Revisted this to listen again and I realized I forgot to leave a comment D:
I love these types of soundtracks! Heavily reminds me of my early FFIV days and I think you nailed it as a whole OST. You replicated the feeling of "cold/bitterness" pretty well with your sound choices and instrumentation (esp. marimba arrangement). I personally would've used drones like LABS Frozen Strings, but that's mostly due to my laziness (and because it says frozen). The whole OST feels really thought out in all categories, really enjoyed how your arrangements followed a thought-out narrative in all of the tracks.
Favorite track has to be Shades on the Trail, I love how upbeat it is and the you arranged the strings fits very splendidly! Really enjoyed this entry!