SKY OF PAPER: AN ASIAN STEAMPUNK FANTASY

CHAPTER 54

Of the faces from the Imperial Temple I‘d long since forgotten, the image of one specific man has remained in my mind and endured to this very day. In life, I saw embedded within the hardened wrinkles of his proud face, a pair of tiny, bead-like, green eyes that shimmered like water droplets against the sun. He had a pipe of brass and wood that he carried around wherever he went and whenever he smoked it, he was at his most calm, his most reverent. Years of experience and unfathomable wisdom had made him confident in all he did and all he taught. He was my teacher.

One day, he told me that I was to take a test, one which would prove the worth of my abilities. I never truly understood what he meant and I suspected that even though he had told me that the test was not of his decision, I still wondered if he had a part in its conception. It was because of him, that Kassashimei became a part of my life and he was there to help me, even amidst my failings. 

Seeing that final, satisfied look upon his face as he witnessed the fire I wielded in the protection of the Young Emperor made me wonder, made me hope, that in that moment, I had finally fulfilled his test. I wanted to live just as he did, a man who made his fate his own and left our world without any regrets.

We cremated his body. As a man who was once like us, a child of the sky, we set his ashes to scatter amongst the wind and clouds. 

Shortly after, my world grew dimmer. 

Mourning the man that had disappeared from my life, I could only think of hopelessness, of how vain everything had become.

Everyone as well as I, grieved throughout those dark days since leaving Watersbe. An air of loneliness and solemn destitution tugged at our spirits. 

As I awoke each morning, I half-expected to see the Boar waiting for us on the main deck for training, only to realize that it was I who would be teaching in his place. Lai, as well as a few others had been injured during the fight and while he was recovering, it was left to me to train the boys while Ai tended to the girls‘ lessons.

At first, I had neither the heart, nor the will. 

The Young Emperor had sealed himself inside the throne room and Dae Jung had ordered that the princess be confined to quarters as well, separated from her betrothed and her personal guard promptly disarmed. Broken pieces of wood, glass and metal still lay strewn across the deck and even below, bullet holes and scattered, torn sections of the hull could be found as far back as the engine compartments. Even the charred remnants of the fiery beast I had unleashed upon the opposing ships lay streaked across the outer hull. Along with the Boar, three others had died and another quarter of the crew lay injured. 

Certainly, there was no denying that we had gained a victory, but the cheers and joyous feelings we shared that day, died away all too quickly as the somber reality of our situation set in.  

Much of the chienkuu ko who were spared from injury, were simply too scared, shaken by the horrible chaos of the battle to even leave their rooms. The duty of flying the ship had been left to the remainder few who still had the courage to carry on. Where once I had been tasked to serve two or four hours in the ritual room, I was now required to serve six, and then eight. Between flying the ship and taking over the duties of both Lai and the Boar‘s, I found myself strained to the point of fatigued. Whatever spirit remained was slowly chipping away. 

A week after the battle I found myself sitting amongst the crates in the cargo hold gazing at a shrine at the far end of the bay. It had been erected in honor of the Boar and the other three people who had lost their lives. Small candles had been lit around its base and the subtle scent of incense sticks lingered in the air. For a long while, I sat motionless, entranced by an object that was nothing more than a hastily-constructed collection of wood and stone. My mind tried to make sense of things, but it all felt pointless and after a while, my thoughts fell into a blur until I hardly thought about anything at all.