The road from Feroch to Ecresh wound its way up a mountain to about halfway up where the capital was built into the side of the mountain. Ecresh was one of the most impregnable cities in all of the seven principalities and Astaria for this reason. There were only two entrances into the entire city that were surrounded by natural rock and giant walls.
Aliana had been to Ecresh once before with her father and was blown away by the formidable and utilitarian architecture of the city's defenses. She was just as blown away as they drew near the capital. The princess and her group left Feroch the day after they arrived to rest on dry land before traveling again.