"Now that we were out of the Burning Lands, Darrow seemed to be coming to grips with himself. He began talking again, and even made a few jests about our predicament. But in my heart I was troubled, for he seemed lessened in some manner.
"On the dawn of the fifteenth day, we awoke feeling well-rested. Breaking camp, we carefully began making our way down to the ocean.
Akaru sighed, remembering. "Since my childhood in the far north, I have heard of the ocean, the vast, seemingly endless expanse of water, the sound of the waves crashing, the crying of gulls, the smell and taste of its spray. But nothing can compare to seeing its raw power and grandeur with your own eyes.
"If the Burning Lands are themselves alive, as Darrow seemed to think, then so too is the ocean! But unlike the Burning Lands, the ocean is full of living things . . . things which dare to make a foothold even on the edge of the Burning Lands.
"There were large animals which barked like dogs on those wild, stormy shores, which fled into the breakers at the sight of us, and hence into the safe embrace of the sea. Never before have I heard of or seen their like.
"And, far off, just a few points to the northeast, there lay the Island of Dragons! We had arrived.