The night wind traveled from the Capital City southward, sweeping across fifty li of open fields, before pausing briefly in Patzcuaro City. When dawn lit up the sky and earth, the envoy from the Capital City hurriedly set out on their journey, continuing southeast. Over a dozen samurai with the Hummingbird House crest guarded two cloaked envoys, quietly traversing the prairies past the large militia escorting provisions.
Avoiding the desolate villages and crossing the uninhabited knolls, they arrived at a sparse woodland. The shallow trees of the tropical highland blushed with cherry hues of tender new branches that had just sprouted in the spring breeze. Grass up to a meter high blanketed the wilds, swaying in the wind to create waves, the delicate tips adorned with slightly blue spindles, like an ocean of lavender.