going back to her room upstairs.

"Love you too, Emi," replied Paul before hearing a loud slam, evidently clear that he had upset her.

The three people left behind stood agape in silence. After some time had passed, unable to tolerate the awkwardness anymore, Paul decided to break the ice and ask Eva a question.

"What's for dinner? It smells good," Paul inquired after his stomach rumbled.

Eva responded with a wide grin on her face. "A feast. Marcus gave us four leftover fish from his store this evening. He advised that it's best to finish it today since it's going to go bad soon, so I decided to do just that."

"What a treat! Help me convey my thanks to your brother the next time you meet," Paul said as he decided on a stool to sit on.

"Louis, come sit here!" Paul followed up, making a pointing gesture to a stool placed beside him.

"Coming," Louis replied upon Paul's invitation. The lack of retort showed how hungry he was.

"Make sure you eat a lot so you can help me again tomorrow," Paul stated as he placed a whole mackerel on Louis' plate with his hand.

"Chomp chomp chomp." Unexpectedly, Louis ignored his father's teasing, only focusing on the piece of mackerel in his hand, clearly relishing its taste.

Laughs and chatter could be heard from outside of the Patel household, and it continued throughout the night.

It was midnight when they finished wrapping up. Louis, starting to feel tired, prepared himself to go to bed.

After changing into attire that only covered his private parts, he entered his bedroom. A small room ranging around 9m² with a length and breadth of 3 (3x3) entered his sight. In the center, a candle placed on top of a wooden table could be seen lighting the entire room, and on the rightmost edge of the room lay a bed made up of straws with thick animal leathers as a cover.

Unable to withstand his drowsiness, Louis immediately extinguished the candle, turning the whole room pitch-black. As he lay down on his bed, he closed his eyes. Only the sound of crickets chirping could be heard as his consciousness began to fade.