Elementals: Ice Wolves

were squeezed together, two and three stories tall, often with more than one family living in them. On the fourth side of the square was the harbor. From far away the docks looked like a forest, masts sticking up from a f lotilla of ships from all over the world. Vallen wasn’t a big island, but everyone always said that you didn’t need to leave the capital city of Holbard to see the world—the world would come right to you instead. And that was because of the wind guards. High above the entrance to the port were the huge, metal arches of the wind guards, the biggest artifacts in all of Vallen. They had protected the harbor for generations. The arches were marked with runes forged all along their length—the runes were the sign of an artifact—and were big enough for even the largest ship to pass under. But though Anders could see straight through them to the ocean on the other side, the guards magically kept out the wind. Even when a storm raged beyond them, the harbor was always peaceful. The docks were where newcomers arrived in the city of Holbard from all over the world.

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