Chapter 7: A Little Less Foreign
Rowan's eyes opened in pure shock, the serenity of his environment caging his words as he struggled to release his thoughts from the back of his throat, stilled by its dryness.
As if he were reclaiming his breath, Rowan prompted a gulp so deep that it could be clearly heard, bulging his Adam's apple and clutching all the nooks and crannies in which the dry air had stolen its life.
Standing before him was a citadel of vibrant colors and shapes, nestled in grass, flowers, trees, and small land critters and animals that moved about freely and without restraint.
There were a number of animals that Rowan had immediately recognized such as cats, ants, and squirrels, but then came the far majority of creatures that were other-worldly in constitution, ranging from dog-raccoons, grasshopper-frogs, and armadillo-bears.
It was as if these animals were without the concept of biome, having parts that would've been seated for specific habitats, yet existed in the lush but still dry land.
"This is the royal garden," mentioned a man with high rising silvery garnishments, pointing at the gargantuan gradient of colors that lit up in ways that Rowan had never even thought possible.
"Is this real...?" Lucien asked, wide-eyed and unmoving.
"Yeah, I've never seen anything like it..." Responded Elias, his cheeks blush in inundation.
'Perhaps the other heroes are just as astonished as me' thought Rowan, stepping back and diverting his attention to alleviate himself from the mental strain of imagining such an impossible environment.
When the king had dismissed the heroes to be escorted across the royal grounds, Rowan thought it was going to be a royal chore, the halls never-ending and the placidity forever stalling his curiosity.
However, what he hadn't anticipated was the many lavishes that the king had adopted, a scary contrast to the otherwise well-mannered, unvaried demeanor that the king outwardly maintained.