Sky of Paper: An Asian Steam-Driven Fantasy Tale

by Matthew Seaver

  "So then, what’s he telling the girl to paint?" Han asked.

  "He's making a bubble." My vision was doing something it had never done before. The floor, the ceiling, and even the room itself became transparent, revealing the world just outside the ship. I watched the boy's hands push away from his body as if he were pressing against a pair of walls on either side of him. The mass of drifting light, the Great Ether, was pushed away until the ship was immersed inside a hollow ball. It was a sphere-like barrier that kept the light and even the wind and snow at bay.

  "But why? Why make a bubble?" Han murmured.

  "Think Han," Etsu replied ", what happens to a bubble under water?"

  "It rises, " I said before Han could answer.

  The ship begin to moan and tilt slightly to the side, as if a great hand came out of nowhere and began pressing its palm against the ship‘s bottom. I inhaled suddenly and saw the lights of the village through the glass wall sink slowly beneath us. We were rising into the sky.

  I was amazed at all I was seeing. I could barely comprehend how two young people could command the motions of something as large as a ship. This was the forbidden secret of my country, and it was my future, one which I faced with uncertainty.

  Han and Etsu both looked on with great anticipation, as if they had been waiting since birth to fulfill their place in this hidden world. Kidou, as silent as ever, continued his expressionless gaze with his chin raised slightly into the air. I couldn’t tell whether or not he was impressed, but he must have at least thought that everything was falling into place, exactly as he had wanted it to.

  With the snow storm blowing furiously outside, I thought the ship would be fighting against it, twisting and turning, like a fish against the current, but we remained steady, as if sailing through a calm, uneventful sky. I was certain that was the doing of our young navigators. Somehow, they were changing the will of the storm around us, assuring a safe departure from the village.

  The Earth had fallen so far below, that I could no longer see the lights Rune through the storm. The boy changed his stance as well as the motions of his hands. He gave a push to his front, and then to his right side, then to his left. Just as he finished, I felt the ship give a gentle lurch forward. We were finally moving, sailing steadily ahead, like a crane migrating to new lands.

  "This is my first time flying." Han smiled broadly, as if he were pleased with himself.

  Looking about the room and seeing the expressions on every ones’ faces, I imagined that most of us had never been on an airship before. Flying in in my country used to be reserved only for commerce, the military and for the rich. Today, even the most common person could gain passage onboard an airship, and for very little money at that. But during the days of my childhood, to fly as I did that night was considered a rare honor.

  The ceremony was over. The same middle-aged woman with the spectacles who had shown me to our room earlier, came in through the main doors. She urged all of us out and guided us to our rooms leaving the two older children to fly the ship in peace.

  As soon as we came to our room, Kidou laid his head down quickly fell asleep without any regard to what we had just seen. My own excitement, however, kept me awake. I lay down staring idly at the featureless ceiling, wondering if I was ready for something as seemingly impossible as what I had witnessed that evening. The air was completely still and it was wasn‘t long before I began to feel uncomfortable. There were no windows for me to peer out and watch the slow sway of the trees. There was no breeze, no gentle sigh of the wind; just the faint groan of the wood beneath me. The uncomfortable feeling I had grew to point where even Kidou‘s snoring started to offer some relief.

  Then I heard mumbling and I turned my head to see Han sitting in the corner, his hands clasped together and his eyes closed. He was praying.

  After he finished, he took a deep breath and gave me a concerned look.

  "There's no life in this room," he said reverently ", I don't like it when I'm in an empty place where there's no life; it invites misfortune. I thought I might ask the spirits to watch over us, at least until we reach our destination."

  I nodded. He gave a very small, content smile, one which gave me a small amount of peace that night.

  The children on board the ship had come from all over Rui Nan. Many of them were from cities and prosperous towns, which were not as terribly affected by the poverty that had stricken the country. Han, Kidou and I were the only three who were from what people would have considered, a poor village. Not many had heard of Rune, which is why I suppose my village was the ship's last stop, before making its way to the capital.

  We arrived in the morning when the sun was fully over the horizon and the snow clouds had disappeared. Miss Nishio had invited us to the top deck to watch the ship land.

  As we all peered over the side railing, I felt an odd sensation that I had reached the end of a chapter in my life and had begun a new one.

  In the distance, silhouetted against the pale, orange morning sky was the first glimpse of a place that would become my new home.

  Pagodas. Many, many pagodas, all stretching upwards, like pillars holding up the heavens. Their majestic eaves curved outwards and upwards, making me think of strangely shaped trees. There were entire stone courtyards bordered by various flags and banners. In several of these courtyards I saw some distance below, children, practicing what looked like a strange form of martial arts, all of them moving their bodies in unison. Several larger, massive buildings were hunched together towards the center, like an awkwardly shaped tortoise shell. Surrounding it all was a great, tiled roof wall with arched gates protruding from its sides.

  I leaned further over the railing and saw that we were traversing over the steep, craggy side of a mountain. It was Mt. Ko Mei, the largest mountain in all of Rui Nan, and hugging its peaks and snaking down its steep faces, all the way down to its base at the very edge of the ocean, were the buildings, walls and steps of the Imperial Temple.

  “It is believed that in order to train to become a chienkuu ko, one must live as close to the sky as possible,” Kidou said matter-of-factly.

  "That is the capital." Miss Nishio pointed far into the distance towards the base of the mountain. "Someday, once you have trained hard enough, you will go there and have the privilege of visiting some very important people."

  Even from this distance, the capital looked enormous. It sat along the coast, touching the edge of the ocean and stretching far into the horizon, carpeting the land with black and gray buildings. To have lived in a village all my life and then to see such sights before me, was almost too much. I felt as a young bird did, leaving the nest for the first time and facing an alluring, yet unfamiliar world.

  I wasn’t surprised to see Kidou with hardly any expression on his face. He stood next to me with an imposing gaze, his arms crossed tightly along his chest. Han ran up and down the railing excitedly, moving from one end of the deck to the other, trying to take in every detail. It was as though he was determined not to miss a single sight.

  "Han, choose a spot and stay there. You‘ll ruin my entire day if you slip and fall over the side." Miss Nishio gave him a stern look and obediently, he remained at the railing on the opposite side.

  The ship descended slowly towards the main courtyard at the very center of the temple well below the peak of the mountain and gave a sudden lurch as it finally touched the ground. Miss Nishio hurried us below where we gathered our things, then we made our way with the other children towards the boarding ramp. We went down single file, escorted by our Seekers. Some had only one child while others had as many as five. At the bottom were several men dressed in plain, green robes, standing imposingly behind wooden podiums. The children were individually brought forward and the men checked off a list as their names were presented.

  As Miss Nishio led us along, a cloud of steam that blew from the bottom of the ship with a angry hiss. Han jumped and gave a shout as if he’d seen some prowling animal about to pounce
him. Miss Nishio gave him a harsh pat on the head and told him to keep quiet.

  "I present three Shyo Mu." She said to the green-robed men. "Their names are Han, Kidou and Terr."

  The men did little to acknowledge our presence, giving only barely amused glances as they scribbled secretive notes behind their podiums. "Very well. Have them present their documents."

  Miss Nishio gave Kidou a small push. He stepped forward and pulled out a piece of paper with a picture of a circle with lines radiating from it. On one of the corners was Miss Nishio's signature. He presented it to the robed man, which he quickly took and stamped on the very corner of the paper, the red characters of the Imperial Seal. He handed it back to Kidou and motioned for Han to step forward.

  My stomach went cold as I realized that I’d forgotten something important.

  "Miss Nishio, " I said with a stutter. I waited until she looked down at me. She seemed ready to accuse me of something, which made me feel worse. "I've forgotten my papers. They were in my other clothes, the ones I left in the wash room on the ship."

  I was afraid of what she might say in reply, so I ran back up the boarding ramp as quickly as I could to look for my missing papers. I heard her call out to me, but I’d already gone back inside. I went through the metal corridors trying to find my way to the wash room, but I was like rat that had found itself in the tunnels of some other animal‘s burrow. Bumping into other children and various men in uniform, I was determined to find my discarded clothes. My concern was not only with Miss Nishio's papers, but also my sister's ink cloud painting, left behind in one of the pockets. I came close to tears as I felt an overwhelming sense of dread and hopelessness at the loss of my sister’s gift, which was more important than any official document.

  I glanced inside open doors and around every corner I came across. My breath quickened and I felt my body grow hot with sweat. I shouldered my way past a few more people, but this time one of them called out to me.

  "Terr, where are you going?" Etsu had grabbed my wrist. I think my desperate expression must have frightened her, because her eyes went wide.

  A long moment had past before I caught my breath and replied. "I've lost something and I'm trying to find it."

  "What is it? What are you looking for?"

  "It's something from my Sister. Now I have to go."

  "Wait, you can't go around the ship alone."

  I should have listened to her. But when I pulled my wrist from her grasp, I felt I could have broken a thousand rules and not have regretted it, as long as I found the gift my Sister had given me.

  I eventually came to a place I thought was familiar to me. At the end of the corridor, there were two doors. But when I opened the door that I thought led to the washroom, I discovered that it was not the washroom at all. Inside, was a plain room with a small bed, a closet and a wash basin. Lying upon the bed, was an older girl, which seemed to be about my sister's age. Her long, dark hair was wiry and unkempt, her face was covered in sweat and she breathed heavily as she slept. For a moment, she reminded me of my mother in the days she lay sick before her death. I wondered if she too had the same illness.

  I hurriedly closed the door. When I turned, I saw Master Lu coming down the corridor towards me. He stopped and looked briefly at the door I had just opened. His eyes narrowed into a suspicious-looking gaze.

  "Why are you here alone?" He said slowly. "You should be off this ship with the others. Where is your Seeker?"

  I don’t think he ever expected me to answer, because he grabbed my arm and lead me back down the way I came. When we came to the boarding ramp, he looked out across the line of people leaving the ship.

  "Miss Nishio," Master Lu called out.

  He looked around like an owl perched on a branch searching for its prey. I saw her shuffle hastily up the ramp. She bowed and I saw frustration, fear and concern, all painted across her face. "Thank you for finding one of my children Master Lu. At this age, they can be so undisciplined, so unruly."

  "Like all the ones you find, this one is a trouble-maker. I've warned you about village children. They’re unclean, covered in lice and they don’t know a single thing about manners. This boy wandered into one of my rooms, probably to find something to steal." He shook my arm until I cried out from the pain.

  "I wasn't going to steal anything," I protested. "I was looking for something I lost."

  For a man his age, he had a very strong grip. He squeezed my arm tighter, as if my words had offended him. "And he doesn’t know when to keep quiet."

  The shame I felt at that moment, stirred my insides. I didn’t care at all about Master Lu, nor his thoughts about me, but seeing Miss Nishio, kneeling on the ground, her face twisting at the embarrassment I had caused her. . .well, it was then that I saw the selfishness of my actions.

  Miss Nishio apologized, dipped her head, then apologized some more.

  He reluctantly let go of me. As soon as Miss Nishio realized that I was free from his grasp, she then took my wrist and pulled me to the ground in a kneeling position next to her. I bowed as low as I could, not because I was sorry for what I had done, but because I did not want her to get into anymore trouble.

  "Since he enjoyed trespassing into one of my room," Master Lu said thoughtfully. "I will give him the opportunity to do it everyday. From now on, he will be responsible for serving my tea every morning and every evening. Consider this an act of mercy. Usually, punishments at the Imperial Temple are usually much worse."

  "Thank you Master Lu, I’m sure he’s very grateful for your mercy. Aren‘t you Terr?"

  "I am," I said reluctantly.

  He waved us away. We stood, taking several steps backwards before we turned and made our way down the ramp. I kept my eyes to the ground, unable to look at her. Still, I felt a need to say something. I tried to apologize, but she silenced me with a raised hand.

  "Apologizing to me, is like giving gold to a cat. I have no use for it. Now, did you find what you were looking for?"

  "I couldn’t find the papers. I thought they were in the washroom. But I got lost and must have stumbled into Master Lu's room."

  She stopped suddenly, but kept her eyes straight ahead. "What did you see?"

  "I saw a girl lying on the bed. She looked very sick."

  "Terr, you must never mention to anyone what you saw in Master Lu's room. Do you understand?"

  The fierce tone in her voice stirred my suspicions. A girl in Master Lu's room may have meant that he was keeping a concubine with him, but it was common for rich men to have them in those days. Though she may have been a little young for Master Lu, I still couldn’t see why such a matter was treated so sensitively. Still, I agreed to not speak of it with anyone.

  "Good." We continued on our way to the green-robed men who looked at us with growing impatience. "As for the papers, it would have been better for you to let me give you another copy. I know children lose things all the time. That’s why I always carry duplicates of everything."

  As far as I could tell, she didn’t seem angry with me. It was as if she had expected me to do something mischievous all along. Soon I discovered that what I thought was shame, sitting icily in my chest was instead, a feeling of sadness. My sister's ink painting was still missing. I had failed to find it and I felt that I had betrayed my sister's memory by letting such an important thing slip away so easily.

  Mr. Takaya said it was supposed to bring luck, and yet, I wondered if losing it was the reason that, in the coming years, I would be faced with so many misfortunes.

  My anguish was almost too much to bare and I felt the urge to run back into the ship again. I fought against it, deciding not to risk getting Miss Nishio into further trouble. I closed my eyes for a moment and managed to keep back the tears.

  Miss Nishio slipped another copy of my official papers into my hand. I presented it to the man behind the podium and he promptly stamped it with the Imperial Seal, then waved me on. We continued into the main courtyard, which was bordered on all four
corners with, what must have been over a hundred red flags and banners. The north end led to a large building with magnificent, curving eaves on its obsidian-tiled roofs. The long, covered porch was painted gold and red, and off to the side, I could see a pond with a small, humble bridge arched across its face. Though it was a one-story building, its sheer size still rivaled that of the towering pagodas that sat behind it in the distance.

  “That is the Great Hall,” Miss Nishio pointed out, “the most important of all the buildings here.”

  We came upon the center courtyard. The ground was made of gleaming red, white and gold tiles, which made intricate pictures and shapes. The largest of these pictures was a red square that covered almost the entire length of the tiled ground we walked upon, and at its center was a large, gold circle. I remembered from school that the square was the spiritual symbol for Earth and the circle in the center was the symbol for heaven. There were also characters which were formed by dark red tiles on each side of the courtyard. One read "Shyo Mu", while the other read, "Shyo Mah."

  I asked Miss Nishio what they meant.

  She pointed to the man who stood in the center, guiding the children as they came in. "You see what he’s doing? He’s separating the children so they are grouped according to their abilities. All boys are called shyo mu; the ones who can see the motions of the Great Ether. The girls are called shyo mah, the ones that can change the motions of the Great Ether. Each group stands on opposite sides of the courtyard."

  She placed her hands on my shoulders and looked at me in the same way that my mother used to when she was concerned about something.