Eidos

Chapter 7: Quite the Kafuffle

Chapter 7: Quite The Kafuffle

"There it is, Clear Sky. Home to one of the only Skyports on this side of Sky. Ain't it something?"

Edward could not help but smile as he opened his arms to embrace the view. Harmonia and her companions had traveled for nearly two days along the mountainous paths. Edward had always managed to find new games for them to play. Meanwhile Ro and Bird had continued to bulk a few paces behind the lovebirds.

Their journey had brought them to a place which surpassed any of the fantasies left lingering from Harmonia's childhood. The mountains had made way for the widest valley she had ever seen. In the centre of the dirt clad clearing, a dozen pillars of stone rose a hundred feet in the air. At the base of the slender rocks sat a city much larger than any Harmonia thought could have existed. Tall steel and mud clad buildings cluttered the cramped quarters between the rising columns. From their vantage overlooking the city, the buildings of Clear Sky appeared so narrow it was hard to believe how anyone could fit inside.

Amongst all of the grand sights of the city, what had caught Harmonia's attention above all else was what sat anchored to the pillars of stone. Anchored around each were flying ships, not just drawings, or words on a page, but real ships Harmonia could almost touch. It looked as if there were hundreds of them circling the pillars that made up the Skyport.

Each ship was different enough from the next, but still held the same basic design. A solitary hull fitted with anywhere from a dozen to a hundred furled masts. There appeared a flurry of colours adorning the masts, representing the various crews and their particular roles. Harmonia could not contain her wild imagination from picturing them all sailing through the air only to break through onto the boundless frontiers of space.

Ro was the first to break their mesmerized silence, "Looks like you were right Edward. Then again, it's quite convenient how easily you found your way here. I mean, at least for someone who claims they have never come this far before."

Edward turned to face Ro's accusation with a look of annoyance, "I told you once, and I'll say it again, I'm good with directions."

"Still, someone from as far away as you are should have had a little difficulty finding this place. Don't you think?"

Bird quickly added to Ro's suspicions, "Chirp, chirp, chirp!"

Harmonia quickly came to the older boy's defense, "Come on you two. What more do you want? How can Edward show you he's one of us now? Just look at what he's done for us!"

"Without breaking a sweat," Ro continued.

"That means he came through on his word Ro. I really don't know what has gotten into you since we left Mine."

"If you want I can carry you down to the city, would that help?" joked Edward with his sly smile.

"Ha," laughed Harmonia. "You see, you two need to relax. We're here now, and we need to find a ship. So can we agree on making our way down there at least?"

Bird gave only a solemn, chirp, clearly trying to show Harmonia it was not happy with the decision.

Before Ro could say a word, a large object suddenly emerged from overhead. It blocked out the sun and cast an unfamiliar shadow on the companions below. As they wrenched up to see if a cloud had somehow managed to make its way down from one of the mountains, they found something quite different drifting overhead. A long wooden ship was passing the wayward party, its hull coming so close they could see every intricate detail. It shook the ground as it dragged a strong wind behind it through the air. Harmonia and her friends had to shield their eyes as a cloud of dirt consumed them. By the time it had cleared, the ship had sailed on, slowing down with greater speed at it approached the Skyport of Clear Sky.