Monday, July 25, 2011

July 25 Excerpt

Excerpt:

That evening, as the light died in the sky, the luminous fish began their ascent to the surface of the ocean to feed. Countless numbers of them rose silently up through the layers of light, from the inky black to just under the surface, where the phosphorescence from their bodies glowed under the waves.

It was as though the ocean breathed; as though, during the twilight it slowly exhaled, pushing its luminous, living breath up and then held it all night long, only to inhale before dawn, drawing its light back down into the hidden depths of its body.

Tenshio sat at the table in the main salon, papers and maps spread out over the table top, a wide bottomed mug set toward the middle of the table. It was hot down below, and his face and hands glistened under the lamp light. The hatches were open, but the air was so still that it was almost oppressive.

Gilly, bored and restless after a long, hot day below deck, climbed up onto the wooden bench that encircled the table and pressed up against Tenshio’s arm.

“What’s that?” she asked, looking down at the scattered papers.

“These papers explain to me what the next part of our journey will look like,” Tenshio explained. He drew a map toward them. “Do you recognize this?”

“Mm hm,” nodded Gilly. “That’s my world.”

“Yes,” Tenshio said. “This is the flat earth, as cartographers in your world sometimes draw it, in order to capture it on a flat piece of paper. However, the Kagamihara actually is flat, so this map is accurate.”

“What’s at the edge?”

“The Touzainanboku Mountains ring the edge.”

“What’s past that?”

“The sky.”

“Can you fall into the sky?” Gilly asked, looking up at his calm face.

“No.”

“What’s out there, in the stars?"

“I do not know.”

“Are the stars your business?”

“My business?” he asked, startled. “No, though they assist me in my business. My business, if you wish to call it that, is to guard the O-nishikaze shrine, most importantly, and to overlook the western portion of the Kagamihara, to be sure that it operates within its prescribed balance.”

“What’s that mean?"

Tenshio blinked down at her in wonder. “I had forgotten,” he said slowly. “I had forgotten that you did not know these basic things.”

“Well?” asked Gilly, inching closer. She stood on her knees so she could see the large map, with its blue seas and multicolored continents more closely.

Tenshio drew himself up and assumed the role of a teacher. His voice, nearly always quiet and evenly pitched, became almost melodious as he began speaking.

“I have told you that in the Kagamihara, the spiritual energy of human actions are made manifest. The actions that are corrupt manifest as Inga, the dark shadows. The actions that are honest manifest themselves as the Tenrei, the light keepers. The Inga keep their form on the Kagamihara until either the instigator of those actions repents, or until the victim releases the injury. The Tenrei are ephemeral and quickly dissolve into the air, becoming chi. The chi are what makes up the sun, the moon, and the stars of the Kagamihara, and add to its light and health.”

“The chi are what I ate,” Gilly added, informatively. This was to cover for the fact that she had pretty much understood nothing else of what Tenshio had just said.

“In a manner of speaking,” Tenshio agreeably allowed.