The Key to Creation (69 page)

Nevertheless, the ur-sikara’s words were powerful and compelling; to Ciarlo, they demonstrated that the world had changed in a fundamental way.

By the queen’s order, the wedding itself took place with a minimum of confusion and contradictions. The event would be like salve on a painful wound for the people of Tierra—and then the healing could begin.

Enifir fussed over Anjine for hours on the day of the wedding, primping the queen’s dress and hair, coloring her lips and eyelids, adding a wreath of flowers instead of a crown. “The people need this as much as you do, Majesty. Please be patient.” She tucked an imagined loose strand of Anjine’s hair under the floral wreath.

Anjine had heard that a bride-to-be was supposed to be nervous on her wedding day, but she was entirely content. With or without her handmaiden’s fussing, she had to admit that she felt beautiful and, beyond that, truly happy. She felt the baby inside her, strong and growing.

Loud bells rang out from the highest tower of the main kirk, accompanied by the brassy songs of bells in the other kirks throughout Calay.

When she and her procession made their way to the kirk, walking through the main doors and marching down the grand aisle, Anjine looked ahead to the altar. The split horn of Raathgir had been restored to its stand, but she concentrated only on the dashing and handsome figure of Mateo waiting for her.

Fully healed now, he wore a formal military uniform without rank insignia or medals. His service was well respected, as was that of all the soldiers of Tierra, but the provocative glories of the long and bloody war were best kept safely locked away. Mateo grinned at her just as he had as a young boy.

The people in the crowded kirk rose to their feet as the queen passed. Anjine saw Ammur Sonnen in the front row, his eyes filled with tears and a wistful smile on his face. The big blacksmith showed no anger or resentment, only a genuine pleasure to see the queen and Mateo being wed.

Prester Ciarlo and ur-Sikara Kuari stood together at the altar, with the ancient leather-bound book between them, the Captains’ Log, the new Book of Aiden and Urec that Captain Vora had retrieved from Terravitae. They had opened the tome to passages with which they were only just now becoming familiar. The two had agreed on verses that would be appropriate for the queen’s wedding ceremony.

When Anjine and Mateo stepped up to the altar together, the two religious leaders held out the silver-and-gold chains, interlocked fishhooks and fern spirals, one linked to another. Ammur Sonnen himself had crafted the intricate new chains of their wedding bond, following the special new design that Kuari and Ciarlo had created.

Amid the background noise of fanfare and applause, Anjine heard Mateo mutter just for her, “I hope they don’t go on too long. I am very anxious to be married to you.”

She smiled at him. “I gave them explicit instructions to be brief.”

Ciarlo and Kuari opened the ceremony by each reading a verse from the new book, then they directed Anjine and Mateo to link their delicate chains, fishhook and fern.

The couple spoke the sincere vows they had crafted together, but from that point, it was all just words, for in their hearts, Anjine and Mateo had been married for a very long time.

Ishalem

Before leaving Ishalem to return to his capital city, Omra went with Istar to the cathedral’s highest minaret. From that vantage, they could look across the beautiful holy city. The soldan-shah inhaled the fresh salty air and felt its healing strength. “It’s good to be a
ruler
again, Istar, instead of a military commander,” he said. “I want to meet with emissaries from all five of my soldanates to discuss the future of Uraba. We have so much work to do.”

Istar leaned closer to him, and Omra slipped his arm around her waist and held her there. He knew this woman belonged at his side. “I am glad you decided to stay with me. I need you.”

“It was the right choice.” Her voice grew wistful. “Someday, though, I’d like to return to Windcatch and see my old home. Would you go with me?”

His throat went dry. “I doubt that would be a good idea, considering the circumstances the last time I was there.”

“But it might be a necessary step…after the other wounds heal.”

“If that’s what you ask of me, how can I do anything less?”

Their quiet moment was broken when Naori joined them, accompanied by Omra’s two boisterous young sons. “Oh! The view is beautiful from up here.” The boys bounded to the open windows, eager to see.

Omra looked at the two women and mused, “My father set up a separate residence for his wife Asha here in Ishalem, while his other wives remained in Olabar.” He glanced from Naori to Istar. “Would you like me to do the same for you? If we’re at peace now, you will both be safe wherever you are.”

Naori answered immediately, “No. Why would we want that?”

Istar laughed. “We’re happy together, Omra. Naori and I help each other.”

The older boy, Zarif Omirr, interrupted them, pointing vigorously. “Look, are those the Saedrans?”

From the minaret, they could observe the canal across the isthmus. The mer-Saedrans had labored hard to clear away the sunken ironclads, and the waterway was finally open again. As Omra and his family gathered to look, they spotted a group of swimmers frolicking and laughing in the water.

“The one in the lead is King Sonhir, I think,” Omra said.

“Where are they going?” the zarif asked.

“Wherever they like.”

Together, they watched the mer-Saedrans swim through the canal, all of them heading out to the Middlesea and new waters to explore.

Ishalem Harbor

After a year, it was time to sail away again.

Criston Vora and Saan drew funding from the coffers of Ishalem. With money donated by Soldan-Shah Omra as well as the Saedran treasury, and many materials delivered directly from Tierra with the blessings of Queen Anjine, the two captains had begun their plans just months after watching Ondun sail away in the great Arkship.

Ystya haunted Saan’s dreams, and he could not stop thinking of her. After six months helping with the rebuilding in Ishalem and then Olabar, he was ready to set off for the far horizon once more.

For himself, Criston no longer felt at home on land or in a city, even one as glorious as Ishalem. Though his decades-long quest to find Adrea was over, he would always be a man of the seas. After many tribulations, he had lost the love of his life, but at least he knew she was safe, even happy. After he met her three daughters, he understood that she had built a vast part of her life—a happy life—without him.

Saan introduced his sisters to Criston, who quickly saw how much Adrea loved her daughters. He accepted her decision to stay; how could he have torn that family apart? She could never have been happy if she surrendered her daughters for him. Criston would have been taking her away from that life just as much as Omra had taken her from Windcatch so many years earlier.

And in spite of the painful losses, Criston had unexpectedly gained a son—a son very much like himself. He and Saan worked together for months to prepare for this voyage. Queen Anjine and Soldan-Shah Omra had agreed that the two captains could take any vessel they chose for their next expedition to Terravitae.

Criston and Saan spent weeks studying the Tierran and Uraban ships that remained in the harbor—the hulls, the masts, the lines—and talking with their captains. They knew the true extent of the voyage they were undertaking, and in their individual logbooks they had two alternate routes to Terravitae. And beyond those routes lay half a world of unexplored water.

Having designed many vessels himself, Criston was very particular. In the end, he and Saan chose a sturdy two-masted Uraban warship with a broad beam and spacious hull—the largest of the vessels Soldan Vishkar had rounded up for defending Ishalem. Saan convinced his father that such a design would be best suited for the long voyage back to Terravitae.

While the mer-Saedrans continued to travel back and forth through the canal, spreading out into the Middlesea before returning to the great waters to the west, Kjelnar rejoined his captain, offering his services. “I hear you plan to undertake another voyage, Captain Vora. I would like to be part of it, if you’ll have me. I could be of some help.”

Criston clapped the big Iborian on the shoulders. “You are always welcome on my ship, Kjelnar. There could be quite an advantage to having someone with your underwater skills among my crew, but right now we need your skills as a shipwright.” He stretched out his arm to indicate the Uraban warship. “This is the vessel we’ll take. Can you make her strong enough to withstand another trip around the world?”

“That I can, Captain.”

Saan put out a call throughout Ishalem, and Criston sent messengers up the Tierran coast to recruit only the best sailors willing to undertake a long and arduous voyage. Grigovar and Yal Dolicar were two of the first to sign up, and Saan accepted them gladly. He even paid for a set of newly crafted hand attachments so that Dolicar had plenty of tools for his wrist.

By the heart of the following summer, after weeks of unbroken good weather, the new exploration vessel was finished, loaded with supplies, rigged, and ready to sail. The glorious ship was christened the
Infinita
, for her exploration of the world would not be limited by the earth, the seas, or the stars.

On the day of their departure, as the crew crowded aboard and waved farewell, Criston stood with Saan on the dock. Adrea came all the way from Olabar to see them off, dressed in the finest Yuarej silk robes to denote her rank, yet she had removed her head scarf to let her blond Tierran hair blow free.

Saan embraced his mother. “I’ll be back again, I promise.”

“I know you two will keep each other safe.”

Criston stepped very close to her and felt love welling up within him, but his dreams were different now. Adrea touched his cheek, and he kissed her farewell. “I have to chase the horizon now, but I promise to keep sending you letters.”

“Then you’ll need this.” Adrea teased out a thick lock of her golden hair, took a jeweled knife from her sash, sliced off the lock, and gave it to him. Criston smiled and cried at the same time, squeezing the soft strands as if the lock was the most precious substance he’d ever held, before tucking it securely into a pocket of his vest.

Saan pointed out, “We’re bringing another sympathetic logbook. That’s the fastest way for us to keep in touch.”

“We’ll use both,” Criston said. He looked at Adrea, gazed around the city of Ishalem, and realized that the beautiful, graceful
Infinita
called him more than staying here did. Deep in his heart, he knew he had to go back to Terravitae…and from there to anyplace else in the world that remained to be explored. He knew Saan felt the same way.

After a last round of goodbyes, they boarded the
Infinita
, cast off, and set sail for the open sea.

Glossary

ABILAN
  one of the soldanates of Uraba.

ADREA
  wife of Criston Vora, captured by Urecari raiders; now named Istar.

ADREALA
  first daughter of Adrea by Omra.

AIDEN
  one of the two brothers who sailed from Terravitae to discover the world. The descendants of his crew populated Tierra.

AIDENIST
  follower of the Book of Aiden.

AIDEN’S COMPASS
  ancient relic whose needle will point back toward Terravitae.

AIDEN’S LIGHTHOUSE
  tall lighthouse on the western side of Ishalem, now controlled by Urabans.

AIZARA
  Uraban driftwood reader.

ALAMONT
  one of the five reaches of Tierra, rich agricultural land led by Destrar Shenro.

ALDO NA-CURIC
,
SEN
  Saedran chartsman aboard the
Dyscovera
.

ALISI
  sister of Unwar, kidnapped by Tierran traders.

AL-ORIZIN
  Uraban exploration ship sent off to find the Key to Creation.

AMMUR SONNEN
  blacksmith who runs the largest smithy in Calay, father of Vicka.

ANDOUK
  soldan of Yuarej, father of Cliaparia.

ANJINE
  queen of Tierra, daughter of King Korastine.

ANTOS
  captain of Soldan Vishkar’s flagship in the Uraban fleet.

ARDAN
  subcomdar of the Tierran navy.

ARIKARA
  capital city of Missinia.

ARKSHIP
  ancient vessel wrecked in Ishalem, believed to be the original vessel belonging either to Aiden or Urec.

ASADDAN
  Nunghal refugee who crossed the Great Desert to Missinia.

ASHA
  second wife of Soldan-Shah Imir, murdered by Prester Hannes.

BAINE
,
PRESTER-MARSHALL
  former prester-marshall of the Aidenist church, martyred with his followers in the ruins of Ishalem.