A not from the author: Hello everyone! From 02.05.2025 the story begins to go through an editorial process. I pn to finish it in a year and a half. Also, if the previous cover was better, feel free to tell me; I'll bring it back.

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  “Please be still, daughter.” Gregor jokingly pulled his daughter by her long ear.

  “I am standing still!” Aranea argued vehemently, trying to catch his hand. “You are the one who is messing with me!”

  Kaisa simply smiled at their bickering. To an outsider’s eye, their family could be considered unusual. Kaisa hailed from the Wolf Tribe, a group of Wolfkins inhabiting the untamed Ravaged Lands. Her rge, bck-furred form dwarfed even her husband’s figure, standing head and shoulders taller. The woman’s amber eyes glowed brightly, like a pair of fshlights, a sign of her former rank as a warlord. Her snout was elongated, and her thick bck fur could stop even bullets. Right now it was clean, carefully combed, and shining in the soft lighting of the room. For today’s occasion, she put on a simple bck dress, and around her neck was a silver neckce bearing the symbol of the Wintersong family.

  Gregor was a Wolfkin of the Ice Fang Order, a band of warriors originating from the distant north. The order had long served under His Excellency Wyrm Lord before the constant violent cshes among the two tribes of Wolfkins had forced Wyrm Lord to relinquish vassage over the order to His Excellency Devourer.

  In the nds of their new leader, the Ice Fangs had become an influential organization, taking responsibility for the restoration efforts and guarding the borders from roaming bands of svers and raiders. Since fewer and fewer fools dared to test the nation’s stability, many members of the Order had left their military careers to realize themselves in other areas.

  Gregor was a tall Wolfkin. Fur, covering his heavily built body, was of the fairest snow-white quality. He wore the white and dark-blue ceremonial raiment of a Wintersong noble, and at his belt rested a longsword in a golden sheath. Twenty years ago, Dad had committed a pilgrimage to the mystical and frozen homend of his ancestors, earning his pce in the family by deed and ter achieving the rank of knight-captain. Gold rings were skillfully woven into his beard, and on his neck glittered the exact mirror copy of his wife’s neckce. No inner fme lit his crimson eyes, but they were still very visible red orbs.

  Aranea Wintersong, their daughter, stood between her parents, clothed in a dark-blue dress. Four weeks ago, her family celebrated her third birthday. In that gentle age, cubs of the order barely began forming meaningful sentences, and their size was small. Yet the blood coursing through her veins accelerated the girl’s maturation, and the top of her head, covered with fur the color of night, already reached her father’s waist.

  Unlike her Ice Fangs’ kin of simir age, Aranea spoke freely and, forced by Mom, read books voraciously. Members of the Wolf Tribe grew at an entirely different pace than their cousins. One of Aranea’s eyes was amber in color, while the other was crimson, a sign of Dad’s heritage. Pale hair surrounded the red eye, as if to remind the young cub that she was a child of different worlds.

  Together they posed before a painter of the Ice Fang Order who had chosen not to join the military. The man toiled diligently, creating their portrait, copies of which will ter be inserted into three lockers that Gregor had ordered for the family to immortalize this moment of time. The family had stood still for nearly an hour, and soon the bored Gregor began amusing himself by teasing his daughter.

  Aranea hated it when her father tricked her into making a fool of herself.

  “Please, just a few moments more!” the painter pleaded as Aranea turned to leap at Dad. “I am almost finished!”

  “Oh!” The girl quickly returned to her position, becoming still like a statue once again. “My apologies, sir.”

  Her parents whispered between themselves behind her.

  “Stop teasing her, dear.” Kaisa smiled.

  “But it’s so cute when she loses her temper,” Gregor joked. “I won’t see our furball for an entire month, so I want to take every opportunity I can now.”

  “Dad, you can always call me over the terminal,” Aranea whispered carelessly with just her lips.

  “Ah, but talking through a dispy is just not the same. No scent, no opportunity to tug an ear…” The painter gave a thumbs up, signaling completion, and Gregor squared his shoulders and cracked his neck. Ignoring his daughter’s protests, he scooped her and hoisted the cub onto his left shoulder. “I won’t be seeing you for a long time, little one, so today we will be treating you to whatever you want. How about a snack for a start? Candies, meat, or honey, perhaps? Or maybe we should try some of those strange vegetable dishes that have been appearing in the markets tely, brought to us by the Oathtakers? We can also take a ride around the city, check out what’s new in cinemas.”

  The family left the room, heading to the vast hall leading to the inner chambers of New Dawn Fortress. Exquisitely drawn paintings adorned its walls, and rich, warm carpets with gold trim covered the floors so the Wolfkins could walk barefoot. The Ice Fang Order wasn’t poor; its coffers had amassed enormous wealth over the years, whether from trade or from war trophies. They were closely involved in the construction of new cities, inspiring the popution by their presence, and also aided in healing sick and wounded. The Order was an ever-growing political force within the state, ever striving for excellence and prosperity.

  “Dad, stop embarrassing me! I can walk just fine.” Aranea tried to break free, but Gregor held her with ease. “We’ll be the ughingstock if anyone sees us!”

  “Let the entire world ugh if they want to. What do we care? Childhood is a fleeting thing, and let the Spirits damn me if I allow you to waste yours trying to act like a grown-up.” Gregor waved his paw dismissively. “You haven’t answered my question, squeaker.”

  “Well, then, I want to learn how to fight properly,” Aranea said stubbornly. “Other cubs train all day in the weapons halls; their swords ring nonstop. Why can’t I join them?”

  “Honey, you are a bit too young for this.” Kaisa gently patted her daughter on the head. “And besides, there is so much more to the world than fighting. You can be an artist or an engineer. Just imagine that with your paws, you can create paintings as beautiful as these.” She pointed at the walls.

  One painting depicted the Twins and Ravager, the revered progenitors of both groups, standing side by side in a rare moment of peace. The painter had to create this piece of art from the photograph, for Ravager simply could not stand in the presence of the Twins for long without trying to dominate them. Her desire to be the strongest ran searingly hot. The Twins were dressed in doublets of pristine white, trimmed with golden thread, and trousers of the same color. The man had a longbow behind his back, and the woman had a long sword the size of Dad’s on her hip. Ravager, meanwhile, was naked; her fur of the void color served her better than any garment. The one weapon she ever needed, her trusty cws, slept in her elegant fingers. She sat on all fours, and yet her head was on the level of her brother’s and sister’s. The Twins smiled, but Ravager appeared unhappy and out of pce.

  “Or learn how to create world-css technological marvels. Think of a standard terminal. Such a compact thing, but imagine how difficult it would’ve been for people to converse over distance without it. And for it to work, the device itself is not enough. It is necessary to build and maintain the special operation centers scattered throughout our country. Technicians, engineers, and borers are incredibly important. What would a warrior eat without food grown by farmers…”

  “Boring!” Aranea rejected the ideas. “I can fight with wooden swords just as well as Keyl can. Ev…. If we sparred, he’d always end up in the mud. Mom, I’ve heard what others spoke about you. You were a warlord, the best of the best, a fighter without equal! I want to be like you. No, I want to surpass you one day! To crush the enemies of the Dynast and restore the world to humanity!” Aranea’s cws slipped out of her fingers, and she swiped with them at imaginary foes, imagining how she would shred them.

  “There have been many people stronger than me. Even today, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of those capable of crushing me into dust under their thumbs.” Kaisa said softly, touching her forehead, “My joy, you have no idea what war is, and if the Spirits will it, you will never know. To experience the pulsating sensation in your blood, to see the squashed bodies ahead, to never lower your guard, for a single lucky shot could end you... To lose dear friends again and again… No, I will never let you choose this path.” Mom shook her head. “I grew much happier when I left it behind and started my new career as a doctor.”

  “But why?!” the girl yelled angrily. “Battles still rage on in the world! Dad leaves us to fight. Everyone knows there is a danger or two out there. Each day, our people risk their lives to tame the wilderness and topple monsters. Just because you chose to hide and…”

  “Your mother is not a coward, and neither is she hiding,” Gregor said, dropping to one knee and lowering his shoulder to meet his daughter’s eyes. “She has a... condition. She can’t fight anymore, or else a bad thing will happen. And yet she saves lives even now. Is that not brave?” Aranea knew what her father meant. Mom often left home to work at a hospital. The st time there had been a shortage of doctors in the neighboring city, Kaisa had been gone for two months, chatting with her daughter over a terminal.

  “That’s precisely why I need to become a warrior!” The girl snapped back furiously. “And I didn’t call Mom a coward; don’t put words into my mouth! I need to learn to carry my share of responsibilities. What if someone tries to hurt Mom while you are away? I must be stronger to protect our home, so…”

  “Protect our home?” The knight-captain ughed, standing up. “From whom? Furball, you are in one of the safest pces in the world! Rex, grow, study and have fun. That is your ‘share’. Kaisa and I have both bled a lot in our past, so that cubs like you can have all the happiness we can give them. You don’t owe us anything, and you certainly have no obligation to follow in our footsteps. No one will ever dare to touch you here. Still want your share of responsibilities?” he asked at her pouting. “House cleaning is on the menu. And today you’ll be responsible for purchasing and transporting everything we buy.”

  Aranea crossed her hands over her chest. No one wrote songs about doctors. No one sang about engineers. There were no legendary giant statues built to honor workers or painters. Artists themselves competed for the right to create statues of generals, captains, and famous soldiers. She wanted to become a legendary trooper, just like Mom.

  And one day I will. She decided. Her eyes would glow with the same light as her mother’s. Foes would tremble at her name. She would become one who inspired others. A protector of the weak and a bringer of civilization.