A few moments afterward, both were fast asleep.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
A TRIUMPH—AND A WORDLESS COVENANT
On leaving Tlamco, Kerœcia was carried up the Sacramento River by the fleet of the Azes, until nearly opposite the mouth of Antelope Creek, where she was met by a company of Monbas warriors and given escort to Anokia, their capital city, situated south of Lassen Peak.
At a distance of from five to eight miles from the false base of the Sierras, is a range of isolated hills which form an irregular belt of elevation, separated from the main chain by an intervening plain.
It was here that Anokia was built, in a rocky amphitheater at the head of a stream which flows back directly northeast from its source toward the axis of the principal mountain chain.
The kettle-like form at the head of the valley opened on the north, and extended in a huge semi-circle to the river below. Opposite the opening stood Lassen Peak, either as a grim protector, or in frowning distrust, according to the interpretation given to the mountain’s inscrutable mood.
There were several small domes and pinnacles on the east side of the peak, and, in some places, the granite rim formed a beautifully striped parapet of bedded rock. Portions of the stone were thin enough for the sunlight to penetrate the crevices, and to throw faint but effective shadows on the layers of brilliant colors.
The more solid sections of the wall afforded a magnificent view of the surrounding crest of the Sierras which here spread out like a giant harrow overturned against the vast horizon.
Evergreen trees and undergrowth fringed the tooth-shaped outlines which the blue haze softened and blended perfectly with the lighter tones overhead, and blurred deep and heavy in the interesting glades and canyons.
The whole region presented a complicated system of sharp ridges, with immense circular cavities between, as if the entire country had suddenly cooled while boiling violently.