Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [218]
Beneath Wataru’s feet the nature of Vision spread out in all its glory: mountains, hills, plains, streams, and forests as far as the eye could see. When he figured out which direction they were heading, he looked back around to the left to see the black glimmer of the Swamp of Grief fading into the distance. A veil of fog hung over the marshes. And beyond the swamp, he caught a glimpse of Tearsheaven.
Wataru was grateful for the cotton vest the town master had lent him for the trip. Their elevation and the cutting winds made it a chilly ride. They flew past foothills to mountains Wataru had never seen, over a village, and then a river. The town master had warned him that Togoto would take his charge quite seriously. It was likely they would fly on without more than a brief rest now and then. “Watch that you don’t nap and fall from your chair.”
Wataru looked down at the incredible view and wondered how anyone could fall asleep. The first place they rested was at the gatehouse on the border between Arikita and Bog. There was a teahouse there where traveling merchants gathered and baqua trees grew thick along the roadside. While they waited for their papers to be processed, Wataru selected one of the fruits and ate it.
“Have you a map in your head yet? Do you know where we are flying now?” Togoto asked while resting his wings.
“Not a clue,” Wataru replied honestly. “But I’m having the time of my life!”
“A Highlander should not allow himself to be satisfied with such trivialities as sightseeing,” Togato chided. “We have ridden the wind due west from Sonn. As we make for Sakawa, we must head north from here, for Sakawa is on the Bog coast. Understood?”
Wataru nodded.
“Incidentally, before heading north, we need to find a rising current, and that will take us to our highest elevation yet. It won’t be for long, but you should be able to catch a glimpse of the Undoor Highland. It is a foreboding plateau shrouded in mist and cloud all year round, with not a single road or footpath for travelers.”
Togoto looked up at the sky, beaming proudly. “I would think that, as a Highlander, you might value this rare opportunity! Blessed be the all-powerful Goddess for her gift to the karulakin of mighty wings!”
The Undoor Highland. Home to the Special Administrative State of Dela Rubesi. Secret haven to the followers of the Old God.
“Looking forward to it!” Wataru said. Togoto also seemed to be in high spirits, and they left as soon as their papers were ready.
Togoto was not only a speaker of some eloquence, but some reliability as well. Their ascent was breathtaking as promised. Wataru feared he might be knocked out of his basket, so swiftly did they climb up through the shifting air currents.
After a brief but very fast ascent, they began to climb more gradually, tracing a slow upward spiral. Even with his earplugs, Wataru could feel the beat of Togoto’s crimson wings as they cut through the air. They climbed, and climbed, passing through white mists and clouds. When Wataru felt his basket-seat lift up into the air briefly then settle, he knew they had arrived at their planned elevation.
The view was hardly any different than the one from an airplane window. The buildings of the gatehouse looked like matchboxes, the dense forest like a broccoli patch. Wataru was entranced by the panorama beneath him—a vast mottled blanket of greens and browns. He could see towns and villages scattered in the distance, small lakes mirroring the sky, and rivers winding through it all like silken threads.
Togoto was saying something. Wataru took out the plugs. “Highlander! There is Undoor!” he shouted, jabbing southward with his beak. “Look! The clouds have broken! See the snow on the uppermost reaches!”
Wataru looked. In the middle of a massive tower of white clouds, he could see a great, gray plateau. The countless streaks of glimmering white draped down its sides must be glaciers, he realized.
The highest reaches of the plateau were covered in white. It was hard to get a good view, because the break