14th of Saun, 716.
Above and all around Nir'wei, there was nothing. Blue sky unblemished by clouds, a hot white sun hanging high in the sky directly in front of him, bathing his body in intense heat that would have boiled any other man, yet only filled his own with a pleasant tingling the likes of which he never wanted to lose. Wind buffered his face, a cool yet dry breeze that brushed strands of hair from his face and brought it whipping down against the backs of his shoulderblades. For as far as his eyes could see there was nothing but sky and horizon... it was only until he looked down, could he see a familiar coast surrounded by dark blue waters.
He was flying high above Rynmere. There was no mistaking the shape, even from such a radical new angle. As the Jacadon between his legs bent wing and swooped lower, he could even make out its capital, Andaris. Strange, how although he couldn't make out the individual people from such a great height, the specks seemed to almost merge together into a blur of activity running through the tiny streets, like blood through branching capillaries. From so high, it was so easy to forget about the individual niggling problems that could pop up here and there... and just sit back and enjoy the general life-force of such a bustling city. Not even a city, an empire. Further back, along the rest of the island, he could make out the distant blotches of the other regions and their respective forts. Although he couldn't pick out the forests individually through any known landmarks, their relative geography meant he could tell which was which as they dipped lower still, swooping down almost until he swore the Jacadon was going to land... and then, at the last moment, it pulled back up again and with a sparse few wing-beats they were ascending again, back into the heavens.
He wasn't actually controlling the Jacadon - which was admittedly comparable to a great bear in size, if not larger - he was just along for the ride, watching as they dipped and climbed with the changing slipstreams and currents high in the air. Watching the islands and oceans pass along by underneath, blotches of green and brown breaking up the endless cycles of sky- and ocean-blue. There was definitely a destination in mind, though - the air was becoming hotter, trees and forests more sparse, green replaced over time with... yellow sand. Nir'wei tried to lean over a little farther and get a closer look. Then the Jacadon tipped over. It wasn't just a regular tip this time, he could feel the beast rolling over upside-down and his grip around its sinuous neck faltering. Then he was falling.
And a trill later, he landed. Wait, they'd not been that close to the ground, surely?
Where was he, anyway? When he turned back to search for the Jacadon, there wasn't any sign of it in the empty sky. As if it'd never existed. Instead of open sky and ocean, there was nothing but bleached sand. Were these the Hotlands he'd heard so much about?
Above and all around Nir'wei, there was nothing. Blue sky unblemished by clouds, a hot white sun hanging high in the sky directly in front of him, bathing his body in intense heat that would have boiled any other man, yet only filled his own with a pleasant tingling the likes of which he never wanted to lose. Wind buffered his face, a cool yet dry breeze that brushed strands of hair from his face and brought it whipping down against the backs of his shoulderblades. For as far as his eyes could see there was nothing but sky and horizon... it was only until he looked down, could he see a familiar coast surrounded by dark blue waters.
He was flying high above Rynmere. There was no mistaking the shape, even from such a radical new angle. As the Jacadon between his legs bent wing and swooped lower, he could even make out its capital, Andaris. Strange, how although he couldn't make out the individual people from such a great height, the specks seemed to almost merge together into a blur of activity running through the tiny streets, like blood through branching capillaries. From so high, it was so easy to forget about the individual niggling problems that could pop up here and there... and just sit back and enjoy the general life-force of such a bustling city. Not even a city, an empire. Further back, along the rest of the island, he could make out the distant blotches of the other regions and their respective forts. Although he couldn't pick out the forests individually through any known landmarks, their relative geography meant he could tell which was which as they dipped lower still, swooping down almost until he swore the Jacadon was going to land... and then, at the last moment, it pulled back up again and with a sparse few wing-beats they were ascending again, back into the heavens.
He wasn't actually controlling the Jacadon - which was admittedly comparable to a great bear in size, if not larger - he was just along for the ride, watching as they dipped and climbed with the changing slipstreams and currents high in the air. Watching the islands and oceans pass along by underneath, blotches of green and brown breaking up the endless cycles of sky- and ocean-blue. There was definitely a destination in mind, though - the air was becoming hotter, trees and forests more sparse, green replaced over time with... yellow sand. Nir'wei tried to lean over a little farther and get a closer look. Then the Jacadon tipped over. It wasn't just a regular tip this time, he could feel the beast rolling over upside-down and his grip around its sinuous neck faltering. Then he was falling.
And a trill later, he landed. Wait, they'd not been that close to the ground, surely?
Where was he, anyway? When he turned back to search for the Jacadon, there wasn't any sign of it in the empty sky. As if it'd never existed. Instead of open sky and ocean, there was nothing but bleached sand. Were these the Hotlands he'd heard so much about?