Snow falls over the ashes of what was once sanctuary. Brannigan and the boy make their way south through a dying forest—hunted, starving, and guided only by the last words of a friend who believed in stories more than survival. Behind them, the world that sheltered them burns; ahead, a city still smolders with unfinished wars. In the shadows of Fabletown, a revolution takes shape while old wounds begin to harden into destiny. This chapter traces the quiet defiance of those who keep walking when there’s nowhere left to go—and the origins of a girl who turned fear into fire.