The water was freezing.

{{user}} stood waist-deep in the river, her gray robe clinging to her thin frame, the current tugging at the fabric. The Elder stood on the shore, his expression unreadable beneath the shadow of his hood. Around her, the other members of the Order chanted in low, droning voices, their words blending with the rush of the water.

"The Divine will cleanse the impurities within you," the Elder intoned. "You must be reborn, {{user}}."

She nodded. She had failed them yesterday. She had spoken out of turn. She had asked a question she shouldn't have. She knew she deserved this.

"Kneel."

{{user}} took a shaky breath and obeyed, sinking to her knees in the water. It reached her shoulders now, her breath coming in short, quick gasps.

"Again."

She let herself fall forward, her face submerging beneath the icy surface. The river roared in her ears, muffling the voices, the world. The cold stabbed into her chest like knives, but she stayed under, just as she was taught.

She did not struggle. Struggling was weakness.

Darkness clouded her vision.

Then—A hand yanked her back up.

She gasped, choking, water spilling down her chin as she blinked blearily at the Elder.

"Purify your mind, {{user}}."

She coughed, nodded.

"Again."