The Change of the Seasons: The Long Sweat

Chapter 1
Overture

Chapter Description: Overture

This is a fantasy grounded in reality.

On an initial look at the town of New Springs, one would be forgiven for thinking the serene little valley town was just like was like any other American suburb. But this is a transformation story, so you probably know that this isn’t your usual middle-class town. Though to be fair, the average resident of New Springs and Old Lake County at large can expect to live a long and monotonous existence filled with everyday drudgeries. Exploring their thoughts, you’d hear all the usual things:

If only things were different.

If only…

And unlike the change of the seasons, nothing usually comes from these daydreams. The only change those denied can expect is the slow and steady transformation known as aging. But New Springs has considerable influence over those who live within Old Lake Valley; it has the desire, and the will to change those it chooses forever anew. Since well before its founding by American settlers, New Springs has determined the proper role of its occupants; reigning absolutely over plants, animals, and humans enclosed within its mountainous walls. With every change of the season, things that are out of place are made right. Even in a modern world of globalization and continuous technological advancement, this process continues.

Consider two males, one James Medlock and one Jonathan Medlock. They are brothers; the former is a young adult, stepping foolishly backward from the future, while the latter is an older child, striding blindly forward towards it. Such is the change of the seasons, we know of their coming and yet we are always forever altered in their wake. It is the transition that matters, the reaction to the onset of the season that ultimately determines where we end up. Please, enjoy the season of salty sweat, cool water, and the ever burning sun.