His irises, that had shown a land of green, brown and black, reverted to normalcy of his irises. Ones filled with orange, azure and deep oceanic blue. All silently taking in the fast blur of the ocean and the clouds. The non-recognisable pattern of crests and plunges of waves.
'If this is how fast they could go, then what about going higher upwards?' He gazed at the sky above him.
Clouds rolled far away up. Thin silk like clouds.
Below him were occasional dense ones that rained into the ocean. Ones so big they dwarfed the Island of Monite.
At times he thought he saw a blur or two that seemed to be bigger than the dots which had chased them. He did not understand about how could there be so massive caestre. He shut that thought too, more so he did not believe it.
"We are going to slow down in ten minutes!" Ovier announced. "Brace for it! Nert grab on Anaphol and Bulwark."
Nert placed one hand each on both of their backs. Anaphol in a whisper asked, "Hey, what is Jhorime like?"
"Hmm," Nert considered a moment, "have you been to the Territory of Leahero?"
Grim expression dawned on Naph's face, "Filled to the brim, huh?"
Squinting eyes for a split, Nert said, "Not quite. You haven't been there right?"
Taking a silent breath, Anaphol nodded. Nert rubbing his back, "It's alright. Not to the brim, but you will find caestres quite often."
"BRACE!" Ovier shouted. Jerking down from an intensely high speed to a crawl in comparison, the entire group produced one of their lesio to compensate for the sudden reduction and against the deathly recoil.
Anaphol was nearly about to fall unconscious. Nert simply did not let him. He hit him harder.
Svnyo complained, "Hey! That was not ten minutes!" Her hair flowing over her face like a storm went by.
"I miscalculated! Happy!"
Litto commented, his face a pensive version of itself, "Maybe you are infected too." Cryst stared down at him. "Maybe we all are," Litto kept saying.
Ovier glanced at everyone then began going forward at a speed far slower than the recent one. Nert removed his hands from Naph and Bulwark. Naph's ride was as undamaged as him.
Everything seemed right. Except for an unusual sense arising within Naph. To him, the feeling wasn't new. 'I…know. But this does not match to back then.'
Azure frothing water waves passed and merged. Random aquatic life emerged and swam back under into the ocean. All of it more coherent to understand at the current progress of the group.
Sun shone brighter as it rose up two more hands breadth from the previous position on its setting journey. The skies held itself as a mirror to the vastness of the ocean.
"Uh, how much far are we?" Naph considered out loud. "Like from anything?"
Litto instantly snapping out of his reverie, "Hmm? Oh," realizing something, "yeah I didn't mean to…" He witnessed the hidden command in Cryst's pupils shutting himself instantly.
Nert drove over Litto's words. "From the water surface? Somewhere around sixty to ninety kilometers." He stretched his right arm down, palm open. "From the archipelago on the nearest beach of Jhorime? Somewhere like six hundred to seven hundred." He pointed west. Naph did not understand, 'what's a archipelago?'
"More so five hundred now," Ovier corrected.
"Huh, says the one who doesn't miscalculate." Svnyo snapped.
In silence, they flew for couple more minutes. Naph instantly asked as fourth minute ended, "What about how far is Tarna?"
"Around a hundred thousand? Right, Cryst?" Nert provided doubtfully.
"No, it's three hundred thousand kilometers." Cryst kept her eyes fixed forward.
A shockwave rammed into the back of the group. Naph frightened looked back only to see nothing. "What was that?!"
"A result of how fast we travelled." Dykur simply adjusted his spear onto his back.
Svnyo cooing, "Don't you worry, Naph." She winked, Naph caught that. "If anything happens, Dykur will willingly kill himself." She grinned a luscious smile.
"Huh?" Confused, Naph glanced back and forth between the silent Dykur and smiling Svnyo.
A mountain peak of sorts arose from the western horizon. Its dark texture stood out against the comforting blue of the sky.
Naph witnessed it rising in his peripheral view. 'Uh, isn't something else supposed to be seen first?'
"Is that a mountain peak?" He pointed at the black stone far in the western horizon.
"That could be an island too," Nert engaged.
"Not when a cloud is circling it." 'Did I use circling right?' Naph gave a look to Nert.
Shaking his head in affirmation, Nert proceeded. "Yes, that is a mountain. It is one of the largest in its vicinity."
"Not highest? And what of compared to other mountains in Jhorime?"
"Nope, definitely not highest." Nert shook his head. "As for compared to others, not worth climbing," he shrugged, "it's just a plain old mountain with no snow and only ninety kilometers high."
'How big is our world?' Naph's face expressed his shock.
"That's a face asking 'how big is this world'?" Svnyo chimed in. Her smile reduced to a slight playful thing on her lips. Naph forced himself not to respond.
Thinking about something Svnyo asked, "Do you…know what an archipelago is?"
"An?"
Facepalming herself, Svnyo breathed out a sigh.
They have been flying for only four minutes. Svnyo pointed to another clump of dots. Ovier lowered, spotting the dots too, the group.
"Hold your breaths people!" Ovier demanded.
'Why?' Naph had only a moment to think.
Plunging down, without his control, he sensed it. More so smelled it. The stench of dried blood.
Before he knew it, something or someone had made its presence known to everyone. Naph felt it as a pinprick everywhere, within and on his hairs too. 'Even hair can sense?!'
"Welcome to Jhorime, Anaphol." An insouciant voice spoke within his mind.
Gripping his dagger within his pocket, he glimpsed the expanse of the islands becoming clearer and graphic.
"Why that smell?" He asked the group escorting him.
"The blood stench?" Cryst inquired. She received an affirmative from Naph. "It's the residue from an ancient caestre that was slain here."