The Land of the Fractured Rainbow

[Copperfox]

Before I became a Christian, I used to make up bedtime stories for my youngest sister Tammy. Add to this my diverse reading of sci-fi and fantasy: Conan the Barbarian, Poul Anderson's interstellar-spy novels, The Worm Ouroboros ("worm" here meaning a vertebrate serpent), the Lensman series, and the old Pogo comic strip (which treated me to talking animals who could hold adult conversations long before that same sister (at a later age) persuaded me to read the Narnian series.

About a year after I married my first wife (who, by now, is in Aslan's Country with my second wife), I began trying to publish heroic fantasy. I designed my story-world as one where might didn't make right; and the central hero, named "Theocrites" (start with a "hard" TH as in "thick," pronounced Thee-OCK -crit-EEZE), was an adventurous-bard sort, the kind of guy who might offer vital advice to a conventional swordsman hero. I would later plan a prequel series in the same world, happening 300 years earlier: like writing about Daniel Boone after first writing about some adventure in the present. Central to the prequels was a stocky kung-fu sort of hero named Mo'ajin (pronounced Moe-AH-jeen), who was actually a prototype for my later-invented and much-better-known character ALIPANG HAVENS.

Publishing as an unknown author back then was a road with many potholes. One was the inconvenience of having to run off paper copies of manuscripts, electronic storage of documents as data not being a thing then. Another was the hypocrisy and bias practiced by at least one editor of imaginative fiction. Stay with me here:

In the Mo'ajin-and-Theocrites universe, I affirmed that the real God existed. Mo'ajin, in fact, possessed explicitly clerical power against evil forces. This was triggering to the editor in question. Returning my manuscript, she added this insult (approximate quote): "HOW CAN YOU WRITE A FANTASY WHERE THE HERO'S MISSION IS TO DESTROY MAGIC?" If she was paying attention to the fantasy/s.f. genre, she knew all about Michael Moorcock. Mister Moorcock's anti-heroes Elric and Corum are all about-- wait for it: abolishing magic. To the greater delight of politically- correct editors, Moorcock also despised and attacked all faith in a supreme being.

The story before your eyes takes place in the Theocrites era. Before I proceed, some authorial specifics.

The planet on which this takes place is much like Earth in environment, climate, animal life and people. Now to tell you HOW this planet came to HAVE humans like us. Philip Pullman would be furious at me.

I imagine that, in the days of Noah on Actual Earth, God took note of people dwelling too far from Noah for Noah to warn them of the coming deluge. So He sent the already- ascended Enoch to convoy all these people to the unpeopled Earth-like world. On three continents and lesser landmasses, the emigres built new societies, which to some extent resembled the historic nations known to us.

The majority of my action took place on a continent called Gapsuyai or Antalia. Mo'ajin and his associated protagonists lived on Yai-Kuan, a large island nation off the northwest corner of Gapsuyai. The most notable island realm south of them (and friendly to them) was Vengol, whose culture was like pre-modern Hindu culture. Also inhabiting islands on that ocean were people resembling Native Americans, the Bzoctotls, and quasi- Polynesians called the Jiluanese. The Jiluanese were in the Vengolese sphere of influence, while the Bzoctotls were-- less cordially-- dominated by the Kuanese (who, like the Koreans, were formerly three separate kingdoms).

At the north end of Gapsuyai / Antalia are the sister nations of Trantea and Varsea. These European-like people worship the true God as Mo'ajin did; they call Him simply "God," while Mo'ajin and his co-believers called Him "The Deep Sky Father." The ancestors of Tranteans and Varseans emigrated north to escape oppression by the Zoramnites at the south end. Enroute northward by sea, they steered clear of barbarian peoples along the continent's west coast: counting south to north, Djennok Islanders, Rudsafi, Skoltoshmen and Grestigs. The last two of these nations were pseudo-Nordic, and NOT usually pals to each other.

In Mo'ajin's time, Gapsuyai's arid interior was dominated by an evil sorcerer-king called Nebmuk-Bezal. Mo'ajin himself was destined to make an end of Nebmuk. Notable in the center of the continent (albeit not relevant for "Fractured Rainbow") was a True-God -worshiping country which was of interest to Vissarion the Selfless (a knight whom I once swiped from myself to use in a Dancing Lawn roleplay back when we had those). I cannot for the life of me remember what I called that country! --but I can fudge the subject by saying that ONE name for it translates handily into English as "Bronzeland."

Prior to what I'm offering here, Theocrites and his Trantean friend Alacles (ah-LACK-leeze) the Savage have had an adventure on the not-quite- subcontinent-size island of Keerthar. Then they received some sort of divine guidance to set sail southeastward, making for a continent known to the Bzoctotls (from the far longitude). Here, again, I resort to saying "ONE OF the names for it is...." \ "One name" is Rijovalud (first syllable sounds like "Ridge," second syllable is accented with a long O, last syllable rhymes with "food").

Enroute from Keerthar, Alacles and Theocrites are accompanied and advised by The White Dolphin, totemic animal of the seafaring Tranteans and the picture on their national flag (Varseans take wolves as their symbol). This is ENOUGH to get started with what would have been Volume 3 or 4 of the Theocrites cycle.
.

 

[Copperfox]

CHAPTER ONE: From Singing to Swimming

"Four mothers, four fathers, sailing up the coast;
Ptormos behind them, the True God is their boast.
Bull of Zoramnos has lost his hold on them;
Past Grestigzoth is their place to start again.

"Long coast of Trantea, freedom for a change;
Varsean brothers control their mountain range.
Trouble may come from the eastern Huscadines;
Laspony, though, shall enable better times."

Swimming alongside, the White Dolphin slapped his flukes on the water as a gesture of applause. "We dolphins remember the passage of those northbound ships, and remember that the Creator bade us regard those humans as friends."

Much earlier on the voyage from Keerthar, Alacles had asked their supernormal navigator if he were immortal. The answer had been: "Only longer-lived than ordinary dolphins. One of us at a time; always male, so all females are left free to continue our race. If a White Dolphin dies calfless, the Creator simply causes the next one to be sired by some other healthy bull dolphin." Alacles, though nicknamed "Savage" for his manner toward evildoers, was even-tempered and courteous in all non-martial situations; here, he felt he should refrain from asking whether their guide yet had any offspring. Plenty of conversation could be built upon describing to an ocean creature what human events on land were like.

The nation of Huscadinia, mentioned by Theocrites in his song, was a feudal theocratic tyranny, upheld by "Templars" who were less honorable and far less charitable than Templars on the Original Earth which was forgotten by all residents of this Earth-equivalent. Laspony was a western province of Huscadinia, with inhabitants who distrusted the recent Patriarchs of the Holy Domain. What early Huscadines had believed in, during generations not too far removed from the galactic migration overseen by Saint Enoch, could be credited with still worshiping the actual God. Mainstream Huscadines called Him Huscad-Besostro, still meaning the true Maker of all things.

This moral decline provoked the Laspons as Martin Luther had been provoked on Earth when the Vatican lost integrity. Consequently, the Laspons had shifted their allegiance to the Tranteans and Varseans-- who practiced elements of constitutional monarchy. Their decision was vindicated by the unceasing decline of Huscadine clergy.... who eventually turned into the same greedy predators whom atheists want to believe all clerics are.

Well before now, the Dolphin had introduced the two men to little-known types of fish which would become safe for them to eat raw, if after gutting them the men would expose them to direct sunlight for at least one full day-stride. (AUTHOR'S NOTE: the quasi-Earth where my story takes place has a rotational period the same length as ours, but the time-units used by the transplanted populations differ from one culture to another. NOBODY in the story-world, even the fiendish desert sorcerer Nebmuk-Bezal who was terminated by Mo'ajin, has ever been so deranged as to invent Daylight Savings Time.) The bulking up of their outside- originating food supply had enabled Alacles to skew the cargo load in favor of more rainwater casks.

As an officer in Trantea's naval infantry, Alacles understood these issues better than his bardic shipmate did. On the other side of the scale, Theocrites enjoyed exceptional skill at learning new languages. He and his long-missing twin sister Lantheme {{again a hard TH, and both E's are long}} had both been exposed to SIX new languages in years of enslavement. Their owner had been a depraved Huscadine Templar named Gulbo, who held slaves of multiple nationalities. After years of circumstantial diversity, Theocrites had become able to go beyond "This word means that word;" he understood structure in communication. Once free-- though separated from Lantheme-- he had become a successful troubador in Laspony and Trantea, even taking part in covert actions against a dangerous traitor.

The next morning, the business of sailing was going smoothly enough that the former slave could work on a new song retelling an old story: of Lady Tsingchee, the Hanarunese noblewoman on Dawn Shield Island, who had forlornly loved the hero Mo'ajin but had the integrity not to try to steal him from his wife Hiensuhing. Once her worthless husband passed away, it was said that the brave Tsingchee had ridden away on the back of a whale, while her true-hearted son assumed rule of the island with Mo'ajin's God to guide him. (The chastened island lord, shamed by his huge moral inferiority to his wife and to Mo'ajin, had abdicated his title and left Dawn Shield Island as soon as the crisis was ended.)

Knowing that the White Dolphin spoke with whales, Theocrites guessed he would like a ballad which mentioned them. The better to complete it soon, the Trantean composer, who had made up both words and music for his tribute to the Founding Saints, opted this time to recall and re-use a Huscadine melody. He had it forming in his mind when their guide brought them to an uninhabited island where they could gather coconuts and wild yams to vary their diet. A sheltered lagoon (verified not to be frequented by sharks), enabled them to vary their physical activity by swimming and running.

Taking his mandolin out of its case and tuning it expertly, Theocrites then waded into thigh-deep water so the king dolphin could easily listen, and commenced his new song about the island which was a waypoint for the Murabin Dynasty between Yai-Kuan and the northern island of Hanarun. All of the above-related information had gone into his planning of the lyrics. In Theocrites' own time, Trantea and Yai-Kuan between them had the remnant of Nordic savages blocked from any deep-water seafaring; but in the days of Mo'ajin, civilized people had needed to work together to deter major aggression by Skoltoshmen and Grestigs. The Jiluanese and Vengolese farther south had also had a stake in protecting open-sea commerce.

Life never being simple, an element of ancient sorcery had been part of the mix. As related by the finalized early verses in Theocrites' ballad, an evil Kuanese wizard had been supervising a diabolical treasure hunt from Pemyo-Kuan, where Mo'ajin's family subsisted off of stone-quarry work. The crucial relic was the remnant of a long-dead villain's skeleton, which the wizard hoped to use for a huge boost in magical potency; but with a will of its own, the skull-and-spine structure had possessed a decent young expeditionary warrior named Ji'orizu. Assisted at long range by the actions of young Fu'ashin and their father Mo'ajut-- who had slain a demonic bird ("The Goblin Owl") which was part of the complex magical process-- Mo'ajin would exorcise the evil on the island in time for himself and Ji'orizu to join in the defense against the arrogant northsmen crossing the strait from the continent.

The story in music began from the viewpoint of Mo'ajin's neighbors and family in the Kuanese mountain town of Hwarangtai, fretting over Mo'ajin and other quarrymen being nominally conscripted to raise bastions of defense. It sympathetically portrayed Nurnitra the Nordic slave woman who vainly loved Mo'ajin for his kindness; but as a ray of light, after Nurnitra's death and after the repelling of the invasion, Mo'ajin's friends took away her two sons to live as free men in Hwarangtai. All of this and more was being covered by Theocrites' hero-acknowledging song....

Fu'ashin and his father had brought one evil down,
But feared the elder brother might fall in war, or drown.
Unguessed were other evils, involving lordly pride;
Mo'ajin faced the malice of some on his own side.

The Skoltoshmen and Grestigs came to the isle of dawn,
Both hunting for a relic already smashed and gone.
At least their greed was open, with no good motives claimed,
While some pretending virtue wrought evil unashamed.

The island's feudal master shared in the occult lust,
While claiming that his manner with underlings was just.
His steward Kemlenbiran foretold calamity;
If anyone was hopeful, he answered angrily.

The mainland soldiers looked on the islanders as tools,
Not caring if such workers lost blood in sticky pools.
The island's one real guardsman, with armor and fine spear,
They scorned, but in the crisis he met death without fear.

Stout Lamsingtrup, a friend of Mo'ajin, took up arms
To hold an inland bastion against the pirates' charge;
His sweetheart Ojadori, brought cousin Changpree there,
Their spats and fights forgotten, the common risk to share.

A kinsman of Mo'ajin retrieved his faithless wife,
Who listened when a liar claimed he would bless her life.
Two years she was a plaything for louts who strode her deck;
Her husband, though, forgave her; no yoke upon her neck.

Another faithless woman, in this case island-born,
Would chant "The old ways only," and held the truth in scorn.
Much like Mo'ajin's kinsman, her husband gave her grace,
And when she found the true God, the false ones were displaced.

 

[Copperfox]

A local would-be wizard, though mostly overlooked,
Took thought about a cesspool where excrement was cooked.
The fumes could be ignited by contact with a torch,
And many an aggressor would end up as a corpse.

Just like the ocean current which pushed up from the south,
Defenders found each pirate who strayed, and wiped them out.
Dismay struck the invaders, confusion broke their stride;
They even fought each other, till many vainly died.

The Deep Sky Father's timing was chosen by Himself:
With most resources used up, this was His time to help.
Mo'ajin was empowered-- now strong as twenty men;
His greater might let friendlies push their attack again.

The whales called forth by Tsingchee advanced in parallel;
By land or sea, more pirates were harshly sent to Hell.
A spell had one whale choking from ice inside the spout;
Mo'ajin swam out to him, and pried the ice back out.

Once back on land, the boxer, unflinching, took the lead.
The Skoltoshmen and Grestigs regained retreating speed.
Pursued up to the north end, they made a bitter stand,
While Tsingchee, from a whale's back, watched all events on land.

The boxer's added power must let up, lest he die;
His normal strength, however, took matters on the fly.
A wild Skoltoshic leader, strength rising from despair,
Met him in unarmed grapple, now relatively fair.

Both fell into the water, but only one man died,
For Tsingchee towed Mo'ajin to someplace he could hide.
When coast was clear, the lady installed him in a boat;
The same whale he had rescued made sure it stayed afloat.

Mo'ajin could not sail home the same way as he'd left;
A lord he had embarrassed was lusting for his death.
The troops had seen this boxer control the swordsman's arm;
Bu'ekira resented his reputation's harm.

The arrogant war leader had wanted all the fame
For saving Dawn Shield Island from going up in flame.
He never knew Mo'ajin was on a homeward course;
Pure-hearted love in Tsingchee had thwarted selfish force.

The brave Nine Hammers boxer came safely to the shore,
Where none would give him credit for his brave deeds of war.
Bu'ekira's commander, proud Tiro'etsa, knew
Ahead of time how he would pretend that lies were true.

Fu'ashin, faithful brother, who'd slain a demon bird,
Knew Tiro'etsa's malice was not confined to words.
Before Mo'ajin even got near to Hwarangtai,
Fu'ashin drove him off, so at least he wouldn't die.

Anonymous, Mo'ajin made use of liberty:
He formed the Boar's Tusk Warriors, far inland from the sea.
Saipo'inu the swordsman saw they fought for the right;
So, bravely but with caution, he joined Mo'ajin's fight.


Having gotten this far in song, Theocrites briefly summarized later events in Mo'ajin's life. This included the Boar's Tusk Boxers conducting their missions at scattered locations, in order to leave oppressors unsure where this fellowship's hidden stronghold lay. It also included humbling a Vengolese archer who, like Lord Bu'ekira, imagined himself invincible. The bowman had boasted that no enemy acting outdoors could get in grabbing reach of him; the incognito boxer had proven this false. Another detail was that, after the sons of Nurnitra were welcomed into Hwarangtai, the elder of them had eventually married Uyaifi, an orphaned girl with a disfigured face, whom the orphaned youth came to love for her brave and virtuous spirit.

The White Dolphin enjoyed all of these tales; but soon it would be time to think about the destination still ahead. The morning after the bard's long performance, he told both men that they needed to get back in practice swimming. "I'll make sure your boat never drifts out of reach, and some of the common dolphins will be ready to keep you right-side up if you inhale water."

Alacles inquired: "Is this because we have rough seas ahead?"

"Not exactly. But the currents near the Rijovalud coastal shelf behave strangely. Merely a hint of what the landmass may present."

 

[Copperfox]

"Rijovalud awaits. It is larger from north to south than from west to east. On the side facing us, only people to the north are properly Bzoctotls. The rest of the near side is not formally named by Bzoctotls, but is described in ambiguous ways which suggest it being somehow unnatural. The far side of the landmass scatters into numerous islands extending farther east, growing individually smaller as one goes outward. Off that way are the many other branches of the Bzoctotl race, who refer to Rijovalud as 'Albdapk.'

"But according to all that God will tell me, you two are meant only to concern yourselves with the western seaboard of Rijovalud."

"May we ask why?"

"What little I know, brave Alacles, you shall know. I do know that there is a different pod of humans there. Deep Sky Father knows where they come from, and He informs me that they are human enough to breed children with familiar humans, yet not the same. They have visited Northwest Rijovalud, but not lingered. The remainder of the seaboard suits them better. It has a great crater wall, as if something huge from the sky struck there, but God also informs me that whatever came down there was not free. It impacted with a force much less than the force which would have killed most land creatures in this hemisphere. It follows that some sort of people steered it-- maybe even slowly enough not to kill anyone else as they descended. Maybe their skills extended to sculpting the terrain, allowing the people and beasts to keep out of the way. I do know that one of my predecessor White Dolphins reported seeing people of the great crater-land marching along the rim.

"The same White Dolphin spoke with seagulls. The gulls had observed these humans-- remarkable, for sure. Two thirds of them had white skin and blue hair, while the remaining third had the reverse. I suspect that this contrast reflects intermarriage. You two can expect to learn more, for the Creator desires you to investigate. I know, I know, God already sees everything; but He wants mortals to do what they can do.

"Enough of that, however; there are hazards you need to look out for now."

"What, pirates like the Djennoks?"

"Worse, abnormal creatures. The Deep Sky Father wouldn't send you on a mission where you were sure to die for nothing. There are two solitary- living monsters, connected somehow to the elements of nature. One is called Skaagra, and soars in the air; the other is Hodgoom, and swims near the coast. I don't know if they are allies, adversaries, or completely indifferent to each other. But there surely will be some way that your mission won't be a failure."


CHAPTER TWO: Where the Unnatural Is Natural

Many days' marching from the ocean, lying on rough stones yet not hurt by them, slept the only human being within Cratered Rijovalud who was of Bzoctotl ethnicity. Fog was above him. His feet were toward the distant ocean; and far away though that ocean was, what seemed like near-shore spray perpetually dampened his legs.

One detail of mid-coastal Rijovalud about which the White Dolphin knew nothing was a river in the center of the nation-crater. Nothing bizarre about a river existing at the lowest land elevation. What was unique here was that the river FLOWED UPHILL.



The inhabitants of the strange lowland used a linear distance measurement roughly equal to three kilometers on Original Earth. Narrative convenience recommends calling it a "league." Four leagues south of the Uphill River sat the most remarkable man-made object in Cratered Rijovalud: what Tranteans, Varseans and Laspons would call a hospice. The blue- and-white humans here gave it a name, which here could be translated as "The Citadel of Mildness." For the attendants and managers, the hospice policy was to accommodate the needs of inmates. The slogan renders well enough as "kindness to their taste."

Some of the patients dreamed about being visited by a man pigmented like someone from Keerthar, the most remote nationality any of them knew of. It seemed that the man played a stringed instrument, sang excellently-- and carried an obvious weapon, which was not normal with anybody not having blue skin. Unknowable to them, he weapon was a straight, double-edged poniard, heavy enough to endure hard impacts, its blade size equaling two hand-lengths. None of them could know that Theocrites had inherited the poniard from Kyladon the Sorrowful Tiger, a deceased friend of both travelers. {Footnote: Kyladon's widow Sephide eventually married her late husband's friend, Iridoas the Flute-Playing Scorpion.} The blade carried a blessing in honor of its first owner, who had died foiling a pirate raid.



"Heart-Guide Fidrol, I had a dream which distresses my self-love." "Pabreelo, I know our tastes are valued, but I feel chilly today." "The curtains have changed color, but I didn't see anyone replacing them." "Why didn't Zoffo join us at breakfast?" "Heart- Guide, I think some of the men sang off key at yesterday's Chorus Drill." "Pabreelo, didn't you say that Second Wing residents would have their turn at hiking today?"

Pabreelo Fidrol, Chief Wisdom-Sorter at the Citadel, had blue skin darker than the skin of most blue-skin Rijovaludeans; for that matter, darker than the hair of most white- skin people. She spent much of her working time overseeing the outlying Pavilions of Mildness, which was largely in order to triage people there for possible transfer to the Citadel. One trip in every five or six, she would stroll at large among working people. At such times, Pabreelo especially monitored white- skinned persons who had qualified to supervise blue-skins.

Back at headquarters now, her male assistant Duraz Jejja (her only frequent bed-partner among fellow blue-skins) had an eager question for private discussion. "Heart-Guide, rumor has reached me that you saw Skaagra wheeling above the coastal rim. Was it acting as if noticing something inland, or out at sea?"

"My impression, seaward. After its closest approach to my vantage point, it climbed straight up, nearly out of sight. From that point, there was no guessing what it was looking at. Some of the commoners nearby asked me if I knew its intentions. I told them it was probably surveying the edge of the world, in case any Bzoctotl savages were plotting something."



Action began while Theocrites was on his awake-alone watch. The anointed cetacean pointedly nudged the boat.

"Get up! Climb out on each side and hang on. Fix your eyes upward, because I can do more about Hodgoom than I can about Skaagra. The flying one hates water, so ducking below is a good move. Alacles, you swim better, so try towing Theocrites toward a point clear of the sound."

 

[Copperfox]

IN AN AREA WHERE NO ONE HAS BLUE SKIN OR HAIR:

"Do you see dolphins out there?" asked the Bzoctotl maiden Wibtast, gazing west. Her younger sister Pkeppu replied,"Yes, they seem-- not frightened, but seem to be investigating something farther off."

Over three hundred leagues northwest of the Citadel of Mildness lay the longest single ocean inlet in the whole circumference of the Rijovaludean continent. The feature's name, Gargling Sound, would not be a joke in any of the Bzoctotl dialects; "Sound" here meant a coastal feature, not a noise-- as with "Puget Sound." The river which emptied into Gargling Sound was a violent one, racing down stony clefts to erupt into the Sound like a god..... gargling. Rijovaludeans needing to pass between banks of Gargling Sound used bridges over the river, not boats. For those bound for deep-sea fishing (they knew about Hodgoom the turtle-god, but also knew that it rarely harmed boats, just as Skaagra mostly ignored humans) there were safer littorals by which to egress.

"Pkeppu! Are you safe?" came a manly voice. Moving as quickly as the uneven terrain permitted was the younger sister's husband-to -be, Bemtorok son of Bemgrik. "Skaagra's been seen flying this way, at lower height than usual."

The sisters traded an understanding glance. Both of them knew that, since the flaming bird seemed unkillable, Bemtorok would have no way to protect them if it did attack, except by attracting its attention so it would kill him instead of them.

This was when an added surprise punctuated the scene. A voice with no apparent mouth to utter it reached them:

"Humans up on the high rocks! I call to you from the shore waters. I am called The White Dolphin. I have traveled the ocean from waters unknown to you. Traveling with me are two boat-using men from lands you never heard of. A power unknown to you has instructed them to seek your land. My new pod-mates are meant to mingle with you good humans of Northwest Rijovalud....."

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

In Cratered Rijovalud, hours before the above scene, six white-skinned women sat together on flat rocks, located most of the way up to the highest reachable extent of the eastern up-slope. These were staff members at one of the Pavilions of Mildness.

"Do we need to make sure at least one of us is always awake?" asked the youngest woman. "A good question," said the next-youngest.

The eldest and shortest-haired woman, Fweehad, said, "Actually, there's no need to worry about that. That's why he's called the Sleeping Philosopher. He can speak to us more easily if we're asleep ourselves, because his message IS a message of relaxation. He wants us to dismiss waking-life anxiety; invites us to let go, like ripples not trying to return to where the splash hit."

 

[Copperfox]

__ __ __ __ Back on board the sailboat, Theocrites had more to tell to the eagerly-listening White Dolphin.

"Until recently, Trantea had plurality of leadership. The eight Archons held hereditary rank, but at least we didn't let only one man decide everything alone. The best man to be an Archon in recent decades was Lorenthes, with combat experience on sea and land, respected by the common people and by our allies.

"Trouble was aiming at our southern border. My Varsean friend Krales, who managed the Winterstone Hospice, reported that Ushbezali occultists from the arid lands, with cooperation from Huscadinia, had entered Varsea's southern valleys, and were taking advantage of our free-speech tradition to mock Astron." {{That is one of the names people use on this planet for the Actual God.}}

"Did they have magic?" asked the Dolphin.

"They did," Alacles replied. "Practically everyone in Varsea, Trantea and Laspony-- along with dwellers on Dawn Shield Island, who had not forgotten what Mo'ajin did for them generations before-- shared concern about this infiltration."

Theocrites picked up the story. "I was there with Krales when it came to a head. Ushbezali pagans, whose ancestors had served Nebmuk-Bezal, tried setting up an obscene idol in public. Krales warned them that they might be digging a pit under themselves, but they persisted. Astron was merciful, but not indifferent; He sent a lightning bolt which annihilated the idol, without striking any living soul."

The supernatural cetacean squawked like an ordinary one of his race. "Lightning or not, I look for Him to be with you in Rijovalud."


CHAPTER THREE: Overboard and Outward

Things broke one time-stride after sunrise the next day.

Dolphins and whales rely more on sound than sight. All of the convoying dolphins heard something high to the east.

"Make ready!" the White Dolphin chirped. The voices of dolphins always sound cheerful to human ears; but their chief had the advantage of actual speech. "Make sure your float bladders and your drinking-water flasks are secure. Weapons too. Keep eyes upward; you'll see Skaagra like a second sun if it comes. We dolphins will echo-search for Hodgoom. Any of us will haul you toward land, with or without your boat."

When the attack began, it was all the way, leaving no time for epic speech. Hodgoom breached, Skaagra dove, Alacles loosed two arrows which hit the flame-bird without effect, Theocrites never found occasion to try stabbing with Kyladon's poniard, the White Dolphin rammed Hodgoom and threw off Skaagra's dive with a leap and joined his followers in pushing the sailboat and rammed the monstrous turtle again and expertly heaved some of the water out of the boat and lost blood to a beaked bite by the swimming elemental.

The two men couldn't see if the White Dolphin was fatally hurt; at least the other dolphins wouldn't let any sharks get at him. Doing all as their guardian had told them, Theocrites and Alacles accepted help from several cow-dolphins.....

But amid immediately surviving, the naval infantry officer could not retain his bow, nor could the bard spare a thought for keeping his mandolin with him. Neither could they even remain within sight of each other. They only knew that Alacles' aquatic helpers were veering to the northeast, while Theocrites' helpers were veering almost due south, apparently in order to bypass Gargling Gorge.

Many octads of days would pass in remarkably dramatic ways before either man would learn what the other had been doing.




Vomiting onto sand preceded the waterlogged minstrel's regaining the ability to think. Deep Sky Father, may Alacles be alive. May he accomplish something; may he get home to marry Lady Anastis. May I survive to find out what became of my sister Lantheme. And please grant that, in the short term, each of us may find the local speech not impossibly departed from what we learned elsewhere of the Albdian language group.

When multiple pairs of milk-white legs and one pair of dark blue legs approached him, Theocrites had no strength to wonder what the owners of the legs intended. He sluggishly hoped that they would give him some water which wasn't brine. They did so, after which they lifted him from the sand. Between this point and evening, his one distinct sensation was them helping him to relieve himself. Whatever was ahead, at least this gesture tended to affirm that no one was planning to kill him.




Bemtorok, his fiancee Pkeppu and her still-unattached elder sister Wibtast sighted Alacles the Wounded Leopard sitting on the beach below. He was peering seaward, as if hoping to see someone afloat.

Wibtast led the climb down the familiar back-and-forth cliff trail. The shipwrecked voyager turned to look at the trio before they reached the sand. Rising without loss of his footing, he displayed peaceful empty hands, not bothering to pluck shreds of kelp from his black beard. When Wibtast was within a dozen paces of him, he displayed his proficiency in the predominant strain of Rijovaludean speech:

"Me are b'nenk from the west, more of did Keerthar. Vadoop-het provided us, zib'toog searching zo-yish....."

Wibtast considered this a promising start. It didn't hurt matters that the castaway obviously wanted to communicate; even less did it hurt matters that he was handsome and well-built, with a look of clean living.

 

[Copperfox]

When Theocrites woke up, he was clean, and wearing clean clothes-- including trousers rather than a skirt or kilt. So much the better that the bed had sheets: not something which even an Archon in Trantea would always have on his mattress.

He had not registered the faces of the people who had carried him from the beach, but he remembered the abnormal coloration of their skin. The three women in this room all had blue skin, while their hair was as white as the white skin he had noticed on most of his initial rescuers. The apparently eldest of the currently- hovering women might or might not have been the leader of his impromptu bearers.

At any rate, this authoritative woman spoke first. Comprehension for Theocrites went in much the same way as it had for Alacles. The apparent substance of her words was to the effect that he was a guest, that everyone was curious about him, and that everyone in this house intended to show generosity to his preferences.