The night sky was aglow with the luster of the full moon, and the waters below held their own brilliant reflection of the nocturnal sovereign. The assembled villagers could imagine no better time to accomplish their purpose. "Our prayers have had no effect," the village chief said. "We must petition the god directly. Are you ready, nephew?"
"No," Gerald said.
"Don't talk like that. I know it's a long journey, but we'll get you as close as we can. Men!"
The villagers hoisted up Gerald, ran to the edge of the cliff, and tossed him as far as they could. They tried to watch his progress until they heard a splash. Wishing Gerald good luck on his mission, they returned to the village.
Down below, Gerald was struck senseless for a moment when he hit the water, but instinct kicked in and he started swimming for his life. Disoriented, he saw no guide but a bright round light, and as he swam it grew bigger and bigger . . .
Gerald woke up and looked around. Fields of cotton dotted by cotton trees stretched as far as he could see. Thick herds of rabbits hopped across rises and dips pursued by arctic foxes with javelins, while hippogriffs with gray plumage sported in the starry sky. The elephants were also gray.
Nowhere did he see anything that could be mistaken for any kind of sea god's palace nor any sign or guidepost indicating which way it could be. Even the stars looked strange. With no better ideas, he started walking the direction he happened to be facing when he stood up.
In time he crested a ridge and saw a paved stone road, which he eagerly intercepted and followed. His spirits were high owing to his good fortune and rose higher when he saw, sitting on a rock beside the road, a person.
"Excuse me, sir," he called out.
The man slid off the rock onto the road. "Is that the rarity of rarities here on the moon, a human? I'm pleased to meet you. Who might you be? I would introduce myself, but obviously there's no need."
"Oh? Why is that?"
"Well, I'm Varney the renowned playwright," he said. In response to Gerald's blank look, he elaborated. "I write plays. For theaters. People watch them."
"I get that, but I'm sorry to say I haven't heard of you. We don't have a theater in my village."
"That's a shame."
"If you don't mind me asking, what's a celebrated playwright doing here?"
"This is the moon. All playwrights end up here eventually. Are you a playwright or just a poet?"
"Ah, no, I'm just Gerald, a fisherman." In response to Varney's blank look, Gerald elaborated. "I catch fish. In the sea."
"I understand that very well. As a matter of fact, I have eaten fish before. But there are no fish in the Lunar Sea. You'd better go home."
"I'm not here to fish. The village hasn't been doing so well, you see, and they sent me to ask the sea god if he would make our waters more populated. I can't go home until I've seen him." Gerald shook his head. "I don't really know if I can go home after, but it is what it is."
"That's a terrible story. I don't mean that sympathetically. Well, good luck. The sea god's palace is quite far away."
"You know where it is? Could you please tell me? I'm completely lost."
"Anything for a human. Now if you look in this direction, do you see where the road forks?"
"I do."
"Both roads lead to the palace. If you take the left path, you will pass through the pleasant and road-crossed Serene Plains, where at this very moment crowds are gathering for the moon's biggest sporting event, the Lunar Classic. The championship will be decided soon. They have music and puppet shows, not to mention betting has reached extravagant levels. You can buy souvenirs for your village and try the cotton candy."
"You can make candy out of cotton?"
"No, it only looks like cotton. It's a lunar specialty. So of course you want to go that way. The other path leads to the Lunar Sea, past which are broad and vasty plains unknown to infrastructure which you must cross to reach the palace."
"Oh, that sounds much faster. I'll go that way. Thank you for telling me."
Gerald started walking, but Varney put himself in his way. "Wait just a moment. I don't recommend the Lunar Sea at all. It's a bad route to take."
"How so?"
"Well, it's a big sea. You need a boat or raft to cross it. And it's dangerous. You'll be in trouble if you drink from it."
"Pardon me for saying so, and maybe playwrights don't know this, but that sounds like how seas usually are."
"Fine then, take that road. I'll come along so I can see your face when you realize the mistake you've made."
"Really? I sure appreciate it, Mr. Varney."
The road wandered by rows of cotton lavender until it met with a wide, sluggish river and adopted a parallel course. "This is the Millennium River," Varney said. "Within its banks flows not water, but nectar."
"That's good. I'm pretty thirsty."
"Don't drink nectar. Also, if you really think about it, you'll find you aren't hungry or thirsty at all."
"What are you talking about?" Gerald thought it over. "Wait, you're right."
"Nobody's thirsty on the moon, and only the foxes seem to be hungry. Let's keep going." So saying, they continued down the road.
Gerald and Varney reached a stretch of the river where a system of channels diverted the river into dozens of small pools. Around the pools, clusters of squirrels, beavers, and raccoons wearing smocks were washing small, shiny objects in the nectar and placing them in baskets.
Gerald tried to take in the scene."What's going on? What are those sparkling things?"
"Oh, those are souls. They come out of the dead on Earth, tumble into the sea, and rain down on the Pompous Mountains upstream. Then they're carried down the river to this place. They'd go all the way to the sea if the waterworks didn't divert them."
"What are the animals doing to them?"
"The souls that arrive here are covered in so much gunk and grime you would hardly believe it. Their sins, their virtues, their hopes and deeds, fame and infamy . . . people accumulate a great mass of it all during their lives. Obviously that all has to be washed off before the souls can be used again. Once they're clean, the workers set them aside for the seagulls to pick up and distribute on Earth."
"Why seagulls?"
"They can glide all the way to Earth without flapping once."
"Ah, I see. That's efficiency."
"Some rare souls have gained such a dense shell of deeds they sink right to the bottom and roll slowly along the river floor. After hundreds of years they reach the Lunar Sea, and after centuries more enough of the cruft comes off that they rise to the top of the water and then keep going right into the sky, where they become stars."
"So that's why they say the sky is the field of heroes?"
"Exactly. That's from one of my plays, by the way."
"I never knew. Do you think we could borrow a raft or boat?"
"That's easy enough to find out. Hey, is Wulfgar around?"
The animals ceased their fussy little movements and looked at the travelers. One of the squirrels came up to them. "What do you want, Varney?"
"Nothing at all. My friend Gerald here, however, wishes to cross the Lunar Sea."
"Why? The big game's the other way."
"Regrettably, he has a job to do that takes him away from the Serene Plains, much like yours keeps you here."
"Poor guy. Sure, you can use the raft. Nobody here's going to need it anytime soon, and the beavers can make another if they want."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Wulfgar," Gerald said.
"Don't mention it."
Gerald and Varney made their way through the facilities and found a simple wooden raft pulled up on the bank.
"Do you know how to use this kind of thing?" Varney asked.
Gerald shoved the raft and hopped on. "Of course."
Varney joined Gerald on the raft, and down the river they went. "This really isn't water," Gerald remarked. "It's so thick I'm having trouble working the pole."
"That is one of its distinct properties. Nectar replaces water entirely in the body, sustaining the internal organs with a minimum of motion. That contributes to that length of life which is characteristic of the highest creatures."
"Then why did you say it was bad to drink it?"
"First, the nectar will cleanse your insides through its spiritually abrasive properties. Humans are mostly bad, so you're likely to have vital parts scrubbed away. Just surviving that part is a matter of luck. Second, while nectar replaces water, the opposite is not true. You will be forced to stay near this river and sea for the rest of your elongated life."
"I was going to spend my whole life by the sea anyway."
"You will perceive also there are no fish in the nectar."
"By the trident! I didn't think about that. Is it safe for other creatures, though?"
"Not at all. Why, you can see right there the hippopotamuses are wearing snorkels."
"Oh, you're right. Are they as bad as humans?"
"You've never met a hippopotamus, have you? They're easily thirty percent worse."
The raft floated down the river all the way to the Lunar Sea. The nectar spread out over a such a great width that Gerald and Varney could barely see the shore on either side.
"It's more of a lake than a sea," Gerald said.
"Yes. I think they were trying for a pun, but I disagree with it."
"Which way should I go?"
"You should go to the left bank and get off this lake as fast as possible, but the palace is past the far side."
"All right, thanks."
Gerald poled the raft along while seagulls drifted above his head. Wisps of cotton blew in the mild winds above the lake. The stars shining above seemed brighter than they ever did on Earth since there was no sun or moon to rival them.
"Hey, Mr. Varney?"
"Hm?"
"Why do the stars look funny?"
"You're viewing them from a different position. If you want to use them to navigate, you have to learn them all over again. The moon is too small for anyone to bother, though."
To Be Continued
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