It was early in the morning and I was the only one awake from what I could see.

I silently got up to check the weather outside.

The snow was much calmer than previously, enough for me to take a quick trip outside I assessed.

Without a word to anybody I prepared myself to go out.

My plan was pretty simple, I would ask the leader for some help regarding how I could become a Shenrin, and depending on how it went from there maybe even ask him to guide me through the process.

I don't have the highest hopes for this plan working but I didn't think it would hurt to try anyway, even if it was a hail Mary, because there was too much to be gained.

With my preparations complete I stepped out into the snow, only to immediately sink into it all the way up to my waist.

It wasn't necessarily because there was a lot of snow but more because of my extremely short physique.

I could only sigh as I slowly I waddled over to where I remembered the leader's house being, trying my best to stay on a direct path.

Around twenty minutes later I was on the doorstep of the house, extremely cold and exhausted.

After taking a short break to compose myself, I knocked on the door.

...

Nothing.

'Maybe they didn't hear it.' I thought to myself before knocking on the door again, this time louder.

A few moments later I heard shuffling and footsteps going toward the door.

*Creeaaak*

It was the blonde lady.

"Huh? Aren't you Lailan's kid? What're you doing out here in the cold? Quickly get inside before you catch something!" She rattled off before quickly whisking me inside.

Not wanting to get sidetracked I tried to dive into the main reason I was there.

"Hello, I was won-"

"Hold on let me stoke the fire, you must be freezing." She interrupted.

"Uh... Thank you, I was wondering if I could speak with the man people call leader-"

"Oh, don't call him that sweetie, he's not a fan of it but people still call him that because of tradition and all. Anyways you can call him uncl- or actually Mr. Wilmar should probably be fine if your dad doesn't approve."

I gave her a confused look when she said that.

I assumed it to be relatively informal to call someone in a position of power by anything except their title, but that may have just been my experience on Earth where people liked flaunting status.

"It's not that he dislikes the title or the position he just thinks he doesn't deserve it. You've probably already heard about what happened during the selection to make him think that." The blonde lady said noticing my pause.

'That sounded like something important' I thought, 'It could be related to the fight I witnessed during my first festival.'

Wanting more information on the topic I acted oblivious and asked, though the act wasn't too far from how I actually was.

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"I actually haven't heard of this selection; may I ask what happened?"

"Really?" She questioned, very surprised before suddenly seeming to understand.

"Well I guess it does make sense, after all, Saruk is the humble type so he likely wouldn't have brought it up around his kids, especially not Armot that little chatter mouth..."

Seeing that this involved my father I slowly started to form an idea of what happened, nonetheless I continued to attentively listen.

"The selection is a type of competition-ritual that decides who becomes the next village leader. After the last leader sadly passed away, it was held once more between your dad and Wilmar to decide which of them would succeed him. At the time everyone thought Wilmar would win not only because he constantly put his power on display but also because he was the older of the two brothers, however-"

"Wait! They're brothers?" I uncharacteristically exclaimed, perhaps influenced by the lady's interruptive behavior.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise when she heard that.

It wasn't impossible but the difference between their physical appearances and mannerisms really threw me off the trail.

"I know Saruk doesn't like talking about it, but I would've expected Lailan would've mentioned it at least once..."

Suddenly learning about this, I started thinking about what else my parents might have been keeping from me.

"Anyways," She continued, pulling me out of my thoughts, "Saruk won very clearly against Wilmar, it wasn't even close, however he was neither popular with the villagers nor did he want the position of leader, so instead it was handed over to the only other person participating, Wilmar. Even though everyone else fully accepts him as the leader, it never sat right with him that he lost, so he still trains to this day hoping to truly earn the title of leader by defeating your dad in a fight."

After saying all that, she seemed to zone out, a somber look drawn across her face.

Meanwhile questions kept popping up in my head as I tried to digest all of the information I'd just been given, the main one being how my father was so much stronger than the leader.

There was also the matter of why he didn't want the position of leader, from what I had observed it was practically the same as his job now with better benefits.

I also remembered the reason why father refused to teach me was because of a vague reason regarding his brother, whom I now knew was the leader.

Now wasn't the time for figuring this out I decided, I needed to get back to my objective.

Not letting myself get sidetracked again I quickly asked, "If you don't mind me asking, where is Mr. Wilmar currently? I'd like to talk to him."

"He went over to the smithy with Romol- Why what do you need him for?" She questioned back.

Thinking back to my time exploring the village, I didn't remember seeing a blacksmith in town, but I did remember seeing a run-down building off in the distance from the rest of the village.

Not wanting to extend my time outside the house and increase the risk of getting caught I cut the conversation short and left for the building.

"Sorry but I'm in a bit of a hurry, I have to go now. Thank you for your help, Mrs... Uh."

"Nayur."

"Thank you, Mrs. Nayur, and have a nice day." I called out before leaving for the smithy.

|-|

'What a weirdly eloquent kid,' Nayur thought to herself.

'I wonder what he needed so early in the Winter morning.'

*****

As I shuffled through the snow, making my way to the dilapidated building, my problems began to grow once more.

The snow had started to fall again, slow for the time being though likely to get worse if I had learned anything from my previous winters.

Increasing my pace, I was soon standing with the smithy within my view.

A distanced thunking rang out from smithy, at first barely audible but as I got closer, the sound grew louder and louder.

I assumed the sound was coming from someone hammering, confirming my suspicion that this was the location of the smithy, though I had never seen anyone enter that building before.

When I finally reached the doorsteps of the poorly stacked cobblestone building, I noticed it was open.

Not wanting to be disrespectful, I knocked anyway.

"Hm? Who's there?" Asked a gruff-like voice, likely belonging to the leader, causing the hammering to stop.

Seeing that as my signal, I entered the room.

Surveying the room, I saw scraps of metal scattered across the floor, a messy combination of tools and weapons covering the tables and walls, and a stack of firewood positioned in the corner of the room.

The only place free from the disorganization seemed to be the furnace and anvil, which was currently being occupied by the leader's son.

"Don't stop hammering Romol!"

"OH! Right!" He exclaimed before returning to his hammering with a renewed fervor.

Sadly the iron had cooled by then, making it pointless.

"Tch, go take a break for now we'll try again later." The leader directed to his son before turning to face me with his hands at his hips.

"Now, what does Saruk's kid need with me in the middle of the Winter? Or are you here for Romol?" He asked with a slight proud smile flickering on his face.

"Well I'm actually here to ask for a favor, Mr. Wilmar,"

The moment of truth was here.

"Could you help me in becoming a Shenrin?"