Their steps crunched as they climbed the dune. It was a rise standing above the plain. From this height, the crew could easily take in the entire terrain they had crossed. The devastated panorama — where the aging remains of stranded ships were scattered — evoked the fate that could have been theirs.
Captivated by this enchanting plain, they stopped to catch their breath. But the chains of shells — around their wrists and ankles — reminded them they couldn't afford to waste time.
"Forward!" growled one of the Guardians from atop his beast. Indeed, the crab was pulling them along. The lead decapod — ridden by the Guardian with purple hair and the princess — was leading the way. Behind it, the second crab was tasked with pulling the crew in its tracks, while the third brought up the rear of the procession.
They then began the descent down the southern slope of the dune. On this side, the slope opened up to a new horizon. It was a desert of fine sand—dotted with small mounds—over which the oceanic sky continued to move peacefully. Its extraordinary wildlife still amazed the sailors. They couldn't take their eyes off a pod of spiny-finned dolphins swimming above their heads. The dolphins seemed to be heading toward a rendezvous that filled everyone with wonder.
"By a fried fish's name!" exclaimed Bory in astonishment.
An incredible sight. Impossible to imagine, even for these seamen. The dolphins converged toward a huge whale, resembling a floating marine rock. Across its entire surface, the cetacean was marked with greenish veins, like the roots of trees.
As the dolphins gathered around the Giant of the Seas to nibble on the moss growing along its green veins, the whale gave birth. Instead of producing offspring in its own image, the whale laid a myriad of small black eggs that clustered together to form a black cloud in the wavering sky. Under the pressure of the accumulation, the black eggs finally pierced the celestial vault and plunged onto the desert expanse... in a dark rain.
"Never seen anything like it!" the sailors exclaimed to themselves, stunned.
"Your Majesty!" rose the voice of the lead rider. He pointed his lance toward the downpour, to the east of their position. "The Nourishing Lullaby!"
The princess turned toward the storm and stood up. She pointed in that direction.
"Nooru Nooruni," she recited. And the riders responded in unison, raising their right hands: "Duro Durolo!"
The sailors exchanged puzzled looks.
"Does anyone know what they're doing?" asked Bory, standing in the middle of the procession.
"Hey, old man, are you seeing straight or what?" Sassa snapped, walking ahead of Garr.
"Are you talking to me like that!?" Bory got angry.
"Calm down, everyone," intervened Wylgol, who was at the very back of the procession.
"Didn't you hear how she spoke to me just now!?" Bory said, turning his head back.
"Yes, I heard it. Sassa, please, could you show a little more respect?"
Surprised by Wylgol's friendly attitude, Sassa froze and spun around to glare at the navigator.
"What's wrong with you?" the thief asked, raising an eyebrow.
"What, what's wrong with me?"
"I expected you to say something nasty. But now…"
"That's because we all thought you were dead," Mathurin revealed, walking behind Bory.
"Ah, too bad!" Bory sighed.
"What did you say, you old crust?"
"Well, exactly—how did you manage not to be dead, huh!?" Bory retorted.
Sassa stopped. She hesitated.
"I'm here. That's all that matters!" she finally answered, turning her back on them.
"That doesn't tell us how you escaped those damn crabs!"
"It's simple. I was smarter than you. I just hid in the sand, that's all."
From where he stood, Wylgol listened carefully to Sassa's words.
"Damn thief!" growled Bory.
"I know, I know. I'm smarter than all of you," she bragged. "Anyway, everything that happened to us is because of that fool Lurcard. He needs to explain himself!"
At the head of the procession, the cartographer walked behind the lead crab. The young man stared straight ahead as if trying to escape the echo of the quarrels behind him. Looking up, Lurcard noticed the princess watching him intently. Embarrassed, the young man tried to look away, but Hanahmana called out to him.
"This world is unfamiliar to you, yet you have some knowledge of it, don't you confirm that to me?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," he replied in a trembling voice. "It's true."
"Do you understand what I have done?" she asked, pointing to the black rain.
"No, Your Majesty."
"But, were you aware of the existence of the Nourishing Lullaby?"
Lurcard fell silent for a moment, pondering the question. But he felt the inquisitive gazes of his companions on his back.
"Yes," he answered. "But where I come from, we call it a whale."
"Whale? Strange name. I realize how intriguing your knowledge is, Profaner. But the mysteries will be unveiled once we reach the Royal City."
At that moment, Hanahmana turned away from Lurcard and his group to gaze at the horizon. As they continued their journey due south, the sailors noticed another extraordinary phenomenon... The black rain caused limestone trees to sprout. They emerged from the ground and stretched out their slender branches. Soon, a marine grove appeared.
"Duro Durolo Khû!" the riders chanted, admiring the sprouting growth.
They left that area behind and moved further south. When they reached this new space, it was a different panorama. The dunes had faded away, replaced by a perfectly smooth, flat surface. During the first part of the crossing, there was nothing. No encounters, no unusual phenomena. Even the sailors were baffled by the complete absence of oddities.
"I don't like this," Bory whispered, on guard.
Then came the second part of the journey, marked by a gate. In the middle of this deserted nowhere stood two marble columns—infested with starfish—that gave access to the other half of the region. From atop her mount, the princess pointed to the gate and traced signs in the air. After this, the ground trembled briefly. Then Hanahmana signaled to move forward.
"Hako Kohou!" the riders intoned as they urged their beasts onward.
Once they passed through the gate, the sailors felt the weight beneath their feet shift. But they kept moving forward. Soon, they noticed that as they progressed, tiny particles of sand began to rise from the ground. The further the procession went, the more the amount of levitating sand increased drastically. This caused holes in the ground to grow deeper and deeper — revealing the secret of these deserted lands.
One by one, they discovered ruins — what appeared to be — of ancient cities. Finally, their journey came to a halt before an immense and vast chasm — too large for the human eye to fully grasp — into which the sand slipped peacefully.
"Here we are," announced the princess.
The crew, confused, searched with their eyes for the famous Royal City, but there was nothing. Nothing in the distance, only this chasm and those swarms of levitating sand.
There was hardly any Royal City, they all thought. They exchanged doubtful looks among themselves.
"You're looking in the wrong place," Hanahmana said.
Then she pointed toward the sky.
Everyone looked up to discover — near the oceanic firmament — a huge slab of rock floating in the air. When Mathurin strained his eyes, he saw...
"Guys, there's a city on the rock!"