Broken Glass - Taekook

50

In the middle of the tenth day of travel through the Yarolian Plains, the smudged dark edge of vegetation emerges on the horizon: the Imbaka Forest. Bolstered by the idea of cooler shade, a moment away from the baking heat of the sun, we push on. It's not easy, still, but the determination to continue has strengthened. By the time the sun disappears behind us, we know that it only take a few hours tomorrow before we're under the cover of trees once more. 

One more day, and we'll be out of the savannah, back in relatively familiar territory. 

That night, the clouds seem to clear completely. The sky seems more peppered with stars than usual, the moon brighter than I've seen it become in a long time. This pale silver disc of light gazes down at the world around us, painting the entire world in its reflective glow. As we huddle under the cart for warmth, there's a sense of anticipation, as well as relief at the idea that our journey through the savannah is nearly over.

But it's not quite that simple. 

Crossing back over into the territory of a tyrant king has its own challenges. My friends will be forced to hide their abilities to survive once more, so that they can stay out of sight. And I will have to learn how to do that too, now that I've been granted the privilege of a connection to the golden river. I'm yet another element that we have to take into consideration, as we continue our travels. That's something I hadn't expected to have to deal with, especially at this point in our journey across the kingdom. I never expected to be able to tap into that energy flow, especially not this early on. 

In the savannah, we're free to talk about whatever we want, even though most of the time we'd rather stay silent in order to keep our strength. Once we pass into the forest, we'll be risking the fury of the king again, and there's the possibility of being watched or overheard at any given time. I still don't fully know what the Karulian Knights are capable of. 

We've researched them, and we understand them a little more than we used to, but that doesn't mean we understand them completely. It doesn't mean that we can slack, and assume that we're safe when we might not be. 

In some ways, the open plains are safer than the enclosed forests and valleys, the mountains and moors. Out here, the influence of a mad and cruel ruler is no longer felt, as he doesn't have as much control. Rather, we're watched over and protected by a faerie queen who's lived for longer than we could possibly imagine. We're guarded by the golden river itself, in the form of the golden sphinx, the energy that flows under the ground. 

But we rest, and the morning comes, as always. Jimin hitches the horse back up to the cart, runs a hand over her back, and we begin to move again, breaching the edge of the trees by the middle of the morning. 

The Imbaka Forest is much smaller than the Rymateri, which snakes around an entire range of mountains. This place doesn't have the same power as the Rymateri, either, but it still acts as a marker for the boundary between two worlds. A river runs through the centre, acting as the true divide between Arlayna's territory and the king's. 

We plan to spend a day or two by the river, to allow Yoongi to increase our stocks, and so that I can learn to better control the abilities I've been granted. If I truly do have new abilities, that is. Once that is done, if the time is right, we'll find a place to cross over the river, and continue heading east, until we reach the end of the Imbaka Forest. Past that point, things will get a little more difficult, since we will start to see Eithyr's villages and towns.

It's going to be difficult, to readjust, I can already tell And there's something almost ominous about it, the fact that we're inevitably going to run into dangerous individuals again. That we're going to see evidence of Karulian magic, of the land being corrupted by those who use the 'blood river' instead of the golden river. But we've been in that area once before, and we can certainly do it again. We can find a way to cope, and a way to stomach any atrocities we notice along the way.