MISTRESS OF FLAME

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 18

WHEN SOLLEL heard from Hakken, Grath, and Cira about the real condition of the Kingdom of Treterra after reaching the end of the forest, she was not expecting to see a hundred miles of barren lands. The soil was dead, the temperature was scorching, and rare kinds of beasts ran rampant.

What happened? If her memory served her right, Treterra was a land filled with trees and vegetation.

"Castetava is on the other side." Sollel heard Hakken spoke. "There is no other route than this one."

Seeing the dead land, Grath sighed. "The last time I passed here, you can still see Castetava at the end of the forest."

Sollel looked ahead, but there was no town she could see. "Does that mean the barren land is spreading?"

Zassia answered Sollel because when it came to Azitera's history, Zassia was an expert. "Yes. This dead land is eating up the forest. No one really knows why it is happening. It started as a simple drought a hundred years ago in Sarnau, the nearest town from the capital and the neighboring town of Castetava. And a hundred years later, the drought swallowed Castetava, and it is now spreading through the forest. A few years from now, it'll reach Belrac."

A dead soil that could swallow a forest. Sollel stepped forward and touched the earth. The moment her hand made contact with it, she immediately understood what was happening. This is Gatria's resentment, she thought. This was not the first time Sollel witnessed it.

Back when Yther was a prominent kingdom, some humans cut the trees and burned a part of the forest that Gatria nurtured to make a settlement. Gatria's anger and resentment at that time caused drought, and dead soil swallowed the whole forest she once nurtured.

"How are we going to pass this barren land?" Cira asked. "It's too hot. Our horse will surely die."

"We walk," Hakken answered before he freed the horse from its rein and tapped its mane. "Go."

Watching the horse leave, everyone sighed heavily except for Sollel who was too focused on the dead soil.

"Get all your belongings in the wagon, we have to start walking before the sun goes down," Hakken ordered everyone.

Cira immediately went back to the wagon to get her blanket and pillow, and she put it back on her satchel. She was the only one who had stuff in the wagon; when she returned to the group, they immediately set out to Castetava.

The first thing that hit the group traversing the barren land was the heat—it was scorching and dehydrating. They've only covered fifty meters, but they were already consuming too much water.

"Only drink when necessary," Hakken advised. "If we ran out of water in the middle of this barren land, we're dead."

Xeke glared at Hakken. "I'm thirsty. Of course it's necessary."

"The necessary I meant is when you're dying," Hakken corrected himself while surveying the surrounding for any beasts.

"Cira, come walk beside me," Sollel ordered when she looked over her shoulder and saw Cira swaying weakly like she was about to drop.

Hearing Queen Sollel, Cira immediately picked up her pace to walk beside her. And the moment Cira neared Sollel, a small gasp escaped her lips when the scorching and dehydrating heat that was consuming her body disappeared and was replaced by a warmth feeling.

Cira's eyes fell on Sollel. Is this Queen Sollel's essence? Cira was overwhelmed with emotion that she almost cried, but she was too dehydrated to the point that no tears fell from her eyes.