The journey to the battlefield took Arran two months, and he found himself enjoying every step along the way.
After suffering the oppressive darkness of the caverns and the Shadow Realm for years, seeing the open sky and wide lands around him filled him with a sense of freedom and possibility.
Under the bright sun, the challenges ahead no longer seemed as daunting as before. Whatever dangers this world held, it also held life that the Shadow Realm had lacked.
And where there was life, there was opportunity.
Arran's spirits were further raised by the steady recovery of his strength. The borderlands were rich in food to nourish his body, and with the help of his sword, finding it was a simple matter.
Recovering completely would still be a lengthy process, but he had already regained much of what he had lost in the Shadow Realm.
