JACK FROST’S MANY HOMES were scattered evenly across Earth, all of them inside the hollows of large trees. Each was the offspring of Big Root, and these “children” of Big Root were often the oldest tree in the forest where they grew. They had all been planted soon after Bright Night by Twiner. Twiner himself came from a willow called Warrior’s Willow, which stood on ancient Viking burial grounds. From its branches Viking warriors and hunters fashioned the strongest and most flexible bows, staffs, and arrows. The warrior dead were buried among the willow’s roots, and each limb was said to have the spirit of a warrior within its heartwood. This spirit could help the person who wielded it, but only if that person were brave and true of heart. Jack’s staff was his friend, his comrade, his protector. It would alert him to danger. It could focus Jack’s power to speak to the wind and learn the language of leaves.