An elderly woman stepped forward. Her white hair was braided into a thick plait, her heavy woollen coat stained with soot. She leaned on a gnarled shepherd’s crook and squinted her eyes to make out the figures in the dim light. ‘Grand Master Eva Ohnestrumpf?’ she asked in a deep, rough voice. Eva bowed her head. ‘I was expecting someone who was no longer a child,’ said the village elder with a frown. Eva said nothing, but held the other woman’s gaze with a gentle smile. Finally, Gundhild took a deep breath and sighed. ‘May the Lady be with us,’ she growled.
Dear reader, you are surely surprised to hear from me! But unfortunately, I must break my honourable resolution not to interfere too often – though only for your own good! Some aspects of the world of the Cloud Islands are so – well, special – that without first-hand travel experience and my omniscient commentary, I suspect you would be completely in the dark.
I am talking about the Lady. She is not just any landowner who bullies her tenants with an iron fist. Nor is she a rich widow or a poisonous shrew – although Hochsaat naturally has numerous examples of these types of women – no, the Lady is a deity. Or, to put it more worldly: a very old idea.
While on the other Cloud Islands the wind god Zephyros rules with the unpredictable moods of a being who one moment enables the blessed art of aviation and the next sweeps entire areas off the map, the population of Goldendale clings to a rather unusual transcendental figure of identification. They worship the Lady, whose myth begins something like this: a woman wanders across what was then a rather inhospitable island with her infant, finds nothing but dust, kneels down, mixes earth and water, and warms the ground with her hands. Rather than hoping, like any reasonable person, that Zephyros might one day kindly blow a few seeds her way, she simply plants something herself. You guessed it: it grows. Of course it grows, it’s always the same in stories like this. She’s hungry, she looks after her child, she looks after the plant, and one day there’s a field there. The people from Goldendale say that these ears of wheat were the first on their island. And so the myth of the Lady was born. She is the Mother of Grain and guardian of all things that grow through warmth, patience and unconditional love. And so it is that on this island of grain, people do not pray to the heavens, but to the earth. The other islands, of course, laugh at this. ‘Goldendale prays to dirt!’ they say. To which anyone from Goldendale replies with a weary smile: ‘So what? Our dirt gives us bread. What has your wind given you today?’
Well, esteemed reader, now that I have already intervened, I can calmly explain why Goldendale clings to this goddess, while on all other islands Zephyros is undisputedly the primary contact for everything supernatural. The answer is simple – the wind is important everywhere, but on Goldendale it is rather annoying. While the other islands are happy when the god of wind brings their ships safely to their destination, the people of Goldendale sit among their fields and hope that he will finally stop blowing the grain flat. They know that if you want to harvest something, praying won’t help; you have to roll up your sleeves and make sure that the next change in the weather doesn’t destroy everything. And that is precisely why they worship the Lady as a goddess who is like them, frugal and patient. A goddess they do not find somewhere in the air, but under their own fingernails.
‘Very well,’ grumbled the village elder. „Then listen to me, Eva Ohnestrumpf. The situation is as follows: the pirates have completely destroyed the harbour. They are sweeping across the island, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake, as if they wanted to wipe Goldendale from the face of the earth. Entire villages have fallen, windmills have collapsed. Our people fled, most of them deep into the forests.‘ She closed her eyes briefly. ’We have abandoned the southern part of the island. We are only holding Dreybergen because the forest is too dense and we can repel pirate advances early on.“ Sixten Runvar spoke up. “Pirates wiping out a treasure trove like Goldendale? That doesn’t make sense.” “If they were only after money and supplies, they would have left long ago,” Eva agreed. “No, something is keeping them on the island.”
‘We’ve noticed that too,’ said Gundhild. ‘I also believe they are looking for something, something they obviously can’t find. Otherwise, they would have enough loot to equip a dozen fleets by now.’ ‘We’ll find out,’ said Eva, ‘but securing the supply lines and holding the camp seems more urgent to me. The Order will take care of that.’ ‘We thank you,’ replied Gunhild, ‘if you need more manpower, those present here are at your disposal.’ Eva nodded. ‘And now, if you’ll excuse me, I must tend to the wounded.’ With her clothes billowing, she stumbled away, leaning on her staff.
A young man stepped out of the shadows and approached the group. His white-blond hair was tousled, his uniform stained with blood. He saluted Eva and Sixten, then nervously clasped his hands together. “Onni Virtanen, reconnaissance recruit,” he said hesitantly. “I… I have to report, Grand Master.” Eva nodded. “Virtanen. Good to see you again. Speak freely.“
Onni swallowed. ‘Master Dornhain is still missing.’ He wiped his forehead. „I already told you by radio that her glider was found near Harbour Road. It’s badly damaged, as if it had been rammed by a pirate ship. There are footprints leading away from the cockpit. Nothing else. I wanted to gather more clues in the area, but then you reported in on the radio and the pirates attacked again. Since then, I haven’t been able to reach the site and haven’t heard from Master Dornhain either.” Silence spread. Eva slowly raised her gaze, her voice firm. If the news had shaken her, she didn’t show it. ‘Airis is alive. Until we have proof to the contrary, this will be our premise for further action.’ Onni nodded hastily.
Eva turned to Sixten. ‘Master Runvar: you will take charge of defending Odring and Dreybergen. Set up guards, secure the paths through the forest. All C.A.F. envoys are under your command.’ Lennar instinctively squared his shoulders and looked at his master. ‘Yes, Grand Master,’ Sixten said curtly. Then Eva took a step towards Lennar. ‘You. You’re coming with me.’ He stared at her, surprised, almost startled. ‘Where to?’ ‘The pirates are looking for something,’ said Eva. ‘And I want to find out what. To do that, I need a defender at my side.’ Onni Virtanen stepped forward. ‘Shouldn’t I accompany you? I know the area.” Eva shook her head gently. “You stay here, Virtanen. Support Master Runvar, gather sightings of pirates and report to me upon my return. We need to get an overview of our enemies’ movements. You see, your task is no less important.” Onni quickly lowered his gaze, but the relief was still clearly written on his face.