Dawn's Light

Chapter 31

Celia glanced at Xan and Irin as she and Verbena followed them out of the subterranean complex. After resting for a few nights in the caves, all four of them were all well rested and ready to take on the rest of the journey.

Celia glanced around the horizon, as she had not paid much attention to the landscapes around the island when they first arrived. As she looked eastward, white dominated the land, but when she looked towards the west, she jumped a bit at the sight of a mass of black fog not far from the island. "What is that?!" Celia gasped.

Xan blinked and looked to Celia, then followed her gaze, "oh, that is just the edge of the world." Unlike Celia, Xan did not react to the sight of the black haze that obscured the horizon.

"The end... of the world?" Celia slowly repeated.

'Not the actual end of the world,' Irin rolled his eyes, 'Just the end of Roahla. Supposedly on the other side of the haze is the rest of the planet.'

"If that is the case, why didn't everyone flee there when the light was stolen?" Celia looked to can and Irin.

"You can't," Xan stated with a hint of bitterness in his tone.

'Things like sea dogs and fish can come in, but nothing can exit.' Irin elaborated, 'anyone who enters the darkness from this side blindly flies in a circle until he emerges right back where he started. We tried once to escape, but Roahla is an inescapable trap.' Irin intensely stared at the wall, 'this land is a death trap.'

He swiftly changed the subject, 'the wind is against us, but not as bad as it was in the Ulven lands,' Irin stated. 'We should be able to pick up the edges of the storm winds if we ascend high enough. If they are not currently northbound tailwinds, crosswinds may be better than a headwind depending on the angle.'

"We should head northeast until we find land, then head due north," Celia suggested as she clutched her compass in her gloved hands. "that way we will not have to worry about not having a place to land." She glanced to the northeast, then slipped the compass back into its proper place and secured the precious directional guide into Verbena's saddlebags.

Verbena nodded in understanding as she adjusted her wings and began to increase in altitude. "No use stalling anymore, let's go." Both dragons rose the sky and headed northeast to continue the quest all members vowed to finish.

For a long while, only the fragmented and refrozen sea ice sat below them, but eventually, the smooth outline of snow-covered land appeared in the distance. Verbena released a slight sigh of relief at the sight of land, as she was worried of having to land on the jagged field of sharp fragments of ice.

Celia surveyed the land below as it receded and the snow-covered landmarks became even more indistinguishable from each other. Even if she wanted to, Celia could never see her home mountain. Not even a creature with the keenest of sight could see the mountain in the distance Celia and Verbena had traveled.

As she stared into the east, she noticed a strange glimmer in the distance atop one of the mountains. "What is that?" Celia blinked as she studied the glowing in the distance. "Could that be Urre?" She paused, then frowned a bit, "but it is still night right now, our ray of light is not glowing at this time.'

Verbena glanced at the same glimmer, 'that is suspicious,' she agreed. 'What could that be?' She turned her attention to Irin, 'Irin, do you have any idea what that light over there is?'

'hmm?' Irin shifted his focus to Verbena, then to the glimmer in the distance. The male dragon telepathically spoke into Celia's mind since Xan's actual voice had little chance of being heard over the winds. 'That is the temple on top of Mount Jara. It has magical spheres of light, and that is the light you are seeing.