"Be careful, the wind is very strong here…"
Luan offered her a hand, as he helped her get over the rocky path. She was expecting the forested mountain, but what awaited them was more like Death Valley. They took a road used by merchants. It was a longer way, but the road was mostly flat making it easier the cross.
But since merchants only came through once a month or even less, most of the landscape remained unmaintained and occasional landslides created many obstacles on the way. The weather here was like a lottery, as the natural conditions changed several times a day. Sometimes, the blizzard came all of a sudden, covering them in snowfall, and the next time, the dry wind was too strong to even lift small stones.
Luan told her to endure for one more day, as by the time they left this gorge, they would officially step into the western territory.
"Uhhh, why did I only read romance books… If I focused more on sci-fi, maybe I would be sitting in some hypersonic aircraft right now…" Suin fumed under her breath.
"We almost there…" Luan cheered her on and pointed at the lone olive tree standing on the cliff.
It was far, but she could recognise the familiar evergreen tree with a short trunk and a vast crown full of branches and silvery-green leaves. The young tree has rather thin wood, but once grown enough, the trunk will become knotted and twisted into interesting shapes.
"Everyone said the west was like a hell on earth, but if the land is fertile enough to grow olives, it can't be in such a bad shape…" She remembered from her past life, that many ancient cultures developed well because of olive oil.
"Olives?" Luan asked in confusion. He gets used to her blabbering as she sometimes said things he didn't understand. She used words he never heard before, but then again, he thought she was just well-educated and knew things a soldier like him couldn't even imagine.
"I mean…this tree. Isn't it called olives here?"
"These are oleas trees. One of the cursed symbols of the west."
Now it was her turn to be confused.
"Cursed? Why?" The countries that grew olives regarded it as their natural treasure. It was also the symbol of honour, justice and knowledge. Furthermore, the dove set free by Noah brought an olive branch back to the Ark, according to the Old Testament, as a sign that the Flood was over and with it, God's wrath as well.
If anything, olives should be sacred, especially on the land that was supposed to be cursed by the Silver Dragon Goddess.
"It's the only tree, that can survive the harsh west, but it has no real use. It's the symbol of evilness, and whenever it starts growing, it's the indication that the land isn't in good shape," Luan explained the general belief.
"Useless? What about the fruit, then?" Olives were important both in diet and economy for a large part of her past world. It was hard to believe that people here don't know its worth.
Luan's face gets sour almost instantly like he was recalling some unpleasant memories. Everyone coming to the west for the first time will be tricked into trying the olea fruit, which will leave them traumatized for the rest of their lives.
"The fruits are inedible. It is extremely bitter, you rather not put those things in your mouth," he answered evasively. He wasn't evil enough to trick her into eating it, so it was better to warn her beforehand.
Suin left out a small chuckle. She remembered trying olive from a tree in Italy, she couldn't get the bitter taste from her mouth even after drinking a bottle of water.
Of course, they are bitter. You don't eat olives raw. They need to be cured or preserved first. But this secret was yet to be discovered here.
Since the path was very rocky, it was better to walk on foot than ride on Ash. It took them almost a whole afternoon, mainly because of Arianell's body's poor stamina, to finally leave a valley by the late afternoon, and the sight of the west spread out before them.
But the sight that awaited her was even worse than what she could imagine in a nightmare.
"W-what happened here?!"
They travelled on horseback through the fertile county, and all she could see was the melting snow. They passed forests with bare trees and brownfields, but it was clear that once spring arrived, everything would be coloured green.
However, there was no better word to describe the land before her than "death".
The ground was so dry, that even grass won't grow on it. The landscape was flat without a single tree or mountain in sight. Her destination was the city of Deneb located in the northwest of the region. She heard stories, about how dryland didn't allow anything to grow on it, even the grass must fight for its survival. But what she was seeing, was beyond hearing any description.
"The author's liar!"
Suin felt cheated. She expected the book to idolize the surroundings a bit, but the reality could not be more different. How is she going to grow vegetables? How is she going to forage for food? If all the land was as barren as what she was seeing, her farming life might not even happen.
Luan stood behind, waiting for her to discharge all the bottled frustration. Except for some foreign words she was saying again, her reaction wasn't so unusual.
They say seeing is believing, and most people who haven't been to the west, cannot even imagine how bad the land looks like. Everyone stepping into the area for the first time will be shocked, but they will eventually accept the harsh reality.
Even if she is shocked, she will come to terms with it soon.
"But… Luan… Do you also hear it?" She turned to him with a somehow pale face.
"What's wrong?" He asked attentively as the lack of colour startled him.
But before she could answer, her body fell backwards, and she lost consciousness.