Dämmerlicht und Herzeleid

9. The Singing Swamps

After spending another night in the Kingdom of Man, the envoy entered the Nymphal Shores. At first, the forest and meadows didn't look any different from what the companions were used to within the empire. But the closer they drew to the southern sea, the more the land changed.

No other villages or roadside inns greeted them on their path. The nymphs exclusively lived at the shore and though Wooyoung didn't understand that since the east was clad in cliffs that resisted the crushing force of the ocean, Seonghwa told him to be patient and find out.

After their last night among the trees at a self-constructed campsite around a fireplace, they made it far enough south that the vegetation changed.

Half of the Nymphal Shores were fens and swamps, depending on how close to the many lakes and the ocean one travelled. A horse's hooves easily would have got stuck in the soft ground, but their bears threaded cautiously, carrying them across the thin bridges of land. 

Fishes and water-born insects surrounded them. Seonghwa saw more snakes and reptiles than ever before and he was in awe at their shimmering scales and the wingless dragons that slinked around the treetops.

Jongho wasn't so lucky in his exploration of the unfamiliar territory. He got stuck twice upon the first few hours of entering the swamps, and his weighty limbs dragged him into the squelching earth. Both times, they helped him out with a great deal of effort, but he was slow behind them, struggling against the land's draw.

"They must really like you, these swamps," Yeosang chuckled the second time they pulled him free. The golem grumbled about the wet earth and dirt stuck on him, making every step slippery. 

"They can't have me, I'm married," Jongho frowned and when bothered, his crystals learned not to have any colour at all. They were bleak and transparent. Yunho told him humans associated black with being sad or bothered, but Jongho argued black was too soothing of a colour he associated with the night and with Seonghwa, so he settled on using none. 

"Happens all the time. Handsome young lads enticed away from their marriage by the charm of rank fens," Yunho snickered as he helped Jongho brush off some clumps of earth.

"I like mountains more," Jongho stated, matter of fact. 

Before Seonghwa could call them to continue their journey and go back to describing the peculiar territory to Mingi, Hongjoong slipped from his boar. Seonghwa expected him to make a face at ruining his heeled boots on the muddy ground, but his feet never quite got there.

An invisible barrier kept him from touching the treacherous terrain. He floated just barely above the ground, but his long strides moved him still. Awed and jealous, the husbands watched how he joined Jongho's side and contemplated the massive, clumpy and now dirty golem. 

"Definitely not the best location for a journey with a golem," he sighed. Then, with a snap of his fingers, he directed his magic at him. Inquisitive about the feeling it left tingling in the fabric of the rock he was made of, Jongho looked down on himself. 

The crook of Hongjoong's finger lured him towards the sorcerer. 

"Take a step, try it out," he suggested. When Jongho did, he also levitated. Awed, he tried stomping down to meet the ground, but Hongjoong's magic caught him. While he got used to it, Hongjoong slipped back onto his bear, nonchalant about his aid. He pretended not to see Seonghwa's fond smile, studying the prideful tilt of his chin.

They resumed their journey, and Seonghwa caught Mingi up with what Hongjoong did in quiet words. As the golem toddled behind them on his new fancy carpet of magic, Yeosang snickered he could cross the oceans and seas now, and wander wherever he wanted to learn about the entire world.