His name was Lark, the Navigator. Lark grabbed at the sparkling rail of the sandship as it crashed down upon the desert of tiny crystals, a cloud of light bursting into the air as the ship plowed forward. It seemed to shimmer in and out of sight, appearing for a moment on the horizon like a mirage before vanishing out of sight once again, unable to be tracked or hunted. Lark was grateful for this. Far in the distance, black purples clouds hung in the air, the noxious fumes that churned and burped from the bellies of the great Crystalline Beast. He could see it, its black armored plates sliding along one another as it towered into the skies with the size of a mountain. “It’s headed for the Dark Wood!” he shouted, turning around to the crew. A female member of Dousan Clan appeared from nothing, taking shape in midair as the power of her crystalweave cloak faded for a moment. “We’re moving as fast as we are able. We were lucky enough to avoid the Clockwork Armor, and no one in Dousan Clan has been close to being captured by the Skeksis in over a century. We’re putting a lot on the line for you, Navigator.” He nodded, eyes turning back to the distant skies. “Nobody will forget your courage, Shipmaster Lara.” “You did promise me that there would be songs written about us,” she said with a smile, raising a hand. “Full speed men!” Above them, on the masts, men turned great crystal plates toward the sun. As it struck them, the ship suddenly lurched forward in a great burst of speed, skipping along as the vessel rushed forward. The black beast in the distance grew ever larger, and Lark glanced to the skies, watching for his friends. “Where are they?” he asked, slamming his fist into his palm. “We can’t do this alone!” Just as he asked, a roaring trumpet erupted in the air, the skies above filling with five or six small ships held aloft by great balloons. The propellers at their backs turned, shoving the airboats forward as their crystalline plates absorbed the sun and powered them along. Lark grinned at the sight, running to the rear of the boat and looking at their target. The edge of the Crystalline Sea was coming fast and the beast was lumbering on its mammoth legs, like a gigantic black plated mouth set on two feet, as it trudged away from the desert. “We can’t let that thing get to the woods,” he said, turning to Lara. “Bring the ship behind it and put us between it and the Clockworks.”
“I already had a mind to,” she said as she turned hard at the wheel, the ship appearing into view with a dazzling halo of rainbow colors that danced through the air. The Crystalline Beast groaned at their appearance, the many pipes along its rear spewing a dark haze as it swung around. Its back was littered with crystal shards inserted by the dozens, each glowing brightly with a purple hue that reflected from its surface. As it turned to them, its great, beaklike mouth snapped forward, lunging at the ship. Lara turned hard on the wheel, steering them away as they barely managed to turn from the creature. The floorboards shuddered as its jaws snapped shut just inches from the deck, the sound of it putting a shudder through the vessel. Lark’s hand went to the horn at his side and blew a thunderous note. Above him, he watched as Gelflings went flying from the small airboats, falling through the skies on Gossamer wings that guided them to the creature. Lara smiled. “The girls of Vapra Clan know how to make an entrance!” she laughed as the airboats pulled away, veering off into the distance. The women, meanwhile, descended on wings and landed all along the back of the creature, their hands snatching at the crystals plugged into its back. It roared and shook, stamping the ground and sending plumes of crystal clouds into the air. A few of Vapra Clan held on, clinging desperately to the creature’s back, but others were sent flying from it in tumbling spirals to the ground. Their wings burst outward at the last moment, slowing their fall as they spilled across the desert floor. Almost as soon as they’d touched the ground, the air was filled with a new sound, mechanical click clacking as black creatures as tall as ten Gelfling ran along the ground, each like a miniature version of the Crystalline Beast. Their clockwork gears could be seen rotating along their backs, their giant mouths scooping at the girls in the hope of taking them into their great bellies for shipment back to the Skeksis Castle. Lark, running across the deck, screamed for the crew crew to respond. At once the men along the rail turned, spinning large grappling hooks over their heads and sending them spiraling to the ground. They locked into the gaps between the Clockwork’s metal plates and, as the boat pulled hard around, sent the beasts collapsing to the ground. A cheer went up through the crew as they quickly tossed lines of rope over the deck, the members of Vapra Clan grabbing hold as the sandship hauled away, rushing up the dunes as the Crystalline Beast came down on them, its great nose crashing into the sands as it chomped at the back of the vessel. Lara gasped as the vessel burst off the top of the dune, crashing back down with a heavy slam. “By Thra that thing nearly got us!” she heaved, circling the ship around as they continued to dance about the beast. “How are they doing on top of the creature?” Lark’s hand went to his side, pulling his telescope from his pouch and putting and eye to the top of the creature. The few women from Vapra Clad that had been able to hang on were struggling to pull the crystals from the beast’s back, yanking them from the metal armor and stuffing them into their pouches as the creature groaned, trying to get back up. “They’re slowing it down, that’s for sure!” he said with a smile, pointing to the side of the beast. “Get us alongside it. They should be done soon!”
Lara nodded, pointing the nose of their vessel back at the Crystalline Beast, the women atop its back shouting as they tossed themselves from its ebony body. Their wings burst outward in blooms of light that caught the sun, their thin frames rocketing toward the deck. They landed with thumping feet that carried them forward a few steps, panting as they collapsed to the ground. Lark thrust a finger out, pointing back toward the desert. “That’s all of them. Go! Go!” “By sea and sun,” she said with a grin, turning the wheel a final time and turning them back into the heart of the desert. Her hand went to the crystal staff that rose from the deck, pulling on it hard. For a moment the desert air around them shimmered, the entire vessel moving in and out of sight before it vanished completely. At their backs, the Crystalline Beast roared as it lurched at them a final time. The purple clouds pumping from its back had thinned, its legs only slowly moving as its jaws came to a grinding top, its massive frame coming to a halt as it toppled forward. All the desert shuddered as it crashed to the ground, panting like an exhausted creature before it finally ceased entirely. The Clockworks around its howled in painful, mechanical screams, but the crew of sandship could only laugh. They looked a final time to the skies, watching as the airboats flew into the distance. Lara wiped at her forehead, watching them disappear into the skies. “We’ll meet with them soon enough. What are the plans, Navigator? Does the great explorer have plans to stay with us for a time?” Lark laughed, leaning against the back of the wheeldeck. “After all that? I’ll have to. I need to catch my breath after all.” “Good. Because Dousan Clan doesn’t win a victory such as this and not celebrate!” “I’m not even sure I have the energy for that,” he said. “But I could use some food. All that made me hungry.” “Then you’re in luck. My people are known not only for their sandships, but their cooking as well,” she said with a wink.
The people of Dousan Clan live aboard their ships, hunting for food much as a fisherman on the sea. Sandships patrol the Crystalline Sea, which is made of crystal shards as opposed to sand, occasionally stopping at green, lush islands that jut out of the otherwise shimmering surface. There they keep farms of vegetables for cooking, and spend short amounts of time planting seeds to harvest later. Yet most of their lives are spent aboard their vessels, great and small. Some tower many decks high, others carrying at best a few dozen Gelfling. Because of their ability to vanish into the air, they were rarely seen or captured, but they also rarely gathered in great numbers.
When they did, it was to celebrate events such as today. Their boats lined up alongside each other, forming a long line, planks connecting the ships as they walked from one to the other. Lark watched from his place along the rail, munching at a small piece of fruit as he glanced down the rows of ships. A familiar voice called to him. “What bothers you, Navigator?” “What?” he asked, turning about to see the shipmaster approaching. “Oh, Lara. Nothing, at all. Just seeing all these Gelfling together makes me wish I was still at home. Everyone here makes their lives on the Crystalline Sea. Well, once upon a time, I grew up on the Silver Sea. Every day we’d fish or travel down the coast.” “And of course you miss all that.” “Right.” “Funny to hear that from the Navigator. All the stories about you say that you can’t keep still. Is it really true you’ve visited with every clan in Thra?” He nodded, grinning. “Yup. From the heart of the Darkwood to the Cave of Obscurity and here, to the Crystalline Sea.” “Which is how you earned the name Navigator.” “Right well, apparently people just put the pieces together. I come from a clan known for sailing, and I’m known for exploring the world, and can find my way to any place in Thra. So people started calling me that. Not that I mind, but you can call me Lark. It’s weird being called the Navigator everywhere I go.” “That’s fine. Lark, then.” Her eyes went to his chest, spotting the small amulet dangling around his neck. It was made of blue stone and had carvings of ocean waves around and eye. “You wear an amulet. They say all the people of Sifa Clan do.” “No, not all of them, but most of them. I probably need to wear mine more than anyone else though, since I’m always getting into trouble.” He laughed as he ran his fingers around it. “The Amulet of Myra. Our stories say that after she lost her husband, she spent the rest of her life watching the coastline. After she died, her spirit went on to protect all travelers. I’m not sure how much I buy it, but it’s nice to think there’s someone watching out for you, especially when you’ve got a gigantic metal creature trying to eat you into its stomach.” Lara shuddered. “The Crystalline Beast. Have we stopped it for good?” He shook his head. “No. As far as I know, that’s impossible. Even if you did, you’d still
have to put up with the Clockwork Armors that are always hunting for more Gelfling. No, what I’ve got to do now is keep exploring. That’s what I do best, right?” “Exploring for what? Are you going to give up on trying to destroy the creature?” “No. That’s what I’m exploring for. They’re making these Clockworks somewhere, and if the Gelflings are going to have a fighting chance, we need to find where they’re being made and shut the place down.” “But what about the beast itself?” He shrugged. “That one I’m still figuring out. One puzzle at a time.” “Fair enough. Where to now, then, for the great explorer?” He smiled as he fumbled through his satchel, pulling out a great map that he unrolled along the railing. “Well, if you see here, the Black River runs south to the Silver Sea. On the west is the Skeksis castle and, as far as I know, the Clockworks don’t come from there. At least I haven’t seen anything around there. It’s just all dead plains. The Gelflings of the Dark Wood tell me they’ve never seen anything strange that could be creating the creatures, either. That leaves a lot of world to consider, though. I’m guessing the Clockworks either come out of the grasslands in the east or from Claw Mountain.” She pointed to a large splash of orange on the map. “What about this wilderness here?” “Well, that’s just tons of other problems. There are more mountains east of it, not to mention the Swamp of Sog on its border. I passed through there on my journey north, and none of the Gelfling there have seen anything either, but it’d be easy to hide something in those mountains. I guess that’s just one more place I’ll have to visit if my journey to Claw Mountain comes up empty.” “I feel sad for you, Lark. You do all this journeying on your own?” He sighed. “Well, hard to find someone that likes to live on their feet all the time.” “Your problem is you didn’t visit Dousan Clan first. We are explorers just like the people of the Silver Sea, except our journeys take place on an ocean of crystal sands and not water. If you’d come here first, you’d have found many that would enjoy such an adventure.” “Oh really? You know someone that would like to spend weeks crossing deserts and mountains hunting for metal creatures?” She thrust her two thumbs toward herself. “The very same shipmaster the volunteered to help you in the first place, Navigator.”
“What? You can’t do that. What about your ship?” “My first mate can run the ship without me, at least for a time. I can return anytime I please.” He brushed her away. “It’s going to be tough. I don’t want you to take risks you don’t have to.” “Are you telling me you don’t think I’m up to it?” “What?” he asked, panicked. “No, not at all?” “Do you know how helpful a woman that can vanish into the air and fight with a sword could be? Can you do the same?” “Well… know. I’m an explorer, not a fighter.” “So what if you had to fight? Wouldn’t it be good to have someone at your side that knows how to get out of a tight spot?” He rubbed at his face, squeezing at his nose as he did. “Alright. You’re right. If you want to come, I could use the help.” She gave him a wink. “Would you mind if I called on a friend or two that would want to help?” “How many are you talking about here?” Lara shrugged. “One or two.” “Okay. Promise it won’t be anymore than that. These trips get dangerous and I don’t want to be responsible for people that don’t know their way around.” “I promise to only bring people I know would make strong contributions to our journey. You don’t think I’d bring aboard just anyone, do you?” “No. You’ve never been on a journey like this either, though. I just want you to know it won’t be easy, and anyone you ask to come along should know that too.” “Don’t be too concerned. You have my word that I will only ask the most capable to come along. Now, why don’t you settle out? It’s getting late after all.” He nodded, watching the moon overhead. “Yeah. Think I might lay out my bedroll and get some sleep out here on the deck?”
“You could take a bed below deck, you know.” “True, but I’ve spent most of my life sleeping under the stars. Something feels off when I try and sleep in a room.” She laughed, stepping away from him. “Very well. I must check on my crew before I even think about sleeping, myself. We’re going to get an early start tomorrow, though, so don’t stall too long.” “Oh, I won’t,” he replied with a laugh. “I’m exhausted.” And he really was. By the time he’d unrolled his mat and settled onto the deck, he was already on the edge of snoring. It took him all of half a minute to knock out, his fingers cradling the amulet around his neck as he dreamed of the Silver Sea and his days sailing with his father. He smiled in his slumber as days spent on the ocean came back to him, the distant sun shining on the azure waters and reflecting in the droplets r that sprayed at his face. Visions of his father handing him the rudder and letting him guide the boat flooded his mind, their ship gliding along the coast and flying toward the distant lighthouse that sat on the rocky hills jutting from the golden beaches. Just as their ship was passing close, a oud clanging broke the early morning air and sent Lark flying from his bedroll, dancing across the deck as his eyes went left and right, searching the still dark sands. “What? What is it? Have the Clockworks found us? Has the Crystalline Beast already awoken again?” A dull, plodding voice spoke out of the darkness. “‘Dis boys gunna’ get us all killed makin’ all dat ruckus. What’s got his feet tickled?” “Maybe all that racket of your own, Dumbal,” came another voice, this one intelligent and sharp. “Perhaps if you weren’t so quick to toss your pots all over the deck like a clumsy legged Landstrider?” Lark looked between the two Gelflings standing just feet away. The first was a bulbous, squat man carrying a massive rack of pots and pans on his back, his belly covered in a large metal sauce dish and his head covered in a cooking pot. The other was nicely dressed with a pair of spectacles on his face, his green vest adding an air of distinction. He looked between the two, squinting in the dim light. “Who are you?” he asked. The fat Gelfling tapped his pot helmet. “Dumbal, of Drenchen Clan.” The smart looking Gelfling bowed deeply with a flare of his hand. “Resden, of Woodland Clan. We were asked here by Shipmaster Lara. Of course, how could we refuse?”
Lark scratched at his head, glancing back just in time to see the shipmaster approaching a small group behind her. “Lara! Did you invite these men?” She nodded. “Of course, Lark. Dumbal is the finest cook I’ve ever had on a voyage, and Resden is an excellent tinkerer. Why, he’s the one that figured out how to make drinking water out of that dreadful stew in the Swamp of Sog.” Resden adjusted his spectacles. “That I am!” Lark huffed as he looked past Lara. “And the rest of these?” The first to step up was short and thin, even for a Gelfling, like a blade of grass. His grimey face was covered partly by large goggles that sat over his eyes, their large lenses shielding them in a green hue. “Addock, of Grottan Clan!” he yelped, his nervous fingers tapping at each other. “I’m the eyes and the ears but not the nose or the mouth. I’ve got the view long before you I do.” Lara laughed. “Addock, like all those that grew up in the Cave of Obscurity, is sensitive to light. That is, of course, why he wears the goggles. And why he wears all black. The sun is damaging to his skin.” Lark leaned in, staring at the goggles. “So these help him see in daylight? Then what does he mean he’s the eyes and the ears?” Addock grabbed hold of the edges of the goggles and twisted at them, the lenses extending outward suddenly and poking at Lark’s nose. The Navigator jumped back, stumbling along the deck, as Addock laughed. “This is the secret yer Navigatorship. My eyes are no eye without the goggles for eyes, but the goggle eyes gave you the surprise!” “Ah, so those not only help him see in the sun, but they can be used to see over distances.” Lara nodded. “More than your telescope and, because of his incredibly sharp hearing, Addock is perfect when we need to know if there are enemy’s. He can hear a Clockworks long before the rest of us.” Addock stuck a finger into the air. “And sees it too!” “Of course Addock,” she laughed, gesturing to the next figure. “And this was a member of the Vapra Clan that led the attack on the Crystalline Beast. Tena.” A slim, gossamer winged girl placed a hand on her chest, lowering her head. “It’s an honor to travel with the Navigator. I have heard so many tales of your adventures.”
Lark laughed nervously. “Oh well, half of them are made up, and the other half are exaggerations.” “Then you did not really single handedly lead a dozen Clockworks to their destruction?” “Well, that. It was simply really, just a few traps. Basic survival skills anyone in Sifa Clan learns to make.” “How humble,” she said with a grin, her flowing robes trailing her as she stepped back. Before another introduction could be made, a giant of a Gelfling stepped forward. He stood a foot taller than the rest of them, and was clothed in layers of brown leather armor. A wolf’s coat hung around his body, a large blade at his side. Lark’s eyes went wide as lamps as the mountain man stood before them, glaring from one to the other. “Bonhill, of Spriton Clan,” he barked, eyes shooting to Resden. “And long an enemy of Woodland Clan.” Resden scowled. “Why I never…” “Is it not true that your people have intruded on our lands since ancient times?” “Now that’s unfair!” the scholar barked back. “Why we’ve only sought to share the land. It’s not our faults your kind a thunderheaded clods.” “What did you say!?” Bonhill demanded, taking a gigantic step forward before Lara grabbed him by the arm. “Bonhill! Now is not the time. Remember the alliance we made at the Gelfling Gathering. Until the Skeksis are gone, all Gelflings are sworn to defend the other. Whether you like it or not, you two are going to have to get along if you want to go on this journey.” Bonhill grumbled, but stepped away. “By Thra.” Resden adjusted his spectacles, huffing. “Why, of course shipmaster. Excuse my words.” She looked between them all, hands on her hips. “Now look. I realize we all haven’t always been friends, but unless you’re blind, you can’t have missed the fact that there’s a gigantic mechanical beast out there hunting Gelflings. We are here to undergo a journey of the greatest importance, to find where the Clockworks are created and destroy it. Then, if we can, to find the secret to stopping the Crystalline Beast for good.” They all nodded as she continued. “You are all aware that Lark here is the famed Navigator, the one Gelfling that has travelled between all the tribes, that has seen all of the
known world. He knows every path and road, hill and valley, and even he does not know where to find the home of the Clockworks.” Dumbal raised a hand, his pots and pans clattering as he stepped forward. “Pardon de question yer missus, but if he don’t know de place to go, who does? How is we going to find it?” The shipmaster nodded, looking to Lark. “A good question. Navigator?” “Ah well, ahem. Right.” He coughed, nervous. “Well there’s nothing really to it. The Darkwood is pretty well explored, after all, and even if you wouldn’t think it, so is the Swamp of Sog. That leaves us the southern wilderness, the grasslands in the east and Claw Mountain to the north. But if you really think about it, where would the Skeksis want to hide the place where they create their monsters? Well, where more difficult than Claw Mountain?” “Wait. Yer sayin’ dat we’re gonna’ have to climb Claw Mountain?” Bonhill stepped forward, his fierce scowl turning on Lark. “Do you know how few return from those mountains? Do you know the stories?” Lark gulped as he pulled at his collar. “Well, sure, of course. I am the Navigator, after all.” “Well then, ‘Navigator’, have you actually set foot on the mountains yourself?” “I have.” “And climbed them?” “Yes.” Bonhill took a step back, suddenly looking doubtful. “Wait. You’ve actually climbed Claw Mountain?” “Well, there’s lots of mountains around Claw Mountain. I’ve climbed many of them. Claw Mountain itself, though, is an almost unclimable cliff. I’ve never personally been to its peak. I’m not sure of anyone that has.” “Then why travel there?” “Think about it. It’s the most difficult place to, and so it’s the easiest place to hide where they make the Clockworks. It’s also no secret they have to mine those crystals they use to power the Crystalline Beast. Where do they do that? In the mountains, obviously.”
“I’m unconvinced. There are mountains in the east, toward the grasslands, as well. Why not start there?” Lark was getting annoyed now. “Well, we might have to, if things don’t turn out. But we’re closer to Claw Mountain and so our journey begins there.” Bonhill was about to protest when Lara raised a hand, silencing him. “Let us not forget that, even though he is humble about his accomplishments, Lark does have the instincts of his people. There’s a reason why he has seen more of this world than any other living Gelfling. If he says we go north, we go north.” The group nodded in agreement as she began to walk away, moving toward the wheel. “Now, all of you, settle in. It’s a few day’s journey to Claw Mountain. Get your rest now. There won’t be much to get once we set out on foot.” Each of them settled into the ship, with Dumbal making the most noise of them as he worked his way deep into its belly. Throughout the day he could be heard making a clattering and smattering, the steady pounding of a chop chop chop echoing through the decks. By the time the sun was firmly in the skies they’d had quite enough of his racket, and were in the middle of taking votes on who would make the complaint to Dumbal, when the oafish Gelfling stumbled upward from the belly of the ship. In his hands he carried a large pot, big enough that even Dumbal’s belly wouldn’t be able to fit in it. It stank of simmering meat and vegetables, and soon they were gathering around, receiving large scoops of soup into bowls. Thick pieces of meat swam in the brown stew, and Lark quickly sank his spoon inside, taking a deep drink as his teeth chewed on the soft meat. “Is it me or does this have a taste of apple in it?” Dumbal grinned as he poured a bowl of his own. “Right ye are Navigator. Dis here’s got just a slight mix of apple to give it de fresh taste it got. You likes?” “Do I like? It’s delicious!” Lara smiled as she stood at the pot, stirring her own bowl and blowing at the lines of steam coming from its surface. “What did I tell you? Dumbal is the greatest chef known to all the Gelflings.” “I can see that. This is real skill. I’ve never had a taste of soup like it, not even back home.” Dumbal laughed, banging a spoon across the side of the pot. “Dems the words a cook likes to hear. As long as I’ve got de goods, you’ve got de meals. I swear upon me cook’s honor.”
Bonhill nodded, his scowl fading as he took a sip of his meal. “Aye. Dumbal and I have traveled before, and I’ve had many fair occasions to sample his cooking. Is that not right Dumbal?” “Rights he is. Bonhill keeps me alive, and I keeps him fed. We’ve had de chance to adventure more dan a few times.” Lark leaned in. “Really? What sort of adventures?” “Best of alls was the Great Hunt. You remembers that, don’t yous Bonhill?” The hunter nodded. “Of course I do. Perhaps not the most epic battle, but it was a hunt, oh yes. As you say, Navigator, the Grasslands are vast. They run amok with Wigglow Boar, with their ten tusks and six hooves. But there was one feared among the grasslanders more than the rest, a mammoth beast known as Um’Ogoro. This creature stood at least as tall as a Clockworks and had fifteen tusks. In one scoop it could eat a Gelfling, and it made itself a menace to the Gelfling there. So, a call went out for all able warriors to seek it out. Of course, I could not turn down the chance at a glorious hunt. Dumbal and I had hunted before.” “Rights. On accounts of our travels. I mets Bonhill when he saved me life from a vicious Gigantfrog, dat nearly scooped me up in its tongue.” Bonhill laughed. “A vicious thing, and luckily I was passing through when I saw poor Dumbal nearly about to be eaten. After that, he was ever a faithful companion in my journeys, whenever I had need to call on him. Still, the Gigantfrog was nothing in comparison to Um’Ogoro. The creature towered above me and its shaggy fur was black as night. You could hear its great snorting and huffing from a mile away, and only through great cunning were we able to tackle the creature. Even our Landstriders were unable to keep up with the beast, and in the end it was Dumbal’s cooking that lured the beast into a trap, after which I ended the threat of Um’Ogoro to the people of the Grasslands. So in many ways, you may thank Dumbal for that victory as much as my sword.” There were rousing cheers that went up around the group, but Resden sneered, walking away from the circle and to the side of the ship. Lark quickly bounded to him, coming up alongside the railing. “Didn’t like the story, Resden?” “It’s just those Spriton Clan. Then people wonder why we don’t get along. While they’re busy hunting everything in sight, I’d rather take the time to study a creature like Um’Ogoro. That is and forever will be the difference between our clans. Even if we may live in the same forest, we are not the same people. I cannot stand how quickly men like Bonhill jump to hunting everything in sight.” “I get that. You’re not a hunter by nature, huh?”
“I am a tinkerer. An inventor. A man with many curiosities and interests. I enjoy studying, not hunting.” Lark nodded, but looked doubtful. “Of course Um’Ogoro was threatening the grasslanders. That sounds like a good enough reason to hunt such a big Wigglow Boar.” “That’s the story Bonhill is telling us. Who is to say if it is the truth?” He sighed, glancing along the ship. Its sides were made of hard bone that could cut through the desert, but laced with crystalline elements that powered the ship and gave it the energy to move forward. “At any rate, there are happier things to talk about. This ship, for instance. She’s really quite a thing of beauty. Of all Gelfling technology, perhaps the only inventions I’m more impressed by are the airboats. Still, riding aboard a sandship is quite the experience.” Lark nodded. “My first experience was a few years ago, during my first journey here into the north. I didn’t really know whether to believe the stories until I saw the ships for myself.” “How in the world were you ever able to spot them? The Dousan Clan isn’t exactly know for being friendly to outsiders. It took a world of effort just to get them to the Gelfling Gathering, so I can’t imagine they simply took you onboard out of the kindness of their hearts.” “No, they didn’t. I had to sneak my way aboard, actually.” The man looked impressed. “How in the world did you manage that?” “Well, it wasn’t easy. I camped out on one of the islands they farm for vegetables. Camped out for a long time, actually. Weeks if I remember right.” “Amazing you survived in these conditions that long.” “The plants helped keep me alive.” His hands rubbed at the amulet around his neck. “Although my people would say that Myra helped, too.” “Ah, the ancient legend of the guardian spirit that watches over travelers.” Lark glanced at the man. “You know it?” “I consider myself quite well read. Not well explored, not like you. But I’ve done my research on the other clans. It’s said Myra doesn’t watch only over Sifa Clan, but over all travelers. Especially so, if they carry one of her amulets with them.” “Because my people believe it makes it easier for her to keep an eye on them.” “Do you believe the stories?”
The Navigator shrugged. “I have survived some pretty unlikely situations. Maybe. I guess we’ll find out on this journey, though. If Myra’s watching, we should be able to find our way to the home of the Clockworks. Right?” “Perhaps. But can she help us fight them?” “Now that I don’t know.” They gasped as the boat suddenly jolted, the side of the ship shuddering as it lurched slightly to its side, men calling out to one another as it shifted. Resden grabbed tight to the railing, looking left and right, but Lark calmed him with a gesture of his hand. His finger pointed slightly off the side of a ship, to a mammoth beast whose back was arcing in and out of the water. Rows of sharp looking fins streaked across its back as it moved in and out of the crystal sands, the creature keeping pace with the vessel as it races along. Lark laughed. “It’s been a while since I saw one.” “You know what that thing is?” “Of course. A Sand Whale.” “A what?” The bolt jolted again as the creature submerged, vanishing beneath the surface of the crystal surface. For a moment there was silence as they waited, watching the sands. A cry went out from the front of the ship, and they turned in time to see an explosion of crystalline shards bursting upward, just a short distance ahead of the ship. For a moment they watched in awe as the head of the creature streaked upward into the sky, its bony features staring down on them for the few seconds that it hovered above. Its great, bony serpentine body, lined with fins across its back and sides, spiraled through the air for a second in a great arc. The rainbow of color reflected in the light for a few moments as it hovered above them, the sandship passing beneath its arch as its sailed overhead. Then, with a booming sound, it crashed back into the sands behind them, sending a torrent of shattered light reflecting across the midday sun. Resden stared behind for a moment, waiting for it to return, but it never did. “By Thra! What a sight. I’d never heard of such a thing.” “Yeah. They don’t come around much. The Crystalline Sea is a big place, after all. They’re even more rare now that the sands are being hunted by the Clockworks. Still, we might see more once we get to the Deep Sea.” “The Deep Sea?”
Lark nodded, looking ahead. “Right now, the Crystalline Sea is hard. You can walk on it like you’re walking on rocks. The Deep Sea, though. That’s something else. There, the crystals become loose, like water. That’s also about the time things start getting really cold, too. People who go overboard in the Deep Sea are in for a bad time. The crystals are like ice, and you can only keep your head above the surface for a few minutes. It’s like trying to swim through, well, quicksand.” Resden gulped. “I’ll do my best to stay onboard the ship.” “Yeah. If you go overboard, well, Myra protect you.” He went quiet as Resden stepped away, laughing at it. He didn’t like to scare people, but the places they were going were dangerous, which was why he preferred to travel alone in the first place. Still, staring into the distant skies, he could feel his heart starting to beat. It was very faint, but he could see peak of Claw Mountain like a small speck on the horizon. Its curved, menacing hook was calling, and Lark suddenly clutched his amulet tighter. It would still be days, or maybe even weeks, before they arrived, but he could already feel the anxiety in his chest. His thoughts were interrupted by a commotion from behind. He turned, watching as members of the crew scattered about, running back and forth across the deck as warnings were called out. Lark’s eyes were drawn to the distance, where a black, v-shaped thing began to form against the blue skies. He’d never seen such a thing before, and he quickly leaped up the stairs to the wheel deck, coming alongside Lara as she glanced anxiously over her shoulder. He brought his telescope out, raising it to his eye as he stared into the distance. “What is that thing?” She grit her teeth. “A Skeksis Warsander.” “A what?” “We don’t see them often. They’re vessels built by the Skeksis and powered by their crystals. They mimic the power of a sandship to travel, and they’re fast.” “How fast?” “Very.” He gulped, watching the ship coming into focus in his lens. Its body was all black armor plates with long protrusions like oars jabbing out from its sides. They didn’t move but glittered in the sun, a sign of crystal shards inserted in them. There were no masts but the rear of the ship belched purple and black clouds, creating a dark haze as it streaked toward them. “Lark!” Lara called out. “What do you see?”
“Like you said, it’s fast,” he replied, huffing as he scanned the deck. Black feathered men moved back and forth, picking up round shields and long spears that they hefted onto their shoulders. “Birdmen, too, at least a dozen.” “Those cowardly Skek’drea,” she cursed, flashing her eyes toward the back of the sandship and catching a glance of the quickly approaching Warsander. “Any sign of a commander?” “One sec,” he replied, guiding the lens up the deck until he caught the bottom of great taloned feet that stood at the back of the ship. Slowly raising the lens, he saw a fearsome figure, clad all in black plates of armor hidden beneath dark robes trimmed in crimson. His four arms were crossed before his body, in each a lengthy, wide blade that looked capable of shattering his stone. His face, though, caused a shiver that ran down Lark’s body until he could feel his smallest toes trembling. It was hidden behind a white mask laced with thick trails of crimson that seemed to writhe and move like the tongues of a fire. The Navigator dropped the telescope, stepping back and nearly tumbling over the rails. “I… I see him!” “What? Lark, who do you see?” “I don’t… I think I know who it is. I’ve only heard rumors and stories but… it can’t be anyone else.” “Who? Tell me.” “SkekMal… the Hunter!” Everyone aboard the ship seemed to hear the words and turned as one to look at the Navigator. Lara nearly let go of the wheel as she spun around, staring at the Warsander now quickly coming upon them. “SkekMal… It can’t be! I thought he was only a legend. Lark, how can you tell.” He shook his head, sucking in a deep breath. “The mask… It has to be the Spirit Mask. It’s like it’s there and not at the same time, like an illusion. Even the marks on its keep moving like it’s alive.” A call went out from the crow’s nest at the top of the main mast. “Warsander off our side! Brace for collision!” Screams went up as the ship suddenly bucked hard to the right, the great black vessel coming up alongside it and slamming against it, metal meeting bone and crystal and grinding into the side of the sandship. Many fell to the floor, a few managing to stay on their feet and grabbing at swords strapped to their sides. Bonhill quickly appeared at the railing, his blade out as the black winged Skek’drea flew from their ship, their wings carrying them through the air like some black cloud that crashed down upon the Gelfling vessel. Blades rang out as they lashed at
one another, swords crashing against one another. The Skek’drea pushed off their enemies with their small round shields and slashed at them, the Gelflings dancing around the deck as they avoided the strikes. Some climbed the ropes, desperately trying to escape their enemies by moving up onto the masts. The normally sleepy Dumbal suddenly seemed wide awake. As a crowd of the Skek’drea closed around him, he clapped his hands together, slapped a foot to the deck, then sucked in a deep breath. For a moment the birdmen watched him, curious, before he released a deep belch that shook the floorboards beneath their feet. At the stench of it they staggered, falling back and collapsing to their knees. Grinning, Dumbal tapped the top of his pot helmet and, lowering a shoulder, charged into their midsts. Like a rolling boulder he plowed through one after the other, knocking them aside and sending them flying against the rails. Some he struck with such force that they were catapulted from the deck, cawing aloud as they plunged to the sands behind the ships. Bonhill laughed as he led the main charge of the Gelflings, their swords flashing out at their enemies, clanging against shields and knocking away blades. Bonhill would protected himself with his own shield, knocking aside his enemy with a slamming of its metal plate before striking out with his sword. The Skek’drea sprung away, lifted by flapping wings as they went skyward, only to have Tena, her gossamer wings shining in the light, knock them aside. She slid through the air like a razor, her feet smacking the birdmen and sending them senseless to the ground or back to their sheep, before her wings took her skyward once more. It seemed they would win. Then, with a great roar, the sky was filled with a fluttering shape. Great robes flapped in the breeze as the sunlight reflected off four metal points, the mammoth Skek’Mal slamming to the deck with such force that a great crack splintered its way out to the railing. He paused only a moment, the Gelflings forming a circle around him before charging at him as one. Bonhill and his companions swung their blades in unison, only to have the great Skeksis general vanish from their eyes. He appeared behind them, kicking Bonhill in the back with his great taloned feet before his four blades went into a whirlwind of flashing steel. Gelflings were tossed aside as he cut his way through them, knocking their swords away and slamming into them with the hilts of his blades. Some he grabbed with his talons, his great legs swinging out and latching onto them before tossing the poor crewmen against the rails. Bonhill leapt at him, bringing his shield up as two of Skek’Mal’s blades slashed at the warrior. He blocked the strikes, landing before the Skeksis and tossing his shoulder into the creature, the great black garbed general stumbling backward. Bonhill nodded to Dumal, who ran at a speedy pace and crashed into Skek’Mal. The general snarled, turning and bashing the cook across the side of his helmet and sending him unconscious to the floor. Dumbal struck the ground hard and Bonhill, enraged, screamed as he charged forward. With a great, cruel laughter, Skek’Mal leapt upward. In an instant he crashed down upon Bonhill, forcing the warrior into the deck, before leaping back into the air and to the wheeldeck.
Suddenly he was in front of Lark and Lara, the great, living mask on his face alive and moving. The eyes that burned behind them seemed empty of life, the low, cruel snarl coming from the general enough to put a shiver into Lark’s bones. The great bird like creature raised a blade and struck. Lark, scared, closed his eyes as it rushed at them, though the sound of metal meeting metal snapped his eyes open once more. Lara was there, holding back the general’s sword with her own, the two of them struggling to push the other back. Skek’Mal’s laugh was like a thousand pianos playing out of tune as he lifted his three other blades into the air, his form seeming to block out the sun as the red streaks of his mask seemed to surge and whip out across the blue skies in great trails. With a final heave, all three blades came at once. Lark, his heart about to burst out of his chest, clutched the Amulet of Myra and screamed as he barrelled into Lara, knocking her aside. The general’s blades came to a stop as once as they struck against a great blue energy that burst from the amulet and surrounded Lark. Skek’Mal balked at the intrusion, his muscles straining as he tried to cut through the barrier, the red flares from his mask dancing as the blue barrier fought back. The amulet at Lark’s neck glowed with a new intensity before erupting with a surge of light that sent the general flying backward, screaming, his great robes tinged with azure flames that ate at his clothes. He tumbled from the back of the ship, flying to the sands beneath as Lark collapsed to the ground, heaving. Moments later he found himself surrounded by the crew. They all looked worse for wear, and Dumbal, his helmet off, seemed to have a lump the size of a small anthill on his head. They were alive though and, for the moment, safe. Lara fell to his side, clapping him across the back. “How in Thra did you do that?” “You think I know?” he gasped, still fighting for breath. “It just… happened.” She shook her head. “Well, it was enough to force Skek’Mal off the deck. Once that happened, their ship had to pull away to retrieve him. That should give us enough time to get safely away and, hopefully, keep from being tracked.” He nodded, helped to his feet by those around him. “Great. That’s great. I hope you won’t hate me but I won’t exactly be excited until I can’t see that ship anymore.” “Right. Full speed it is.” As he walked below deck, men cheered and clapped as he slowly worked his way down through the doors and down the stairs. Needing time alone, he found himself, for one of the few times, seeking a bed to lie down in. As he collapsed into it, his hand went to the amulet, which he stared at a moment as he rested in the darkness. It seemed to have none of the life or energy it demonstrated just moments before, and he sighed. “What just happened?”
