Before Ethan even realized it, another two weeks had flown by, and the weather had begun to turn cold.
With the arrival of the ninth month of the year, the first snowflakes were already falling—tiny ones that melted the moment they touched the ground.
The entire Eternal Forest seemed to be preparing for winter. The smaller animals were retreating into their burrows, and every breath turned into a white cloud in the morning air.
It would be a short winter.
It had started late, and from what Ethan had heard from the older locals, late winters like this one rarely lasted more than three or four months.
With a lively sparkle in his eyes and Alice in his arms, Ethan made his way through the Eternal Forest.
He was on his way to build Goldenveil County's newest city. For now, it would be the only city to the east, and it would also serve as a fortress and a buffer zone.
