As we approach, I take in the silhouettes of several transports slowing to a crawl, though we keep our pace.
A voice resounds through the cabin. “If Your Graces would prepare for landing, we’re cleared to dock.”
“Hold on,” says the duke. “Landing can get bumpy.”
That’s all the warning I get before my stomach drops with the change of altitude.
I choose to sit, though I remain close to the window.
We fly under a thick layer of clouds so opaque I consider that they might have been designed to keep the view obscured.
Then I see it.
Made of a dark metal I can’t identify at this distance, the colossal quadrangular castle is curtained by high walls and angular towers so high I can’t see the bottom at first.
All around us, the five mountains stand proud, cutting off the access to this place by any means other than air.
I understand now the choice of location: this place is a natural fortress.
When we’re much closer to the ground, my eyes take in the strange shapes at the center of the castle. Rectangles and squares, circles and long alleys.
I take the construction for a sort of city, at first, but the walls are too thin for a building.
I understand what I’m looking at only instants before we land.
A complex labyrinth, made of metallic walls and filled with greenery, water ponds, even a beach.
It’s an oddity in this place, given how everything else is covered in ice, the castle included.
To my surprise, we land over the top of the maze.
The doors of the hovercraft open the moment we touch down, and two men in green and black rush in, bowing so low their faces almost kiss the flooring.
A stout common man in a fur jacket walks in, standing so straight he could snap in two. “Your Grace, welcome to Whyte Fort. We trust you had a pleasant journey? Your rooms have been prepared. If you would…”
I’m the first to race out of the transport, eager to understand what I’ve been seeing.
I soon understand my mistake, and turn back, closing the door for good measure. The very air attempted to kill me on the spot.
“Helyn, your coat!”
I'm so cold.
We're at the end of the summer, and I've never been as freezing in my entire life, though I must have spent less than two seconds outside.
My mother joins me and wraps the wool coat I reluctantly borrowed from her back in town. I'm glad I let her talk me into it. I might have lost a limb if I'd come with the flimsy jacket I intended to wear.
To my surprise, as I thrust my arms into the sleeves, my body ceases shaking. The material must be enchanted.
My second attempt at exiting the vehicle is more successful.
I fear my face and legs might suffer, but whatever the coat is made of, it protects my entire body from the harsh elements. I can still feel the icy air, but it’s not as overwhelming.
I can’t believe the coldbloods can bear this temperature in nothing but blazers.
Under my feet, the floor is made of a thick, transparent layer, allowing a perfect view of the maze below.
That explains the forest and lakes. The labyrinth is indoors, protected from the elements, though its ceiling lets in the light.