Heideblume’s Reviews > A Land So Wide > Status Update

It seemed absurd to miss a place she’d never see, but there, in the middle of their sitting room, Greer yearned for that land. She ached for it, hungering to see these peacocks with her own eyes. Forever trapped within the acres of the Warding Stones, she mourned a future she’d never have.

The Bright-Eyeds were things dredged from the darkest of nightmares. Some said they could control the weather, bringing about raging storms and damaging winds. Others said they could change shape, taking whatever form best suited their needs. But everyone agreed that their hunger was insatiable, and that nothing would stop them from destroying everything you held dear.

Nothing but the Benevolence and their Stones.

“No one has seen the Benevolence since the truce was made, so many years ago,” Martha reminded Greer, her cadence worn and familiar. “But they protect us still. That’s all we can ever hope for. To wish to see or hear them…” She swallowed and shook her head. “We should not seek such things.”

She set out to chart every inch of Mistaken.
And, map by map, she improved.
She experimented with scale and scope, texture and notation.
Ailie had always praised her endeavors, calling Greer her little scout and urging her to explore new areas. On lazy spring days, she’d pack them picnic lunches and they’d bravely march into the unknown, searching for a stream to follow or a rocky outcrop to measure.

When they did finally reach land, any cheer the company felt withered away.
There was a strangeness to this land, an uncanny watchfullness that set their neck hairs at attention. This was not a land to be conquered, as the man had promised. This was a land to be feared.