Prologue

The snow that was usually soft had turned into great stones hurled upon my frail and weary body. I tried to rise, tried to resist, yet the cold and the harsh force of the storm cast me down again as if I were nothing more than a tiny pebble.

My teeth scraped against one another, chattering within my mouth. Even though this body was wrapped in a jacket of seal hide, even though my small feet were covered in thick reindeer skin, the chill of nature still seeped through my flesh.

I bit down on my lower lip until pain bloomed there, but what pain could surpass this? My heart was pierced as I struggled to hold back tears in a moment like this. Grandfather forbade it. Even if I were dying, I must never cry.

But what was my sin? Was I unworthy of tears simply because I was weak? Because I was too small? Too slow? Or... because I was sickly?

What truly was my fault? Was the weak forbidden to survive?

The rustle of the wild never ceased, circling endlessly in my ears. My back grew more bent under the relentless weight of the falling snow.

The world slowly shrank until it became nothing but a white emptiness that felt utterly silent.

My vision dimmed and I collapsed upon the snow.

Yet... through the haze of my fading sight, a great white silhouette tore through the pale curtain. It walked toward me, slow and deliberate, until I could finally see its form as a white wolf as tall as the trees around us.

The wolf circled me for a moment, its golden eyes shining bright within the roaring snowstorm that howled like a monster.

Would I be eaten?

Yes... after all, I was only a fragile child.

It felt undeserved to live as others lived.

I exhaled and closed my eyes, ready to surrender myself back to the world beyond.

"Ugh..."

I felt it. Pain in my right calf. Warm liquid dripped down, soaking into the dryness of my hide covering. I did not need to look to know what it was.

The hurt spread through my body, and I began to groan in agony. My cries rose as fiercely as the storm outside.

"Aaaaargh!"

By chance, my eyes met the golden irises of the wolf. Yet it was not cruelty that I found there. Instead, I saw sorrow and calm.

Then the wolf vanished.

Strange... that was all I felt as warmth and comfort crept into me, flowing swiftly through every part of my body.

What had the wolf done to me?

That soothing sensation emptied my thoughts. I could think of nothing, lying atop the mound of snow while staring at the gray sky that slowly faded and reclaimed its blue as before.

"Amaruuu!"

"Amaruuu!"

"Where are you, my child?"

From the distance, voices called out. A gentle sound that always eased my soul the moment it reached me.

But... even though I longed to rise and run to it, I could not. My body refused to move, and even forming a single sound felt unbearably difficult.

I tried to call out, yet only a faint groan escaped me.

"M... mo... mom..."

Whether it was her motherly instinct or the guidance of nature itself, my mother found me lying upon the bloodstained snow.

Her mouth fell open when she saw me, then her tears followed.

I weakly turned my head toward her. I tried to call her again, but still only an unclear groan came out.

Yet she understood. She immediately knelt and gathered me in her warm and gentle embrace.

"Amaru. I was so worried. What happened to you?" Her gaze fell upon my bleeding calf. "Who did this to you?"

Without hesitation she tore a strip from her own clothing and bound my wound with it, tying it tightly to halt the blood.

"Tell me, my child. Who did this to you?"

I tried to answer. I tried to speak. Yet suddenly my memories were shrouded in fog. I was no longer certain why I had become lost. Who had helped me? Why was my calf wounded? Why was I here?

I survived, yet... something within my chest felt empty.

There was no relief. No sense of safety. No tears waiting to fall. Only a vast silence. As if a chamber within me had been emptied and its door locked. Behind that door lay something. Something great and warm and golden. But I could not reach it.

My mother grasped the shoulders of my parka. Her eyes, red and wet, searched my face, seeking answers within my vacant gaze.

"Tell me... I will not be angry..."

"I... do not remember anything, Mom..."