(eng) Morgan Rice - Kings and Sorcerers 04 by A Forge of Valor

Author:A Forge of Valor [Valor, A Forge of]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Alec stood at the bow of the ship and stared out into the eerie harbor before them. He watched, transfixed, as they sailed between outcroppings of rock, weaving their way circuitously through the archipelago of the Lost Isles. They passed one abandoned isle after the next, all covered in a shroud of fog and mist. The silence was punctuated only by the sound of exotic creatures leaping from the water and splashing in the mist; Alec rarely caught a glimpse of them, leaving him to wonder just what else was swimming beneath the surface. It only deepened his sense of mystery of this place.

These islands seemed so desolate here at the end of the world, separated from the mainland by thousands of miles of ocean, hidden by a persistent mist. Alec watched in fascination as they passed enormous blue boulders, emerging from the sea like hands reaching for the sky. They passed islands made entirely of seaweed, immense black birds cawing on them, as large as he, watching him pass as if he were trespassing in their land. They passed isles of jagged rock, the terrain so sharp there was nowhere to even set foot. He had seen nothing even remotely inhabitable.

A breeze picked up and they turned into a narrow channel, and there came a new, distinct noise below. Alec looked down to see long, blue sea grass rising up from the waters and clinging to the hull. The ship slowed, and he looked out, concerned.

“We’re stuck!” he said.

But Sovos, to his surprise, merely shook his head and continued looking straight ahead, unperturbed.

“Illuvian Sea Grass,” he said calmly. “As ancient as these islands. It’s our welcome. They’re guiding us into the isles.”

Alec watched in fascination as the tentacles latched onto the ship, winding their way up the hull. As they did they made a little popping noise, and the sea of grass began to sway, as if it were alive. The air was soon filled with the sound of a thousand faint popping noises, the sound of grass sucking and clinging to the ship, pulling them forward. The ocean appeared to be throbbing.

Alec finally saw the looming land mass before them, increasingly revealed as the mist began to lift, and the closer they came, the more Alec felt a weird sensation. It was as if something in the air were enveloping him. They sailed into a warm fog, and he felt as if he were breathing in moisture. It made him sleepy, relaxed. The Lost Isles, he was beginning to realize, were unlike any place he’d ever been.

“Who do the isles belong to?” Alec asked, as they wound their way deeper into the islands.

“No one,” Sovos replied.

Alec was puzzled.

“Are they not part of Escalon?” he asked. “Or Marda? Or Pandesia?”

Sovos shook his head.

“They are a nation unto themselves. They are their own people. Yet they are more than just a nation.”

As Alec struggled to understand, the thick fog finally lifted and it took his breath away as, before him, he saw the most spectacular landscape he had ever seen.

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