Cold rain poured down on Ashlynn, pattering off the wide brim of her sturdy War Hat before running down to splatter against the metal of her chain armor. The thick gambeson she wore underneath the coat of mail kept the water from reaching her skin, but even the layers of tightly woven fabric could do nothing to warm her shivering soul.
She didn't know how long she'd been moving through the forest, only that the sun had set a number of hours ago and she had moved beyond the walls of the Vale of Mists as she headed in the direction of Lothian March, drawing closer to it than she had been in more than half a year since her infiltration of the Summer Villa.
Her eyes barely noticed the forest around her while her mind sank deep into contemplation, replaying years of conversations and shared moments with her sister as though they were the tails of an instrument of penance that she used to savagely beat her own soul.
