The north wind swept down from the distant mountains, carrying snow dust like blades of biting cold through every street and alley of the Red Tide Fief.
Even the Red Tide Fief, which lay relatively far south in the Northern Frontier, finally felt the chill of deep winter.
The moment anyone stepped outside, their breath rose in white clouds so thick they seemed ready to freeze in midair.
Thin ice began spreading silently across the river.
Occasional low growls sounded in the woods, coming from beasts beginning their migration south.
The hunters of the Red Tide Fief seized this brief opportunity to bring home plenty of game.
All of it pointed to one thing: winter had truly arrived in the Northern Frontier.
Yet winter's arrival did not disrupt order in the Red Tide Fief in the slightest.
Every household stuffed the cotton cloth they had been given into gaps around their doors to keep the cold wind out.
A layer of straw covered each doorstep, soft underfoot and less likely to cause a slip.
"Come on, put this on!" A mother draped a new padded coat distributed by the Red Tide Fief over her child, then carefully fastened the belt.
Inside, the fire glowed red and hot soup bubbled away while children laughed and played around the stove.
No matter how fiercely the snow swirled outside, it could not penetrate these half-sunken houses.
"We don't have to fear the cold anymore!" a child shouted excitedly, charging into the snow with friends to throw snowballs in the vast white world.
In a corner beside the street, several elderly people wrapped in thick clothes and quilts sat resting against a wall. They gazed at the street, overcome with emotion.
"In the old days... we just struggled through it every year." An old