(Azriel POV)
The Duke and I spent the next few days of the journey in conversation. After he had recovered from the shock of getting to know about my relationship with Ashmeer he had taken a few hours the next day to get back to normal. However, he had made a great effort and had finally begun to chat wth me again. We often stopped at roadside inns to spend the night and ate dinner together before retiring to our individual rooms. Away from his usual careworn days and responsibilities, I found Duke Ashdeer to be a friendly and intelligent man. He told me much about the magical land of Irismus, its history and also of the history of the entire Kingdom.
The only sad point of the entire journey was the silence of the Book.
Late at night, on the second day she asked it, "Why are you silent?"
"Why must one speak all the time. You humans like too much constant chatter. We are enjoying the Duke's company and the silence."
She nodded and said, "Suit yourself then. I really think you could also tell me some more things and teach me."
The Book stayed silent.
On our fourth day on the journey, we reached the borders of Irismus. The Duke looked visibly relaxed and said, "Azriel, once we cross the border you will be cut off from the rest of the Kingdom. I will now keep the windows open so you may look outside, but, please be careful. Irismus is nothing like you ever imagined."
I nodded, grateful for the fact that I would now have scenery to see. I took a peep outside to see dark and dense forest. The road cut through pine trees, ferns and large trees with blue and red flowers, such as I had never seen before. It was truly lovely.
The Duke said in a low voice to me, "Azriel, not all of the subjects of Irismus are always in human form, so you must be very careful at all times."
"You mean to say animals?"
"Animals, monsters, fairies, trees, flowers, bees also. The proximity to the Blight has given strange mutations to the people here. Hence, it's never just a tree or an animal."
"So the trees, we are seeing here are?"
"These are trees, don't worry," he said with a chuckle.
The carriage moved forward and I was entranced with the wonders of the path. The trees kept changing hues, their leaves changed from red to blue to green to yellow, purple and orange. Some trees had tiny insects buzzing around them.
"Those are colonies of the Insect people. Some of them have completely given up on human form and enjoy living here in the forest."
I nodded, quite shocked. In a few hours, the landscape began to change again. The trees became sparser and sparser, till there were none. It seemed to become a low lying marshland and grassy plains on both sides. As the carriage hurtled ahead, I was shocked to see unicorns.
"Unicorns.."I exclaimed.
"Yes, unicorns, and I must stop here and meet them a bit. I don't suggest you come out yet, Azriel. They are painfully shy and might just run away. I'm sorry for this."
I nodded, looking out at him, as he went and met the unicorns. I thought about this strange land, where everyone was allowed to be themselves. I almost wondered if I too would find my peace here. Ashdeer was not as forbidding as he had been in Andora, here he looked more free. Maybe he would even accept me?
As he came and sat back in his carriage he said, 'Azriel, in an hour or so, we will stop by a lake. I think you will also like to stretch your legs and I would like to show you one of the most scenic views in Irismus."
I nodded enthusiastically. A walk would be nice after such a long carriage journey. My legs had begun to get cramped up really fast and I wanted to walk about a bit. I was looking forward to this break.
The Duke suddenly touched my arm and said, "Tomorrow, we will get on horseback Azriel and we will leave at dawn. Please prepare yourself, as the journey ahead is a little tougher than what you have seen so far. It's all uphill and the last bit is a little treacherous. Irismus's fortress is built on a steep mountain. The paths to it are narrow as we need to keep our enemies at bay. I will be with you every step of the way. I won't let anything happen to you."
I nodded, wondering what more adventures awaited us. But right now, I was looking forward to the lake.
When we reached the lake, I stopped and held my breath. The kush mountains stood in the distance. Here they looked unmarked by the Blight and were snow-capped and beautiful. The grassy plain stretched endlessly across an undulating hill, and as we moved ahead, the lake came into view. Wild flowers grew all around, and I felt deeply moved by the beauty I saw around me.
"It's lovely!" I said in all sincerity to Ashdeer.