New Cali

by Erik Schubach

  I sighed. “It could be dangerous, girls. Just like wandering off into the Uninhabitable Lands at night can be.”

  Misty kissed my scarred cheek. “Mooom... it isn't poisonous. I checked. And Auntie Sara is just there.” She nudged her chin to the darkness. I cocked my head and felt a magic laughing then looked at a rock formation jutting up from the barren landscape and toward the moons. I could see her shadow, writing in a book she documented everything in.

  Misty can feel all life and emotions around her, so always knew where the elusive Sarafine was hiding to watch over them. I've been developing the ability to taste concealed magics lately as my own power grows, and understood why Misty was so empathic. I could taste the emotion of the wielder of magics and I swear sometimes the emotion of the magic itself.

  If she was writing, that meant... I asked, “Is it a new species?”

  She shrugged and said, “Aunt Sara thinks so.” Then she reprimanded the lizard. “He tried to eat Bitsy, the naughty boy.”

  I grinned at how she spoke to animals then prompted, “If it is a new species, then...”

  Mist pointed at Shanicia. “I let her name it.”

  My girl has already discovered five distinct species out in the supposedly unlivable landscape around Sparo. Scholars want to “borrow” her for expeditions into the barren landscape to try to locate and identify more since she can feel them or call them to her with her magic. We haven't allowed it.

  I looked at my youngest and she said with a proprietary confidence, “Southern Gill Lizard.” I tried not to snort. It was a much more scientific name than Misty usually uses. There are still scholars that groan over the Rockhopper name.

  Then Misty looked at me, the dust on my hand, and then the dirt. Her ability to suss out my thoughts was unnerving at times. “Everything will live again. There's so much more out there than what you see on the surface.”

  She looked back to the Southern Outpost which would have to move in a year or two, closer to the Fringe, then to me in a conspiratorial way. “Here, let me show you.”

  Her eyes flared violet, dripping lavender sparks. The talking back in the outpost dwindled as the magic users in the group all turned their eyes toward us, various colored sparks dripping from their eyes according to each type of elemental affinity they had. The world was bright like day, the colors rich as my own magic rose in me to answer hers. Tendrils of white mist curled from me, reaching for whatever she was doing with her magics.

  She whispered from a million miles away, “See the world through my eyes,” and the ground began to heave and shake under our feet. It wasn't an earth rumble, something was moving the rocky landscape as it cracked and popped. The ground erupted from within for about fifty yards into the uninhabitable land, as fresh earth was churned up and plants and trees began to grow at incredible speeds across the mini grasslands Misty had called forth. It slowed and some meadow flowers gradually bloomed before it was all over and my daughter pulled the huge swell of magic back into herself, locking it down as best she could.

  She crouched and let the lizard run off into the grass toward the rocks before she turned to me, looking exhausted but beaming her smile at me. “See? It's already started to live out there again, just beneath the surface, it just needs time to break through.”

  I looked from her to what she had created. I know I should have been afraid, but instead I was amazed. She just gave life to a tiny piece of desolate land, or more accurately, sped up the process for life reclaiming it for its own.

  Celeste would have surprised me if I hadn't felt her bright light inside approaching as if on on silent cat paws from behind us. She prompted as her hands landed lightly on my shoulders to start massaging them slowly, “You know the cartographers are going to have a conniption about this Mist, they had just updated the maps for Fringe creep a couple months back.”

  I leaned back into the comforting strength of my wife and moaned in pleasure as she relieved some tension with her firm hands while Misty looked down sheepishly. “Sorry.”

  Shanny just said, “Dibs. I claim this land as Shantopia.”

  “You can't do that you little sneak. I made it.”

  “Yuh huh, I called dibs. I'm going to hold Junior Regiment meetings there.”

  Bitsy climbed out of Shan's collar to chitter at both of them in a chastising manner.

  I sighed and suppressed a giggle. “The only thing either of you are going to claim is a bedroll around the fire, or a cot in the barracks. It's late and we've a crossing to start tomorrow.”

  I noted that Donovan and Emily were standing just a few feet from us, their eyes wide in shock and wonder as they surveyed my daughter's work.

  Can my baby girl cook or what?

  Chapter 8 – The Crossing

  The next morning, after a quick breakfast, our people were all tucked back into their airships. Bex made a show of circling the outpost in the nimble Outrider as he waited for the Highland to raise and chug her way up to cruising speed before falling in, slightly in front of her.

  I chuckled as the captain grumbled about my dear pseudo-brother under his breath, “Grandstanding showoff.”

  Emily stood beside us by the slatted windows as we made our way to the outer marker, a hundred and fifty miles past the Fringe and the Southern Outpost. She said as her eyes were locked on the southern horizon, “If we detour about thirty miles southwest of the outer marker, I can show how to identify the supply caches New Cali has seeded the badlands with. They can help if mounted riders have to make the crossing until such time as a roadway or trade route can be cleared between our two lands.”

  She was optimistic that trade negotiations and cultural exchange were going to be a given. Celeste was a little more pragmatic, thinking that a people who have dedicated their lives to secrecy for centuries may be a little less enthusiastic at opening up to the people they have watched from without and within for so long. Trepidation should be expected especially because they have witnessed our violent nature as we have waged many wars since they had first started chronicling our culture. Especially since New Calians are an innately peaceful people.

  I grinned at myself for being pragmatic in my thoughts. I had only learned the word a year ago when I looked it up after Esme kept using it in negotiations. This was my first occasion to use it, even if just in my own head. As Donovan is so fond of telling me, every new thing we learn allows us grow as individuals.

  Looking at my mother in law, I told her, “I'm still not sure if I'm cross about you hiding this from us for so long or not.”

  She offered me a tangerine, my and Misty's favorite fruit.

  “Peace offering?”

  She chirped through her grin, “If it works.”

  I couldn't stop my smile. “Damn it, woman.”

  She put on her little Miss Sweet and Innocent face, fluttering her lashes.

  I stuck my tongue out at her then peeled the tangerine. I popped a slice into my mouth before it was taken from my hand as if by magic. I rolled my eyes at Misty who was stuffing sections into her mouth as fast as she could chew them. “Rat.”

  Misty held her hands open to demonstrate they were empty and she didn't know why I was accusing her. She pointed a finger down where Shan was sitting on the floor, playing with Bitsy as she munched on the last of the evidence.

  Placing the back of my hand on my forehead. “Betrayed and starved by those I love.”

  Shanny asked, “What's this?” She was spinning a delicate feather which looked to be carved from silver on a slim silver chain. They both had yellow highlights.

  Emily quickly put her hands on her chest under her neck then sighed heavily and held her hand out. Shan smiled widely at her and handed it to her grandmother.

  The absurdity that their 'grandmother' looked only a couple years older than me was not lost on me as I shook my head. “Shanicia Weaver Lupei!”

  She held Bitsy up to crawl up Misty's sleeve and stood with her hands beh
ind her back. “Sorry Grammy Emily. It's just that whenever you are lost in thought, your hand always rests on your breastbone, I just wanted to see what you kept there. I knew it had to be something amazing like that.”

  Em nudged her head as she leaned on the railing to watch the world roll by underneath us. “To put it in terms easier for you to understand, this signifies my rank. I rose to the level of First Seeker because of my innate mind magic glow, and all the years of study I put in to gain the privilege to make the crossing to document the growth of the people of Sparo to add to our knowledge.”

  She smiled in pride. “Only Prime holds a higher station.” She furrowed her brow and added, “If I even have a station anymore since I abandoned my posting for love.”

  Then the little blonde winked. “I wasn't supposed to bring it with me, we're not supposed to have anything that would draw attention to us that might indicate we came from someplace else... but... I had just been awarded it and I wanted it with me, it had been my life's dream at that time. I was young, foolish, and naive back then.”

  With a sly grin she said primly, “Now I'm only young and foolish.”

  I snorted when Celeste came up behind her and lifted her off the deck into a hug from behind, “Keep telling yourself that, old lady.”

  Without looking up, Donovan countered from where he was at a little flip down table studying some hand drawn charts Emily supplied to the captain. “She's my spring rose.”

  The captain mumbled, “Spare me lovers and fools.”

  I was really starting to like him and knew why George chose Lord Lowery to pilot the Highland for him. I pointed a finger at him as I nodded, he grinned.

  Emily looked scandalized and hugged the girls to her. “At least my favorites love me.”

  The girls beamed at us, happy to be pawns in Emily's unapologetic game. Fine, whatever. I smiled at the whole silly lot of them.

  Before we knew it we were slowing down, over the huge beacon flame set up at the outer marker. To both signify the farthest exploration of Sparo and also to act as a beacon for anyone out there seeking new lands as we had. There were meager supplies and a map carved in stone at the base of the beacon to show anyone coming in from the outside the location of Sparo from the beacon.

  Those of us with military experience stood tall and gave the salute to heroes, striking our chests. Then when our escorts continued south, Lowery grinned like a loon as he veered southwest toward the coordinates Emily had given him. It took the other airships a few minutes to realize they had lost us.

  Celeste asked the smug man, “You didn't have your men signal the other ships with mirrors that we'd be deviating from course?”

  He said as if absent minded, “Oh my, did I forget to give the order?”

  I'd never understand the rivalry between airship captains. It was always bigger until someone was faster, then it was maneuverability or lift capacity. When would they learn that none of that nonsense made any difference, because we all know the Outrider was the jewel of the fleet and had no equal.

  Ok, fine, I may be a wee bit biased. If I had a Wexbury or Templar Hall banner on my person, I'd start waving it.

  Celeste asked when she saw the goofy look on my face, “Internal Outrider monologue?” I am not that transparent am I? I'm sure the blush burning on my face told the whole story.

  I nodded then stumbled... when the ship shuddered, the sounds of an explosion causing my ears to ring. I was panicking but realized it was a seeing when more visions assaulted me from all sides. Shan saying “I gots a Verna.” That goddess gazing down on us with that blinding light. The oppressive heat, the eye in the mountains and the lake. And it all seemed to rewind and I saw a flaming airship, the Kantu, careening past, slamming into the port side of the Highland... explosions, and I snapped back to the present, mid scream, gasping and shaking.

  I whispered to everyone as strong hands supported me, “The Kantu... something's wrong.”

  The captain looked at me dubiously, but when the magic users in the group all turned to him with grave looks on their faces, he paled. He nodded and said, “We'll land at this supply cache and we'll go over the Kantu's critical systems.”

  He asked, “What was it?”

  I shook my head. “I don't know. There were flames, odd explosions that made no sense. It was colliding with us.”

  “Sabotage? Purists?”

  I shrugged. “I only saw flashes of what could come to pass unless someone makes a different decision.”

  He nodded. “Well I'm making that decision now to ground the airships while we look for sabotage.”

  I nodded back. Sometime that was all it took to change what I foresaw in a vision. Celeste was leading me to a seat. “Come on, have a seat.” She turned and called out, “Someone get her some water!”

  I was a little anxious until we found an area near Emily's coordinates that wasn't as rocky as most to land the ships. Captain Lowery went with his crew to meet with Bexington to check out the Kantu. With Bex scouring the ship I felt more confident.

  Donovan said to us, “Well those who need to be are on the case, in the meantime, what say we take a jaunt over to the supply cache to see how to identify them?” He offered his arm to his betrothed and she bashfully placed her fingers in the crook of his elbow and he led the way down the bay door ramp out into the rocky landscape.

  Kristof offered his arm to Verna, and to my amusement, she took it just as primly and they flounced down the ramp. A flouncing Verna is a thing to see, I grinned, then took Celeste's arm as the girls offered their arms to each other. “Sora,” “Sora.” They snickered then skipped after their grandparents.

  I observed. “Those two are incorrigible.”

  My red maned spouse nodded. “They take after you.”

  What!? Why that... I crossed my leg back across to kick her butt. Then I asked, “Wait, are you talking about Kristof and Verna or Mist and Shan?”

  She rolled her eyes and kicked my butt back.

  What? It was a serious question.

  A few of the others, mostly the scholars, and even Laura Smith decided to tag along. Most of them have never been in the Uninhabitable Lands except to cross the Gap before King George's Great Bridging project.

  That mile wide strip of grassland bridging the forty mile gap between Highland and the Lower Ten is a work of engineering that shows there is little we cannot accomplish in these modern times. And with the advent of Bex's auto-wagons, the task was completed in a fraction of the projected time. The official opening ceremony was this spring, though people have been using it since the road and irrigation canal were finished to irrigate the new grasslands before they were put in.

  Laura crouched at a rock outcropping that was tinged reddish orange and she mused out loud, “Hmm... high concentrations of iron.”

  Then she looked around and asked, “Lord Donovan, have any of the mining Realms ventured out into the wastes to strike any mines?”

  He got that smile on his face that he showed when imparting knowledge on someone. I see it a lot when I relentlessly ask questions. He truly loved people expanding their minds and horizons. “A few hundred years back, Defiance and New World dug test shafts a mile or so out. They found a lot of promise, but conventional wisdom was that since the Whispering Walls are so rich in resources, and the infrastructure is already in place there, like roads and refineries, that it didn't make good fiscal sense to mine out in the badlands.”

  He nodded to himself and added, “I'm sure as our technological base expands and the demand for more resources increases, then some adventuresome Lord or Lady will strike out and take that step.”

  The blacksmith nodded and our group continued on for a couple hundred yards before Emily pointed. “There.”

  We looked over to an outcropping, and saw a large stone about three feet around, and then two smaller stones beside it, all laid out in a straight line. I blinked and asked, “The Three Sisters?”

  Emily
looked pleased I had made the association as she nodded. “Only in New Cali we had referred to them as the Guardians. Each supply cache is marked like this, the stones point toward the location.”

  We followed her then she smiled and pointed at a rickety looking plank door on the ground that was protected by the outcropping itself. She grabbed the thick ropes and strained. The old ropes came apart in her hands. Then she looked back to Verna with a cute pleading look. Our muscular knight rolled her eyes playfully and mimed opening a jar and squeaked in a good approximation of Emily's voice, “Can you open this for me?”

  Em just harrumphed and motioned her hands toward the trap door as she assured her, “Well go on then. I'm sure I loosened it for you.”

  Verna gave her a crooked smile, kissed the top of the diminutive librarian's head, then crouched and slid her fingers under the first plank. And she lifted as her muscles bulged. Not a lick of strain showed on her surprisingly feminine face, and I loved that she didn't ever seem to care about the huge scar that slashed diagonally across her face and down her neck... I was always self conscious of mine.

  She stood, and with a creaking groan, and some rotted wood snapping, the door opened to reveal a pit with supplies stacked inside. I blinked. Long long ago, the two large half barrel casks of water had either rotted through or some sort of animal had chewed through the fire treated wood. All that remained of them were rusted through rings that held what was left of the dry-rotted wood.

  Wooden boxes that held what looked to have been jerky strips and possibly wheat flour were covered with dusty moldy rot. Most of the jars were broken and the few that remained were covered in decades of dust.

  I don't think anyone else noticed when Verna dropped the trapdoor to the side, the remaining ropes that lashed the planks together fell apart.

  Donovan reached down and broke a piece of rusted metal off a barrel loop. “It appears this cache was abandoned, many years back. Or perhaps a new supply cache was set up nearby?”

  Emily was slowly shaking her head as she looked to be cataloging every square inch of the neglected pit. She said softly, “This doesn't make any sense. We have Tenders. They see to the supplies and grow them year by year. This is the last of them the smallest, as the others are larger the closer you get to New Cali, so the Tenders have supplies of their own as they journey between New Cali and Sparo. They are building structures one by one as they stretch outward. There is a plan to eventually clear roads so the mules and horses can pull carts.”