Sky of Paper: An Asian Steam-Driven Fantasy Tale

by Matthew Seaver

  "Even in times of hardship," Dae Jung said as he stood next to the Young Emperor and Princess Xiangfeng on the main deck. "We must embrace every joyful moment whenever it presents itself."

  His behavior seemed oddly charitable that day. In the brief few months that I had known him, he seemed like a man who had no interest in things like celebrations and parties unless there was something to be gained. The governor had made it clear that we were no safer in this city than anywhere else, which left me wondering why we had not already left.

  The sky boats were huddled in neat rows across the center deck and every chienkuu ko available stood rigidly beside them. Finely dressed western aristocrats, whom Dae Jung saw it fit to invite, swarmed about us, inspecting us with curious eyes. With great apprehension, they boarded the boats, brushed their hands across their wooden frames and spoke in muffled, gasping tones as if anticipating that at any moment, their small vessel might suddenly spring to life and carry them away.

  Kassashimei and I stood next to the boat closest to the Young Emperor and the princess, both of whom were dressed in robes of black and gold, adorned with patterns of flowering tree branches. Though he seemed to have calmed his betrothed over the loss of her family and kingdom, she did little to hide her anger. She gave him a reluctant look as the both of them proceeded to board my boat.

  He scanned his eyes upon the visiting crowd before he gave his announcement. "During my stay in your country, I can truly say that it has been a pleasure. It is my hope that all of you accept my hospitality and enjoy this unique experience.

  At his commanding nod, every shyo mu and shy mah took their places upon the bows of their sky boats. A gong was sounded and a steady line of monks shuffled from boat to boat passing their blessings and securing tammas upon every wooden pedestal. After the monks stepped away, another gong sounded, signaling that all was ready.

  Lai lifted his hand, and myself and every shyo mu around him lifted ours in unison. He then swept his arms about, which we all followed in practiced choreography. Finally, as if giving one glorious bow, we lowered our chests, and as we motioned our bodies upwards, the sky boats took to the air.

  We swarmed down upon the park like a flock of cranes gliding upon the breeze. Surprised glances turned in our direction as the huddled masses witnessed our gentle descent. What they saw were boats without engines, without wings or bags of heated air, launching from a ship whose mechanisms of flight were just as mysterious.

  The tense, vibrant ether forced my eyesight to remain unflinchingly focused, as invisible wave upon invisible wave swirled and bombarded from every direction. I made every effort to assure that my motions were quick and smooth so that Kassashimei could react and manipulate our surroundings with as little delay as possible. Keeping a tiny craft afloat amidst such forceful currents meant that my absolute vigilance had to be kept, for fear of capsizing. Even with such dangers, I was hardly scared. Just like the other children that flew the boats that day, we felt ourselves at home, regardless of the sky’s disposition.

  "Terr, I chose you for a reason.“ The Young Emperor was issuing a challenge, one which demanded further proof of my skills.

  I smiled, intent on fulfilling his expectations. Xiangfeng squealed in what I hoped were sounds of joy as I guided the boat into the largest waves I could find. We abruptly ascended, only to tip over the very top of one of the waves and dive down the other end. Kassashimei‘s voice rang out, demanding we go faster. As we came low, just over the rooftops I swung both my arms to one side, sending the boat banking steeply to the right. I swung my arms again and we banked to the left. We leveled off briefly before surprising my passengers with a sudden skyward ascent.

  The Young Emperor risked shedding his regal composure by cheering, but Xiangfeng however, remained stoutly silent. A quick glance over my shoulder revealed that her eyes were shut. One of the buns on her head had come undone and the unkempt hair flailed wildly about as we went from one sudden turn to another.

  Gasps and sounds of awe simmered from the crowd below; and as we flew by them, they shouted excitedly.

  Eventually, I came to realize how audaciousness of our actions. The other sky boats drifted lazily about taking care as to keep their passengers as pleasantly comfortable as possible; and yet, here I was, zipping about like a sparrow, even startling the passengers of the other boats as we went by. Meanwhile, the fearless son of the Imperial Family waved me on, urging me to continue.

  "Don't stop Terr," he said. "I want to see how high, how fast you can go."

  "No, stop right now," Xiangfeng said. She looked ruffled and more frustrated than usual. "I've had enough of this."

  "Come now, we‘ve barely started." He laughed, the first time I’d ever seen him do so.

  I gave him a wide, childish grin, which he returned in kind.

  Those that lived in the Republic of Brien were quite knowledgeable in predicting the patterns of the winds and thus the fickle emotions of the weather. The celebration had been chosen for that day because the winds were predicted to be slightly more tame. But for all their talents, none of them could forecast the very nature of the ether itself.

  A series of colored flares shot up from the emperor's ship. It was a signal that the shyo mu on watch had seen an ethereal storm approaching. With urgent haste we began turning our boats back. I was reluctant at first, and as we coasted back towards the ship, it didn‘t help that the Young Emperor teased at my urge to continue flying.

  "Why end the fun now?" he said. "Let's stay a few more minutes. Surely you have more tricks worth showing."

  I had almost given in to his temptation, but at that moment it was fear that convinced me otherwise. The others never saw it, but they heard its thunderous roar. A pillar of lightning crashed through the ether, spearing the air just at the bow of our boat, one which I clearly saw with my second sight, but remained invisible to everyone else. A deafening followed clap, bellowing throughout the heavens as if an enraged demon had suddenly appeared to frighten us off.

  "What was that?" Kassashimei cried out, but no one answered.

  Several more bolts of lightning flared around us like the roots of a tree, tearing holes in the currents and leaving behind only empty space, which caused the boats to flounder as they fell into the gaps. Some teetered back and forth while others suddenly dropped like rocks for some distance before abruptly floating again. Passengers and chienkuu ko alike were gasping, screaming, holding on for fear of capsizing or falling out of the sky.

  Though we‘d been caught up in the sudden commotion, it was only the unseen things that kept us in disarray. Strangely, the course of the wind and air remained unchanged, and even amidst the thunderous sounds, the people below seemed to hardly notice; a curious sign that they were used to such things. This was, after all, a country where every current of the world converged like angry giants and clashed unceasingly.

  "How could this be happening," I said. "I've never seen a storm in the ether before, let alone seen lighting shoot through it. I didn‘t know these storms could move so fast."

  "Lightning?" The Young Emperor held Xiangfeng close as the boat rocked from side to side. "Is that what's causing this roaring?"

  "Yes. We need to hurry back."

  I tried desperately to balance myself at the bow, but the shaking was too much. I had only the strength to hold on to the pedestal like a small boy clutching his mother.

  "Well, are we going back or not." He said impatiently.

  "I can‘t. Look around. I don‘t think anyone can."

  The sky boats spun and dove without any semblance control, with their passengers as well as their chienkuu ko guides holding on for dear life.

  Amidst the chaos our airship began to drift sideways. The decorative fiery wings that plumed from its sides spiraled outwards like vicious snakes reaching for some unseen prey, then bounded from boat to boat sending the passengers reeling. One of the boats caught fire. Screaming, they pounded away at the flame with their jackets and robes in a hurri
ed attempt to put it out.

  "Do something," Xiangfeng demanded.

  Kassashimei's hand grasped my ankle, beckoning my attention. She looked up at me, unafraid.

  She said, "stop pretending. You know you‘re not as helpless as you think you are."

  There was a bold calmness in the way she spoke, as if to her, I was the only person that existed in her world. Without another thought, I let go of the pedestal and turned towards the sky.

  What happened next was described in a children’s folktale I’d written and published many years later. It told of a mountain demon who threatened to take the clouds in the sky and bring them down to the earth so that he might take them as his own. One by one they fell, until a young sparrow defied him. Though he was, but a single, tiny bird, his wings were blessed with the very spirits of the air, which made him more powerful than ten thousand of his kind. He flapped as fast and as hard as he could until he spawned a mighty wind that not only sent the fallen clouds back to the sky where they belonged, but also whisked the demon away, banishing him far beyond the horizon.

  I read the story not only to my grandchildren, but to the young ones in libraries all throughout the city. Once in a while, I would look upon their faces, see the potential, the unique colors in their fascinated eyes and announce in a loud, boisterous voice that I’d found a sparrow hidden among them.

  How naive they were; that if they had lived a few decades before, the fortunes and possibilities of their lives would have been quite different.

  But as I stood upon the bow of the sky boat that day, I would come to realize the very potential of my own abilities.

  Just as the demon in my story had plucked the clouds from the air, so too was the storm, sending sky boat after sky boat spiraling to the ground.

  I looked over my shoulder at Kassashimei who seemed more sure of me than I was of myself. Then she urged me on with a nod.

  Finally, I said, "don't take your eyes off me."

  "I won't."

  Letting go of the pedestal, it took all my focus to keep my body balanced as the hull beneath me bucked and heaved. I took a deep breath, and as I exhaled, swept my body downward, pressing my arms into my chest, then thrust them out as if invoking some mysterious energy into my movements. I had some doubt at first in what we were doing, worried that Kassashimei wouldn‘t recognize the motions of my body or if she even had the ability to do what I was asking of her; but without fail, and to my great surprise, everything I expected to happen, indeed happened.

  The invisible bubble that kept our boat in the air expanded suddenly, encompassing every floundering craft around us, including our ship. The ether gave way as if repelled by a great explosion, leaving all that existed within my influence, frozen in time. The currents stopped. The violent waves that once swirled around us subsided until everything was completely still... even the wind. The leaves upon the breeze, the kites, the fluttering banners, all had ceased moving. The few, frantic boats that had started dropping to the Earth quickly lay suspended in the air. Much to the relief of every passenger, all the boats had leveled off.

  I wasted no time in orchestrating the course of every object around me, commanding their movements like puppets. The crowd below, the children that piloted the boats, all watched in utter disbelief as Kassashimei and I pushed and pulled at every vessel, landing them gently upon the deck of our waiting ship. Then, in a grand spectacle that only the gifted were able to see, I gave the command to Kassashimei to part the invisible ocean beneath its keel. The ship ached and groaned as it slowly moved forward and descended upon the park. The steam from its engines puffed through its ports, but froze like ice, leaving behind a haunting trail of suspended smoke and vapor. Wood and steel moaned under the strain of the ground beneath as it rested among the grass and trees.

  My body was drenched in sweat and I could feel every measure of strength leaving my legs. I breathed out one last time, dropping my arms to my sides. All at once, our grasp upon the ether was let go, and like a beast freed of its leash, the wind blew suddenly and ferociously, blasting away every kite, banner and drifting leaf. As our boat descended upon the grass I fell backwards from my place at the bow.

  Kassashimei took me into her arms.

  The next day, we left the Republic of Brien behind. As soon as the currents became predictable again, we took to the sky in haste in order to seek safe haven elsewhere.

  Making sure that no misfortune hindered our course, Ai decided to fly the ship herself. It would take all day to reach the border. Until then, she would remain in the ritual room without rest and without relief.

  The incredible ordeal had left me little more than fatigued, so I recovered quickly, in time to watch from the deck railing as the city of Castleberg slipped away. Though our stay was brief, a strange sense of longing tugged at my chest as I caught the last glimpses of the red buildings, the windmills and the distant grass fields as they slipped into the horizon.

  "You look much better now Terr," Lai said as he came up behind me. "You're definitely not as sickly as you looked yesterday."

  "I was just a little tired. That‘s all." My legs still felt weak, but it didn’t do any good to have others worry about me or think me complacent, so I strained to keep my posture tall and proud. "Besides, if I'm going to be as dependable as Ai someday, I can't let every little thing stop me."

  "Even so, you really should go below and get some rest."

  "I can't. Not right now."

  "I know how you feel Terr." He leaned against the railing and pressed his hand on my shoulder. "As big as this ship is, I still feel trapped sometimes. Below decks there are walls and ceilings, but up here you can see everything. You don‘t want to be cooped up inside anymore than I do. I have no doubt that it has something to do with who we are. Up here, we can be closer to the sky and feel the wind on our skin."

  I affirmed him with a small nod, my eyes still fixed upon the horizon. The both of us fell silent as we found ourselves entranced by the view. A long moment passed before he spoke again.

  "About what you and Kassashimei did the other day; I've never seen anything like it."

  "Neither have I," I replied. "To be able to move all those boats and even the ship. She's so much more powerful than I ever imagined her to be."

  "It's not just your shyo mah Terr. It's you too. No matter how skillful we are, most of us are not capable of extending our attention beyond the boats and ships we are tasked to fly. We watch for the waves and the ebbs and flows, but we can only perceive how they effect ourselves, not how they effect others. For you to see the ether around every boat around you and command them individually is no small feat. You and Kassashimei have honed your gifts together into one powerful force. If no one on this ship knew about your potential before, they do now. Don't let it go to waste Terr. Just as we chienkuu ko are needed, both you and Kassashimei may find yourselves needed even more."

  "Lai!" Etsu came running from across the way and waited until she‘d caught her breath before she continued speaking. "Something has happened."

  We went below and hurried to the ship's quarters where the children were kept. The quarters caretaker met us at the entrance.

  "What's going on here," Lai demanded.

  "Nothing that you should be concerned about," the caretaker replied in a flat tone.

  Lai shouldered his way past him as Etsu guided us towards one of the rooms. She slid the door open and we all looked inside. It was empty.

  "This is Ami's and Sa Shi's room," Etsu said. "No one's come out all day. I thought they just overslept. So when I came in to wake them, they were gone; and they didn‘t just disappear, the room is completely empty. All of their possessions, their clothes, they're all gone."

  Lai turned to face the caretaker who was just a few steps down the hall. "Where are they? These children are my responsibility. I have a right to know."

  The caretaker remained as rigid and emotionless as stone, unmoved by Lai's forceful tone.

  "Well, are you go
ing to tell me?" Lai demanded again.

  He stayed silent.

  "They left." The Boar approached from down the hall, his demeanor just as calm as the caretaker‘s. "And it’s not just them. We've lost quite a few people."

  "But why?" Lai asked. "Where did they go? Were they abducted?”

  "No. They ran away."

  Chapter 21

  Ami and Sa Shi were our most gifted performers. So honed were their skills that they made paper cranes flap effortlessly through the air and willed to life stone-carved fish as they flipped and twirled like playful dolphins. They even taught us how to dance and tutored us on every instrument imaginable. As performers, none could ever hope to be as gifted as them. Now that they were gone, all that remained was an empty void where once stood two of our most trusted friends. But as the Boar explained, they were not the only ones who‘d left.

  The lonely days of constantly seeking a new home, of running from the Empire, had started to take its toll and some of the crew were already feeling their once-proud spirits drained. Many of us had hoped to settle down in Castleberg, to find the safe haven that we had lost all too quickly in the Eastern Kingdom. But our ambitions were fruitless and the loyalty among some of the crew to the Young Emperor had started to wane. The Boar explained that Ami and Sa Shi had decided to remain behind in Castleberg along with a few sailors, guards and even some court officials. To their shame, they left in secret.

  "How could they do that?" Lai said the next evening in one of the ships cavernous cargo bays where the sky boats were stored.

  We had been assigned cleaning duties, scrubbing the dirt from the hulls of each of the boats while our partners, Etsu and Kassashimei were sent to do laundry in another part of the ship. To my frustration, I found myself doing most of the work while Lai paced about impatiently in anger.

  "They left," he continued. "Without telling me. Is it that they don't trust me?"