Chapter 2: The Island Sonata
…
The Sky Lines. Far-reaching currents of air which had allowed the sky-borne kingdom of Hyrule to expand tremendously. In fact, the people of Hyrule could not travel between islands without them; to fly between even the closest towns would take a day or so. The Sky Lines were permanent facets of life, and almost everyone had built a living on them. But no one knew much about them. How they were formed, how they manage to stay so permanent, where they eventually went… all of these were speculated on. It was generally accepted that the currents were natural, and that they eventually circled back into themselves, which helped keep them so constant. As for where they went, well… anyone who ever tried to find out was lost forever. Most people believed that they were met with misfortune on the way, while others said that when they found a new land, they never wanted to return.
And some said that the Sky Lines eventually lead to a dark place, the kind of place where only the proud and foolish wander.
Link had heard many stories like this. He doubted them, but he never stopped being afraid of them. It was a fear that every airman and captain held onto.
And now, he was setting out to use those currents on which stories and legends were built.
The Island Sonata was a small cargo and passenger, three-masted schooner barely larger than a house built for a family. Her hull, shaped to resemble old craft from the past, had been recently replaced in patches of bright wood when compared to the darker, dirtier brown of the old materials. Three masts decorated the air above her, the two smaller masts fore and aft of the main mast. As he walked up the gangplank behind Line, he peered over to look at the propeller. Unlike the older vessels, his had been fitted with a shorter, thicker propeller which would provide more push for the schooner, making it much faster than the larger craft at full speed. The breeze gave the propeller a slow spin, as if to offer Link a welcoming wave.
As they stepped onto the aftcastle, where the helm wheel and various levers and calling tubes resided, Link could quickly hear what Line had meant earlier; the deck planks beneath him carried the subtle moan of a ship ready to be retired. He hoped that the Island Sonata would be willing to at least tolerate him for a few voyages.
"Skipper on deck!" Line suddenly called across the weather deck. The airmen on the weather deck and the forecastle suddenly snapped to attention.
Link's reaction was to snap to attention with them, but when he caught Line's irritated glare out of the corner of his eye, he sighed and said, "Sorry."
"Dammit, Link, focus here," he whispered under his breath, still standing stiff as he tried to address the skipper without lowering his formality. "You're a lieutenant now. Act like it."
Link withheld the urge to laugh. Line was right; he was an officer now. But it also meant that he was in charge of a vessel full of well-meaning souls who looked to him to direct their jobs. The thought made him nervous, especially when his previous experiences had had Captain Alfonzo behind him. He found he had to draw on the captain's usual repertoire of commands in order to settle himself down.
"As you were," he called over the weather deck. The airmen each snapped a salute at him (including those on the masts) before returning to work.
"Try to show a little more confidence, Link," Line told him as Link brushed a hand against the helm. "A skipper has to inspire his men."
Link nodded his understanding and examined the airmen working below. Half of them appeared to be well past his own age while the other half, clambering about the rigging and the masts, were just a bit younger than him. It puzzled him that so many airmen would step into adulthood and never make it past their station while he was being promoted to a lieutenant.
"Relax, Link," Line said, interrupting his thoughts. "It's not like you're sailing with them yet. It'll just be you and me today."
Link glanced over at his best friend. "I think I can see why you haven't made lieutenant yet," he commented with a grin.
Line chuckled. "Are you kidding? I don't want this job. It just means that if Captain Alfonzo finds out something bad happened, he'll be taking it out on your hide instead of the guy who screwed up."
Link stepped over to the railing in front of the helm and rested his arms across it. Then he rested his head on his arms sideways. This gave him a view of the Grand Sails. Almost five times the size of the Island Sonata, the Grand Sails was not the kind of vessel one could pilot with only two crewmen on board. Five massive sails, including two triangular rigs hanging out at the bow of the ship like a pair of folded wings, ensured that the whole vessel was pulled by the Sky Lines. The hull was painted white with gold trimming along the bulwark and the windows. Her stern sported five large, skinny propellers which would push the ship along in regular air. Airmen reduced to the size of tiny blue sticks scrambled about the vessel as they made to depart.
"Don't you have anything better to do right now?" Link asked Line as he stared up at the galleon before him.
"I'm Chief of the Deck," Line replied, leaning his back against the rail and looking out at the Grand Sails with him. "I don't have to do anything until we set off."
"Airman Line," another airman asked, climbing the steps to the aftcastle out of Link's vision. "Ship's ready to make way. All's sound, and your supplies are loaded."
"Thank you, Airman," Line replied, dismissing the older man's salute with his own.
"Permission for the rest of the crew to disembark, skipper?" the airman asked as Link picked his head up.
Link found that the airman was already holding a hand to his forehead in salute. "Granted," he replied, returning the salute.
But the man did not budge from his position. Line nudged Link and whispered, "Wrong hand. The senior officers use the right hand, remember?"
Link gave Line an irritated groan before turning completely to the man and saluting with the right hand. "Permission granted, airman," he said as he dropped the hand.
"Yes, sir," the airman replied with a grin on his face.
"Looks like the Grand Sails is ready to set off, too," Line commented as the other airmen walked past the two on their way off via the gangplank. "They're already dropping their mooring lines now."
"How should we handle this with only two people on board?" Link asked.
Line waited for the last airman to make it half-way down the gangplank before slapping Link's shoulder. "Just worry about the helm; I'll put up the moorings."
"Okay," Link agreed as he stepped behind the helm.
The airmen on the dock pulled the gangplank away from the schooner, and Line closed and locked the gate in the bulwark. The mooring lines were untied, and Line started gathering one up as Link gripped one of the long levers and, squeezing the locking mechanism, pushed it forward.
The airship around them growled in response, and, after a minute (during which Line had started working on the second mooring rope), the vents in the rear of the ship spouted off jets of steam. Churning sounded through the deck boards, and the propeller on the back began spinning faster. Link grabbed another lever and gently edged it forward. The propeller spun faster until the airship finally edged away from the docks.
"Hey, Link!" Line, having ran down to the weather deck to check the stays, called up from the port bulwark. He pointed to the Grand Sails next to them. "Captain Alfonzo's sending up the convoy arrangement!"
Link glanced down at the helm's hub, where the ship's unique emblem would be. He found a pan flute positioned above the outline of an island. "Got it," he called back, now looking over to the Grand Sails. A line of flags climbed up a rope towards the main mast, and Link looked for the Island Sonata's banner among them. After figuring out the Island Sonata's position, he pushed the throttle lever forward more and reached to another lever. This one he also eased, pulling it back, so that the ship would gain altitude gradually; otherwise, he and Line would be on the deck in the next instant. He checked around and found five other ships pulling away from the massive port area in the same way.
Line disappeared into the cabin below Link for a moment, and then he returned to hoist a yellow confirmation flag up the side of the main mast. Link watched the other vessels around him do the same as they rose to follow the Grand Sails.
Line then climbed the steps to the aftcastle and pointed across the helm. "Hey, Link, check it out," he said. "The Moon's Shadow's taking off with us."
Link glanced past the red-hulled brigantine beside them to the black-clad barquentine pulling out of the port with them. The Moon's Shadow had the reputation of being a bad ship to come across, and with good reason. She was the fastest ship in the Skyrider Company and well-armed in comparison with even the massive Grand Sails. She was one of only five ships fitted with cannons and frequently sailed with convoys in order to protect them. Link turned back to check the Grand Sails' formation banners and saw that they would be following off of the Moon's Shadow's stern at port. Watching the galleon rising faster than the schooner, Link added more to the altitude control. Then he pushed the throttle to full and eased the ship to port as it gained speed.
Further above, and slightly off to starboard as the Island Sonata turned, was the blue stream of the nearest Sky Line to Skyrider Port. Even set next to a sky, the Sky Line shown a more brilliant hue, with small jets of white shooting through the incredible winds that formed these important means of travel.
The other convoy ships, all of them larger than the Island Sonata, rose faster and took up their positions on either side of the Grand Sails. Link, however, continued to toy with the altitude control as he tried to keep track of the ships above him.
His concentration faltered when Line's hand met the back of his head a few seconds later. "Stop messing around; we're going to get left behind," Line complained.
"I was looking out for the other ships," Link replied over one shoulder.
"You're taking too long to match altitude," Line told him. "Hurry up. The Island Sonata's fast enough to catch up to the convoy at full throttle."
Glancing back up at the ships overhead, Link took a moment to decide his course. When he finally made up his mind, he threw the helm hard to starboard and put more power into the ballast. The ship lurched and groaned in response, but it held up as it suddenly pushed both boys harder into the deck. The Island Sonata gained altitude so fast that airmen on the nearby Moon's Shadow and a small junk glanced up in surprise at the mass of wood that had just sailed by. The crew of the junk was particularly alarmed, as the displacement of air off the Island Sonata rocked and rattled their ship violently.
Line, having run to the edge of the ship when he realized that the junk was nearby, turned back to Link laughing. "That was awesome!" he cried, only moments away from hysterics.
"Too fast, though," Link replied as he jerked back on the altitude adjusting lever. The sudden settling of the ship made a great number of things below-deck jump up and produce a number of heavy thuds after falling against the deck. Line, a surprised look on his face, met Link's bashful grin. "Whoops," Link remarked, trying not to laugh.
Line could only chuckle at his friend. "Let's get out of here before that junk starts throwing junk at us."
Link double-checked that the propeller throttle was at full again, then he adjusted the altitude control before turning into the breeze, which was the same direction that the convoy was moving in. The turn was not as violent as the first one had been, and he had Line warn him if he was coming too close to the junk again.
"You know what Captain Alfonzo's probably thinking about now?" Line asked as Link steered the Island Sonata into position behind the Moon's Shadow and pulled back the throttle slightly.
"You mean if he's paying attention to us?" Link asked in turn, edging the ship towards the port side of the Moon's Shadow.
"I can just hear him now," Line chuckled as he held his hands up to imitate the captain's beard. "'I don't think it was a good idea to leave those two boys alone with a ship'." Link started laughing hysterically, almost not noticing the ship getting too close to the Moon's Shadow and pulled back the throttle a little more. "See?" Line told him. "You're loosening up."
Link took a moment to think as he double-checked his position to the barquentine ahead of him. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he agreed, edging the Island Sonata along as the convoy steered towards the Sky Line. Both boys looked up as the Sky Line settled over their heads, the strong winds inside adding a deep whistle to the air around them. One by one, the ships ahead of them hit the Sky Line. It was quite scary to behold, as the sails of each ship suddenly catching powerful winds caused the ship's bow to nose down for a moment. But once successfully in, the sudden force propelled the ship fast.
"Go open up the other jib just in case we have to catch up," Link told Line as the Moon's Shadow finally entered. After Line nodded and dashed off towards the bow, Link steeled himself up and cut power to the propeller. His fingers danced around the altitude controls for a moment, uncertain if he should pull into the Sky Line now or wait a minute. Knowing that the sails' current configuration would keep them up to speed with the convoy, he decided to just do it and pulled on the control with a little more vigor than he had intended.
The Island Sonata jumped into the Sky Line and was hit hard from behind, throwing Link onto his back with equal force. For a moment, the deep whistling of the Sky Line dulled until it had disappeared. Thankful for the high bulwark behind him protecting him from the great winds, Link got back to his feet and grabbed the helm to keep it from spilling the Island Sonata outside. He had to fight for a moment, and then he managed to put the airship back into its proper heading. The gaff rigged sails became solid, and Link could feel the ship calm as it settled comfortably into the winds. After adjusting so that the ship was level with the rest of the convoy, he signaled Line (who stepped around the fore-mast to give Link a wide-armed, "what the hell" gesture) with a finger pointed forward, indicating that he should put up the jib as he had said. Not that was needed; he had no trouble making out the Grand Sails and the Moon's Shadow from where they were at now. He just wanted to make sure he could keep up with them.
He looked over his shoulder, but even without the bulwark in the way, he knew that Skyrider Port would have been reduced to a nondescript spot in the sky.