Not much had changed since Rowan left Raldrim. Everything was just as he remembered it, even though he had been gone for almost twenty years. Time that changed him had had no effect on his beloved country. Or so he thought. Bundled up in gray iced tipped furs soaked from fallen snow, Rowan trudged through deep snow. Even with the fresh white blanket that covered the earth, he knew right where he was, and remembered every little detail of the land. This had been his only home and he made sure to keep everything fresh in his mind. He was almost there. He just had to get over this hill, just a little further, and he'd see his home. Atop the dome, he stood staring with wide eyes at ruins. Even though they were covered in snow, he could still smell the smoke and ash that had once been fire. The sound of …show more content…
He was completely alone now, and the realness of this had not yet hit him as he stared out. A deep sadness burdened his broken heart. Ghosts danced through his racing mind: faces of his friends and family, and of his dear wife. All had abandoned the destroyed lands of his country. He waited so long to return here. It was once all he though about. But it did not matter anymore. For he was back, yet it was no more and no one was waiting for him. Everyone had probably long forgotten about him. There was one place, though, where he knew he would find someone that did remember him. He turned and struggled once again through the snow, up another hill. The hill led to a cliff, which led to the vast nothingness of the white sky above and the trechorous sea below. "It has been a long time, Ashreath." He spoke in a calm voice to the earth, a once cherished place. "And you." He said, placing a coarse hand onto the cold bark of an old tree, whose leaves had almost all withered away to leave bare and twisted branches. "My friend. You've see so much these past years, no doubt. If only you could speak and tell me of what you've seen, and what I have