Frost had begun to cover the land, and the first wisps of snow had come down. It was a cold morning in Deciamon, last month of the year. Even with the main fireplace just below her, and the small stove just outside her room, it was cold in her room. Smacking her lips together, a chill ran down her spine as she tried to wake up from the warm cocoon of blankets.

There was something special about today, but what was it? It was Vobeesdeg, two more days till the weekend, but that wasn’t it. The person in her doorway was tormenting her, yelling at her to get out of her warm comfortable bed.

"Emilie, I've been calling you for to come down and eat. Hurry before it gets cold."

Thus, pushing her thoughts to the side, food came first, then a quick face wash… Then as many shirts as she could wear. She hated the cold, couldn’t imagine living life in such a cold place. Even for the 3 months it would last, seemed like 3 months too long.

Breakfast on the cold winter morning was a warm porridge, it wasn't particularly tasty. But it did warm her up as she sat in the cool kitchen, the warmth radiating in her stomach slowly woke her still sleeping brain. Ricaza yammering kept it from focusing on anything of importance.

"Porridge, porridge, poor porridge… I hate porridge." He declared as he dropped his spoon into the mushy mixture.

"Ricaza, don't play with your food. You need to eat it." Basilara tried to chide her younger child but only had limited success.

"I don't want the food. The baby should have it! He pushed the spoon to his mother's mouth."

Basilara sighed with a smile, "Oh, you little annoying boy. You're lucky I love you sooo much." Said with a kiss.

The scene made Emilie's stomach churn just a bit. Her mind turned to think about her younger brother or sister yet to be born. Born… That word ran through her waking mind. Like a sudden bolt of fire magic, her thoughts lit up. It was the 22nd, Reese's birthday.

Most people wouldn't have cared or made mention of it, but for some reason, he always made a big deal of everyone else's. The least she could do was remember his.

"You ok Emilie? You look lost." Basilara stopped focusing on her more difficult child to make sure the eldest wasn't being too neglected.

"Yeah, I just remembered today was Reese's birthday. He always makes a big deal about everyone else's."

"Oh, well that's nice of him." It was dismissive, but then she probably just didn't get the importance.

To be fair, neither did Emilie. Not really. But she did know it would make him happy to be remembered, and that was enough of a reason. For a moment she felt her hands shaking again, but it was only the cold, the nightmares had stopped. Thanks to him.

‘Always solving my problems for me.’ She thought with a bitter smile.

Unlike the outside, the inside of the schoolhouse was quite warm. Between all the bodies, the stove and the new roof it kept its temperature quite steady and well. Walking over might have been a frozen nightmare, but inside it was a warm dreamy cocoon, like her blankets. Well, at least for her and the 3 other scholars Reese, Venginn and Samil. Everyone else looked like they'd rather be frozen outside.

Gezal looked like he was half asleep while he wrote some notes on his paper. It was odd, Emilie hadn't expected to become friends with the boy. It was clear why he and Reese were friends as they shared sword play and some training. But for her and Gezal, there wasn't much of a connection there. Their interests were just vastly different, and their ages were far apart, they didn't even have similar homelives. Yet, it just took that one day when he confided in her for them to form a bond.

Maybe that's all you really need to make a friend. Just, one strong and true connection a thread to tie you together. "Emilie, can you help me with this, I don't understand the 'Rule of the Elven Doctrine'. Why is an empire from thousands of years ago important today?"

Well, it also helped if you each had something to offer the other as well. In her case, she knew a lot about every book that was in her house. Her mother was a prolific reader at one point, and she still had her magic tomes. Even her father would read history texts and bestiaries when he could afford them. It gave her a head start on schooling, and a wide foundation to pull from.

Still, the Elven Empire from nearly 7,000 years ago was not something she was well versed in knowing only a bit about it. In answer to the homework question they were given, she could guess though. The Elven Empire or "Rass Illthfeash Dall-et" as they called themselves. The translation was, roughly Rule of the Elven Doctrine, it was the code of laws and rules the old eleven empire lived by and under. If you knew the Doctrine, you'd know the elves, or at least the ones who followed this belief.

The elven empire died millennium ago, but over in continent of Absiter there were some woodland elf kingdoms that practiced it. At a base level it taught that Elves were superior to others, as shown by their longer lives and greater innate magic potential. Humans could be trusted, to a point, "animals" that was to say Anthros and Demons and others, could not. It was all kind of racist, Elves didn't even live all that much longer than humans. Maybe 10 or 20 more years? Woodland elves were rare in Domiconti, Planes and the Dark Elves were common though, and there were some aquodic elves along the shore supposedly, but they were rare everywhere. Emilie wondered if most of the elves were like this or held similar beliefs. Supposedly she had eleven blood, but it was very far removed.

Without realizing it, the two had managed to write a small paper on the subject. Their thesis being that it was important to understanding Absiter and the Woodland elves.

It was about time to leave for the day, and to surprise Reese with something. It would be small, not a present or anything. She truly hoped he wasn't expecting one, he talked about them frequently. With a whisper, she reminded Gezal who insisted on joining her.

Leaving Emilie tapped Reese on the soldier and proclaimed quite loudly, "Happy Birthday Reese!"

"Yeah, happy birthday kid." Gezal smirked and placed his hand on Reese's opposite shoulder.

Reese struggled not to smile at both of them.

"You know you're still a kid too, Gezal?"

“Nah, you’re like half my age.”

Reese paused, technically Gezal was correct. Reese was 7, Gezal was 14 or 15, somewhere in there. “Touché!” Again, Reese used that strange word that Emilie was becoming more convinced was made up. It was one of his amusing and at times irritating, quirks. "But I'm glad you all remembered! Thanks! I get why no one else seems to care. You guys want to grab a sweet bread from Brot's? I've got a few extra coppers."

The three wandered around the center of the village as the last rays of daylight began to fade. Cool air contrasting to the warm, slightly gooey sweets.

Gezal seemingly inhaled the bread before bidding the two goodbyes for the evening. Leaving Reese with a lower smile, evident of his slight disapointment, like he wanted to spend more time with his knight bound friend.

“So. We’re taking a week off from school for the new year. What are you planning on doing?”

“Well, I’ve got some experiments I want to try and work on.” Of course, that would be Reese's answer.

Still, it was curious. He always had strange ideas of things. “Experiments?”

“Yeah, I’ve got some small mana stones. I want to record how they interact, particularly with different materials.”

“Uh huh. How are you going to do that?” Emilie was more interested in pure magic compared to the enchantments stuff Reese was focused, but didn’t seem to understand. It was fascinating in its own regards she would have to admit, just, not as interesting as spell casting.

Reese just shrugged; he hadn’t quite gotten to that point yet. “What about you, what are your plans?”

“I’m going to read. My mum got a new magic book she said I could borrow. It’s all healing spells. They’re way too advanced for me, I know. But they’re neat.”

“If anyone can get them on the first try it’s you. You’re a natural genius when it comes to spells.”

Shaking her head, she tried to brush the complement away. It was one thing he always seemed to do, compliment everything anyone did. It was charming, but also annoying at times. Like it was more about appearance than real praise. Perhaps that wasn't fair though.

“Do you have any plans for the Ice Festival?” She probed.

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“No… My parents usually get together to watch the mages shoot up some fire spells at midnight. But, I heard this year they’re doing something new!”

“New?”

“Ard got hold of something new. It’s a tube that launches balls of mana. He said it’s like a light canon, but simpler and not usable in combat.”

“What’s a light canon?”

“Old Auslang technology. I have a book that talks about them, but nothing explains how they work. I've got my own ideas of course, what to hear about them…”

The two would continue their discussions as they always had. With Reese constantly trying to explain everything, much to Emilie amusement and bemusement.

Nine days would pass, school letting out for a week on the 24th. Deciamon 31st was usually the day of holiday and remembrance of the old year, Simiwesan the 1st was the day of rest an planning for the next. This year though, was the bi-yearly leap year, with an extra day the end of the year. Deciamon 32nd would be a prolonged day of celebration and festivities. The extra day would always have more food, more wine though her parents never let her drink the bitter brew, and even greater evening displays to celebrate the extra day the gods had given all of them.

The last time, she was five and before that three, both times too young to really remember anything significant. Except, the fire spells. Those she remembered, like warm red and orange flowers in the middle of cold and white snow. Magic.

This year would mark the end of the 50th year of King Roth Astrix or the end of the 316th year of Ast-Astrix depending on which measure you used. Emilie was still getting used to how they counted the years. There was another measure some scholars used called post Auslang Empire, in which it was the 1501st year. To many oddities to remember, she liked using Ast-Astrix.

It was now the 31st, and around the village people had thrown up wreaths of wicker and holiday flowers. They symbolized the rebirth of a new year from the branches of the old. At least, that’s what her parent explained. Snow and ice covered the landscape, turning what was once a green and lush vista into a cold and frozen world.

Each village and city would celebrate in their own way. Wollseeth would hold what they called the festival of ice, a festival often shared by the villages and cities of the Stepas Planes provenance, which was the greenest and lushest providence in Thrus. Ice and snow were seen as the necessary medium to allow the soil to rest, and the world to sleep. Years with little snow and ice were a bad omen of an underproductive summer.

Starting tomorrow, the village would shut down for two day this year, well mostly. Some shops would remain open to see things like food, at least over limited hours. Like Brot's bakery which he said would be open to celebrate the new year.

For now, Emilie had some work to do. "Make sure they're all the right size now." Her father reminded her she had to cut the roots not so thick that they wouldn't cook through, but also not so thin that they would burn. This was her favorite dish, a sweet potato pie, made with Annacuttga roots. You had to be careful with these, they were very good and sweet when cooked well, but undercooked and they could make you sick.

Once sliced and pealed they would be boiled in an oven for a couple of hours after that would be soaked in hot milk for another hour and after that, they were mashed with some flour and placed in a pie crust to cook one last time. It was a lot of work, but the effort was worth it, and today, Emilie was allowed to help with the cutting!

Her father picked up one of the halved roots and examined it. The purple color would disappear and be transformed into a deep yellow with cooking. "Very nice" his hand rubbed her head, and she couldn't help but giggle a bit.

"I think we're good here. Should have enough for two large pies. Wonder if we could stretch that to three days' worth?"

Three days' worth of deserts was almost unheard of, unless you were a noble, the thought excited her and she almost squealed. Thankful, she had just enough control over herself that she didn't. She took a breath and felt calm. She was still happy, but no longer spastic. The breathing exercise Reese taught her had helped with more than just the nightmares.

Thinking about Reese, what was he up to? Probably hanging out with Gezal. He had been practicing sword play with him a bit, though, Reese never seemed to get a hit in. Hanging out with her two friends sounded like a pleasant plan for what little was left of the day, once she was done.

"I want to help. I want to help!" Ricaza nearly came storming into the kitchen with a pout on his face.

"Oh! My boy wants to help! Want to help clean the dishes?"

Ricaza looked around, and focused on what his sister was doing. "I want to do that."

"Eh, you're a bit to young to be handling a knife. Here you can help me sift the flour."

"No!" The boy crossed his arms in difference "You always let Emilie do the fun stuff. I want to do it too."

With one last chop Emilie was done with the cutting, making it a moot point anyway. "Sorry Ricaza, I just finished cutting. We can do something else."

Thus, began a rather mild tantrum, by Ricaza standards anyway. He had recently gotten worse and seemed to focus on Emilie's every action. She wasn't sure if it was admiration, envy or jealousy. Regardless of what it was, it was annoying.

"Um… I'm going to go see what Reese is up too."

"Ok Emilie, just be back in a few hours."

Outside it was cold. As much as she hated it, it was pretty in some sense. White coated the land, covering buildings and streets alike. Occasionally, the white was punctuated by red and orange flowers from the wreaths put up the week prior. A physical ward and hope of lush and green spring.

Now, enough with the gawking, where would Reese be? Probably with Gezal which meant, near the barracks or maybe the woods.

As she approached the barracks' training field, she could hear the sound of wood impacting wood. And occasionally, something softer.

Thwack.

"…owww." That was Reese by the sounds of it.

"Come on man. I'm not even using my techniques yet!"

From the ground, Reese pointed up at the older boy "You only know the one!"

Gezal was the first to see her as he waved her over.

"You two look like you're having fun?"

Reese snorted. "If this is fun then that makes me a masochist… That might actually explain some things." With that he pushed himself off the ground and dropped the sword.

"Giving up?" Gezal's effort to goad his opponent back into sparing failed.

"Eh, I need to walk of this pain."

As he began walking away, Emilie started to follow him, followed shortly by Gezal who was still holding his sword.

It was hard not to laugh as Reese limped slightly, "Are you ok?"

"Eh, the snow was just really cold… and he hits too hard."

Gezal was in the middle of fencing with snow and shadows as he laughed at the comment, "You're the one that said not to hold back."

"…That was you. I distinctly remember saying 'please don't hurt me'."

"Ah yes, like a coward."

"Exactly!"

She couldn't stop laughing at these two, "If becoming a Kight and a Mage fail you two could always become entertainers."

Gezal took his sword and began knocking some icicles off a nearby tree in quick and precise motion. "What do you think Reese, we could join the circus?"

"Hmmm… Well, you'd make a good clown I suppose."

"Ah, saying I look good in makeup? I agree. You could be a great lion tamer. A head that hard would never be bitten off!"

"But what about Emilie?" Reese stared at their friend pondering.

"Well, I'll be the magician of course!" With that, she cast a rather large fire ball into the air.

"I think she has us beat, Reese."

The sound of crunching snow and arguing brought the trio's attention to Venginn and Samil, who were walking though the frozen brush. For a moment the two groups stared at each other.

Gezal was the first to speak, point his sword at the two, "What about you Venginn and Samil, what role would you play in our Circus?"

Venginn looked confuse, "What?"

While Samil laughed slightly, "I suppose I could be the horse. I have the blood for it, well at least 1/8."

One more afternoon, doing what she always wanted. Just existing, with friends, wandering on little adventures, having silly thoughts and flights of fancy. When it came time to leave, she watched Reese for just a moment longer than she needed to. She owed him more than he could imagine, and given a lifetime, she doubted if she could ever pay him back.

The next day couldn't hope to be the same level of fun, but it would try.

It was the 32nd, about an hour before midnight. Exact clocks didn't really exist, but somehow, they would know when it was time to start the display. Looking around, most of Wollseeth was out, and near the keep. That was where the display would start, from the roof.

Her family was gathered near the northern side, but she wanted a different view, preferably near one of her friends. As she tried to move away from her family, she was stopped by her mother, "Emilie, don't you want to watch the fire display?"

"I just want to see if I can find Gezal or Reese."

With a sigh and slight of her head, her mother gave in, "Ok honey, you don't need to spend it with us. Just be careful."

The first person she came across, was Gezal, who was wearing armor. "Emilie! Fortus asked me to help with crowd control. How do I look?"

Taking the blond haired boy in. She studied him, he wasn't wearing much armor, but what was there was identifiable, Vambrace on his arms that were just a little too lose as the leather straps did what they could to keep them closed, a Cuirass that seemed to have more space then chest, Cuissess that seemed to hand from the same Cuirass, and Greaves that further seemed to hand from those. In short, it was one of the worst armor fittings she had ever seen.

"Didn't have anything in your size huh?"

"No." He paused and attempted to tighten a strap on the Cuirass, which somehow made the fit worse. "Still, fits well for what it is and I can move easily."

A slight coppery taste entered her mouth as she bit her tongue, trying desperately not to laugh. "Have… you seen Reese around?"

Gezal just nodded, his face growing a bit red as he realized how ridiculous he probably looked. "I saw him near Brot's."

In the distance she spotted Venginn and Samil being forcibly pulled away from each other. Emilie didn't hear the conversation, but it was clear that Venginn's parents didn't like her hanging out with Samil. Something about being a mixed breed and part Anthro. The concept didn't really make sense to her. Samil was a good student, and a really good guy who always tried to help.

Samil's head fell, and he walked back to his family in the distance. Emilie didn't know them well, but supposedly they were good people from what her parents told her. Basilara and Venesar had done their best to instill good manners in their children, in particular a belief that you should not judge a person by their skin or fur. It was a belief not everyone in this world seemed to share.

As she grew closer to Brot's shop, Reese became evident. Seeing her he waved her over. "Emilie! Come quick. Brot's got some kind of puppet show setup. Oh, and double size sweet breads!"

"Come around children, and let me regal you with the story of, the goblin king." A rather large man hid behind the makeshift booth, and spoke in a way that, poorly, masked their voice.

"That's Brot isn't is?"

Reese smiled and laughed, "Yeah, but these are great! He's been doing stories from 'Terra Fey, Ah Olith Ciltha', I've only heard of a few of them." He handed her half of his sweet bread, and despite being full on pie, she accepted and watched.

After a bit less than an hour. Brot would stop and motion to the top of the keep, when the fire display started, with one short streamer that pierced the sky and exploded in blues and greens. Blue and Green fire magic! Emilie was entranced, she had never seen anything like that in prior years.

The starburst lite up the sky with magic and fire. Emilie had remembered prior years when they would do this, but something about this year seemed grander than any other. Maybe she was just older.

"These are pretty. They got to be using those canons to make the colors. I got to wonder how though. Man I want to take one of them apart!"

Emilie laughed; it was just like Reese to focus on the mechanics over the aesthetics. Still, how did they work? Maybe she should add a question to her notebook…