Siqxhe laughed with almost reckless abandon, hanging on a rope over the side of the ship and watching as Port Conquest came into view over the green hills and the lush scenery. A hodgepodge collection of buildings and shacks and gray stone abodes, nestled neatly in the side of a hill. A place where not even the creeping vines of forest could enter.
Nations of civilization in the lands of Paqaboōf… beautiful towers, spires of creation in the new lands that were Paqaboōf! Seagulls flew above, calling out to the ships and the people below, looking around for food and… it reminded him, to a lesser extent, of Abōeo.
They arrived! After so long, they arrived… Pennants hung high over the city, red and yellow and all the colors of the rainbow and then some. Deep blues, the flags of the Sakaxhy Empire, royal greens above the ships of Nolabo. Trading galleons maneuvered deftly around each other, some taking it slow and safe, others speeding, joyfully cresting the waves of a windy port today and slamming down into the foam. Beyond it all lay the warships, immense wooden constructs that floated in deep colors over a blue ocean.
The watchful eyes of those pennants, flying the green banners of Nolabo. The memory of home… Port Conquest was a Nola port, taken from the Sakaxhy in the early days of the colonization and named for it. A beautiful place that, compared to the wretched dirt and hovels of Laytaihishu, was the very center of civilization. Beacons.
Hopes.
He pulled himself back into the ship, laughing a bit more and patting the sailor who’d given him the rope on the back. A few sailors grumbled- those that had thought a well-born Nola physician wouldn’t dare hang over the side of the ship… well, it wasn’t the most dangerous or most stupid thing he’d ever done. Both of those would fall squarely in the zone of talking to Laeo… he put those thoughts out of his mind, focusing more fully in the sunlight, the greenery and finally, the distinctive cast of Nola buildings.
It was beautiful….
Iri walked up to stand beside him, looking out over the waves and taking in everything. Her eyes positively glowed with happiness, even if her mere presence sent some of the more superstitious sailors away from him. Some, however, had gotten used to it…
In the moment, though, Siqxhe could care less. They’d reached land. They’d reached somewhere close to home… warm breezes blew, carrying the hints of rain. Winter in Xhyolok meant rain in Paqaboōf and sunshine in Nolabo, and something in Royeleo where the Orroyelans lived. He didn’t know what but he couldn’t care… The ship slid neatly into the port, shadows and broken pieces of driftwood floating on the water, all sorts of city stuff. Soon they’d hit the docks, and they’d be free…
“They’re going to see me. They’re going to know, and through knowing, destroy us…” Iri backed up behind her, hiding almost timidly behind Siqxhe. One of the sailors shook his head, bemused.
Siqxhe stepped off to the side, laying a hand on Iri’s- clothed- arm. “Just remember the plan. There’s too many people in a port for anyone to care about what they see. Not even if what they see is a sibilant shining in the sun.”
He laughed, and reluctantly Iri calmed herself, a subtle relaxation of posture that made Siqxhe happy. “I suppose…” The ship thudded into the dock with all the softness of a trained approach, and a second later, the gangplank clapped against the wooden pier, and freedom was within their reach.
………
Having bright streets was- after his stay in Sakaxhy lands- a thoroughly welcome innovation. All the buildings in Xhyolok tended to fall into one of two categories- imperiously tall, or short and spread far apart. Or beneath the Eternity Falling… still, he was too happy to dwell on such thoughts as they walked through the streets of Port Conquest, looking for a place to stay.
Paqaboōf hospitality was legendary. Siqxhe and Iri had discussed this for days- whether they should try and camp in the forest outside of the city, or entreat the hospitality of Paqaboōf and hope that not everyone thought Iri was some sort of demon out of the very depths of the sky.
In the end it had been Iri's decision to stay closer to where there was a greater chance of finding what they needed. Still, two houses in and with two rejections- one of which ended in an unfortunate instance of them hiding behind a fence as the homeowner searched for them- had dampened his mood about that decision.
It was bright, though, and away from the cold forests of Xhyolok, away from those cruel, gnarled wastelands… he felt like he was in a better place. Sunlight, and the possibility of happiness- away from Laytaihishu, they were making progress.
Unfortunately, however, they knew so little… They’d spoken about what they intended to do, but those discussions had rarely gone close to actually finding Polarity Light… More so, they were immediate problems. How to feed themselves. How to start searching- how to find a place to stay.
They stopped in front of another house. It wasn’t particularly impressive- the first one they’d gone to was a waterfront manor, and they hadn’t even met the master before they’d been told to leave… This one was still nice, but there was a certain wear around the edges. Cracks in the whitewash, a crumbling exterior which must have at one point been new and fine.
A knock. The thud of metal against wood, not quite human sounding but also close enough. A faint gleam, sunlight off of Iri’s metal, and then silence as she hid beneath a wide-brimmed hat they’d managed to pull from the ship’s stores. “Do you think they’re going to let us stay?”
Siqxhe snorted, but it was laden with a heavy sense of denial. “Honestly? I wouldn’t think so…” His words trailed off into silence as the door opened, putting them face to face with a neatly clothed Sakaxhy woman holding a sheaf of papers in one hand and looking for all the world as if she didn’t need the distraction.
Her eyes flickered to Siqxhe, then to Iri and were she a normal person probably would have gone back to Siqxhe… but Iri wasn’t the average person. For a long second, she just stared at them. “You… what? Who are you?”
“Siqxhe, and Iri.” He ran through as good of a Sakaxhy greeting as he could pull off- not quite as good as what Laeo’d been able to do but fine enough… “We’re travelers from Xhyolok, and wondered if you wouldn’t mind us staying with you for a few days.”
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
“I…” She shook her head, sighing. “Nevermind. Come in, have a seat, and we’ll talk.” It was better than a flat out refusal, so Iri and Siqxhe neatly filed through the low door, moving through the half-ancient construction until they reached an open atrium at the center of the building. It wasn’t much- a small, twenty foot square of open ground, mostly paved with a few remnants of dirt and ill-maintained flower-beds that had become more grassbeds than otherwise. A small table sat in the center, a tiled pattern, set with a few flowers and the soft effects of a culture that wasn’t Nola or Sakaxhy, but rather a blend of both.
Iri sat, glimmering- a light in the pale sun, and Siqxhe sat beside her with all hope and the quiet resolution he’d made as he’d let himself get dragged away from the Ilyaochi village… “We’ve come a long way, and we were hoping for a place to stay a few days.”
The woman shook her head, pulling out a few preserved fruits. “That’s not an introduction. Here, let me explain- my name’s Tuotsu’o, seamstress and part-time writer for a local paper. And you?”
“I’m a doctor, trained in the university in Abōeo, and Iri here is…” He let his sentence trail off, not knowing exactly what Iri did. Be a sibilant- he knew that, for one, and knew things that nobody would figure out for hundreds of years without her. The only person who’d ever figured out where Polarity Light was, even if she couldn’t remember it now.
“A watcher. Servant, once, to the Eternity Falling.” She made no move to elaborate to Tuotsu’o as to what the Eternity Falling actually was, something that Siqxhe was eternally grateful for. If they’d had to explain who she actually was, what she had been- then they’d never get out of here.
A person who’d known God itself was a rarity. Actually, it was more of a thing that never happened. Not even in theology… he’d grown inured to the idea, but she knew God… “We’ll help, of course- I can do most anything, and Iri’s strong.” It was the basic trade. In exchange for hospitality, you helped do what they could not. It was a nice system. A system in danger-
Every system was in danger.
Everything… Tuotsu’o nodded her agreement and they found their rooms, two little spaces that overlooked the street and beyond that, the harbor and those white sails, those far off little vessels of humans. Ships, and beyond the horizon, waiting like the coming of storms, the Eternity Falling. He could almost feel the pressure.
Humanity itself...
………
It was raining.
Winter in the southern states- that is to say, everything but Xhyolok- meant regular deluges, rolling off from the sea and dumping their contents over the streets and forests and quiet places. The patter of rain was something he remembered well from Nolabo…
They walked through the streets, bundled up in heavy, water-resistant clothing, and still getting soaked. In the sound and the glimmering droplets as they fell through lantern-light, in the mists of a wet winter day, it was the perfect time for them to move through the city in silence.
Silence… it was a subjective thing- the rain was loud, as was the occasional clap of thunder that echoed out over the old city, but it was silent in comparison to the bustling of industry and the port traffic. Quiet like light, as soft as white stone, brightness…
Warm in spite of itself- they ducked into the cartography office, the very building they’d been looking for. If they had any hopes of finding Polarity Light, they’d need to know where to look… unfortunately, that band of where was particularly large- anywhere from the heights of Xhyolok-peaks to the depths of the ocean and even space- Iri was relatively certain it was somewhere on land, but not certain… So they were here, in Paqaboōf where- as the hope went- Polarity Light had been overlooked in uninhabited lands.
“A dreary day outside, isn’t it!” A cheery, rounded man called out from behind a desk, waving him over. “What brings you here today? Maps for an expedition- let's see, foot or sea… you want a map of the straits, perhaps, in hopes of running cargo-”
Siqxhe shook his head. “Nothing like that. We’re looking for a topography map. The more complete, the better.” Almost as an afterthought he paused and added- “And if you know some places where scrap might end up…”
“Ah… so you’re one of those people. Unusual strategy, but still-” The man pushed himself into a standing position, walking slowly over to a desk with a hundred locked cabinets, maybe more, and pulled out a keyring. There was an obvious distaste in his voice. It was subtle, but definitely there- something about scrap had set him off? It didn’t make much sense. “Here… pay up, then I’ll show you.”
Reluctantly Siqxhe passed the clerk a handful of Nola banknotes that had seen better days, watching carefully as he unrolled the map on a table of mahogany and scratches, a history. It was a thing of lines and dark ink, words scrawled in neat handwriting and notes made along the margins, something that had clearly taken labor to build. Several arrows were drawn through the water, and all sorts of things had little notes beside them. Everything from ancient stone structures to particularly dense forests, mountains and everything.
It was a beautiful thing, and he watched as Iri reached out and traced a finger in a single, perfect line, an oddity that defied all possibility. At some point she’d taken off her glove, and her fingers gleamed, little fantasms of light scattered around the table by a thousand small, vibrant facets that shifted as she moved. “That’s the debris trail.”
Siqxhe frowned, shifting just enough to block the clerk’s view of Iri’s fingers. Hopefully it would be enough to prevent suspicion, but he doubted that immensely. “Which is?”
“When the Eternity Falling crashed, the majority of the debris hit the planet on this line.” She pantomimed the immensity that was god impacting the moon, and for a second he could almost imagine it- looking up from the ground, watching the moon break…
Siqxhe nodded, covertly motioning for Iri to put her glove back on. “So we need to look on that line?”
“Yes, and no…” Iri clasped her head in her hands, gently shaking it back and forth. Beneath the hat and scarf they’d put on to disguise her, Siqxhe could see the feverish intensity of her eyes, the brightness so deep, piercing gazes that looked beyond the maps and saw history itself. “We’d be better looking at places where debris accumulates. Naturally, like rivers, and artificially, through the works of man… I can almost remember something. Almost, but can’t.” Deep sadness permeated that voice, and for the longest second there was silence. Silence and the dull thrum of rain…
It was the clerk, actually, who was the first to break it. “Thanks for doing business with me. Now…” He motioned subtly, and Siqxhe handed over a few more banknotes. He was running dangerously low on those, and with most of his funds still in Nolabo...
Siqxhe and Iri shared a knowing glance as they thanked the man. Another reflection of a time so long ago as to be nigh on forever… and a hope, too- that they were finally making progress even if it was cruelly slow. If Polarity Light was in Paqaboōf, then what they’d just done might save them a great deal of time and effort… where was it? Maybe they’d found the answer… or at least, the first clue.
Feeling excited at their first real bit of progress, they stepped into the crashing rain and the winds of abandon, onto the streets of Port Conquest and disappeared into the mists of a winter day.