After nearly a week of traveling, the group finally began to see signs of habitation ahead....thin trails of smoke rising into the gray sky, flickering orange lights in the distance, and the faint echo of human voices carried by the wind. They had reached the northern settlement, the last pocket of human life before the desolate mountain range began.
The journey there had not been easy. The wind had grown fiercer with each passing day, biting through their cloaks like teeth. Snowstorms had rolled in unexpectedly, forcing them to take brief shelter beneath rocky outcrops while the old guide used his spiritual sense to navigate the path forward. Even with all his experience, the terrain had proven treacherous. More than once, the horses nearly lost their footing on the icy ground, and only the Empress's calm authority kept the group steady and composed.
