Don't Think That I Forgot

About Dre

Or the sequel to Maiden Voyage. Here's the first chapter of Beyond the Horizon, for those who are interested. I likely have some news coming out soon about Maiden Voyage, so keep your eyes peeled.

Weird saying...

Here's Chapter 1 of Book 2 in The New Age of Steam series. Enjoy it less than I did but more than my parents did.

Also happy mother's day, if you're into that sort of thing (mothers).

Chapter 1

Edge

                Spring barely made its way this far up the mountains. Were it not for the sparse spring blooms among the still snow-coated rocks one could mistake it for a slightly warmer winter. Only the gardens of the Yao Monastery were filled with the luscious, vibrant colours of the world below, and it was Jeong-Long's duty to tend to them this morning. The thin air did not sting the young monk's strong lungs as it once had and now, in his 7th year at the monastery, he had come to appreciate even the winters. It was with the slightest sadness that he saw this year's one off. As he scattered the first seeds of the season into the wind in the hope that they would find purchase and create life on the harsh slopes, he felt as though he were waving off and old friend and greeting another in the same sweeping motion.

                The Yao Monastery lay up in the Jiexian Mountains. It was the final building that marked the border where the Sinian States met whatever lay in old Europe. The monks here lived to honour that boundary between regions, and so they were all the smartest, strongest and wisest of their religion. Tradition was acknowledged here, but not followed. They were mavericks that understood their faith and its practices were not static things. The world changed and moved, sometimes slowly and sometimes all at once, and their faith had to change and move with it. Here, at the top of the world, one could see such things with absolute clarity.

                Jeong-Long would spend the morning, like he did all mornings, tending to his chores until the time came to pray and eat. There was not a strict daily schedule here like there had been in the monastery he had grown up in, but he liked the simplicity offered by structure and the way it interacted with freedom's complexity of choice. After tending the gardens he would sweep the corridors, finishing when he reached the doors to the Yao Library. He would then fetch the ladder and polish the giant gold dragons on the doors that twisted about each other in frozen motion toward a distant sun at the top. Every movement was well-rehearsed and he would take no longer to work than he had the day before and would tomorrow. He would finish as it came time for the monks to convene and pray before breakfast. Repetition, that was what controlled his morning and eased him into the day.

                He turned back to the plants now, his seeds cast off into the empty air, and reached down for the watering pale. As he came upright he noticed something in the corner of his vision, a cloud that had not been there before. He turned his head to it, realising that it was no cloud. It was a giant white tube hanging in the air, though just barely it seemed. The object moved with some speed, more than any cloud he knew of, and looked to be falling as it went. He continued to study it as it passed through the mountains a few hundred metres to the monastery's south. It fell on and on until it finally disappeared behind a low peak. Jeong-Long was certain it would soon reach the ground and deep down he knew it was never meant to do such a thing.

                He stood for several more moments while conflict rose inside him. One part of his mind imagined occupants and stirred in him the panic they must have been feeling. Another part argued that there was no-one inside and he had no cause to be worried. The two sides hurled questions and answers at one another, arguing like men of the law. It began to overwhelm him. Jeong-Long closed his eyes and took a deep, slow breath through his nose and out his mouth, seeking calmness. His thoughts may be men of the law, but he was the judge, and they would present their arguments to him. He let them speak now, as voices with substance within his head.

                "It had to have been manufactured, and to manufacture something so vast so that it may fly with no-one on board seems absurd." stated the first voice. "It came from the west, so it flew over the mountains and couldn't have made it this far over them unpiloted."

                "How can we know what inventions the west has? Perhaps this is the first of many airborne vehicles and this one was simply an un-manned test." the second responded.

                "Why send an un-manned test somewhere so dangerous?" said one.

                "Perhaps it was blown off-course." said the other.

                "This is a long way away from anywhere, nothing comes here by accident." said one.

                "We cannot know how close by it was manufactured." said the other.

                Already Jeong-Long felt he had heard enough. The monks had taught him this way of dealing with wars within the mind, but it was exhausting to control ones internal voices in such a way. He would make his judgement now.

                There may have been people inside, and they may be in trouble. Assuming no-one else knew about this thing in the sky, Jeong-Long was the only man in a position to help. He might journey down the mountains and find nothing, but if he stayed here he was certain to find nothing. Standing there alone in the gardens, Jeong-Long made up his mind. He would seek this thing in the sky, knowing that somewhere, someone was in trouble.

#

                Jeong-Long wandered through the halls of the Yao monastery in long strides, his robes twisting and flaring in his wake. The halls were wide, wider than at any other monastery, but the ceilings were just as low as the rest. The builders had anticipated more monks would make the pilgrimage to Yao, so all the corridors could fit 3 men abreast. They'd had the decency to avoid grandiose designs, shying from the vaulted ceilings and cavernous buildings of the Last Light monks, but still the place was vast. The monks all lived in the central buildings, needing only the amenities of the beds and kitchen held in that section of the monastery. Often they would walk to the eastern temple to pray with the sun, but that was only on summer mornings. The north and south sections sprawled their way along ledges, ending nearly two kilometres apart from one another. Out to the west was the entrance, where the corridors and buildings snaked their way around peaks until they reached the monastery's entrance. The monks often joked that a dozen people could live in the monastery with them and they would never know. No-one else lived there though, the journey was too hard and the passages were too hidden.

                As he walked, Jeong-Long felt urgency. It was a feeling that had not existed within him since his teenage years. His chores were still completed thoroughly, but with a haste that deprived him of enjoyment. He'd hurried to the central temple to pray, waiting for the monks to assemble. Normally, they would all arrive at the same time, but today Jeong-Long was first. It felt strange to be there well before the others. At last the rest ambled toward the temple, and together they entered. He held his composure, not rushing to sit and speak like he longed. They all sat together in a circle, against the traditions of their faith, and closed their eyes.

                "Before we pray, I need to say something." said Jeong-Long.

                Tan, a middle-aged monk that had been the third to arrive at the monastery, was the one who replied first.

                "We knew." he said.

                "You haven't been this hurried in all your years here." said Yuri, smirking with his eyes still closed.

                The others all nodded.

                "I saw something this morning at the gardens." explained Jeong-Long, "It was like a cloud that moved of its own accord. There were tales about ships of the sky from before the End of All Days. I think this was a recreation of one. It came from Europe, and it looked to be falling from the sky."

                "Your curiosity has caught you. You have to find out what this thing was, don't you?" said Yuri.

                "There might have been people on board. What if they need help?" Jeong-Long replied.

                "Jeong-Long, you tell us this so you might justify it. The fact that we have all journeyed to this monastery should tell you that actions need never be justified to us. We look forward to your return." said Tan, one eye opening as he smiled at Jeong-Long.

                Jeong-Long sat with them and prayed, barely able to overcome the distraction of the day ahead. He found a peaceful state of mind, and was pleased that he was strong enough to achieve such a state in spite of his anticipation. As he got up to eat he couldn't help but feel it was the last true peace he would feel for some time. At the eating hall he tore through his food, thankful that today was not his day to clean up. He packed his few belongings, bringing what healing herbs they could spare and as much food as he could carry, and made for the Eastern Gate. If he found people, he would be prepared to help them.