Forbidden (mxm)

39. Hunting for Diamonds (Sai)

   "Hahahaha!" The boisterous laughter makes everyone look at King Dorth and Lord Bardal who are holding their bellies and wiping the tears from their eyes. Muffled snickers can be heard here and there in the crowd. The corners of my mouth curl up. The view is hilarious, despite the fact that they are mocking our plan. I would have never believed it, if someone had told me that these two grumpy bears can cackle so sincerely. Even Dey starts to giggle.

   "Well," he turns to them. "I am happy I could entertain you, my lords. I understand why you find my demand so amusing. Let me tell you something, though. it's possible and we really need those ships. How would we relocate five million people within a year, without fast means of transport that can carry heavy loads? The moment a diver is assembled, it will be sent to assist with the resettlement. Hopefully, all of them will  be ready at the end of the year for our back up plan."

   "Oh, a back up plan," Queen Jendayi nods approvingly. "There should always be one. You never know with those monsters. More than expected may come or the trap may not work."

   "Correct!" Dey agrees. "If something goes wrong and we are not able to lure the butterflies into the trap or all other options are lost, we can leave the Continent. Sky divers are faster. With precise planning we can escape and search for new land."

   "There is no other dry land, Commander," someone shouts from the back. "There is only the Continent and the endless sea."

   "We all have heard the legend of The Shallow Sea," I answer. "The bridges between the mainland and the islands may have sunk underwater, but I am sure there is other dry land out there. The sea level has not risen enough to flood everything. Finding new territories will at least give us time to rearrange our forces and come back with another plan to claim our home back."

   "There was no Shallow Sea and no bridges," King Dorth grumbles. "I don't believe those religious nonsense. How can one person, the so called God, make the water rise and the land disappear or build a portal in the rocks, let alone tame the fiery beasts? it's all a fabrication, a fairy tale to put children to sleep."

   "How would you explain the birth of The Chosen then?" king Unufrail approaches. "'A man shall be born one day who shall hear my whisper.' Those were God's words and they came true."

   "You wish!" Dey's father sneers. "I believe neither that someone said it, nor that your son is God's chosen. These are just the circus tricks your clan performs to assert its power. Your prophesies serve only your needs."

   "God forgive your ignorance, Your Majesty," a tall priest in a black, hooded robe stands up nearby. "We've all heard the Whisper. Only Prince Dai Stial can evoke it. Be careful! There is a power in this world that is superior to us."

   "If you're so blessed," Lord Bardal grunts, squinting at me, "can you tell what the whispered words mean?" I contemplate weather to answer the provocation, but decide to let it pass for the sake of the success of our plan. This is not the place to start pointless arguments.

   "You can worship whatever you want, Excellency," the king stubbornly shakes his head. "I believe in the power of weapons and consider only the proven facts. They indisputably point out that only six air diamonds exist. Even if we build the divers the Supreme Commanders want, there is no way to make them fly."

   The assembly starts buzzing approvingly. King Dorth proved his point. His logic is irrefutable... but not quite. It's time for me to play my part.

   "Silence," I raise my voice. "Look at this!" The noise dies out. All eyes are on me.

   "The air diamonds were found here, at the entrance of the underwater cave."  I put my finger on the God's Eye lake. "You all use the crystal communication system to send messages at long distances within minutes. We know that there is an underground network of crystal caves, stretching throughout the whole continent. They are all connected. That is why every tribe was able to create their own code of knocks and taps. We developed devices to transmit them. The crystals are so sensitive and resonant that our messages can be detected easily four dives away, from the farthest north to the farthest south. There are locations for sending them everywhere."