The spatial jump tore us out of the crystal depths and slammed us onto solid ground.
I hit the cold, jagged stone on one knee, my daggers drawn before my vision even cleared. Beset by the lingering disorientation of long-distance portal travel, I drew a deep breath and immediately choked.
The air smelled of cold ash, dried copper, and old death.
"Hold position!" Gideon’s deep voice bellowed instantly. He stepped in front of our battered group, his broad frame shielding us as his combat blade ignited with a violent, triple-braided aura of royal wildfire, cosmic shadow, and deep sea-blue.
We stood on the cracked precipice of a high basalt cliff, surrounded by the towering obsidian frame of the Eastern Gateway. Below us lay what remained of the Eastern Reaches.
There were no trees, no ri
