Old Musui looked up at the wind chime as it made its delicate notes. The breeze wasn't strong enough to make the chime play the whole song, just enough to remind Musui of his wife's beautiful, young face when he presented the chime, his family's heirloom, to her on their wedding night.
The chime still looked new after all these years. Musui smiled; he and the previous generations of his family took great care of the chime. The weekly polishing always took place at the shrine on the eastern side of Yasashi Kaze. Once polished, the chime was lifted by the family chieftain as an offering to the sky, to the dragons. Then it was lowered and walked to the edge of the island that floated one thousand feet above the ocean, and in a hushed voice so that the rest of the family could not hear, recited the incantation that only the chieftain knew.
It was a message to the patron island of Nagashino. He wished they could hear it so far down below. Musui smiled, recited the words to himself. They could never have the chime. It would never be theirs. It was his, it was his family's treasure, it was for the love of his wife, who was gone for so many years now.
Still sitting on the porch of the chieftain's hut, he gazed out at the empty buildings. In the middle of the tiny village was the one tether holding Yasahi Kaze to Nagashino down below. The sky island only needed the one tether as it was so small.
At first glance, it looked like a giant well. Then one would see the large crane that assisted the tether in transportation of goods. Badly needed refined items and supplies in exchange for the tiny amount of rice and the incredibly more important keijo lumber. However, it would be ten more years before any keijo wood would be mature enough for trade. Musui frowned and thought, damn their greed.
The chime still looked new after all these years. Musui smiled; he and the previous generations of his family took great care of the chime. The weekly polishing always took place at the shrine on the eastern side of Yasashi Kaze. Once polished, the chime was lifted by the family chieftain as an offering to the sky, to the dragons. Then it was lowered and walked to the edge of the island that floated one thousand feet above the ocean, and in a hushed voice so that the rest of the family could not hear, recited the incantation that only the chieftain knew.
It was a message to the patron island of Nagashino. He wished they could hear it so far down below. Musui smiled, recited the words to himself. They could never have the chime. It would never be theirs. It was his, it was his family's treasure, it was for the love of his wife, who was gone for so many years now.
Still sitting on the porch of the chieftain's hut, he gazed out at the empty buildings. In the middle of the tiny village was the one tether holding Yasahi Kaze to Nagashino down below. The sky island only needed the one tether as it was so small.
At first glance, it looked like a giant well. Then one would see the large crane that assisted the tether in transportation of goods. Badly needed refined items and supplies in exchange for the tiny amount of rice and the incredibly more important keijo lumber. However, it would be ten more years before any keijo wood would be mature enough for trade. Musui frowned and thought, damn their greed.
[4:26 PM]
There was the store house on the other side of the tether well. Next to it was the home of the Kokichi clan that worked the rice. A happy and loving, and tough clan. The clan that was always drafted by the leaders on the ocean to help defend Nagashino from pirates and invaders. Until the entire clan was killed off. The last one dying badly five years ago.
Next door to the empty Kokichi hall was the tiny hall of the Yamanai clan, the caretakers of the small keijo forest. But the keijo forest was destroyed by greed. They needed so much keijo wood down below that they took everything; and threatened violence and exile to those who tried to conserve the small forests in the sky. The clan was spiritual and tied to nature; never wanting strife.
His wife was of the Yamanai clan. His wife's clan did not fight when ordered to murder the keijo forest. They simply obeyed. The clan's one last act for nature was to plant the seeds after razing the forest. Then they did the unthinkable. One by one, they walked to the tether well and they...and they...
Next door to the empty Kokichi hall was the tiny hall of the Yamanai clan, the caretakers of the small keijo forest. But the keijo forest was destroyed by greed. They needed so much keijo wood down below that they took everything; and threatened violence and exile to those who tried to conserve the small forests in the sky. The clan was spiritual and tied to nature; never wanting strife.
His wife was of the Yamanai clan. His wife's clan did not fight when ordered to murder the keijo forest. They simply obeyed. The clan's one last act for nature was to plant the seeds after razing the forest. Then they did the unthinkable. One by one, they walked to the tether well and they...and they...
[4:27 PM]
Musui clapped his hands and prayed, thankful that his wife was on the other side of the island when it happened, he clapped again and prayed and thought; damn their greed.
Next door to his chieftain's hut was his family's home. The Ryuzo clan. The magical clan. The ones who could mend and shape wood, especially the keijo wood. Down below, they would simply send up by way of the tether schematics of the cogs they wanted, whatever parts they needed created or fixed...even art sometimes.
But, with no keijo wood, without the ones to help the forest, without the supplies to weather the ten years before the forest would come back...the young of the Ryuzo clan were married off to the other islands in the sky to have a future, leaving the elders to stay, to fix the odd thing that came up the tether.
His children, her children. His wife, his poor wife. Her delicate and lovely heart broke each time a child left to be married so that they would not die and starve on Yasashi Kaze. Never to be seen again, but only in letters. Until finally, there was nothing left of her heart to break after the last one was married off and Musui kissed her cheek that night and found her peaceful in death the next morning.
Damn their greed.
Next door to his chieftain's hut was his family's home. The Ryuzo clan. The magical clan. The ones who could mend and shape wood, especially the keijo wood. Down below, they would simply send up by way of the tether schematics of the cogs they wanted, whatever parts they needed created or fixed...even art sometimes.
But, with no keijo wood, without the ones to help the forest, without the supplies to weather the ten years before the forest would come back...the young of the Ryuzo clan were married off to the other islands in the sky to have a future, leaving the elders to stay, to fix the odd thing that came up the tether.
His children, her children. His wife, his poor wife. Her delicate and lovely heart broke each time a child left to be married so that they would not die and starve on Yasashi Kaze. Never to be seen again, but only in letters. Until finally, there was nothing left of her heart to break after the last one was married off and Musui kissed her cheek that night and found her peaceful in death the next morning.
Damn their greed.
[
He picked up the one piece of keijo wood he had been working on all morning. Tracing a finger over one end for a few minutes. Finally finishing the wood sculpture: a dragon. He placed it in a box with a bunch of letters. The last letters to everyone, even to the rulers of Nagashino.
He sent it down the tether. It took only a few minutes. The tether shined once to note they received it down below.
Musui nodded, took out the knife that was his wife's family heirloom, that was given to him on their wedding night. A knife that would never dull, the precious metal always sharp. He cut the tether.
The island shuddered. Musui almost fell. He felt an odd sense of vertigo, then realized the island slowly rising up into the sky. He looked down the tether well, watched the strand float back down to Nagashino as that ocean island became smaller.
Musui was not certain his plan would work. But he would try. He was the last one left. He had to try. He would slowly rise up into the sky. And once high enough, he hoped that he could find them...and perhaps, one of them might even help him.
But he had to be high, so high, in the sky; the chime had to play the song, the entire song.
If Musui got high enough into the blue sky, if the chime could be made to play its song and have it carried on the wind to the ears of those who were magically bound by that simple song...
Then, perhaps, a dragon might come.
Musui nodded, took out the knife that was his wife's family heirloom, that was given to him on their wedding night. A knife that would never dull, the precious metal always sharp. He cut the tether.
The island shuddered. Musui almost fell. He felt an odd sense of vertigo, then realized the island slowly rising up into the sky. He looked down the tether well, watched the strand float back down to Nagashino as that ocean island became smaller.
Musui was not certain his plan would work. But he would try. He was the last one left. He had to try. He would slowly rise up into the sky. And once high enough, he hoped that he could find them...and perhaps, one of them might even help him.
But he had to be high, so high, in the sky; the chime had to play the song, the entire song.
If Musui got high enough into the blue sky, if the chime could be made to play its song and have it carried on the wind to the ears of those who were magically bound by that simple song...
Then, perhaps, a dragon might come.
(BONUS: below is the the real first story of the On-Con 2020 world building event, written by Brent Newhall, enjoy!)
Tears streaming down her cheeks, the girl stood on shaking legs a few yards from the pile of sacred broken stones. The words of the ritual continued to tumble out of her mouth. The wind whipped through the bare branches of the trees around her, despite the dead calm of only a few minutes ago. She paused, the next phrase of the ritual hazy in her mind, then finally forced herself to remember it and forged ahead.
Would that small pause be enough to break the ritual? She didn’t know. She was only 14, halfway into her training as a keeper of the shrine. She knew she shouldn’t be out here doing this. She might be dismissed and disgraced if the priest found out.
But she couldn’t forget the look on her mother’s face as she died. She couldn’t forget the lump in her throat and her inability to get any words out. Her failure to tell her mother everything she meant to her. To simply say “I love you” for the last time.
The unnaturally cold wind howled and cut into the girl’s simple dress. She shivered violently as she forced the final phrases of the ritual through her now chapped lips. The wind died and the world itself seemed to pause.
[]
The shattered stones in front of her glowed with a faint blue light. The girl’s heart pounded so hard it felt like it was leaping out of her chest. The light coalesced into the faint outline of a human, a human woman. Her mother.
The lump returned to the girl’s throat, but this time, she forced the words past it, finally able to say it. “I love you!” she called out. The words seemed to hang in the air.
The faint spectre seemed to take this in, then spoke in the voice the girl hadn’t heard in what seemed like so long, saying, “I know. I always knew.”
The glow faded, and now the girl simply stood shivering in the small clearing in front of the stones. She crumpled to the ground, great sobs pouring from her sore throat, but for the first time since that day that her mother died, the tears seemed to be washing something away.
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