Sam stood before his packed gear, the anticipation thrumming through him like a living pulse. The weight of the journey ahead pressed down on him, but it wasn't a burden—it was exhilarating. The study, which had been his refuge for so long, felt smaller now, as if the walls themselves were urging him to leave and face the challenges beyond. The Valley of Convergence—his destination—loomed in his thoughts, a place of both allure and danger, described in various texts with such vivid yet contradictory imagery that it was difficult to separate truth from myth.