Chapter 315: Rumblings in Irun
Kai had known many Irunians, and Irunian steel had played a major role in his life, but this was his first time actually visiting the country. As they headed southeast his first thought was that it wasn't so different, which was mainly due to the exposure to the Frontier. There was allegedly a stretch of wasteland that served as a partial boundary between the Elemental Nations and Irun.
At least the emptiness was itself a good sign that nothing bad was happening with the border, at least not visibly. They saw some traders, mostly leading dark little Irunian wagons, but no troops. Where the Elemental Nations always fought with one another, Irun tried to maintain good relationships with its allies.
Once they were flying over the land itself, the earth seemed distinctly... gray. Dark earth, restrained trees, roads made from gray brick. Kai had known the Irunians were a serious people, but he didn't think that even their landscapes would cooperate. There were occasional splotches of color, and the towns seemed to be built around shining metal pillars, but otherwise it fit the stereotype.
"For those of you from off the continent," Inafay said, "Irun likes to handle its own problems, so do your best not to get involved. I mean, if you see monsters attacking people, it's obviously fine to interfere. But otherwise... unless there are war crimes, we don't get involved."
"So what are we doing here at all?" Zae Zin Nim asked.
"This is a Frontier nation too, we just need to do things right. The first big city is called Brasyan and we'll meet up with contacts there. Hopefully from there we'll be able to support them without ruffling any feathers."
"Do Irunians have feathers?" Orotaisin asked.
"If they do, they're probably made out of steel."
For the longer voyage they were using both the diamond star and the Windborn vessel, so it was a comfortable ride, if less united. At flying speeds it only took them another day to reach Brasyan, which was immediately obvious as a far larger city. Even the smallest Irunian villages had plenty of metal, but Brasyan's buildings shone brightly as if they were all topped by steel.