The Sky Islands

  Authority is not so much a science as it is an art. Nor is it so much an art as it is a right. But more than a right, it is a gift. The gift is not so uncommon, but Authority itself must be sparked, kindled and—most importantly—worked for. Needless to say, it is complicated. But who would ever have expected the power to command nature itself to be easy?

  — From Secrets of Mani, by Sor the Lark

  (San’Hal 9, 997—Sunset)

  Feln the boatman did absolutely nothing. He just stood with hands clasped, and yet the boat began to pick up speed. I felt a breeze blowing inexplicably in the direction that we were going, in addition to the steady, warm updraft which drifted up from the chasm itself. A glance to either side showed me that the wind seemed to lift the fin-like wings, propelling the little boat.

  I looked to Rhidea to see her thinking the same as I was: this man was a wind mage. As I paid more attention to the boat, the wind and the boatman, I grew more and more sure that that was how he was moving it. To Rhidea, I’m sure it was obvious, being such an experienced mage.

  Rhidea did not mention it, and so I didn’t either. We would figure out how to utilize this information once we reached Scathii and learned more.

  I watched the “shore” leave us, growing more distant. The rock face faded and vanished after just a hundred yards into the thick, grey mist of the Sea. Grey flakes of an ash-like material floated in the air. Was that what actually obscured the bottom? Ahead of us loomed the island of Noduin like a great fortress.

  “So, where are you headed?” the man asked, turning to look at Rhidea. “I’m assuming Noduin is not your final destination?”

  She considered for a moment, and then replied honestly, “We are on our way to the Isle of Scathii.”

  The man nodded. “You wouldn’t be the first wanting to see the secret island of the wind sailors. Folks have all sorts of reasons to visit there, though most don’t make it out for this reason or that. As you’ve already found out, it’s hard to find anyone willing to take strangers out past the shore, even to Noduin. I can find you one of my friends who can take you farther, but you’re on your own after that. We aren’t going to be able to get you to Scathii.”

  “We understand,” Rhidea said politely. “But as they say, where there is a will there is a way. Our quest is very important to us, as well as to others.”

  The man nodded again. “I see. My name is Feln, by the way. You see, our people may technically be part of the nation of Nemental, but we consider ourselves to be our own people. These are our lands. We control all travel to and from the Sky Islands and are the sole provider of wool in the whole world. If King Fenwel, bless his kind heart, ever tried to force us into submission, well . . . the Islanders could easily escape beyond reach. It would not be the most pleasant existence, but we are technically self-sufficient.”

  “I’ve never thought of that,” Mydia said, her voice still sounding nervous from the flying experience.

  “Worry not,” Rhidea said, “King Fenwel would not try to force the Islanders like that. He would have specified your destruction as part of our mission in that case.”

  Feln froze momentarily, tensing up. “The King sent you?”

  “Yes,” she answered, prompting a nod from Feln. “But it’s not about trade, laws or any such thing. We are here for more scholarly reasons. I was merely jesting about destruction.”

  He nodded again, looking a little more relaxed. “Well, you seem like harmless enough folks. Remember, I’m one of Old Carth’s men, and I don’t say anything about anybody, strange or not, mysterious or not.”

  At this point, we were about halfway across the span from the shore to Noduin. Every time I looked down, I still got a dizzy spell and felt almost sick to my stomach. It was now that Mydia chirped, “So, you’re a wind mage, aren’t you?”

  I put a hand to my forehead. “Mydia . . .” I mumbled her name so quietly that nobody would have heard.

  Feln turned, frowning. The boat rocked and stuttered slightly in its course. “Aren’t you perceptive, little mage? Hmm.” He looked at Rhidea and me. “Are you all magi?”

  “Are all the ferrymen magi?” I returned.

  “Well, now I’m only more curious what your mission is at Scathii. And I’m sure you’re all very curious about how we get these boats to move. Most newcomers are curious, but you folks have hidden your curiosity very purposefully.”

  “We meant no rudeness,” Rhidea said. “We did not want to appear to be opportunists come to steal your secrets.”

  “And are you?”

  “No.”

  Feln’s expression softened. “Then we should be all right. Others are much more uptight than me, especially those who work for different masters. As you can imagine, however, I cannot just divulge secrets of so great importance to outsiders. If the Council of Scathii were to deem you worthy, they may entrust those secrets to you. But that is highly, highly unlikely.”

  “Thank you for the warning, sir,” Mydia said, bowing her head slightly. I nudged her, giving her a look to remind her that she should act more like a queen—a tactful queen. Her only response was a small shake of her head. No, it seemed to say, I will not act like a queen all the time, my subject.

  Feln didn’t say more on the topic the rest of the trip. We arrived in a few minutes at the western docks of Noduin and the boatman let us out one-by-one after mooring it to the pier. Mydia looked overjoyed to be back on land, albeit floating land, although I had to catch her as she tottered on her feet.

  “Careful, there, Myds,” Kaen said, though he himself looked a little shaky. She shot him a quick glare, mouthing the new nickname he’d used.

  “Thank you, Master Feln,” Rhidea said smoothly. “We are in your debt.”

  “My pleasure, good lady.” He dipped a formal bow. “I’ll show you to my acquaintance here on Noduin. Now, will you be needing a pickup to take you back to the mainland in a while?”

  Rhidea glanced between the four of us briefly. “No. I think not.”

  He frowned.

  “Don’t worry,” I assured him. “We’ll work something out.”

  He shook his head. “I’m not even going to ask. Your business is your own, travelers, and I will trust you to not get yourselves in over your heads. Come with me.”

  He led us into the bustling town that was Noduin. It was where most of the trade went on between the Sky Islands and mainland traders. Feln explained as we went that the people of the various inhabited sky islands sent their crops and merchandise here, and from Noduin it was exported by skyship to the mainland, and vice versa. Incoming wares were distributed as ordered by the various islands. There was a residential district on Noduin, but it was mostly made up of wealthier trading families.

  Feln’s friend turned out to be a greasy-looking (but trustworthy, as Feln assured us calmly) short fellow with straggly black hair. He had a nasally, high-pitched voice that squeaked as he said, “Ahoy there, jumbucks!”

  I didn’t know what a jumbuck was, but I couldn’t help but think how different all of these men were, considering how well they seemed to know each other.

  His name was Shanagel (he said it like “finagle”). That didn’t help.

  “Shanagel is an old friend,” said Feln. “He will get you closer to Scathii, as quickly and safely as any. Farewell, and may your travels be blessed by the warm winds of summer.”

  “That’s right, mates,” squeaked Shanagel. “You’re in right good hands. Now hurry-hurry, let’s be off’n. ‘Fore the clouds roll in.”

  I rolled my eyes and glanced at Kaen. He raised his eyebrows questioningly, and I mouthed the words, He’s annoying. He smirked, nodding with an askant glance at the short man.

  We followed after Shanagel, and he led us to his boat, which was just as small as the one that Feln had piloted. This one had a different pattern of wings (fins, or whatever they were) on the side, painted strange colors. Again, I looked over the great ledge, this one more sheer (in fact, the islands tapered inward as they went down, having a roundish bottom).

  We left the town behind us as we drifted toward the next island, Nomu, which lay just to the southeast of Noduin, its near cliff lit by the low sun. We chatted a bit with Shanagel, but I didn’t listen to much of it. I was nervous about getting to the Isle of Scathii. From Nomu, we would be able to get there . . . if someone was willing to take us to the secluded island. Well, the biggest hurdle would still be finding a way to travel all the way across the Sea of Emptiness.

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  The great expanse made me feel . . . queasy. The dizzying drop into the unknown depths was as frightening a fate as I’d ever faced, and it was also just . . . eerie. What was down there? No one knew. All I knew was that every time I chanced a look downward, I regretted it. So I kept my eyes on the approaching island.

  “. . . And there’s these giant beerds on the island. Huge, lunkin’ things, the biggest beerdies you ever saw! Great black things. Scary, Oi tells ya.”

  “Giant black birds?” Mydia gasped. “That does sound quite scary.”

  “Aye! Aye! I tell ya, I tell ya . . .” The strange man waffled on, but I tuned him out.

  Eventually, we landed at Nomu Island and said farewell to Shanagel.

  “Ahh,” Kaen breathed. “Good to be back on land. Uh, land . . . ish? Land away from land? I’m getting overwhelmed by these strange magical boat rides.”

  Mydia laughed, although it was a nervous laugh born of relief. “I still feel like I’m going to hurl.”

  Rhidea, for her part, seemed unfazed aside from the initial discomfort she’d exhibited upon getting into the first sky boat. When questioned, she simply replied, “I’m used to traversing the air through abnormal means using my magic. I’ve gotten quite clever with the art by now. But the worst is yet to come, young ones.”

  I turned, looking back over the western horizon. I couldn’t help a soft gasp of amazement. “What a view . . .” The setting sun lay half hidden by the hill near the shore of the mainland, smoldering with a lazy light-red hue and dripping pastel colors onto the fields of pale green. It refracted off the atmosphere in the Sea of Emptiness and filtered through in odd ways at the same time. Overhead spread a beautiful gradient ranging from orange to pink to magenta. No stars shone yet. It would be another two days at least until they were visible. Hopefully we would be on another continent already and would not have to span the great chasm of the world by starlight.

  “Lyn? Come on.” Kaen nudged my shoulder, and I shook myself.

  “Oh. All right.” I followed after the other three, and we made our way through the docking bay of Nomu Island. Once out of the district, I saw that the buildings gave way to rich pasturelands with various animals, with wooden fences separating individual farms.

  “Oh, how cute!” Mydia cried. “They have little sheep farms here!”

  “Of course,” Kaen said. “How did you think they managed to export all these things if they didn’t raise anything of their own? Huh. Sheep, though. So that’s what they look like . . .” He stared at the wooly white animals as we passed them by.

  Nomu was nearly as large as Noduin but nowhere near as densely populated. Most of the land here was used for efficient but small-scale farming, each plot probably managed by just one family. On the southeast side was a small trade market which dealt largely with the people of Scathii.

  Upon reaching this establishment, we met with a lot of furtive and untrusting glances and few words. So the people really were untrusting of strangers. We talked with some of them and got evasive answers that amounted to: no, I won’t take you to Scathii.

  Finally, Rhidea gave up and called out in a loud voice, “People of the Market! Traders, merchants, captains and citizens! I am the Wandering Mage, Cae Rhidea, and I come on behalf of King Fenwel of Randhorn.”

  A hush fell over the few dozen people in the crowd. People stopped what they were doing, and many faces turned to look at the mage, who stood tall with one hand raised in a reaching pose.

  “Who’s that?” called a young child before his mother clamped a hand over his mouth. “Hush, Benny. That’s someone very important and very, very dangerous.” The mother’s voice grew ever quieter as she spoke, though I could just barely make out the words.

  Finally, two men strode up to us, one in a red coat and the other in blue. “Good day, Madam,” said the one in red, bowing politely. “We are the senior tradesmasters present here today. What is your business, if we may ask? And how can you prove that you are indeed who you say you are?”

  Rhidea pursed her lips. “The business of my companions and me is our own, but it is of the utmost importance. As for proof, well . . . many of the simplest ways to prove my own identity would likely result in a minor disaster. Are you all right with that, my good men?”

  The man in red blanched slightly. “Uh-um . . .”

  The man in blue cleared his throat. “Lady, we mean no disrespect. We simply want to verify—”

  “I trust this will do, then.” Rhidea proffered a small slip of parchment and held out her left-hand bracelet, upon both of which were the King’s own insignia.

  “The royal emblem of Randhorn!” said the man in blue. “Truly, there is no mistaking it.”

  “Our apologies, Madam,” said the man in red, giving an even deeper bow. “While we may not see eye-to-eye on all fronts, the people of the Sky Islands recognize the royal authority of Nemental and seek to please King Fenwel as much as is reasonable. What do you require of us?”

  “Passage to the Isle of Scathii.”

  The men looked around nervously.

  “What for?” asked the man in blue.

  “You asked what I require, not why I require it.” Rhidea’s words were cutting, nearly producing a flinch in the men. “Can it be arranged? I know they are a secretive people, that they keep to themselves and do not like to have visitors, but it is important to us and to the king of Nemental. And it is quite possibly vital to our world at large.”

  The man in blue raised an eyebrow. “The world at large, hmm? So . . . what you are saying is that this quest of yours is of great import to many different parties. We may be able to arrange a ship to take you to Scathii, if—if—you can produce for us a treasure from the mainland of a fitting price.”

  Kaen scowled. “What kind of money-grubbing . . . ?”

  Rhidea raised a hand to the side, touching his chest in a warding gesture. “Patience, Kaen.” She looked the man in the eye. “A treasure? That is all?”

  “Yes.”

  “We are . . . commonly swayed by items of great importance to other people,” explained the other man. “It is like an advance deposit of trust.”

  More like a way to swindle people who look rich, I thought with annoyance.

  “Well, then here.” The mage produced a curved horn of solid silver, bearing a spiral pattern. “A horn from an Anteleth of the Plains of Nandaer.”

  The men grew wide-eyed. “An Anteleth horn?” The man in red reached gleefully for the item, then paused, looking up at the tall mage. “May I?” She nodded, and he took it. The two men inspected the piece, nodding and whispering to each other, and then said, “Very well. This is a fitting treasure from the mainland. We will grant what you ask.”

  A cheer rose up from one of the nearby merchants, eliciting a glare from the two tradesmasters. The man quickly turned back to his work, abashed. Apparently, some ears were still listening in on our conversation.

  We followed the two merchant leaders to a group of Sky Sailors, who looked up as we neared.

  “Men! Who will take these four travelers to the Isle of Scathii? They have made a bargain for safe passage to the island.”

  This got mixed reactions from the sailors, ranging from impressed to offended to politely uninterested. One of them spoke up, a large, burly man with black hair and a full beard. “You’ve informed them that there will be extra charges involved?”

  The man in red coughed and nudged his companion, who said, “Of course!” He pointed a meaningful look at Rhidea, who sighed.

  “We can manage whatever fee you may throw at us.”

  The black-bearded man almost seemed taken aback. “Hmm. Whatever fee . . . ?”

  “Whatever reasonable fee,” I spoke up. I tried to look as imposing as possible, crossing my arms and assuming the same pose as Kaen. Belatedly, I added, “Sir.”

  The man laughed. “Well, I’ll take you. When do you need to head out?”

  We looked at one another. “As soon as you can manage, sir,” Mydia said politely.

  “In one hour, then,” the big-chested man said earnestly. “As soon as my crew has packed up from the sale.”

  An hour later, we were boarding the Listening Gale, the pride of the large captain—who had belatedly introduced himself as Charta. This was a ship, a real ship! Two decks high and forty feet long, decked in wood with a metal prow and guards on the front and back, the Listening Gale was unlike any vessel I’d ever set foot on. I’d seen the large wind-sailing ships from a distance and in passing, but it was different to see one up close and set foot on it. The ship had a mast in the center like the ships that had been used on the lake at Ti’Vaeth, sporting two massive sails. Wings spread out on either side of the ship in a vaguely triangular pattern, narrower in the front and reaching over a dozen feet out to either side near the back end.

  We boarded the ship between two of these long wings which drooped over the dock. At the rear of the ship was affixed a long fin—called the tail by the sailors—which angled backward to either side horizontally like that of a river porpoise. It was fixed to a triangular vertical piece, shooting off from either side and tapering at the back end. It angled slightly upward, but could be adjusted as needed. Apparently, it was to hold the back end downward so that the ship didn’t simply swoop in vertical loops. Now that was a horrible thought.

  Mydia was excited but also terrified as she boarded the ship in front of me. At her request, Kaen, who walked up the plank in front of her, held her hand awkwardly and then helped her up the last bit. Captain Charta gave him a manly punch on the shoulder and winked. I nearly groaned.

  After the plank was drawn up, the captain began bellowing various orders to his crew. It turned out that this huge ship was actually driven by pedal power, with six different crew members pumping pedals that drove silver shafts, which in turn drove circular fans positioned at the rear of the ship. These could be seen from the back, and all of them started up soon after the orders went out. We cast off, and the giant ship began humming its way through the sky, toward Scathii.

  Only . . . I couldn’t see Scathii.

  I cast about, searching for one of the crew to ask about the mysterious place. Scanning the far horizon, all I could see was the grey haze all about us, tinged with other colors from the sunset. Sol’s rays melted into the sky in an indistinct horizon. There were a couple more sky islands out this far, but they were off to either side, none in the direction we were heading. Was the island really just that far away?

  I settled on asking my teacher. “Rhidea, where is Scathii? Is it so far away that we can’t even see it yet?”

  The scholar frowned. “I do not actually know. The sailors say that it takes about an hour to travel there by ship.”

  “Wow. That is far for such a big ship.”

  Rhidea shook her head. “Not really. Six fans drive this ship, but no wind magic like the Ferries so far as I’ve seen. They probably have some mechanism helping to keep it aloft, but that is all. I’m sure it is not any faster than those small vessels. Honestly, I suspect that the island is hidden partially under the cover of the grey haze that permeates this place. We have been heading in a gentle downward course, or haven’t you noticed?”

  “Huh. I didn’t.” I scratched my chin, head tilted upward as I stared out over the tall bow of the ship. The triangular, interlocking wings vibrated on the wind, rocking the deck gently. Hidden in the grey layer . . . well, it wasn’t grey in the fading cast of Sol’s colorful light, but . . . could she be right? What an odd place to live. I sighed and resigned myself to waiting.