The Wayfarers Viii - An Island Without a Shore

By Jonathan Edward Feinstein

In the Series conclusion of "The Wayfarers," Kazani Basan, Chanya Sanai and Raff Cawlens must lead a team of Wayfarers and Kenlienta Elders in a monumental mission to stop a rogue human city from destroying the global ecology before others choose to engage in open warfare.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jun 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9781387059126

Book preview

The Wayfarers Viii - An Island Without a Shore

The Wayfarers 

VIII. An Island without a Shore

by

Jonathan Edward Feinstein

Copyright © 2017 by Jonathan E. Feinstein

All Rights Reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Megafilk Press, Jonathan E. Feinstein, 923 Drift Road, Westport, MA 02790

Cover art: one-lane-dirt-road a public domain image, photographer uncredited, used by permission of public-domain-image.com Available since Dec. 18, 2014

ISBN:  978-1-387-05912-6

Stories by Jonathan Edward Feinstein

Gaenor’s Quest

The Red Light of Dawn

The Black Clouds of Noon

The Rainbow of Dusk

The Cold Clear Skies of Midnight

Gaenor’s Prophecy

Signs of Change

Corrected Visions

Inspired Dreams (Forthcoming)

The Maiyim Stories:

The Maiyim Tetralogy

World of Water

Men of the Earth

Island of Fire

Gods of the Air

Three Stories of Maiyim

A Deadly Union

An Interesting Title

A Shattered Family

Ars Nova Magica (and related side stories)

The Maiyim Bourne

The Staff of Aritos

A Promising Career

A Fine Adventure

The Tears of Methis

Freshman Orientation

The Book of Candle

Dry Dock

Ars Scientiaque Magicae

Unexpected Reactions

Hypothetical Notions

Theoretical Bases

   Lift Off!

Required Components

Experimental Proofs

Desired Results

The Terralano Venture

Agree to Disagree

By the Light of the Silvery Moons

There Goes the Neighborhood

Down Time, Ltd.

Down Time

Taking Time

Time Out

Show Time!

Double Time

A Plethora of Deities

Downhill All the Way

In the Sky with Diamonds

The Seed

The Tree

Tempting the Fates

Teasing the Furies

Inspiring the Muses

Dancing with the Sphinx :Waltz

Dancing with the Sphinx :Tango

Dancing with the Sphinx :Foxtrot

Chasing Rainbows

The Care and Feeding of Your Elder God (Forthcoming)

The Wayfarers

A Land without Borders

A World without a Name

A Nation without Maps

A Country without Unity

A Continent without Form

An Ocean without Charts

An Empire without Order

An Island without a Shore

The Pirates of Pangaea

An Accidental Alliance

The Unscheduled Mission

A Planned Improvisation

The Forced Alternative

Other Stories

Elf Alert!

A Study in Ethnology

Off on a Tangent

Author’s Foreword

There is always a feeling of elation mixed with a certain sort of sorrow when I bring a series to its conclusion. However, I believe it is important for an author to know when he (or she) has covered a subject. Yes, I could invent more and more stories for the cast of characters of The Wayfarers (and their descendants) to take part in, but I think this volume ties up all the loose ends that need tying up.

By the time you, the reader, get to the end you’ll notice, I am sure, that there are a lot of questions left such is how world events will continue to develop (which you all might be able to guess at since I very loosely based the Wayfarers’ world on the real world Eighteenth Century) and on the future Wayfarers’ Guild itself, but life never really comes to an end and whatever happens to the Guild in the future will likely be a transition to what happens after that and then after whatever that is as well. So, maybe this is the best possible stopping place.

This story takes place about twelve years after the events of An Empire without Order, which I had originally planned to cap off the series. But when I got there I noticed that I still had one really big loose end flapping about, that being the so-called wandering city, Senopolis. Back in the second book of the series, Raff Cawlens had promised to do what he could to bring Senopolis’ unending meandering to an end and that had still not happened, so one more story was necessary to complete the series

As the story begins, Kazani, Basan, is fighting, politically, to remain the Guildmaster even though he truly would like to be able to get out of the office and return to the life of a Freelancer. Let’s just say he is about to get more than he asked for.

Jonathan E. Feinstein

Westport, Massachusetts

December 18,2016

Prologue – Yakrut

Nienta! Faisha greeted the older woman enthusiastically. Come in. Come in!

Nienta was a tall, dark-skinned woman with long hair that still had only a few gray strands among the black. As usual, she wore a colorful orchid that was the living mark of her status as an elder among the Kenlienta.

The Kenlienta or Ken were a people closely related to humans, but there were differences, both physically and culturally. The easiest difference to spot were their slightly pointed ears, but the biggest difference was that they could only live comfortably in those parts of the world in which Wild conditions prevailed, which meant only a few of them were capable of entering human settlements.

Humans and some domesticated animals naturally emitted what was called a field of Stability. The more humans who lived together the greater that Stable field was. Towns and cities were frequently referred to as Stabilities and Stabilities floated like bubbles on the liquid surface of the Wild.

The terms Wild and Stable could be misleading. Even in the heart of a large Stability, humans needed some small amount of Wild energy to live and while they naturally lived and thrived out in the Wild, Kenlienta required some Stable energy within them or else they, too would die. The differences were in how much could be tolerated. Also, while the so-called Stabilities floated through the Wild, slowly changing locations relative to each other, settlements in the Wild stayed right where they were. Any Ken could travel from town to town merely by following a road, but humans could only travel outside of their Stabilities with the help of especially talented and trained people called Wayfarers.

I apologize for arriving late, Elder Moderator, Nienta told Faisha formally. Congratulations on your elevation to Elder status.

Thank you, Elder, Faisha replied with a formal bow. Faisha was also wearing a living floral plant to mark her Elder status, but in her case. she had chosen a small white, star-shaped flower with several yellow florets in its center. The edelweiss was native to her home, Therin Kal. She wore a different one each day allowing them to rest in between uses and the ones she wore had grown in her garden back home.

Then her attitude changed abruptly. Oh please! You know we don’t use titles at these meetings, and you’re not late. We haven’t started yet. Where are your honor guards, by the way?

I sent them around to your back yard, Nienta replied. That’s where the guards normally congregate, isn’t it?

It is, Faisha acknowledged. I think they’re playing a game of some sort back there today. I envy them, you know? Maybe one of these days I’ll just invite you all over to play one of the human games with cards.

Sounds interesting, Nienta commented, following Faisha away from the door. I don’t believe I have ever seen human card games before.

They are quite diverting, Faisha told her, and can make for a fun evening. They arrived in what was normally Faisha’s dining room where a dozen other Kenlienta, all either elders or prominent members of the Council of Wisdom were waiting. They were Faisha’s advisory committee. She had first established the committee twelve years previously when the office of Moderator, essentially the leader of the entire Ken Nation, was thrust on her. The members of the committee had changed frequently over the years, but Faisha had realized from the start that no one person should make decisions controlling the lives of others and if forced to do so by governmental action, the least that person could do was consult others before making such decisions.

The office of Moderator carried very few of the extraordinary powers held by the Chief Elder’s office which had formerly presided over the Council of Elders and, in fact, other than in times of emergency, the Moderator really did nothing other than act as the chairperson and Faisha had, thus far, resisted all attempts to add more perquisites and powers to the Moderatorship.

Nienta had not been to the capital city, Yakrut, in almost four years since the last meeting of the Council of Elders and a lot had changed in her absence.  That the city bore little resemblance to the Yakrut she remembered was no surprise. The Ken lived by the maxim Change is Life and Life is Change, and it was a part of their daily life to make some obvious change to their homes and businesses. Over the course of four years even the layout of the streets had changed. What had changed even more had been the make-up of Faisha’s committee. In fact, the only member Nienta recognized was the Elder of Yakrut, Leraxa, who had once been the Chief Elder.

After introducing Nienta to the others, Faisha brought their meeting to order. We have no emergencies, thank the gods, Faisha told her fellows, but as always there are matters that require our attention. Let us discuss internal matters first. Neralax? she turned toward one of younger members of the committee.

Neralax was not an elder, but he was a duly elected member of the Council of Wisdom, representing the Ken who lived along the western coast of the island continent of Sarlron. Fifteen years earlier he had been a part of the disruptive Youth movement that had sought to supplant the Council of Elders as the ruling body of the Ken Nation. The establishment of the Council of Wisdom, to be filled only with those who were not officially elders of the nation, changed all that.

Our greatest internal issue, Neralax reported, involved those former Youths who remain disaffected in spite of the Council of Wisdom.

Just what is their problem? one of the elders, a man from the Northern Continent, asked. The nation is no longer being run only by elders.

But not by them, Neralax replied. It bothers me that I was once associated with them, but for some it seems that it was not enough to have their voices heard or to know that the day-to-day business of the national government was not being conducted by elders alone. I see now they had the same lust for power that infected the elders of the Triumvirate.

Not everyone can be selected as a representative to the Council of Wisdom, Leraxa commented, and I understand there are quite a few potential elders who have declined the honor in order to continue to serve on the Council of Wisdom.

Most are merely postponing their elevation until their elected terms are concluded, Faisha pointed out. As far as I know, only Gerinia of Bahsan Ti has no intention of ever becoming an elder. I think she is suffering from a terminal case of modesty, although I have met her elder several times and his will be a tough act to follow.

There are several who prefer to wait until their local elders retire, Neralax pointed out. I am sure most will accept elevation in time. The troublemakers are ones that are unlikely to be chosen to represent under any circumstance. While there are relatively few of them, their voices resonate with the younger Ken who, perhaps, are in a hurry to grow up.

Some cities in my region, Nienta added, have adopted a bicameral government similar to the national one in the hope of quieting such dissenting voices, but not everyone can be chosen and those who are not are sometimes disruptive afterwards. Fortunately, most have the patience to wait for the next election cycle, but there are those who would never be chosen regardless of who they were running against. Those are the troublemakers and as you say, their arguments resonate with others who could likely never win an election. The adoption of local Councils of Wisdom does seem to minimize the problem, but it does not eliminate it entirely.

They have the right to speak their minds, Neralax argued.

I agree, Nienta nodded. All Ken have the freedom of speech, but just because they may speak their minds, it doesn’t mean the rest of us have to agree with them and if we do not, they would be a bad choice to represent us on the Council of Wisdom.

Neralax? Faisha asked. Do you have any suggestion as to what can be done about these disaffected Ken?

I wish I did, Neralax admitted, but no matter what we do, someone is going to be displeased. I was not trying to find a solution so much as point out the problem. It bears watching and perhaps it might be best to consider their various complaints one at a time since I do not believe there is a general panacea that will cure them all. If you like, I can compile a list of issues that they have.

That would be a good idea, Faisha told him. Let’s consider any complaints that actually have merit. That way we can dismiss the ones that boil down to how wonderful it would be if they ruled the world and take care of ones that will benefit the nation as a whole.

It might be a good idea to examine our educational system, Leraxa put in. There has always been room for improvement and perhaps there’s a better way to train our children for adulthood.

I’d like to think I turned out passably the old way, Faisha chuckled, "but if you would like to undertake that study, I’m in favor. Anyone have an objection? No? Let’s move on.

Leraxa cleared her throat, Faisha, there are some issues these disaffected are using that we should consider. The most out-standing is the matter of human pollution that continues to change the nature of the Wild regions in which we live. If it continues, there will one day be no place we can survive.

I thought we had been making progress on that issue and our own pollution has had a similar effect on Stabilities, Faisha remarked.

I have heard that some of the disaffected ones would increase the Wild effects inside Stabilities, Leraxa replied. It would be an act of war and would undo all the good will we have built up in the past fifteen years.

So another reason to clamp down on these dissidents, Faisha decided, and does anyone have a report on our own attempts to find a way to keep our wastes from eroding Stabilities? No? I’ll propose it before the meeting of the Council of Elders this week. Let’s see, what’s next? She checked her notes and then turned toward one of the others. Werlaxis?

Thank you, the elder from Southern Pernatia responded. Most situations we need to keep an eye on involve the human world and their Stabilities. Several wars have broken out this past decade across the Northern Continent as I am sure you know. Several Kenlientan towns were discovered by Kharasian armies last year when they invaded Pernatia. The soldiers apparently cannot tell a Ken settlement from a human Pernatian one and we were forced to defend ourselves until the Wayfarers’ Guild stepped in and threatened Kharasia with something called ‘Interdiction.’

That would stop anyone with a brain, Faisha remarked. Interdiction means the Guild and all its members would go on strike, stranding all non-Wayfarers in their Stabilities and they would refuse to go back to work until whatever conditions were met. Keep a nation under interdiction long enough and there would be no nation, just a collection of Stabilities.

Aren’t there humans capable of Wayfaring who do not belong to the Guild? one of the others asked.

There are, Faisha nodded, but they do not have the training or ability to go very far through the Wild. Most of that sort can get to the next village or two, but they have trouble seeing the paths of Stability the Guild builds so they navigate by memory rather than senses. A few villages might communicate that way, but a whole nation? I doubt there are many common folks with the ability and even if there were, the nation could not remain cohesive if any traveler or message had to move one or two stabilities at a time before having to find another guide or courier. Believe me, interdiction is a threat no king or emperor would dare. Not to mention that the Guild is not universal in the human world. Some nations, such as Corisa, Gaharanar, Nillon and others have their own Wayfarer organizations and Kharasia borders on several of them. If they were under interdiction, Kharasia would be vulnerable to raids from her neighbors.

Pernatia is not the only Northern Continent region at war, another of the committee put in. Crace has problems the likes of which we have never imagined in the Ken Nation. You may recall how Sallus, what had been called ‘Lower Crace,’ seceded about nine years ago and managed to take all the Sallusian-speaking colonies with her. We thought there might be a war between Sallus and Pangam, but Pangam managed to remain neutral when Crace attempted to re-annex Sallus.

That war dragged on for years until this year when the lower classes of Crace began a rebellion of their own, he went on. This, of course, is not the first time there has been such a rebellion in Crace. The disparity of the lifestyles of the upper and lower classes there has long been a point of dispute, but until the secession of Sallus, Crace was able to quell various attempts at rebellion. Now, however, with much of the military involved at the Sallusian border and overseas along with certain nobles who are siding with the lower class… well, I think we’re about to see a major disruption that, in time, will affect the entire Northern Continent.

Werlaxis added, We are still not certain what the ramifications of the assassination of the King of Voland might be, but at least the war in Paknilan is over. Of course, that is why Kharasia was free to invade Pernatia.

Does anyone have news from Varana? Faisha asked. When she was met by silence she continued, "Fortunately, I do. The former colonies there seem to be gelling as a nation. They abolished their first attempt at a constitution a few years ago and have since enacted a new one that establishes a stronger central government, which, I suppose, was inevitable. I had hoped their attempt as a loose confederation might provide us with a new model, but… Well, at least they had the hardship of showing it would not work and not us. They elected a new president with broad executive powers and also established a bicameral government, not entirely different from the one we have. Hopefully it will work for them as well as it has for us, but as for that, we shall have to see. Our history shows that Ken institutions do not always work for Humans.

Elsewhere, the Green Lands are at war again in Salasia, Faisha continued. I have some good friends in the Green Lands, but I guess that Wayfarers are not typical of the Green Landsmen. They do seem to be very prone to war.

Wayfarers are certainly a different sort of folk, Nienta told her, but I doubt the people sending the armies to war are just normal Green Landsmen either. Certainly their Queen is not.

I had such hopes for her when she was first crowned, Leraxa commented, but I think there’s a little something wrong with her, or maybe she just listens to the wrong advisors. She does seem to keep sending her army into war. I wonder if she is taking that talk of a Green Lands Empire seriously,

Maybe, Nienta shrugged, but from what I hear, the war in Salasia is being driven by mercantile interests. The Queen’s Army is backing them up, but most of the fighting is by private army. I am not sure that is any better.

It is different, Faisha commented. I just hope no human government decides they want the land our cities are on. In spite of the disturbances of fifteen years ago, we really have no experience with wars and what it takes to win them,

The Wayfarers Guild would never allow it, Nienta pointed out, although we might need some help should that happen in lands they do not operate in.

Fortunately that is not an immediate concern, Faisha told them. "The matter of Senopolis, however, is paramount. Unlike most human Stabilities, that city does not just float and meander within a set and predictable range, it moves at an alarming rate across the world in a vaguely westward direction. In the past fifteen years we have had to move six towns and two major cities that were in the path of what some of our people call ‘The Floating City.’

Moving our settlements is expensive and time-consuming, Faisha continued, but only about twenty-five percent more expensive than the normal changes that would take place over that time.

I have wondered, Elder Werlaxis told them, if the recurring visits of Senopolis in some way sparked our ‘Change-Is-Life’ theology.

No, Leraxa shook her head. We have practiced our religion at least twice as long as Senopolis has been in motion through the Wild. I do believe however, that the occasional incursion through settled territory had helped to accelerate our technology. Certainly we have learned new and faster building techniques during this latest passing of Senopolis.

The problem is the city is now headed directly for a heavily populated region of both Ken and Humans, Faisha told them. "Our own settlements can be moved. It would be a lot of work, but we have done it before, and while the population in its path is heavy, we only have to move those who are in the direct path. A miss by an inch is as good as by a mile. No contact, no destruction. What bothers me most is the question of what will happen as it approaches and passes those other Stabilities.

Our records indicate that this has happened before too, Faisha told them. "Stabilities exhibit interactive behavior of both attraction and repulsion. It is why human nations tend to stay together and why very large Stabilities will attract orbiting satellite Stabilities, but also why Stabilities, while attracted to one another never actually touch and merge with each other. Scientists are still trying to understand why, but the facts are what they are. Every time Senopolis has passed through an area of heavy human population, the Stabilities it interacted with were thrown out of their usual region and scattered haphazardly across the map. It was some fifty years before Stability systems in those parts of the world settled back into what we now think of as normality. The danger is not only directly from Senopolis, whose progress through the Wild we can track and predict but from the other Stabilities it will disrupt, which we cannot.

Our population has been growing dramatically over the past millennium as has that of our human cousins in spite of periodic plagues that affect us both and I predict our growth will accelerate as our medical knowledge expands. We can weather the disruptions this pass of Senopolis will cause, but can we afford it in three hundred years when Senopolis comes back around the world once more? The situation is only going to get worse so we are going to have to come up with a solution, a final solution to the Senopolis Question.

Part 1 – Taundon

One

Guildmaster Kazani Basan looked up from his desk as his wife, Chanya, stepped into the large office. Oh good, she remarked, You’re not wearing that awful wig today.

I didn’t realize you hated my peruke so much, Kaz replied.

The wig is just par for the course, Chanya admitted. It’s the hair powder you’ve been using on it lately. Lavender? Seriously? It really doesn’t suit you.

Would you prefer orange? Kaz asked.

I would prefer you did not wear it at all, Kaz, she told him. Your own natural hair is so much more becoming even if you do keep it straightened and tied back.

You straighten your hair too, Kaz pointed out. Both Kaz and Chanya had been born on the Southern Continent where their dark brown skins and curly black hair were the norm.

We straighten our hair because that is the fashion in the Green Lands, Chanya told him. Even so, neither of us has hair as straight as those who were born here. Sometimes I think I should let my hair grow naturally.

Why don’t you? Kaz asked.

For the same reason you don’t, Chanya replied. We are taken more seriously when we conform to societal norms, though as Wayfarers we have license to do what we wish, you know. And the styles I prefer are those of Varana. They are less formal and the use of wigs there is dying rapidly except among the older generation.

I only wear mine when I have to attend Her Majesty, Kaz told her, or if one of her damned ministers comes a’calling. I have found they take me more seriously if I wear the thing so it makes my work easier. I sometimes wear it here in the office just to get used to it. I can’t really say I like it either, but the good news is I suspect this fashion is going to die a fast and violent death in the next year or two.

You have suddenly become a fortune teller? Chanya laughed.

Michael Roarke told me that Mister Winn plans to introduce a new bill in Parliament to levy a tax on hair powder, Kaz replied. Once people have to pay the Queen for the right to powder their perukes, I suspect they’ll all find a reason to stop wearing them. Who knows, maybe short curly hair will be the next popular style. It would take less time to wash and comb and I wouldn’t have to tie it back.

You’re the Guildmaster, Chanya smiled. Start your own fashion.

I’m not going to be the Guildmaster much longer, Kaz sighed.

You never wanted to be at all, Chanya pointed out.

I would prefer to step down when I want to, not because I cannot put a coalition together in the Council, Kaz replied. I especially don’t like the idea of leaving the Guild in the hands of Noah Walker and his faction. They want to undo everything Raff and I did to bring back Guild neutrality as a fact and not just propaganda.

You have had to weather too many storms in the last five years, dear, Chanya reminded him. Raff may not have caused Varanan independence, but it happened during his tenure in office. You did not cause the revolution in Crace, but some members of the Guild would like to lay that on your shoulders. And why didn’t we prevent the conquest of Pernatia by Kharasia? And the war down in Salasia?"

You know the answer to that, Kaz snapped.

Of course, I do. The Guild of Wayfarers is politically neutral. We do not fight the wars but we do get the troops to the specified battlefields.

We do so without political preference, Kaz added, "and the only profit we make is from the act of guiding the armies there and, hopefully, back again. Walker thinks we should be investing in the outcomes of those wars. And I’ve been informed that he thinks we could tip those wars in ways that are most beneficial to the Guild financially. How long would we remain what we are today if we started playing favorites? How long would it take for our employers to notice for that matter? Not long and that’s the truth.

However, Kaz went on, I have to admit to myself that I’m just not popular enough to put a coalition together to defeat Walker. We need another candidate.

Chanya looked at him and then realized where he was headed. Oh no! You’re not going to put me behind that desk.

Why not? Kaz asked. I think you would be a better Guildmaster than I am and the children are in school now, so you don’t have to stay at home.

When did I ever just stay at home? Chanya countered. I may not have traveled from Crace to Varana, I may have stayed within the Green Lands, but I took Lowen and Lara with me on the trips I made. If anything one of us needs to be home for them on the breaks and there are weekends on which as parents, we are expected to visit the school. Are you planning to do that?

I have no problem with the school weekends when in town and we’ve both had help from Raff and Em in taking care of them, Kaz told her. We could again. I’d like to get back to travelling, at least a bit.

I don’t blame you, Kaz, but if you’re going to go all around the world again I would prefer to be with you and have the children there as well, Chanya told him. perhaps in a few years before they go to University?

Maybe, Kaz sighed. Who knows what the future might bring? But in the meantime how do we deal with the immediate problem?

"Which problem is that? A woman asked from the doorway. Kaz and Chanya turned to see a short woman with gray-streaked red hair and a tall man whose long hair had turned steel gray years earlier.

Em! Raff! Kaz called out in greeting. Come in! We were just talking about how to handle the next vote in the Congress of Wayfarers.

In the usual way, I suppose, Raff Cawlens remarked. As Guildmaster you will call for the vote and the members of the Congress will cast their ballots again.

Thank you, Kaz replied sourly. I meant how can I put a coalition together that will vote for me? Because I have not the faintest idea anymore. There is only so much I can promise before I reach the point where I’m unwilling to keep those promises. Face it. I don’t win the popularity contest and the only good news is that Master Walker doesn’t have any more friends than I do. I was trying to convince Chanya to run for the office.

I thought you loved your wife, Raff remarked lightly.

Love is sharing, Kaz shot back.

You have already shared what it is like to be Guildmaster with me, Chanya told him. I’d like to think I am smart enough to learn from the mistakes of others.

What about you, Em? Kaz asked suddenly.

Emblem L’Oranne Cawlens looked at her adopted son and replied, I would like to think Chanya is smart enough to learn from your mistakes too. At least I do hope that is what you were asking.

Actually I was thinking…

No! Em cut him off. I know what you were thinking. You know full well, that I have never desired to be the master of this guild.

Neither did I or Raff, Kaz replied. it was thrust on us. Do you really want Noah Walker to be the next Guildmaster?

I doubt he can scrape up enough votes, Raff told them. "I would be more worried about Gerhardt Wosenheim. Looks to