Evil Incarnate

Ten days later, six figures hiding their faces under thick hooded cloaks crossed the border into Serin Theocracy, followed by a giant black cat and a dazzling phoenix-looking turkey.

This territory was located tens of thousands of kilometers north of the Ret'Asi Empire, and more precisely directly east of the Shatug Empire where the Celestial City was located. Its southwestern border touched that of the Maze of Mirik, and it was through this route of entry that Jake and his group had just infiltrated this inhospitable territory.

Gone were the deciduous forests stretching as far as the eye could see in the Wilderness. Before them, arid, snow-covered mountain ranges formed long, narrow canyons. A few rare conifers littered the frozen tundra, the vegetation scarce.

To make matters worse, a bitterly cold wind blew hard, powerful enough to uproot ordinary trees. The few fir trees able to survive here were vegetal monsters with trunks whose circumference rivaled that of a small house.