I have always been fascinated about the natural landscape of planet Earth. For the whole day, I have been thinking, would it be a good idea to ask Aurora to take me out on a cruise around the lake?
As noon nears, the pointing directions of our shadows gradually shifted from the west, to the north.
In the house, I asked, "Aurora,"
She turned her head, and answered, "Serenity?"
"I noticed a boat next to your house. Ever since arriving on Earth, I have found this lake to be very scenic and charming. Can we use this boat to go out for a lake cruise?"
"Oh, that..." Aurora said, as she scratched her hair.
A moment later, she agreed. "Sure, Serenity! I have wanted to introduce this lake to you as well. A lake cruise would be the best way to let you witness the beauty of this lake!"
We got out of the house, and put down the boat at its upright orientation.
The both of us then pulled the boat out into the lake. The keel of the boat slices into the lake surface, generating a spear of subtle waves on the otherwise calm lake.
Confidently, Aurora said, "There we go."
Aurora then stepped inside the boat, and sat on the frontmost seat. I then followed, sitting at the back seat.
She picked up the wooden oars, and started to row her boat. I began to feel the motion of the boat, as I sat patiently in serenity, and yet with much excitement in my heart. We, a princess dressed as a commoner, and a prince from the Moon up there in the sky, are setting off to navigate the lake!
We first rowed to the west from our house. On the way, we sighted a few islets in the middle of the lake, with spruce and pine trees grown on each of them. The shores of the lake and the small hills behind could be seen at a distance, suggesting the expansive size of the lake.
Eventually, we could see a place, where the pristine and serene lake narrows into a steadily accelerating river.
"This is Kulmunki, where the lake flows out into the lower stream of the river Kultajoki."
I regarded at the scenery again, and noticed that the kingdom has laid two human-sized stones with markings near this place, one on each side of the river, marking the official boundary between the connected bodies of water.
"Every day, our kingdom's merchant fleet ships products from the seaside harbor, which is also named Kultajoki, to this lake and to the capital of our kingdom."
Looking out at the junction between the river and the lake, I imagined the scene of boats passing through Kulmunki, rowed by a group of oarsmen in uniforms, and carrying crates and boxes of exotic goods and products from distant seas, through the waters of the lake, to the royal capital. And at night, they would be sailing both under and on top of the Northern Lights, since the surface of the normally peaceful lake reflects the auroras from the sky!
Aurora continued to row the boat forward, as the scenery of green trees kept shifting on the reflecting horizon. Our boat generates circular waves on the lake, as the midday sunlight dances on the surface of the lake. As I looked downwards, I could see the base of the lake clearly, through the transparent and clean waters.
"From what I have learnt in the books, large ships are not designed to navigate up the rivers, because of how shallow Kultajoki is for their size. If those ships go up, they would end up being stranded and unable to move anymore."
She continued to row her boat, while telling me more about navigation in her kingdom. "So, our kingdom has a fleet of river boats, that can transport persons and goods back and forth along the entire river basin. These boats are designed to travel in shallow waters, including those which are only two thirds of your height deep, Serenity."
Two thirds of my height? Does that mean, that their ships can sail in waters so shallow that I can stand on the river bed and still breathe?
Being fascinated, my eyes sparkled. I wonder if Aurora noticed that!
I asked, "Have you ever been to the Kultajoki harbor, Aurora?"
She answered, "I remember sailing my boat down there some time ago. However, when I'm dressed like this, no one knows that I'm their princess. They'd just view me as a forest girl from the upstream regions of the kingdom, which," she giggled, "is what I wanted."
She then steered the boat elegantly, as we made a U-turn towars the North. The shining midday sun's apparent position in my vision shifted to the right at a steady pace, as Aurora put more of her strength in the right oar, steering the boat counter-clockwise.
We continued to row our boat towards the north, as we pass through Aurora's forest house by the lakeside. Eventually, we could spot the Kultajärvi Castle from a distance.
I curiously asked, "Aurora, is this the Kultajärvi Castle?"
"Indeed it is. The place where I was born. I have always wondered about its interiors from the books I read... But now, I enjoy my forest life as much as I want to."
I regarded the castle, and marvelled at its magnificent architecture. The castle had multiple towers of varying heights, each with a blue conical top. On the tallest tower, the royal flag of the Kingdom of Kultajärvi was flown in its glorious blue, white and golden colors.
We then rowed past Kultajärvi Castle, approaching a small islet in the middle of the lake. I noticed, that there are also boundary stones placed around this place! Where does this river lead us to?
"This little islet is named Tohmonsaari. To its east, is the Karhunniemi peninsula. The upstream part of Kemijoki begins from this place, and splits into three tributaries as we navigate further north. One leads to Porttipahta, another leads to Lokka, and the last one leads to Kemihaara. These remote upstream places are mostly populated by woodcutters, fishers, craftsmen and full-time soldiers, who guard the borders during times of peace."
Splitting into three? This somehow reminds me of Sailor Neptune's symbol, the Trident...
As we neared the islet, Aurora sterred the boat clockwise this time, applying more force to the left oar, as we make our way back to the wooden house.
Minutes later, we reached the shore from we departed. Aurora rowed the boat up towards the shore, and then got off the boat, shortly followed by me. We then pulled the boat back onto the land, and together, we moved the wooden boat back to its original place, next to Aurora's house.
"That was a nice cruise, Aurora! It's so fun to learn the geography and the landscape of your kingdom."
She responded in a pleasant and inviting tone. "I have more to show you at home, Serenity. Do you want to come along?"
Excitedly, I agreed. "Yes!"
Inside the house, Aurora took out The Atlas of Northern Europe, authored by the cartographer Toivo Halonen, from her bookshelf, and laid the book down on her spruce wooden table. She then opened the book, and swiftly turned to the page of kingdoms' boundaries.
She introduced, as I kept watching in amazement. "This is a map of my kingdom and its surrounding countries!"
On the map, I can notice that most kingdoms draw their boundaries at watersheds and controlled entire river basins, Kultajärvi being an example.
She pinpointed a lake on the map, "This is where we are, at Lake Kultajärvi."
The lake itself is rather vast in size, and yet, on the map, its apparent size is about as small as that of a mere coin!
She then shifted her pointing finger down the stream of Kultajoki, stopping at a confluence. "And this is Rovaniemi, where Kultajoki and Ounasjoki meet, and the midpoint between the royal capital and the seaport."
Aurora then pointed to the upstream region of Ounasjoki, and explained, "this is Ounasjoki, a sparsely-populated tributary of Kultajoki. It's quite long, and distant from the royal capital, but the citizens who live there are quite loyal to our kingdom." As she stopped at a distant lake, she said, "And its source is Muotkajärvi, located at the northwestern frontiers of our kingdom."
She then lifted her finger, and drew three lines northwards from Kultajärvi. "And these are the three tributaries that I told you about during the cruise."
I looked carefully at the movement of her hands and the map, and realized how far apart the sources of all these river tributaries are. The Kingdom of Kultajärvi really has a large presence and a vast area of forests, rivers and lakes!
Aurora then drew a line from Rovaniemi, towards the sea. "This is the Kultajoki seaport, where most of our kingdom's trade with other countries take place." She then pointed at many countries in the map, "We trade with other countries in the region, such as Kajaani, Häme, Savo, and Reval."
I tried my best to remember the names of the countries she mentioned. All these countries sounded like fairytale-like places, and I imagined how it was like for those kingdoms to trade between each other. Scenes of boats loading and unloading goods at seaports immediately came to my mind, although I have never seen it in person, neither on the Moon, nor on Earth.
We read the map carefully. I then broked the silence and asked Aurora, "I wonder, how long does it take to go from the Kultajoki seaport, all the way up to the source?"
Aurora said, "I don't remember the exact figure. However, I remembered reading a book authored by a citizen of my kingdom, and he said it took roughly half a day to go from Kultajoki seaport to the very distant Muotkajärvi in the northwest. When he set sail, it was sunrise, and when his boat berthed, it was sunset."
Amazed, I exclaimed. "He's a true voyager! Imagine rowing a boat for half a day..."
Aurora chuckled, and told me, "To be fair, he did take some rest at the settlements on the way, though." She then pinpointed the said settlements with her finger, "In villages like Meltaus, Lohiniva, Kittilä..."
Turning to me, she continued, "You can't really row for 12 hours straight, otherwise, your arms would be very sore, and you'd be complaining for the rest of the day!"
We both broke into laughter. Aurora might be a regal and graceful princess, but she definitely has the humor!