Traveler of the Void - Prologue Chapter 1 - The Girl Singing with the Wind

  Traveler of the Void

(Book 4 of the Guardian of the Spirit Series)

Author: Uehashi Nahoko

Translator: Ainikki the Archivist

 

Prologue - The Girl Singing with the Wind

   The wind was strong. In the night sky a half-moon had risen, the wind agitating the clouds in the sky high above. The wisps of cloud disappeared and appeared, appeared and disappeared again, as their shadows ran across the beach.

    An old fisherman walked along the beach that night, white hair blown frenzied by the wind.

    "The santarai must have called the wind," he said.

    There had been a huge catch that day. An especially large number of nets had been brought in full of the wind-calling fish, the santarai, gleaming like silver swords in the sun.

    The new year had just begun, and along with it, the time of the santarai's breeding season. Usually, the santarai swam in the deep places of the ocean so that they wouldn’t be caught in fishermen's nets. They only swam close to shore during breeding time to lay their eggs along the rocky coast. There was nothing so delicious as a santarai with its stomach full of eggs.

    It was customary for unusual or rare fish to be offered to the Island Guardian first, before any of the fishermen. Santarai were the sole exception. They were considered a gift from the goddess of the sea to the fishermen themselves. All fishermen of the island remembered and honored this gift every time they sat down for a meal. The arrival of the santarai was an event that the islanders looked forward to every year. The island's fishermen and their families all cooked santarai over roaring fires and held grand feasts.

    Consequently, the old fisherman walking along the beach was in a pleasant mood. The smell of the santarai sizzling over coals lingered in his nostrils. The younger people of the island were still drinking merrily at the feast, but he had reached the point where he could no longer drink another drop. At the same time, he'd realized that the wind had picked up suddenly and left the feast to investigate.

    Tomorrow, the portion of the santarai to be given to the Island Guardian would be placed into the fishery at the western, rocky part of the island. The old man worried that the strong wind might blow away the traps set to ward off wild animals. If that happened, the santarai could be at risk of being devoured by beasts.

    The old man suddenly stopped still, feeling the wind blow his white hair into his eyes. There was a little girl sitting on the beach. She sat facing the ocean, turning a vacant gaze on the sea.

    Clouds raced across the sky. As the moon broke through the clouds, its light shone onto the upturned face of the girl sitting on the beach.

    Eshana?

    Eshana was the daughter of the old man's next door neighbor. Though she had just turned five that year, she had the mature attitude of an adult.

    What on earth was she doing on the beach at this time of night?

    The old man nearly called out to her, but he stopped himself. In the high wind, even a soft call would carry a far distance—and he did not want to interrupt Eshana. She was singing. Singing in a strange accent, in a language that the people of the island did not use.

    "What on earth..."

    Although the night was warm, the old fisherman felt goosebumps rise along his spine.

"The wind's getting stronger."

    The flames of the wax candles lighting the hall flickered and nearly went out. Servants hastily ran over to the hall's windows to cover them with screens to keep out the worst of the wind. The wind's howling suddenly became a distant sound. After a short time, the air in the hall became oppressively humid. The servants left the hall to wait in better-ventilated rooms inside the palace until they were called.

     Adol had only become Kalsh’s Island Guardian the year before last, after his father had passed away. He was a good-looking man, but his habitually shrewd and cunning expression worked against him. Despite his exalted position, he seemed more like a calculating merchant than a ruler.  

     The island was technically under the official sovereignty of Sangal, but Adol could boast of being the Island Guardian of Kalsh by virtue of long tradition. Island Guardians had once ruled these islands, before Sangal's royal family came into power. Adol was keenly aware of this, and the haughty gleam in his eyes was readily apparent.

    Adol turned his gaze toward a delicate-looking man of middle years sitting in the chair for guests in front of him. The man wore loose clothing and a richly embroidered sash. He appeared to be some kind of merchant. His name, were he to give it, was Yatonoi Rasugu.

    "Why have you come?" Adol asked.

    Rasugu lifted his eyes and looked at Adol. "Lord Gail of the Nōrm archipelago has agreed to join our alliance."

    Adol's eyebrows shot up. "Really? Hm, lord Gail...isn't he the one that's madly in love with his wife?"

    Rasugu chuckled under his breath. "No matter how wise and beautiful they say she is, she's only a woman. No man in the world would be pleased to be governed by his wife."

    Adol shook his head and offered Rasugu a bitter grin. "You’re clearly a foreigner. Though you may be familiar with how we live, you do not understand our hearts. In Sangal, a wise wife is a treasure to any man. This is true from the lowest peasant to the highest offices of court. The only difference is that all of our Island Guardians have ties to the royal family."

    Adol’s own wife was currently absent from the palace. She had gone ahead of him to make preparations at the Moon Palace, Sangal Yasheera, for the coronation of Sangal's new king.

    "I'm not saying Gail should divorce his wife or anything," Rasugu said. "Only that their social positions seem somehow reversed. If it’s true that your royal wives are as wise and clever as you are, I imagine they'll come through any trial unscathed and find profit in it into the bargain. If you were matched against your wife in a battle of wits, you might lose—am I right?”

    Rasugu smiled. Adol smiled back.

    "It's difficult to say, but...I think it would be a close match. I’d be willing to give it a try."

    Rasugu nodded in admiration. "That's the Sangal spirit. I've heard that your people are tough sailors and that you make tenacious merchants and strong-willed warriors. It seems this is indeed the case. Sangal's royal family read you wrong in just one matter: that by taking a wife, you could be controlled by her, instead of the other way around.”

     Adol opened his mouth to respond when the loud sound of a door slamming reverberated through the walls of the palace. Raised voices followed the sound. The sound of weeping was intermingled with the voices.

    Adol stood up, crossed the hall quickly and opened the door.

    "What's going on?" Rasugu asked.

    Adol's servants were discussing something in hushed tones in the hall’s adjoining room. Adol nodded at them and turned back to Rasugu. "Excuse me for a moment."

    Adol left. Rasugu heard marching feet and doors opening and closing. After a few minutes, a deadly silence fell over the palace. Rasugu left his seat and drew his short sword, prepared to escape if that proved necessary.

    Then the door of the hall opened, revealing Adol on the other side. His face was contorted in a frown.

    "What's wrong?" Rasugu asked as he sheathed his sword.

    Adol's tense expression changed to one of relief. "Ah...that was nothing to do with what we were talking about. Please put your mind at ease."

    Rasugu frowned. "But what’s happening out there? You seem flustered and unlike yourself."

    "It's difficult to explain. It seems that something unusual has happened on one of the islands near here."

    Adol resumed his seat and faced Rasugu. "Your country also faces the sea, doesn’t it?" he asked.

    "Yes."

    "Well then, I'm sure you've heard the same kind of story before. It's an old legend, passed down through the generations. It goes something like this: at the bottom of the Yaltash Ocean, there is another world called Nayugul, where a people called the Nayugul Raita live."

    The wind howled, shaking the screens over the windows. Faintly and more distantly, they could just make out the sound of the rumbling sea.

    "The people of Sangal are an ocean people. But of course, we don't live  in  the ocean. The people of Nayugul, the Nayugul Raita, cannot possibly live above water, either. Our two peoples live separately, in peace...but it seems that, from time to time, the Nayugul Raita take a peek above the surface of the water."

    Rasugu's eyebrows furrowed together. "Above...the surface? Then the Nayugul Raita are capable of crawling out of the ocean?"

    "No, no, nothing like that. They suck out the soul of a human and inhabit their body," Adol said. "There are many five-year-old girls in the world, but this is the first time I've ever heard of one that does nothing but stare into space and sing songs in an unknown language. On top of that, this girl does not eat, does not sleep, and behaves like a puppet being manipulated by strings.

    "I don't know how long this has been going on. It reminds me of something I heard once from the head priest of Sangal's high temple. He had a prophetic dream that he took as a message from a god. He said: 'A child will become the eyes through which the Nayugul Raita will view the human world. If they see that the human world is evil, they will destroy it.'

    "The priest called the child the Eyes of the Nayugul Raita."

    Rasugu leaned forward. "How strange. What will happen to this child?"

    "The Nayugul Raita are also called the children of the mother of the sea. They serve the goddess that grants the people of Sangal the riches of the ocean: fish, salt, pearls and shells. If the Nayugul Raita discover that the human world is evil, they could relay this message to the goddess, and we might be destroyed.

    "The head priest of Sangal's high temple counseled the King in this way: 'Show respect to the mother of the sea. Accept the guidance of your court. But under no circumstances must you reveal the impurity of the human world to the messenger of the goddess.'

    "In order to fulfill these requirements, the girl who has become the Eyes of the Nayugul Raita must be brought immediately to Sangal's royal court, where they can be sheltered and protected. This girl must receive the very best hospitality and see only the best of what our world has to offer. After that, she must return to the sea."

    "Return to the sea?"

    "We will hold a ceremony to bring the girl's soul into harmony with her body, then drop her off of Hosorō cape into the ocean."

    Rasugu understood why he’d heard weeping earlier. The people crying had probably been the girl's family.

    "And so, what happened just now...is that because the Eyes of the Nayugul Raita has appeared?"

    "Yes. It's so sudden that it's hard to believe. It's the first time in my life I've ever encountered a situation like this...but for all that, the reports I receive seem to align closely with our nation's ancient legends."

    Rasugu regarded him with a penetrating stare that cut right through to Adol’s innermost thoughts. Adol's face twisted in a grimace. Rasugu narrowed his eyes.

    "Is the child someone you know?"

    "No. She is the daughter of a fisherman. Her father was the most famous diver on the island. He died at sea, but while he lived, he was the master of Prince Tarsan's divers."

    Adol noticed Rasugu’s eyes widen. "You may not know, but this island, though small, is widely considered to be the original homeland of the royal family,” he said. “It has been traditional in our country to raise the first son of the royal family in the city, where he can receive an education befitting his rank, while sending the second son here to train as a fisherman. Because of this custom, my wife's younger brother, Prince Tarsan—who is like my own brother—was raised on this island. Unlike me, he loves to fish." Adol's tone was faintly tinged with scorn.

    "I wonder sometimes if he would have been happier being the simple son of a fisherman. He's been obsessed with diving to catch deep-water fish since he was a child. The girl we have spoken of, he cherishes as he would a younger sister. He even made her a ring out of seashells. When he finds out what has happened to her...well, you can imagine his distress."

    "Hm." Rasugu tapped his chin, momentarily lost in thought. "So, now that the girl has been brought here, don't you need to escort her to the royal court?"

    Adol sighed heavily. "It seems that way."

    "How many days should it take to reach the capital?" This question came out faster than the first, almost suspiciously so. An unusual light shone in Rasugu's eyes.

    Adol thought this change in demeanor odd, but he answered him without hesitation. "I don't think it should take more than five days. Once all preparations are made here, I daresay we could make the journey in three. I will be attending the coronation ceremony. It's considered proper to observe all twenty days of the ceremony, but even if we're delayed, I imagine it wouldn't cause much of a problem if I was a day or so late."

    At that moment, the door to the hall opened again, bringing with it a cacophony of voices.

    "It seems she's here," Adol said. "Excuse me."

    Adol stood up from his chair, as did Rasugu.

    "I have no wish to interfere with your plans, but I would like to see this child that has become the Eyes of the Nayugul Raita, if possible," Rasugu said. Seeing Adol's worried frown, he continued, "You may have forgotten, but I have some small knowledge of magic weaving. If I reach out and touch her soul, I may be able to determine if she really has become one of the Nayugul Raita, or if she is simply suffering from some mental illness."

    "That may be so, but the priests and islanders have eyes. If your identity is suspected..."

    Rasugu simply smiled. "Don't worry on that account. I promise not to do anything that will make the priests or the islanders suspicious of me."

    Adol hesitated, but finally nodded. "All right, then. You can see her."

    Adol felt a strong gust of wind as he and Rasugu left the hall. Sangal's palaces had been built to allow the wind to pass through them no matter how many windscreens were used. With their hair blowing behind them in the warm, damp air, the Island Guardian Adol and his guest Rasugu entered a dim, narrow entrance hall. Their footsteps echoed across the hard floor. They walked a little further and encountered a mixed group of fishermen and soldiers.

     In the center of the clutch of people, a young girl stood with a priest grasping her arm and a white cloth covering her face. For all that she was surrounded by people, she seemed somehow isolated and alone. She appeared very much like a fisherman's daughter: aside from her head covering, she wore nothing but a loincloth. Sand ground between the toes of her deeply suntanned feet.

     Temporarily shedding his haughtiness, Adol crouched down and offered the child his greetings. "I welcome you and thank you for coming. Please enjoy my hospitality until the day you return to your own home."

    It was not clear if the girl had heard him or not. She stood there, straight as a stick, unmoving and unresponsive.         

    Rasugu took one step closer to the girl, reaching out hesitantly toward the cloth that covered her head.

    "You must not remove the cloth," the priest holding the girl's arm snapped at him.

    Rasugu smiled reassuringly at the priest and nodded. "Please don't worry. I don't intend to remove the cloth. I merely wondered if a humble foreign guest might also offer his greetings to the messenger of the goddess of the sea?"

    Rasugu had a slighter build than any of the islanders, but he possessed an unusually intimidating presence. Everyone suddenly fell silent and watched the stranger attentively.

    After a pause, the priest nodded reluctantly.

    Rasugu extended his hand and placed it gently on top of the girl's head. He closed his eyes. The girl did not so much as twitch in reaction.

    "Sir, have you finished giving your greetings?" the priest asked.

    Rasugu blinked as if coming out of a trance and returned his attention to the priest. He looked as though he wanted to ask something, but he seemed unsure of what to say.

    "Huh? What... Oh, um, yes. Thank you." Rasugu bowed before the assembled people and stepped back, away from the girl.

    The priest regarded him with an uncomprehending gaze, but then composed his features. "Island Guardian and Lord of Kalsh, please show our honored guest the finest hospitality," he said.

    Abruptly, Adol shifted his line of sight from Rasugu to the divine messenger. "But of course. Attendants, please guide our esteemed guest to her rooms. I entrust you with drawing her a bath and preparing linens so that she is comfortable. You two soldiers—you, and you there—I will assign as guards."

    As soon as he stopped speaking, the islanders in the room let out strained cries of grief.

    "Don't cry," Adol said. "I understand your pain. It grieves me as well. But there is nothing that can be done. Please be brave. I expect that the King will offer the girl's family a pension and security so that they will never go hungry."

    Eshana's mother collapsed to the floor in tears. The people of the island surrounded her, seeking to console her grief. As her mother looked on, two female attendants approached Eshana, each taking a hand as they began leading her to her rooms.

    Eshana's mother gathered her courage and called out, "Eshana! Eshana!"

    But Eshana didn't even look back. She went docilely to her rooms, led by the attendants.

    Just after midnight, the two guards at the door of the Eyes of the Nayugul Raita heard a faint, but repeated, sound. It was so soft that at first neither one of them was sure that they'd heard it. It almost sounded like something colliding with the outside wall—something blown into the wall by the strong wind.

    As they listened, trying to identify the sound, an irresistible sleepiness came over the guards. They nodded off where they stood. Inside the guest chambers, the attendants entrusted to watch over the child also heard the faint not-quite-there sound and fell into a deep sleep shortly after.

    So none of them so much as glimpsed the shadow of the person that sneaked into the guest rooms in the middle of the night, nor was there anyone to notice that two people left those rooms shortly after. The guards and attendants slept, obliviously, until morning.

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