SKY OF PAPER: AN ASIAN STEAMPUNK FANTASY

CHAPTER 51

The instruments and props had already been setup long before our arrival. As we took our places along the western glass wall, the crowd fell into a hush. The lights dimmed slightly as our escort stood before the crowd and made his announcement.

"It is with absolute delight that I present to you a rare spectacle hailed from far to the east. An exhibition that few from our side of the world have ever had the privilege of witnessing. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of our illustrious Premier Gorchiv, we present to you, the sky children and their mystical air dance."

The steady thump of drums moved the once frozen air and the hollow wail of bamboo flutes sung like the haunting calls of wary spirits. Delicate hands plucked away at shamisens with teasing melodies, all while eight children; four shyo mah and four shyo mu, took their places at the front. The four girls sat neatly abreast upon their knees while they watched their partners take their ready stances in front of them. Counted among the pairs were both Kassashimei and I, performing as true entertainers for the very first time. Lai, who had trained as a performer with his sister most of his life lead the exhibition. It was called, "The Sky of Falling Water", a performance which only Ami and Sa Shi had properly mastered. But Lai was determined to show the true extent of his skill and without hesitation he turned his focus to a bowl of water that lay upon the ground in front of him. 

With Etsu carefully tracing his movements, they turned the ether, directing its currents to snake into the bowl and cup the water within. The drumming became more vibrant as the bowl rattled at first, then, like a sprouting tree, the water began rising into the air. Sounds of disbelief resounded from the audience, but Lai and Etsu would not give them the opportunity to catch their breath. Lai flung his arms out to the side and like a trained pet following his every command, the water, formless in its shape shattered into a cloud-like mist of droplets. As if turning a hanging curtain with his hand, the droplets wavered and flowed against an unseen breeze.

The other children and I followed Lai's movements by floating a dozen small stone fish through his watery veil. With practiced hands and unflinching eyes a scene of seemingly divine life was created where fish dove and darted like unbound birds, and large droplets of water seamlessly floated in the air as if it was their very nature to do so. 

Drums bellowed as the fish dove and sprinted upwards and flutes hailed their movements as they quickly changed direction. All the while, the steady pluck of the shamisen carried the tune of the water's flow.  

The show itself was Ai's own personal favorite. And while she trained us, she had taught us that the music, the water, and the very life we imbued into the stone animals was a portrayal of things connected. The majesty of the world, every tree, every blade of grass, drop of rain, hoof beats of horses, even the ether itself, all boundlessly a part of one another. Like the stone fish upon the floating water, narrated by the soft strums and haunting whispers of the music, life and the motions of the world itself, connected and intertwined, let its presence drift across the audience. 

And then, at the absolute height of our show, the Premier appeared. The large, double doors at the end of the room flung open to the booming sound of a proud man's voice.

"Fellow merchants, tradesmen, your Premier has arrived," he said with all the fanfare his title had endowed him with.

The music stopped. Water and stone fell to the ground with a resounding thud as everyone, including the performers, turned their stunned and surprised gazes to the heavily bearded, giant of a man, who chuckled and waved happily as he made his way through the crowd. 

Broad shoulders and thick, brown woolen jacket and pants, he was a stout and portly man with a menacing look about him that rivaled even the stern faces in the portraits that hung across the walls. Draped across the shoulders and neck of his massive body were the roughly-cut furs of some sort of animal striped in shades of black and gray. His small eyes glinted like beads through his dark, bushy eyebrows as he shook hands and greeted those that approached him.