The Ride West

Chapter Four

Having woken the King's Son and speaking with his Minister, Eulanthe had left the Border Mountains far behind, out of sight below the horizon as she traveled to Maròske with the donkey. "I think my legs are good and stretched," Said the donkey. "Maròske is close by, isn't it?"

Eulanthe unrolled the map and held it out where the donkey could see it. "We just came from the edge of the Wild Lands on the right, and... oh, the marsh is way over there. Is Maròske that big city in the West? Probably. Well, if it is, it's very far."

"'Probably'?"

"Don't worry, donkey. We'll get there."

Eulanthe wanted to travel to Maròske directly, going in a straight line much in the same way as the aérylle had done. There were some towns and villages along the way, but even those were a bit off the path that she had seen grow wild again, and she didn't want to get all turned around and completely lost trying to find one.

But, unfortunately, that is precisely what happened. In trying to follow the general lay of the land she saw on the map, Eulanthe left the heathlands and plains behind. Instead of the forest and river she had passed through, she found that the grass grew sparser, and the ground dry and dusty. "Are you sure this is the way?" Asked the donkey. "This looks like a desert."

"I- I should check the map," Eulanthe answered nervously. She pulled out the map to check it, and grimaced. The only thing that looked like a desert on the map was well North of where she'd intended to go, and trying to get back on a straight line would take them right through it. "Well, if we're going to Maròske, this is the way we're going." Eulanthe changed directions, but she grew even more discouraged and nervous as the desert opened up and became sandy. "I need a way," She whispered to herself, looking at the King's Minister's ring. Eulanthe raised her voice. "The King's Minister and his Son are coming back to Maròske, and they need a way!" Sighing, she rolled up the map and put it away, and continued on.

Hearing Eulanthe say this, the donkey felt glum and thought for sure they were lost. He didn't want to be walking on sand for so long, and then, he noticed he wasn't: he saw that it was sandstone and not sand beneath his feet, forming a wide road of bricks. "We aren't lost after all!" He said, doing a happy little jump and prancing ahead. Slowly, Eulanthe began to notice the change, and how the road wound ahead of them through the desert. Along the way she also noticed her hunger, and got the small bag of psomídi out from the pack. The psomídi were flat disks that could fit in her palm, and were white like coriander seeds. They were crunchy but not too hard, and tasted very simple and wholesome. They gave her a new strength to keep going, and Eulanthe and the donkey's spirits were high as they continued through the desert.

In the same way that Eulanthe found herself in a desert she now was leaving it. There were more bushes and grass, and in the distance she could see trees. Checking the map, a small mountain range was the next landmark along the way, lying out of sight across the horizon. Though their way was no longer paved, there seemed to be a narrow animal's trail through the undergrowth, and they followed it. It went around and past the small groups of trees, taking them through a plain with tall grass. Eulanthe felt a longing in her heart to see the mountains. The Border Mountains had felt like an unfriendly obstacle up close, and not like an older sibling to climb on the back of.

So, passing through the plains, they came to the lowlands, where Eulanthe felt she could almost smell the trees on the breeze. The mountains had started to peek up playfully from beyond the horizon, and Eulanthe gave the donkey a quick hug before picking up her pace, jogging off to them. She sang along the way, a song coming from somewhere in her karòn:

"Mountain high, mountain strong,

Stands over my home.

Safe beneath, its shadow

Reaches to the valley low..."

Eulanthe kept on singing, until when she was close to them, her song echoed quietly off of the mountains. They seemed inviting, like a good home. She bounded up the highlands and onto the lower slopes before pausing to catch her breath and check the map again. "Are we lost again?" The donkey asked.

"No! These are the mountains here," Eulanthe said, pointing them out on the map for the donkey. "But they're so big and wild..." She remembered the walk through the desert, and wondered if something as beautiful and grand as the mountains would listen to her. "The King's Son is awake now!" She shouted to the mountains."I'm on my way to Maròske, and him and the King's Minister and my friend Justice are following behind me. We need a path to go on," Eulanthe shared her memory of meeting Manelvras, and of the King's Minister entrusting her with his ring. She opened her eyes and looked up, and a rock sticking out behind a bush in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She stepped over, and saw a flat stone; there was another just above it, and then more and more of them until Eulanthe realized the mountain had given them a staircase. She turned around to smile at the donkey, and continued climbing.

It was a happy trek on the path over the mountain: the air was clean and invigorating, and the sun was bright and cheerful. Eulanthe stopped to shade her eyes and look down the mountainside. The highlands on this side of the mountain were very rocky, and there were fewer trees and shrubs growing. Suddenly she heard a loud sound like a bird of prey's cry, but deep and raspy. "Dragon!" The donkey brayed, scrambling ahead of Eulanthe on the path. She followed behind him, stumbling slightly as the donkey ran into a cave, but dashing in when she recovered.

There were two people already inside! One was a boy with ruddy cheeks and messy red hair, sleeping soundly on a rug; the other was dark, with wise and cheerful eyes, and short hair that was also dark- and she realized that they also had wings on their back: brown and with red stripes along the middle, and white tips. "Did old Oròsavel scare you?" They asked with a chuckle. "He may seem fierce, but he means well. He just didn't recognize you."

"I'm sure he recognized that I'm tasty," Said the donkey.

"Oh, you'll be fine. Dragons are very protective and don't like intruders, but Oròsavel is a friend who only wants to help keep the mountain safe for my charge, Ägidhardt here."

"We won't wake him up being in here, will we?" Eulanthe asked quietly. Ägidhardt hadn't moved a bit, but she wasn't entirely sure.

"No, it's not his time to wake yet."

"Oh! Um, speaking of time to wake, the King's Son is returning from the Wild Lands, and his Minister is coming with him too," Eulanthe said, showing the Minister's ring to Ägidhardt's guardian. She could see a deep serenity and singing in their próchi, and they smiled and looked into her eyes.

"So the war has been won?" Asked Ägidhardt's guardian. "The Traitor repelled, and the lands reclaimed?" Eulanthe nodded, and they gave her and the donkey a warm hug. "Ah, I wish I could fly to Maròske and spread the news."

"You know, we're headed there," Said the donkey.

"Who should we tell?" Eulanthe asked. "I've never been there before."

"Tell everyone!" Ägidhardt's guardian said, smiling wide. "But perhaps first you could meet one of my siblings, Fortitude, who oversees the King's Somniary in Maròske, and tell them. It's the blue building in the middle of the city- quite easy to find."

Relieved, Eulanthe smiled. There was still a long way to go, but now she felt as if the finish of her journey was in sight.