Often saying phrases, like, ���I’ve never seen anything like it,��� and ���How wonderful (or beautiful, or marvelous, or something very similar).��� And all the time with their mouths slightly agape, yet not purposefully. As I’ve described, it could not be helped; Truly, the Empire City of Sonsuz Su was spectacular.
The day wore on and still they walked, always uphill, till the central port was a tiny circle below them, with its miniscule, toy-sized boats strung up to the docks. By that time they had been journeying uphill for several hours, yet still it seemed to be only morning, by the way the light fell, and it gave them the strangest feeling that time had not passed at all, even though they knew it had.
But this, however, was a trick of nature, or an aftereffect of living in a world with multiple suns. For you see, every morning there was a ���first dawn���, which is what they saw from the deck of the Ismet, and then a ���second dawn���, which had happened somewhere along their path up the mountain so that they hadn’t noticed it. And lastly, there was a ���final dawn���, which brightened the whole of that world and shone an even more glorious light onto a sparkling palace, that was built flatly on the highest point of that grand mountain overlooking the Empire City, so that its spiraling peak was not actually part of the mountain, but the pinnacle center tower of the palace.
���Oh,��� Barbara caught her breath as the ���final dawn��� illuminated the glittering palace walls. ���How lovely,��� she said aloud, not meaning to.
The main inner rooms of the palace had all domed ceilings, with ivory beams, and cool stone floors that felt fantastic against their barefoot feet. (It was the sort of place that you would like nothing better than to go exploring in.)
Before long, they were brought into the largest domed room and there in the precise middle point of the otherwise sparse room, was a tall, velvet lined, but empty throne. The main doors to the throne room were shut, and they were left alone with the captain by their side, simply waiting.
This peculiar waiting went on for several more minutes, longer than they would have liked, and during which time Barbara began to examine the face of their captain, coming to the conclusion that he did not appear, as she thought, to be a deeply villainous man. (Which more often than not is something a mindful observer can tell by the face, or through the eyes.) So that she considered it likely, eventually, that they might have been friends, or on good terms, if he hadn’t mistakenly thought they were all his enemies, and ���sky people���, as he said.
Across the room there was a creaking sound of a door, and streaks of oil lamplight came into the throne room, and a stately woman dressed in a scarlet robe came bustling through the doorway. She was hurriedly wrapping a red belt cord around her waist, as if she had not finished preparing for the morning before she’d heard the news.
The lady addressed the captain in their ancient language, while taking full unhalting steps to meet them, and she seemed to be the ranking authority in this case. So that Barbara and Timothy, who’d spent more than a year as guests in a royal court knew instantly what to do, as they bowed, and curtsied, to show honor to the woman whom they assumed, logically, to be the Queen. Albeit, Barbara had to pull at Ata’s arm to get him to lower, because he hadn’t known better.
The captain, who you should know was named R��zg��r, then answered the Queen in a way that made it obvious that he was responding to her questions, telling the story of how he’d found these enemies, and the manner in which they came to him.
And as they stood there listening to the explanation, Timothy couldn’t help but admire this queen (for she was very beautiful). However, there was another thing that peaked his curiosity. There was some strange familiarity in the lines and character of her face, and it took him until the end of the captain’s story to place it.
And I feel as if the best way I can describe this realization for you, reader, is to ask that you might imagine a building that is many centuries old, yet idyllically well kept. So that instinctively, you will know the building to have been fashioned many years ago (by differences in architectural style, from ancient to modern, or what have you). While the building itself, however, may look exactly as it did on the day it was first created.
And here too, Timothy knew (perhaps because he’d had experience with similar things), that this queen was herself incredibly old, yet somehow hardly aged.
Once Captain R��zg��r had finished explaining their situation to the ancient queen, Ata, out of habit most likely, began to interpret for his companions.
���He says, ‘O Divine Empress of the Endless Water, may you live forever. It was five days before this time, as we were sailing our route in the west, that we saw-‘ ���
But here for some unexplained reason, the Queen (or the Divine Empress, as she was apparently called) interrupted Ata in the most bizarre way, speaking in unbroken English, like she had learned the words long ago and she were trying to remember their exact phrasing.
���You speak the words of Earth?��� the Empress said.
The three travelers looked at each other, perhaps trying to discover whether or not this was yet another trap set for them. Though without much delaying, Barbara was the first to answer her, saying graciously, ���Yes, Your Majesty.��� And bowing a low curtsey, causing the rest to follow after her.
And with that they saw the first smiling face that they had seen since splashing into that endless ocean world; They saw the Queen’s very genuine, and happy smile, as if she had just discovered an old and dear friend.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The Empress and Her Story
As they soon discovered, Timothy’s instincts, his gifts of skilled perception were exact and accurate. Indeed, Ilayda, the Divine Empress Queen of the Endless Ocean was not young by any Earthly standards. So that by the time of their meeting, she was nearly five hundred years old, and had ruled and reigned in that world since her one hundred and seventy-first birthday.
Though this was not something they’d known right away, for how could they, although Timothy had his guesses. Hereto, it was not till the end of their first day�� on the island of Sonsuz Su, while they gathered on the western palace porch to watch the second and third sunsets, that Queen Ilayda began to explain to them how she had come to know the English language, or the ���words of Earth���, as she called it.
And here is her story, as she told it, while they reclined on elegant sofas overlooking the city, the gardens, and the island’s communal forest, and the unmeasured ocean beyond.
���In the four hundred and twenty-first year of my birth, there was a man that came to me, sailing in the sky. He was not from this world, but lived in a world beyond. That world, he said, ‘had vast oceans as well, like this one, but more land than its citizens would ever need.’ Land that did not need to be built upon the waves, but was measureless and settled beneath their feet.���
At this point, Barbara politely interrupted, minding her tone and manners.
���Yes, Your Majesty, in our world that’s how all land is. We never think that it could be anything else,��� she said.
And Queen Ilayda replied, staring out at her kingdom at first, ���It is hard to imagine the things you have never seen,��� she said to Barbara. ���And although we may use similar words: for example here we call this island land, but what these words actually mean can be quite different.���
The Queen paused her story while they watched the second sun sink below the horizon, painting blues and purple colors across the sky, colors that we have never seen in the sunsets of our world. And by the extended evening light, they were treated to a festive meal of sea crab and lettuce from the private palace gardens.
After they had eaten more than their fair shares, the Queen continued her story. Although all three travelers would have liked to have begged her to finish much sooner, but felt it was impo
lite.
The Queen continued, ���This man who sailed the sky would come to me every season, when the waves are warmest, and we would walk along the shore (which I think means something different in your world). And we spoke each other’s languages, and would share the science of our worlds.���
���How romantic,��� Barbara said aloud. ���And did you fall in love?��� she inquired, forgetting for a brief moment to only ask proper and distinguished questions.
The Queen set her pointer finger on her lips, as if to help her think through the language of what was said. ���To fall in love?��� she said. ���How is that something I could fall into?��� she asked, not understanding Barbara’s modern slang.
���But if you ask, ‘Did I love him?’ ���, she said, her mind clearly imagining memories of her past. ���I can say that I did.���
And they heard the sound of the harbor bell down below, calling in the late fishing ships. It was a low and steady tone, that had a sense of finality to it.
���But he, after living with the death of a previous wife, did not wish for a new one. And also, with all justice I could not let a foreign man rule my kingdom, as worthy as he might have been.���
They rested for a few minutes to have their after dinner teas, a drink that had the fragrance of flowers, but tasted like cherry licorice.
���Can I ask what happened afterward, Your Majesty?��� Timothy eventually said, trying to pretend that he hadn’t cared at all for the romantics of the story.
���Nothing… just time, my child,��� she answered (but in the way that she fumbled her words, you could tell that it was not nothing, but something, rather, that she did not wish to discuss).
And to move on from this, she began to explain, ���You see, the time in my world, I’ve found, does but barely move. While the time in your world is a violent taker, and scavenger of youth.���
The Queen pursed up her lips, and closed her eyes tightly, as if she were angry at that fact and wished not to show it directly. Then she continued, saying, ���He has not returned for many years, but I think not because he did not wish for it.���
By that time, the final sunset was hanging just above the crest of the distant sea line, and they had ceased talking again. And a larger, paler moon than we have in our world was beginning to rise out of the north.
���Your Majesty,��� Ata said, after a long pause, once he thought it might be appropriate. ���Your captain accused us of being ‘sky people.’ Are we?��� he asked.
Queen Ilayda smiled, as if she thought his question to be comical.
���Of course not, child,��� she replied. ���You are from Earth, and so we would call you Earth people. There is no mystery here.���
And she took another sip of warmed tea, with a parent-like expression on her face.
Then, Timothy asked, ���So to be clear, Your Majesty, Sky people live in the sky?���
���Yes,��� the Queen answered plainly. She grinned at their conversation, as she motioned toward her palace and the world around them, saying, ���I live on the ocean waters, and you do not find this strange.���
���For us, Your Majesty, this is not so strange,��� Barbara replied. ���But how could anyone live in the sky?���
That evening they did not receive a clear answer to their questions, however, on account that the Queen had feigned a headache and had retired to her chambers early. And at once her three guests were shuffled off to their own private rooms, luxurious rooms, with intricate drapery, and windows that would not open, and doors that would be bolted shut.
Though before they were sealed into their quarters for the night, Timothy made a point to whisper into Barbara’s ear as they walked in step behind the palace guards, who had been summoned to assist them to their rooms.
���You ever get the feeling that maybe we’re still prisoners?��� he said.
She took a more discerning glance at their guards’ stern expressions, as they led them in a military fashion to their rooms.
���Well I do now,��� she said, not so pleased that Timothy had successfully ruined her good mood for the evening. And since there could be no more pretending, she went on to say how she didn’t like the way the Queen had dismissed her questions.
���Who are these sky people, anyways?��� she asked in a hushed voice. ���And can you imagine what they’d do to us if we were them?��� she continued, holding her words in soft breaths.
Timothy nodded, glancing at the guards to make sure they had not been paying attention to their conversation.
���They’ve already locked us away into the ship’s prison, once before. And I don’t think it’d be very hard for them to do it again,��� he said.
And they continued marching, to the thumping sound of military boots that reflected off the domed ceilings and walls.
*
�� Which would be the end of their 5th total day in that world, if you are keeping track of such a thing.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The Grand Island
Yet as ominously as their first encounter with the Queen and her guards had ended that night, and despite being locked up in their ���prison rooms��� until the following morning, till well after second sunrise, they found the next few days on the grand island of Sonsuz Su were absolutely splendid.
Both for Ata, who picked up the local dialect surprisingly well, being that the language of that kingdom had so nearly shared a common ancestry with his own. And also for Barbara and Timothy, who found themselves unmistakably intrigued by all that they saw: by the fish markets, the housing districts that were segregated by occupation, the kingdom’s craftsman architecture, but most of all by the citizens’ peculiar use of a floating currency.
Which, if you will mind my pun, served two purposes: the first being to act as an equalizer between those of various social standings. Meaning that each transaction would be scaled, so that it would not disproportionately affect the poor of Sonsuz Su. (And the second purpose, and the reason for my pun, was that this form of currency was actually made from a type of balsa wood, so that coincidentally, it both floated in value, and legitimately floated.)
I realize, however, that this is a difficult process to explain, unless you’ve of course visited that world. Though if you haven’t, then you should try to imagine that you’ve gone into a cafe, along the port shore of the island, to watch the final sunset over the harbor. And, for the sake of explanation, you’ve ordered a barley crescent roll, and a bit of sunbaked alabal��k fish for dinner; Which would be a delicacy, and are only rarely ever caught in nets, so naturally the meal would be quite expensive. Though it would be even more expensive for you if you happened to be wealthier, likely fifty or sixty pieces for a wealthier man. Although, for an exceptionally poor man the meal might have gone for three or four pieces, which would be a bargain for anyone, I’ll assure you.
And so as you can imagine, this system of a moveable currency was never something that any of the three could ever master. Though especially Timothy, who might have developed the skill if he tried at it, except that every time they would purchase anything with the Queen’s money, which they were graciously given, Timothy would always make a vocal protest, saying how ���barbaric��� their system of money was. And he even asked several clerks how they could stand to live in a place like this. That was, until he realized that none would ever answer his questions, as if the mere question itself had frightened them, and so he stopped asking them.
And also, as you might imagine, this means of currency produced odd savings and investment habits for its citizens, as well. So that the average worker in the Empire, would for all their long lives be caught up in a delicate balance between being moderately poor, so that they would not be penalized for their wealth, and being truly impoverished, so much s
o that they could not afford to pay for their most basic necessities.
Therefore, as a form of investment, they would covert their money into anything that would hold a real value: such as trinkets and jeweleries made of copper, or vats of wine, or stores of grain.
And this then led to a bizarre system of purchase in shops, where the clerks would actually haggle for a lower price, and the buyers for a higher price. And as a result, because it’d become instantly necessary for their system to function, bartering was made illegal, and had carried with it strict penalties.
Though these rules our travelers were unaware of until the morning of their eighth day in that world, when they saw a man being dragged by his neck collar, through the streets and upwards toward the palace to receive his judgement. He was handsomely dressed, with his hair politely combed to the side, and did not look at all the way that you’d imagine a criminal to look.
So that when the travelers had asked around, to the various onlookers in the square, about what sort of crime the man had committed, they found one of the village boys, who explained to Ata that the man had unluckily become so wealthy that he could no longer buy bread or even grain for his family, and as such no one would sell to him, for fear they too would become just as wealthy.
And on this particular day, the village boy said, that the man had been caught trying to trade his prized collection of golden statutes for a scrap of bread. Except that, before he could find someone willing to risk making the trade, he was discovered by the Queen’s special police, or the S��r as they were called.��
The Histories of Earth, Books 1-4: In the Window Room, A Prince of Earth, All the Worlds of Men, and Worlds Unending Page 33