Free Chronicles of the Overworld Book 1 — Nihal of the Land of the Wind by Licia Troisi

response. She clutched the reins and tried to think of something else. But whenever she closed her eyes, she imagined Fen and her heart beat faster.
    After a few minutes of silence, Nihal stopped sulking and asked Sennar, “You said your father was squire to a knight. What do you know about the Order?”
    “The knight my father served rode an Azure Dragon. It’s a different species: smaller, kind of like a big snake. Fen belongs to the Order of the Dragon Knights of the Land of the Sun, an ancient order. Nowadays, their dragons are bred only in the Land of the Sun, but a long time ago it wasn’t like that. The dragons came from different lands, and the warriors weren’t subject to any monarch. They were bound only to their own dragons and to the Order, and they lived basically like mercenaries at the service of the highest bidder. During the Two Hundred Years War, almost every army counted a Dragon Knight in its ranks.”
    Nihal listened attentively.
    “When peace came, the Order practically broke up. Some of the knights stayed in the Land of the Sun and formed the Academy of the Dragon Knights, while others left the Overworld by crossing the Saar River or the Great Desert. Ever since the beginning of the war with the Tyrant, when all the free lands combined their armies into a single great army, the Dragon Knights have served primarily as generals and commanders. Now, they answer to the Council of Sorcerers. That’s all I know.” He paused a moment, then added, “Can I offer you a piece of advice? If I were you, I wouldn’t think too much about Fen.”
    But Sennar might as well have saved his breath.
    Once again, Nihal was lost in the memory of the Dragon Knight’s gaze.

7
IN THE LAND OF WATER
    Nihal’s amazement grew as they went. For many miles inside the Land of Water, there was no apparent change in the landscape. It was still primarily plains, perhaps a bit greener than those that surrounded Salazar, but still the same old flat, boundless sea of grass.
    Then, out of nowhere, streams began to appear. It was as if they came up out of the earth like blood flowing slowly from a wound. At first, they were just trickles, an arm’s span wide, and not very deep, but soon they widened into much more ample waterways that flowed into proper rivers.
    Water dominated the landscape. There were rivers everywhere: clear ponds, little streams that cut across the land like tears. Multicolored fish darted amongst the rushes that grew in the crystalline waterways and long weeds swayed gently in the currents. The color of the grass was blindingly intense. This was the kingdom of green and of water, a pure land bathed by a thousand rivers and adorned with scores of trees.
    Nihal was goggle-eyed as she looked around. The vision that had come to her in the clearing came to mind. Maybe this was the land where the spirits of nature showed all their power, the place of endless forests.
    “Close your mouth, Nihal,” Sennar teased, but he, too, was captivated by the splendor around them.

    Slowly, the first villages began to appear on the pockets of dry land between the waterways. Frequently, groups of stilt houses extended all the way to the rivers. It seemed that people in that land had found a way to live in harmony with the lush nature that surrounded them.
    Sennar and Nihal passed from one marvel to the next, but the best was yet to come. After half a morning’s brisk ride, the two travelers reached the most incredible building they’d ever seen.
    A massive castle made of big square stones, it stood on the edge of an enormous waterfall. Water flowed over its many buttresses and then separated into a myriad of rivulets that plunged furiously into an abyss at least sixty cubits deep, where they ended in an extraordinarily blue lake. The main entrance stood in the central part of the waterfall. There, in front of the castle, Fen and Soana stood waiting for them.

    A group of pages greeted the visitors, welcomed them and escorted