Snow

Far from the mountains to the north, there was the leafy winter forest, spread over the endless frozen lands. Close to it a small plain, divided in two by a river of hot water. The footsteps of the frail humans had come too far and there was no better place to stay beyond. Fermind and his company decided to stop and settle there.

It was the fourth night of the third week since his departure. Above their fur-covered heads, the beautiful auroras lit up, as if they were marking the spot. Maybe the auroras knew what they didn't, maybe they wanted them to stay, maybe they were waiting for the unborn son.

Almost simultaneously, the king traveled to the prince's castle to meet the new heir. His hands were clasped together, his mind was immersed in his thoughts and he wasn't sure of what to say. Life itself had taught him that such situations could turn out badly and he was sensing what could happen in the very future. Next to him was sleeping his eldest son, Prince Edmund of only fifteen years old, giving him a hunch. The auroras came to be seen by him, when the sun almost rose. Beyond the castle was what he really was looking for.

"Oh, your majesty really came to see the kid!" – said Reight between laughs. The king laughed back and hugged his old friend. "Of course, of course. How am I going to miss this event?" – said proudly. "This is my son Edmund. The great prince you met years ago." – he continued. Edmund walked towards his father and all those presents, except the king, revered him. "Is not necessary you do this, your majesty. I am just a prince like you." – he said a little worried. Reight subtly looked up at the prince smiling slightly. "Thank you Edmund"-he said.

The king entered the castle and in the throne room everything was already prepared to proclaim the heir. The place was empty, as the event was prepared for nightfall. In the dining room, there was breakfast and at the table the whole family of the prince.

The king sat down to eat and chatted with the prince, reminiscing about old times together as they drank wine. The more time passed, the more Fermind's absence was evident. "And where is that son of yours, whom I proclaimed many years ago?" - asked the king smiling and looking out for the boy in the faces of all the presents. They all fell silent, making the prince uncomfortable and looked at him waiting for his reply. "He...he left, he went his own way after Ketone was born. He and his young wife are somewhere out, I bet he's not happy." - he said as he drank and then laughed strangely. The king remained silent and came closer to whisper something in his son's ear. Edmund nodded slightly, and then the king stood up. "What a surprise!, you didn't told us. You must invite him over, don't you think it's a good idea?"- said Luther. Reight looked down to the floor as the laugh faded away. "But I won't say more, it's time to rest"-he finished somewhat roughly and left with his son. This didn't sit well with Crista, who with scornful eyes watched them leave. Edmund saw her reaction out of the corner, something he kept inside himself and encouraged to know more.

Despite everything that was going on, Crista took a moment to send Marla to find John and start a little search for him to attend her son's proclamation. Even knowing that he was dead, she feigned concern and anguish, even crying uncontrollably, without stopping until almost nightfall. They all felt sorry for her, but Edmund didn't. He watched her from the balcony as they prepared for the event.

Edmund consulted with various people about John, not wanting to know about him, but to figure out whatever had happened. The young prince didn't like secrets, but he liked to unravel mysteries. He had asked his father to stay three days after the proclamation, to get to the bottom of everything.

As planned, the proclamation began at sunset, drums and trumpets announced the beginning, flowers and torches were everywhere. The king entered the hall full of nobles and representatives of the people. On the outskirts of the castle, could be heard the thousands of citizens celebrating and calling out the name of the king. The king walked to the baby's cradle and the mother took him in her arms, waiting for the anointing. Luther took oil in his hands and rubbed it on Ketone's head. "By the grace of God be blessed, by the grace of God be guided." - he said, and then took honey, which he rubbed on his forehead and lips. "Sweetened be your words, sweetened be your mind and heart, to receive the people and govern"-he finished saying while looking at the baby. "Long live Ketone! Long live the Prince! Long live the king!" - Said those present three times and then the celebration with liquor and food began.

In the distance, Fermind and the men from the camp began the construction of the small village. The temporary tents did not provide enough protection from frost, possible enemies and beasts. As the blizzard blew strongly, they took trees and turned them into useful wood.

Thus they spent the night, some celebrating in the protection of the castle while others worked hard. The prince never had the intention to even invite his son, since that moment he decided to cut off all ties with him

With the sunrise, Fermind decided to stop and unite everyone to discuss organization. Nearby there were wild animals to eat, so Fermind decided to create a special team to collect food. But firstly had to know if those lands were secure enough. For that, he sent two young men that volunteered to scout the area. Anthony along with Sam, left by order of Fermind to go deep into the forest.

Since it was the morning after the proclamation, no one got up before noon, as they had drunk themselves to death. Everything was silent and the streets completely dirty. Ketone slept peacefully in his mother's bed while she looked out the window, feigning concern. Marla walked in, fighting back tears, trying to hide her unhappiness. "John... he's dead." -she said with enough empathy. "They burned him alive"-she finished, with a lost gaze. A couple of tears ran down Crista's cheeks as she slowly sank to her knees, then a dry cry broke out as she wailed, something that made Marla secretly suspect of her.

Immediately after telling Crista about John, she sneaked into the frozen garden where Edmund was waiting. Beneath the tree that never sheds leaves, she told him everything she knew about Crista and John. This surprised but also intrigued the young prince, who quickly set out to find out what had happened. Under his green eyes, a logical mind was working to solve the mystery, quickly he went to the tavern undercover to find more about it.

Prince Reight was in his room, yet sleeping when one of the servants told him the tragic news about his son in law. "How's that even he died like that?... for the love of God, my daughter must be tearing up to pieces. What are we going to do now? the prince don't have a father alive, what a tragedy!" – said the prince really upset and worried while he was walking to his daughter's room. The king knew by a servant too about the incident and knew in what his son was into when he didn't found him in his room. A gesture of disgust sprouted from him naturally, he knew that something weird was happening and he was not in the will of stopping his son.

Deep in the woods, the scouts were exploring, putting small marks with red ribbons to remember the way back. The atmosphere was threatening and the wolves that accompanied them seemed worried. They kept walking, a little bit slowly and then suddenly, the wolves stopped and started howl, responding to the faraway howl of an unknown wolf. It was heard closer and closer and the wolves went from howling to putting themselves in a position of inferiority while showing their fangs.

They heard trees falling down and saw how heavy footsteps moved the snow from the trees. From between the forest, covered by the mist, appeared Shakar; the great giant wolf. His eyes were on the scouts and the wolves were hovering on the ground, trying to look tinier. Fear made the young men unable to move or utter words. The growls he made were so terrifying that animals fled to the opposite position. Shakar stood in front of them as their bodies trembled. They broke out in cold sweat, while feeling chills.

The wolf walked over them, and only Sam's head could move to see him above. Suddenly both lost consciousness and woke up in the same place. The path where Shakar had passed was marked by gigantic footprints and fallen trees. They saw each other and got to their feet again, starting the journey back, completely terrified.