The Goddess of Atvatabar - Story Book
The Sun Beneath the World
William R. Bradshaw
1982
The Sun Beneath the World
The Polar Gate
The ice screamed at midnight.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Polar Gate
Lexington burst onto the deck as millions of birds blackened the Arctic sun.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Polar Gate
Ahead, an earthquake split the frozen mountains into a narrow blue gate.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Polar Gate
The crew watched slabs fall, knowing the walls could close around the Polar King.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Polar Gate
Lexington ordered the engines forward.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Polar Gate
For seventy miles, the ship threaded cliffs that glittered like cold knives.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Polar Gate
Open water waited beyond, but the noon sun began sinking in the wrong direction.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Polar Gate
A brass compass needle climbed its glass.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Polar Gate
Sailors crossed themselves as the sea curved upward behind the stern.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Polar Gate
At midnight, the sun still hung overhead.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Polar Gate
The Polar King was not reaching the pole.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Polar Gate
It was falling inside the Earth.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Inner Reef
The fall became a long, breathless glide through blue darkness.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Inner Reef
Atvatabar's rose-colored sun ignited, revealing oceans and green continents curved overhead.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Inner Reef
Their wonder lasted one heartbeat.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Inner Reef
The Polar King's boilers coughed dead, and a bright reef rushed toward the hull.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Inner Reef
Lexington seized the wheel while sailors dragged useless ropes across the tilting deck.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Inner Reef
Winged skiffs dropped from the inner sky.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Inner Reef
Lyone stood in green silk, one hand raised against a volley.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Inner Reef
Lexington lowered his rifle first.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Inner Reef
Lyone answered by casting a golden towline across the water.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Inner Reef
The golden line snapped tight.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Inner Reef
Her skiffs turned the Polar King aside as white coral scraped sparks from its hull.
The Sun Beneath the World
The Inner Reef
When the reef slid past, Lexington found Lyone waiting beside the silent compass.
The Sun Beneath the World
A Private Night
Below deck, the silent compass rested between two chipped cups of bitter tea.
The Sun Beneath the World
A Private Night
Lyone tasted hers, hid a grimace, and nudged the sugar closer.
The Sun Beneath the World
A Private Night
Lexington smiled while punching holes through an empty tin cup.
The Sun Beneath the World
A Private Night
Touching the worn star chart, Lyone asked, "Does the outer sky lose its sun?"
The Sun Beneath the World
A Private Night
Lexington nodded and dimmed the lamp.
The Sun Beneath the World
A Private Night
He covered it with the pierced cup, scattering a private night across the ceiling.
The Sun Beneath the World
A Private Night
Lyone forgot the untouched tea.
The Sun Beneath the World
A Private Night
As Lexington named his mother's constellations, starlight trembled across Lyone's lifted face.
The Sun Beneath the World
A Private Night
Lyone turned the compass sideways, and its needle settled toward Atvatabar's harbor.
The Sun Beneath the World
A Private Night
Above them, tin stars trembled, and their hands rested close by the dark lamp.
The Sun Beneath the World
The End
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