It had only been half a month.
In this era where the flow of information was far from convenient...
The news of the ancestral mother awakening from her dragon slumber had already spread across the world.
The first to discover this were the people of Noah. To be more precise, it was the steam freighters clustered near Winter.
Leading the charge was the company founded by retired soldiers who transitioned after the Eldest Princess failed to secure the throne. This was the top-rated mariti company within the Kingdom of Noah, established through a royal bid and shareholder subscription.
After the royal family acquired half of its shares, its original na no longer mattered.
It would receive a new, prestigious na—simply titled "Noah Mariti Company," devoid of any suffix. Its operations expanded from re sea freight to encompass fisheries, seafood processing, deep-sea resource extraction, international trade, and tourism.
Once Winter reopened its ports, ships from the Noah Mariti Company would arrive almost every three days.
They brought people or goods... Though Winter’s natural resources were still relatively scarce for now, it had a significant array of high-value commodities—
In the northern Amber Seas of Winter lies the world’s largest amber collection site. It could almost be considered a "naked mine," where a civilian vessel equipped with fine fishing nets could net amber like catching small fish.
Winter’s Frost Beast blood and pelts were also unique specialties sold only there.
Though not essential goods, Winter had long severed its trade ties with the outside world... And private dostication of Frost Beasts was strictly forbidden. Frost Beast products in the market had been monopolized by the Underground City, their prices inflated to seven or eight tis their actual value.
Moreover, Winter’s coastal waters housed the world’s highest quality and most abundant varieties of fat fish—a natural fishing ground capable of feeding half a principality with surplus.
During Winter’s mariti isolation, not even Noah’s highest nobles had the chance to taste them.
Unlike Frost Beast blood, these fish were challenging to preserve and transport, making even delivery to the Underground City a costly endeavor... Even in the resource-rich Underground City, Winter’s fish ranked as the most expensive delicacy.
They were worth more than the Holy Nation’s finest cuts of beef.
Initially, it was just the Noah Mariti Company loading a few items at random from Winter to avoid returning with an empty hold.
But they quickly realized these goods could sell at over ten tis the price in Noah... After all, in Winter, fish were the least valued food source.
Winter’s fish were "naive." They didn’t evade humans, bit at every bait, and were so nurous that they were impossible to exhaust—a reflection of the ancestral mother’s domain, which also encompassed tradition. As the Mother of a Thousand Dragons, she shared the domain of fertility and renewal with the Goddess of Cup.
In the unsealed seas not frozen by snowstorms, every haul of the nets would co up brimming with plump fish.
However, in regions not located along the coastline, where fishern ventured beyond small barriers, battling snowstorms to catch fish... These fish would freeze solid upon leaving the water, less fresh than their predecessors.
In Noah, though rare, these fish’s deliciousness combined with their difficulty in transport and preservation made them Noah’s latest trend.
Winter’s fish rose to ten tis their purchase price and continued climbing. Live fish sold for even more than frozen ones—after all, Noah’s aristocracy spared no expense.
Realizing the business opportunity, other companies soon dispatched their freighters to Winter.
Quickly, the count of rchant ships docked in Winter increased to at least one per day. Then three to four daily... Even freighters from the United Kingdom took detours from Noah to reach Winter.
The most recent batch of ships was in Winter negotiating deals and loading goods when—
Without warning, small barriers across various regions simultaneously opened—but amidst people’s cries of panic and fear, the snowstorm didn’t arrive.
Instead, a warm breeze blew in. Above shone a dazzling sun.
Frozen rivers thawed in an instant, ice-locked farmland defrosted and regained its fertility. Even wild animals erged suddenly... As if the entire nation had been transported to a different world.
The people quickly understood what had happened.
Soon, a jubilant atmosphere of celebration swept across the land—
The people of Winter poured out from their hos into the surrounding fields and mountains, gazing at the faint yet unmistakably vibrant green teeming with life.
Almost every household brought out their stored food, piecing together impromptu feasts in town squares.
Soon, the squares overflowed with people, prompting families to cook and serve hearty, if unrefined, als at their doorsteps, in alleyways, and on the streets.
For the people of Winter, wine was, of course, indispensable. They emptied their pockets to buy all the wine they could find. Tavern owners sold at cost, clearing their inventories to the last drop.
Even rchants from afar were pulled into this unprecedented celebration.
When had they ever seen such a grand spectacle?
The so-called "empty streets"—
Nearly everyone from a city dressed in their finest clothes, gathered in squares or alleyways, eating free food, drinking free soup, and clutching bottles of wine ranging from cheap to extravagant.
Each ti they t anyone—whether friend or stranger, regardless of status, age, or gender—a radiant smile would reflect on their faces as they clinked glasses and drank together.
They doffed their hats, saluted the Grand Duke, called one another brothers, and celebrated in unison.
At the feasts, in alleyways and streets, there were laughter, cheers, songs, and dances.
Bottle after bottle, the revelries lasted until dawn.
Those who drank too much would embrace each other and weep, burly n as massive as bears curling up like infants, mumbling incomprehensible dialects.
—During the Spring Year, even if they drank until passing out on the ground, they wouldn’t freeze to death in the morning chill.
There was nothing more [reassuring] than this.
In Winter Years, the primary cause of death among young and strong adults was this very scenario.
But why would these laboring pillars of their families drink themselves into a heedless stupor overnight?
The answer was obvious.
Because they lacked [hope]. When they looked up, they saw not a trace of hope.
Now, those days had finally ended.
Noah’s rchants could not understand their jumbled cries and gibberish.
But the flavor of those hotpots, the undying glow of red lamps, the revelry of songs and dances—they would rember it for a lifeti.
When those rchants returned ho, they imdiately inford all they could about the "Spring Awakening of Winter."
They described this extraordinary experience with vivid detail. So even turned the tale into novels or adapted it for operas.
This ti, the rchants didn’t bring back any coveted specialties... They only brought back shiploads of letters.
They were family letters.
Letters personally entrusted to them by Winter’s Grand Duke.
—They carried [hope] itself.
The children and elderly left behind in Winter—those without the ability to work—wrote letter after letter with the help of priests. Each letter called for their family mbers to return.
Each word, each sentence, brimd with joy, like sparks kindling the hearts of wandering souls.
The Winter Years had ended.
—Winter’s Spring had arrived!
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