Back in Unigarry, at the river edge of the Elf Kingdom, Seabreaker waited at the end of the pier like a creature straining at the leash.
Its hull was long and narrow, built for cutting across hard waters rather than idling gently against a dock. To prepare for departure, the sailors were hauling coils of rope, checking barrels, and shouting orders at one another.
Corisande stood beside her white mare at the edge of the dock, one hand resting lightly on the horse's neck as the animal shifted uneasily against the smell of brine and tar.
"It's okay, Snowbright," she said to the steed. "I'm not fond of the sea either. We'll be seasick together, mhm?"
The mare was elegant, pale as fresh winter milk, with a braided mane and a harness that looked far too refined for a common stable beast. Corisande boarded the ship, taking the horse with her up the wooden bridge.
One of them—a crude, heavily tanned deckhand—frowned openly at the sight.
