What does "across the empty leagues of " mean?
example 1:
"Every morning I will watch the rising sun and my thoughts will wing their way across the empty leagues to you," he had said, tightening Firefoot's girth. "I promise."

example 2:
In a flash the portal had carried them across the empty leagues of space, and into the Necron Tomb Ship.

example 3:
A message went to Earth's Moon, flashing across the millions of empty miles. It went by a secret wave-frequency that only a half-dozen people knew. Back across the empty leagues of the void, in reply to that urgent summons, came a ship, driving hard for Europa, moon of Jupiter.Thank you, Peachey, Randy and lemo. You're my mentor in learning.

Question

What does "across the empty leagues of " mean?
example 1:
"Every morning I will watch the rising sun and my thoughts will wing their way across the empty leagues to you," he had said, tightening Firefoot's girth. "I promise."

example 2:
In a flash the portal had carried them across the empty leagues of space, and into the Necron Tomb Ship.

example 3:
A message went to Earth's Moon, flashing across the millions of empty miles. It went by a secret wave-frequency that only a half-dozen people knew. Back across the empty leagues of the void, in reply to that urgent summons, came a ship, driving hard for Europa, moon of Jupiter.Thank you, Peachey, Randy and lemo. You're my mentor in learning.

Answer

A league is an old unit of measurement, approximately 5.5km. The general idea is that this is a fair walk, not an easy stroll.

You could understand it as "across the empty distance", but using  "leagues" gives it more reality, poetry and rhythm.

Answer

A "League" in this context refers to an old unit of measurement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_(unit)

So this sentence is a fancy way of saying "I went a long way, and there was nothing interesting to see at all.."

It's a very interesting way to describe a very uninteresting trip. :P

*edit* 
Looks like I was beaten to the answer!

Answer

A "league" was a unit of distance long ago, but it is not used today. The reference is a literary use of the word to mean distance.

Answers · 3

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