anny b. howard
CASTLE CITY MANIFEST

If ignorance is bliss, give 'em hell.
_ccm vog 04

local settlement date 35,992

We tend to destroy our instinct for survival and cling rather to laws of blind obedience in quiet desperation.

King Namor Zujahrah

22 snow city


Dana and Bech had been left at the last boat port on the river. The trip had taken so many days that they had lost count. Many towns had been clear of priests. Many had been sent down river bleeding. From the last port town, Barbaralba, Namor, Sanskis and Narnok joined a caravan headed for the last city before the fields of snow. Namor and Barbaralba used their break times to get used to wearing boots. The farther north they traveled the more they had to get used to thick clothing.

They followed a tributary of the Havatara River for well over a hundred days and nights, riding or walking along side the caravan. Until they at last came to the last city. The city of Hannah was not a large city and there were not many resources for priests to plunder so there were very few houses of God. Just enough to have a small percentage of the people incarcerated and tortured to keep terrorism religion alive. But even the priests had little luxury. Everyone had the luxury of the mountain range to the north of the city. It was a splendor that out shone even Castle City.

Their destination was through this grand mountain range over seas of ice and rocky mountain paths. Mountain goat paths. To a small land lost to the rest of the world. It existed in for most people only in fable in the far northern towns of Barbancor. There were stories that a sorceress presided over her slaves who burnt mountain goats to heat here kitchen in a castle of ice and rock. Other stories told of beautiful snow angels that ran naked over the snow and stole the souls of children who did not go to sleep when they were told. What they did with the fathers was a different story and was heard sometimes in bars at night when the wind was cold and going outside to go home was a dangerous event.

Before departing over the ice, Namor went to a little house of God to hear the priest talk about the laws of God and why everyone was lucky there was a God to give laws or else they would not know what was wrong with them. And he talked of blood of sheep and killing first born males and no one seemed to listen to him aside from Namor.

After the service the priest met Namor at the door way.

"You are a stranger here."

"You notice that I am having a little trouble walking with boots."

"It is not your only trouble. You have a demon in you that is torturing you. I can see it tearing you apart."

Namor laughed.

"It is not a demon that you see. You see the angel beast in me. And it may seem like I am being tortured but I have invited the creature to do as it sees fit with me. For I know that it is not simply the beast that my ancient ancestors were, it is also the god that is possible and thus inevitable in me, that reaches from a future that seems far away from a creature that can only see his short life from birth to death. But it is not so far away.

I left my castle to take it down. We are building ships and weapons possibly never seen on this planet. It has become necessary to engage ourselves in war with a land our history has forgotten. I admit that I have at times had doubts. But it is a thing that is happening. Either you fight with it and hope to rebuild in a somewhat more aware period of our journey over the years that bring us to generations with better understanding and capability. Our journey to become the gods.

Or you stand in the way and die."

The priest was stunned. No one had ever talked to him with such concepts. He waited.

"If you can teach other priests to accept that God, this one God monster belief, is a lie of servitude and must be abandoned. They might not die in the war. The gods will not allow that we kill ourselves and the rest of life. The fish in the rivers and ocean. Following this absurd slavery conspiracy that you preach and benefit from. The end of your reign is upon you. Accept the reality that is crashing down on you. And teach that."

"You are Satan."

"Satan is a word perverted by your laws of servitude. I am the snake in the garden that want knowledge. Philosophy is my goddess. I do not worship her. I follow where she leads me. I am King Namor. Drave King of the royal family. You are caught up in your own symbolism. Heaven is not the land of the dead. Heaven is the land of the living. And it is your crew that has poisoned this simple truth. We are here now. You will either become part of life or you will be destroyed."

The priest made crazy grunting and barking sounds. Making mad gestures with Namor, including trying to burn him with a candle and splashing holy water on him.

"This is not a game, you mad child. Tell the high priests their time of tyranny has run out. God, the monster of terrorism, is dead. I will grind your symbols into the ground."

Namor kicked the priest's holy water canister over the holy candles and left. He went back to the inn to converse with his company of snow travelers.

"How did you like the message of the priest."

Namor laughed.

"I don't know how they have gotten away with talking such nonsense for so many generations. Are the people so stupid as not to see the world in front of their eyes. Can they not reach out and touch what is before them as see that it is real. It makes me furious to see what we have done with symbolic worshipping of idiotic concepts."

"I love seeing you angry."

Namor smiled at Barbaralba and lay on the bed beside her and put his head on her belly. Let the day move by slowly. In the morning they would wander over the ice fields for many days.

______ . . ______


With some of Barbaralba's money, Narnok had hired four guides to take them to the fabled snow city. Their journey took them farther up the ever smaller tributary of Havatara river. The farther they traveled and climbed, the colder it got. Even with Barbaralba's skill in hunting they had to rely on their supplies. When they came down from the first mountain path to the ice field that stretched through the horizon, there was no more running water everything had disappeared under the ice.

The first few days of walking on ice were uneventful other than the splendid beauty. For orientation they had the sun. And mountain peeks. And at night the stars helped them to know which mountain peaks to follow in the day.

Some nights it was not possible to stay warm in the small tents. On such nights, they were forced to cut into the hard snow and build a little walled, partially covered city for their five tents. They could afford to burn a candle to crack the cold but there was no other fuel. All the animal fat they had with them was needed for filling the stomach. Dried fruits, dried cooked grains and cold animal fat was their main diet. Water was their biggest problem and often required the sacrifice of animal fat. But they were on top of the world away from the rest of the world and after many days they were becoming used to their conditions.

The air was so thin and cold that climbing was very strenuous. It was necessary to take many breaks so that they did not sweat out their body moisture. Getting cold from being wet was the most dangerous thing that could happen to them with no fuel to make a fire. There were rock faces they had to hang from or be pulled up over. Stairways hacked into ice.

About the time they thought they might be traveling forever in a land of ice and rock, there were some signs that they were approaching Snow City. There were sometimes small tracks in the thin film of snow that sometimes was blown over the ice.

One of the guides took out his map and lay it on the ice and showed everyone where they were, pointing out the mountains that had names nearer Hannah. He showed them the route they had taken. There was a river marked on the map that indicated the valley of the mountain range that they were headed for. Where there was a city marked as Snow City. Pilgrims were known to travel the river to its source to visit Snow City. There were a few moon cycles every year where such a journey was possible.

"This is much different than Castle City."

"This is much different than most anywhere else. My friend."

Namor was looking at the horizon trying to interpret something as Snow City, but it was not yet recognizable. It blended in with the rest of the world of snow and ice. But he did see something much more relevant to their present needs. A creature.

"Barbaralba. Look."

Barbaralba saw what Namor saw. Meat. Sitting inside a ball of white fur. It sniffed the air for danger. Danger flew through the air and nailed the creature to the hard snow. Everyone stood to look at the sound of the animal that flipped about, not finding enough air.

It would have to be eaten raw with a little salt, or without. It was the first fresh meat for so long that no one hesitated when Barbaralba had cut it apart and laid the meat on the ice.

"Moments like these make me wonder."

Barbaralba laughed and kissed the bloody face of Namor.

"What do you wonder, bloody beast lost in a world of ice and rock."

One of the guides shook his head and swallowed his meat.

"We are not lost. Where there are animals, plants are not far away."

Namor laughed.

"Of course we are not lost. We are where we are no matter where that is. If we can know that than we are alive in the universe. And that is no less than a grand thing. And had I not come over this field of ice I would not have know the joy of a piece of bloody meat still a bit warm from the life that had been in it moments before."

There were a few more sparse days ahead of them. But the closer they got to Snow City, the more animals they had to eat, mostly white rabbits. Just shortly after none of them could stomach the joy of raw meat any longer, they came upon a little stream. The hired guides gave praises to God. They all drank from it. And set their tents up that night on earth. Soft moss covered the rock. Small bushes grew and died. Leaving almost enough wood to roast their fresh rabbit meat.

"This river will take you to the west coast of Barbancor."

"How long is the journey."

"Half a year. It is a long way before the river is deep enough for a boat. But it is warmer every day by a little and there is fresh water and all the other things one learns to love as luxury after living on ice for so long."

They had been on Barbancor close to half a year. Much of it traveling up the Havatara River and one of its tributaries.

______ . . ______


In the morning their tents were covered in snow. Barbaralba woke from dreaming she had run out of air and did not remember which direction the surface was. She eased her way out of the sleeping sack and slid her boots on. When she opened the tent, the front half filled with light snow, covering Namor's head. Air followed behind it and Barbaralba took a breath before helping Namor find his head.

Barbaralba had to laugh at him.

"Good morning, King Namor."

She kissed him and crawled out of the tent smashing her way through the snow until she could stand and look at the white world. Snow fell gently with no wind.

Four furry creatures stood before her with arrows aimed at her. Barbaralba could see their surprise and knew they would not shoot when they saw that she was not a snow monster. She kept still and kept her belief that they would not shoot until they eased their arrows from their tension.

"Greetings. I'm Barbaralba. I have come with the Drave King Namor of the royal family to visit Snow City."

They did not seem to understand.

"We are on a protocol tour. Do you understand me."

Namor crawled out of the tent to see who Barbaralba was talking to. From the other four tents emerged the rest of the expedition. One of the guides noticed the furry hunters and held up his hands, smiled, then bent to take a drink of water from the stream.

"Can you tell us how far to Snow City. We are on a pilgrimage."

The furry hunters took a closer look at the holes in the snow to see where they led. They seemed a little surprised but more at ease to see simple tents.

"Where have you come from."

"From over the mountains. From the most northern city of the Havatara River. The city of Hannah. We bring with us the King and Queen of Castle City. They have come to see Snow City and pay homage to it."

"Are you snow spirits."

"No. We are all real creatures. Real creatures in need of a warm bath and a hot meal. We come from behind the mountains, where there is no snow in the warm season."

"We better take you to the Cardinal. She may be expecting you."

There was very little snow in Snow City. It was built on the south side of a mountain. The sun cut through the cold air and warmed the open yet contained city. Large panels reflected sun light into every garden where fruits and vegetables grew. Large reserves of water were heated during the day and held enough heat to keep the ground warm during the cold night.

Everyone they passed, bowed. Dogs approached to sniff and children ran up to touch Namor and Barbaralba, than ran off again.

The Cardinal lived in a dwelling at the top of the city. She stood and watched the visitors approaching. She had been watching them the last days as they came across the ice fields. In her life, she had seen no one come from the ice fields. In the warm season, visitors made the journey up river, to bring gifts of food and visit the temple.

For the cardinal, Snow City was a temple of life in an ocean of ice and cold winds. She, like almost everyone in the city, had never seen anything beyond the mountains.

She went down to meet her guest as they came to the final stairs to the temple and her dwelling. She carried a bowl of fruit with her. The four hunters bowed ever so slightly, turned around and left them.

The Cardinal offered fruit to the snow travelers.

"We have prepared a meal for our guests. You may wish to bathe in the pool of the temple. When you are rested, we can tell our stories to one another."

"Thank you."

The cardinal led them to the open door of the temple carved out of the mountain. The floor was like a forest path, roots crossing over and reaching into the little stream that led from the pool. A stream of water fell over the sun-warmed rocks into the pool.

They were inside and outside.

Barbaralba stripped and walked up the little stream toward the pool. Except for Namor, no one followed her. The rest of the travelers had taken a fruit from a tree and sat down to eat it.

Namor stood naked, looking out the way they had come in.

"King Namor."

He knew the voice; he knew the hand that took his hand. He was about to let Barbaralba lead him to the pool of warm water but for a moment he was arrested by the grandeur of the temple and the carving above the entrance.

"Namor, look at me. Where are you."

"I am here and I am looking at you."

Barbaralba looked up to where Namor looked. They took a few steps toward the sculpture.

"It is very beautiful. You can see how they love each other. It does resemble us, doesn't it."

"Resemble. Barbaralba. It's you and me. Even the scars seem to be very close to the same ones we carry."

"It certainly is a strange place we have come to. Now come and look at me in the flesh in the pool."

Barbaralba led Namor to the pool. It was paradise. The temperature was perfect and the temple was perfect and there was no hint of a monster God to be worshipped. Barbaralba pulled Namor's head under the water to kiss him. To feel for the first time in a long time the world of underwater. Barbaralba wanted Namor to think of nothing and commune only with her. To become part of her and she part of him. To feel ageless instinct live out its desire to be warm blooded entities celebrating their forgotten journey of evolution from the simplest of creatures to awakening of the spirit that drove the beast on to become what it could become.

They joined the others who had found somewhere else to bathe and were already feasting with the cardinal and the several other Snow City citizens. There was a table with food but no one sat at it. There were little groups sitting under trees or in direct sun light. Or standing by the table and filling their bowls with boiled grains and vegetables, meats fresh roasted.

"I am Cardinal Saharah. We are happy to have angels visit our city."

Barbaralba smiled and laughed.

"I am Barbaralba. This is the most beautiful city I have seen or felt. Or smelled. Or heard. And I am very happy to be here and hope that we don't have to leave you too soon."

"I am Namor. Drave and a king of protocol for the royal family and Castle City Island. And I am still a little astonished to be here."

Barbaralba and Namor filled their bowls and sat so they could look over the city and mountain tops. The sun had come close to the horizon. Namor watched the panels straining to catch and reflect the light. Illuminate light.

Namor wanted to ask about the metal he had seen but did not want to sound like a tax collector before he learned what the cardinal believed.

They ate in silence and watched, like most everyone in snow city, the sun sink behind the horizon and bleed into darkness.

"We come from an island south of Barbancor. We are at war with them. We were at war with ourselves until then. I lived in a castle that housed a few million people. Many of them Drave servants. One of those Drave servants was my father. I left the castle to look for a library and found it and the same day found Barbaralba. In the library were countless patent books on everything and life form on this planet. There are also several thousand years of logs from a space journey. From the planet we came from to this one."

"You come from another planet."

"We all come from another planet. We have settled on this one and forgotten who we were. Or have written it out of history. Perhaps it was our lust for war that required our temporary forgetfulness."

"We have heard of the wars of Barbancor. Here we have never known war."

"Snow City may be the strangest thing on this planet."

"We are not so different. Our life here is too fragile to afford the luxury of war."

"Yes, I can see that."

"We will also be able to see your space ship tonight."

"You know of the space ship."

"No. We know of a thing in space. We know now what it is."

chapter 23