Enlightenment in the North

The weather grew colder and colder. Thick snow covered the whole land, and not a hint of color could be seen beyond the white. Nothing but endless stretches of white, without even a living thing in sight.

Here on a ranch in * Plains, the livestock huddled and shivered in their crude sheds. Their thin hides stood no chance against the bitter winter, so they crowded together to preserve what little warmth they had. Whether these four-horned beasts could survive the winter depended entirely on how long the snow lasted.

A boy lay in the corner of a crude hut on the ranch, atop a thick * mat and beneath a heap of dry *. He was on the verge of death, his face pale and purplish, his lips cracked, not a spark of life in him. It seemed he was gravely ill. In this bitter winter, many people and animals failed to survive, collapsing by the roadside to be devoured by **, their bones even chewed up and swallowed. It was hardly surprising that a young shepherd might die just like this.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.