Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [270]
“Well, we weren’t exactly pushed,” Jozo hurriedly added. “See, the wyrmking says that Vision is like a living thing. That’s why it changes over time. It grows. He said big things like us have to dwindle, and at some point, disappear entirely. That’s just the way it works.” Despite his words, Jozo didn’t seem concerned in the least.
“Doesn’t that make you sad?” Wataru asked.
“Sad?”
“I mean, that your race is destined to die out?”
“I dunno. It all seems kind of unreal anyway. I sure feel fine. And I’ve got plenty of friends back on the Isle of Dragon.”
Still, he told them, few of the adult dragons ever left their homes these days. Most of them chose to live peacefully on their island. The only ones who ventured over the wide vistas of Vision were the young dragons bursting with curiosity. So it had been exceptional luck for Wataru to run into Jozo that day in the swamp.
“I think the Goddess might have had a hand in it, personally,” Jozo said, squinting as they cut through a cloud bank.
The three had dressed warmly, guessing correctly that their flight through the skies would be rather cold. But even still, when they neared Undoor Highland, the clouds grew steadily thicker, and the temperature dropped drastically.
“Shall I make a fire to warm things up?”
“Fire?! No! No thanks. Not for me,” Kee Keema shouted, waving his hands so furiously he nearly fell off. Wataru and Meena laughed.
“There’s really no need to suffer,” Jozo looked around at the clouds looming before them. “Hmm. There is something odd about these clouds though. We should be catching glimpses of Undoor Highland by this point, but I can’t see a thing.”
As they flew, the clouds that had formed a steady carpet beneath them slowly started to swallow them up. Jozo rose higher, but they were still firmly within the cloud bank.
“Do you feel something? These clouds taste funny.”
“Taste funny?”
Wataru and Meena stuck out their tongues, licking the cloud-puff as it rushed past. This is more difficult than it sounds. It wasn’t exactly solid, like cotton candy.
“It tastes like…tears. Perhaps the Goddess is sad,” Jozo said solemnly.
Still he flew on, his wings beating through the clouds in a steady rhythm. Before long, they saw something glimmer to the right. It was only for an instant.
“We should be right over Undoor Highland by now. I’m going to dive down and see what I can find.”
Jozo began his descent. It was like riding on an invisible jet coaster. Wataru felt his stomach rise in his chest. Next to him Kee Keema moaned.
“There!” Jozo said. “Why, we’re already right over it.”
The clouds streamed by, tossed by the strong currents generated by Jozo’s wings. Suddenly a city appeared around them. Wataru swallowed.
The city sat on top of Undoor Highland. It was bound by glaciers and shielded in a layer of snow. Two massive walls of stone formed concentric ovals around the city. Spires towered like trees, linked together by circular patterns and ramps that spun through the city like a spider’s web. Here and there, stone buildings sat with the stairs and terraces jutting out over empty space. The entirety of the frozen city shone like a cold labyrinth.
At first, Wataru thought the buildings were made out of pure crystal. But when he squinted his eyes, he saw that wasn’t the case at all. They were frozen. Every inch of stone was covered with ice. Wataru found himself thinking about a glass museum he had visited once with his parents. There had been a castle in the museum too, made entirely out of crystal. Even the flag flying from the highest tower had been made out of delicate glass.
“Look at the forest. Even the trees are frozen.”
Below them, vines stretched between frost-covered branches. The foliage was laden with strange fruit that sparkled coldly in the sunlight.
“It’s all covered with ice,” Meena breathed. “What kind of person lives in such a cold place?”
“Maybe no one,