SKY OF PAPER: AN ASIAN STEAMPUNK FANTASY

CHAPTER 15

The creature that shook the ground when he spoke, that bellowed fire into the sky; the very serpent that visited my dreams haunted my very thoughts as we proceeded towards the city. I'd dreamed of dragons from the very moment that I'd discovered my abilities, but I chose not to tell her of any of this. For the moment, she seemed content, and I didn't want to shake her of that. Still, what she said left me all the more curious, and my suspicious mind pushed at my doubts, which left me wondering if she had even more secrets she had yet to reveal.

When we finally came to the capital, I was bombarded all at once by the immensity of my surroundings. It was as if I were a newly hatched beach turtle, facing the vast, roaring sea for the first time. Buildings of wood, paper and stone hugged the cobbled streets like towering giants huddled against each other. Shops of different shapes and sizes, some colorful, some plain, some like mansions, others like humble shacks, all lined up in never-ending rows. In all my life, I had never seen anything so orderly, so neatly fashioned.

Back at home, there were only ragged shops haphazardly littered about. The roads were nothing more than uneven dirt trails that zigzagged between buildings, but here, there was a sea of civilization, a vast blanket of human life upon the earth, sparkling vibrantly against the night within a sea of gleaming paper lanterns and street lamps woven deep into its fabric.

The streets were chaotic and noisy, filled with peddlers and merchants. The steamy smells of fried dumplings and incense wafted the air.

The driver tossed into our laps two large bamboo hats, adorned with gold braids on the rims and a large, single flowery crest I had never seen before painted across the top.

He ordered us to put them on quickly, and to make sure the brims covered our eyes. When I asked why, he stopped the carriage and climbed to the back. He adjusted our hats and made sure our chin straps were tied snuggly against the meat of our jaws.

"You are not common children," he said. "From now on, when you are in public, you are forbidden from displaying your faces or your eyes. The veil of secrecy must be kept."

It all seemed so strange to me, like traveling back in time. Hundreds of years ago, during the age of the Middle Dynasty, royalty and members of the upper class wore the same hats, adorned sometimes with elaborate decorations of gold and brass and even tiny, chiming bells hanging from their wide, circular rims. It was considered taboo to gaze upon the face of the aristocracy unless their permission was given.

These days there were still a few, rare people that wore them, to include the Emperor and his family as well as a few conservative magistrates.

As for children like myself, we were made to respect the same, ancient traditions as no one from the outside was allowed to gaze upon the eyes of a chienkuu ko; at least not up close. During stage performances, like the one that was held in my village, people were only allowed to admire them from afar and wonder as to the mysteries behind their oddly colored eyes. That was the way these things were presented, for it was this very aura of wonder and mystery that commanded a great amount of respect.

Kassashimei and I kept our heads low and most of our faces hidden as people stopped to gaze at the two regal-looking children rolling steadily by on an imperial carriage. I suppose I should have felt honored to have garnered so much attention and respect. Even a few people bowed, confused as to the prospect that we were perhaps royalty. But in fact, I was disappointed. With my hat obscuring most of my sight I could no longer admire the vast inspiring visions that the city had laid out before me.

Without hardly any warning, an air vessel appeared from the darkness and rumbled slowly overhead. Painted across its underbelly, was a sprawling oak tree with branches that stretched from one edge of the hull to the other. Large, bulbous electric lamps lit its underside, showing off its painted crest to the world below. Hardly anyone paid much attention to the spectacle above as this must have been a common daily event for them. But as for me I watched with an upward, captivated gaze, ignoring the driver's warnings about keeping my face hidden. I told myself that there were children just like myself, inside such vessels, leading it along across a sky wrought with the turbulence of an invisible sea.