Member
Kangutso
Lord Zee
Dinh AaronMk
Timemaster
Lunamaria Hawke
Taeryn
Nallore
Sigma
ButtsnBalls
&
The snake woke up by the river bank. He could not tell how long he had been asleep, though he quickly realised it had been long enough for a couple of frogs to decide that he made for decent cover in the rain - rain… The Nanhe jungle often experienced the few remains of the west clouds from the Saluran Mendidih, so this was rather common these days. He was surprised it had not awoken him sooner. He still felt far from rested, however - was that perhaps a divine plight?
A question he would likely ponder several times in the future, he mused. Regardless, now that the first waves of larger fauna and even some flora had been brought to these woods, he could return to the second mission he had set upon himself before he left Jiangzhou: He would send a gift to his friend K’nell on Tendlepog.
He scratched his chin as he slithered into the water and began his swim towards Jiangzhou. How would he send him this gift, he wondered. He felt powerless to sail the ship through the sky all the way to Tendlepog, and he felt it would be a little impolite, perhaps, to demand such a feat of Xiaoli, seeing as she had a guest over. As the snake climbed back onboard, he snapped his fingers and a servant came up and kowtowed before him.
“This servant awaits its command, Your Lordship,” he said. The snake nodded.
“Good. Have fifty servants of the Strong and fifty of the Noble gather as much water and wine as they can carry - then I want them to take thirty from the Skilled and fashion boats from the trees below. They are to bring the wine to Limbo on Tendlepog.” The servant tipped even deeper.
“Of course, Your Lordship. Anything else?” the servant said.
The snake rubbed his chin. “Give me the name of their leader once they have been gathered up. That will be all.”
“Your will be done, Your Lordship.” The servant got to its feet and walked backwards with an inclined torso until it turned the corner. The snake hummed and looked over the side of the ship at the jungle. Very well, he had decided the Servants would travel in his stead, though Shengshi slowly began to feel like he had forgotten something.
The Servants soon began to chop down the smaller trees at the edge of the jungle, and the snake quickly began to realise what he had forgotten. He jumped overboard and went over to the closest lumberjack.
“You there,” the snake called out. The lumberjack turned, dropped her axe and kowtowed.
“This servant awaits Your command, Your Lordship,” she said dutifully. The snake nodded and looked to the log the servant had been chopping at. It had reached the point where it could be salvaged as a poor excuse for a canoe, but would likely turn into firewood upon further processing.
“What are you making, servant?” the snake inquired. The servant stood up and bowed.
“As His Lordship requested, this servant is building a boat,” the servant responded quickly. The snake gave the ‘boat’ another runover with his reptilian eyes. He raised his gaze and saw similar results along the riverbank. He let out a shameful sigh - Phystene was going to despise him for this.
“I have changed my mind. Go to every lumberjack in the area and tell them to cease production. These boats will not do, I am afraid.”
The lumberjack looked heartbroken for a moment, but then nodded, bowed and sprinted off to spread the news. A silly mistake by his own hand, the snake thought angrily to himself. He felt himself still much too weak to give his servants the aid they deserved, too.
Although, the snake pondered, it did not necessarily have to be him.
After a while, the snake had ascended to the top of his tower. He sat down on the veranda with his harp, a bowl of wine and his wonderful little cage of birds. This idea seemed rather silly, though it could technically work.
“I just hope Urhu is nearby…” the snake mumbled to the birds, who began to tweet, sing and squawk. Shengshi tried his best to play his harp along to the bird song - perhaps Urhu had had the birds for so long before she gave them away that her mind would remember their melody?
In some distant side of the continent, Urhu was gazing upon a beach, Nyeothay Tag anchored by the shore. ”Perhaps a tower of stone… no, too cliche. A waterfall? It would be quite a lot of work. I could shape that rock to look like the head of a dragon, but it certainly wouldn’t be noticeable at night…” she sighed, setting up landmarks was hard work. Tired of thinking so hard, the goddess found a fallen palm tree and sat on it, sighing loudly, trying to unwind her tension. As she did so, she couldn’t help but notice the bustling jungle to her left, it was always relaxing to hear so much life at once… though something quickly got her attention, the birds sang a melody that felt so similar to her.
The birds she once housed in Nyeothay Tag usually sang not only in repeating patterns individually but had some sense of order among the group as well, perhaps a reminiscent of Asura’s influence, as such, they had a very easy to recognize repertory and this was undoubtedly it, albeit echoed through the land. It took her some thought, but she soon realized what could be the cause of this.
The snake spotted a small, rapidly growing dot in the distance and grinned. Had his plan worked against all odds? He plucked harder at the harp strings and sent the melody dancing between the jungle foliage along with the birdsong.
Since the message seemed to odd in its sneakiness and done in such a hurry, Urhu was assuming the worst, that the god had been kidnaped or was about to be executed by some of the more warlike gods or worse, she flew Nyeothay Tag at its smallest size and at its fastest speed, hair flowing as the supersonic speeds were enough to mess even the hair of a goddess, her sword, a gift from Seihdhara, in hand. She was able to deduce Shengshi’s location by the way the bird song was spreading like a splash on water, though by now she could spot the gold glint of Jiangzhou.
Nyeothay Tag approached it with the speed of a falling meteor, the goddess didn’t wait for the ship to be fully stopped before she jumped out, wielding her sword, falling quickly towards the roof but landing gently. Her eyes raced around searching for possible sources of trouble… and then met Shengshi playing music on his harp. The snake stopped the second Urhu slammed into the rooftop of his tower; he recoiled backwards and hugged his harp like a stuffer animal. She stopped and stared at him from the roof for a moment, before casually walking up the slop and jumping into the veranda, stopping by the railing. “Uhm… Is everything alright? Did you call for me?”
The snake blinked a couple of times before clearing his throat. “A-uhm! Yes, I did indeed intend to summon you, my dearest sister Urhu!” The snake got up and kowtowed before the goddess. “It is truly a joy to see you again.”
She let out a sigh, greeting him back with a nod, perhaps her attempt to imitate him. ”Ah, I completely misunderstood your message, I thought… Well, that it could be a matter of life and death.” casually she placed her sword back on her belt and smiled. ”It has been a long while since we last met. Did you notice my seasons? I finally managed to finish that project and I cannot thank you enough for helping me with that.” another noticeable change was the goddess’ attire, from crude lizard hides to fine linen and gold, it almost made her look like a different being entirely.
The snake stood back up again and grinned. “Yes, it has indeed been too long! I -have- noticed a chill in the air, as well as a heat on the wind, both changing throughout time - I am so happy that your project came to fruition, my dear. Oh, and I certainly hope my harp playing was not so bad as to sound like a cry for help.” The snake chuckled sheepishly, with a slight hint of self-consciousness in his voice. “Oh, and may I add: I adore your new attire. Such a wealthy, beautiful style - did you make it yourself?”
”What made me suspicious was how cryptic it was, a bit uncharacteristic, but let's move past what is already solved. Ah, yes, I made this outfit myself, had to spend some time crossing the entirety of the world multiple times to get gold from one continent, dyes from other and textile from here, it was tiring, but I am the goddess of travel, so there is no more fitting way to get my materials.” she smiled and walked into the veranda fully, jumping to the floor.
“My, such a journey for clothing - well, I should not be one to talk! For such magnificent craftsmanship, I, too, would have made an equally arduous journey, I confess.” The snake put his hand on his heart with a grin. “Would you like a little something to drink, perhaps? Perhaps a bite to eat?”
“Always! … I mean, yes, I would enjoy it. Thank you very much.” she grinned, starting to move along with Shengshi when she noticed a servant. ”Huh, your guys are looking a bit different now. More… hairy and… limby?”
The servant, who had seemingly been dusting off a porcelain vase, cast himself to the floor before Urhu. “Ten thousand years and more to both Her Holiness Urhu and His Lordship Shengshi!” he shouted diligently into the floor. “Yes, Your Holiness. His Lordship recently blessed us all with true, free forms - now we are able to fulfill His Lordship’s and His Lordship’s guests’ every wish.”
The snake nodded. “Please have the cooks make my exalted sister some fried rice, some soy-braised carp and some mango pudding; then have the winemasters find us a bottle of our finest apple spirits.”
The servant somehow pressed his forehead deeper into the ground. “His Lordship’s will be done!” Then he stood up, bowed and walked backwards until he reached the door, which he promptly exited.
“Oh, they all talk as well now? And with such clear diction, how incredible. Though with bodies of mud, I wonder if they’d serve the baths as well as the pure water ones.” the last bit was told in a bit of self-reflective whispers. “And the banquet sounds quite amazing already, eons will pass but I do not think your hospitality can be matched… albeit, should we really be drinking spirits? That seems a bit… unfortunate to those souls.”
“Hmm? Oh!” The snake let out a loud chuckle. “Quite a good pun, that one - I cannot believe I have not thought of that one before.” He snickered and put some drumming fingers on his chin. “As for the servants, their skin types differ depending on the concentration of mud to sand. The one that was tending to the porcelain had skin of mud as to not scratch the surface of the porcelain - a sand-skinned servant may have been so unfortunate, you see. Likewise, the bathhouses are managed by sand-skins alone, as mud-skins sadly cause such a mess in there due to all the steam. A sad truth, but a truth nonetheless.” He sighed. “I hope the order I placed for you was satisfactory? I apologize for not consulting your opinion first.” He bowed apologetically in her direction as they descended the stairs.
Urhu laughed along with Shengshi as he noticed the pun and then nodded thoughtfully as he explained the way his servants adapted to each task. “That is a very elegant solution, I should have guessed you had everything in mind. About the food though, you should not worry, I believe a good guest should allow their hosts to serve any meal they see fit, even if it crosses their comfort zone, barring, of course, some justified philosophical objections. Not that any of the mentioned meals do that, on the contrary, it all seems to be of my taste.”
The snake bowed again. “How fortunate. I am glad.” As they turned the final swing of the spiral staircase, the two were greeted by the familiar sight of the golden banquet hall - however, this time was quite different from Urhu’s last visit: Along the walls stood servants, all bowing at a forty-five degree incline towards the two gods, a pattern that continued along the bottom of the staircase down into the banquet hall. As one mighty voice, all the servant simultaneously spoke, “Ten thousand years and more to Her Holiness Urhu - welcome aboard Jiangzhou!” The snake snapped his fingers and the red paper lanterns in the hall flared up with a warm glow that danced in the golden edifices of the gold and silver around the hall. The scents and fragrances that felt nearly as tangible as they food they rose from permeated the atmosphere. From the hall beneath sounded gentle music from harps, flutes and drums.
“Magnificent, is it not?” the snake said proudly and clapped at the servants’ performance.
Urhu rose an eyebrow at the synchronized chanting of the servants, it was definitely not the aesthetic she would have gone with, but all else was truly majestic, the room’s decoration and lights, the aroma of the banquet and the music, it was nice to have musicians around, she recognized, no wonder Seihdhara had been trying to teach her how to perform. ”It is indeed wonderful,” she told gently.
“They are always incredibly thankful for praise,” the snake noted and smiled at a nearby servant who bowed even deeper. “They may not smile back as many others would, but they are still quite appreciative of everything they receive. A truly wonderful species, if I may be so arrogant and say so myself.” As they arrive at the banquet table, Shengshi pulled out Urhu’s dedicated chair for the goddess to sit in. Urhu’s plate with steaming hot, deliciously smelling food had already been placed on the table in front of the empty chair, a pair of chopsticks flanking the plate on the right side. The goddess’ glass was already filled to the brim with apple wine.
“Please, have a seat, dear sister.”
The goddess nodded and did so with a smile, adjusting her position on the table, clearly eyeing the alcoholic beverage above all, licking her lips as she took the first sip. ”Ah! This tastes so different from the one I have in Nyeothay Tag’s holding bay. It has a lasting taste, it's quite nice.” she distracted herself focusing only on her palate for a moment before smiling, eating some of her meal as well, then looking with a quizzical expression at Shengshi. ”Great food and drinks aside however, I cannot help but be curious at this invitation. I do think a visit was long overdue on my part, but I assume there is something specific you’d like to talk about?”
The snake slithered over to his own chair, a gold-framed, throne-like piece of furniture with patterned red silk upholstering. He took up his own glass, sipped it just a little and rolled the wine around in his mouth before swallowing.
“I missed you dearly, dear sister, so I thought I could call you over for a visit.” He gave her a wink. “Furthermore, I have a proposition that could benefit us both - one that is not only limited to another gift of all the wine you can drink. Speaking of, how much remains of the batch I gave you the first time? Was it to your liking?” He grinned and had another sip.
“Some still remain, I have been hosting Seihdhara in my ship and she is a heavy drinker, something must be said about your generosity when even the fury of the goddess of combat is not enough to end all of your gift over seasons worth of heavy drinking.” she said laughing. “And yes, it was to my liking, without it, I would never had thought about seasons, or perhaps I would have reached a simpler, less interesting, result.”
The snake gave a warm chuckle. “How absolutely stellar! To think my wine would have the honour of being shared with Seihdhara!” His smile waned a little and he grumbled, “... Even if her blood river did pollute Beihe… Though I am certain that was not intentional. Such is water flow, after all.” He took another sip. “But yes, the proposition.” He sat his glass down on the table and snapped his fingers. A servant came over to Urhu with a scroll of rice paper, rolled up neatly with a red ribbon and carried on an exquisite gold plate. The servant bowed her head and knelt down, lifting the plate up to Urhu.
“This is the oddest dish served so far.” she jested, taking the scrolls and opening it, spending some time reading about the situation and nodding slowly as she came to understand it. “Of course I could help, I have been sailing in Nyeothay Tag for such a long time that I could not help but to think of new ways to deal with boat building from now on… That said, are you sure the situation is as bad as you describe?”
“Oh, I likely exaggerated with some flairy and dire adjectives and such for effect, but the general gist is such - as it stands, my schedule is much too full to undertake a journey to Tendlepog, and I fear what power I had gathered after reforming the servants, was spent on spreading life throughout my jungle.” He gestured to the paper. “Therefore, I beseech you, dearest sister, to aid me in building ships for my servants so they may send dear brother K’nell a gift of wine and spirits, and - if it would not trouble you - watch over them as they journey northwards. Theirs will be the first sea voyage on this world - it is certain to be perilous.” His smile turned into a grim frown for a moment and he bowed his head.
With a nod, Urhu seemed to get very interested in what Shengshi was proposing. “Of course, it would be my pleasure to look over the first mortal sea travelers. It will surely be a perilous journey, but not an impossible one. With that said, may I see the work already done towards these ships? I want to see what changes will need to be made…”
The snake grimaced a little, but conceded with a nod. “They are no ships, I concede. Though that is my mistake - I sent my servants to do a task they were unequipped with the knowledge to finalise. The result lies on the riverbank below. Please, follow me.” The snake rose from his seat and walked over to Urhu’s chair, offering her a courteous hand to help her up. The goddess awkwardly took the hand, not wanting to be rude but not used to being lead by hand unless she was flying as Seihdhara ran at a fast speed. The snake nodded and let go of her hand as soon as she was at her feet, moving back up the the stairs. The servants lined up as usual, bowing their farewells to their lord and guest.
As the two made landfall on the western riverbank of Nanhe, they were greeted by the sight of the abandoned ‘ships’. The arguably prettier examples of these sad excuses for canoes were the ones which had not been chopped into sizable firewood logs. These had no apparent bow or stern, nor anything that seemed eligible to be called seating - the finest examples being chipped indents into the tops of some larger tree trunks. Most of the trunks, however, had been utterly mutilated rather than carpentered.
The snake let out an ashamed sigh and grimaced at Urhu as he gestured to the wooden mess.
“This is sadly the result of their hard work. The Wise are true in their words - a writer with no brush cannot write; neither can a novice with one.”
“Uh… Hmm. Perhaps some of those adjectives were warranted after all.” she sighed, before starting to walk a bit closer to the examples. “Also, it's so interesting, these are unlike the servants that I expected, they seem more… autonomous?”
The snake nodded. “I figured their impeccable service - as well as inconvenient bodies - warranted a rebirth with better circumstances. They are sapient, beautiful and powerful - truly, a lord could not wish for better helpers. They live to serve, and will satisfy my guests’ every wish and demand to the best of their ability.” He glanced back at the boats. “Their wisdom and skill, however, is bound to the ship; without Jiangzhou and all its assets, the Servants will likely find themselves regressing into a most primal existence. I would not want that for them - not for all the riches in the world. So to summarise, they are autonomous in the sense that their spirits have transcended their previous, simple forms.”
Some of those meanings had been lost to Urhu, but she believed she understood Shengshi, “I see. Well, I think there are a few problems we are dealing with here, one is the size, second is… everything else. I believe their ancestry in the Jiangzhou calls for something more, uhm, complex, than canoes. They could manage larger ships as a group, and I do think larger ships are better for sea travel, as they can carry more goods. Now, there are a few basics I will teach to them, especially the sail, as I do such, could you prepare samples from local materials so I may adapt the designs of the ships?”
The snake raised an eyebrow. “A sail?” he inquired and looked at Jiangzhou, specifically its lack of such a feature. “Well, I suppose they ought to learn it to manage mortal ships. Your help is dearly appreciated, sister Urhu.” He bowed again. “When it comes to materials, I reckon the Xishan grassplains may have certain species of flax that could be spun into linen, then into sails…” He hummed a little more. “I will gather the samples. I will be back in a moment.” He nodded and dove into the river, rocketing upstream like a crimson torpedo.
The goddess sighed, looking around at the amphibian-like creatures near her, the goddess of travel clapping her hands. “Alright, let’s get this started while I wait for Shengshi. But first, let me prepare some material examples of the concepts I will teach.” she would start building up model ships to show some principles, rubbing under her chin as she wondered what sort of wood would be the best and how she would deal with mortal needs such as food and water in a non-divine vessel.
After a moment, the snake returned with the samples. Albeit a little damp, he presented Urhu with Xishan flax, soft jungle wood and grass fibers. “Are these samples satisfactory, dear sister? If they are, I will promptly gather some more.”
Urhu looked at the examples. “The flax is great, the fibers will do well for ropes, albeit they could be better, the wood…” she pressed it and shook her head. “It won’t do in a rough sea, especially for a large ship. Let me see what can be done about that.” the goddess looked around and placed the sample on a clearing she found, soon, a large tree had sprouted and matured, seeding other similar trees until a clearing had formed. These trees were tall and twisted, with soft bark of a strong sand-like color. “The bark can be used for the hull while the wood can be used for the structure, however, there are very specific structures you need to build for a ship of this wood to be seaworthy, it was designed to not need tools but mastery, and the ships it makes will be unmatched navigators for eons, though not many ships can be made from it.” she explained, and then sighed. “I hope they are great at rope making. Speaking of which, I should also bless the flax and the fibers, especially the fibers, to be better suited for the long journey. Could you show me where you found them?”
The snake admired the tree with an amused grin. He poked at the soft bark and marveled at the little indentation he had made. However, he quickly gathered himself and nodded at Urhu. “Naturally. Follow me, please.”
The two began to move northwards through the jungle.
The snake and Urhu had been quick to travel through the undergrowth and overgrowth - occasionally passing by some frog monkeys who gave some startled ooks. They also ran past a farmer ape who was happily gnawing on a stick of bamboo and, upon seeing the speeding deities, croaked in confusion. Now the snake and the traveller were gazing at an endless landscape of tow-coloured grass that glistened in the sun - apart from the grass, however, the plains were empty, save for the occasional boar. Shengshi raised an eyebrow and put his hands on his hips.
“They really do thrive anywhere, huh…” he mused. A brown, snouted ball of brown fur in the distance gave a puzzled oink at the funny figures standing at the jungle border.
Urhu pondered for a while, before touching the ground again, the grass went from fields of green to slowly spreading purple. Being the goddess she was, she had decided to do that in a hidden valley, making sure the keep the purple grass rare. “The grass from this color should make the best, most reliable ropes. Its exclusive to this region, you can harvest most of it, but leave some for later. In second thought, the flax we have is good for the sails, I think we have the materials your servants need to build the ship.”
The snake bowed. “You are much too generous, dear sister. Let us be swift, then, so the servants can begin post-haste.” With that, he began to round up as much flax as he could carry, making certain, however, not to take it all. He rolled it together into a bale and swung it over his back and began to slither back into the jungle.
“It just would be a shame for such a travel to end in disaster. I am trying to balance generosity with a true challenge. Speaking of which, perhaps it would be best for the servants to not know the goddess of travel is at their side, don’t you agree?”
The snake let out a ponderous hum. “Perhaps it would be. While I doubt they would grow overconfident, they are still quite new to this sensation of consciousness - that could very well pose a threat as well as an opportunity, as you say.” Eventually, he nodded. “So be it. They shall be oblivious to your protection.”
With a smile, the goddess nodded in agreement. “I will write instructions on the basics of shipbuilding when are back at Jiangzhou. For the more specific instructions we need, such as how to use the special materials… Hmm, do you think the servants have some sort of leader figure?” she rose her hand and a dark cloak appeared over her clothes, hiding her in the warm shadows of the subtropical forest.
The snake let out another hum. “I will have them elect one when we are back.”
It did not take long for the Servants to organise themselves into labour teams, several groups of twenty individuals quickly felling the proper trees and sorting flax. They began to separate the bark from the wood, and the carpenters began to shape and form the wood into proper planks, which were bound together using the fibers that would not be spun into linen. A thousand servants sat in a row, spinning thread and sewing sails like a well-oiled machine. A thousand more began constructing the ship frames with great precision and skill. Urhu’s instructions had been divine in quality, albeit Shengshi had to translate her writing.
As the Servants worked tirelessly on the river bank, Shengshi slithered back into the jungle. “Your schematics were immaculate, dear sister,” he spoke seemingly into nothingness. “I hope they were not too much trouble to produce.”
“I hope they were not too much trouble to translate! I do not have trouble producing them, but I do tend to get lost in my explanations.” she said, clad in the shadows. “You made sure they would not throw the ‘useless’ bark away, correct?” she questioned.
“Certainly,” he said. “The bark will be used to make and reinforce the hull, as instructed. I will shortly as them to find themselves a leader. I only pray that they are not frightened by such autonomy.” He paused for a moment before bowing.
“Your help has been beyond my expectations, dear sister. If there is anything I can do in return, know that I will do whatever in my power to do it.”
“Oh, you know exactly what I want! To refill and to add more variety to the wine racks of Nyeothay Tag…” she then remembered her ship, and pondered, thinking back at how pristine Shengshi’s palace always was. “And if it is not too much to ask, my friend, would it be possible for you to lend me a servant? Seihdhara is prone to making a mess out of things and I tire of cleaning my ship’s countless rooms.”
The snake hummed pensively. “The wine is yours - as much as you would like. As for the servant…” He tapped his chin. “Very well. You may have one if you so wish. It shall be loyal and faithful, diligent and tireless. Would you like me to select one for you or would you like to pick it yourself?”
“I am no good with this servant thing, if you stop to think about it, we are almost polar opposites of each others. Which of course, isn’t a problem, the world needs night and day, but still, I trust your ability to choose someone for the job more than my own.”
The snake nodded. “So be it. I will have one ready for you upon our return.”
“I wish I could help more with it, but while I recognise the social problems of sharing a ship for months, I do not know as many answers, yet you have been managing your palace for a long while now, perhaps there are lessons from a divine ship that are applicable to a mortal ship.” the goddess said, in particular, she suspected a strong hierarchy would be helpful. “And while you were away teaching your servants, I have been thinking about food. Taking away the moisture might actually help to avoid rotting, its lucky that all the way along the path there is land to re-stock, but some solutions will need to be devised, for now though, here is a list of foods that should be fit for the travel.”
Handing the list to Shengshi, the goddess couldn’t help but to laugh. “I must be the only person on this land who thinks planning for travels is not a chore but the opposite.”
The snake let his eyes zoom across the list. “That will likely not be necessary. The servants do not require food for nourishing purposes - their love of food is merely a result of the pleasures of flavour and texture. I suppose I could send along some food to break the monotony of water, however; though they are only reliant on fresh water to survive. Speaking of… Will it be possible to light fires aboard this ship? They will have to boil seawater to survive longer trips.”
For the first time since the discussion started, the goddess felt somewhat startled by a problem. “A fire? I could devise a way for a small one to happen, but anything too large will be an issue.” she said. “There are rivers along the way, I could expand the water carrying capacity of the ship… though it would be too much water in a still state…” rubbing behind the back of her neck, the goddess broodingly stared at the distance.
“The rivers will sadly not be there for long. The only viable route to Tendlepog from here is from the south tip and then to sail north along the continent. That blasted Boiling Sea will likely damage the hulls beyond repair. Do we have a method to keeping the waters moving?”
Walking from one side to the other, the cloaked goddess pondered. “What if we used two tanks? One in the upper tower of the ship, and a larger one bellow, the water traverses the whole ship before reaching the bottom." she said. “You just need to find a way for water to go upward, just tell the flow to stop being picky about its directions or something.”
The snake thumbed in approval. “You are as creative as ever. How about a pump of sorts? Something that would not need to be manned at all times. Powered by… By…” He drummed his fingers pensively on his chin. “... By the wind?”
“Oh, we could attach a sail to a pump.” yet as she tried to explain how, no drawing of her seemed to convey this properly. “I guess I will need to build this one myself, if you could help me with the pump, I could get this done on the finished ship.” she told.
The snake nodded. “We will make this as the ship is completed, then.”
The snake arrived to a scene of carpentry and shipcraft and nodded in approval. The river bank was filled with servants carrying planks, attaching bark to the frame and taring the cracks. A group of five came over to the snake. They all stopped and kowtowed before the god, the first one in the group being the very same servant Shengshi had spoken to on the ship. The servant spoke:
“Your Lordship - we have elected a leader for this expedition.”
The snake nodded approvingly. “Very good. Present yourself.”
The kowtowing servant in the middle of the group stood up, bowed and then looked back up at Shengshi with his hands extended in front of himself, left hand covering the right fist.
“Ten thousand years and more to His Lordship, Shengshi of the Thousand Streams,” he began. “This servant is named Qiang Yi and is a poet of the Wise.”
The snake raised an eyebrow. “The Wise, you say? You seem quite young. Have you perhaps no interest of donning the grey hairs like your peers tend to do?”
The servant tipped his torso again. “Your Lordship is too kind. This servant was fortunate enough to be selected into the Wise after His Lordship gave us the true mind. This servant is indeed still quite young and has much to learn, and is therefore eternally grateful for being allowed the honour of bringing His Lordship’s gift to Tendlepog.”
The snake nodded approvingly. “I am certain you will do stellarly, young Qiang Yi.” The snake rolled the name around on his tongue. “Qiang Yi… ‘strong and resolute’. I expect you to live up to that name.”
Qiang Yi got back on his knees and kowtowed. “His Lordship’s will be done!” The servants around him echoed the statement. The snake nodded and slithered over to inspect the ship. It was large - not nearly as large as Jiangzhou, but still quite large. He reckoned it could hold a crew of a forty strong.
The snake brought along Qiang Yi and slithered over to the master shipwright, a servant of the Skilled by the name of Zhou Desong. The servant greeted the snake with a kowtow as usual. The snake looked to the both of them.
“How have you planned to get to Tendlepog?” the snake inquired. Zhou Desong nodded at Qiang Yi, who rolled out a map of the world based on Shengshi’s and Xiaoli’s descriptions, as well as vague memories from their times as water blobs. He reached for a stick of charcoal and drew some lines on the map.
“Our route has two possibilities, Your Lordship. The first is that we sail out to see from Nanhe and follow the coast up to the Kick. From there, we will navigate towards Dragon’s Crown and then finally sail northwest to Tendlepog.” The snake nodded.
“The other option being across Saluran Mendidih, then.” he asked.
“Correct. The other option is faster, Your Lordship, though not by much.” Qiang Yi drew a line across the continent up to the mouth of Beihe. “We will travel up to Giant’s Bath by boat, then drag them across land and set them on Beihe, from where we will proceed to cross the Saluran Mendidih and make landfall at the Kick. According to her Ladyship, there are now enough trees on the Kick to make more ships to take us to Tendlepog.”
The snake plucked at his beard. “The second option seems much riskier than the first. Your ships are not capable of withstanding the waters of the Saluran Mendidih as Jiangzhou is. You are to take the long route around the continents, is that clear?”
The two servants bowed. “His Lordship’s will be done,” said the two of them. The snake nodded.
“Good. Now pardon me for a moment. There is something I must tend to.”
He turned and slithered back into the woods.
“They figured out the paths on their own. How promising,” he mused. “The ship will likely be completed soon, Urhu. I will have them gather aboard the ship and distract them while you attach the windmill. Does that seem like a plan?”
The cloaked figure nodded, her cloak now looking more like fog than shadow “I believe they will assume its a gift from you, let’s see what happens. Its lucky morning mist still covers the land.”
With that, she moved away, towards the ship. The processed bark had turned it white, while the light purple ropes shimmering lightly against the sunlight, almost like strands of fine cloth. Quickly, Urhu jumped to the top of the tower and assembled the parts she was carrying into the panemone windmill linked to the pump Shengshi had provided. She hoped the servants would make sure to take good care of it, because once broken this could only be repaired by the goddess herself.
With the last task done, the goddess sank into the mist and moved back to the forests near the river port.
Aboard Jiangzhou, Shengshi said his blessings to the brave men and women who were about to set sail. He selected the wines they would bring aboard and made certain to give them as many barrels of water as he could. As they approached the new ship, the servants saw the windmill aboard and marveled. The snake had the servants fill the water tanks in the ship, and then topped them off with some water from the river.
“I reckon the tank will last you long enough to reach Tendlepog - however, it is likely that you must refill before returning home.” The snake stood on the river bank next to Qiang Yi, watching the wine casks being loaded aboard.
Qiang Yi nodded, taking notes on some sticks of bamboo. He quickly completed his scribblings and looked to the snake. “Your Lordship, this servant has a question, if Your Lordship would be willing to answer it.” The snake nodded, and Qiang Yi continued, “what would His Lordship like His vessel to be named?”
The snake regarded the ship, then turned back to Qiang Yi. “You are its captain. Its name is yours to pick.”
Qiang Yi blinked and suddenly looked sheepish and embarrassed. The snake raised an eyebrow. “T-this servant cannot possibly have the authority of naming something blessed by the Exalted Creators. This servant insists that His Lordship names the vessel.” There was shame and embarrassment in his voice.
The snake hummed pensively. “So be it, then. It shall be known as Zhengwu, the travelling gift. Immediately, Qiang Yi’s mood was restored and he bowed.
“An exceptional name, Your Lordship. This servant shall strive to sail it with all the impeccability that Your Lordship would have.”
The snake nodded. “You do that,” he said. “I wish you all the best of luck on your journey.”
The servant kowtowed before the snake before finally climbing aboard the ship. The snake then turned to Jiangzhou. He climbed aboard and snapped his fingers. A servant came over and bowed.
“Bring me our best butler and our best maid. Prepare for each of them a bag of clothes and several water gourds.” The servant bowed again and ran back into the palace.
A moment passed before two figures returned, one tall male servant with a short, pointed mustache and a short, pointed goatee, and one tall female servant with a long, black ponytail. Both got down on their knees and kowtowed before the snake.
“Ten thousand years and more to His Lordship Shengshi of the Thousand Streams!” they said simultaneously. The snake nodded.
“Be at ease, faithful servants. Present yourselves.”
“This servant is called Yong Ying of the Noble,” said the man, his face still facing the floor.
“This servant is called Shen Ai of the Noble,” said the woman in an equal manner. The snake nodded.
“Very good.” He faced the side of the ship. “Urhu! You may board the ship now.”
Urhu suddenly let out a small laugh, resting against the wall opposite of where Shengshi was looking towards. “Done. Are these the servants?”
Both the servants attempted to push their foreheads even further into the ground at Urhu’s arrival. The snake nodded at the goddess.
“You may select one of these to join you aboard the Nyeothay Tag. They will serve you as they have served me.”
“Ah, well, since it is me and Seihdhara who live there, I guess it would be more comfortable for Shen Ai than for Yong Ying to be in there.” she said in a casual tone, trying to not add sound indelicate to either of the servants.
The snake hummed. “That should not be an issue for them. Both are equally qualified to work with guests regardless of gender. However, if the two of you would be more comfortable with a woman, then Shen Ai will accompany you.”
“Thanks again, Shengshi. Oh, and don’t worry, my ship has sources of freshwater, so Shen Ai will be quite comfortable.” she added, lowering Nyeothay Tag to be at a similar level to Jiangzhou. The snake nodded happily.
“I am glad.” He turned to Shen Ai, who remained prostrated as Yong Ying slowly shuffled backwards back into the palace.
“From this day forward, you are no longer a subject of mine, dear Shen Ai - your loyalty now belongs to Urhu. You shall obey her every command within reason and follow her as you would follow me. Are your orders understood?”
“This servant understands her orders, Your Lordship,” Shen Ai said. The snake nodded and turned to Urhu. He snapped his fingers and, after a moment, the palace doors swung open to reveal a train of servants carrying wine casks.
“Will there be anything else, then, dear sister?” Shengshi asked with a smile.
“I believe this is all at the moment. I hope everything goes well with you servant’s journey, I will be watchful, though I cannot make up for them should they make mistakes along the way.”
“That is just how it should be. Your aid alone is appreciated immensely. I wish you a safe journey on, and please do take good care of dear Shen Ai.” The snake bowed.
Qiang Yi ascended to the stern of the ship, placing his hand on the long tiller leading to the rudder. Behind him came his first mate, a young lady of the Noble named Zhen-zhen.
“Are we ready to sail, then, Captain?” she asked carefully. Qiang Yi nodded.
“We will set a course once we make it to the coast. For now, we will test these sails within the safety of Nanhe’s embrace.” Zhen-zhen nodded. Qiang Yi walked to the centre of the ship and started yelling respectful commands in every direction. The crew stirred to life and began to unfurl the sails. It was foreign to them, but Shengshi’s instructions had been clear. Soon, the Zhengwu was drifting gently across the surface of the water, onwards to greatness.
