Hours had passed since they had last stopped for a break and now it was midafternoon. Rowan had noticed that they had made a steady decent, leaving all signs of the forest behind. She wondered how far away from home she was as the Venetian forest had been the furthest she had ever voyaged. This was the third day of steady traveling westward, and she assumed that if they didn't stop soon that she would arrive on the coast. The air had become different, almost thicker, and Rowan wondered just how far away from her home they would go.
She had heard tales of a large body of water, once called the Pacific Ocean, was located somewhere out west. Her mother had told her the water that crashed onto its rocky coast was salt and cold. Queen Lana knew this because her mother, the previous queen, had attended a Skabelse located there once and had written down every detail next to her sketches of the sea. Rowan's mother had also told her about the many animals that flourished in the waters and this fish were very different than the ones they would catch in the fresh water ponds and streams.
As Rowan sat back and wondered where they were going, it was then that she knew she had her answer as she looked down at her coat made of sealskin. It had easily reflected the rain the previous day and had managed to keep her toasty in the low temperatures. All of these attributes told her that the animal must have lived in water...cold water.
Another hour passed and the only thing that changed was the scenery. After they had left the forest, trees changed into grassy plains, and grassy plains changed into small hills. But now instead of hills there was nothing but ruin. Large buildings that were once immaculate were now toppled over, leaving colossal concrete blocks and steel beams jutting out of the ground. It wasn't uncommon to see ruins from the previous world scattered about. Even the Glade had been built around the empty shells and skeletons of a small city. But these ruins stretched for miles and miles and Rowan knew that this was probably one of the largest metropolises in the entire west. She racked her brain as she tried to remember what she had learned in her history class a few years ago. One of the topics was old cities that had been located in North America. The only two she could think of being located near the west coast was Los Angeles and Seattle. Seeing that they had yet to ride north, she assumed that the remnants that surrounded her was the former.
It took them a while to navigate through the destruction, but soon the smell of salt filled the air and in the distance she could see the large blue ocean. "Bjorn, look!" Rowan exclaimed in awe. She didn't know if he was already staring at the deep blue sea before them, but she didn't want him to miss the sight of its vastness from afar.
Bjorn had nodded off and jerked his head up, and looked around frantically. As he looked for any signs of a threat, something blue caught his eye. When he realized that it an ocean he froze. Never before had he seen a body of water as great as this one. It stretched on for miles and miles as far as his eyes could see and he was sure it went on even more after that.
The men perked up and chattered jubilantly as they would soon enter the Brotherhood's fortress. Kacper could see their beacon in the distance and knew he would reach the gates just before nightfall.
As the small caravan slowly descended, the glorious sight came out of view and Bjorn grew disappointed, for he could look at it for hours and never become tired. It was beautiful, that was for sure, but not as beautiful as a silver-haired woman I know. That was a sight he knew he could look at for days, even years, without growing bored of, and he hoped that he would be able to look upon her face the rest of his days.
As Bjorn pondered the possibilities of their future if they made it out alive, Rowan only thought about what the next few hours would hold for them as a large fortress came into view. She could see a large stronghold had been built from stone, and surrounding were tall trees that had sharp points carved at one end while the either was stuck in the ground. She studied the stone stronghold, noticing that it had recently been built within the last twenty years or so as the concrete looked relatively new.
Dusk was on the horizon just as Kacper reached the massive wooden gate that was guarded by two men, clad in leather armor.
Bjorn and Rowan both watched as Kacper spoke to the guards quietly. Suddenly, all three looked at the two royals and the two armored men smiled. "Open the gate!" the closest one yelled as a retreated to his previous position.
The doors creaked as the slowly opened and Rowan could feel her heart beat quicken as the cart started rolling forwards.
Once they were through the gate, Bjorn could get a better look at the courtyard they now strolled through. Men and woman alike glared at them, some even yelling unknown words. Scattered here and there were blacksmiths as they forged weapons and leather workers who tanned hides to make more armor. He wanted to scoff, for his armor was made up mostly of fine metal with only small amounts of leather.
It looked as if they were preparing to go to war and he wondered who their foes were.
Something caught his eye as he surveyed the fortress; a woman stood high upon a balcony and watched them with an unrecognizable expression. She had long brow hair that was halfway restrained, and even though she stood at least forty feet above him he could tell she was tall. By the amount of guards that's stood behind her, he assumed that this was the infamous Blanche.