He nodded, and with a steadying breath stepped beyond the boundary and into the Blight. His vision nearly went white; even with the sun goggles, the light was so intense that he could barely see, blinking and wincing until his eyes adjusted enough to see Jerah and Kade standing and waiting for him.
Then he felt the heat. His skin prickled with it: a sharp, dry heat that seemed to pierce right through the shroud and the light, breezy clothes they wore—even breathing was distinctly uncomfortable, as impossibly hot air filled his lungs.
“Holy shit,” he groaned, looking up at Jerah in half-disbelief. “This is awful. You're sure the shroud is working?”
“Yes, definitely,” Jerah answered, nodding once. “Without it, we'd already be starting to burn.”
“God,” Florian sighed, glancing back the way they came. The line between the Winter Court and the Blight was not visible from this side.
“Let's go,” Jerah said gently, and Florian tore his gaze away to step toward them. “Remember I showed you how you could help us move faster?”
“Right,” he said, nodding quickly. In truth he had forgotten entirely about it, but now he paused, focusing his magic. “Our movements are quickened. The land shrinks beneath us.”
He could feel the magic take hold at his feet, and it took some effort to push the effect through to the others; but after a moment, he could feel the tendrils latch onto Jerah, then to Kade. It made him hyper-aware of their location, but he supposed that couldn't be helped.
“Ready?” Jerah said, Kade peering over at him silently.
Florian nodded, meeting Kade's eyes briefly—this time, Florian looked away first. “Ready.”
When they walked, each stride seemed to reach across the earth, far beyond where it should have. From what Jerah had taught him, they could cover nearly twice as much distance in the same amount of time with this magic. It would still take several days of travel, but at least it wouldn't be weeks. The sooner they could get out of the Blight, Florian thought, the better.
It took a little while to adjust, but eventually he could see a bit better. Not that there was much to see; the dirt beneath them was dry, and there was no plant life anywhere. Farther off, he could make out the shapes of rocks and maybe hills, much like the hills the Winter Court was built on. Distantly, he wondered if maybe the Winter Court had once reached this far, too.
It quickly became clear to Florian why Jerah had wanted their first day in the Blight to be a shorter one, setting out in the afternoon rather than first thing in the morning. Aside from how miserable it was with the heat and the low visibility, the walk was monotonous, and Florian soon realized there was no way to keep track of the time. Nothing seemed to break up the barren landscape, except for an occasional larger-than-usual rock.
Focusing on the rhythm of his steps, and the magic that kept the ground moving rapidly beneath them, he couldn't have said with any certainty just how long it had been when he finally looked back up. The landscape looked exactly the same, but they must have been traveling for at least a few hours.
“When are we going to make camp?” he asked, breaking the silence. Jerah gave a slight start as he glanced over at Florian—he too must have been focusing intently on maintaining the shroud around them.
“Soon, I think,” he answered, looking toward Kade before continuing, “Maybe another hour or two.”
“I'll keep an eye out for a good spot,” Kade said over his shoulder.
They kept walking. Eventually—maybe it had been an hour, maybe three—ahead of him Kade paused, then Jerah. Florian stopped and looked in the direction that Kade was looking. He pointed at a large stone outcropping off to the left, just far enough away that Florian could make out the shape of it but without any clear details.
“Let's check it out,” Jerah agreed. “You can drop your magic, Florian.”
“Right,” he said, letting his focus fade. It was a strange sensation. He had never held onto his magic so long, and letting it go was like relaxing a muscle he hadn't realized he’d been tensing. He hadn't realized how tired it had made him, but when he let it go the relief was immediate, as was the exhaustion.
“You all right?” Jerah asked, noticing how his shoulders immediately started to sag.
“Yeah,” Florian groaned, nodding. “Just... hit me all at once. I'm just tired, but I'm okay.”
“I think we'll make camp here, then,” he said, reaching out to pull Florian along by the shoulder. He followed without putting up a fuss. Kade had moved ahead a bit, though they couldn't wander too far from Jerah and keep the shroud on them. He began inspecting the rocky outcropping, gingerly feeling along its surface, as if testing it to make sure it wouldn't crumble into dust at the contact. When it seemed to hold up to Kade’s scrutiny, he looked over his shoulder at them and gestured for them to come closer.
“This should work,” he said, setting down his backpack to start unloading.
It was not exactly a tent that they began to assemble: more a series of thick sheets and tarps to be strung up or set on poles, creating a shelter thick enough to block out the Blight, at least for a little while. When all the pieces were put together, Kade pulled out one last thick ream of cloth longer than the others, draping it over everything else to ensure there were no cracks or holes where the light could come through.
It seemed shaded well enough when Florian stepped inside the makeshift shelter, tying the flap firmly closed behind them; but still Jerah and Kade each went through inspecting every joint or seam where the different pieces touched. When they both finally seemed satisfied with their handiwork, Jerah nodded first at Kade, then at Florian.
“I'm dropping the shroud,” he said, and the shadow that had been covering them vanished. The heat that had been stinging at Florian's skin intensified as the shroud dropped, but being in the shade of the tent seemed to keep the worst of it at bay. Jerah started fanning himself with his shirt. That made Florian feel a little less self-conscious about feeling so uncomfortable, at least; but still he wondered if he could have ever possibly prepared himself for what it was actually like to be enveloped in the Blight. Jerah had told him it was hard to describe—that he would understand when he saw it—but Florian had not quite believed how true that was until now.
“Good work today, Florian,” Jerah said, shaking him from his thoughts. “Your quickening spell was perfect. I know it can be tiring to maintain something for so long, but you did great. Tomorrow will be a longer day, but don't push yourself. Even if it's just half the day again, you're letting us get a lot of headway.”
“Oh, sure. No problem,” Florian stammered, grinning nervously in response. He still felt completely out of his element, but Jerah at least seemed not to have noticed.
“I'm proud of you,” Jerah said, squeezing his shoulder; and Florian couldn't feel his face with the heat already around them, but he knew he must have been blushing.
