Even elves with their long history only knew these two continents by name.
When Ilúvatar made Arda spherical, the once far-eastern Lands of the Sun and southeastern Dark Lands both became continents even farther west than Aman itself.
Theoretically, by sailing continuously westward, one might reach the Lands of the Sun or Dark Lands.
But even Círdan, despite his finest shipbuilding skills and the sturdiest ships, still couldn't cross the entire ocean to reach the Lands of the Sun—the massive waves would snap masts and shatter even the sturdiest vessels.
But now with steam engines and steel shipbuilding, these seafaring elves were attempting to find the Lands of the Sun across the ocean and even circumnavigate the world—a feat unprecedented in sailing history.
Listening to Círdan describe the Teleri elves' seafaring plans, Kael was secretly amazed.
Had he inadvertently launched the elves' Age of Exploration?
He also grew curious about those legendary Lands of the Sun and Dark Lands.
He wondered whether humans or other species lived in these places.
After staying over a week at the Grey Havens, visiting Harlond and Forlond, Kael and Arwen bid farewell to Círdan, boarding a great ship departing from Lhûn Gulf and sailing southward.
Their destination was Gondor's greatest port—Pelargir.
The great ship sailed the seas for a full month before finally reaching Gondor's Bay of Belfalas.
According to the elf captain, this was because the new ship used steam power—otherwise, with traditional sailboat speeds, even with favorable winds, it would take at least two months.
During the month at sea, Kael and Arwen didn't feel bored. They either enjoyed fishing on the ship or temporarily flew from the vessel to play on nearby islands.
They even used the Bubble-Head Charm to explore underwater or simply used Human Transfiguration to transform their legs into fishtails and grow gills to breathe underwater, becoming even more at home in the sea.
This unexpectedly attracted the curiosity and attention of several Oarni.
These Oarni were sea spirits—just as Tom Bombadil's wife, Goldberry, was a River spirit of the Withywindle, they served the sea Maia Ossë and his wife, Uinen.
Their hair was snow-white, their skin was fair, and they wore soft dresses that flowed like water. Their lower bodies tapered into long, beautiful fish tails. They moved with extraordinary speed through the sea like phantoms yet raised no ripples.
These mermaids were fascinated by the two who had transformed to resemble them. Even after learning it was a magical transformation, they remained friendly, particularly showing affection toward Arwen.
Arwen's grandfather Eärendil had been beloved by the mermaids while living at the mouth of the Sirion River in his youth. The mermaids taught him shipbuilding and swimming skills, gifting him a silver shirt that never got wet.
Furthermore, it was said that Eärendil's ship Vingilótë had mermaid assistance during construction. When Eärendil sailed to Valinor, mermaids guided him through the seas.
As Eärendil's granddaughter, the mermaids held Arwen in great affection, gifting her pearl necklaces from their own necks.
These pearls were formed from mermaid tears, far more precious than ordinary pearls, and also one of the ingredients for making Felix Felicis.
Finally arriving at Gondor's port of Pelargir, Kael and Arwen bid farewell to the elf captain, once more taking their carriage from the docks into this port city.
Pelargir was located upstream in the Anduin River delta, situated at the confluence of the Anduin River and its tributary, the Sirith River.
This was Gondor's naval base. Due to recent pirate attacks, the port was heavily guarded.
Kael and Arwen didn't use Notice-Me-Not charms this time, so upon appearing at the port, they immediately attracted everyone's attention. Arwen's ethereal beauty in particular made everyone stop and stare.
This soon attracted the attention of the naval commander stationed at the port.
Upon learning Kael's name, this naval commander wasted no time, immediately inviting Kael and Arwen to his residence as guests. As part of Gondor's high leadership, he naturally had heard of Kael's great reputation. Not long ago, Steward Denethor II had attended Kael's wedding.
Kael accepted the naval commander's invitation, visiting his residence with Arwen.
[Hogwarts Sign-in System: Located at Gondor-Pelargir Port, sign in?]
The system gave a long-awaited prompt.
Kael's eyes brightened, immediately confirming mentally.
[Sign-in successful. Congratulations on obtaining the Sorting Hat's creation method!]
Sorting Hat? Kael was somewhat surprised.
He didn't need house sorting here—what use was a Sorting Hat?
Though somewhat disappointed, Kael was still interested in the Sorting Hat's unique characteristics.
As a hat possessing self-awareness that could speak, compose its own songs and lyrics, and sort students based on each one's characteristics and inner desires—it was essentially sentient, capable of independent thought.
This was different from magical portraits. Magical portraits were essentially dynamic images composed of memories. Though they could converse with people, they couldn't answer beyond their memory contents or create new things or think independently.
But the Sorting Hat could not only speak and sing, spending the entire year between school terms composing new opening songs, it also communicated with new students using humorous or serious tones. Each year's sorting song was different, even making jokes about the school's past events or current situations, full of personality.
Such a magical item had already touched upon the realm of alchemical life.
If he could learn from the Sorting Hat's creation, perhaps in the future he could create alchemical puppets, allowing him to possess loyal magical assistants with wisdom and thinking ability.
Obtaining the Sorting Hat's creation method made Kael feel the trip had been worthwhile.
He and Arwen toured the port for several days before leaving Pelargir, traveling northward toward Gondor's capital, Minas Tirith.
They traveled at leisure, admiring Gondor's scenery everywhere.
The carriage's interior was vast, with a bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom—everything complete. So they needn't seek inns for lodging. Whenever reaching a scenic location, they'd stop.
The intelligent pegasus didn't need anyone driving—just informing it of direction and destination, it could pull the carriage itself.
Traveling so leisurely, what should have been a two- or three-day journey took half a month before finally reaching Minas Tirith.
Looking at the magnificent city built into the mountain ahead, Kael and Arwen also showed admiration.
The tall gates were cast in bronze, with relief carvings of Gondor's kings and the White Tree, full of history's weight—gorgeous yet solemn.
When Kael and Arwen's carriage reached the gate, a team of Gondor attendants came forward to greet them.