Lying flat on my face I stared over a great expanse of country.
Looking north I saw the city in a haze of morning smoke, and, beyond, the plain of the Euphrates and the opening of the glen where the river left the hills.

Up there, among the snowy heights, were Tafta and Kara Gubek.

To the east was the ridge of Deve Boyun, where the mist was breaking before the winter's sun.

On the roads up to it I saw transport moving, I saw the circle of the inner forts, but for a moment the guns were silent.

South rose a great wall of white mountain, which I took to be the Palantuken.