ChapterOne
A holiday weatheradvisory for the greater Chouteau County area from the Orclind Weather Service dated December 19 2048 -
As the month-long celebration of Burden’s Moon approaches, please be advised that inclement weather is expected for the duration of the holiday. Beginning Moonrise at approximately 2 PM GMT DECEMBER 21, the county will see medium-to-heavy snowfall with moderate winds. Advanced forecasts predict a high chance of dangerous conditions starting mid-morning DECEMBER 31, with 2 to 4 feet of snowfall and extreme winds.
If you intend to travel, please do so before then. Roads may be closed for up to a week after the storm, which will prohibit travel for Moonset celebrations on JANUARY 21. Staying home to celebrate the Selfless God’s sacrifice and our communities is heavily encouraged.
The inclement weather may prohibit the building of bonfires and other outdoor celebrations this year. In lieu of those traditions, the weather service encourages residents to honor Burden safely indoors, beside a hearth or equivalent, with loved ones.
From all of us at the OWS: We wish you a safe and joyful Burden’s Moon. During the darkest time of the year, we are sustained not by material goods or wealth, but the love we share.
May your nights be warm.
-The Chouteau County Weather Service Team
OWS / ORCLIND WEATHER SERVICE
Iron Chain Center for Weather Prediction
Chartered by the authority of Queen Sigrid and the United Clans of the Iron Chain
ChapterTwo
December 2048 - Montague, The Orclind
Clark Wilsonalways liked making friends. If he was being honest, which he tried his best to be, he would say that he liked being liked.
This wasn’t because he was insecure, nor because he enjoyed attention more than the average person. He didn’t much care about popularity in the abstract sense. He also understood that not every personality meshed with his. Friends came and went, and he would always be closer to some folks than others by virtue of common interests or other factors.
Contrary to popular opinion in town, he wasn’t dumb. He could take a hint when necessary. He just didn’t like giving up on folks, even when they weren’t too nice.
His mama called the Wilson Clan stubborn to the marrow. For his brothers and sister, that meant different things. Harrison and Seamus were competitive and stuck in their ways. They’d rather be beaten half to death than give up a fight. His sister, on the other hand, was crafty. She’d make you think she’d given up, only to sneak up on you hours, days, even years later to get what she wanted.
Clark, on the other hand, was the middle child of the clan. As a consequence, he was also a born and bred people pleaser. His stubborn streak manifested in the need to be liked, come Blight’s wrath or Grim’s river, and he was unashamed of that fact.
The more a person struggled, the harder he tried. It was best to give up quick, the people of Montague had learned early on, because when Clark Wilson determined that he would be your friend, you had two choices: now or later.
All in all, it wasn’t such a bad trait to have. That’s what his parents said, anyway. His siblings were undecided.
He thought that he’d gotten just about everyone else in town on board, though. On the cusp of turning forty and just entering the prime of his long life, he could happily say that he was friends with just about everyone in his tiny hometown.
Except, of course, the witch.
Clark squinted through the swirling snow pelting his ancient truck’s windshield, hoping to spot the tiny cottage he knew was somewhere at the end of the lane. He’d made the trek to the tiny plot of Orclind government-owned land that sat on the border of the Wilson ranch a thousand times over his life, so he figured he could find his way there even with his eyes closed. A little bit of snow wouldn’t stop him from making his delivery. It sure as shit wouldn’t stop him from inviting her over for dinner, either.
If he could catch her, of course.
Nelly Ortega was a transplant from a remote Orclind research facility high up in the Appalachian mountains. She’d been transferred to Montague to replace their previous Flora and Fauna Conservator, the ancient and a little mad orc who’d been in charge for longer than just about anyone else on the planet had been alive. Her job was to monitor the farm and ranching operations for the Orclind’s sustainability initiatives, which determined when certain homesteads could operate and when they should go fallow for a season or two.
Everyone expected another orc to take the job, so the whole town had a bit of a shock when a willowy, sparkly, cotton candy-scented witch showed up.
With her glittery eyeshadow and frothy clothing, no one expected her to last in their rural town more than a few weeks, but Nelly had been a resident for over half a year and showed no sign of packing up.
Despite being neighbors, he’d only caught glimpses of her from afar. She was a bit of a loner and tended to avoid big town gatherings. When shedidshow up, usually dressed in something shiny or ruffled, he’d blink and she’d disappear out a back door or something.
When he couldn’t seem to catch her in town, he stopped by her property to introduce himself. She’d been out, unfortunately, so he’d left a note for her to give him a call if she needed any help around the cottage.
When he didn’t get a call, he decided to try again. This time her truck was in the driveway, but she didn’t answer the door.Must not want company at the moment,he’d thought, shrugging it off as he wrote another note, this time making sure to add the things he noticed needed doing around the cottage. Winter was around the corner and that meant she needed to check her generator, make sure her water tank was full, clear out the vents he noticed were a little worse for wear, and a dozen other tiny tasks she might not be used to doing.
