Sky of Paper: An Asian Steam-Driven Fantasy Tale

by Matthew Seaver

  "I'm sure that's not it Lai," I said. "You heard what Master Ichiro said. They were probably just tired of being stuck in this ship. For the others that left, they too must have felt the same."

  "I don't care about the others." Lai kicked at the side of one of the boats. "You, and the other children, those are the only people that matter to me. I'm supposed to watch over all of you, and the fact that I wasn’t aware of Ami and Sa Shi’s disappearance means that I’ve failed to do my job."

  I threw a brush at him. He caught it, almost falling over in in the process.

  "Your job right now is to help me scrub down these boats," I blurted.

  He gave a long sigh, allowing himself a small measure of calm, and for me, an even larger measure of relief. As he came to assist me, the large, metal hatch from across the bay slowly clanked opened. The both of us watched as a royal guard stepped through, then stood attentively as his superior followed him in. It was Princess Xiangfeng. Tension filled the air as she made her way towards us, followed closely by her personal guard.

  She stopped at one of the boats, eyeing it with some disgust, as if reminded of the turbulent experience she had while riding as one of passengers only two days before. She then lifted her gaze and looked down her nose at me.

  Lai turned to her and gave a curt bow. "Princess. Can I help you?”

  "No, you cannot," she said, then nodded in my direction. "But he can."

  "What is it you want," I said kneeling over the side of the boat closest to her, still scrubbing and barely acknowledging her presence. I was still angry at what she’d done to my tamma. Royalty or not, she was not worth my respect, and I didn‘t care if I got in trouble for it.

  "Nothing really. My mother says I shouldn’t confine myself in my room so much, that I should get out more, maybe explore the ship. But I've been to the atrium so many times and I grow bored of milling about on the upper decks. So I thought I might visit you."

  "Visit me? Why?"

  "Well you're his favorite aren't you? The Emperor I mean. He seems to care about you more than a lot of other people on this ship."

  "Surely you mean the Young Emperor," Lai said boldly.

  "No. He is the true Emperor of his country and I refuse to taint his title by making him sound like some sort of immature child, like everyone else seems to do around here. Besides, I personally wanted to visit the person he seems to have so much interest in."

  I dropped my brush, then slowly got to my feet and turned to her. Aside from the silver, cloud-like patterns on her black satin robe, she looked plain. There was no jewelry to be found in her hair and even the make up on her face seemed subdued. I wondered if she‘d bothered attending to her royal appearance at all.

  I, however, was a mess. My clothes were stained and any skin that wasn’t covered was smeared with dirt and grime. Despite my appearance, I was unwavering when I faced her.

  "Well, you found me. Now what?"

  The guard next to her uttered a slight grunt, annoyed at my disrespect. He took a step forward in a vain attempt to intimidate me. Lai was frozen, regarding me with growing concern, but with muted confidence, I continued to hold my ground.

  The princess frowned, then said, "if you're looking for an apology for what my sister and I did to your precious tamma, you won‘t have it."

  "Then what did you come here for?"

  "I told you. I'm bored."

  "So then you want me to play with you? Is that it?"

  Her frown faded. In its place was a prideful look that would have rivaled that of any aristocrat.

  "Yes. I want you to amuse me."

  The sound of wood clattered upon the floor. I looked down to see a practice sword the guard had so brazenly tossed at my feet. When I looked up again, I noticed the princess unsheathing a similar wooden blade from within her robe.

  "Spar with me," she commanded. "Spar with me and I might reconsider that apology."

  "No," I said turning back to my cleaning duties. "I don't fight girls, no matter how annoying they are."

  "I am no girl," she said with a tinge of spite in her voice. "I am a warrior of the Eastern Kingdom, and you will spar with me."

  I ignored her as I proceeded to pick up my brush and climbed back inside the boat, intent on finishing before the day was out. A few moments passed, and I heard nothing more of her voice. After a while, I thought she had left. But it was then that I felt the sudden crack of the blunt edge of her sword snap against my back. Grunting in frustration she had regained my attention. I gasped in pain, immediately jumping out of the boat to face her. She smiled the way a mugger does to a helpless victim.

  "Well? Shall we?" she taunted.

  "I said no." I rubbed my back, gritting my teeth as I spoke.

  "Don't you want the rest of your tamma back?"

  "There's no way you have it," I said disenchanted by her taunts. "Your sister has that piece."

  "Oh? Then what would this be?" Reaching into a velvet bag that hung from her belt, she pulled out a half-shattered glass sphere and held it out, waving it like a piece of meat to a starving dog, then passed it to her guard. "Spar with me. Amuse me. And it's yours."

  I was hardly in the mood to play her game, so I ran up to the guard and reached for the object in his hands. The princess's sword swatted my outstretched wrist. I winced, stepping back immediately.

  "Princess," Lai interjected. "I don't think now is a good time. Perhaps when we're not so mired in chores."

  She ignored him. Her eyes sat squarely fixed upon me.

  "Princess, please."

  "What happens between him and I is none of your business now go back to whatever it was that you were-"

  Before she could finish her statement to Lai, I lunged at her with the practice sword in my hand. She immediately blocked my attack and struck me in the thigh, sending me stumbling backwards.

  "You're sloppy," she said regaining her composure.

  I attacked her again, swinging from side to side as if I were swatting at mosquitoes. With practiced precision she blocked every one of my moves then gave a sharp prod to my chest, knocking the wind from my lungs.

  "Your skill in fighting in terrible," she continued. She then struck my other leg, weakening my stance. I fell to my knees, but kept my angry gaze upon her.

  I swung again, this time blindly, but with a force driven with such determination, that her block finally gave way and she swerved aimlessly to the side. She fell back several paces before she regained her footing, taking a moment to catch her breath before she spoke.

  "But even without skill, you fight with passion, which makes you so much more fun than sparring with one my guards." She gave a commanding nod and the guard placed the broken sphere next to my kneeling body.

  Before she turned to leave, she said, "oh, and I told the Emperor I'd pass on his message to you. He would like to see you tonight. At the hour of the dog, be in the throne room."

  After she left, I picked up the object on the floor beside me, only to realize that it was just an unimpressive chunk of glass, a fake.

  The duel with Princess Xiangfeng was hardly a duel at all. She knew that I understood nothing about sword play, and yet she still challenged me. Her reasons were unknown to me. Perhaps she wanted to display the worth of her skills to me in the same frivolous manner I did to her when I carelessly ferried her from the ship in Castleberg. Maybe she was angry and was simply looking for way to vent her frustrations. Or maybe it was just pride and felt a need to show off. Regardless, my respect for her had fallen to a new low. She used me. She manipulated my emotions with a fake tamma just to have me entertain her.

  That evening, I was dueling again, but this time with someone of substantially less skill. The Young Emperor and I lunged at each other with practice swords, exhaggerating our swings and striking with almost no coordination or discipline. He laughed, taunting in an attempt to make light of his terrible swordsmanship. Though he was insistent that we fight upon my visit to the throne room that evening, we both
knew that our duel would amount to nothing more than just two children playing with sticks, rather than a formal practice session.

  Aside from the single servant that stood motionless beside the throne, he and I were the room‘s only occupants. We pounded each others’ sticks like ruffians, yelling and insulting each other as we pretended to be two feudal lords, locked in an ungentlemanly clash for control of each other's lands. For a time, we allowed ourselves to be something we were never meant to be. . . normal, ordinary boys. It wasn‘t long before we were too tired to continue our forbidden game, and we dropped our swords and let our heaving, sweaty bodies lay sprawled across the floor.

  "You have defeated me, Lord Terr of the Pig Clan," he said in between breaths.

  "Pig Clan?" I replied. "That's a dumb name. I am Lord Terr, of the Demon Mountain Clan of Hutsu Nash!"

  "Is that so? Then that would make me the High Ruler of all Under Heaven."

  "Well, Ruler of all Under Heaven," I replied teasingly. "Is this the only reason you called me here tonight."

  "Mostly, yes." He sat up and commanded the servant to bring in some tea. "I've been sparring with Xiangfeng. She tells me that an Emperor's reputation first comes from his skill with a blade; so she decided that I should train with her. I know she wants to feel useful, or maybe even prove to me her worthiness at being my wife, so I do it out of kindness. Still, she takes fighting too seriously. But at least with you. . . well, I'm glad there's someone here who knows how to have fun once in while."

  I kept my silence, brooding as I stared up at the vast ceiling.

  After a minute passed he said, "Terr, are you alright?"

  "I hate her."

  "It's about what she did to you isn't it?"

  "You know?"

  "Of course. She's been telling me about how anxious she’s been about dueling with you for a while now. I think it's her way of saying that she wants to get to know you better."

  I sat up and looked at him squarely in the eyes. "Did she tell you about how she did it, about how she got me to fight her?"

  His expression grew forlorn, as if he carried some of the blame for what she had done. "Terr, there's something you need to understand about her. She's like a mountain lion who cares nothing for the goats that pass her den. But she will seek out other lions that look to share the mountain with her."

  "Is that what you think she is? Goats or lions, I think she’d rather hunt them all.”

  The servant returned with a tray of refreshments and began pouring the tea, but I declined her offering. I stood up and began to take my leave.

  "Terr," He said. "If there's anything I learned about being in my position, it's that people are not as simple you think."

  "I need to go," I said in an annoyed tone. "I have to be in the ritual room soon. Lai wants me to watch over a few of the children. They've never done night flying before, so he wants me to train them."

  As I stepped away, the child emperor called out for me again. I stopped just before reaching the door.

  "Kassashimei, your shyo mah. I know you saw us that day you came to visit the throne room. I know it must have been strange seeing her with me, but it's nothing to be jealous over. The only thing that she wanted of me, was my wish."

  I looked over my shoulder. "A wish?"

  "Yes. Isn't it strange? She asked me if I had a wish that I’d like granted."

  "What did you say?"

  "She’s like no person I’ve ever met. The way she spoke to me, the strange aura in her eyes when she looked at me, it was like she didn‘t belong to this world. I gave her my wish. It can’t tell you what I told her, but I want you to know, that you’re very lucky to have her. Cherish her Terr. Her presence in your life has more meaning than you know. Don‘t let it go to waste."

  Late that night, I laid quietly in my futon as I watched with some curiosity at Kassashimei, asleep in the bedding next to me. She was as vibrant as ever when she and I watched over the chienkuu ko earlier that evening. She’d repeatedly insulted the poor shyo mah who, in the dull moments of sitting absolutely still while watching the motions of her partner, kept dozing off. She prodded her in the back with one of her oddly decorated spirit sticks whenever there was any sign of the girl leaning over in a groggy daze. Kassashimei claimed that the stick was a water wand, that if handled properly, kept the rain at bay. In her vast, self-proclaimed charity, she thought it wise that they learn to fly the ship without the hindrance of a sudden midnight rainstorm.

  I smirked at the sight of another trinket in her hands. She took offense and frowned at me through most of the night. Still, in the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but wonder about the growing mystery that was my shyo mah. What secrets was she keeping from me? The Young Emperor’s words had only served to nurture my curiosity further.

  She seemed perfectly normal as she slept across from me. As peculiar as she was, there was no cause for me to believe she’d be turning into a cat or a bird and scamper or flutter away before my eyes. At some point, my thoughts drifted away and my curiosities gave way to dreary slumber.

  A week passed.

  A week of crossing nothing, but rolling grasslands that stretched to a hilly, unknown horizon. Only scattered trees and tiny streams marked the landscape below. Certainly it was beautiful, but I grew bored seeing the same, almost featureless world drifting below, day after day. Then, on the ninth day since leaving Castleberg, we came upon a vast forest. Ai explained that the locals called it, the Forest Among the Clouds. True to its name, the trees grew upon a broad, towering plateau that sent tree tops peeking through vast blankets of low-flying clouds. Hovering high above, I watched from the deck, at an immense vision sprawled far below that looked much like a land covered in snow with huddled green tree-top specks that seemed like humble bushes, dotting the pillowy-white ground. My mind wandered as I imagined setting down upon these clouds and treading upon them as if they were solid wisps of white earth.

  Beyond the forest, the clouds cleared and beneath their feathery shroud was revealed an enormous river, one which was as wide as several ships lined stern to bow. Dae Jung ordered us to descend to the water below. Much to my relief, as well as the other children, it was decided that rather than fly, we would sail the river to our next destination. For another week, the ship puffed along the water-bound currents using only its steam engines. All the while, the Boar and Ai sought to maintain our skills by training continuously both day and night.

  Since Kassashimei and I had already proven our talents at flying, it was decided that we would learn other disciplines. We would train to become entertainers, just like Ami and Sa Shi.

  Little did we know that moving an unwieldy vessel across the sky was nothing like the delicate, graceful motions needed to make small objects of stone and wood dance. We practiced with flat, ceramic tiles at first, as their shape and weight made them easy to levitate. After a time, we moved on to narrow, wooden poles and learned to balance them on their tips. It was difficult at first, as we found ourselves grasping the craft all over again; but just like at the temple, our teachers were relentless. The Boar would teach us during the day, and while everyone slept, Ai would carry the training well into the depths of the evening.

  My sight had to be further refined in order to follow the tiniest details in the ether, which would allow my partner and I to flick and move various objects in a way that would make them seem alive. Much of these things were carried out at the end of the day as most performing chienkuu ko did their shows after sunset.

  It wasn’t until we arrived at our destination, that we were finally afforded a chance to rest.

  At first I thought we had sailed into the ocean, but soon realized the waters were much too calm. As the mouth of the river fell away I noticed, with great surprise, that we had entered an immense lake. At its very center floated a city as large as the Rui Nan capital itself, with towering buildings and branching docks of steel and wood. Clouds of steam rose like pillars from its center as if the Earth itself were breat
hing vapor into the sky.

  Kassashimei and I witnessed the distant spectacle through the glass dome of the ritual room. She seemed unimpressed.

  "The spirits don't like this place," she said ominously. "They say this city will be the end of all of us."

  Chapter 22

  Today, the lake city of Watersbe is heralded as one of the greatest and most prosperous city states in the world. Built upon a lake connected to the Great Central River, which flowed to the Western Ocean, Watersbe's ports became the center of trade and commerce for all the countries on the main continent. Almost every ship, both of the air and of the water, had routes that eventually intersected the river as well as the vast expanse of water it commanded. The lake itself was like an unending harbor, with ships and towering masts that stretched from one shore to the other. At the peak of the trade seasons, every inch of water would be carpeted by a solid mass of wood, metal and a myriad number of docked hulls.

  In the time of my child however, as our ship sailed into port, we came upon a city whose reputation was much darker, filled with deceit and dishonorable intentions. The government and those that enforced the law were bribed into corruption. Criminals and even pirates found refuge in its unsavory underbelly and trade of illegal goods often passed hands under the blind eyes of ignorant officials.

  Dae Jung decided that it would not be wise to remain in such a place too long. We would leave as soon as we had replenished our supplies. Nevertheless, rumors and the presence of our luxurious, exotic-looking ship quickly caught the attention of various city officials. There was no hiding the growing suspicion that the Young Emperor was residing within the city's docks. Hardly two days passed before we were invited to the mansion of the head of state, Premier Gorchiv.

  At first, Dae Jung politely declined.

  But as Kassashimei and I concluded our training and landed our sky boat upon the deck one day, I took notice of a messenger who spoke in whispered tones to Dae Jung, both standing at the bow some distance away. Dae Jung was gazing at an official-looking document the messenger had evidently handed him and then suspiciously pointed to us in earnest while he explained his intentions. Dae Jung nodded. The messenger grinned and the two shook hands before they parted ways.