Northern Region, Green Wind Forest, Under the Emerald Ghost Tree.
The camera pans over to a young child dressed from head to toe in thick cotton padded snow wear. Her cheeks were red, strongly contrasting against her soft white skin. Her long green hair was tied into a twintail.
Her tiny little arms pushed a snowball almost four times her size.
With a small puff, the little girl pushed the snowball over the hill, letting gravity take the wheel. Petra wiped her forehead and smiled in satisfaction, inwardly appreciating herself for her hard work.
Her little eyes watched as the snowball rolled down the hill and hurled towards the unknowing Rose.
The hardworking red haired cat girl was diligently shoveling snow, when suddenly, she heard a noise. Her fluffy red ears twitched, and she turned her head, looking to the side.
Her hair stood on end as the massive snowball rampaged down the hill, picking up speed and becoming larger, rolling towards her with the ferocity of a wild beast.
Rose screamed like a cat, then jumped to the side.
The snowball carried a terrifying momentum as it bulldozed past the red-haired maid and exploded against a nearby tree.
"Tsk!"
Petra clicked her tongue from the hilltop.
She stepped forward, did a little hop, then slid down the hill on her butt using the path left behind by the snowball.
The territory of the Emerald Ghost Tree had undergone an enormous change after the sudden descent of winter. The best way to describe it was that it had become a winter wonderland.
The winding river that bordered the outer ring of the territory had frozen solid, becoming perfect for ice skating. The terrace farms had filled with snow, transforming into rolling hills of fluffy white snow, perfect for tobogganing. The poison garden had to undergo an emergency harvest, but none of the plants were lost, leaving Petra with a flat field for creating snow sculptures and ice angels.
As for the Green Mansion, the house was covered in ice and snow. The windows froze, and snow piled up along the side of the house, burying part of the first floor. Because Petra had not planned for an internal heating system, at least not so soon, many of the winter countermeasures were still underway.
Mell, Wind, and Nebu were all engraving basic heating runes throughout the main tower. The side halls would have to wait until things got warmer.
Lilly was busy making a variety of winter clothes. She made dozens of outfits out of cotton, wool, and tower silk, ranging from padded jackets, thick robes, hats, gloves, and scarves.
Luna was busy learning how to make the long list of winter-themed foods that Petra had given her. Although the sudden winter had caused most of the beasts around the continent to go into a sudden hibernation, as the only region whose natural wildlife understood hibernation, most of the wildlife in the northern region survived the initial wave of deathly cold. This meant that Luna wouldn't have to worry about lacking meat after the winter subsided.
Rose was the least fortunate of the girls. As the mussel head, she was in charge of shoveling snow. This included the areas around the house, especially the long pathways that stretched a kilometer from the front of the house to the edge of the border, one for each of the four directions.
Petra slid past the snow-covered Rose and giggled.
She jumped up and patted off her little butt.
"How are you liking the snow?"
Rose cursed. "How annoying! How can you like this! It's like a freezing sandstorm!" Rose crossed her arms and guarded her freezing body. This stupid cat was still wearing her normal maid dress, yes, the one with a short skirt.
Petra smiled. "I can't believe that most of you didn't even know what winter was. I didn't notice it before, but there were no records back in the library."
Rose grimaced. "When I was young, I heard that there was a distant continent that was covered in snow all year round. How terrible!"
Petra laughed. "You just need to put on warmer clothes!"
Rose glared at her. "It's too sweaty! Too uncomfortable! I don't like it!"
Petra shook her little head.
She really wanted to tell this fur for brains that she would freeze like this if she continued.
-
Petra returned from her fun in the snow, slightly hungry.
Waiting at the front doors were Lilly and Luna.
Unlike Rose, these two were still wearing their maid skirts, but they had long thick leggings and fluffy gloves with ear warmers.
"Little master, lunch is ready. Luna tried her best to make that spicy beef stew, and it should be to your liking~." The older twins face flushed, slightly embarrassed. Lilly had secretly eaten a few bowls.
Petra followed the three maids to the second floor (Lilly, Luna, Rose).
As she walked up the stairs, Petra could feel the temperature clearly rise. Unlike the cold halls of the first floor, the second floor had already finished their winter preparations. The second floor had a homely and warm feeling, perfect for wintertime, almost making Petra want to grab a blanket and curl herself up forever.
The dining table was filled with warm food, still steaming.
After Petra plopped down her little butt on the warm chair, she grabbed a massive bowl of spicy beef stew and looked through the newest news on the Cross Continent.
The newspaper was still delivered by the ants daily.
Although the sudden winter had slowed them down, some special ants were still capable of functioning.
Speaking of the beasts, the little monster kings were doing much better than the average beast. The snake and frog had turned Petra's room into their permanent living quarters, both falling into hibernation like normal beasts, hogging the bed. The ant queen lived underground, so it was barely affected by the change in the weather. The centipede was particularly sensitive to the changes in temperature, so it had buried itself at the bottom of the river before it froze. This seemed like some kind of instinctive behaviour. The butterfly remained a decoration on Petra's head.
Only the spider was slightly odd. Unlike the other five, the Tower Spider seemed to want to challenge the winter. At first, Petra felt like it was trying to develop some kind of cold resistance, but now... It would stand out in the snow all day, like some kind of meditating old man, stabbing outwards and trying to meet some kind of quota, then pushing its body to the limit before returning for the day.
Petra looked through the news.
The sudden Winter had caused a lot of damage to the continent. Most of the wildlife around the continent was struggling to survive. The east and south were especially susceptible to this sudden winter. The west seemed to resist the snow, but it was slowly spreading. The central region was ok, but snow still piled up in the ravines, becoming a potential disaster when it melted.
As for the northern region…
The green tide was imminent. Petra didn't know what would happen, but she was concerned that it would be more ferocious than normal times.
Petra took a sip of hot chocolate, burning her little lip.
The eastern mages were planning to cut off a large part of their region from the rest of the world, using a large-scale spell called the 'Great Storm Summoning'. The western region was silent for the most part, but in contrast, the southern region was strengthening its war preparations by the day.
Petra could practically feel the tension.
She kicked her little legs below the table, not affected by the changes of the world.
-
After dinner, Petra went to the fourth floor and entered the laboratory.
This was the first room to undergo winterization. Because of the many ongoing experiments, it was important to keep the room at a regulated temperature. At least, it couldn't be too different...
While walking, Petra skipped by a pile of golem parts, the skeleton of small and unknown beasts, a plant that looked like it was undergoing some kind of grafting, a strange biological experiment that was connected to bio-tubes formed out of materialized poison, and countless open and closed books, all piled up into small mountains and scattered around. At first glance, it looked like a hoarder's house, but upon closer inspection, one would question just how far some of these 'experiments' crossed the ethical line.
Petra slowly trotted over to a table containing the various components and tools needed to make a wand. Her happy little face was a stark contrast to the somewhat 'evil' laboratory behind.
Petra planned to start her mission to get stronger soon, but she first wanted to get some basic tools that would make it easier. At least, that was the thought.
Unlike a magic robe, a magic wand wasn't that difficult to make, at least, not a beginner's wand.
A normal magic wand was responsible for inserting commands into spells. For example, when you cast a fireball, the wand adds 'go very fast!' to the spell. This was done through hollow channels carved down the spine of the wand.
'Rune Language' was the equivalent of 'Commands' given physical form.
Petra had been reading through the old man's notes, focusing on Rune Language. This was a higher dimensional language that appeared as runes for weaker existences like Petra.
Rune Language was the equivalent of the letter 'A' meaning 'Explode'. Each rune represented something, and when combined together could actually be used to communicate. Of course, for those higher existences, they could control the effects of their words, not allowing the runes to act out their commands.
Anyways, for Petra, it was just a matter of learning what did what and how she could combine them.
The experiments started with a simple wand with three channels. One was a dummy channel that did nothing, one was a speed channel that increased a projectile's speed, and the other was a speed channel that decreased a projectile's speed. That was the simplest form of a wand. When a spell didn't want to use the effects of the wand, they would use the dummy channel.
Petras' experiments looked into different materials and how they would affect the surrounding channels. If one channel 'seeped' into another channel, then many accidents could happen. For example, it the lining between the basic wands' three channels were too thin, then 'slow down' and 'speed up' would counter each other and do nothing, leaving you with a failed wand. In a more advanced case, if one of these leaking channels held the command 'explode', and it mixed with a 'heal' spell…. You could imagine. This was also the reason people usually used specialised wands, not all purpose wands.
Petras' experiments were mostly successful, and now all she was doing was looking for a good material.
Anyways...
We can't forget that this cute little green haired girl was also the ever-curious Emerald Dragon! The kind with a tiny attention span and a big interest in new things!
Petra swept the experiment off the table with her little arms. She pulled out a new bag of materials and slapped it on the table.
"Time to start a new experiment!"
The little girl was hard at work.
-
Downstairs, first floor, Mell and Wind were busy engraving heating runes in the walls and floors.
"Do you ever worry about your family?" Mell asked.
Wind didn't look up, just saying, "They abandoned me when I was in trouble. Is there anything to worry about?"
Mell shook her head. "Take it from me. Sometimes family is something that you only regret losing after they're gone."
Wind lowered her head. "Humph, you're asking this because of what's happening in the south, right?"
Mell nodded. "I don't know how strong that ice castle is, but it shouldn't be too good."
Wind pursed her lips. In her family, there were only a few people who she liked. Even after their betrayal, she would probably still help them if she were given a choice.
"If you want, I can ask the little master to try and help?" Mell added.
Wind shook her head. "They're not the kind of people who would appreciate that."
Wind stood up and stretched.
"Come on, don't get distracted, we still have a lot of work to do!"
Mell watched Wind walk away and start working on a different area.
Nebula walked over.
Mell looked at her and chuckled. "Do you think she really doesn't care about her family?"
Nebula remained silent.
Mell sighed. "Maybe it's because I lost mine that I can understand, but she will probably regret it if something happens."
Nebula looked at Mell. "There are no silver elves in the southern empire."
Mell paused.
Her brows furrowed. "Do you mean that she was taken, or adopted?"
Nebula shook her head.
Mell frowned, deep in thought.
Winds' family situation might be more complicated than she thought.
-
Later that day, Petra had gone to the library to record some books and relax.
Her experiments were unsuccessful, so she took some time to calm down and fill up the library with the many books locked in her mind. The current library was a mixture of books bought in Sevensen, new books written by Petra and the six girls, and the leftover crystal tomes that had become somewhat redundant after the paper problem was fixed.
These books were created by Nebula, filled by Petra, then enchanted by Nebula to be very resistant.
Petra sat at a tall desk, her legs not reaching the floor. There were three books under her butt, allowing her to find a comfortable position to write. On the desk were an assortment of writing supplies, alongside the clutter of books that were casually pushed out of the way by Petra.
The room was mostly quiet with only the little green haired lolia humming slowly.
The library had lots of space, but only a tiny fraction had been filled.
While Petra was busy writing, Mell suddenly came to find her.
Petra looked up and looked at her cutly, blinking a few times.
"There's been a change in the forest. A lot of people have come."
Petras' interest was piqued.
She clapped the book shut and jumped down. "Do you know who it is?"
Mell shook her head. "There's a group of around 200 people."
Petra nodded. Her mind turned to the connection with the ant queen. After a moment, information about this group of people appeared in her mind.
"Oh? People from the Sky Tower?"
"Hmm! Elena's with them!"
"What a big lineup! Two great mages, four mages, and over 180 apprentices! Just what have these troublesome guys come to the forest to do?"
Petra looked at Mell. "Keep an eye on them."
Mell nodded, about to leave.
"Also! We should have a little over a week until the green tide comes. Make sure the stockpile of food is enough!" Petra licked her lips, thinking back to the spicy beef stew from earlier.
Mell departed, leaving Petra alone in the library.
"Hmm. Is it time to see big sister again? Hmm, maybe it's time to invite her to stay the night~"
Petra smiled like a child.
She had not seen Elena for over a year.
Their reunion wouldn't be far away.