The hilly, lush greenness of Archenland was a stark contrast to the burning gold of the desert they had just crossed, but the reprieve was nonetheless welcome ( Read more... )

Aravis adjusted the veil over the lower half of her face once more as she watched the stable boy saddle up Hwin and tuck Aravis's relatively small satchel into the saddlebag. She would have prepared Hwin for the short trip to the woods herself, but it had been made exceptionally clear that she was not to do anything to muss her pristine appearance ( Read more... )

( It had been almost a year since they'd crossed the Great Desert into Archenland, and Aravis still wasn't used to the weather )