Chapter 77 - The Return of the Fleet

The sun was descending parallel to the horizon at the southernmost tip of Velmora when the Southern Expedition Fleet anchored near a sandy bay. The dark smoke rising from the steamships' funnels curled upward into the sky, drifting inland over the vast savannahs and rocky coast. This wild, unknown land, where sea met earth, saw for the first time the standard of a Pendralis fleet fluttering defiantly in the wind. The rhythmic thumping of engines slowly gave way to the muffled sounds of surf and wind.