Under a Starless Sky

Chapter 7

Neva refusing the barracks brought Lanore and Tell back out.

“What’s wrong with the barracks?” Lanore asked.

“Besides the fact it smells like men? Nothing,” Neva said. “It doesn’t fit us.”

“You need more space?” Lanore asked.

“No, not a bigger house,” Neva said. She brought her hands together, prayerful. “I am not refusing your

hospitality. You have been extremely generous entertaining my request, allowing us to stay. I wish to

tarry under your Light, but not in rock, and not within the walls. With your permission, we will sleep on

the beach. I will police our campsite, and keep it small. If you agree that I may stay and learn from you,

I will ask permission to establish a home on the water.”

“A boat?”

“No, a home, above the water, on sticks and beams,” Neva said. “If you are even remotely considering

letting me try to teach breath holding, we’re going to have to live on the water. You can’t learn this skill

on the land.”

Lanore frowned. Tell was there. She gave the slightest hint that this seemed reasonable. Lanore felt a

tinge of anger. She turned to see Shen was in earshot.

“Do boys learn this skill?” Lanore asked.

“If you live on the water, everyone learns to swim, or you drown, that’s it,” Neva said.

“Consider the beach your domain,” Neva said. “Build your water home. If you’re still within my Light a

year from now, you will have my answer.”

Neva bowed. She turned to say something to Foam but Lanore interrupted her.

“Teach the ghost to swim, or drown him trying,” Lanore said. She called Shen and directed him to go

with Neva. He hesitated, considering his sun exposure would likely result in sunburns. “Barracks or Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

beach?”

Shen frowned. He approached the water gypsies and stood in their mist.

“Come on, then,” Neva said. “Foam, go fetch our kayak and supplies.”

As Neva, Cari and Shen headed for the beach, a group of children followed. A seven year old taking

the lead. The girls traveled in threes, but the boys were scattered.

“So, can you swim?” Neva asked Shen.

“No,” the Seven said. “He can’t swim, he can’t kill a rabbit, and he’s a coward.”

“A coward?” Neva repeated.

“He won’t fight. He will fall to the ground and allow himself to be pummeled,” Tora said. “And when we

go to the beach, he will go sit in the shade. He’s very lazy. Even L’Ma’s own mother hates him.”

“L’Ma hates him?” Neva asked.

“Obviously, or she wouldn’t tolerate his behavior,” Tora said. “He can’t even speak to save his life.

Probably because he has no life force. He has no soul.”

Neva didn’t understand. “How so?”

“If he had soul, he’d have color, and voice,” Tora said. “Everyone knows this.”

Neva decided not to correct the child. Cari made a face, suggesting concerned, tempered with

amusement. Before swimming, Neva wanted to create a fire pit. She asked Shen to gather wood and

kindling.”

“Boys aren’t allowed to touch sticks,” Tora said. “Don’t you know anything?”

“Can they can gather rocks?” Shen asked.

“Sure,” Tora said. “If the stone is precious, they get rewarded.”

“Rewarded?” Neva asked.

“There is only one reward boys like,” Tora said.

“Food?” Neva asked, clearly disturbed and wanting to redirect the conversation from where she thought

it was going. Cari looked angry.

“Well, that, too. But you got to be careful not to let them indulge too much. A fat man is a lazy burden,”

Tora said.

“Thank you for educating me,” Neva said. “Girls, if you will go gather kindling. Boys, you know the kind

of rocks I want?”

Shen brought a decent size stone, exactly what Neva intended. The other boys his age, learned

vicariously. The older boys held far enough back not to be drafted into work, but close enough they

could observe. When the camp fire was ready to go but the fire, Neva and Cari undressed. Shen

immediately turned away.

Tora laughed. “Also, he is incredibly shy and embarrasses easily.”

Neva was confused. Though the land people wore more clothes than they did, clearly the boys ran

around half naked. If they wore anything, they wore an oversized Barong, a shirt the men wore in

general.

“Shen, undress, let’s go get wet,” Neva said.

“Wow, what a blush,” Cari said. “Never seen anyone that red before.”

“Clearly, he has color, so he must have a soul,” Neva said. “Can you change your skin texture like the

octopus?”

Shen gave her angry look, pulled off his shirt, and marched to the water.

“He clearly understands,” Cari said.

“Come on,” Neva said, not wanting to be the last to the water.

Shen didn’t go the narrow to the beach, but went straight to the edge and dived. Neva cursed and ran

to the edge, pausing only to examine the terrain, and then jumped. Cari held the top, blocking the kids

from following.

“That’s weird,” Tora said.

“That’s courage,” Cari said.

“That’s stupid,” Tora said. “If he doesn’t break his head open, he’ll drown himself.”

Neva arrived underwater. She opened her eyes, orientating and went down to the sand where Shen

was sitting. He had clearly emptied his lungs completely, or he would have been rising. His arms were

crossed. He was staring out into the dark as if deliberating. She got in his line of sight, angling down.

She locked eyes with his and extended a hand. She didn’t touch him. She waited. She emphasized her

hand. He slowly unwound his arms, gave enough of a flap to rise, kicked the sand and shot up. Neva

followed. They broke the surface together, and laid back. Floating on their backs, the kicked away from

the rocks, out towards open water. The bay was almost pool water still today, so still even their

breaking the water barely registered.

“Hold up,” Neva said.

Shen let his feet sink and he righted himself.

“You can swim,” Neva said. “Can you talk?”

“Before today, no one has heard me speak,” Shen said.

“Are you a slave?” Neva asked.

Shen’s face softened. “No.”

“Are you being abused?” Neva asked.

“Contextually?” Shen asked, ready to unload. He corrected himself. “I am treated like everyone else.”

“I doubt that,” Neva said. “Who taught you how to swim?”

The others were in the water now, coming out. Shen shrugged and disappeared beneath the surface.

Neva followed for a moment, then headed for shore. She remained under until she could walk. She

came to the campsite, dried with her dress and put it on. She then joined Lanore and Tell at the cliff’s

edge.

“You taught him that?” Lanore asked.

“No,” Neva said. “He has better skills than these kids and a confidence equal to any baby from my

tribe.”

“How?” Lanore said.

“You tell me,” Neva asked.

“No, you tell me. He’s the gift of your water men,” Lanore said.

Neva laughed. Lanore gave her a cross look. Neva pointed to a girl about four. “That child, she might

be a gift of a water man, mixed with land walker, but he is not us. We don’t make white babies.”

“Have you met white people before?” Tell asked.

“I have met your kind,” Neva said. “My ship has traded well with your kind. The white folks, well, I have

only heard legends.”

Lanore prompted her to go on.

“They fly on the wings of hallowed out dragons, sometimes beating the water, heralded by drums, they

come, they steal women, and they have sunk our cities,” Neva said.

“I thought your cities were unsinkable,” Tell said.

“The water owns everything,” Neva said. “If it wishes to own you, it will take you. That’s it.”

“Come with me,” Lanore said.

Neva followed Lanore, Tell walking beside her. She sought information from Tell, but Tell didn’t speak,

merely shrugged. They came to her home. Lanore motioned for a man to bring water and he knelt and

washed the sand from Neva’s feet, one at a time, then drying them.

“Thank you,” Neva said.

“Don’t do that,” Lanore said. “That’s his function.”

“Are your men slaves?” Neva asked.

“No,” Lanore said. “Why?”

“You have only allowed for us to trade for gifts, never take a male,” Neva said.

“You don’t just steal them?” Tell asked.

“No. That would be cruel,” Neva said. “Most land walkers can’t adapt to the sea. At best, someone who

willingly joins our clan settles for a place in between, in stick homes along the shore, as I intend to build

here.”

Lanore brought her inside and led her to a study. She went for a particular book, and flipped through to

a picture of a dragon figurehead carved directly onto the stemhead of a ship. Neva pronounced it

‘knörr.’

“My book?” Neva asked.

Lanore nodded to her table. Neva acquired her book and flipped through to a page with the same kind

of boat, a different angle. For all their eyes could discern, it could have been the exact same boat,

fighting the same damn storm. Lanore went and sat down on a floor cushion near the hearth. It was not

lit, but she stared into it anyway, as if there might be something in the ashes. There was a gas lamp

burning by the door, on both sides. Neva wanted to understand this, but she had so many questions,

she could hardly contain herself, so she waited. Lanore signaled and they came and set by her.

“I am sorry,” Lanore said. “You are both Masters, and I shouldn’t beckon you with hand.”

“You are my senior,” Neva said. “I am not offended.”

“Nor I,” Tell said. “This is your home. I am but your guest.”

“You ceased being a guest when I made you my sister,” Lanore said. She motioned them to sit. She

was trying to speak but emotions were in her way. She turned her book to find something and turned to

the first drawing of her village.

“Oh, hell, you’re not going to run these women off with your visions, are you?” They turned to find G’Ma

in the door. She had with her a tray with drinks, which might have been a nice gesture if Lanore didn’t

suspect pretense. “You ran your other sisters off when you refused to negotiate.”

“Thank you for the drinks, mother,” Lanore said. “You may leave that, but please, take your opinions

and advice when you leave.”

G’Ma feigned a smile, sat the tray down near them, and departed, having her last word:

“There is a reason you can’t keep friends,” G’Ma said at the door. “Even your apprentices go away.”

Lanore sat very still, waiting for the emotions to fade and her mother to leave. The first vision of her city

looked fairly close to how it did now- and there was truth, she had been unwilling to compromise on its

look. The first dome was the largest. Each consecutive dome, connected to the first, each smaller than

the last, with the only break in building, the gate, facing seaward. The other Masters had like the

placement of the Light. They had liked placement of first dome, but neither wanted this close alignment.

She felt it was better in terms of defense, but she could never name them an enemy. They accused her

of paranoia. The Goddess herself couldn’t have made a more perfect place for a settlement. She

asked, ‘if this was so perfect, why is there no one else already here, and established?’ They argued

‘Persephone’ was likely here, sleeping. That would certainly explain the absence of any land animals,

as neither rat nor snake had been found on this side of the Great Ridge, but neither had any walking

ghosts been found hunting for flesh. And if there were any walking ghosts, no wall human made wall

would stop her from calling a person out and escorting them to Irkalla.

Lanore became aware her mother was gone and her friends were looking at her. She turned the page,

towards a second vision of the village. A new ring of domes had been made, encircling the first, with its

opening out of alignment with the first, but the largest dome behind the first dome. People inhabited the

space between domes, and the inner circle. The next page revealed huts on sticks in the bay.

“Do you ever feel like we have done this all before?” Neva asked.

“Yes,” Lanore said. She wiped tears. “Damn it. I am so tired of all these emotions.”

Tell touched her hand. “You are not alone.”

“Neva, I would never ask you or compel you to stay beyond learning what I can teach,” Lanore said.

“You are an adult. You’re a master. You should always be free to travel. I invite you into my Heart, as a

Sister, a fellow traveler. It takes one Master to hold a Light. I takes three to raise a temple. I want to

establish a library here, a center for learning to rival that of Sinter. It makes so much more sense to me

that this place should be a union of other clans. The Heart Path, the Water Path, and the Sky Path

should merge permanently here.”

“You’re a sky walker?” Neva asked Tell.

“Cliff Climber,” Tell said. “My people have built homes and monuments out of living rock.”

“Don’t let her fool you,” Lanore said. “She can fly.”

“You levitate?” Neva asked.

“No, don’t be silly,” Tell said. “No one defies gravity.”

“We once flew. People fall,” Lanore said.

“People get back up,” Tell said.

“Keep on swimming,” Neva said.

That night around the campfire there was an exchange of food and stories. Even the children

participated, telling a song or story to prove they were improving in their studies. Neva spied Shen, in

ear shot, but distant. He was facing away from the fire, staring into the dark. She went over to him,

bringing him coconut water. She sat next to him, handing him the nut.

“What do you see when you look into the dark?” Neva asked.

“Nothing,” Shen said.

She looked at him, trying to see his eyes. She smiled. “I don’t believe you.”

“I should be able to see better, something. Anything. I fear my imagination and memories are interfering

with true sight,” Shen said.

“Isn’t that the way with everyone?”

“Neva,” Foam said. “It is your turn to share.”

“I would like to hear from Shen, first,” Neva said. She stood up and offered her hand. “Come on, come

talk to us.”

“He doesn’t talk,” Tora said. There was laughter.

“Speak, tell a story, and I will champion you,” Neva said.

He frowned. “I guess today is as good a day as any to die,” he whispered. He took her hand and

walked back with her. “This is the story of Watership Down, by Richard Adams, contextually acclimated

to this world by Jon Harister.” He spoke and people were dumbfounded by his voice. They were

stunned by the elegance of his speech, how perfectly crafted, the rhythm, and by the story. They were

so spell bound, no one spoke. Boys and girls cried appropriately. Shen cried and Lanore wiped her

eyes. He spoke until morning broke over the horizon and he completed the story about rabbits just

trying to find a new home.

“Now that’s a gift,” Tell said.

No child under ten ate rabbits for a month.