Architecture & Adversity

by Jeremy Dwyer

  In her cabin, Indigo looked over at Drystan as he slept, expended from their incessant lovemaking, which helped keep her mind off of her unpleasant travels.

  The spirit of the Prince of Stargazers appeared to her again and said: “This is where you are to disembark. The next luminary is nearby. You will find it in a grove of trees, five (5) miles northwest of the Port of Grand Redwood Bay, with a small, abandoned log cabin in the center.”

  “I’ll look for it. But if I get lost in the Javanda forests, you’re going to show me the way there and back out, right?” Indigo asked.

  “Yes, as always, I will guide you,” the spirit of the Prince of Stargazers said and vanished.

  Indigo woke up Drystan with a kiss and said: “Here’s where we get off.”

  Drystan sat up in bed and drank anew of the waters of the Trerada Ocean from his vial, becoming energized. His health and fine appearance were made more robust.

  Indigo found him irresistible as a result. She disrobed and then tackled Drystan, pushing him down on the bed and making love one more time, embracing him with her tightest passion. When they were done, she said: “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t help myself. You are just so fine – that water really does make you amazingly handsome. A girl can’t let an opportunity like that pass her by.”

  “No need to apologize,” Drystan said, smiling, having enjoyed it as much.

  “Now we really do have to go,” Indigo said. She then drank anew of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean from her vial to become energized. Drystan refreshed himself with the Trerada waters from his own vial. They dressed, left the cabin and disembarked.

  When they stepped off the boarding ramp and onto the pier, they found themselves in a large port town. A tall signpost read ‘Port of Grand Redwood Bay’ and over thirty (30) other ships were anchored in the port. Large wagons with sails – pushed along by the solar energy stored in crystals embedded in those sails – carried timber to and fro across the port town, then out onto the piers. Strong men and women were loading the wood from the wagons onto the ships.

  “Where now?” Drystan asked.

  “Just follow me…and hold my hand,” Indigo said, taking his hand. She listened for the sounds of the stars, telling her their position and movements. She used this information to set her course, traveling northwest. She knew the distance she needed to travel on land, and she used the movements of the suns to pace herself.

  They traveled outside the Port of Grand Redwood Bay and headed into the forests of Javanda. The first mile was not wilderness; rather, hundreds of timber cutters were at work, felling trees and loading them onto sail wagons. Several log cabins were nearby, wherein the workers rested between shifts.

  “Are we here to cut down trees?” Drystan asked facetiously, looking to get the real answer.

  “No, not that,” Indigo said, unwilling to reveal the true purpose.

  “Or are you looking for a place for us to really be alone? A log cabin?” Drystan asked, suggesting more intimacy.

  “You’re getting closer. I do like that idea,” Indigo said, savoring the idea. She was definitely looking for an abandoned cabin, and they would be alone there, but not for that reason.

  “So, we’re looking for a little log cabin all to ourselves, in the middle of the forest. This could be good for us,” Drystan said.

  “Don’t do this to me. Now I’m not going to be able to concentrate,” Indigo said, suddenly aroused by the misinterpreted purpose of their journey. Once she got her hands on the luminary, she thought that they just might have a little time for each other before they had to leave. Maybe getting lost in this forest, and being all alone, would make their intimacy even more enjoyable. She planned to find out.

  ~~~

  Amaltheia wandered through the continent of Javanda, visiting the small towns of timber cutters, smiling at the attractive men, and rarely receiving any acknowledgment. She feared that the worst had already happened – her facial injuries really did make the men avoid her. She never had problems in the past – at least one (1) out of eight (8) men came her way and enjoyed her company. Now, it was zero (0) out of thirty-five (35), and her odds were getting worse every time she tried.

  After giving up hope in one town, she moved onto the next, riding along on the unoccupied, slow-moving riverboats that carried lumber. They had sharp hooks on their sides, but she was not sure why. Slow was a relative term: she had to time her jumps onto them, or things would get much worse, especially if she got caught by any of those hooks. If men merely didn’t acknowledge her now because of her facial injuries, they might actually go out of their way to avoid her if she was impaled like a fish on a hook. Her fear and her agility both served her as she transferred between riverboats: she would jump off one riverboat and land carefully on the dry ground, avoiding rocks and tree stumps; then, walk a mile or ten (10) to the next stretch of river; then, jump onto the next riverboat, avoiding those hooks. She wondered what happened to the intermediate riverboats and their timber cargo, because they seemed to be stranded, waiting for someone to come and pick them up and carry them along. She fantasized about there being a group of lonely men, who would come looking for the load of timber but be overjoyed that they found her instead, and forget their work to ravish her in all her favorite ways. She knew it was a fantasy, and that waiting for them might just be a new way to be disappointed, unless her injuries healed. Oh, if only she drank the Trerada waters, she thought: no alchemy experiments; no boring science with boring and loveless people; just beauty and vitality, and nearly instant healing of her injuries. The Kazofen waterbinding she chose was definitely a mistake, and she now deeply regretted it.

  Amaltheia’s misadventure went on for what seemed like thirty (30) or even forty (40) days – she purposely lost count, becoming more desperate. She wondered why she was ever an Explorer of the Quiet Sea. She wondered why she drank the waters of the Kazofen Ocean. So what if she could manipulate crystal, purifying any and all waters? Wait! That was it! She would do her alchemy work in exchange for a little recognition – and a little affection. The timber-carrying riverboat she was on arrived at the northern edge of a large port town, where she saw the signpost which read ‘Port of Grand Redwood Bay.’ Several timber cutters stood on the riverbank and cast ropes out to catch the hooks on the sides of the riverboat, dragging it inwards. Now she understood the purpose of those hooks, and the thick ropes that were looped onto them hid their sharp points.

  When the riverboat stopped, she stepped off and the men and women were aghast at the sight of her.

  “Were you attacked by a bear?” one man asked.

  “I am so sorry!” a woman said.

  “What do you drink? Trerada water will fix that,” a man asked.

  “No, I drink the Kazofen waters. I’m an alchemist. I can do some work for you,” Amaltheia said.

  “That’s all she’ll ever be,” a man whispered to the men next to him.

  “If she drank the right water, maybe I’d get to know her, but not looking like this,” another man whispered.

  “It’s hopeless. She’ll never get better,” another man whispered, but not as softly.

  “Stop it! Show a little respect,” a woman whispered, even louder.

  Amaltheia overheard the whispered insults and immediately forgot her earlier plans. She began crying and ran into the forest, attempting to put the embarrassment behind her.

  ~~~

  On Haza’Kedro’Maral Island, ships arrived and departed and traders and bankers traveled to and fro among the ships and the bank’s buildings. Most of the work was of the ordinary sort related to commodities trading, labor agreements and traditional banking. Some work, however, was unusual.

  The unusual work was the preparation of a full-scale replica constructor. After repeatedly drinking Kazofen waters from his vial over eighteen (18) days of careful design and labor, Erlend had finished his work on a set of thirty-four (34) carefully cut sapphires, and a thirty-fifth that was different, because it was the cont
rol crystal. A group of two hundred thirty-one (231) hired stone cutters had molded thirty-four (34) curved pillars, each fifty (50) feet in height, eight (8) feet square at the base. One hundred thirty (130) strong men – all Nabavodel-water-drinkers – were hired to load these pillars onto the Diversifier and travel along with them, to put the pillars into the designated places once they were ready for the full scale construction projects. Their strength was also meant to serve as protection against any sort of violence or thievery that might occur, for these men were far more numerous than necessary to handle the constructor pillars.

  Fulvius drank the waters of the Ikkith Tar Ocean from his own vial, providing darkness and distraction, so that this activity was not noticed, but was protected in the shadows, blending in with the ordinary commerce on the island.

  After the constructor pillars were loaded onto the Diversifier and into its cargo hold, Erlend and Fulvius boarded the ship and approached Captain Koloman.

  “Captain, set a course for northwestern Javanda,” Erlend said, showing him the paper from Governor Lux authorizing the transportation assignment.

  Captain Koloman drank anew of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean and was energized. He listened for the sounds of the stars to learn their positions and movements. He thereby plotted a course and began by sailing the Diversifier northwest across the Pirovalen Ocean.

  The Diversifier sailed until reaching the Farmer’s Road land bridge. Captain Koloman converted the ship to its airship configuration by pivoting the double-masted sails to the side of the ship, and then elevated it to one hundred twenty (120) feet of altitude. He steered the ship west over the land bridge, returning to sea level in the eastern Trerada Ocean, where he converted the sails and masts to their upright orientation. He sailed the ship west across the Trerada Ocean, until reaching the Admiral Ramalaxis Bridge. After converting the ship to its airship configuration, he steered the ship west across that land bridge, returning to sea level in the eastern Gradaken Ocean. From there, he sailed northwest, until reaching the Way of Raza’Deptorum land bridge. Again, he converted the Diversifier to its airship configuration, traveling north over that land bridge and returning to sea level in the southern Zovvin Ocean. He then sailed the ship north until reaching the Jeshirinko Barrier land bridge. He converted the ship to its airship configuration, traveled north over the land bridge and returned to sea level in the Lujladia Ocean. Captain Koloman then sailed the ship northeast until reaching the narrowest stretch of the continent of Nataloridivu. He converted the Diversifier to an airship once again, traveling north over the continent and returning to sea level in the Atrejan Ocean. From there, he sailed northeast until reaching the proper point along the northwestern coast of the continent of Javanda, a journey of six (6) full days.

  Captain Koloman then left the wheelhouse, went out on deck and directed his crew to anchor the ship. After this, he met with Erlend and Fulvius.

  “We’re at the designated point along the northwestern coast of Javanda. Where do you need to go now?” Captain Koloman asked.

  “This is the complicated part. Many of the trees in Javanda are higher than one hundred twenty (120) feet, so we can’t sail over them, so we would have to use the rivers, and none of them are contiguous from east-to-west,” Erlend said.

  “Those rivers are too shallow to safely sail in a ship this size, and the forests are too dense to travel as an airship through them. I’ve seen the maps of Javanda before, so don’t try to convince me otherwise,” Captain Koloman said.

  “I know that’s true, captain, so I’m not even going to try to argue over it. Despite that, I still need to visit several points along the continent’s interior. So, the first stage is to plant two (2) pillars along this northwestern coast, one (1) more pillar in Grand Redwood Bay and another two (2) pillars along the northeastern coast,” Erlend said.

  “Where Javanda meets the Elanatin Ocean,” Captain Koloman said.

  “Yes, that needs to be our third stop. First, we have a bit of heavy lifting work here, on the shore,” Erlend said.

  “Let’s get to work then,” Captain Koloman said.

  Erlend began giving directions to the strong men and directing Captain Koloman on where to steer the ship.

  Captain Koloman had his crew raise the anchor. Then, he converted the Diversifier to its airship configuration and positioned the ship fifty (50) feet above the ground of the northwestern shore, before the tree line. From there, the strong men lowered a stone constructor pillar onto the shore using thick ropes.

  Leaning over the side of the ship while it was fifty (50) feet above the ground, Erlend placed a sapphire onto the top of the constructor pillar and then said: “Now, a mile north of here, we’ll place another pillar, in the same way.”

  Captain Koloman moved the Diversifier slowly northward through the air, following the shoreline, and then stopped the ship. Once there, the strong men lowered a second constructor pillar onto the shore using thick ropes as before. Erlend placed a sapphire atop this pillar, matching that atop the other pillar.

  “Now, we travel up into Grand Redwood Bay, at this same latitude,” Erlend said.

  “Let me chart the course,” Captain Koloman said. First, he lowered the ship to sea level in the Atrejan Ocean. He then drank anew of the waters of the same Atrejan Ocean from his vial and was energized. He listened to the sounds of the stars and learned their positions and movements, using the information to chart a course far up into Grand Redwood Bay.

  “This is going to be difficult. We have to cross the dark waters of Ikkith Tar Ocean the whole time. Even with the sounds of the stars, that is always a trick. Our safest route is to follow the Javanda coastline, even up through the Grand Redwood Bay and back out again. This could be four (4) days, or it could be forty (40), if we hit a snag we can’t see,” Captain Koloman said.

  “Then we’ll take the safest route, Captain,” Erlend said.

  “Safest doesn’t mean safe, or guaranteed. There are islands hidden in the dark mists of that ocean. Nobody knows how many for sure. There’s always a risk of hitting something. Just remember that,” Captain Koloman said.

  “I understand. But the work still has to be done,” Erlend said.

  Captain Koloman sailed the Diversifier southwest across the Atrejan Ocean, following the western coastline of Javanda, until he met with the Wandering of Shadows land bridge. He converted the ship to its airship configuration, steered it east over the land bridge and returned to sea level in the Ikkith Tar Ocean. From there, he sailed southeast, then northeast, following the southern coastline of Javanda, hoping not to find any of those unknown islands, lost ships, other hidden horrors in the dark waters. The mists of the Ikkith Tar Ocean distorted vision by their powers of darkness, making it worse than traveling the Lujladia Ocean: there, the light powers could also distort vision, but things appeared merely displaced, rather than hidden, so he was able to be aware of his surroundings, only lacking accurate distances. Here, he was pretty much lost, with only the stars as his guide.

  After two (2) days of cautious but uneventful travel, he was able to position the ship in the northernmost tip of the Grand Redwood Bay. The ship was converted to its airship configuration and positioned precisely over the shore at a height of fifty (50) feet so that a single constructor pillar was put in place away from the large port town and slightly north of it. Erlend placed a sapphire at the top of that pillar, matching the others. The ship was then returned to sea level. From there, Captain Koloman again drank anew of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean from his vial to be energized. The star sounds he heard gave him the latest positions and movements of the suns, and he charted an updated course from the bay, leading across the Ikkith Tar Ocean.

  Captain Koloman sailed the Diversifier southeast and then southwest over the Ikkith Tar Ocean, following the jagged southwesterly-oriented coastline of Grand Redwood Bay, until exiting the bay and reaching the primary southern coastline of Javanda. He followed that coastline and sailed the ship east across the
Ikkith Tar Ocean until reaching the Dark Platinum Road land bridge. He converted the ship to its airship configuration, steered it over the land bridge and returned to sea level in the Elanatin Ocean. From there, he sailed northeast until reaching the northeastern coast of Javanda, at the same latitude as before.

  “We were lucky this time. We might be lucky twenty (20) more times, or none,” Captain Koloman said after anchoring the ship at the proper point.

  “We may be done sailing that stretch of waters. It’s time to place the next two (2) constructor pillars,” Erlend said. He gave additional instructions to the captain and crew.

  Captain Koloman converted the Diversifier to its airship configuration, positioning it fifty (50) feet above the shore. Again, the strong men lowered the constructor pillar onto the shore and Erlend placed a sapphire atop it. Erlend directed the captain to move the ship north a short distance where this operation was repeated. Now, the five (5) initial constructor pillars had been placed.

  “Now, we can test this,” Erlend said.

  “You say this is supposed to be a test of your construction machine. But you’ve only got five (5) of those pillars across a whole continent. The last time I saw this done, there were eight (8) of those pillars on just a small island. I’m no architect, but I know how to count and measure pretty accurately from traveling every ocean and shipping nearly every kind of cargo. This seems a bit lacking. Don’t you mind an old captain, though, since you’re an architect,” Captain Koloman said.

  “Actually, you’re correct about that. This is only the beginning of the work – laying the foundation. There are twenty-nine (29) more pillars that need to be placed later. We can return to sea level, and then I’ll begin,” Erlend said.

  Captain Koloman returned the Diversifier to sea level in the Elanatin Ocean.

  Erlend then drank anew of the waters of the Kazofen Ocean from his vial and was energized. He took the thirty-fifth sapphire – the control crystal – and modified its low-level structure to release the solar energy that was stored inside of it. A blue beam of light was emitted from it and hit each of the sapphires atop the two (2) nearby constructor pillars, and they became bright blue. Beams of light were emitted from them, crossing the continent of Javanda instantly, meeting with the sapphire atop the constructor pillar in Grand Redwood Bay and also the two (2) sapphires atop the constructor pillars on the northwestern coast of Javanda.