Chapter 153: Before the Hunger — The Lord of Ruin (Part II)
Twelve Days Until Arrival
Snow fell without end.The forests surrounding Hrafnheim disappeared beneath a blanket of white, their towering pines bent beneath the weight of winter. Frost clung to every branch, and the rivers that had once carried merchants through the kingdom had become roads of ice.For the people of Hrafnheim, winter was not a season.It was a test.
Only those who prepared survived.
Only those who endured were remembered.
A Village That Endured Together.The village awoke before sunrise.Smoke rose from stone chimneys into the pale blue dawn. Men and women shoveled paths through chest-high snow while children carried baskets of firewood twice their own size. The scent of pine resin and burning oak drifted through the crisp morning air.No one waited to be told what to do.They simply helped.
Garrick walked beside Astraeus, hauling logs toward the village storehouse."You've done this before."Garrick observed.Astraeus laughed."I've done everything before."
Auren, carrying a bundle of books that somehow never got wet despite the snow, looked at Garrick."Don't encourage him."
"He'll start listing all the things he's supposedly mastered.""I have mastered them."Astraeus replied confidently.
Auren raised an eyebrow.
"You nearly burned soup yesterday."
"It was adventurous soup."
"It was charcoal."
The villagers laughed.
Even Torvald had to hide a smile.
For the first time in weeks...
The village felt light.
The Measure of a Man
Later that afternoon, Torvald called Garrick to the forge.
The building was warm despite the brutal cold outside. Sparks danced through the air as molten steel glowed like captured sunlight. The rhythmic strike of hammer against anvil echoed through the room, steady and comforting.
Torvald handed Garrick a rough piece of iron.
"Make a knife."
Garrick frowned.
"I've only made horseshoes."
"Then today you'll make a knife."
The young man worked carefully.
He heated the iron.
Hammered it.
Folded it.
Hammered it again.Again.And again.
Hours passed.
When he finished, the blade was... acceptable.
Not beautiful.
Not terrible.
Torvald examined it quietly.
"What do you think?"
Garrick sighed.
"It isn't good enough."
His father nodded.
"Correct."
He placed the knife on the anvil.
Then...He smiled.
"But neither were you."
Garrick looked confused.
Torvald rested a hand on his shoulder.
"No one is born ready."
"The question isn't whether you're enough today." "It's whether you'll choose to become better tomorrow."
Astraeus, who had quietly wandered into the forge halfway through the conversation, smiled to himself.Some lessons...
Never changed.Auren's Curiosity
While Astraeus helped around the village, Auren disappeared.Again.
The silver-haired boy wandered into the surrounding forest with nothing more than a notebook.Garrick eventually found him sitting beside a frozen stream.
"You've been out here for hours."
"I know." "What are you doing?"
Auren pointed toward a tiny bird pecking through the snow.
"Watching." "Watching what?"
"The way it survives."
Garrick sat beside him.
The forest was silent except for the occasional crack of ice shifting beneath the stream.
Finally, Auren spoke."Do you know why people fail?"Garrick thought for a moment.
"They're too weak?"Auren shook his head.
"They stop paying attention."
He smiled at the bird."Nature is always teaching." "Most people are simply too busy talking."The Festival of Embers
Three nights later, the village celebrated the end of the Long Frost.At the center of the square, the villagers built an enormous bonfire using wood they had saved throughout winter.Music filled the air.
Children chased one another between dancing adults.
Fresh bread, roasted venison, and hot berry wine were passed from family to family.
No one ate alone.That was the oldest law of Hrafnheim.Even strangers belonged at the table.Torvald raised a mug.
"To another winter survived!"The village cheered.Astraeus raised his own cup.
"To surviving the next one as well!"
More laughter.Auren quietly sipped warm tea instead.Someone had once convinced him to try berry wine.
No one had made that mistake twice.
The Stranger.As the celebration continued.A lone traveler entered the village.
Unlike Astraeus...This man wore fine clothing beneath a heavy cloak.His boots were untouched by mud.
His sword gleamed with expensive craftsmanship.He carried himself like nobility.
The laughter around the fire gradually faded.
The stranger surveyed the village.
"You celebrate."
His voice was calm.
Measured.
Almost disappointed.
Torvald stepped forward.
"We do."
The traveler looked around.
"You waste food."
Freya frowned.
"We share it."
The man nodded slowly.
"As expected."
Astraeus' smile disappeared.
For the first time since arriving...
His eyes became serious.
The First Philosophy
The traveler introduced himself as Lord Cassian of House Veyl.
A respected noble from the southern kingdoms.
He had come seeking Astraeus.
"I've heard stories."
Cassian said.
"They say you believe every life has equal value."
"I do."
Astraeus answered.
Cassian looked toward the villagers.
"Then your compassion is flawed."
Silence spread across the square.
Cassian continued.
"If resources are limited..."
"...saving everyone ensures everyone starves."He pointed toward the feast.
"A ruler must decide who lives."
"Who dies."
"That is the burden of leadership."
No one answered immediately.
Even King Godfrey would have found truth in those words.Astraeus looked thoughtfully into the flames."You're right."
Cassian smiled.
Then Astraeus continued.
"But..."
"I refuse to believe that should be the first solution."The smile vanished.
Garrick Watches
The debate lasted long into the night.
Garrick listened to every word.
Neither man raised his voice.
Neither insulted the other.
Yet every sentence carried the weight of two completely different visions of the world.
Cassian believed survival demanded sacrifice.
Astraeus believed sacrifice should always be the last choice.
Garrick found himself torn between them.
Because both sounded reasonable.
And that frightened him.
Long after the festival ended...
Garrick stood alone outside the village.
Snowflakes drifted silently through the moonlight.
Behind him, warm laughter still echoed from the great hall.
Ahead lay only darkness and the endless forest.
Astraeus approached quietly.
"What are you thinking about?"
Garrick didn't look away from the trees.
"What if both of you are right?"
Astraeus stood beside him.
For several moments...
He said nothing.
Finally...
He smiled.
"Then your job isn't to choose between us."
He looked toward the stars.
"It's to find a better answer."
Those words would remain with Garrick for the rest of his life.
Even after hope abandoned him.
Even after he became Vorak'Thul.
He would never stop searching for that better answer.
Though one day...
The Hunger would convince him that it had found it.