The third day of travel unfolded with a subtle, almost reluctant transformation of the world around them, as though the mountains themselves were loosening their grip on the land. What had once been a suffocating labyrinth of jagged cliffs, narrow passes, and whispering pine forests gradually gave way to something broader, more forgiving, yet no less watchful.
The cold, biting wind that had accompanied them since their departure from the Imperial City softened into a gentler current, carrying with it the faint scent of open earth rather than stone and frost. Towering cliffs receded into rolling hills, their sharp silhouettes dissolving into smoother contours that stretched endlessly toward the horizon. The oppressive shadows of the forest thinned, replaced by wider roads that curved gracefully through open terrain, allowing sunlight to spill freely across the land.
It was not merely a change in scenery.
It was a shift in tension.
