-1-
Taba tried to steady herself as the floor continued to shift beneath her feet. Apparently, some part of her had not yet accepted that she would never grow accustomed to its constant motion. She knew there were those that loved it, but those were not her ancestors, not of her clan. The rolling of the waves only increased as she joined Kolo in their cabin, and she was beginning to wonder if she would be better off going up on deck, where she could see the hills of water as they approached, rather than being in this cramped, randomly pitching room. She had to hold on tightly to the ship’s screwed-down furniture to keep her gracile form from being tossed around like a cup.
She had just returned from visiting Swamp Mother, who was in a nearby cabin, and who was perhaps now regretting her insistence on separate lodgings. The Drenchen leader was slopping about violently in her sturdily constructed mudpen, and clearly did not want to be left alone. Taba hoped the discomfort might make her a little more agreeable when the time came, so she had taken leave of her as respectfully as she could. She had promised Swamp Mother to return when dinner was served, knowing that she would then spend her time convincing the bog-dweller to eat what she deemed "dust-dry shavings".
Taba looked over at Kolo, who was aggressively hunched over their cabin's table. He seemed to not be faring much better. She felt badly for him; much like her own folk, his Podling brethren were meant to live on the land, to be always in it and with it. He would be no less uncomfortable if they were being tossed around in outer space, caroming between the suns. “Hang on, Kolo,” she called to his bulky form, which was quickly turning greener and greener.
“I’ll be okay,” he snapped back at her moodily, as if she had insulted him.
“I know you will,” she soothed, but resisted the urge to move toward him, to give him a reassuring hug. She also resisted the temptation of reminding him of the squeals and screams he had given off at the sight of their journeying ship, and again when it had first come unmoored from the dock. He was only here because he believed in their cause, and for that she was glad.
Taba had been told that they would meet with Sea Mother’s ship in no more than two days’ travel out into the ocean, but the storm they were currently riding had not been anticipated by the ship’s sturdy Sifan crew. They had now been three days asea, and the tunna birds that had been sent out had not returned with their coded croaks of reassurance that Sea Mother’s ship was nearby. Chances were, she had been blown as far off course as they had.
A knock came at the door of the cabin, strangely casual and polite. She and Kolo headed for the door side by side, as if to prove to each other that they were the best suited for the ocean, but Taba made it there first. She heard Kolo grunt in disgust at himself and turn away as her hand touched the handle. She briefly thought that she should have let her companion get there first.
The Gelfling answering the door was the one who had made the impassioned ritual speech just before they departed, the second in command of their vessel. She realized now that with all the other things to attend to, she had never learned his name. “Sea Mother’s ship is in sight. Her decklights are just visible when we are both cresting the waves.”
She started at his words, mostly because the first mate rarely spoke more than a word or two at a time to her. Nor did he to anyone, according to Captain Yurr. “That’s wonderful news!” Taba exclaimed, and she felt her wings flexing in triumph under her cloak. “Did you hear that, Kolo? Our journey is nearly over!”
His body, gripping the bolted-down table, expressed no relief. "The first half, anyway," she barely heard him grumble.
“Not quite,” the second said. “We cannot approach her ship until the storm calms. We can’t risk the ships being smashed together. But we can work to keep each other in sight until it does. The wind is still high, but the rain is lessening.” Taba noted that he did seem a bit less soaked to the skin than he had been. She admired the way he could stay upright almost effortlessly, with only one hand braced against the ship’s frame. To her and Kolo, the ship felt in constant danger of being thrown apart.
“Thank you,” she said, and added, “I think my bodyguard and I will stay with Swamp Mother until the waves fade.”
“Of course,” he said, and she might have imagined the smirk she thought he was trying to hide. Unless it was a small snarl of disgust. The crew of Sifa had so far made little effort to hide their disdain for the Drenchen matriarch in the next cabin. This will be the hardest part, Taba thought, reminding them that after all this time, we are all still Gelfling.
He left with incredible physical grace, gliding down the pitching, yawing passage, and Taba envied him as she struggled to sit at the table along with her companion.
“Some bodyguard I am,” he groused. “I’m afraid I’m going to be the first protector to lose his wards to mere water.”
She placed a hand on his arm, which was tensed as hard as rock in his attempts to stay in the vicinity of the table. He might have thought himself ineffectual, but it stilled her nerves to feel the strength coiled in his bulk. “But water, in large enough amount," she reminded him, "can be stronger than any force we can muster. We must accept that, and set sail with respect for it nonetheless.” She glanced up at the boards above her heard, where she could hear boots striding around, all doing their part to keep the ship afloat. “Maybe that’s a lesson I can remind Sea Mother of, when we finally get the chance to meet her.”
He placed his huge, potato-like fingers of his other hand on hers. She smiled. She had known for many years that he would be the one to take this journey with her. She had watched him from the time he was a young pod, noted the strange way he had grown, not far out of infancy before he began towering over his dirt-covered playmates. That was where he had learned how to use his strength and size tenderly, being able to gauge a situation and when his power would be needed, and when to hold it back. She remembered watching with the elders -- as well as his equally amused and bewildered mother -- as he tried to join in all the little ones' games, and the difficulty he had as he had grown to over twice their size. True to the Podlings' generous ways, however, he was never made to feel different, or excluded in any way. Taba hoped that he would eventually come to learn his unique responsibility to his people, the ways he could contribute, and that was part of the reason she had asked him to come with her on this journey.
Taba didn't need the ability to dreamfast with him to know what he was thinking about in that moment, in an unmoored room far away from home. "They're doing fine, Kolo," she said calmly, barely audible above the wave that were still crashing relentlessly all around them. "Your village stands as still as you left it."
He raised his head slowly, as if it were even heavier than it looked. "We know," he said in his native tongue. "We think that maybe we should never have left home at times like this. But we know that we must be brave." He must have been even more stressed than he appeared, reverting to the Podling form of speech that implied consensus on an opinion, even though he was alone here. Alone except for her.
"Could you sleep?" Taba asked him, knowing that she would not be able to, but maybe his extra bulk would keep him swaying smoothly enough in his hammock to guide him into slumber.
Kolo shrugged. "We suppose."
She stood before he was able, went around behind him and put her arms as far around him as she could. "The world needs this, Kolo. You'll see. There will be wonders." She couldn't see his face, but hoped he was smiling. She had said the same thing to him just before he accepted her request to join her on this journey.
*2*
The wind and waves lasted two more days, and then they seemed to drop off suddenly. It happened so quickly that Taba was expecting the ship to take another slide down the back side of a wave, but it never came. Until she opened the windows and dared to see it with her own eyes, she would have sworn that they were hovering perched at the very peak of yet another gigantic wave. When she finally confirmed with her eyes what her feet felt, she roused Kolo from his bunk and tugged his half-sleeping form toward the porthole.
"Look!" she cried.
When Kolo rubbed his eyes with his balled-up fists before leaning his eye to the port, she was suddenly reminded of how relatively young he was. This both made her want to protect him, and inwardly shudder at the thought that he was the one who was supposed to be protecting *her*.
"Beautiful..." he breathed, seeming to exhale all the tension in his muscles that he had been storing up for the last week. "The water-mountains have finally turned to gentle rolling hills!"
"Come on," she urged, "let's make ourselves presentable and get above board. I want to get Swamp Mother over to Sea Mother's ship as soon as we can. Before any of them have a chance to change their minds, and start sailing in the opposite direction."
They busied themselves gathering their belongings together from the corners they had been scattered into over the previous days, and even Kolo found himself almost tipping over as he leaned into expected waves that never came. Taba relished the simple act of running as she headed down the short hallway to Swamp Mother's cabin, helped her out of her mud bath, and got her as presentable as she could be for the meeting.
Taba knew that the Drenchen put little to no emphasis on physical appearance, which was probably best for them, but her previous efforts to get Swamp Mother to understand other clans' etiquette had been in vain. At least she could get Swamp Mother out of the mud and mostly brushed off before being seen by anyone else. She hoped her earthy smell, so out of place out here on the seas, could be brushed away with it.
Kolo came to the door to escort them to the main deck, and Taba could tell that his eagerness was only because the sooner the job was done, the sooner they could head back to land. He was followed closely by the ship's first mate and Captain Yurr, who Taba was glad to see was managing to regain his composure, even when all his senses were confronted by a Swamp Mother free of her native soil.
"Where is she?" Swamp Mother was asking, looking at the beings in the doorway is if expecting Sea Mother to be instantly delivered to her.
"We are pulling abreast now, Mother," Captain Yurr said, as cordial as he would have been with anyone else.
Swamp Mother visually shuddered, bringing her formidable form -- which carried almost as much bulk as Kolo -- around to gape at the first mate. "Don't tell me you expect me to jump ships -- Girl, quit messing at me!" She swatted lightly at Taba, who was still trying to brush the biggest clods of dirt from her dress. How the material held together after being mostly submerged in mud for the duration of the trip, Taba couldn't guess.
"Certainly not, that won't be necessary, Mother," the first mate said coolly, "Sea Mother is well accustomed to switching ships, and will gladly come over to speak with you." He flicked his gaze to Taba just for a moment, and she flashed him a grateful smile. She suspected that he was a little fascinated with her, and she would have to let him know that she appreciated the way he had cleverly reacted to Swamp Mother's outburst as if it had been a generous offer.
"Let's get you above boards, Mother," Taba insisted, taking her elbow and gesturing to the door. "I'm sure the two of you will have much to discuss."
"So you keep saying," Swamp Mother said as she began waddling toward the door, prompting the males to back up, making room for the pair to move out into the hallway. "But as I continue to tell you, she won't talk to me. I've been resolved that we'll go to our graves without really knowing the source of the rift between our tribes."
"Perhaps that's a mystery we'll discover the answer to today," Taba said, hoping that it was so. It was the reason she had decided to entreat with these two Mothers first. The feud between the Sifa and Drenchen clans, she suspected, had gone on for so long that neither side knew what it had been about, or who had originally been at fault.
She noted that Swamp Mother had never taken off her gloves. They were caked with mossy grime and soaked with mud. She hoped the fact that they had come so far across open water would impress Sea Mother, but there was also the possibility she might not take notice. After all, Sea Mother herself thought nothing of making a week-long journey through storms.
"Are we ready?" Taba asked, eager to get the proceedings underway.
The first mate nodded, and led the way. Kolo let Swamp Mother pass, Taba guiding her by the elbow, under the guise of helping steady her in the gently-rolling boat, but more to make sure she went through with the task ahead. Taba heard him turn and follow, his heavy feet tromping evenly on the boards. The sound actually comforted her, made her a little less nervous.
After all, what she was attempting had never been done before. It had been many trine since any of the clans had communicated directly, much less come to any sort of truce, and what she was now proposing was even more audacious than that. She shook her head; she couldn't let herself think that far ahead, or she would become overwhelmed.
The band of four stepped up and out onto the deck of the ship, where Taba was fully assaulted by the sea. The suns were suddenly too bright, the smell of salt the only thing her nose could detect. As impressed as Taba had been with the size and bearing of the ship when she had approached it at the dock, it seemed like an entirely different vessel now, with many planks and rigging keeping it twinned alongside Sea Mother's ship. Combined, the boats had an even more profound sense of enormity. They even altered the sound of the waves, turning it into loud, random slaps and smacks as they slammed up against the twinned hulls, finding sudden resistance to their power.
Swamp Mother put her hand over Taba's and held on more tightly. Taba understood. The Drenchen lived in boggy areas, and coming to a place that had no thick vegetation between her and the horizon was entirely outside her experience.
While she had hoped that the open air would make her feel less vertiginous, watching the way the shadows of the masts sway actually made Taba's feet even more unsteady. She felt both crews' eyes on them as they walked across the deck, passing in and out of the complicated patterns of shadow as the suns' light was filtered down through the ropes and masts. There were Gelfling high in the rigging, lining every rail that lined the open central area of the desk, waiting in hushed reverence for the Sea Mother's presence. Taba hoped that Swamp Mother thought the silence was for her; she knew, however, that it was actually their leader's imminent appearance that was keeping their disgust for the Drenchen at bay. The interlopers were merely being tolerated.
It was true: the Drenchen were coarser, heavier and less concerned with cleanliness than the Sifa, for living in swamps held a certain futility to those attitudes. But Taba had since learned that it was all a matter of perspective; the Drenchen had more in common with the Pod People when it came to the need of feeling close to the body of Thra. Kolo, even at his young age, had helped her to see that. Living in mud, to a Drenchen, was a sybmbol of that connection, whereas the Sifa, spending all their mortal time next to or on the living ocean, felt very differently.
Taba's hand refrained from shaking only because it was holding Swamp Mother's elbow, and Taba tried to hold both Drenchen and Sifa worldviews in her mind as she drew Swamp Mother toward the meeting place at the center of the deck. It was the only way this meeting was going to come to any fruitful end.
Taba's eyes swept up again, to the paired, elegant curves of the sailing vessels that had drawn abreast, and been lashed together so expertly that they seemed to have been designed as one. A preternatural quiet had descended, as the band of three land-lifers (they had consistently been called that, and Taba had no issue being considered so) moved across the suns-bright deck, toward the widest gangplank, which had been laid across the exact center of both ships' siderails. Its edges were lined with the mingled Sifa crew of both vessels, forming a path that Sea Mother would proceed across.
When she appeared, she came into view suddenly, rising above the stairs on the far end of the gangplank. Taba and Kolo both gasped despite themselves. She was radiant, stately, and tall, clothed in robes a deeper blue than even the sea could hope to be. A tiara that appeared to be made of shaped and polished sea coral lay across her brow, which was lined but still unbowed.
She stepped across easily, her feet not even seeming to notice the slight difference in pitch of the boats that slightly twisted the plank in an erratic rhythm. She came down the steps on Taba's side just as elegantly. She could easily see why this woman had been chosen to be the Sifa's matriarch. She just as easily could have been a prow carving brought to life. Taba suddenly felt shabby standing next to Swamp Mother, even as she knew that this was a vain distinction. These women were equals in the eyes of their respective Gelfling tribes, no matter what their subjects thought of the other.
"Many waves have gone by," Sea Mother said, loud enough so all could hear, "since we have seen each other, Mother."
"Indeed," Swamp Mother snuffled. "Much less gray and wrinkles, we both had then, Mother."
This made Sea Mother smile, and Taba could feel the crews of both ships hesitantly relaxing around them. If any had thought this would be a hostile confrontation, they had no reason to fear. At least not yet. But the crux of the matter was yet to be stated.
Sea Mother's eye turned to Taba. "And who are your young companions?" she asked.
Taba was about to answer for herself, but Swamp Mother beat her to it. "This young member of the Woodland Tribe is Taba." She turned slightly to acknowledge the Podling behind her. "And this is our escort, Kolobanagulonomanun, of the Pod People."
Taba spoke up then, "We have traveled many waves bringing Swamp Mother to you for a purpose, Sea Mother."
"I do not doubt it," Sea Mother said.
"Hear her well, Sea Mother," Swamp Mother said. "A Drenchen does not undertake a sea voyage lightly. That is, when they see it necessary to undertake them at all."
At this, a slight chuckle came from the first mate, and Taba noted that it did not hold a note of derision to it, nor did he attempt to stifle it. She met his eyes and gave him a slight smile, which he returned.
Swamp Mother continued, "This young Gelfling has a message that I thought we all should listen to." She said this in a raised voice that gave the surrounding crews a sense of command she could muster, the tone that made her a powerful Mother.
"Then speak, young Taba," Sea Mother said, her face placid but her eyes sparkling. "The Sea listens." It was an old saying, the meaning clear.
Taba began cautiously, "Our world is changing, Sea Mother. For generations we have all prospered under the benevolent rule of the Skeksis, but we have also noticed how they have recently begun to draw away. This has made it all the more obvious how fragmented our people are, isolated within their tribes, with mistrust growing and old rivalries rekindled."
She took note of the way the Mothers watched each other as she spoke. At the mention of rivalries, they both took pains to show how relaxed they were, shifting and turning slightly to fully face each other, as if refusing to admit that they were part of the problem.
Taba continued, "If things continue the way they are, there will come a day when Gelfling will have to govern themselves, with little or no help from the Skeksis."
Sea Mother raised her hand a bit. "Forgive, young Taba, but we Sifa have little need for Skeksis as it is. We spend our days at sea, a place that they clearly have no wish to go. What do we stand to benefit from a new alliance with the Drenchen?" She was a bit too hasty to add, "Not that we still do not have an old, long-standing one." Swamp Mother nodded in agreement, although they must have known, as Taba did, that the clans had barely made contact with each other in more than many trine.
"What you shall benefit is trade," Taba explained. "There are many Drenchen ports that have fallen into disrepair, and could open new avenues for you both." When they both seemed unsure, she said, "Sea Mother, would you not want to construct not just keels, but entire new vessels from the Swamps of Sog's thanot trees? And Swamp Mother, imagine the prosperity for your people in the needed work to revitalize the ports? I can imagine wide tracts of swamps that could be cleared to allow Sifa ships far inland, along the way bringing the goods of all lands of the Silver Sea and picking up food and materials that can only be grown inland, giving the Sifa the ability to stay even longer asea..." She let her voice trail off, hoping that the Mothers would fill in the silence with their own hopes and dreams.
It was a long moment indeed until Sea Mother said, "And under whose authority do you broker this new alliance, Woodland one? And what do your people stand to profit?"
This would be the tricky part, Taba thought. "We would profit nothing, and I am under no authority than my own, Mother," she said. "I only wish to see the Gelfling reunited. As I have said, one day the Skeksis will have retreated fully into the Castle of the Crystal. They were immeasurably old when my grandfather was a boy, and they appear to be showing their age even more now. When the day comes that they no longer direct the courses of our society, I think we should all be able to provide for ourselves, don't you?"
They both still looked unsure. It was Swamp Mother who spoke, suddenly turning to address her. "What assurance do you have that the Skeksis are close to withdrawing from our lives? I have not gotten a satisfactory answer this, through all our travels together. Your argument seems to hinge on this, and yet we have no evidence. It seems that what has fueled our quest is your romantic idea that the Gelfling should put aside their histories and begin anew. You are still too young to know that this is sometimes impossible." Taba didn't like the way Swamp Mother arm was stiffening under her touch.
"Indeed," Sea Mother agreed. "The legacy of many generations is what you are asking us to put aside, all on the promise of some vague future gain."
Swamp Mother cocked an eye back at Sea Mother, and snorted in an amused way. "Hmph. Seems we are in agreement on that, at least."
Taba felt the situation spiraling away from her. She looked to Kolo, who seemed just as bewildered. Had she come all this way, to make these rivals agree only on the point that they did not wish to put aside their old grievances?
"And yet," Swamp Mother said, "there is something to be said for old troubles observed through a fresh eye. To whose benefit is it for us to perpetuate the squabbles of our mothers? Not they, for they are long gone. Not our children, for we put them in danger of conflicts they have even less hope of understanding."
Sea Mother was looking at Swamp Mother with an increasingly wary eye.
"Perhaps," the Drenchen continued, in a louder voice that must have carried to the Gelfling perched highest in the rigging of the combined ships, "all three times, past, present and future, are both served best by what this young Woodlander suggests." With this, she raised her hands, and slid the dirt-caked glove off of one of them.
The reaction from the crews of both vessels was instantaneous. A sudden hiss of mingled surprise and stifled revulsion came from every Gelfling present, and hands fell to sword hilts reflexively. A few weapons even made it partway out from leather sheaths in the time it took Kolo to leap between Swamp Mother and spread his tree-trunk arms out, trying to offer her protection in the direction of the largest concentration of Sifa.
Swamp Mother was unfazed, and kept her bare hand extended, even though Sea Mother could not see it behind Kolo's bulk. "We have found today that we agree on one thing," she said calmly, but still loudly enough to be heard by all. "Shall we see if we perhaps agree on more?"
Taba looked around, unable to fathom how quickly the situation had deteriorated. This isn't how she had pictured it at all. Her eyes fell across her ship's first mate, who had continued to remain silent. He only had one foot half a step in front of the other, his hand resting easily on his belt, but she knew from his stance that he was tensed, ready to jump into the fray on an instant's notice. It was this that calmed her most of all, because of the way his glittering eyes were fixed on her. He's prepared to defend *me*, she thought.
This thought made her a little braver, and she slowly raised a hand to lay on her bodyguard's arm. The muscles there were as hard and tensed as the ropes that kept the boats lashed together. "Kolo," she said, "please. Step away."
He looked at her, his marble-like podling eyes fearful. She nodded the slightest bit in assurance, and she felt his arms start to relax. He allowed himself to be led out of the charged space between the two Mothers, but she noted that the crews did not similarly relax.
Now all that stood between the Mothers was Swamp Mother's hand, cooly pale and clean, extended toward her counterpart. "Come, Sister Mother," she said. "Let us see if was can reach an accord. Dream with me."
Sea Mother had not moved an inch since the glove had come off, and even now the smooth, suns-worn lines of her elderly face were unreadable. Everyone knew the weight of Swamp Mother's request. If the two of them touched unclad hands, they would begin the dreamfast, in which they would psychically learn the stories of each other's lives in one intense, shared vision.
All knew what this meant for the mingled futures of their tribes. It was nearly impossible for two Gelfling bonded in this way to be able to hold grudges against each other. It was what Taba had hoped for; knowledge of another's cares and woes made their opponent's character at least understandable, and at best, dear.
Swamp Mother still hadn't moved. Her hands remained, neatly gloved, at her sides, partially hidden by the folds of her robes. "You would see me refuse, would you? You'd have my crews see their Mother spurn the friendly advance of a fellow Gelfling, even one from a clan as removed from our own as the Drenchen?"
Taba was holding her breath. She knew this was true, and it was why she had made this envoy first of all. If she could broach a deal between the Drenchen and Sifa, wouldn't she be able to unite all the clans? Could her far-flung dreams actually come to fruition?
"A crafty ploy," Sea Mother said, although to those closest, perhaps a slight upturning of the corners of her mouth could be observed. "And yet."
A shocked gasp went up from the mingled crews -- and Taba almost swore she heard one voice, from high in the rigging, cry out "No!" -- when Sea Mother sharply, decisively raised her hands and snapped off her own right glove, turning it inside out in the process. Never taking her eyes away from Swamp Mother's, she extended her hand in like fashion, taking care to present it entirely tipped to the side, her thumb pointing to the sky at the same angle as Swamp Mother's. Taba knew this was a symbol of mutual respect, so neither's hand would be underneath the other's.
Their palms met, and both Mothers' eyes rolled shut. No sound could be heard once the bond was made, fingers of entirely different shades clasping together. Even the waves seemed to understand the enormity of the situation and stilled their incessant slapping against the keels. Taba stood, feeling Kolo nervously shift from one foot to the other, while the Mothers stood as still as statues. On the inside, she knew, they were learning everything there was to know about each other, a two-way flood of images, sounds, smells, entire volumes of the stories of their lives pouring into each other. Just getting them to take this step was huge, but Taba knew the true test would come when all eyes were open and the moment of magic had passed.
When that moment came, the Mothers' hands separated as symmetrically as if they had the same owner. Their eyelids lifted in unison, and they saw each other in the light of new knowledge.
The next moment felt like it drew out forever. Taba didn't know what was going to happen next, until she saw the corners of Sea Mother's lips turn up in a heart-winning smile.
*3*
The crews had joined for a meal after the meeting. Huge steaming pots had been brought up from both galleys, and instead of fish stews, they had all been treated to a mix of meat and vegetables, thick enough to be rolled up in wide, flat leaves and devoured. To Taba, it was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted. She knew it was only because her tongue had been almost numb with sickness all through the turbulent onset of the voyage, but knowing the reason did not diminish her enjoyment.
She looked over to where the Mothers were sitting together, sharing more laughs than bites of their lunches. That, along with the sight of Kolo leaning back against the main mast, piling leaf after leaf into his mouth, made her have to keep herself from laughing giddily. She looked up at the men mingling, ranged across the main desk of both ship. They sat in groups, sharing tales of their voyages, and she could only wonder if their newly-forged alliance with the Drenchen made them as hopeful as she was. She wondered how much time was left before Gelfling of different clans would do the same, noticing their identity instead of seeing differences. At that moment, she felt strong, ready for however long the road ahead of her turned out to be.
Her eyes turned out to the horizon, where all three suns were visible, hovering various distances above the water. They blazed even brighter now that the storm had moved on, and her eyes automatically turned to Rose Sun, as they always seemed to when she had a choice of which to regard. It had always seemed like a balancing force between the yellow Great Sun and the violet Dying Sun. Her mother had always said the Rose Sun called to her because of her nature, the power that kept Great Sun from pulling the Universe down on itself, and kept Dying Sun spinning through the sky like a dancer.
She found herself trying to hold onto that moment's sense of harmony, knowing that she would need it in the times to come, much as her tongue would need to remember the taste of her meal to sustain her back to dry land. At the same time, she felt as if she needed for nothing, only the knowledge that the joy felt on this ship on this bright post-storm evening was her doing.
--
That night, Taba left Kolo in his hammock to snore through what must have been the best night's sleep he had gotten since they set sail. The sea, as if somehow knowing the new accord that had been forged that day, decided to take a night off, allowing the newly separated ships to take their new headings on entirely placid surfaces, only a light breeze filling the sails. Taba leaned into the wind as she stood at the side rail, just where Sea Mother's planks had delivered the Sifa queen to the ship's deck earlier in the day.
She only realized that she was not alone on the deck when a pair of pale hands came to rest on the railing next to hers. Turning with a start, she found herself looking into the eyes of the first mate. In the dimness, she could not read his expression. Did he come to confront her? She had hoped the crew would not take her actions as a means to diminish Sea Mother in any way. Was he here to voice his dissatisfaction?
"You did it," he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice. Not only that, but she could see the way the moonlight reflecting off the shimmering water made his eyes sparkle in the bemused way they had earlier that day.
"I suppose I did," she said, relaxing. "But it's only a first step."
"Toward what?" he asked.
"My dream," she said, turning to look back out across the water. In the darkness, she couldn't tell exactly where the water and sky met, making her half-believe that the sea went on forever, into the outer darkness and beyond. She sighed, drinking in the beauty of this corner of Thra. She was constantly amazed by how the world seemed to know just what she needed, at every point of her life's journey, and offered it to her, whether it was the right vista at the right time, or a calm sea on the night her jangled nerves needed it most.
The first mate, having followed her gaze, leaned forward onto his elbows, pushing his face into the wind. "You wish to unite all clans, not just the Sifa and the Drenchen."
"That's right," she said. "I believe we need each other more than we think. Do you disagree with me?" she asked, almost fearfully.
"Not necessarily," he responded. "I myself have never seen a Skeksis in the flesh, but then I've been asea most of my life. It said that they were never young, so perhaps you are right when you say we should prepare for when we must govern ourselves without their counsel."
"I'm glad," she said, for his agreement and also for the fact that the darkness hid her blush from him. Why did she feel so strange around this Sifa, whose name she didn't even know?
"Still," he mused, still following her gaze toward the weird lights playing at the horizon, "you plan for a future that will not be seen until our grandchildren's age, most likely." Her invisible cheeks deepened even further. "There was one thing I think you didn't tell the entire truth about earlier."
"What's that?" She would not turn to meet his eyes, she would not turn...
"Your reason for this mission. You said it was for no gain of your own. While I sense the truth of that on the surface, I think there's more underneath."
Even though she knew she could easily hide in the night's shadows, there was something in the first mate's voice that made her not want to. In fact, she was considering something she never would have before today...
He was the one to suggest it first. "If you wish..." He hesitated, then pressed on with tangible fortitude. "It has been a day for dreamfasting, after all."
She seriously considered it for a moment. She almost accepted his offer, here sailing on calm seas in ivory moonlight, but then her eyes glimpsed those orangey lights far out on the sea. "I'm sorry," she breathed. "Today we witnessed a meeting that has not occurred in so many trine. The waters we pass through are unknown. Perhaps now is the time to proceed cautiously." That wasn't the whole truth, but close enough to it. It was true that there had been no reported dreamfasting between any members of different tribes, much less between Mothers, in longer than anyone could remember.
"I see," he said. His hands left the railing of the ship.
"I mean no offense," she quickly replied. "I will tell you some of my reason, at least as much as I can comfortably say aloud."
"I ask no explanation," he said. He had right to be frustrated or angry, but he didn't.
She turned away from the horizon to look at him. Her eyes had adjusted so fully that she could see him almost as clearly as she had on this same deck at noon. "I give it freely," she said. "My family has a long history, one that was not always proud. What I seek to do by uniting the clans is to right a wrong that was done long ago." She could only hope that he understood how hard it was for her to divulge even that much. But he continued to smile at her and for some reason that made the words come easier. "The world, the way it is now, all split and wounded, is something that an ancestor of mine felt he was responsible for. I've grown to take that burden on myself, and want to repair what I can."
"Then today must have been a large step toward that goal," the first mate said, "not one that many Gelfling would have been able to carry through, regardless of their clan."
At that moment, she wanted to take his hand, to know everything there was to know about him, and be known in return. But she paused, afraid. She couldn't remember the last time she had spoken with someone like this, with whom she felt she could say anything and not be harshly judged. Was it because of him, or the fact that she didn't even know his name, and would likely never see him again once she was back on land? Earlier that day, they had both witnessed a bond forged forever by the joining of hands. Doing the same thing, in these very different circumstances, seemed wrong somehow. That, ultimately, was what prevented her from taking his hand, and the day would come when she would bitterly regret the way her decision had pivoted on her fear.
"I should get below deck," Taba said, self-consciously brushing the wind-strewn hair from her face.
"Perhaps," he said. "The night is colder than I expected. But if you find yourself unable to sleep, the watch is mine. Feel free to return."
She nodded, said a hurried goodnight and walked back to her cabin. It wasn't until she and Kolo were on the pier, waiting for Swamp Mother and their packs to be unloaded from the ship, that she related part of the story to him, more as a way of unburdening herself of it unfulfilled promise. But Kolo's response only made her feel worse: "First mates don't take watches on ships of this size, Taba."
She sighed, looked back toward the ship to see if she could catch sight of him. But then the time came to turn away from the sea, and she left herself without sight of him, as she had left herself without his name.
The Dark Crystal, as a film, resonates so deeply with those who experience it because of its central theme of healing. Jen lives in a world that he comes to realize he barely understands, and is given the task of solving a problem that he did not create, with tools that he doesn't know how to use. I think many people feel this way when faced with the trials of everyday life.
The world of Thra affords us the opportunity to tell the hero/heroine's journey across a vast canvas, one that has been populated and filigreed by the most inventive imaginations of the twentieth century. It has also been largely unexplored, which I why I think it's time to tell a story that is part quest, part travelogue, and part underpinning to the existing Thra mythology.
This is where Taba comes in. As you may have inferred from the preliminary chapters presented here, she is the sole descendant of Gyr, the wayfaring Gelfling who felt responsible for the rift that caused the UrSkeks to split at the time of the last Great Conjunction. He never was able to atone for what he did, but he passed the burden down to his children, and on to theirs, until only Taba was left to carry it. She takes this seriously, and after years of trying to work behind the scenes to mend the rift between the scattered Gelfling clans, has now taken it upon herself to bring the Mothers together, in whatever combinations she can facilitate, and get them to dreamfast, which she hopes will cause the old animosities -- and old psychological walls -- to come down.
Taba doesn't undertake this journey alone. Having grown up alongside the Pod People (a link that her many-times-great grandmother shared, and endured through the generations) she has a close friend in Kolo. Having grown up unusually large and strong among his smaller brethren, he has had to learn to not only reign in his strength and move carefully, but he must be very aware and thoughtful at all times of his surroundings. Because of this, Taba sees a great ally in him, along with their deep source of friendship. He is potential incarnate, in her eyes, and she wants to get him out of his village and into a world that needs his strength.
On their journey, they'll travel from the depths of the Cave of Obscurity to the vast expanse of the Crystal Sea, from the forests of the Woodland clan to the Crystal Palace, where they'll find -- by way of a shadowy figure that follows them as they journey across their world -- that the Skeksis might not the benevolent leaders they appear to be.
All this leads toward the Gelfling Gathering and the creation of the Wall of Destiny, which Taba and Kolo will be able to witness firsthand, being instrumental to ensuring the first meeting of the Gelfling Mothers for many hundreds of trine.
In doing so, Taba manages to fulfill the task that her ancestor unknowingly set before her, that of uniting the Gelfling clans. Kolo comes into his own, as well, finding his place in a world that he has never felt truly at home in. During their journey they, as much as their people, and their world, will take their first steps to becoming whole.
