Chapter 72: Anlah Takeen
…
It was not a mountain.
Under the escort of the Sorian schooner, the Island Symphony came close enough to see that the word "mountain" only described the size of what they perceived, not its reality. True to the Sorians' proclivities for fantastic arboreal accomplishments, they had grown a tree easily five times the size of Forelight Island, larger than maybe most of the islands in the sky. This became evident once the crew were close enough to see that the moss-like appearance from far away was caused by the leaves bent in a manner that prevented outside observers from seeing anything underneath. Had anyone been able to see where the ground should have sloped upward to form the base of the mountain, they would have noticed that there was a sharp line between the canopy and the fields below. Even more astounding was that the outer layer of leaves actually had openings large enough for airships to navigate; the almost uniform outer layer of leaves simply made noticing these openings difficult to spot from a distance. Once the Island Symphony followed her escort into the canopy, the crew discovered that the interior structure had actually been arranged so that webs of smaller branches spiraled around a central core. This formed large nooks into which airships much larger than the Island Symphony's escort could comfortably navigate.
The shade inside was soft, and the direction that their escort had led them allowed light from the setting sun to follow them in. The interior was something Link and his crew were familiar with. The thicker boughs of the tree had been shaped into flat walkways which ended just beyond the inner camouflage layers of leaves. At the corners of these walkways were large knots standing up like bollards on a dock. What Link's crew had never seen was the size of the Sorians' fleet. This cavity alone had twelve ships moored along the wall from bottom to top, and that was only what was visible before the cavity began to curve.
"Ħo!" called the dark-skinned Sorian from the main deck.
Link had heard the call and turned to look over the main deck from the forecastle. The Sorian stood at the port bulwark and, once he saw that he had Link's attention, he pointed over the side. Link reached over and tapped Irleen's shoulder, causing her to turn around. "Is he trying to tell us something?" he asked before she could get a question out. Irleen stepped up to the rail to locate the Sorian.
Upon seeing Irleen, the Sorian called to her, "Napa itùwàpa!" Then he started pointing ahead over the bulwark.
Irleen glanced forward. Then she told Link as she pointed, "He says to dock there."
Link followed her direction as the Island Symphony approached one bough with a pair of Sorians waving toward them. "Mister Gold, pull us into position with that dock," Link ordered as he pointed out the bough to Gold. "Ease us in."
"Easin' us in, aye aye," Gold said as he turned to let up on the engine throttle some more. Once he turned back to face the wheel, he let out a heavy sigh. "This is… somethin', Cap'n."
"Indeed, wohds fail even the educated," Leynne commented as he stepped toward the portside stairs.
"We could've passed them a hundred times, and we would've never noticed," Irleen breathed, her eyes tracing the complex lines along the inner surface of the tree. "Kuruuk Nehai was grown in four years. It's impossible to believe that this only took them two."
"Four years?" Zelda asked. She ducked past Gold so as to not get in his line of sight. "Do you mean the tree on Forelight Island?"
"I wouldn't think it to be that big of an accomplishment," Janni said from Gold's opposite side, her bottom leaning on the rail. "It only looks impressive once it's done." She pointed up at the canopy. "Something like this? They probably had the seed magicked and stored for decades."
"Even so," Zelda argued in a gentle tone, "this feat of natural construction is unknown to Hylians. What takes us vast and limited resources, the Sorians have managed to simplify it into a single, uniform structure."
"Hold on there, princess," Janni quickly told her. "Before you go further, this kinda growth is not as cheap as you make it sound."
"She's right," Irleen said as Zelda cast Janni a confused look. "Growth like this still requires nutrition. And accelerating growth takes a bigger toll on the land. That's why Kuruuk Nehai is only a fraction of what they've done here." She gave Janni a smug look. "That's what you were gonna tell her, right?"
Janni gave a shrug and an indifferent grunt. "I've been the exposition fairy for a whole month," she said. "You can take that one; I don't care."
"Hey, who do you think's been the fairy for two years?" Irleen snapped, although her light tone made it difficult to tell whether she was teasing or upset.
"And yet, Link missed out on all these little hints all that time on Obeeta," Janni replied coolly, letting her gaze wander the canopy above.
"At least I gave him whatever hints I could," Irleen argued. "How many times did you let him get killed?"
Janni chuckled. "Oh, too many for it to be anything but amusing…"
"Do we go'a separate yeh two?" Gold snapped. "I ain't standin' 'tween yeh."
"What, you think we're fighting?" Irleen asked in a challenging tone.
"Yes," both Link and Gold responded.
"Aww, that wasn't fighting," Janni said with a groan.
"Sounded like it," Gold said.
"Gold!" Leynne hollered from the middle of the main deck. "Cut the engine; we'h moohed!"
"Ap—shit…" Gold grunted as he twisted and disengaged the engine.
Link heaved a sigh, relieved that Leynne had interrupted. "Okay," he said. "Irleen, Janni? Zelda? You ready?"
Janni pushed away from the rail. "I suppose…" she said.
"Sounds better than me," Irleen said as she placed a hand on her belly. "I've got worms wriggling in my stomach…"
When Zelda gave Link a nod, Link beckoned with one hand as he started toward the stairs. "Let's get going, then."
Link had only taken a few steps on the main deck before Leynne approached him. "Ah you going ashoh?" Leynne asked.
Link nodded. "The ship is yours."
Leynne glanced at the three young women behind Link before asking, "Should you like to take some protection along? Layna, pehhaps?"
"You're kidding, right?" Irleen spoke up.
"Mister Leynne, we know who these people are," Zelda said as she stepped to Link's side. "And they remember us."
Leynne let his gaze cross the deck toward the starboard staircase. Link followed his line of sight to find Layna and Line standing at the top of the stairs, although Line did not seem to realize that Layna was standing right behind him. "You two wanna come?" he called.
"Yeah!" Line replied in a snide tone while Layna nodded.
"C'mon, then," Link said. Then he told Leynne as the pair stepped out of the staircase, "Don't let anyone go ashore alone; this place is gonna be hard to navigate."
"Undehstood," Leynne said with a nod.
As Link led the group down the gangplank, he quickly realized that Layna was the only one who looked like an adult among them. The two Sorian dockers flanking the end of the gangplank seemed to take notice as well, although one politely indicated the curtain of leaves ahead of them. Link could only offer a small smile and a nod as he continued past.
Once through the draping branches, he almost thought he had stepped back into daylight. A look up showed him a crystal-like glow to the upper reaches of the canopy. It was an opaque window, but Link could not tell what was up there that would create such luminescence. In the short time they had taken to reach the tree, sunset was showing its first hints of gold light, and that light was apparent in the space above almost as if the sun was setting directly on top of the tree. This provided a look at the surrounding branches. Some were at waist-level and huddled close to the flat bough as if they were meant to serve as rails. Others, many of them sprouting from underneath the above boughs, provided part of the curtain to the docks behind them. The interior was abound with activity, Sorians dashing up and down the branches with very little regard for gravity. What they were doing, Link could not be certain; none of them seemed to carry any obvious burden, and they would not come close enough to the bough for a decent look.
Link was startled out of his awing when the dark-skinned Sorian, whom they had forgotten on the Island Symphony, stepped past them. He turned to the group and said, "Welcome to Anlah Takeen, Captain Link. I am Airman Nantu of the Grand Sparrow under Captain Atook."
Link, Line, and Zelda stood in shock, amazed by how clearly the Sorian in front of them had spoken in Hylian. This left Irleen to say, "Thanks for the escort."
"Waaaait a minute, wait, wait," Line spoke up, one waving hand nearly clubbing Janni. "You suddenly speak Hylian now?"
"Did he?" Irleen asked Janni. Janni shook her head.
Nantu chuckled. "Just like Kuruuk Nehai, we have placed magic over Anlah Takeen to translate different languages," he explained. That was when Link noticed that his mouth was not quite moving with the words he was using. Why had he not noticed before? "It's a simple thing since there are enough minds to understand all of it."
Link was about to ask more before another Sorian landed behind Nantu. "The elders have been informed," he told Nantu. "Elder Ukhool has some business; he will be done by the time they reach the base of Anlah Takeen."
"Thanks," Nantu told him. The other Sorian nodded and jumped over the railing. "Brace yourselves; it's gonna be a long walk."
Line released a disgusted sound as the group began moving. "Great, now I've got a reason to puke…" he groaned.
"Aim it over the side, tough guy," Janni told him with a grin.
Link had to admit that, by the time they reached the trunk of the tree, he was also in the mood to throw up. Similar to the tree on Forelight Island, the core of Anlah Takeen was vast and empty enough to put the largest Hylian airships inside and still have room to maneuver. Of course, the Sorians did not need the stairs unless they could not fly, so the group were the only ones who had a reason to use the core. There were two staircases like before, and the banister provided light through the small gaps among twisting designs that formed a solid barrier between the stairs and an almost endless fall. Also like Forelight Island, the interior of Anlah Takeen's trunk sported intricate carvings of various subjects as well as written pieces of the Sorian language. Although distracted by a significant amount of exhaustion later on, Link realized that he recognized some of the shapes as copies of Forelight Island's tree as they came closer to the ground.
Even descending, the stairs took their toll. At one point, Layna must have sensed Line's careless desire to expedite the process by sliding down the banister and grabbed the neck of his tunic to stop him. Once they had reached the bottom floor, even Nantu was exhausted. Link had to rest against the bottom of the banister, wiping sweat off his forehead. Layna was right behind him, trying to maintain a stoic expression while breathing heavily. Zelda and Irleen leaned against the wall while Janni sat on the step in front of them. Line was lying just a few steps up, limbs spread out as if he was waiting to be rolled flat into the floor.
"We might… warn the crew… of the lengthy journey," Zelda suggested.
"I think I am gonna puke…" Line groaned.
"Whew…" Nantu breathed. "So this is why we fly…"
Link stretched out, eliciting a number of pops from his spine. "Is there any way we can move the ship to a different dock?" he asked.
Nantu nodded. "We can send someone to direct them to a lower dock," he told them. "Just as soon as I catch my breath."
"We should've flown," Irleen uttered.
"And missed out on living?" Janni asked with a pained smirk. Link turned to glance at her.
Then Link felt a bony hand on one shoulder. "Sometimes, it can be worth the pain," spoke an old, graveled voice from behind. Link looked down at the hand. Then he turned to follow it to its owner.
Soft, green eyes stared back at him. Link's eyes traced the familiar furrows dug into the Sorian's face by age. His "hair" was gray dusted with white specks and unkempt in a few places. The man's robe was different, soft blue with feather-like stitching covering the shoulders. Still, Link recognized the man's face and returned his soft smile.
"Hello, Elder Ukhool," Link told him.
"Welcome to Anlah Takeen, Boy-Captain," Ukhool told him. Then he looked up at the rest of the group. "Princess Zelda of Hyrule. And young Line, of course."
"Hey, Elder…" Line replied, one hand raised in a vague salute of greeting.
"And Irleen." Irleen took a step away from the wall at the sound of her name. Ukhool heaved a sigh and said, "You've been away for so long. Yet it is almost as if—"
Ukhool was cut off with a grunt as Irleen suddenly wrapped his midsection in her arms. "Just welcome me back, great-grandfather," she told him. Link and Zelda exchanged surprised looks.
Ukhool carefully put a hand on her head. "Welcome home, my dear great-granddaughter."
"She's…" Link tried to say only to be choked off by shock. Or maybe it was fatigue.
Ukhool continued to smile as he said, "How else would I have arranged for a librarian to come at such short notice?" He turned to Nantu and said, "You may return to your duties. I will escort them from here."
"Yes, Elder," Nantu replied before dragging his feet toward the large doorway near the base of the staircase.
"Captain Link," Ukhool said as Irleen pulled away from him. "You have returned my great-granddaughter as I had hoped." Then he cast a confused look at Janni as she stood up. "Yet you have another Sorian in your party. She cannot have been one left behind. Who is she?"
"This is Janni," Link said. "She's… well, she was the last Sorian alive on Obeeta."
"Obeeta?" Ukhool asked. "The Lost Library? You found it?"
Link frowned. "Well… what was left of it…"
Ukhool caught on to Link's somber mood and said, "I am certain that it is a story for another time. There are those who wish to see you. A great number of people, in fact."
"Really?" Link asked, recalling that he had only ever met a handful of Sorians before he had lost his first ship. "Who?"
"Come and see," Ukhool told him as he gently pushed Irleen toward the doorway. Link and Zelda followed directly behind him while Layna and Janni only took a few steps just to linger near the doorway.
The doorway led out onto a large terrace formed from the roots of the massive tree. Link did not get the chance to observe many details because of the large number of Sorians standing just outside, many of them chatting with each other. At the front of the group were three adults. Link instantly realized that he had forgotten someone that he had indeed met, if only for an instant. His face chiseled with a beak-like nose, head plumage short and gold (with an incident of white; that seemed new), and complexion tan underneath a rust-red uniform, Link smiled as he remembered Captain Koroul of the Horizon's Eye.
The other two were a man and woman. The man had gold feathers and light, almost pale, skin. He wore a thin, white, sleeveless shirt and a pair of slacks that had been cut off at the knees. His arms bore white feathers that were fluffing open and closed. The woman had a deep tan and… Link was a little amazed at her long "hair" of blue with bands of red, black, and orange at her waist and ending in white tips. This arrangement accented the orange feathers hanging from her arms. She wore a scarlet dress, although Link could not tell how exactly it was staying on her body without sleeves or straps; her arms were blocking the view. Link realized that she actually had a shocked look on her face, her hands cupped tight over her mouth.
"IRLEEN!" the woman shrieked. Link quickly jumped aside as the woman charged forward, although he was not in any danger of getting hit. She had been aiming for Irleen, and Irleen would have probably been bowled back into the tree if the woman had not thrown her arms around her in a tight hug. "Oh, my Irleen!" she cried out. What followed was a mess of blubbering and bawling as Irleen felt the woman's weight collapse on top of her.
Link looked back at the man standing next to Captain Koroul just as he burst into tears and rushed to embrace both the woman and Irleen.
Ukhool placed a hand on the man's head and gently ruffled his feathers. "It's okay, Ituuk," he told him in a fatherly tone. "Your little girl's home."
"Captain Link?" Link turned to find that Captain Koroul had stepped closer and offered a hand out.
Link let his surprise melt into a warm grin as he grasped the hand. "Hello again, Captain Koroul," he said.
"I'm…" Koroul started to say before his tight handshake became an awkward swing. "I'm astounded. What happened to Cunimincus?"
"Cunimincus is dead," Link replied.
Koroul's hand stopped moving as his eyes opened wide. Link then became aware that the only sounds nearby were Irleen's parents crying and turned his head to see what was happening. Ukhool, his hand frozen on Ituuk's head, was giving him an astonished stare. A quick glance at the crowd around him revealed that the crowd had fallen silent, their own expressions equally as surprised.
"You're—… You're certain?" Koroul asked.
Link shrugged. "I stabbed him in the back with a magic sword until he fell out of the sky," he explained. "I believe so. He destroyed his own ship after I set it on fire, and I watched him falling without attempting to recover."
There was a commotion behind Koroul, and Link thought he saw a few of the Sorians at the back of the crowd run away. When Koroul suddenly ripped his hand out of Link's grip, Link thought for a moment that Koroul was going to punch him. Instead, the older Sorian spun and bellowed to the crowd, "Men! Pass the word: Cunimincus is dead!"
The crowd scrambled, many suddenly taking flight and nearly colliding with one another while others ran in the same direction as the first few. Voices rose as the crowd, which Link took to be Koroul's crew, dispersed into the branches and among the homes and shops around the base of the tree. Their calls died away for a moment as Link stared at Koroul's back in astonishment. Then came the roar. Within minutes, the sky was suddenly filled with Sorians taking to the air, shouts of cheer and victory echoing from every nearby nook and cranny. The sound was deafening and felt like it lasted for an eternity. Irleen's parents had even looked out at the horizon in amazement.
Link then grimaced when he saw a few nearby Sorians collide in mid-air and fall to the ground. He turned to show the expression to Ukhool. Ukhool shrugged and said as the roar began to die down, "I am sure their merriment will be their painkiller."
Koroul turned back to Link. "Captain, I would like to speak to you later. For now, I may have to ground my crew." Without further explanation, Koroul took a running leap off the side of the terrace and disappeared into the mangled furball of cheering Sorians.
"Well," Irleen spoke up, pausing to sniff. "At least we know we'll get to see him again soon."
"When Captain Koroul found us, we were not sure what to believe," Ukhool said. "We feared that they had been killed when they did not return. Your Highness." Ukhool turned to face Zelda. "We had crafted the beacon at the Rireen's request."
Zelda gave a soft smile. "I must remember to thank her," she noted to herself.
"We became acquainted with your activities when Airman Lutock appear to us," Ukhool continued. "He told us that the Smiling Gunner had captured the Horizon's Eye and destroyed your Island Sonata, Captain Link. He was as surprised as us to realize that you were the same Hylian boy that found him in the technoworks. We had hoped that Captain Koroul and his remaining crew might find their way here as well."
"They certainly did that," Irleen commented.
"We knew that you had gone with Captain Link when one of Koroul's crew approached the elders about a young girl leaving with him," Ukhool told Irleen.
"We were worried you had been killed," Irleen's father, Ituuk, spoke up. "When we heard that Captain Link was alive, we hoped."
"We hoped so much that we asked them to keep the beacon going," Irleen's mother said. "Your father even threatened to punch Elder Ackau in the face if he turned it off."
Irleen's expression turned shocked. "You kept the beacon on… for me?" she asked. "For two years?!"
"Two years or two hundred years," Ituuk said, "it was worth every argument. I even shouted myself hoarse a few times last year."
Irleen sniffled as her eyes darted between her parents. Then, in the next moment, she broke into loud sobbing as she collapsed against her father. "Uuugh… I love you guys…" she strained to speak between cries.
Link glanced back at the doorway where Line, Janni, and Layna lingered. Line glanced at Janni, and then he asked her, "Hey, are you crying?"
Janni immediately wiped her face and told him, "Shut up. You're crying, too."
Layna leaned forward to get a better look at Line's face. Line quickly turned away and repeated, "Shut up! You're crying, too!"
Layna's eyes became wide, and she jumped out of the doorway before Link could tell if she actually was crying.