The dawn broke with a cold, pale light, casting long shadows across the valley where they had camped. The air was heavy with anticipation, each breath laced with the sharp bite of impending winter. As the group packed up their camp, there was a solemnity to their movements, an unspoken understanding that the day ahead would mark the beginning of their true test.
Elara stood at the edge of the camp, her gaze fixed on the northern horizon. The land seemed to stretch endlessly before them, a desolate expanse of rocky terrain and sparse, withered vegetation. Somewhere out there, beyond the visible world, lay the source of the unease that had been growing within her since they set out on this journey. Today, they would begin their final approach.