They climbed the long and dark stairs of the station, and emerged outside. Already, they were cold. They emerged in a valley. To both sides, steep mountains capped in snow blocked the view. Nearby, in front of them, they saw a small village, with houses covered in snow. They hurried.
This was the village of Luwalo, the last village before entering the region of Mawalo. This region was an icy waste, at the north of which resided the Magnacoronae and the forge. They would spend the night in Luwalo to gather snow equipment, then would depart the next day. The people of the town were warm enough to have a conversation with, but most of them were fearful of the Magnacoronae, and they listened to a few tales of Magnacoronae coming to town to steal kids. These tales were dubious at best. Probably stories to get kids to behave.
The waste itself was... well it was cold. Sharp winds flew straight in their faces, carrying small crystals that sticked to their face and hair. If they weren't wearing sunglasses, the white snow and great icy field would have quickly caused snow blindness. And it was also very cold. They had checked multiple times that their clothes were tightly secure, because any small opening would greatly lower their body temperature. If they weren't wearing gloves, their fingers would become blue in a matter of minutes.
The journey was long. They had around ten days of walking before reaching the settlement, and they couldn't go fast. Their movement was greatly restricted by their clothes, and they had to carry a heavy charge. The snow itself was also slowing their progress a lot.
To conserve energy, as they walked, they did not talk. They tried not to think about something else. The subway tunnel had been built to go to the very north, however the tunnel had been obstructed by boulders after an earthquake. They were glad that the waste was mostly flat. If it had been sloped or otherwise, their progress would have been much, much slower.
Thankfully, their travel went smoothly- or, as smoothly as it could have went. They had a bit of trouble with the tent for the first few times, but got the hang of unfolding and folding it. The main problem was simply how tiring it was to travel like that, but they didn't have a choice.
After eleven days, they finally arrived. The Magnacorona's settlement was built in what looked like a small crater. They had dug galleries in the very walls, and in the center a large pile of iron objects stood, capped by snow. Jhin and Melissa were welcomed warmly. They had been expected, it seems. The Magnacoronae went out of their galleries to greet them, and led them to the center of the pile in a small procession.
Then, a familiar voice spoke. "Welcome ! Welcome to our settlement. We are the Magnacorona tribe, indebted to you." It was Kanra who had spoken, the leader of the tribe. Together they went to the pile. The Magnacoronae were preparing a feast, and had brought some vegetables and meat from some of the fallen farm.
During the fest, they asked about the forge. "Ah ! The forge. The forge is a great building. It is just a bit to the west of here. To reactivate it you will have to reactivate three parts. The electrical supply, from the nine great towers that stand tall above the clouds, the fire of the forge, from the deep and tortuous underground tunnels, and the belief of the forge, from the haze of the mystical branch.
"There is no order to these. But you have to do all three. I have no doubt you will succeed ! And know that we are all counting on you !"
Jhin remembered his conversation with the sun. The Magnacorona, along with all the other tribes created by the Argillacreantis, were the first targeted by the sun.