The wind howled like a living thing, tearing at Emily's cloak as she trudged through the snow-covered landscape. Each step felt heavier than the last, the weight of their mission pressing down on her shoulders. The journey had only just begun, but already, the frozen north was proving to be as merciless as the elders had warned. The land was a stark, icy wasteland, with jagged mountains rising in the distance like the teeth of some ancient beast. The sky above them was a swirling mass of dark clouds, and though the sun hung low on the horizon, it cast no warmth.