Two months before the Brood Hive appeared, Pal Calvin's frontier territory finally saw a turn for the better.
Of course, this was the result of his elder brother Selton Calvin's secret arrangements.
To salvage his full brother's reputation in the Northern Frontier and keep him from becoming a complete laughingstock, Selton quietly dispatched an elite force with cold-weather supplies, food, leather goods, and prefabricated stone fortifications.
He also sent several veteran knights known for their strict military discipline, along with junior officials who had distinguished themselves repeatedly on the frontier, to serve as an "Advisory Corps" and help Pal reorganize his camp.
To outsiders, Pal seemed to have suddenly "gotten lucky" and finally found his footing.
Within two months, fire-watch posts rose along the river, and rough but practical lookout towers were built between the mountain passes.
The camp's center, reclaimed from the wetlands, had also begun to take the shape of a castle.
Hearths and food stores occupied clearly defined areas, patrols began guarding fixed positions, and they even held a small "beast-hunting contest," giving morale a slight boost.
Pal sat on the temporary wooden balcony of the main building, watching cooking smoke rise and fall over his territory, and finally smiled for the first time in ages.
"I'm no failure," he murmured to himself, holding a quill as he spread out a sheet of parchment.
He intended to draft a "battle report" and send it back to his father in the Southeast:
"Though the Northern Frontier's bitter cold is fierce, I, Pal, have never faltered. My territory is now on track to become self-sufficient, its watchtowers stand firm, and expansion is within reach. Rest assured, Father: the blood of the Calvin Family will not run cold in these snowy wastes."
As he wrote, he imagined returning to the