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The bite of unforgiving wood and the creeping chill of the unnatural fog left Clarissa mourning the loss of her carriages back home. She took a moment to shake out the ache once she’d disembarked and rubbed her hands together despite the gloves. Clarissa and the cold held each other in equal contempt and neither were pleased at the intrusion of the other, if the vindictive way the ever present chill clawed its way down to the bone was anything to go by. Clarissa clicked her tongue irritably as she was wont to do in displeasing situations as she attempted to gain some meager understanding of the town around them.

Despite her claims otherwise, fear was an emotion Clarissa was well acquainted with. Its chokehold had cost her two years of her life, buried beneath the once insurmountable weight of her bloodline. So she was quite sure the quickening of her pulse and the faint tremble in her fingers wasn’t fear. A twinge of concern, sure. After all, her closest friend and staunchest ally was off galavanting elsewhere beyond her magic’s help but if anyone would make it out of an impossible situation, she knew it would be Jorah. Still, she bowed her head briefly and offered up a prayer, that Jorah’s arrows would fly true and his steps would carry him safely back to them, unharmed and unburdened by the weight of his gifts. 

No, what quivered in her fingers and boiled in her blood was [i]anger[/i]; righteous and white hot at the obvious bait laid out before them. Their numbers cut, their vision questionable, and their intel even worse, the only thing Clarissa was certain of was that the battle was already decided. The Goddess was on their side and thus, the only ending to this trap was victory. [color=FF650E]“Rudolf, let’s apply your analysis into something a tad more productive than questioning the orders of our Professors. The one thing you can trust is their politics‒the massacre of their students would likely obliterate the institution’s reputation, especially since they’d be crippling the future of all three nations in a single blow.”[/color] Clarissa couldn’t remember the last time she’d thought about the quiet boy but she couldn’t help rolling her eyes at his whining. They were here to learn, to improve, and to help, not whine and protest an inescapable situation. 

[color=FF650E] “Furthermore, the Goddess smiles on us and us alone here. It is we who will carry Her light into this Darkness and with Her radiance in hand, emerge triumphant. Every choice and every decision has brought you here beneath Her gaze. None of us have failed Her before and no amount of heresy shall mark this as our beginning. Stiffen your spines and hold up your chins. It is we who carry Deliverance this day. Through whatever horrors may await us in this mists, we shall emerge victorious in spite of them!”[/color] Determination radiated off her in waves as she spoke, her voice carrying into the mist.