Traveler of the Blue Road - Part 3 Chapter 4 - The Storm

  Traveler of the Blue Road

(Book 7 of the Guardian of the Spirit Series)

Author: Uehashi Nahoko

Translator: Ainikki the Archivist

 

  Part 3 - Chagum and the Hawk

Chapter 4 - The Storm

    

      The ship crossed over Sangal’s southern border when they passed the Sagan islands. It had been two years since the Sagan islands had been conquered by the Talsh empire.

    Chagum stood at the edge of the upper deck and observed the large island in front of him. It was shaped like an upside-down bowl; trees stuck out from the very top of it. He remembered Princess Karina abandoning these islands to their fate early in the war against the Talsh. She’d discarded them as easily she would skip a stone over the waves. Her cold voice when she’d announced her decision had been utterly devoid of remorse, or of any feeling at all.

    She didn ’t see the Sagan islands as important.

    Chagum considered this situation somewhat ironic. He’d been discarded by his father just like Princess Karina had discarded these islands--and here he was, passing right by them on his way to Talsh.

    His captivity ceased to be burdensome the moment he was permitted to get up and move around the ship. He scarcely ever felt like a prisoner at all. He knew he’d been kidnapped and was being forcibly led to the Talsh empire, but all his fears were in the future; his day-to-day life was actually quite pleasant if he didn’t think very hard about it. He was suspended between the blue of the sky and the blue of the sea; the sun was warm and bright overhead.

    Only thinking about the end of this journey cast a shadow over Chagum’s heart. A soft voice inside his mind whispered that he should jump into the sea and end his life before this voyage ended.

    Staring at the surface of the sea lit by the strong afternoon sun hurt his eyes. He sighed and faced the mast. The people up in the crow’s nest were moving and working at a near-frantic pace.

    When he recognized one of the hurrying figures, his eyes widened. Senna?

    She was at the very highest spot in the crow’s nest, half-climbing the mast and shielding her eyes with her hand.

    An old man passed by close to Chagum on the deck. His face was deeply tanned and wrinkled; he might be the oldest man on the ship. When he noticed where Chagum was looking, he smiled.

    “She’s like a monkey, isn’t she?” he asked in a gruff, good-natured voice.

    “Is it really all right for her to work that high up?” Chagum asked in Sangalese. “What if she falls?”

    The old man shrugged. “She’s been doing the same work as the others since she was a kid. It’s not like she’d ever just forget how to captain her own ship.”

    Chagum reddened slightly at the man’s direct tone. The old man smiled kindly at him.

    Senna gazed out over the ocean with her shoulders high and her back straight, looking like the proud ruler of everything she could see.

    “Captain! We’re almost to Amarai,” the old man called out to her. “Do you see it?”

    Senna looked down at him and waved, then she pointed to the southwest. She climbed down from the crow’s nest and started adjusting the sails to prepare the ship for turning.

    “It’ll be nice to be home,” the old man said. “It’s been almost a year.”

    “Is your home around here?” Chagum asked.

    The old man nodded and pointed at the large mound-shaped island that marked the beginning of the Sagan island chain. “That big island there is Rokurai. Once we’re past it, it’ll take about five days to reach Amarai in good weather. I’m sure our families will scold us harshly for being away for so long.”

    The old man laughed low in his throat. “The color of the sea is just the same as we left it, at least. Just seeing it again eases my heart. Life’s been so exhausting since the Talsh watchdog came. We’re a pirate ship; we’re not meant to act legitimate.” He smiled. “And yet... looking at the sea near home makes me feel completely refreshed.”

    The old man’s eyes flicked to something on the deck. “Oi! You there!” he called out. “Is that how you swab a deck?”

    A boy cleaning the deck with a mop glanced up at the old man nervously. The old man rushed over to him and struck him soundly across the cheek. The boy didn’t cry out or complain; he rubbed the reddening mark on his cheek while apologizing and bowing his head.

    Huh,  Chagum thought, wincing a bit on the boy’s behalf. So Senna lives around here somewhere.

    They had sailed into waters that were occupied by the Talsh. Chagum hadn’t realized how close this voyage truly was to its end until now. He wondered what he would see on Amarai. Had it been destroyed in the war? How did the Talsh maintain control there?

    As he considered such things, he heard someone call out behind him. Startled, Chagum turned and saw a woman standing at the rear of the ship. She was leaning all the way over the edge with her feet dangling in midair.

    Chagum approached her slowly. She was an older woman, maybe in her fifties; she was very short and a little overweight. Her arms were thick with muscle. She kept leaning over the edge of the ship as he came closer. He couldn’t tell what she was doing even when he was standing right behind her.

    The waves roughened, causing the ship to buck upwards, but the woman kept her balance and remained safely on the ship. She lifted her arm so fast that Chagum’s vision blurred. There was a long length of fishing line wrapped around her fingers. An instant after she lifted her arm, a small fish landed with a plop on the deck. The woman knelt down and pushed the fish into the deck with her palm until it was still.

    She looked up at Chagum with a little smile. She was blushing slightly as if he’d caught her doing something embarrassing. As he took in her finely wrinkled face, he realized that she wasn’t Sangalese.

    “Doesn’t it hurt your fingers to fish without a pole?” he asked.

    The woman tilted her head to the side and brought her hand up to her ear; it seemed she was a bit deaf. Chagum came closer to her and asked his question again.

    The fisherwoman smiled at him and shook her head. “Nah. I’m used to it.” She showed him her fingers, which were thick with callouses. She removed the hook from the fish on the deck with practiced care, then placed the fish into a tub that was nearly full of fresh fish. Then she baited her hook and cast out her fishing line again.

    As the hook disappeared beneath the dark blue waves, Chagum leaned against the edge of the ship and asked, “Are you a pirate?”

    The fisherwoman glanced at Chagum and shrugged. “I cook, and they let me stay.” She checked the tautness of her fishing line and muttered something Chagum couldn’t quite make out.

    “I used to live on my family’s boat, but a terrible storm came and wiped out everyone but me. This ship picked me up.” She said all this very quietly without looking at Chagum, as if she were talking to herself.

    The fisherwoman pulled up on her line again. She poked her tone out and licked her dry lips as her face set in lines of deep concentration. Her eyes locked onto an island in her sight line for a moment; then she started wrapping her line around her fingers. It was clear that she hadn’t caught anything.

    “If you go belowdecks, you’ll smack your head on the ceiling,” she said to Chagum. “You’d do better out here, hanging onto the mast.”

    “Huh?”

    She picked up the tub with the fresh fish and walked up the deck. She settled the tub on her hip and called out to the sailors: “The acha are fleeing into the deep water, and the gulls are retreating to the islands! A storm’s coming!”

    The sailors nodded in understanding and started spreading the word. “Auntie says a storm’s coming!”

    Chagum looked up at the perfectly clear blue sky. It certainly didn’t look like there would be a storm soon, but Chagum was no expert sailor. He passed by sailors making storm preparations as he returned to his cabin.

    Less than an hour later, the sky darkened suddenly and the wind blew in strongly through the cabin’s porthole. The ship swayed roughly back and forth as men shouted to one another on the deck. The sound of the rain was loud and constant overhead.

    Lightning cut the sky in two. Thunder rumbled beneath Chagum’s feet. The wind howled like a wild animal. As Chagum’s fear mounted, he heard someone descending the stairs outside his cabin.

    Hugo entered suddenly and closed the door, bolting it shut behind him. His hair and clothes were completely soaked. After he bolted the door, he went over to the porthole and locked the board holding it shut with a key. The wooden cover over the porthole stopped rattling.

    Hugo lit a candle. Chagum turned toward him and muttered, “When the fisherwoman said a storm was coming, I didn’t think it would happen that fast.”

    Hugo pushed his hair out of his eyes. “She’s a genius when it comes to reading the weather. I think this ship picked her up from a Rassharou wreck. Ever since then, she’s been looking out for the sailors.”

    Chagum tilted his head slightly. So that woman was one of the Rassharou? She used to live on a boat with her family, so that made sense.

    “Forgive my rudeness, Your Majesty, but I’m going to need to ask you to hold on to this support post,” Hugo said. “The storm is about to get worse. If you don’t hold on to something, you could get hurt.”

    Chagum extended his hand to one of the wooden support posts along the side of the cabin and gripped it with one hand.

    “No; you’re going to have to really hold on to it,” Hugo said. “Hug it, almost. Let me know when you’re ready and I’ll blow out the candle.”

    If the candle fell to the floor in the middle of the storm, the ship could catch fire. Chagum understood why Hugo had to extinguish the candle, but the idea of being left in the dark again made him feel hopeless.

    Hugo noticed Chagum’s uncertain expression and smiled. “Don’t worry. This is a Sangalese ship; they’re built for this kind of weather. You’re only in danger if you don’t hold on, or if something collides with us in the middle of the storm. There were no other ships on the horizon, so we’re probably safe from collision. Just hold on to that post and you’ll be fine.”

    Chagum nodded. The ship floated unsteadily over the waves like a leaf caught in an unpredictable air current. Chagum found it difficult to remain standing upright, so he crouched down and wound his arms around the support post. Whenever the ship pitched up and down too strongly, pain shot through his left shoulder.

    The wind whistled as the the rain slapped at the sails and fell in sheets across the deck. Chagum felt a slight breeze coming in from somewhere and froze. If air was getting in and the ship tipped over, water would pour into his cabin. The ship creaked and groaned all around him. He wasn’t sure if the ship really could stand up to this storm’s ferocity. He felt like the ship was being pinched between the cruel sky and the bottomless sea.

    Chagum was scared. He gritted his teeth and clung tightly to the support post. He felt someone grab his belt and yank it free; Hugo lashed him to the support post and retied the belt. Surprisingly, that simple change made the ship seem significantly more stable. The shocks he received from the hull still pained his injured shoulder, but they were much more bearable than before.

    Chagum took a deep breath. He smelled cholu. Hugo’s back was pressed against his to help him remain in place.

    Suddenly, the ship went over an enormous wave and tipped completely on its side. Chagum closed his eyes tightly and strengthened his grip on the support post.

    “Don’t talk. You might bite your tongue.” Hugo chuckled in the dark.

    Chagum understood the joke, as morbid as it was, and almost laughed.

    Hugo started humming a song. Chagum didn’t know it, but the melody was in a major key; it was a brave song that drowned out some of the sound of the waves striking the ship.

    When he finally got his fear under control, Chagum opened his eyes and smiled. Hugo kept humming the song like a lullaby until the ship righted itself and the rage of the storm lessened.

 

 

    The storm lasted for hours without a break. The first sign of the storm’s ending was that the violent lashing of the rain on the deck went silent. Chagum couldn’t pinpoint exactly when that happened; the ship continued to pitch back and forth and up and down even after the rain stopped. The wind died down a little while after.

    There was a knock on the door of Chagum’s cabin. “You alive in there? The storm’s past,” Senna said.

    Hugo looked at Chagum and whispered, “Are you all right?”

    Chagum nodded.

    “We’re fine in here, thanks,” Hugo said. He stood up, stretched, and felt around for the door’s bolt in the dark. He unlatched the door and opened it. Wind and light entered the cabin, making Chagum blink rapidly at the sudden change.

    As Chagum freed himself from the support post, Hugo climbed the stairs to the deck. Chagum heard him say, “Huh... uh, wow. Look at that!”

    Chagum climbed the stairs to the deck slowly and looked up at the sky, which was a deep, pure red. He sucked in a breath and looked toward the horizon.

    The sun was going down, lighting the sky up in red and purple; he’d never seen such a spectacular sunset before. Even the sea around the ship reflected the red of the sky with perfect clarity.

    “It looks like the storm polished the sky,” Hugo said. He was smiling.

    The Sangalese sailors should probably be working to get the ship back on course, but everyone was too stunned by the spectacle to look away. Chagum went right up to the edge of the ship and rested his hands on the guardrail.

    The sailors only started moving again when the color of the sky changed from pure red to purple-orange. They milled around and speculated about what the Rassharou fisherwoman would be making for dinner.

    Hugo turned toward the steps leading to the cabins, then stopped and looked at Chagum. He was standing as still as a statue against the side of the ship. He scarcely seemed to be breathing. Hugo looked at his face and watched his eyes flicking back and forth between things that Hugo couldn’t see.

    When Hugo blinked, Chagum’s body flickered like a mirage. Goosebumps rose on the nape of his neck. He suddenly remembered all of the rumors he’d heard about Crown Prince Chagum and his role in saving a water spirit from being devoured by monsters. That act had prevented a drought in New Yogo.

    Hugo smelled water in the air. It wasn’t just the lingering smell of water from the storm; the scent was much more vividly arresting. It was coming from Chagum.

    When Hugo blinked again, the entire ship was engulfed in waves so bright and blue that they shone with an inner light. Hugo gritted his teeth.

    Chagum was smiling faintly. Hugo saw him clearly through the crystal-clear water. He looked like he wanted to dissolve into the waves and let the ocean of Nayugul take him away.

    He ’ll escape!

    Hugo shook his head to clear it, then reached out and grabbed Chagum’s left shoulder. His hands were trembling. Chagum’s face twisted in pain as Hugo’s fingers dug in.

    The next moment, the water of Nayugul surrounding the ship vanished like a popped bubble. The intense smell of the water also receded by slow degrees.

    Hugo let go of Chagum and gripped his own knees, breathing heavily. When he looked up, Chagum’s face was as still as a carving made from ice. Only his wide-open eyes betrayed his shock.

    Hugo and Chagum stared one another down without speaking for what felt like a long time.

    Chagum blinked and broke the silence. “Why? How?” His voice was barely louder than a whisper.

    Hugo stood up straight and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He closed his eyes and focused on getting his ragged breathing under control. After he composed himself, he looked at Chagum again. “Don’t run away. Please.”

    Hugo’s words affected Chagum like a blow. His eyes were full of anguish. Chagum suppressed the renewed pain in his shoulder and kept staring at Hugo, completely dumbstruck.

    He knows. About Nayugu. Hugo knows.

    In a voice that shook, Chagum ventured, “Can you...see it?”

    Hugo nodded slightly. He took a deep breath and faced Chagum squarely. “I can. If you’d gotten sucked in just now, I might have, too.” He looked out at the sea. The pain didn’t leave his eyes. “Please, please, please don’t run,” he whispered. “If you disappeared now, what would happen to your people?”

    Chagum’s hands came up to cover his mouth. He buried his face in his palms to conceal his tears and took shallow breaths so that he wouldn’t start sobbing. The smell of Nayugu’s water lingered in his nostrils. It wasn’t as intense as the night when he’d seen the sandworms glowing around his grandfather’s ship, but it was still comforting and familiar. He experienced the deep peace and quiet of Nayugu like an invitation; he was irresistibly drawn to it--and Hugo had dragged him back to this harsh and uncompromising world.

    Hugo leaned in close and whispered in his ear. “You were born the son of the Mikado,” he hissed. “Do you really intend to abandon your people when it’s still possible to save them?”

    Chagum dropped his hands from his face and looked up.

    “Imagine the thousands--no, tens of thousands of lives in your hands. I can’t believe you really want to flee and just leave them to their fate.” Hugo spoke in a low whisper, but he sounded angry.

    Chagum’s jaw locked. Tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes, but he made no move to wipe them away.

    “What do you even expect me to do?” he whispered back. His voice was still slightly unsteady. “I wouldn’t even have to save them if you weren’t threatening them,” he choked out, forgetting to keep his voice down. “I don’t need reminding that thousands of lives depend on me.”

    Chagum closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were bright with tears. “But how am I supposed to save them? By allying with the Talsh?”

    Hugo gestured for him to speak more quietly. When Chagum addressed him again, he whispered, but there was venom in his tone.

    “You want me to depose my father to save the country. But I’m no threat to my father’s power at all. I certainly can’t kill him. I’d rather be executed by Talsh soldiers with my head held high than go along with such a plan.”

    Chagum’s tone lost its bite as he spoke. He looked older than he was; old and aggrieved. “The Mikado believes himself to be blessed by the gods. If it comes to war, he will order the army to fight to the last man rather than surrender. I know deposing him would save countless lives, but...”

    Chagum unleashed a primal cry like a scream. “Do you really expect me to pay for Talsh mercy with my father’s murder?” He took in a long, shuddering breath. “I would become a caged pet of the Talsh empire. My hands would be stained with my own father’s blood. My people would never follow me then, and I--” Tears fell down Chagum’s pale cheeks. “I wouldn’t want to be a Mikado like that.”

    Hugo’s anger visibly deflated. The last light of the sun lingered on the horizon; stars twinkled in the clear evening sky.

    Hugo and Chagum stood on the deck facing one another as the world went dark.

 

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