Chapter 1

It was noontime, but Joshua shivered as a chill breeze wafted pass. He had arrived at Mister Daves's hovel, which, like all the other hovels in the village, was made from twigs and thatch.

As for the owner of the house, he was sat under the porch twirling several lengths of string into rope while his scrawny wife wove long blades of grass into baskets beside him.

After inhaling deeply, Joshua called out a greeting.

Upon looking up and recognizing him, the man got up, scrunched-faced. Whether it was due to stiff joints, the chilly weather, or because of seeing him, Joshua couldn't tell. As for the man's wife, the woman stared at Joshua suspiciously for a few seconds before looking back down to resume weaving the basket in her hands.

"Afternoon."

The villager mumbled softly, lips barely moving. The man was tall and thin, with short brown hair and a messy stubble. He asked if the village elder had informed Joshua of the situation.

"Yes. May I see her, please?"

The man shuffled from one foot to another like a child fidgeting after being told to do something they didn't want. At the end, he nodded and led the way into the hovel. As Joshua passed the woman, she threw one last glance at him before the door closed.

The hovel's interior was small and dimly lit due to there being no windows, save for a small hole in the roof to allow smoke from the hearth to escape. The flooring was merely compact earth strewn with grass, and the air smelt distinctively of boiled leather.

There were several furniture within the small hovel, such as two straw beds, a wooden shelf lined with various household items, and three wooden stools. There was a burnt out fire pit in the middle of the room, on which hung an empty blackened pot. It was a typical home for a typically poor, but not desolate family that could be found in any village.

A little girl lay asleep on one of the beds. Despite being covered in so many thick blankets that they could only see her face, she shivered, and yet her forehead was dotted with tiny beads of sweat.

Joshua went to the bed and knelt down to examine his patient.

She could not be older than ten years old, with short brown hair like her father. Perhaps she sensed someone nearby, for her eyes opened slightly and the child regarded him blankly before closing them again.

"How is she?"

Joshua ignored Daves's question and continued to observe the girl, whose face was as pale as a sheet. Even in slumber, her breath was ragged and hoarse, and once in a while interrupted by throaty coughs. He lifted his right palm and turned towards the girl's father.

"May I?"

The villager's face scrunched again for a moment before nodding hesitantly.

After receiving permission, Joshua laid his palm on the child's forehead. It was very warm. Additionally, her skin felt wet with sweat and clammy to the touch. Within a few moments, he came to a conclusion.

"She doesn't seem to have the plague."

"Oh, thanks goodness!"

Daves exclaimed with great relief.

A few years ago, a terrible plague came from the east. Its mortality rate was high, claiming the lives of four out of every five people who caught it.

At first, the church claimed it was punishment from God against the wicked and the sinful. However, when numerous members of the clergy, including several bishops and an archbishop, were struck by the plague and perished, they quickly revised that claim to state that it was the work of the devil.

But as far as Joshua could tell, the girl had merely caught a very bad cold, and explained to the father as such.

"You must change her clothes, and make sure she drinks plenty. You also need to keep her warm. I would recommend keeping the hearth burning during the day."

At that statement, Daves's face turned sour.

"But we don't have much firewood left…"

It was still a few weeks before the end of winter. Whilst snowfall only occurred overnight and not heavy enough for it to remain for more than a few hours after sunrise, it was still so cold that without firewood to provide warmth during the night, the entire family could freeze to death.

Joshua exhaled through his nose.

"Well… You can let her stay at my cottage, I can-"

He was immediately cut him off by Daves, who frantically raised and shook his hands as if trying to ward away evil.

"No, that won't be necessary!"

Despite expecting that response, Joshua felt disheartened and disappointed. Even so, he nodded with a neutral expression.

"Very well. In the meantime, I can bring some herbs tomorrow. If you add them into soup or porridge and have her eat it, it should help her recover."

Daves looked away, shame faced, before nodding.

"If that is all, I will take my leave now."

Joshua concluded. The villager quickly opened the door to let him out.

"I'll come back tomorrow, then."

He bade, to which the villager mumbled a reply. At the same time, the man's wife got up and strode into the hovel. After bidding him thank you and farewell, Daves closed the door. Moments later, a loud woman's voice could be heard from inside.

Joshua sighed deeply to inhale the cool, dry air before walking away. The voices of the arguing couple soon faded behind him.

The village of Ponoka was composed of twenty cottages and hovels built haphazardly between a series of short hills to the north and vast forests to the east and south, leaving little flat ground to plant crops and raise livestock.

Geographically, it was situated along the northeast end of Ploania, a few miles south from the Roam River. The nearest town was to the west, about a week away on foot.

It was a cold winter afternoon, and Joshua exhaled white mist with each breath. Thankfully the chilly breeze earlier had died down.

The sparse open ground around the village were hard and barren. Only a few pigs can be seen conversing in grunting tones within their pens. Several chickens clucked as they patrolled the streets.

Very few men could be seen. A handful of women sat in front of their cottages, weaving baskets and the like. A group of children aged between five to ten years played nearby, running here and there and scattering the chickens which protested indignantly as they flapped away.

Around this time, most of the men were out hunting in the forests while others, such as Daves, remained in the village doing odd jobs. In the meantime, the women wove and knit while the children played.

During spring, the village raise livestock and sow seeds.

In summer, they fish for eels and chop wood.

In autumn, in addition to harvesting crops, they slaughter the fattened animals and dry them in preparation for winter.

During winter, they hunt for deer and boar, snare rabbit and squirrel, weave baskets, and finally plow the field when spring is around the corner, thereby completing the cycle.

Year in, year out, the routine was the same. Since Ponoka was truly one of those isolated villages situated in the corner of the world, there was a strong sense of community among the inhabitants. Almost everyone born here dies here.

So when the women looked up suspiciously as Joshua walked pass, and the little children who were playing tag fell silent and quickly scampered out of the way as he approached, it was obvious that he wasn't from here.

If one was to hazard a guess, Joshua was in his mid-twenties. Nothing about him was particularly odd except for one thing. While everyone had pale pink skin of various shades and tans, his' was the color of olives.

The village wasn't particularly big. Within a few minutes, Joshua passed the last hovel, crossed empty fields and made his way towards the forest to the south. Since it was midwinter, many of the trees were bare like skeletons. A thick layer of foliage covered the ground.

A single narrow path snaked through the forest. It was a familiar path that he had trod upon for over a year. Small saplings grew along the edges of the path, every so often overlapping with roots from nearby trees. By this time next year, the path will be nonexistent once the saplings grew into trees.

The sounds of chirping birds were clearly audible, and squirrels scampered from branch to branch. Some distance away, an owl hooted. It was a rather peaceful forest, although during nighttime it became a different story. Sometimes during the darkest of nights, you could hear wolves howling in the distance.

He reached the end of the path almost an hour later.

At the end of the path was a clearing, and in the middle of the clearing was a small single storey cottage that had a front porch, planked walls with a sloped roof and a stone chimney.

Many years ago, it had been a hunter's shed before being abandoned. A year had passed since he started living here in solitude.

Joshua veered off the path into the forest to check on the snares he had set up near a rabbit hole. There were half a dozen traps made from rope, and they were all empty. He sighed and mused whether it was because they know a wolf was nearby.

Since there was nothing more to be done, he returned to the path and approached the cottage. Upon arriving at the front door, he paused in hesitation.

It felt a little ridiculous about hesitating whether to enter his own lodgings. Then again, under the current circumstances, maybe it wasn't. He settled to knock a few times before pushing the door open.

The first thing he felt was the gush of warm air from within, caused by the brightly burning fireplace. The interior was bare save for a single occupied bed at the far end of the cottage, a few shelves and the burning fireplace.

Next, he felt the wrath of another person within his home.

"You are late!"

A girl's voice immediately accused sharply while its owner lay under the covers. Only her head was out of the blankets, revealing a teenage girl with long silky hair the color of wheat. Her innocent face was contorted in irritation while large amber eyes glared at him.

She would have looked like a charming young maiden who was being demanding, if it weren't for the pair of sharp and furry beast-like ears at the top of her head, the same color as her hair and with tips as white as snow.

"I came back as soon as I finished."

Joshua replied in apology whilst closing the door.

Those ears of hers twitched a few times and her hostile expression switched to one that was pondering whether to believe him or not. Finally, she huffed and pulled the covers over her chin, presumably letting him off the hook this time.

"I'm hungry. What are we having for lunch?"

She demanded impatiently. Joshua promptly answered.

"Onion and butter stew, with dried vegetables, wild mushrooms and various herbs, and oat bread."

"And some of that dried beef, yes?"

She quickly added. That finally made him frown in protest.

"No way-"

Her eyes turned pitiful like an abandoned puppy's, catching him off guard. One moment she was tyrannical, next she acted pitiful. He could sooner predict next week's weather than comprehend her mood.

"… Fine, but only four pieces."

He compromised whilst removing his overcoat.

The girl smiled brightly, appearing all the more like a fair young maiden, except for the two small but sharp fangs protruding from behind her upper lips.

At the base of the bed, something swished from side to side underneath the blankets. It was caused an equally beast-like tail that was attached to her back, just above her waist.

It was probably obvious by now, but she wasn't human. The girl lying in his bed was Yue Lawrence, a half-wolf from Nyohhira.

As Joshua crossed the room towards the shelves to gather the ingredients, causing the loose wooden floorboards to creak with every step, he recalled how they met yesterday.