The sky was shrouded in heavy fog, yet the heat in District One was suffocating, as though the entire central sector were boiling under an unrelenting sun. The distance between the outer borders and the central plaza was immense; while the mages of District Two were well accustomed to the grueling journey, the refugees from District Five, accustomed to the relative comfort of the borderlands, grew exhausted as they skirted the edge of the central forest.
Though two days had passed since the triple full moons concluded, the forest radiated immense, trapped heat. The canopy was no longer actively burning, signaling that Chris's mages had finally contained the blaze.
The thick stench of charred wood lingered in the air, as if the forest itself were exhaling heavy, warm gusts against their skin, deterring anyone from attempting a shortcut through the scorched timber.
