Chapter 37: The One Below All (1/2)

More days pass, the wagon plodding along little by little as the islands float by overhead. We break free of the forests near the start of the seventh day, the horizon appearing surprisingly close. As it turns out, it is close; as we travel onward, it becomes clear that in front of us the island simply stops. Soon we're at the edge, and I can't help but rush ahead a little to look down. As I sprint closer and closer to the edge of Verdantop, an unease grips me. The unease turns to fear and the fear turns to terror as I approach the edge, some primal certainty that I am not to go stopping me in my tracks.

I wanna see, though. I creep forward, my instincts hesitantly allowing me so long as I take it slow. I get down on my hands and knees, crawling forward on the grassy cliff until I'm mere inches from the edge. Strong winds lick at my hair as I peek over the edge, heart hammering.

It's sort of like looking up, except down. Dozens of islands float below us, peppering the sky. Rather than the yellow glow of above, however, thick, white clouds are the lowest thing in view. The mist is omnipresent below me, stretching as far as I can see in every direction. The biggest difference, of course, is the knowledge that I can't fall into the sky, but I very much can fall here. For some reason, that changes everything. The sight takes my breath away.

”Ah, the mists are thick today,” Gladra says. I flail in surprise, almost slipping. She scared the crap out of me! I shouldn’t have let myself become that distracted.

”I-I guess so?” I stammer, looking up at her.

”A shame,” she comments. ”Well, they'll clear at some point on our trip. We'll keep an eye out for you. It's always an unforgettable experience to catch a glimpse of god.”

”Uh, yeah,” I answer. I’m not sure what else to say to her.

I keep staring out at the beautiful, flowing mists of white, freckled by colorful dots of land. From below, islands tend to look quite interesting, coming in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and kinds of rock. I like the reddish stones best personally; I’ve always wondered what life on those islands might be like. Is it the same as ours? Is it even scarier? Or are those lands as beautiful as their stone?

From above, however, there are even more things beautiful and different floating in the sky. I can almost see a city on one of the closer islands, their tall buildings constructed out of the side of a vast mountain. It’s little wonder our island is called Verdantop; we sure seem to have a lot more green than most of the places below us. Not that the forest is an appealing part of living here, but I’m sure it looks beautiful from above.

“You just gonna lie there staring over the edge all day?” Gladra asks.

I raise my eyebrows, looking at her with surprise.

“Can I?” I ask seriously. She laughs.

“The road travels close enough to the edge, so you can look out while we walk if you want. Make sure to keep up with us, though, and don’t fall.”

Right. Yeah. That… would be bad.

I follow the edge for a while, keeping my footing careful as I adjust to the terror of the potential drop. The road is about fifty yards inland, distant enough to not be a hazard but plenty close enough for me to keep an eye on while by the edge. Gladra seems inclined to walk close to me as I do so, which for once I’m grateful for. If I do fall, I wouldn’t be surprised if she has a trick to catch me. We walk for hours, but much like looking up, the scenery doesn’t change much as we look down. Eventually, another island passes under us— one that Verdantop is dropping into nighttime, which makes sense but isn’t something I’ve ever thought about before. Unfortunately, it ruins the view below, and I eventually meander back to the wagon and hop in.

“Did you have fun?” Penelope asks blandly.

“Yeah!” I say happily. “The view is awesome! You should go see when that other island gets out of the way!”

“Pass,” she answers. “I’ve been to the edge plenty of times, Vita. My grandfather often made a point of dragging us all to the cities he conquered to show off.”

“Oh, okay.”

I sit at the back of the wagon, legs kicking off the edge.

“What’s our plan for when we get to Litia?” I eventually ask.

“I figured that was fairly straightforward,” Penelope replies.

“Well, you have to pretend to be Penta the whole time, right? And I have to pretend to be Vitamin.”

“‘Penta’ spent the entire time in my head pretending to be me. It’s hardly going to set off alarm bells for me to act my usual self. That’s how Nawra work.”

“Oh. Well, I guess so.”

“What we really have to talk about is strategy when we get there. I doubt Remus is going to be the only one infected. It will take me a while to kill someone’s Nawra with my magic, but I can do it. It would be easier if I could just make a mass-plague, but…”

“Yeah, I know. Thank you for not.”

“Mmm,” Penelope grunts noncommittally. “If it looks as though we don’t have another way to save everyone, I will.”

Penta tenses. I sigh.