The Map of All Things Read Free Page B

the
Luminara
sailed under Captain Andon Shay with similar dreams and determination. Back then, Criston and his crewmates had gone beyond the boundaries of any known map… and he had lost everything. Though he survived the shipwreck, his life was forever changed. After many quiet years as a hermit, Criston had decided to face life again and return to the sea. He'd been back among humanity for six years now, but he never stopped feeling alone. His focus, his obsession, set him apart from others: Criston was sure that the
Luminara
had been close, very close, to her sacred destination. With the
Dyscovera
, he intended to go back and search again.
    A hush drifted across the docks like an unexpected breeze. A group of blue-uniformed royal guards escorted an old man in plush maroon robes. King Korastine leaned on a carved walking stick, though he seemed embarrassed to be using it. The king had closely watched the progress of the
Dyscovera
, from the laying of the keel to the setting of ribs and the mounting of hull planks. Criston knew how badly Korastine wanted to sail away from Tierra. Years ago, the king had planned to go aboard the new Arkship, along with Destrar Broeck, both of them hoping to find peace from the tragedies in their lives. But that was not meant to be.
    At Korastine's side walked a smiling ten-year-old boy, blond-haired and thin-faced. Equally fascinated by the ships in the harbor, Prince Tomas often joined his father in Shipbuilders' Bay. The boy's pale hair and eyes reflected those of his Iborian mother, who had died when he was but four.
    The king hobbled after his son, favoring his left knee. In recent years, the gout had become so bad that he could barely walk, though he refused to be carried on a palanquin. “What news today, Captain Vora? Are we on schedule?”
    Criston bowed formally. “With Kjelnar as our shipwright, Majesty, of course we're on schedule.”
    Korastine ran his wistful gaze over the lines of the vessel. With a forced smile, he patted his swollen leg. “Much as I'd like to be part of your crew, Captain, I will stay here and await your reports.”
    Prince Tomas took a step ahead of his father. “
I
want to go along.”
    Korastine smiled at him. “I don't doubt that would be more amusing than court functions, but the voyage will be too dangerous. You have to stay here in Tierra, where it's safe.”
    Criston pulled his jacket tight as a cold breeze wove through the docks. By sailing in early spring, the
Dyscovera
should have months of good weather to take them farther than any man had ever gone. “We depart in three weeks, Sire, when the winds should be most favorable for a long westward voyage.”
    Korastine caressed his beard. “I have high hopes for you, Captain Vora.” He squeezed Tomas's shoulder, resting some of his weight on the boy. “Find Holy Joron. We need his aid in the crusade against the evil followers of Urec.”

2 Ishalem
    The great wall across Ishalem blocked the isthmus from the Aidenist enemy. Behind God's Barricade, the holy city would at last be safe in Urecari hands, and on the other side Tierra would wither and die like a branch broken from a tree.
    From the high hill where once had stood the ancient wreck of Urec's Arkship, Soldan-Shah Omra watched his construction workers and Tierran slaves continue their labors. The sweating men used log rollers lubricated with mud to pull blocks into place. In the western harbor, a barge rode low in the water, carrying heavy blocks hewn from cliffside quarries.
    In charge of the project, Kel Unwar had nearly completed a towering barrier seven miles long, stone after stone after stone, now that the Uraban army had recaptured the blood- and ash-encrusted land. Though trained to be a military leader, Unwar was more gifted as an engineer and organizer, commanding work teams instead of armies. When Omra first challenged him to build the wall, Unwar had stared off into the distance, then slowly nodded. “No man has ever