Traveler of the Void
Part 2 - City on the Sea
Chapter 1 - Festival Under the Sea
Surina sailed her ship alone under the light of a full moon. It was just about the time when she would usually find a shallow place to drop anchor and go to sleep for the night. Her heart urged her to hurry; she didn’t want to stop yet. Surina used the faint light of the moon and stars to navigate past the dark shapes of deserted islands and cut through the blue-black waves.
The ocean had no roads. She couldn't see her destination yet. In order to reach it without getting lost, she had to rely on the constellations, the islands she passed that she knew, and the orientation and movement of the sun during the day.
The closest thing the ocean did have to established paths were sea currents, but their orientations were entirely fixed. Riding a current that flowed in the direction she wanted, she might make excellent time with minimal effort. But she couldn't work against a current on her own. Even a group of adult Rassharō oarsmen wouldn't be able to struggle successfully against a strong current.
She had to find the best current, or series of them, to take her where she needed to go. But where were they? Which currents should she try to find, and which should she avoid? She didn't know. A map of the ocean would probably be a lot more complicated than a map of land.
As she navigated in the half-dark, Surina felt like she was shrinking, dissolving—slowing being sucked into a dream.
She probably had been sucked into a dream, by virtue of falling asleep while steering. She watched, astonished, as the black-blue waves of the sea beneath her transformed themselves into semi-transparent bright blue water. She leaned forward to look at it closely and realized that the jewel-toned water had completely swallowed her up. She and her ship were totally submerged beneath the bright blue waves.
Surina was not frightened. She could breathe easily. Her small boat continued to move through the water. Her sails were full, not of wind, but of water that carried the ship along a current.
This strange current is like the wind, Surina thought. Still not knowing if she was dreaming or not, Surina continued to drift along the current, completely underwater, for what felt like a long time.
Suddenly, she heard something. Surina sucked in a breath as she peered down at the ocean floor in the direction of the sound.
In the deep water, innumerable dots of light floated gently, as if suspended there by invisible threads. They darted through the water at great speed, leaving trails of light behind them as they moved. The light they gave off strengthened and lessened by degrees, not like sudden flashes, but like the steady rise-and-fall of a pulse.
When the lights were at their brightest, a subtle, elusive melody like the chiming of bells surrounded Surina on all sides. Each floating light seemed to have its own bell-like voice. The sound of the bells increased in volume, then became softer and more distant as Surina jolted back to herself. She felt like she'd been hit by an advancing wave.
The chorus of bells swelled up again, loud. Surina's skin was suddenly covered in tiny bubbles. Haven't I heard this song before? She believed she had. The last time she'd heard it, she'd been afraid. I mustn't listen to it. I mustn't.
She remembered someone's warm hands covering her ears to protect her against the song. Her mother's hands.
Surina saw the first rays of the sun spreading out over the iron-gray surface of the ocean above the crystal-clear water surrounding her and her ship. Sea birds called out in harsh voices above her, then flitted down and dipped their wings in the bright blue waves.
Surina saw a number of dark splotches in the distance. As the sun rose, the otherworldly water around her ship melted away, leaving her above the waves sailing on the ordinary ocean. Everything around her was ordinary, as if nothing strange had happened at all.
As she drew closer to them, Surina identified the splotches in the distance as ships: six of them, all gathered at the conflux point of the currents, just where Surina had been separated from her father. In the half-dark, Surina couldn’t make out many details, but she saw the people on board the ships scattering something into the sea. Along the sides of each ship, the dark blue water shone briefly turquoise. Blue-green light swirled out like ripples from the fleet.
"Huh? Are those sandworms?" Surina muttered. She'd sometimes seen these insects used when fishing at night on Kalsh, but she knew they were used more on the southern islands of Sangal, like Kanak. That was where she remembered seeing them first—on Kanak.
Sandworms existed in abundance on the beaches there, each one resembling a tiny grain of sand. When the tide went out, the sandworms were pulled from the beaches into the ocean, along with real sand. At high tide, they floated on the water's surface, glowing in the dark. At night, anything swimming in the water near Kanak—human or fish—was easily visible in the eerie glow of the sandworms' light.
Using sandworms made it easier for fishermen to navigate at night. Some fish were also attracted to the light of the worms, so they made excellent bait.
These ships must have recently come from the island of Kanak. The number of birds overhead was greatly reduced compared to four days ago. Surina no longer saw the huge school of jagō swimming between the currents, either. The people on the ships were probably using sandworms to lure out more jagō, if there were any.
She needed to tell them about the Talsh ship. She would hate for what had happened to her family to happen to someone else.
Surina sailed closer to the six ships. From what she could see of the people's faces, she thought they seemed puzzled to be approached by a solitary Rassharō girl.
"Great wind we're having!" she called out in the Rassharō language. This was a traditional greeting. The men and women on the ships repeated it back to her.
"Where is the captain?" she asked. She was so nervous that her chest hurt, but she was determined to warn them. The people on the ships exchanged glances across the water.
An old man beckoned to Surina. He introduced himself as the Nan Yalga, the leader of this Rassharō fleet.
Surina faced his ship and brought her own vessel close enough to his so that they would be able to hear one another talk. As she came closer, the other ships surrounded her ship and the leader's in a protective circle.
The Nan Yalga seemed farsighted, or perhaps partially blind, based on his distant gaze. His hair had only just gone gray. He was around forty-five or forty-six years old.
"I am a Rassharō, born on Kalsh. My name is Surina," she said politely.
The man nodded at her and said curtly, "I'm Tado."
"Please forgive me for interrupting your fishing," Surina said. "But I don't think the jagō are here anymore."
Tado's eyebrows shot up. "How do you know?"
Surina licked her dry lips, reviewed recent events in her mind, and began to speak. She told the Rassharō about the huge school of jagō that had been there four days previously—how they'd been carried to the conflux along the Sararō current to the southwest. As she spoke, Tado's expression became less guarded, but he still seemed puzzled by the fact that she was out here all by herself.
Surina took a deep breath and told Tado and the others how she'd come to be alone.
Suddenly all the Rassharō started talking at once.
"What? Are you mad? A Talsh spy ship, all the way out here?" Tado asked. His voice was joined by many of the other anxious Rassharō men and women.
"It's true. Yesterday, three Talsh ships left the deserted island near Rasu, heading northeast and northwest. You must not sail that way. If you encounter them, they'll kill you."
In her mind, she could still see the rain of arrows as they slashed the air around her and hear the horrible sound as they'd pierced the gunwales and the hull. She remembered her uncles' frenzied screaming, Rashi crying—her father's voice, telling her to run—the arrow in his shoulder—
Her whole body shook. Surina crouched down and gripped the side of her ship, hard.
"Hey! Are you all right?"
She heard voices around her, but she couldn't answer. She felt a chill like the beginnings of a fever go through her, then heard a high-pitched noise before passing out.
When Surina came to, an unfamiliar middle-aged woman was rubbing her back. "Poor dear," she said, "you've had a time of it. But don't worry. You'll be all right." The woman spoke hoarsely, but kept encouraging Surina as she rubbed her all over, trying to warm her up.
Surina opened her eyes and tried to sit up. The whole world spun, but she recovered after a few moments. She and the woman tending to her were not the only ones on the ship. She saw others gathered around her or stretched out on the deck. Everyone was looking at her with expressions of concern.
Surina repressed the sudden and urgent desire to cry. If she started crying now, she doubted she'd ever stop. She'd fallen into these people's hands as if she were an infant in need of care.
"It must have been awful," the woman helping her said. "You can tell us about it, if you want. It may help. And if you hadn't come to warn us, the same thing could have happened to our ships. But you don't need to be afraid anymore. You can come with us. We live near Kanak Island. That's not such a far distance from Kalsh. And the Nan Yalga has said that if we pass near the island, we'll stop off and see you home."
The woman's kindness pierced Surina's heart. She looked up at the woman's dark, wrinkled face and thought, Thank you. Thank you so much.
But what she said was, "I can't go to Kanak. And I can't go to Kalsh."
The woman blinked at her. "Why not?"
"I have to get to the capital. I have to let them know that the Talsh are planning to attack."
The Rassharō surrounding her appeared confused. They were silent for a few moments.
"Don't be stupid," Tado said, breaking the silence. "Why should a young girl like you have to stick her nose into matters like which country is going to attack who? When the sandworms wander away from our ships, they are gobbled up by what lies below. You intend to do us the same harm that befell your father," Tado said in a reprimanding tone.
"It seems to me you haven't thought things through," Tado continued. "Take some time, think about things calmly, and listen to us. In place of your father, I will share with you our Rassharō wisdom. We have nothing to do with Sangal, or Talsh, or any other nation. We are Rassharō. Who cares who's the king of anywhere? No one rules the waves.
"Wars are like storms. What do you do when a storm comes? That's easy. You sail where there is no storm. We are not Takka Dorura, the island peoples—their petty squabbles do not concern us. We can go anywhere in our ships. We can live anywhere. The ocean is vast. Perhaps the Talsh wish to wage a war upon the waves, but that is not our concern."
This was a very typical Rassharō perspective. Surina's father probably would have said much the same thing. He would almost certainly want her to run away with Tado's fleet, so that she would be safe.
Tado spoke quietly. "You have given us valuable information. For that, we thank you. Please come with us, as Ala has asked."
Surina looked up at Tado and shook her head slowly.
"I can't. I have a promise to keep. And if I fail to keep it, I'm sure my father will scold me mercilessly." Surina told Tado about the promise she'd made to Dogol. He frowned.
"This Dogol person is cruel, to coerce you into such a promise. You are not under any obligations to keep your word. I'm sure he never wanted or expected you to succeed. And your father wouldn't scold you for saving yourself."
Tado was right. But Surina wasn't used to running away from her promises.
"Thank you," she said, "but I have to at least try to make it to the capital."
Tado sighed. "Well, if you insist. We will pray for your safety and success."
Ala stood up and said, "Please. Come with us."
Surina smiled at her, but shook her head. Ala nodded in sad understanding, then led her back to her own ship. Surina was just about to jump from one ship to the other when she remembered something.
"Miss Ala!" she called out. Ala turned to face her. "Could you sell me some sandworms?"
Ala consulted with a man that seemed to be her husband. After a while, she lifted up a small jar full of sandworms and passed it to Surina. She stubbornly refused to accept any money for it.
"Even a pinch of sandworms will glow well in the dark," Ala said. "I've given you a fair amount, so don't be shy about using them."
Surina thanked her and opened the jar. It was nearly full, but the worms inside were indistinguishable from ordinary sand. If, like last night, Surina found herself unable to sleep, she might try night fishing with the sandworms.
"Be careful as you travel," Ala said. "And if you ever change your mind, you can come back to us on Kanak at any time. All right?"
Surina's chest ached with gratitude. She bowed deeply to Ala, then returned to her ship.
The Rassharō fleet hoisted sail and moved away from her, buffeted by strong winds. A short time later, Surina was sailing over an ocean bright with sunshine, all alone again. She quickly lost sight of the Rassharō ships.
She had hardly slept at all the previous night. But I did have that strange dream...it was like I was asleep, but the boat still moved, underwater.
A little before noon, Surina dropped anchor in the shallows just off the coast of an uninhabited island. Instead of putting on more sunscreen, she positioned herself in the shade of her sails. As soon as she got comfortable, she fell into a deep sleep.
In a dream, she saw her mother coming closer to her. She seemed to be trying to tell Surina something, over and over again, but her voice was completely drowned out by the sound of rain.
"I can't hear you!" Surina shouted as loudly as she could. Her mother extended a hand, touched one of Surina's ears, and...
Surina woke up suddenly, disoriented and unsure of where she was for a few seconds. The sound of the rain lashing the sails above her head was violently loud. It sounded like beans being poured steadily along a tightly stretched length of leather.
Surina adjusted her sails and gazed out at the sea, astonished at what she saw. Lightning forked in the darkening sky. Surina picked up a bucket full of rainwater on deck and gulped it down. Then she waited, still under her sails, for the thunderclouds to dissipate.
She lifted anchor and considered where to go next. If I take the Nogura current, I should pass Tonol Island.
Muttering to herself, Surina prepared the ship to set sail. She needed to take the same route her father had taken from Kalsh in reverse. She couldn't stop at Kalsh this time, but had to turn northwest from there. Wracking her brains and reviewing everything she knew, Surina mentally mapped the fastest route to Sangal's capital city. She was pressed for time, but she felt somehow that time was the only resource she had plenty of. If she failed to plan properly, who knew how many days she could lose.
Surina decided to indulge in one of the luxuries in her stores and retrieved a baked honey candy from a crate. Its sweetness spread over her tongue as it dissolved in her mouth. Her remaining exhaustion melted away as she ate. Only the lingering traces of her dream still troubled her. The sensation of her mother's hand touching her ear was so vivid that she thought it had been real.
Wind filled her sails. Surina raised her palm to check the wind's direction and felt the wind blowing through her whole body. The ship gradually began to pick up speed as she navigated along the Nogura current.
For a while after that, Surina traveled over the deep clear ocean, so far from land that she couldn't see the outline of any island. It was a long, solitary voyage. Her hair was loose in the wind and salt water stung her senses. She kept expecting to smell the smoke of cooking fires mixed with the aroma of roasting fish, but she was too far from people for that.
I miss the smell of smoke. I'd love to talk to someone, anyone.
Feeling indescribably lonely, Surina brought her knees to her chest and clasped her hands together as she cried, half-heartedly manning her sails as she wept.
She didn't know how much time passed before she heard something ahead of her, carried on the wind. She cleared out her ears to listen better. The commingled sounds reminded her of music and dancing at a festival. Surina glanced over the side of her ship and looked down.
She gasped. On the ocean floor, she saw a flower garden that spread out in all directions. The usual dull gray sea had transformed into the bright blue lapis lazuli-colored water that she remembered from her dream. A pale peach light hovered over the entire undersea garden, caused by the deep blue light reflected by seaweed being cast upon the pink flowers below.
Singing voices echoed from among the flowers. Here and there, the petals of the flowers shook slightly as if they were being tickled. Sometimes, a golden powder like pollen escaped from the flowers and danced in the sea. Surina watched this powder swirl up all the way above the surface of the waves, rising into the sky.
She heard a sound like a flock of chirping birds. While the golden powder danced above her, a school of small fish plunged upward out of the sea to consume the powder, gulping it down as if it was their favorite food. The strange chirping came from the fish.
The fish were not the only ones making noise. The floating seaweed, the pale pink flowers, and everything else in the bright blue water joined their voices to the same song.
Surina blinked, then opened her eyes. She was completely covered in the bright blue waves, just as she had been the previous night. When she passed under the layer of seaweed above, she saw innumerable points of bright light dancing on the ocean floor. The lights moved smoothly through the water, leaving bright trails behind them. They approached her, but seemed to shy away when they got too close. As she tried to track the light that played gently over her cheeks, Surina noticed that each light greatly resembled the eye of a fish when seen up close.
Underwater plants rippled in the waves like locks of shining hair. Unblinking eyes looked at Surina as if they were staring right through her.
People that look like fish eyes? They weren't people, but they seemed to possess a mind and a will just like she did.
The lights danced around her, their song growing louder in her ears. Surina's own body began to sway. Her loneliness vanished like a popped bubble. Surina matched her own movements to the song and started humming. It felt like her soul was full of bubbles. The song made her feel warm and safe.
As she danced, she caught sight of another girl on the sea floor, her face visible in the gap between the pale pink petals of the flowers. She was dancing closer, almost close enough to touch.
Eshana.
Surina watched Eshana dancing and singing happily beneath her. Her blood went cold.
"Eshana!" Surina called out to her without thinking. "Eshana! Eshana!"
Surina's voice became a stream of white bubbles that traveled through the bright blue waves to touch Eshana's face. Eshana lifted her head, appearing puzzled, and looked at Surina.
Surina saw the faint light of recognition in Eshana's eyes, but as Surina reached out to her, that light faded. Eshana's soul had been lured beneath the sea by this song. The sea would not let her go easily.
Surina continued calling Eshana's name in desperation. Surina suddenly remembered, with perfect clarity, having heard this exact song before. She'd been about six years old, sailing with her family at night. She'd heard the song faintly beneath her, from under the waves.
At that time, her mother's warm hands had completely covered her ears. "Do you hear that? You mustn't listen to it. It's the song of the Nayugul Raita, luring you under the sea. If you accept their invitation, you'll lose your soul and remain under the sea forever."
When this memory resurfaced, Surina's ability to see the real world, in addition to the bright blue world she associated with dreams, returned to her. The dark waters of her world's ocean overlapped with those of the Other Sea. She could see her ship floating above her.
Surina grasped the side of her ship. With a gut-wrenching cry, she yelled: "Eshana! It's Surina! Remember? Your mother is waiting for you. Come back!"
The ship slowly drifted away from the undersea garden where Eshana's soul danced. Eshana lifted her head and frowned. Surina shouted loudly, trying to drown out the song of the Nayugul Raita.
"Eshana! Eshana! Come over here, with me! If you stay here, you'll die!"
The light of recognition slowly returned to Eshana's eyes. She looked directly at Surina. Her mouth formed slow syllables. "Su...ri...na?"
Suddenly, a white light emerged from Eshana's forehead, condensing and forming into a long white thread. Neither Surina nor Eshana knew this, but this white light was Eshana's soul thread, which was connected to her body.
Eshana pulled at the white thread and kicked at the bright blue water beneath her feet. She rose up over the bright blue waves, up and up and up.
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