The White Death
They come from the forest with pale eyes and bleached fur, hunting with intelligence that shouldn't exist in beasts. The infected animals—collectively called "the Frost-touched" or simply "the White Death"—are Silverwick's greatest threat beyond winter itself.
Frost-Walkers. Frost-Shields. Frost-Stalkers. And in legend, the dreaded Frost-Titans.
They are not natural. Everyone agrees on that much. But what they are, and where the corruption truly comes from, remains a source of bitter debate and fearful speculation.
The Four Types
Frost-Walkers (Infected Dire Wolves): The most common threat. Infected wolves hunt in coordinated packs with disturbing intelligence far beyond normal wolf behavior. They test the walls systematically, probe for weaknesses, communicate through methods that shouldn't be possible. These aren't just smart wolves—they're wolves that think like tacticians, that plan, that understand human defenses.
During attacks, they've been observed using diversionary tactics, coordinated strikes on multiple points, and even apparent retreat-and-ambush strategies. Huntmaster Varak, before his recent troubles, called them "wolves that hunt like soldiers."
Frost-Shields (Infected Bears): Massive juggernauts with fur that deflects weapons like iron plate. Arrows bounce off. Spears skitter aside. Even Red Iron blades struggle to penetrate their hide. They're called "Shields" because their very body has become armor. Thankfully rare, but a Frost-Shield attack on a settlement is catastrophic. They can tear through wooden walls, shrug off fire, and kill dozens before being brought down—if they're brought down at all.
Frost-Stalkers (Infected Saber-Tooth Cats): The most feared. Solitary ambush predators that move with supernatural silence. No sound of paws on snow. No breath clouds in cold air. No scent for dogs to detect. Their pale blue eyes are often the last thing travelers see. Fast, deadly, and intelligent enough to work simple latches on doors and gates. Stories tell of Frost-Stalkers that waited hours in perfect stillness for prey to become vulnerable.
Frost-Titans (Infected Mammoths): Spoken of in hushed tones, more legend than threat. The last confirmed Frost-Titan attacked Silverwick sixty years ago. It took three days, two dozen dead, and coordinated efforts with fire and Red Iron spears to bring it down. The rebuilt section of southern wall still bears scars. Unstoppable, catastrophic, mercifully rare. Old hunters say the Titans appear once per generation, if that. Some believe they're myth. Those who remember say otherwise.
Signs of Infection
The transformation follows observable patterns:
Stage One - The Eyes: Always begins here. Eyes pale to frost-blue, almost glowing in darkness. The animal becomes disoriented, aggressive, or eerily calm. Pack animals often abandon their packs. Solitary creatures seek others of their kind.
Stage Two - Behavioral Change: Intelligence increases dramatically. Animals exhibit problem-solving ability, planning, patience. A bear that normally charges might circle, testing, waiting. Wolves hunt with military precision.
Stage Three - Physical Transformation: Fur bleaches white regardless of original color. Body grows larger, stronger. Features sharpen or distort. Frost seems to cling to them perpetually—snow doesn't melt on their fur even near fire. The changes take days to weeks.
Stage Four - Complete Transformation: The animal is no longer what it was. Larger, stronger, intelligent, and somehow connected to others of its kind. Frost-Walkers in particular demonstrate uncanny coordination even across distances.
How It Spreads
The infection can spread through bites, though not consistently. An animal bitten by a Frost-Walker might:
Die from wounds (most common)
Survive but show no infection (less common)
Begin transforming within days (rare but devastating)
This unpredictability makes every encounter with infected animals terrifying. You can't know if wounded livestock or an injured hunting dog will turn.
Silverwick's policy is brutal but necessary: any animal bitten by infected creatures is killed immediately and burned. The Watch doesn't take chances. Better to lose a valuable sled dog than risk it transforming inside the walls.
Some hunters report that animals drawn toward the deep forest—those that venture too close to certain places—return changed even without being bitten. As if proximity alone can cause infection. The Tithe-Keepers confirm this but won't elaborate on where or why.
Theories on Origin
The town argues constantly about what causes the infection:
The Forest Theory (Most Common): Something in the deep forest—particularly near the Thornheart Grove—corrupts animals. Maybe ancient magic, maybe a curse, maybe something that predates The Longest Night. The entity that accepts the Midwinter Tithe is somehow involved, though whether it causes the infection or merely controls it is debated.
The Longest Night Theory: The infection appeared after The Longest Night, like so many other changes. Perhaps the endless winter itself creates these creatures. Perhaps they're natural adaptations taken too far. Perhaps something woke during that darkness that now corrupts what it touches.
The Spirit Theory: Popular among the Solstice Faithful. Father Solace suggests malevolent spirits possess animals, transforming them. The pale eyes are the spirit looking out. The intelligence is the spirit's, not the animal's. But this doesn't explain why burning the bodies seems important, or why proximity to certain places matters.
The Disease Theory: The practical view held by many in the Craft Guild. It's a disease, albeit a strange one. Diseases mutate, diseases spread. The supernatural aspects are fear and superstition. But this theory struggles to explain the coordination between Frost-Walkers, or why the infection seems tied to specific locations.
The Magic Theory: Whispered by those who've studied Glimmers. What if the infection is related to magic somehow? The transformation looks almost like... something trying to manifest. Like a twisted reflection of how humans develop Glimmers. But this theory is unpopular because of its implications.
No one knows for certain. The entity in the Grove doesn't explain. The Tithe-Keepers won't elaborate. The infected animals tell no tales.
Control and Command
The most disturbing aspect: the infected animals seem directed.
When the Midwinter Tithe is paid, Frost-Walkers avoid Silverwick's walls. Not because they're afraid—they clearly aren't—but as if obeying orders. When the tithe is late, they gather with purpose. When payment has been refused historically, they've attacked with coordinated precision impossible for mindless beasts.
Something commands them. Something holds them in check most of the time. And the tithe is payment for that restraint.
This terrifies people more than the creatures themselves. Monsters are one thing. Monsters with a master are another.
Can Humans Be Infected?
The question everyone thinks but few speak aloud.
Officially: No. The Guild of Frost, the Solstice Faithful, and the Tithe-Keepers all maintain that humans are protected. The infection affects beasts, not people. Whether by divine grace, strength of will, or fundamental differences in human nature, people cannot become Frost-infected.
Unofficially: No one is completely certain.
There are no recorded cases of human infection. But there are also no recorded cases of anyone bitten by a Frost-Walker and surviving long enough to find out. The Watch's policy of immediate mercy killing makes data collection... difficult.
Some note that the Tithe-Keepers return from the Grove changed—not physically, but mentally, spiritually. They age faster. They withdraw. They have nightmares. Is that infection? Proximity effect? Simply trauma?
And there's the uncomfortable fact that animals with the infection become more intelligent. If intelligence protects humans, why does the infection grant intelligence to beasts?
The official answer: "Humans are different. We have souls. We're protected."
The answer people don't say aloud: "We hope we're protected. We pray we're different. But we don't actually know."
Recent Concerns
Elder Maren and Grandmother Sile have both noted troubling patterns:
More animals showing early-stage infection than previous years
Infected creatures ranging farther from the deep forest
Normal animals exhibiting "too-intelligent" behavior even before visible infection
Tracks in snow that appear normal but feel wrong to experienced hunters
Some dismiss this as seasonal variation. Others worry the corruption is spreading, growing stronger, reaching farther than it used to.
Huntmaster Varak's recent encounter—where he claims wolves demonstrated impossible intelligence, coordination beyond any normal pack—supports this concern. But Varak has been... unreliable lately. Drinking. Jumping at shadows. His testimony is suspect.
Still. Others have noticed it too. The Watch reports more Frost-Walker sightings. Merchant Caldor's caravan was attacked by wolves exhibiting tactical precision. And the timing is notable—this increase coincides with growing debate over the Midwinter Tithe.
Coincidence? Warning? No one knows.
But the White Death feels closer this year than it has in living memory.