Year 475 A.F.W.

The snow had stopped falling in Mistwick an hour ago, and the sun shone brightly in a cloudless sky.

"Alright, alright, alright...!" a boy repeated, scribbling something on beige paper. He sat against one of the houses built into the thick-wooded trees and smiled, almost slyly.

"Yes, yes," he muttered, turning his head towards a bird that was now sitting on one of the tree branches. In shock, he opened his mouth, with another grin following through towards the glance at the sheets in his hands.

"Yes," he stood up. "YES!" he raised his voice. "I GOT IT!" he yelled out, as one of the Morians who sat inside the hut banged on the window, yelling for him to be quiet.

Amid awe and amazement, the boy strolled through Mistwick, yelling joyously. He accidentally bumped into a man who carried a barrel of food on his back, almost causing him to trip and fall. He passed a bigger house, as some of the people shut their windows and some spilt their glaska (a mix of tea and cocoa) drinks as the reckless one passed through.

Some people smiled at his reactions, others were annoyed, but he didn't cause any harm. He jumped frivolously through a main street, as others walked into their houses or sighed.

"The rewards of the soil of the last Dear." another boy sat on the snow, and slowly inched closer to a red, blooming flower, that stood in the middle of the white puff. He ground his teeth, fixing his glasses, holding onto what resembled a journal.

With another huff, he moved back, raising both fists. "Eureka! I was right! This is one of the only flowers that peaks in Yule!" he stood up, smiling, putting his hands on his hips. "Another win for-"

"YEAH!" The other boy suddenly ran into him, causing the two to collapse on the ground. The one in the glasses coughed, as he looked back to the flower, which they barely missed.

"Jyuzou!" The white-haired one yelled out.

"Morio!" Jyuzou raised his voice, crawling away and sitting on the ground, crossing his arms. "You could've killed that flower! Its life! Its purpose!"

Morio stood up, scratching the top of his head. "Sorry, sorry!"

"I don't think you understand Shimori's natural treasure. Callothia flowers, beautiful red crowns that grow even in the coldest of nights!" he closed his eyes, signalling with his fingers.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" Morio signalled, flailing the piece of paper in his hands. "I finished it!"

"Finished what?" Jyuzou turned, breathing out loudly. "The story you started seasons ago and never touched again?"

Morio didn't answer, however. He began running in a different direction.

"Oh, Shin." Jyuzou shook his head. He opened another book, marking something with a piece of charcoal, that was wrapped in cloth.

Morio made his way through tight squeezes in between the wooden huts, jumped over a well and stopped for a moment to pick up a Metho seed. He put it in his pocket and sprinted again.

He opened a fence gate, running through the small pens of animals and finally making his way further from the main part of town, passing by a massive, leafless tree.

"What are you in such a hurry for, Morio?" An older man, who stepped out of the tree asked.

Morio turned on his heel. "Um! I- aak!" he yelled out with crazed joy and without really answering, continued his marathon.

The older man shook his head, before laughing.

As houses and buildings became scarce, Morio had to manoeuvre his way around trees that carved out a bent path towards a small valley with lots of pines. A place in Mistwick that some would call Per Frisk, for whatever reason, despite it barely having anything to do with playful leaps.

The leaves cleared after a while, letting the sun peak through, and Morio stopped as well, with a halted breath.

There it was, right before his eyes, clear as the snow around his big, brown shoes.

"Mount Aria." Morio thought, staring at the summit that extended far into the skies. A light wind went through his hair, and his eyes shone brighter.

Even though he couldn't see anything past the distant clouds extending into Lot Thúrum, he always envisioned the top. It must've been quiet up there, and maybe even colder than on all nights in the Shimorian Yule.

Either way, he smiled, before putting the paper behind his back and getting ready to walk, or run, once more.

"Morio!" A voice could be heard, as the sound of a horse's steps permeated the area. Morio turned, eyes widened, before jumping towards the woman sitting atop the animal's back.

"Mama!" Morio yelled, hugging her.

"Woah, woah. Watch out. This new horse is quite feisty. You don't want to do anything stupid..." she grinned, patting his hair. "Let's go back to our house."

The horse carried the two through the snowy lands, following a road that's been carved out from people walking back and forth, about three kilometres from the town centre, which was marked by a well, and a large, wooden building with a chimney right in the middle. It was predominantly used for holding large feasts. It had lots of tables, and a second floor, that could be seen from the ground level.

"You were staring at that mountain again," she said, brushing through her white hair. "What's up with that? Found yourself a new goal?"

"Yes! One day, I'll reach its peak, I promise, Mama!" Morio raised his fist.

"Climbing Mount Aria, exploring the entire world, finding a cooler pair of glasses for Jyuzou, discovering where all the items from Bancho's cabin came from, becoming the greatest Demonear and making a map of Shimori. You're quite ambitious, eh? Can't tell where that comes from." she snickered.

"That's only a small fraction of everything else I'll do! Actually...!" Morio pulled the map out from behind his back and waved it in front of his mom.

"Oh! Did you finish it?" she asked.

"Mhm!" Morio nodded, staring down at the sheets, excited. "We're here, in Mistwick, following through the Uvo Forest and then going past the Mistigo Mountain will lead you right to Wendigo! And, and!" he almost choked on his own words. "Going through Lapida, then the Shimori Lake and through the White Mountains, you'll get to Magna! But there's so much more as well! You'll have to take a look, Mama! I'll tell you everything!"

"Well, it's not common to see ten-year-olds planning out an entire country, but who am I to judge?" she asked, squinting her eyes. "Glad your passion isn't about getting black-out drank like those guys in the Wendigo you just mentioned." she chortled.

"What's drunk, Mama?" Morio asked.

"Something you'll have to concern yourself with once you're a little bit older."

"Well, if it's a mystery, then I'll solve it as fast as possible!"

"Bah." she rolled her eyes. "I'm not sparing the details."

"I'll ask Mr Bancho, then!"

Morio's mom sighed, before beaming.

The horse stopped in front of a large, brown hut. It was a two-story building, with a sharp, triangular wooden roof floor specifically rebuilt for Morio's room, full of the papers and all the stories he had written on them when younger. The downstairs was as cosy as it would get, with pillows by the circular windows and tables, a thick couch near a fireplace and a bed standing right behind the stairs leading up.

Per Frisk was also home to a shortcut to the adjacent hills where the coniferous forestation changed into rocks, covered with the same fluff. Much else was simply open terrain, with a few dummies and whatnot here and there, some destroyed and some standing still.

Morio immediately jumped down, excitedly waiting for his mum to take a look.

"Let's see here," she uttered, taking it from his small hands and checking with her finger. "Right, right..." she put her hand on her chin. "Fascinating. How did you make this without leaving town?"

"I asked all around, listened to birds humming, read all the books in the library, and... oh! Mr Bancho was of great help as well!" Morio added.

"Of course."

"O-One day I'm going to take this map to Lignoria and make it official in the atlases!" Morio continued, as his mum opened the door with a silver key. "They'll love it! They'll be so happy!"

"Yeah. Might want to scratch out our house from that map, though."

"Oh." Morio looked down at the paper, pointing towards the house. He started laughing and snorting since he couldn't do one with the other.

His mum sighed, and stepped inside, with Morio quickly following in.

Morio could be described as kind of a strange kid, but one wouldn't say that Morians at his age were much different, in all honesty. They were ambitious little fellas, all packed with intense energy and eyes that shone brighter than the stars in the night sky.

That was the one thing everyone mentioned about Morio: his eyes were really shiny, even though they were black. It didn't seem as if that light was ever to stop gleaming.

Morians, especially those of Mistwick seem to lose that energy over the years, turning into the calm creatures they are today. They don't seem to care for this world's problems, they only get bothered when their soup is too hot, or their glaskas with an uneven ratio of both cocoa and tea.

The people of Mistwick lived in this bubble of peace. They wore their thick sweaters and decorated their cotton jackets. They made food from the ingredients found around the forest, only some went out further to hunt for meat. They didn't have many troubles besides that, things are regulated, people share, and when there's a complaint, it's usually temporary and quickly resolved.

But there's that one thing all Morians had in common, which was the belief in the god of Shin, a deity, protecting them from all the harm in this world, its strange creatures and demons.

Those in Mistwick showed their faith more than anyone else. They had lots of different ways of appreciating what was given to them, such as throwing a found Metho seed into the river or burning twigs of jile-wood, falling from the branches of the junipers, three times per season. They didn't treat it as some special commotion or something that requires absolute silence in prayers. Shin Ceremony, or simply, burning of the wood, is usually accompanied by great feasts and dances to the music played on the various instruments they made, most importantly cedar guitars or cinder woodwinds, called thaduk.

They played the songs into the darks of the night and enjoyed the warmth of the fire, as everything settled in for another day of an almost boring harmony, which remained and made itself the characterising feature of Mistwick.

***

Morio closed his eyes, holding a dull, stone sword in his hands. His eyelid moved, as he focused on the target in the front: a dummy made out of cotton, filled with wool, barely glued together.

"Just like always, strike with full precision!" Morio muttered, breathing in and out as if he hurried to get the air into his lungs. "Mama always told me, if I practice a lot, I could be just like her,"

He smiled, swinging the sword around. "A Demonear!"

***

"I tell you Victoria, it's the entire world with this kid." Morio's mum said, sipping on some hot cocoa.

"It's just his age. You're not going to tell me you acted any different when you were this little, Gloria." she pointed, with a smirk. "Not that I know, but I can tell from when you get an itty bit..." she signalled with her hand. "...calm on the fumes of Metho."

"Sure." Gloria rolled her eyes, putting the small plate with the mentioned seed near the window. "Jyuzou seems to be reserved and collected. I wish Morio would step back for once and read a book in relative silence." she signalled.

"Jyuzou told me he already read everything they have in the library." Victoria giggled.

"Silence is the keyword. He runs back from his room to scream at me about everything he learned from his reading."

"Pff. Jyuzou gets almost too invested in his stories. One time, he spent an entire day cosied up in his bedroom." Victoria smiled. "Maybe we could trade for a day, eh?"

"Funny little thing you are, Vic." Gloria pointed. "Don't get me wrong, though. He's a pure little Shinnia in my eyes." Gloria answered. "Just, when does this phase end?"

"A few months, give or take?" Victoria sipped on the cocoa.

"You look me dead in the eyes and tell me this will change in a matter of months?" she pointed to Morio swinging the sword at the dummy, yelling out in vigour.

"Ehe." Victoria chuckled. "Anyways, isn't the Shin Ceremony today?" Victoria asked, scratching her head. Gloria trembled a bit, in response. "Not be a child's joy killer, but the sun's already setting."

Gloria huffed, standing up and opening the other window. "MORIO!!! GO GET THE JILE-WOOD ALREADY!!!" she screamed, as Morio dropped the sword to the ground and nodded, before running around in a mild panic.

She sighed, before moving back in and turning to the other woman.

"You seem negative, but I feel as if Morio just wants to be like you."

"That's a good thing?" she chuckled. "I can barely ride that horse."

"You know what I'm talking about, right?" Victoria took another sip, as Gloria looked over to the sword which rested on a shelf, mounted to the wall. "A Demonear."