The Spirit Wilds: Magic of the Green Sage (Fall of the Sages Book 1), стр. 28
The wind whipped around her, loud as a dragon’s roar. The high one was right, it was blistering cold. But at the same time, it was thrilling, and she wanted to scream and smile and throw her hands out wide. That would be unwise, though. It was all she could do to hold on tight to Gengyan’Nun’s white locks.
They soared over mountains and fields and forests of golden leaves. There was a shimmering lake that looked like a mirror to the heavens, where long and slender water dragons swam and frolicked, blue-green scales shining in the morning light. They didn’t pass any of the dragon strongholds, but she could see immense castles and towns in the distance, with small dragons fluttering around them like flies. It was all so breathtaking and, if not for her quest, she would have loved to stay up there forever.
Oh, to be a dragon, she thought again. But alas, that was something she couldn’t do.
After a few hours of silent flight, the vast lands of Ragvarral gave way to the vast, churning gray waters of the Eternal Sea. It was the largest body of water in the world, home to the Land of Dragons and the Ten Thousand Islands and other exotic lands. Beneath the sea’s surface, the merkind empire flourished, though they very, very rarely interacted with humans. Only Brokar the Blue, Sage of the Sea, ever really dealt with them.
As they glided over the water and the sun shone at its apex, the cool winds gave way to warmth and Bishta was able to bask in the glow of this beautiful world. This was what she wanted to preserve—this perfection, this bliss—but spirits and humans and their never-ending struggle for dominance… That would destroy everything. Neither knew their place.
Sensing her mood, Gengyan’Nun looked back at her. “How are you holding up back there, Sage?”
She smiled. “I’m fantastic. Thank you.”
He harrumphed. “We should arrive in the Forgotten Continent in a few hour cycles. Is there anywhere you would like me to drop you?”
Bishta did have a place in mind, but she didn’t know if it would raise suspicion with the high dragon. She was a sage, so her words were trusted and respected, but her destination was a very suspicious place to say the least.
She decided she should tell him. Why make herself walk the extra miles when she didn’t have to? “I need to get to the Fields of Despair.”
That was met by a heavy silence. The high dragon looked back at her, his large eyes seemingly peering into her soul, trying to discern the truth. He huffed, trace amounts of smoke flowing from his nostrils then disappearing in a blink from the winds and speed they were traveling.
“What business do you have there?” he asked.
Talking back rudely as she’d done with Jel-Gur would get her nowhere here, but still, she had to stand her ground. High dragon or no, she would reach her destination.
“My reasons are my own,” she replied sternly, heart pounding. “I trust you’ll forgive me, but I can’t go around sharing sagely secrets. Just know that I have important matters pertaining to my duties at the fields.”
It took a long time for the Great One to respond, though he kept one large eye on her the entire time. Finally, he turned his head to look forward. “Very well, I shall get you there.”
The sage sighed with relief. She was sure that if any other human had asked to be flown to the Fields of Despair, the high dragon would have refused outright, if not torched them for even suggesting the chore. But she was a sage, and when she spoke, people listened. Of course, if she had some of the spells the Sage of the Light had, some that included limited flight, she wouldn’t even need to rely on transportation. But alas, every sage had their own boundaries and rules for their magic. It would be far too dangerous for all of them to do everything.
Bishta aimed to prove why that was true.
They settled back into silence for the remainder of the trip. Though there were things she wanted to ask the high dragon—as he was probably over a thousand years old and wiser beyond even those ancient years—she decided to focus on the trials to come. What she had to do would be draining, and she’d rather have her mind clear.
It wasn’t long before she spotted the Forgotten Continent on the horizon. Just a thin gray line, flat and desolate. As they got closer, the landscape didn’t improve. The sea soon gave way to black sands and gray soil, a land seemingly covered in ash from a truly ancient cataclysm. It was an old land, a land of forgotten and forbidden knowledge, demons and monsters and false gods. Not a place that even high dragons would go to lightly.
Gengyan’Nun tensed beneath her, no doubt as nervous about this place as she was.
The Forgotten Continent seemed to stretch on forever, just ashy plains and black hills and shallow mountains. The occasional ruins dotted the surface, and more than once, Bishta saw billowing, shadowy creatures roaming aimlessly below. There was no telling what form of monsters were down there. It was the most dangerous place on this earth, even for a sage.
Finally, they arrived at their destination—the Fields of Despair.
It appeared to be a flat plain, miles across in all directions. Small, broken tombstones dotted the surface by the thousands, some in orderly rows, others in odd clusters, some randomly placed without any organization whatsoever. Some were simply wooden markers, while others were formerly ornate and nice. Some simple stone, some made of polished obsidian. Who laid beneath or where they came from or what killed them was a mystery,