Ga’un Oweku was drinking his morning maké when he saw the sign on the horizon. He started his day like any other, walking up from his small earthwork room at the base of Albué’té, the tallest tower on the sky island.
Many young Baenu, the people of the great sky plateau of Bae’une, looked up to the rocky tower of Albué’té from the edgeland town built around the main water source of the island, and looked forward to their first skyday. A skyday was a coming of age ceremony on the island where a young acolite would spend 8 hours a day meditating with their eyes open, observing the Ko’nu, or the wind spirits - in other words the clouds, although Ko referred to the movement of energy itself. These young students, as all Baenu except for the seriously ne’erdowells or Gaka’nashi, of which there were few of the island community, were encouraged to see beyond the beauty of the rolling clouds, the rain (in which, if it were to occur, they were encouraged to sit through, using only their body heat and the rolls of J’hana blankets they were equipped with) to what lay below, through each layer of the world into the unknowable everything, the great spirit of the air itself.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Bae’une | Literally, “watchtower”. Also a figurative name for plateau-like geological structures (also known as Tepuis) that rise thousands of feet above the clouds. These structures were probably formed by glaciers that came from the great winter. |
| Baenu | Residents and peoples of Bae’unes |
| Gaka’nashi | Baenu students who do not follow their path, or their inner Ko |
| Ko | Wind, but also a word for a way or path |
| Ko’nu | Literally, “Wind people”. The Bae’nu believed that the elements are the voices of god. They believe the Ko, or wind, is the voice of change, and by listening to the wind, one can divine the impermanence of the world and, perhaps, the future |
| Bae’une Hadona | the southernmost Bae’une. Fewer people that the biggest Bae’une of Baeun’une Baeo, but many more people than Baea’kaijem. Bae’une Hadona is famous for its super strong and brave warriors who patrol the Ha’Junko, and for its delicious keleki. This is where the Jasoka family lived until Mama did not come back, and then we took the skytram to ‘Kaijem to live with Grandpa Ga’un |
The Baenu believed that the wind brought everything - life, death, wonder, horror - but that was the role of the Baenu to watch it all come and pass, understanding the impermanence of all things.
In fact, Baena means “to watch” or maybe a better translation would be “to witness” or, as witnessing is seen as the essential act of existence within Bae’une’i culture, another valid translation would simply be “to be”. And so the translation for Bae’une into the common english of the 21st century, if I may play the part of a scholar, may be “The Great Watchtower”, or “The Outpost”. Of all the sky islands, it was the farthest to the south, where the great unknown lay, a vast desert that all of the outrigger people’s rarely returned from, even the esteemed scouts and legendary Ha’junkos, the warrior scientist class, the only trained individuals who ever ventured into the valley.
Imagine this - enormous plateaus of rock extending so high above the ground below them that are encased in a river of clouds. Far enough in any direction, they are surrounded by mountains, except for the south where there is only wasteland. But in the jungle valleys below these plateaus, are horrors and monsters beyond telling. Only certain paths can be followed in the arduous path between the Bae’une islands, which are of course not true islands in that they are not surrounded by ocean or liquid water, but rather the vapor of rolling clouds, thick in the air and protecting the people above from the toxins and airborne fungus and molds that exist in the atmosphere of the rolling jungle hills below.
In fact, the scientists in Baea’Kaijem, the sky island of prophets of the great library, have run trials to determine a strong theory that the clouds themselves are the output of the great winding trees and the lush explosions of leaves and twisting bushes of greatmoss, which are catharsing the toxins of the earth itself.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| J’hana | Literally, “Earth Demon”. Any of several species of large, dangerous mammals that roamed the Junko, the mountainous and jungley wilderness that lays below the Bae’nuin, the scattered “archipelago” of plateaus rising above the the world. Many Baenu consider the J’hana to be as intelligent if not more intelligent than the Baenu, and fear the day when the J’hana decided to climb the Bae’nuin |
| Ha’Junkos | Literally, “Torch in the wilderness”, or even “light in the darkness”, this is the Baeyenian name for their esteemed warrior class, only permitted to roam the Junko after passing a series of arduous challenges and strict criteria of honor and judement. The people’s the various Bae’unes depend on Ha’Junkos to scavenge for valuable items, whether it is the fruit of the Junko itself or spoils from the Old World. |
| t’esherim | Artifacts of the old world. Also a word for portals, as some artifacts from the old world are considered capable of transporting those who handle them into other planes, although others simply consider these portals to be figurative gateways to knowledge, arcane and historical, that only exists in the old world. |
| t’esherim nui | Artifacts of the old world that somehow can remember things. Although nonliving things normally have no memory, some of the t’esherim do have memory, because some of them once had eyes and ears and mouths as well. But now they are just objects of shiliki and metal. |
| T’eshenu | The mysterious race that existed before humans. |
| T’yukama Kilo Nui | The new gods. Literally, The new power beyond time.”Why do they call them the new gods?” L’omi would ask. “Because they are still alive”, was Ga’un’s answer. |
| Shiliki | A strange material from the old world that is lighter than wood but sometimes stronger, which comes in strange shapes that echo the old world |
But okay, sorry, that’s probably enough to go on. I am just really pretty amazed with the Bae’une culture, it’s fascinating and strange and full of great lessons about time and life, regardless of which epoch you’re in. Ask me more about it sometime, I’ll try to keep the anthropology sparser. This story starts on this particular morning, where Ga’un (esteemed one, which also sort of just means advanced in years) Oweku was sipping his herbal tea and he saw a column of smoke extending out of Bae’Kon, the Bae’jo’s sister community, southwest of Bae’Kajemi.
This is how Ga’un always started his days, for the last five years. His wife, Choa, had never returned from a scouting trip years ago, seeking the valuable herbs that allowed residents of the Baune to survive the airborne fungal infections. Ironically, her party had reported back sorrowfully that she had fallen victim to the very fungus she was gathering ingredients to cure.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Za’kama | The stone golem, said to cause earthquakes and to live in a hole a hundred miles underground. ”A hundred miles?” L’omi would ask. “I din’t know the ground was so tall!” And Ga’un would smile. ”Is L’omi your favorite grandchild?” Kami would ask. ”Of course not, you are,” Ga’un would answer. “But don’t tell Kami." "Hey!” L’omi would say, but laugh, and whisper loudly to Kami “I think you are Gogo’s favorite, but everyone knows he has terrible taste”. |
| Na’Kama | The ocean and the rain, collector of all rivers, and gardener of the trees. |
A T’yukama Kilo is sighted from afar
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Toast | L’omi and Kami’s favorite brother, who is the most scholarly of the Josaka family. Also, the author of the Cha’koko Special Encyclopedia of Bae’une! But with some copy editing from aunt Po. Okay maybe Aunt Po is the most scholarly it turns out, but Toast is the second most eminently scholarly. |
| L’omi | The youngest sibling of the Josaka family, who asks so many questions all the time which is good and fine but doesn’t always even listen to the answers which is kind of something we all hope she grows out of. Except that papa Ga’un says to “be careful what you wish for”, so the Kosaja family will remain strong and be too careful to wish for this. Even if some of their members want to sometimes. |
| Kami | The oldest sibling of the Josaka family who is also the fastest. This is probably just because she is oldest, the Ko will tell us one day. But she is definitely the best climber and this seems sort of unlikely to change. But she is also very strong and responsible and takes care of us (Toast and L’omi) when Ga’un can’t or Po is out on an expedition. |
Toast’s dreams were resolving into the vague currents of wind whistling through the stones, and fictions of the water trickling far below, as if he were a Greathawk soaring over the Bae’un itself. Beneath the clouds, in the complex systems of ravines and caves and fallen great pillars of stones, the ghosts were calling, hungry. The J’hana gnashed their mouths of sharp teeth and smiled, eyes luminous in the dark, crouched and jumping from stone to stone.
But on great wings, Toast was beyond worry. “Kama!” came a voice, calling out in urgency and strange familiary. “Kama! To’Asta!” it called, and the softness of the world evaporated. In a moment, everything became solid, and quite real. It was grandpa’s voice, but it wasn’t quite grandpa’s voice, because Ga’un’s voice was always calm and soft.
Toast got up from his mat as quickly as he could and rushed up the two sets of stone stairs that led to the dais.
Kama was already there, standing next to Ga’un, who was resting heavily on his staff and speaking to her.
“…four times, and wait two beats, then a trill for three beats”, said Ga’un. “Repeat it eight it times, with ten beats in between. Got it?” Ga’un said, his voice serious and hard.
Kama nodded once to show she’d understood, her dark eyes set and serious.
“Toast good - go with Kama,” said Ga’un.
“But he’ll slow me down Grandpa,” protested Kama. Ga’un glared at her, and that was that.
Toast must have looked confused, because Ga’un pointed once.
Toast followed the line his finger created. It led to a column of red smoke extending right out of the clouds and high, high into the sky.
“Bae’une Baeo?” asked Toast.
Ga’un nodded vigorously. “Go! Go!”
“Come on” said Kama, grabbing toasts hand. Refusing to slow her down, Toast ran as hard as he could to follow her. They went down the stairs, over the stone bridge that crossed the rushing Ga’shoko river, and up the rocky slope that led to the Carillon, a tower full of a thousand bells.
They reached, and Toast was out of breath, but Kama was reciting Ga’un’s instructions.
“Four times, wait two beats. Three beat trill. Then wait ten beats. Repeat…eight times…” Kama said, eyes looking.
She took the stone hammer off it’s pedestal, placed the wreath of feathers on Toast’s ears, then another on her own.
Toast watched with eyes wide as Kama pulled the the great rope down. Through his wreath of feathers who could hear the great singing of the bells. Then Kama raised the stone hammer over her head and hit the great gong once, twice, three, four times.
The Gong crashed beautifully, horrifyingly, with the sound of a million demons screaming with a million angels. Toast was grateful for the wreath of feathers, without which he was sure he would have been deafened.
Kama held her hand up to toast, then snapped and pointed at him.
Toast pumped the auto-gonger with his foot, causing the gong to trill like a singer.
Then they waited. They repeated this process eight times. By the end, Toast was grateful for the silence, delicious wind, birds in the trees. But it didn’t last long.
The chants from the few Ha’junko, and the sounds of the village began echoing below. By the time Kama and Toast made it back, Kama pointed to toast.
“Look”, she said.
Beyond the monastery, across the bridge, and on the other end of town, a great plume of Kaijem’s own had begun to burn. It was difficult to make out from so far away, but if Toast squinted, he could see the figures of a couple Ha’junko’s throwing additional bales of dried leaves and grass on top of the great signal fire, which was emitting a great plume of smoke. It was strange to see the flames of the roaring fire lick up hungrily into the air without a sound. Toast could imagine the crackling of the hay and the roaring of the heat as well as if it was in his ears, but it must have been two miles away.
Toast looked back at Kama. The wind blew her long black her back, and her eyes were far away, even past the far signal fire coming far off from somewhere in the scholar town of Kaijem.
Notes Sorry, I keep flip flopping, but I think that Kaijem should be another town. That would be cool because then they could go and find all the information and salvage it from the libraries, maybe unearthing something special because of the fire. So the town the protagonists are is another town, known for giving birth to warriors, but in others ways quite humble - think…quiet pride
Her dark eyes searched imperceptibly, taking in everything. Toast got the sense, looking at her, than Kama really saw things. Kama’s eyes widened.
“Toast!” she said, raising a finger.
The urgency in Kama’s voice made him snap his head so quickly he got a crik in his neck.
Smarting from the sudden pain, it took him a moment to understand what Kama had wanted him to see. By the two Ha’junkos - was that Jet? It sure looked like Jet - the fire raged. But the wind had changed direction. Instead of a plume of smoke flowing west, away from the town, it had violently changed direction, and the smoke had danced to begin weave itself east, so that it began to arc over the hay-thatched houses of lower Bae’une Hadona.
It wasn’t just smoke - there were embers too. Couldn’t the Junkos see? They were going to set the town on fire.
“We have to tell them,” Kama said. “Come on.” She jumped down from the stones she had been standing on and immediately called out in pain, collapsing on the ground.
“Kama!” Toast said, rushing over to her.
Kama winced. “I’m okay,” she said, and attempted to get up and sprint down the mountain paht but took just one step and then collapsed again, crying out louder than the first time with eyes wide.
“I,” Kama took a sharp intake of breath. “I think it’s sprained. Or broken maybe.”
“I’ll get help,” said Toast, looking around wildly to see if there was anyone nearby, head spinning from the pace at which things were going wrong. It had been such a peaceful morning, yet now there was the first signal fire. What was the signal for? Toast wondered distantly. Maybe the J’hanas had finally learned to scale the walls. But that didn’t make sense - the walls of Kaijem were the most sheer - if anything, Bau’une Bau would be their target, as it’s walls were a bit easier to scale, or eve Bau’une Hadona because it was closer to the Junko, the home of the J’hanas.
“You need to warn them. I’ll be fine. Go!” said Kama.
Toast looked at her in disbelief. Him? He would sprain his own ankle! He wasn’t coordinated like Kama, and it was almost two miles away downhill. I mean, downhill would allow him to go fast, but fast wasn’t always a good thing in Toast’s experience. Fast was more of a Kama experience - it didn’t sit well with Toast.
“Toast, if the town catches on and we could have stopped it, neither of us will ever be able to forgive ourselves. What else do you need to hear? Hurry!”
Toast thought forward to a lifetime of regret and nodded, pushing all of the physical anxieties of his body aside. He gave Kama one last look, then started running.
The wind whistled around him as he picked up speed. He quickly made it down the steps of the temple, but forgot about the landings at the base of the large stone staircase that led to it, and was unable to slow down with nothing but a sheer drop into nothingness.
He angled his body to bounce off the pile of rocks, and a few of the sacred stones popped off the top and down into the thousands of feet of nothingness on the north side of the outcropping the temple was built on. But the way they’d jostled had absorbed a lot of his momentum and prevented certain death. Toast didn’t dwell on it, just jostled his right shoulder in its socket once, then took off again.
Ok. He could do this.
Don’t die Toast, he thought.
What I learned from A Quiet Place intro maybe going straight into the action is to much? It’s sorta nice to develop some characters, to create a lull before the storm. The ignorance of the future.