Synopsis: Guardians of Winter --- "Surviving isn't the same as being whole. But it’s a start." --- In freezing Dendrin—a country ruled by the iron fist of Premier Vasken Dorin—survival is an art few master. The protagonist, a decorated soldier whose name is never revealed, returns to active duty after a long winter spent recovering from a near-fatal injury sustained at the northern border. Scarred in body yet haunted by memories of what he endured, he is assigned what should be a simple mission: serving as bodyguard to Asha Virek, an administrator in the small town of Tidenden. But nothing in Dendrin is simple. Asha Virek is being threatened. Anonymous letters, filled with intimate details about her life, regularly arrive at her office. Local police investigated but found nothing. The army was called in, and our protagonist was dispatched. Yet the truth runs deeper—and is far more dangerous. The threats aren't about Asha’s work; they are about who she is. In Dendrin, homosexuali