Flying whales

The golden hind soared high into the sky and into the vast expanse of the universe. The crew couldn't help but marvel at the beauty that surrounded them as they flew past fish with wings, like dragonflies, that flew in packs.

"Do you think we'll ever get tired of the beauty of all of this?" Rufus asked, his eyes wide with wonder.

"You will," Suomi interjected, "After a long time traveling, you kinda get bored of it eventually."

Amala rushed to the side of the ship, feeling queasy as she had yet to fully acclimate to flying on a gravity ship.

The golden hind was expertly maneuvered by Yosef, who controlled the vessel's two rodders. It moved even faster than the red fox, as it was designed for speed rather than moving cargo.

"We'll be passing the green solo moon shortly. Let's hope we don't run into any leviathans this time," Joan said, her eyes scanning the horizon.

"Leviathans near my moon? Highly unlikely," Satfia explained, her tone dismissive.

"We were attacked by a dragon leviathan when we first arrived there," Liana reminded them.

"It must have been following a flying whale cluster. They might follow them from one heaven to another," Suomi explained, her knowledge of the universe's creatures clearly extensive.

"A flying whale cluster?" Rufus exclaimed, his curiosity piqued.

At that moment, a large pack of flying whales flew past the golden hind. At least a hundred flying hunchback whales flew over and under the vessel as if they were swimming in an ocean.

"Leviathans are attacking us!" Edward yelled, unsheathing his sword.

"They are harmless! They're just curious, that's all!" Suomi ordered, trying to calm everyone down.

The crew looked uneasy as they were surrounded by the massive beasts that were both divine and larger than the golden hind.

Rufus moved closer to the railing as one of the whales swam close to the gravity ship. The whale's large blue eye looked straight into Rufus and he stared back. It blinked and Rufus saw his own reflection in the eye.

"Such a beautiful creature," Rufus thought to himself.

"They are magnificent, aren't they? They travel the entire universe and are also known to help stranded sailors. They are smarter and more empathic than your typical animal," Suomi explained, her admiration for the creatures clear, "Phoenicians even sometimes befriend them and use them to pull their gravity ships."

The cluster of whales then flew away, carefully avoiding the golden hind. They flew in a different direction from where they all were headed.

"Where do you think they're heading?" Rufus asked, his gaze following the whales.

"Nowhere and everywhere. The universe is their home and they live to travel," Suomi said, her voice wistful as if describing her own dream.

"By the way, I have no problem steering this ship, but I wouldn't mind getting some directions," Yosef said, his attention focused on the vessel's controls.

"Does anyone here know how to navigate inside the universe?" Rufus asked, looking around at the crew.

Everyone was silent.

"Well, I've read about a navigator using a Tian compass. A type of tool that allows a navigator to navigate through the stars and heavens, but I've never seen one or know how to use one," Doreen explained.

"You don't need a Tian compass. A sorcerer is better and more reliable," Suomi said, taking out her kantele and playing a simple tune. Her eyes began to glow.

"What did you do?" Rufus asked, his eyes fixed on Suomi. He was a bit shocked as the eyes shined almost the same way as Haley's had when she battled Dalai.

"Calm down. This is a simple spell that even I know how to perform. It enables me to see all the heavens clearly, like they have a beacon that shines from one edge of the universe to the other. All heavens are different and right now I can see them shining differently. This way, we don't have to risk a navigator failing," Suomi explained her spell.

"What if you fail?" Joan asked, her tone skeptical.

"I don't..."

Rufus then asked her, "Which way is the Sassan heaven?"

"It is that way. Right where we are headed now," Suomi said and pointed forward.

"Why are we headed to the Sassan heaven?" Doreen asked, her curiosity piqued.

"I thought it might be a good place to start our journey," Rufus replied, avoiding mentioning that it was the legendary sorcerer, Väinämöinen, who had recommended it.

"What can we expect from the Sassan heaven?" Pema queried, her brow furrowed in concern.

"You may remember the owl-like assassins who attacked Rufus and Yosef, sent by Princess Sasha? They were Sassanids from the Sassan heaven," Doreen explained.

"That doesn't sound like a wise decision," Amala said, her voice tinged with skepticism.

"A group of assassins doesn't represent all of the people. Just like my soul watchers don't represent all of the people on Aesis," Gadaric pointed out, trying to assuage their fears.

"We must remember to view people on many different levels, considering factors such as nationality, race, and faith. From what I've understood your regular Sassanid or Sassan, depending on whichever term you using, is in no way different from your average human on Aesis. Fear death and love their friends the same way we humans do," Satifa added, trying to provide a more nuanced perspective.

Yosef, Pema, Gwon, and Amala coughed.

"Or you average grey skin or Eichi," Satifa embarrassingly corrected.

Amala understood the point they were trying to make. It would be foolish to make assumptions about an entire group of people based on a few bad encounters.

"The Sassanids are known for their assassins, and for centuries, many have sought their services. It's important to remember that they are skilled warriors. We should respect that," Edward said, drawing on what he had heard about them.

"But the Sassanids aren't the only inhabitants of their heaven. Djinns also live there. They are much larger and have the ability to shapeshift. Their true forms are rarely seen by outsiders and they don't live in the main world of Sassan. They primarily reside in the world of Isra, in large cities. I've always wanted to visit their most famous city, known as the City of Secrets," Suomi added, her voice filled with

"Can you navigate us to Isra?" Rufus asked.

"With my eyes close....well no. Have to keep my eyes open for me to do that. But yes, I can navigate us there," Suomi said confidently.

~~

They continued on their journey to the Sassan heaven, with Suomi guiding them to the world of Isra, where the city of secrets was. Despite their initial hesitations and fears, they were determined to find answers and solutions to their mission.

They kept sailing and as they did, the excitement and beauty of the universe began to fade. Soon, anxiety hit everyone. They were sailing on a wooden vessel, and if it broke, most of them would fall to their death.

What also added to their stress was the seemingly impossible nature of their mission. They had decided to venture into the universe, hoping to find answers and solutions that even a centuries-old sorcerer couldn't provide. Many feared failure.

As the crew grew tired of these thoughts, a beautiful melody echoed in their ears. They all looked toward the front of the ship and saw Suomi, singing and playing the kantele. Her music soothed everyone as it was indescribably beautiful. Everyone enjoyed the pure bliss of the music.

When she finished playing, everyone felt a bit better. Rufus walked over to Suomi, as everyone else was resting under the hull.

"Thank you. Your music really made me feel better. Your spells are really amazing," Rufus said with a smile.

"Well, thank you," Suomi explained, "but that wasn't a spell."

"But it felt so divine and pure," Rufus said in disbelief.

"Sometimes the simplest things, without any supernatural elements, are what we need the most. The things that make things uncomplicated and straightforward," Suomi explained and smiled, just as her sister Harley had done years before.

Rufus again thought about how similar Suomi was to her older sister. He even blushed a little.