At the dawn of the seventh day, they thanked Ari for his hospitality and help, and finally resumed their journey towards the Northern Mountains. Lightning led the way once again, while Hëna and Nemo followed behind him, now riding two new horses that Ari provided for them as replacements for Alma and Starlight.
Séraphin flew above them as always, but this time he seemed little concerned with watching the horizons for danger. For days now he’d been caught in a battle that had been raging on inside his head. Endërland was changing, and he no longer needed the oracle or anyone else telling him so to believe it. The evidence was all around him; he could see it in how the weather was changing for the worst, in how life was becoming increasingly sparse and frail. Danger and fear were becoming too frequently present and that was a discomforting fact. This was not the kingdom he once knew; people were killing one-another; they were disappearing, only to turn up later transformed into wild beasts and trying to hurt other people. It no longer felt safe and that was not a welcome feeling. He hated the idea, but maybe Daniel was right after all, and whatever was happening, was bigger and much more complicated than he had initially thought.
Everything that had happened recently made him think long and hard about whether Daniel and Nemo really did kill Ghordi, as well as his own attitude towards them. If it was true that they were innocent, then he would have to do a bit more than simply rethink his behavior. Still, he was not yet ready to doubt the word of his brothers, or the conviction of his own mother, the queen, on the matter. She counted on him to uphold her will and honor, and this was his chance to finally prove to her that he was worthy of being her only son and heir. He would not let her down.
They rode on for another two days, stopping only once or twice to rest and stretch their legs. Daniel and Hëna took every opportunity they got to keep practicing with the sword, Hëna using hers and Daniel one that Ari gave to him as a gift before departing. At night Heli took over for Hëna and thus they continued his training for a few more hours, while Nemo and Séraphin slept.
Heli’s technique was quite similar to Hëna’s, but while Hëna restrained herself to match Daniel's level, Heli pushed on harder and fought tougher than she did, causing Daniel to strain a lot more. Yet, he was glad for this; he didn’t feel so bad when beaten by Heli, and the further he pushed himself, the greater his skills improved. He was quite keen on matching Hëna’s level, if not exceeding it.
On the third day after leaving New Sotira, the path Lightning was following took them back by the seaside. Daniel was glad to smell the sea again and lose his gaze beyond the endless waters. He remembered asking once if there was more land on the other side of the ocean. The answer had been that no one had ever found out, and that very few had even tried. Of those who had, none had ever returned. There were no big ships in Endërland, only small boats that were not appropriate for the deep ocean, thus whoever had attempted to cross it in the past, was assumed to have been claimed by the sea.
As for the land, the only part of the kingdom that was not surrounded by water was the northern side. That however was even more inaccessible, since the Northern Mountains rose up crazy high and steep, stretching for miles and miles from northwest to southeast. No one had ever climbed to the very top, and even eagles would not fly that high. So no one really knew what lay beyond them either.
Daniel found it difficult to believe that Endërland was confined between the seas and the Northern Mountains, but the people here seemed to be content with what they knew and had. Looking at the big blue sleeping peacefully to his left now, he wondered, if it ever came to it, would he choose to sail to the end of it, or climb beyond the snow covered mountains to find out what lay out there?