Chapter 204

Winter arrived the way truth often did—without drama, without permission, and impossible to ignore.

Snow closed the high paths first. Then the lower trails. The valley grew quieter, not from fear, but from conservation. Every movement began to matter. Every decision carried weight again—not the old kind, rooted in hierarchy, but the honest kind that came from knowing consequences could not be delegated.

Caleb called fewer meetings.

Instead, people came to him when they ...