by Jason Tesar
* * * *
Kael sat at the prow of the ship, watching as waves broke into white foam around the hull. From somewhere behind him he heard the laughter of Horace and Donagh as they shared a joke. They had all been at sea for over two weeks now. Initially, the trip had seemed like an exciting break from their normal routine. But when the first day of the trip arrived, they began with the usual morning meditation, followed by all of their normal instructions in various subjects. The afternoon’s physical training consisted mainly of hand-to-hand combat while trying to keep one’s balance during the rocking, swaying motion of the boat at sea. It was difficult at first, but Kael found that the rhythm of the ocean was like everything else in nature. It felt alive and seemed to have a predictable pattern once you got to know it.
But Kael wasn’t thinking of any of that right now. He was preoccupied with trying to catch a glimpse of their destination. He, along with all of the others, had been told that they would reach the temple before sundown, and he had grown tired of being at sea. Finally deciding not to torture himself any longer, he got to his feet and moved past the others, taking a seat at the stern. The view was much the same—stormy skies and ocean as far as the eye could see. The only difference was the wake left behind by the large boat.
It was strange to think how much time had passed since he had left Bastul. He had stopped counting long ago, but it must have been close to eight years. Things had changed drastically in the past year for him. Ever since that talk with Ukiru, Kael realized that he had been living in the past.
The past is past, but the future is yet to come, Ukiru would say. It was another of his obvious but profound sayings.
Kael laughed to himself. It was funny how well you got to know people when you spent enough time with them. Although in his case, he didn’t have any choice. It wasn’t as if he could go anywhere. Still, he was starting to enjoy his life again. He was living in the present now, and looking toward the future. Ukiru told all of them that by the end of the trip, they would get to see the temple, meet the High Priest, and receive a commission straight from the All Powerful. Kael knew that it was just another step in his training, but it would give him a taste of what his purpose in life was to be, and that had recently become very important. He was no longer a child but a young man being prepared to go out into the world as a messenger for the All Powerful.
“What is that?” yelled an excited voice from the front of the ship. Kael turned around and looked to the southwest, off the starboard side of the ship. About half a mile away, the low-lying clouds had parted, allowing a bright shaft of daylight to stream down to the ocean in a column of brilliant, pale yellow.
“Wow,” remarked Kael as he walked back to the prow. “That’s beautiful.”
Soren turned around and noticed what Kael was looking at. “No. I think he was talking about that.”
Kael turned from the spectacle and followed Soren’s pointing finger toward the southeast, where the boat was facing. At first he didn’t see anything. “What am I supposed to be looking at?” he asked for clarification.
Arden turned around. “Don’t you see it?”
Soren waved a hand at Arden and turned back to Kael. “Look closer at the water.”
Kael looked back to the ocean and after several seconds he noticed something different. It was still more than a mile away, but the shimmer on the water surface was slightly different, duller somehow.
“Is that where we are headed?” asked Jorn.
Kael wasn’t sure to whom he was speaking until he realized that Ukiru was standing behind him.
“Yes, Jorn. That is where we are headed.”
Ukiru always had a fatherly tone in his voice, and Kael realized that it was getting more noticeable as time went on.
“What is it?” Jorn asked, still confused.
Ukiru couldn’t help but smile. “I’ll explain it when we get closer,” he answered, adding to the mystery of the situation.
During the next few minutes, all of the boys stared in wonder at what they couldn’t understand. The clouds began to break apart, and more light streamed down from overhead. The glittering light reflected off the water, making it more difficult to see the object of their fascination. As they moved closer, its silhouette finally broke apart from the horizon and became a substantial object.
Ukiru’s timing was perfect. “What you are looking at is a circular wall surrounding the location of the high temple of the All Powerful.* The surface of the wall is covered in sheets of polished metal to reflect the image of the water around it. It is not too much different from a mirror. Only … instead of reflecting one’s face, it reflects the water around itself, thereby concealing what is behind the wall.”*
“Is it floating?” asked Coen.
“That is a good question,” Ukiru replied. “It is not floating. Underneath the water, the wall is anchored to the ground. The water is very shallow by the wall and we must circle around and enter from the south, where there is a deeper channel through which boats may travel.”
As soon as Kael realized what he was looking at, a question formed in his mind. “Why is it necessary to hide the high temple?”
Ukiru turned to Kael, looking shocked by the question. His agitated features slowly gave way to his usual calm demeanor as he gave Kael an answer. “This world is no longer loyal to the All Powerful. Therefore, it is not safe to leave the temple exposed to anyone not specifically looking for it. For that matter, followers of the All Powerful are not safe to roam about freely in this world, which is why your training has included combat.”
“I thought the temple would be bigger,” Donagh pointed out.
“Actually, it is very large. You just can’t see it,” answered Ukiru.
“What do you mean?”
Ukiru smiled. “It’s under the surface of the water.”
“How can you build a temple under the water?” Donagh asked in a deep voice.
Ukiru turned to face Donagh, apparently liking his line of questioning better than Kael’s. “I don’t know how one might build a temple under the water, but this one was originally above the water. You see, thousands of years ago, the gods built this temple. Everything that you see now was once dry land, and the waters were not this deep. The temple was carved out of a mountain and the people would come here to worship. There was a great war between the gods, and the one that we call the All Powerful emerged victorious. He chased the other gods away, never to return again. But eventually this world stopped worshipping him, and he left until such a time as he would return to claim the world that is rightfully his own. After he left, the oceans rose and buried the temple beneath the water. It has remained this way for thousands of years, until now.”
“Why would he leave?” Kael asked, interrupting.
Ukiru tried not to show his frustration. “The All Powerful left this world to give everyone the opportunity to see how detestable life would be without him. We have had many years to make our decision and still the people of this world choose to live without his guidance, or most of them anyway. But now the High Priest has heard the voice of the All Powerful and has restored the temple. We are, at this very moment, preparing for his return.”
As Ukiru answered the questions of the young men, the boat made its way around to the south side of the wall and was now within a hundred yards of the structure. As they approached, its camouflaging quality began to lose its effectiveness. The individual sheets of polished metal could be made out from one another by their riveted seams.
“The wall conceals the top portion of the mountain, which is the only part above the waterline,” Ukiru continued explaining. He was about to say something else when he realized the boys were not paying attention. Everyone was watching as a section of the wall slid sideways to reveal a glimpse of the interior through a narrow channel, just wide enough for their boat.
Kael looked over the side of the boat and could see a distinction between the shallow water and the darker, deeper channel through
which they were sailing. As the ship left the open ocean and entered the confines of the channel, the water abruptly changed, becoming glassy smooth. The air was more still as well, the wind being blocked by the surrounding wall. As if waiting for a signal, dozens of oars sprouted from the hull of their ship and began to propel the boat through the channel and into a courtyard of sorts.
It was even more impressive on the inside. All around the interior of the wall were covered ports filled with various sizes of ships. Some were tiny and others were larger than any ships Kael had ever seen. Rising from the center of the harbor was an island without trees or vegetation of any kind. What did cover the land, however, were numerous buildings and structures, as well as a multitude of different piers jutting out a short distance into the channel, like spokes on a wheel. Most of these docks had small rowboats moored to their sides. But the strangest sight of all was the enormous cave burrowed into the island.
Narian, who had been silent for most of the trip, finally spoke. “Is that how we get into the mountain?”
“Yes, it is one of four entrances. There are three more facing the north, east, and west.” Ukiru seemed pleased to hand out information that pointed to the glory of the high temple.
As their boat approached the island, six men walked out from the shadows of the cave entrance and quickly made their way down to the pier. These men were dressed all in black, much different from the monks who staffed the ship on which Kael stood. Their long-sleeved tunics fell only to their waists, and they wore loose-fitting pants that ended several inches above their calf-high sandals.
The boat came to rest next to the pier, and the six men secured the ship to the dock with ropes. Ukiru extended a walking plank from the ship to the dock and motioned for the young men to exit the boat. As they did so, the six men on the pier formed a single file line, shoulder-to-shoulder, parallel with the pier. Kael wondered whether these men were monks or soldiers as he walked down the plank and finally stepped on to the pier.
Luckily, Coen had the same thought. “Are these men monks as well?” he asked in a hushed voice, not wanting to offend the men by speaking about them in such close proximity.
“No,” Ukiru answered, matching Coen’s hushed tone. “They are guards of the high temple, soldiers in a way.”
After everyone was assembled on the dock, Ukiru led the group up to the island. They walked in a single file, following a raised deck that passed between buildings and led to the southern entrance in a straight line. Kael glanced behind him to see the six men no longer standing at attention, but hurriedly unloading their supplies from the ship.
As they made their way into the cave, the gray light of the overcast skies gave way to the flicker of torchlight. The cavern was enormous in size. The ceiling was at least thirty feet overhead and it stretched a hundred feet deep before disappearing into the shadows.
“First, I will show you around the temple, and you will see how close it is to being fully restored. Then we will have our evening meal.” Ukiru directed his words to no one in particular, although Jorn’s stomach was growling audibly. “This is the supply storage area, and as you can see, the temple can sustain many people for over a year without the need of outside assistance.”
Kael tried to estimate the number of wooden boxes lining the walls of the cavern but quickly gave up. The boxes were stacked four high and four wide in columns that lead all the way to the back of the cave. They were not labeled, and so their contents were a mystery, but Kael thought that they must contain food in order for the temple to be independently sufficient.
This time it was Soren who questioned what he was looking at. “Why is it necessary to have this many supplies?” His voice echoed slightly.
Ukiru didn’t stop, and only turned his head as he kept the group moving. “Oftentimes, a temple will become a place of refuge for its worshippers. We already know that the world is not friendly to the All Powerful and his followers, so every precaution must be taken to ensure that they always have a home.”
The group moved through the cavern and made its way to the back, where the torches on the wall did little to illuminate their surroundings. The silence was broken only by the sound of their own footsteps on the stone beneath them. It took a few seconds for Kael’s eyes to adjust, but eventually he could make out a wide doorway at the top of a short flight of stairs toward the back of the cavern.
Ukiru walked up the steps and paused for a moment when he reached the doorway, waiting for the others to catch up. “Stay close to me and don’t wander. It is easy to get lost here.”
Everyone proceeded through the door and down the spiraling staircase on the other side. The steps were wide enough for two people to comfortably walk side by side. Kael found himself at the end of the line and decided that he would prefer to walk alone so that he could get a good look at everything without having to carry on a conversation. Something about this place unsettled him. He ran his fingers along the wall and was surprised at the smoothness of the stone. Suddenly he realized that the others had gotten quite a bit ahead of him, and he quickened his pace.
The staircase ended at a hallway that branched into three directions. At the intersection stood a guard, dressed like the others from the dock, but holding a spear at his side. He didn’t even move to acknowledge their presence. Ukiru passed by the man and nodded, taking the path on the right. This hallway seemed to stretch forever, with doorways lining both sides. As they walked, Ukiru explained what most of the rooms were used for and even offered a little history as to their original design. After what seemed like an hour of walking, which didn’t make sense to Kael, who thought that they should have reached the other side of the island already, Ukiru turned to the left and followed a narrow passage. Everyone had to duck to keep from bumping their heads except for Jorn.
The narrow passage opened into what seemed like a gigantic cavern. “This is one of the major passages in the mountain, through which large groups of people would pass in order to make their way to the place of worship,” Ukiru explained.
“I thought we’d already arrived,” questioned Horace.
Ukiru’s smile wasn’t visible, but Kael could hear it in his voice.
“Not yet. And you will not get to see the place of worship right away. It is still being prepared for the ceremony. But I will take you to the entrance.”
Ukiru again turned to the right and began to walk at a brisk pace. Kael finally understood the reason that they had never reached the other side of the island. This enormous hallway, like the previous one, curved slightly to the left, making a large circle. They were closer to the center of the island now, and the curve of this passage was more noticeable than the last. The torches flickered much more in this passage, and the air seemed fresher.
As the rest of the young men tried to keep pace with Ukiru, Kael couldn’t help but wonder how this temple was constructed. He looked to the ceiling, which was more than fifty feet above him, and marveled at what it must have taken to carve such a large amount of stone out of this place. His gaze drifted toward the walls and quickly fixed itself on a hole to his left. It was far above the ground, almost at the ceiling, and he could almost smell the fresh air coming in through it.
“Stay close,” echoed Ukiru’s voice from farther ahead than Kael realized.
As he jogged to catch up, he noticed another hole in the wall ahead. By the time he reached the group he could see it more clearly. This one was slightly lower than the previous one, but it was still too far away to see if it led to open air. As the minutes went by, Kael watched as the holes continued to appear at the same frequency, with each one being slightly lower than the one before. Finally, the passage ended at a large doorway, blocked by a wooden door that seemed as solid as the mountain itself. Kael looked up and saw the last of the windows only nine or ten feet above the ground. It was completely dark, but fresh air was definitely coming in through it. The window was circular and looked large enough to fit a grown man through.
A loud
clank startled Kael and brought his attention back to the group. Ukiru was pushing the door open and beckoning for the young men to follow. They all stepped into a well-lit, dome-shaped room with two doors. The one straight in front of them was unusually large and covered by a thick curtain. The other door to the right seemed to be the only thing in this whole mountain that was sized appropriately for normal human beings.
Ukiru walked to the smaller door and knocked. “That curtain covers the entrance into the place of worship. We will eat our evening meal first, and then I will take you inside to meet the High Priest.” The door opened and Ukiru walked through.
Immediately, the smell of food came to Kael’s nose. The rumble of Jorn’s stomach brought a bit of hushed laughter from Donagh and Horace. As they followed Ukiru into the small room, Kael noticed the man holding the door was dressed in robes like the monks at the monastery, only his were all black.
Inside of the small room was a ring of large pillows around a pedestal. Ukiru motioned for everyone to take a seat. Being the last in line, Kael was the last to find a pillow. The intimacy of the setting was strange and made him feel uncomfortable.
Ukiru looked at ease sitting on his pillow with his legs crossed. He extended both arms out to his sides and addressed the group. “We have come to the end of our journey, and I’m sure that you are all hungry.” At these words, the monk who was holding the door approached the group and placed a silver tray of cheeses and bread on top of the pedestal. He walked back to the corner of the room and opened a wooden chest, producing a silver goblet, and filled it with wine from a bottle. He walked back to the group and placed the goblet next to the tray of food.
