Luna looked out of the carriage window in the evening, gazing over a port town. Her eyes glimmered as she saw the pastel-colored buildings and streets lit up by lamps powered by mana
From the hill the carriage rode on, along the sparkly granite Dragon Spine Road, the view of the sea was glamorous, glimmering under the moon's nightrays. Ships full of goods and merchandise docked into the port and made their way into the horizons.
Theia joined her by the window, and both of them watched the view as the group of a hundred knights followed them and walked in front of them.
***
Somewhere in the past, around ten years ago, the permanent winter of the southern-west side of the continent—opposite the port of Ravenport, the biggest port city of the Luvr Empire, on the other side of the Strait of Mistpoint—held half of the peninsula under its sway.
It is unknown why, but legends say that a Winter Knight took her last breath in that place and brought them the permanent winter.
To the world, her gender was unknown, but to the people of the Wint village, who had served her for years, it was known. They served one of the four heavenly generals of the Demon King.
Hundreds of years ago, since her death, they had no purpose. For generations—for nine hundred seventy-eight years since her death—they lived for nothing. But one thing lingered: the possibility of her resurrecting. So they kept trying over and over again, generation after generation.
And so, as nine hundred seventy-eight years passed by, ten priestesses had been chosen, roughly one every hundred years.
They were chosen to perform the ritual. Every year, sacrifices are made for the Winter Knight, to satisfy God, the one that governs death itself. This is to please Him, for He can only resurrect her if He chooses to.
And here the eleventh priestess has been chosen. Cineris, at the age of eight, is awaiting the time when she reaches the mature age of sixteen to take over the priestess position from the village head.
And so the beastman servants of the Winter Knight, a population of one hundred, lived silently to the world, trying to bring back the one they could serve yet again.
***
A girl with a frail-looking body walked down a path flanked by walls of snow that surpassed twice her height, the walls standing over three meters tall.
The snowstorm was at its zenith, making everything past the village barely visible and restricting the view greatly.
The girl, named Cineris, held a basket full of white berries in front of her. Her white tail wriggled from side to side, and her silky white hair drooped down her chest. She wore a brown coat made of animal skin, though her pointy, wolf-like ears stood erect, pointed towards the sky.
Her breath created a cloud of mist as she breathed in and out. With a smile on her face, she walked down the hill towards the village, whose only wooden roofs were visible through the massive amount of snow.
She strolled towards the gate, where two men with spears stood guard. They wore coats similar to Cineris and were of the same species, with the only difference being their brown hair.
As Cineris walked through the bustling village, filled with fox tribe beastkin, she made her way to the building that was twice as tall as the surrounding buildings.
The gravel road led up to that building, which was a shrine.
Four red pillars were evenly spread as the gate stood open, welcoming the villagers in. As Cineris made her way up the steps and walked inside, the cold outside turned into a comfortably warm interior.
The tables where people ate were ten on the left and ten on the right, with people dining there every day. Cineris wasn't there to dine now; she strolled past the loud chatter and talks of people to the doors.
As she knocked twice, she peeked in, saying, "Grandma, I've brought the berries you talked about, a full basket of it!" she said in a high-pitched, cheerful voice.
The granny knelt before a pure white armor on a wooden floor, so white that it should have reflected light, but it didn't. It was heavy, yet light, adorned and built to withstand brutal conditions, filled with scars that were the signs of past battles. On the side of its helmet were red, rectangle-shaped trinkets that served as earrings. Behind it stood two wooden boxes; one was behind the armor, and one was on a pedestal within a metal cage.
She wore a white dress with a snowflake on the back and on the front. The dress fell down to the ground and lay there as she knelt. She turned her head, looking at Cineris, her face filled with wrinkles, a sign that time had not been kind to her.
Cineris extended the basket forward and said, "I've brought the winter berries for you, granny, a full basket of it!" She smiled as her tail wagged faster from side to side, her ears twitching with excitement.
"I see… Place it on the chair beside me and come pray with me… I'll tell you a story."
"Again, granny? I'd love to hear it!" Cineris smiled, placed the basket by the right side of her grandma, walked to her left, and knelt in front of the armor.
"Let's see… I know… I know very well what I should tell you now…"
"Do you want to hear… a story about the Winter Knight?"
Cineris smiled, saying, "I've heard it over ten times! But sure, I'd love to hear it once more!"
"Then brace yourself… It will take a long time… for me to tell you everything there is… to tell."
"I don't mind, grandma! You know I love your stories."
"Ha…Ha… I see. So we begin in a rural village in the north…"