Snow blanketed the Silver Pine Forest, rough-hewn pine trees moaning lowly in the howling wind. Thick layers of snow bent their branches downward, occasionally collapsing to the ground in bursts of fine white mist.
Amidst the frozen trunks, turned to icy sculptures, a ragged group of refugee villagers huddled disjointedly in the blizzard's embrace.
A thin layer of snow covered their figures, and the frayed fur coats they wore were wholly inadequate against such bitter cold. Their skin had turned a ghastly blue, their eyes weighed down by fatigue and despair. Some stomped their feet, trying to keep warm; others rubbed their numbed arms, struggling to regain sensation. Still others had frozen stiff—unable to even move their arms.
They were villagers from Holy Oak Village, hailing from the easternmost edge of Twilight Province—on the Ryan Kingdom's border near Brass Pass.
