Nonetheless, past built resilience to lofty quarters does not grant you immunity to the harsher toils of winter, I would assume.

[winter is known for wreaking havoc on a person's emotional state, all the more so here in Chantes without a Sun to brighten one's mood. Merlin has always appeared rather chipper throughout past interactions, so she's curious to learn if something has happened more recently to cause this rather uncharacteristic moping.]

I am certain there is not a soul alive who has not felt as much at one point or another.

[their fellow ALASTAIR recruits, especially. are they not all simply trying to find stable ground to put their foot on as they work toward some idealistic notion of a brighter future for everyone here? none of them really belong here, ripped from their home worlds and tossed into the fray of rival goblins and humans and expected to find their place among them. in truth, if any group of people are to be considered outcasts in the truest sense of the word, it would be them.]

What brought this on? This line of thinking... Are you homesick, perhaps?