Her mouth felt dry as the third stage waited to begin. She would later note that it was like leaping into a pile of snow; even if you were resolved to do it, the expectation of the shock and cold could still make you hesitate just before the jump - because that was the last point you could change your mind. Steeling herself, focused on her excitement and achievement, she pressed on. The coal in its brazier began to glow an unusual shade of greenish-purple and started to dissolve into smoke without first burning, its dust swept up along the current of mana through the ring. The wine glimmered, shining gold and white beneath its surface. Soft snaps and pops came from the bowl of roots as they gradually dried and withered. The glow of the circle shifted from the orange-gold of her native aura into a dark shade of octarine, and began to roil.