James awoke in his room, the padding beneath him hard but not uncomfortable. They had placed him on the floor of his room, having decided after a very quick deliberation that he shouldn’t be climbing the stairs to his sleeping platform.

James stretched and felt the now familiar sensation of dull pain. It had only been two weeks since the attack, but his wounds had all pretty much healed—externally at least. He still felt minor aches and discomfort when he moved around too much, like he did when he stretched. James opened his eyes and was met with Tor’s face mere inches from his own. Tor stared at him, expectation written on his face, before unravelling his tongue and licking James’s face. James weakly pushed him away. Tor had healed much faster than James had. Something about Tor’s affinity to Kodama, or something. Whatever the reason, it annoyed James… though, he was glad that Tor had pulled through. James had been told by both Kiri and Celeste that Tor’s injuries were nearly as bad as his own.

He sure doesn’t show it, James thought, watching Tor drool a puddle on the ground waiting for James to get up.

James sighed and resigned himself to struggling to his feet. Tor let out several metallic sounds as he did so, shaking his whole body at the absence of a tail.

“Yeah, yeah, buddy. Let’s go,” James said, holding back a yawn.

The two made their way out of the room, but rather than heading right, which would take them to the deck, James turned to the left. Slowly, so as to not cause any additional aches in his body, James began descending the stairs to the bottom of the ship. It didn’t take him long to reach the platform that had once contained his rope. That rope had become unnecessary when Bron landed the ship in the middle of the valley. James wished, not for the first time, that he had been awake when it happened. Seeing his ship descend through the clouds and land on the surface must have been quite a sight.

James swung the door at the end of the hall open, letting the fresh smell of nature enter the ship. Second to the smell was the sound of people. Laughter and discussion drifted through the air and into his ears. He looked down at the hundreds of people tending to the valley, lit by the warm light that came from the sapling trees that occupied the ground. He gave a nod of satisfaction, recognizing some of the people as Vinci citizens.

James looked at the metal ladder and gave an inward groan. He always felt some form of pain when he descended it. Tor, on the other hand, simply jumped off the side, falling the ten or so feet to the ground. James watched him with another pang of mild annoyance.

Forget about healed. He’s better than he was before, James thought with a sigh.

Eventually he managed to make his way down the ladder. He rolled his shoulder around as he stepped off onto the lower platform. It wasn’t fully healed, still tender, but the fact that it had reformed in a matter of days was still incredible to James.

With a little bit of effort, James climbed over the metal railing and onto the ground. He walked past one of the many metal beams that held the ship in place. Grass tickled his shins as he walked, each blade giving off a faint green glow. In the distance, he saw several other ships docked on the valley floor. The rest were all hovering above them, waiting to depart.

James leveled his gaze to where a group of people were struggling with some lumber. Several houses rose in the air behind them and even more sat partially built, waiting for completion. A smile came across his face as he recognized one of them—a man that towered above the rest.

Bron was in the middle of a deep bellowing laugh when he spotted James approaching. He approached James with arms outstretched.

“Jameson, my boy! How are you feeling?” he asked, lifting James into an embrace.

“I was fine until you decide to squeeze me to death,” James said, gasping for air.

“Oh, come now. The Jameson that I know can withstand a lot more than a gentle hug,” Bron replied, but put James down anyway.

James looked over at the finished houses.

“You’re making progress,” he said.

Bron’s expression grew a little more somber.

“Not nearly enough, unfortunately.” He looked up to the sky. “And we don’t have much time.” There were a few moments of silence as the two looked up at the layer of dark clouds. “You won’t reconsider?”

James shook his head, which earned a sigh from Bron.

“You and your sister both… Well, I suppose it is your decision. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

“I’ve thought it through, and I’m sure Celeste has too. Speaking of her, where is she?”

Bron pointed over his shoulder, and James gave an appreciative nod.

He found her helping with the fruit farm—as they were calling it. It was a large section of the valley dedicated primarily to the growth of para para trees. Since seeds could be obtained from fully grown para para trees in plentiful quantities, it was an easy and dependable source of food. Kiri’s presence on the valley floor hastened this process. Some portions of the valley were already producing fruit. Indeed, James watched as several people walked by him carrying baskets filled with fruit to be cleaned and divided amongst their people—and James’s people too, for that matter.

Celeste waved him over, her frizzy red hair still visible in the dim glow of the trees. James sauntered over to her and was quickly passed by a ball of glistening fur. Tor collided with Celeste and the two fell over, laughing—or at least James assumed Tor’s low pitched metallic grinding was a laugh. Celeste got back to her feet and began scratching Tor’s head affectionately.

“Pretty incredible, huh?” she said, gesturing around her.

James inspected the several hundred para para trees that surrounded him, most being halfway to maturity. He nodded in agreement.

“To think that trees grew this fast…” James said in amazement.

“They don’t—or didn’t, at least. Kora says that we have Kiri to thank for their rapid growth. Apparently, they didn’t even grow this fast when Kora held Kodama’s will. Something about her connection. I don’t know.” She gave a shrug. “I zone out when they start talking about that stuff.”

James rolled his eyes at her before taking another look around.

“Are you sure—”

“Yup!” Celeste said, cutting him off.

“So, you’re not staying just because I’m—”

“Nope!” Celeste patted Tor on the head. “I’m staying for him,” she said in smug satisfaction.

James sighed, but he couldn’t suppress a smile.

“I’m serious. This is an important decision.”

The smile faded somewhat on Celeste’s lips. She turned to examine her surroundings.

“I’m sure, James. There was always something off about living in the sky. I always felt a little trapped—closed in on all sides. But ever since I set foot on the surface, that feeling has drifted away.”

James nodded, and they were both silent for a few moments.

“And what about you?” she said accusingly. “Leaving the fleet just because you got yourself a girlfriend.”

“What!? I didn’t—We aren’t…” He sighed. “I will miss Vessel Nine, but… there’s so much more here. So much more to be found and to see.”

Celeste nodded, feeling a similar feeling. They stood there for a time, watching the occasional villager pick fruits from the nearby trees and carry them away.

“She’s by the river,” Celeste said eventually.

“Who is?” James asked.

Celeste only gave him an amused expression. He briefly thought about hitting her on the head but thought better of it. He still wasn’t in any condition to fight his sister.

James approached the river. He saw no sign of Kiri, which he was okay with. She had been avoiding him ever since regained consciousness. He felt a slight tension in his body at the thought of speaking with her, but the light blue water seemed to calm him down. He knelt down, noticing several fish swimming about. He watched as they danced across the stream against the current, nibbling at things James couldn’t see.

“Beautiful, aren’t they?” a voice said from behind him.

James spun to find Kiri staring at him. She gave a sheepish smile.

“You look well,” she said, wincing and looking away slightly.

She looked back, a shimmer of guilt on her face. After a few moments of silence, James opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when Kiri raised her hand.

“I’m sorry, James,” she said, moving her hand to touch a spot on his neck. A scar, freshly healed. “I… lost myself… in the anger, in the hatred. It blinded me. But as soon as they attacked you, my connection to them snapped.” She looked directly into his eyes. “Thank you. Deserved or not, I don’t want to be a killer.”

James relaxed. His assumption had been that she was angry at him for defending Shamran, and that’s why she was avoiding him. He really needed to get better at reading her moods. Regardless, he was relieved. A smile even spread across his lips. He tried to hide it, but Kiri saw it anyway.

“What about this is funny to you?” she said with a raised eyebrow. “I could have killed you, you know?”

James smiled, unable to control his grin. “I know. I’m just happy. I thought you hated me, avoiding me and all.”

“Your right. It’s so much better that I’ve been walking around feeling guilty that I almost killed you,” she said, exasperated. Despite her tone, she couldn’t help the smirk that lifted the sides of her mouth.

James patted himself on the chest, wincing only slightly at the dull internal pain. “Well, you didn’t kill me, so no need to walk around feeling guilty. Okay?”

Kiri gave him a flat expression and rolled her eyes before kneeling down to inspect the river.

“I’ll miss you, James. I can’t really say it’s been fun, considering how many times we came close to dying, but I will miss having you around.” James tried to read her face, but she had angled it away from his. “Just promise you’ll visit every now and then.”

James raised his eyebrow in confusion. “Has no one told you?”

Kiri risked turning to face him. Even in the dim light, he could see she was blushing.

“Told me what?” she asked.

“Me and Celeste… we’re staying here.”

Kiri looked up at him, confused, then her eyes widened in surprise.

“Why? Your people. Your home. Won’t you miss them?”

James looked up at the clouds billowing above him, lit up in the faint glow of the trees.

“I think I’ll miss the sun—the heat—but this world is filled with too many possibilities. Perhaps one day I’ll explore the other corners of it, but right now I want to explore this corner.”

Kiri faced the river again, watching a fish breach the surface and leave ripples that were quickly carried downstream.

“Well, I’m glad you’re staying. Though, I can’t say the same about your sister. Frustrating woman.”

Despite her words, James saw the corners of her lips lift slightly into a smile. He let the two of them slip into a comfortable silence and found himself staring intently into the forest. Though it was growing back, it still wasn’t nearly as dense as it once was. It left plenty of gaps for him to look deep into the forest.

“They’re never coming back,” Kiri said after a few moments.

James shook himself, looking down at where she knelt. Kiri shrugged.

“Just because I’ve been avoiding you doesn’t mean I haven’t been watching you. Every once in a while, you’ll just stop and stare like that. I can tell your thinking about them, expecting them to step out from behind a tree.”

James felt a small flush of embarrassment. She was right. He kept feeling like they were just beyond his view—just beyond the furthest tree he could see. It’s not as though he wanted to see them. It was just that he didn’t feel the closure that everyone else did. He had been told what had happened, of course. Kodama’s messenger had willed Shamran, Sven, and Duke to follow him into the forest. Charlie went on his own free will. The beast said he would show them a life filled with dirt and bark—show them what they had destroyed. Not a single one protested, or at least that’s what James had been told.

He sighed. “One moment they were here, then they were gone. I don’t miss them. I just… I feel like it was my responsibility to watch them go.”

Kiri raised an eyebrow and gave him a half smile. “Keep carrying all that weight and you’ll slip and fall one day. Besides, you have bigger things to worry about.”

James looked at her, confused. “Bigger things like what?” he asked.

Kiri stood up, coming close to James and smiling. “Like learning how to swim.”

And with that, she shoved him into the river. He expected pain to blossom in his body, but the cool chill of the water seemed to sooth it all away, even despite all the flailing his limbs were doing.

James picked up the skill quite quickly, mainly due to necessity. There were a few moments that James thought he might actually drown. Kiri, the ball of sympathy she was, told him that it was better he drowned now when she could save him than later when she couldn’t. Although it annoyed him to admit it, she had a point. Water was nearly unavoidable in this new world, something James was struggling to adapt to. Water had been a scarcity in Vinci. Now, with it all around him, James figured it was important to learn how to not die in it. Celeste even joined a lesson or two, picking up the skill much quicker than James, to his mild annoyance. All his other time was spent tending to the para para trees, which typically consisted of watering them and trimming the branches if necessary. This simple lifestyle could only last so long without interruption, James knew, and eventually the day came—the day he had been dreading.

James awoke in his bed, staring blankly up at the metal ceiling. He’d long since recovered enough to climb the stairs to his platform, but his body still ached as he sat up—more due to lack of sleep than injury. James peered out the window, trying to check the time of day. A habit he would have to break, since only a cozy light of mixed colors every came through the window now. Regardless of where the sun was, his body told him that it was early.

James glanced down at Celeste’s bed only to find it empty. It would seem he wasn’t the only one having difficulty sleeping. James groggily raised himself to his feet and began the trek down the stairs. He found Celeste at the bottom, drawing on the table as she often did. The light of the lightbulb seemed blaring in comparison to the glow from outside. James leaned over to inspect her drawing. It was a picture of him and her standing on the deck of a ship. Wind rippled both of their hair, and a round sun shined above them. Even in the dim light of the room, the picture seemed bright.

“Ready?” Celeste asked, not looking away.

James took a few moments to inspect the room before nodding. He threw a sack over his shoulder that he had prepared the night before. It contained both of their meager belongings. Clothes, bedding, and a few knick-knacks that they had collected over the years.

“Ready,” James said. He tried to keep the sadness from his voice. A task he was finding impossible.

Silently, the two made for the door. They both hesitated in the doorway, before eventually turning off the light and plunging the room into darkness. James spend the entire walk out thinking about the next time it would be turned on.

Noise roused him from his thoughts as he exited the ship. The sound of banging and discussion hit his hears. James was surprised to see Vinci Citizens hard at work getting the ship ready to take off. The metal support beams, which had been driven into the ground with alarmingly long spikes, were slowly being freed from their restraints. Celeste and James sat down a distance away to watch.

“They sure look happy to go,” Celeste said.

James nodded. “Can you blame them? The sky is all they’ve ever known. I still can’t believe we’re staying.”

“Getting cold feet?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

James smiled. “Not a chance.”

The two sat for a while in silence, watching the men and women of Vinci finish their preparations. Eventually, it was clear that the time for takeoff was approaching. James and Celeste rose to their feet as a largely built man approached them.

“I brought you both something,” Bron said as he reached them. He unslung a pack from his back and handed it over. James could tell that it was full, but it felt surprisingly light in his hands. He opened it and felt his eyes open wide. It was filled to the brim with whisps. James quickly shut it again.

“What is it?” Celeste asked.

“Bron, we can’t take this. You’ll need it more than us,” James said, ignoring Celeste’s curious look.

“Nonsense, Jameson. We have plenty of food—”

“Food!” Celeste gasped. “They’re whisps, aren’t they?!” she demanded, swiping the bag from James. She looked inside, then narrowed her eyes at James. “You were going to give these back?!” she said in an unbelieving tone.

James ignored her. “Are you sure?”

Bron nodded, patting him on the shoulder. “Quite sure, my boy. We’ve received a generous amount from the villagers, and we can get more from the other villages around the world.”

James narrowed his eyes at him.

“Not like that,” Bron said quickly. “By the winds, I’d rather starve than resort to Shamran’s techniques. No, there are much better ways. We can trade with them. Information. Goods and services. Safe passage from one village to another. You see, what Shamran didn’t realize was that we are living in a world filled with dozens of isolated civilizations, like specs of light in the night sky. But we have the power to bring them together, to make the distance between them a little bit smaller. No, James, I’m sure we’ll be more than okay.”

James smiled at him, feeling proud to be considered a Vinci Citizen for the first time in a very long time. Bron looked at both of them, flashing a smile that only bore the faintest hints of sadness.

“You two be safe, you hear. We’ll be making are way back here in a year, and I’ve already told Kora to give me a thorough report on your behavior when I get back. Living on the ship or not, I’m going to be keeping my eyes on you.”

Bron said it like a threat, but to James and Celeste it felt more like a warm embrace.

“Thank you, Bron… for everything,” James said. To his side, he saw Celeste wiping at her eyes and nodding.

Bron knelt down, wrapping his arms around both of them and squeezing. “I’ll be seeing you.”

James and Celeste watched as Bron rose back to his feet, gave them a nod, and turned to head back to Vessel Nine. After a few minutes, James and Celeste did the same.

For the first time, James truly marveled at the sized of the ship. He felt as though he could even touch the clouds if he made the climb to the deck, but he knew it was only an illusion.

He looked over at Celeste, only to find her narrowing her eyes. “I’m going to find Tor,” she said.

She was gone before James could stop her. He looked after her in puzzlement, until a voice drew is attention.

“I don’t blame her,” Jarl said, watching her walk away. “Honestly, I think she has the right attitude. You’re the strange one.” Jarl turned to face the ship, letting a small silence linger between them. “Thank you,” he said eventually. “When Shamran used me as a hostage… you hesitated. That is much more than I deserved.”

James shrugged. “Maybe… Maybe not.” James didn’t look over at him, electing instead to continue watching the ship and the influx of people that were boarding it. James even saw one or two villagers boarding the ship, which made him raise his eyebrow. “What will you do now?” James eventually asked.

“Visit the villages that I terrorized in the past and see if anything can be done to make up for what I did. That, and make sure nothing like it happens again.”

James nodded absently. His focus was on a group of people entering the ship. At the head of them was Zeke. James hoped that all the events that had transpired did something to improve his behavior, but his scowl when they locked eyes told James that he was foolish for wishing.

“I’ll take care of him. Don’t you worry. He reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger… which terrifies me. Still, he’s young enough to be changed. I’ll make sure he doesn’t walk a similar path to mine.”

James smiled slightly. “That may be more difficult than apologizing to the villages.”

Jarl gave a chuckle. Something James hadn’t ever heard from him.

“Perhaps, but I doubt it.” Jarl turned to him. “So… a year then?” Jarl said, extending out his hand.

James shook it hesitantly, then nodded. “A year.”

The blades started to whirl shortly after Jarl boarded the ship. In the distance, James could hear the same noise coming from the other ships. It was slow at first, but then quickly picked up speed, sending torrents of wind onto the valley. James could hear the thudding of fruit hitting the ground as they were stripped from the trees under the force of the wind. Still, he didn’t look away, choosing to watch the ship until he couldn’t anymore. Eventually, Vessel Nine began to rise, each of the supports folding into the ship.

James felt a fleeting sense of sadness as he watched the ship lift off the ground, lessened only by a pressure on his hand. He turned to see Kiri beside him, her hand in his. He gripped it back, watching as the ship broke through the clouds, sending a momentary burst of light onto the valley. The other ships did the same, sending ripples through the clouds like rocks thrown into water. After a few moments, everything grew still again.

“You going to be okay?” Kiri asked after a few moments.

James smiled at her. “Yeah. I think I will.”

She smiled back. “Good, because you’ve got another swimming lesson this morning,” she said in a mock stern voice. James rolled his eyes at her.

The rest of the day flew by in a flash. He kept himself busy throughout the day tending to the para para trees, helping rebuild, swimming, and otherwise exploring his surroundings, but was overcome with the need to be alone as the day progressed. When Kiri was busy doing chores for her mother and Celeste was busy pampering Tor, James snuck away. He walked to the river sitting himself down beside it. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out two short lengths of rope. He held them in his hands for a few moments before smiling. Then, slowly and meticulously, he tied a knot.