Regions like the Kamchatka peninsula provide dramatic backdrops with over 300 volcanoes and diverse fauna, including brown bears and silver foxes.

Spring came as a trickle—ice turning to mud, mud turning to the first brave crocus. Elias found a fawn hidden in the tall grass, still spotted, still wobbly. He backed away slowly. Some things, he had learned, were not meant to be touched. Only witnessed.