The heavy, stifling weight of the bearskin pelt felt like a mountain pressing down on my chest as consciousness slowly bled back into my mind. I opened my eyes, my vivid red irises stinging against the harsh, pale light of dawn filtering through the fabric of the tent. The restless breeze outside whispered through the cracks, carrying the biting, aggressive chill of the high-altitude air. The roaring fire I had kept alive before was now nothing more than a bed of dying, ashen embers, offering no warmth against the relentless cold. My entire body throbbed with a deep, profound soreness that seemed to have settled directly into the marrow of my bones. I shifted weakly on the mattress, the worn, dirt-stained fabric of my dress tangled tightly around my bare thighs. I was entirely alone in the
