Chapter 14: The Creation
Prince Ahmad’s procession left Ravan by Palace Gate and traveled along the northern road. This route would take them north for some three parasangs before reaching the foothills of the Tirghiz Mountains, and then would turn eastward. The procession would spend six days paralleling the mountain chain before reaching the shores of the Bitter Sea, then would turn slightly southward again and cross the Shiraz Plains before coming to Marakh, the mighty kingdom between the twin rivers of Harrud and Meshkal.
Like any young man traveling away from home for the first time, Prince Ahmad was in a state of rare excitement. Every sight, every sound, every smell bespoke some new adventure, some new facet of the world for him to grasp and understand. The mountains, the forests,
