Right across the world of Gear there are stories told of the Cloud Kingdom, which is ruled by the Lightning King, but only in the countries of Tannia, Tesemall and Fantasia are their stories told about the sky door. The legends in these three countries speak of a circular pond, high up in the mountains, which reflects the sky so perfectly, that if you step into it, you find yourself falling into the sky. Each country claims that the sky door lies within its borders, but the borders between these countries become somewhat blurred in the mostly unmapped Hammarot mountains that separate them.

 

This particular story begins on a beautiful summer’s day. The sun has been up for hours and it will be bright for several more to come. Hans the young goatherd drives his charges higher and higher into the mountains, looking for fresh grass. The summer has been unusually hot and dry, there’s barely a breath of wind, and only a tiny amount of thin hazy clouds which offered no shade. The goats were complaining as they were thirsty, and young Hans felt just as upset as they did. Every now and again he would pick up a rock and throw it as hard as he could to vent his frustration.

“Why did you have to go and leave us father?”

The only answer to his shouted question was the thud and clatter of the latest rock hitting the ground.

“How long will it take you to find your fortune in the big city?”

Crash, went another rock.

“How could you do this to us?”

Smash.

“Why did I have to become a goatherd? I liked learning to make shoes.”

This time Hans picked up a really big rock, so big he had to grasp it with both Hans, shifting his grip and turning on his heel he threw it as hard as he could, over the ridge and into the valley on the other side. He heard an almighty thump as the stone met the rock, then there was a crack and rumble and eventually a splash! Not believing his ears Hans scrambled up to the top of the ridge and looked down into the valley. He knew the paths on this side of the mountain well, but he had never ventured over this ridge, The little valley beyond was shaped like a bowl caught between the mountains, there was not a scrap of vegetation anywhere, but at the centre of the valley was a circular pool of water.

Irresponsibly leaving his goats behind, the young man scrambles down into the little valley, the wind doesn’t blow here at all, the silence is all consuming and more than a little frightening. Faint ripples still played across the water in the pool from the rock that had fallen into it, but even as Hans watched, the final ripples faded away, leaving the water as perfect as a silver mirror. Hans was nearly thirteen he was old enough to have heard the stories about the sky door, and he was old enough not to believe all of the stories that his grandmother told him and his younger sisters. Curiosity drew him closer, surely if it was nothing but a story, all he would see was his own reflection and that of the sky. Carefully stepping around loose rocks he made his way to the water’s edge and lent over. He couldn’t see his reflection, so he bent over a little more. When he lost his balance and instinctively closed his eyes, he thought for a second how foolish he would look when he returned home all soaking wet.

There was no splash or shock of cold water, instead he found himself floating. Forcing his eyes open he then looked around himself and discovered he was surrounded by thin wisps of cloud. Terror gripped him. He must’ve fallen through the sky door and be in the air. He was a mortal boy and would surely fall. Looking down at his hands he discovered that he was now made of cloud, dense white cloud, with hints of thunderstorm grey picking out the edges of his clothes and the curls in his hair. Even as he watched, his body shifted slightly, it was only his concentration that kept him looking like himself. He tried walking around on the clouds that felt solid enough beneath his feet. He walked to the edge and peered down. He could see the sky door in its little barren valley and his goats munching on the juniper bushes on the other side of the ridge. He then began looking for a way down, it stood to reason that there would be a simple way back, a circular gap in the centre of the cloud would be perfect. But the clouds were thin and ragged, there seemed to be no definite edge, there was certainly no hole in the centre. What felt like hours passed with Hans growing more and more worried, just as he gave up hope and began to cry a sweet girlish voice sounded in his ear.

“What a strange thing you are, I’ve never seen someone like you,”

“Who said that? where are you?”

“I am Breeze, the youngest of the Lightning King’s daughters, and what is your name strange boy?”

“Hans, Hans Clogsun.”

“Are you lost Hans?”

He didn’t reply he was still spinning around in circles trying to determine where the voice was coming from.

“I’m sorry, I forget sometimes to make myself visible,”

A little of the clouds rose up and formed into a wild looking young girl, she was the same height as Hans’s youngest sister Flora. Her hair blew around her shoulders and her simple dress whipped back and forth. Just like Hans she was made entirely of shifting cloud, but unlike the boy she twisted and shifted far more easily. As Breeze’s cloud hair spiralled up into an elegant bun and her dress took on the style of an elaborate ballgown, she glanced at herself and decided she didn’t care for this look at all and reverted to the wild appearance she’d first had. For a moment Hans wondered if he could change his appearance so easily, but feared that if he forgot about his original form, he may never be able to go back. Remembering that Breeze had asked him a question he gave her an honest answer.

“I fell into the sky door, that pond down there,” as he pointed Hans realised that the clouds had shifted on the light wind and now the pool and its little valley were miles away. “You see, I never meant to come here, I was supposed to watch the goats, I just want to go home, but I can’t find my way.”

Breeze placed a gentle hand on his shoulder as she moved close to the edge of the cloud and looked down onto the world of humans.

“I have an idea,” she pointed to a nearby mountain peak that rose so high it was slightly above the height of the clouds, “we can ride on a cloud beast over to the mountain and you can climb down.”

“A cloud beast?”

“Yes, they’re simple to make, I just have to wake up the cloud and suggest to it a shape.”

Moving her hands as she spoke, Breeze waved them in gentle flowing patterns, the cloud beneath their feet swelled and shifted, it became denser and took on the form of a great whale. Grasping his hand Breeze pulled the boy down onto the back of the whale. As the cloud whale moved, Hans realised that the wind had shifted, a strong breeze now blew them and the cloud towards the mountains. Sitting still Hans watched Breeze dance in circles on the back of the great whale flicking her arms up and down and spiralling as she went. From the corner of his eyes he noticed that the great cloud whale had transformed into a lion, large enough for him to sit in the centre of its back with room to spare. On route to the mountain Breeze transformed the cloud beast into half a dozen animals both physical and mythical, sometimes it barely looked like anything recognisable, but soon enough she would whip it back into the shape of a galloping horse, or a roaring dragon.

Whooping like a mad thing Breeze brought a great scuttling lizard down towards the mountain, as low as she could make it go. The lizard seemed to step off the sky and onto the mountain, where it turned into a great snake and wrapped its coils around the mountain peak.

“I guess this is goodbye Hans Clogsun.”

Looking genuinely sad Breeze stuck out her hand for Hans to shake, he did so and thanked her repeatedly for all her help.

Hans closed his eyes as he’d never liked heights very much, he leapt from the cloud beast and for a few long moments sailed gently through the air before coming to rest on the mountain. In the second before he opened his eyes, he considered what a long walk home he’d have, but this worry faded to nothing when he opened his eyes to see that he was still made of cloud. A howl of sorrow, anguish, and utter misery tore from his throat.

“I want to go home, I want to go back to my family, I even want to see my annoying little sisters.”

Breeze who had been watching from her perch atop of the cloud beast brightened, as she had just come up with another idea.

“Family!” Shouted breeze excitedly.

“Yes, I want to go back to my family.”

“I know that. I meant that my family might be able to help, after all I have three sisters and four brothers, if one of them can’t help my mother and father know absolutely everything, at least everything about the Cloud Kingdom,”

“Really, I bet your father is the king,” Hans didn’t try very hard to keep the sarcastic tone from his voice, he was getting tired, he had cried a lot and it had been a long day.

“As a matter of fact, my father is indeed the Lightning King and my mother the Thunder Queen. They’re both very wise, but they can be a bit scary sometimes, the same can be said about my eldest brother and sister, when they get upset the world below suffers. I’ll take you to the Cloud Castle, I’m sure will find answers there about getting you home.”

Before climbing back onto the cloud beast, Hans dried the tears that clung to his cheeks like little raindrops, and smiled up at his new friend who was doing her best to help him. With a helping hand Breeze pulled Hans up onto the neck of a great cloud swan, which rose up from the mountainside and began to beat its wings is it moved south-east.

 

They flew for hours. They travelled on the back of many different kinds of birds, and rode on the back of a white stallion. They sailed in a boat, and as the sun began to set its rays painted the cloud vessel a beautiful shade of pink, which was the last thing Hans remembered before he fell asleep.

 

The morning clouds were a shade of gold that faded into the colours of fire, for a frightening moment Hans believed that he was surrounded by flames, before he felt the reassuringly cool cloud beneath him. As he sat up he saw he was riding in a chariot pulled by an elephant, which of course was all made from cloud, at the reins of the chariot was Breeze, she was joined by a slightly taller male cloud child.

“Good morning Hans, this is my brother Shower.”

Breeze gestured to her brother who smiled in a friendly way. The clouds that made up Shower was distinctly grey and there was the suggestion of a puddle of water around his feet. Looking over the side of the white chariot, Hans saw that the thick clouds below them were grey and he could not tell where they were, answering his unvoiced question Shower spoke.

“We are just off the northern coast of Garnett, the castle is currently in the mountains south of the central desert. I’m sure you never imagined you’d be this far away from home.”

Shower’s voice sounded rhythmical like the pattering of water drops.

“We are going to Garnett?” Gasped Hans who couldn’t keep the shock from his voice.

“It’s only two and a half thousand miles, we picked up a lot of speed whilst you were asleep, and of course with me and my sister working together we can go faster.”

Forcing back the panic that came with the realisation that it would be an incredibly long walk home, Hans looked at the elephants which were made of the same dense grey cloud as Shower, whilst the chariot was the fluffy white cloud that Breeze consisted of. Almost hesitantly Hans glanced down and saw that he looked much the same as when he gone to sleep. He was a mixture of white cloud and grey cloud, and he hoped that he was more solid than his companions.

The rain clouds did not pass over the desert, instead they hugged the coast and only moved inland at the great river delta where the clouds thinned enough for Hans to see the brilliant green farmland either side of the river and the reed islands that occupied the delta mouth. As they moved up-river he saw the farmlands getting smaller, then he saw the pyramids on the plateau at the point where two rivers met. Quickly the ground rose up to meet them as they headed into the mountains shedding the smaller clouds in their wake. Hans found himself riding on the back of a great lion, that leapt from outcrop to outcrop as it hurtled up the mountains.

As the hours passed by Hans became more excited and nervous, he kept looking out for the Cloud Castle, which his two new friends had described to him, but only in vague detail as apparently it shifted and changed. Suddenly as they crested the ridge of mountains that lay along the eastern coast of Garnett, Hans saw the castle.

The castle of the Lightning King stood above a hugh thunderhead, a massive central dome was topped with spires and surrounded by a multitude of various shaped towers. There were battlements and buttresses, and arching walkways that linked the watch towers together. The whole structure was made from clouds of every hue and colour, the central dome being made from thundercloud so dark it appeared to be blue and the tower on top shone like clouds illuminated by morning sunlight.

“It looks like father took some inspiration from the Garnett Palace today!” Shouted Breeze.

She had to shout as the wind around her picked up and began to roar, once again Shower joined in with manipulating the clouds. Between them they created six grey horses and a coach. Just as she had done when they first met, Breeze altered her appearance, she was now wearing a Garnett style court dress and her hair appeared to be braided like a crown around her head. Instead of jewels in her hair water droplets glimmered more brilliantly than diamonds. Turning his attention to Shower, Hans noticed he looked distinctly more prince-like, he wore desert robes and a chain of water droplets hung around his neck.

“You should smarten up as well Hans,” suggested Breeze “it’s not hard just try and imagine really nice clothes.”

Closing his eyes, he tried his best to think of the smart clothes he’d seen people wear on the days he had gone to the market in Good Hamlet. When he looked again, he was wearing, dark britches, a white shirt and a waistcoat, somehow the embroidery on the waistcoat was picked out with little water droplets that looked just as stunning as the chain that Shower wore around his neck.

“That’s wonderful Hans, you’ve got a real knack for this, maybe you could learn how to make sky beasts.”

“I thought we were taking him to see father to get him home, not to teach him how to live up here in the clouds?”

The two siblings bickered playfully for a while, which only made Hans more homesick, he missed his sisters a surprising amount and of course his mother.

Abruptly the carriage came to a halt. When a cloud servant opened the door Hans nearly shrieked with alarm, the servant had no face, that wasn’t quite true there was an area where the face should have been, even a hint of a nose perhaps, but there were no eyes or lips. Seeing his alarm Breeze explained.

“The servants in the castle are rather like sky beasts, they are not really alive like we are, so they don’t have personalities they just follow orders.”

As he climbed down from the coach, which quickly melted away into the clouds beneath their feet along with the horses, Hans saw a dozen guards flanking the steps leading up to the doorway that led into the huge central dome. Walking behind Breeze and Shower he followed them up the steps and saw dozens of soldiers and servants, even pretty handmaidens with flowing white cloud gowns, but all of them had the same blank featureless faces.

The great hall was almost beyond Hans’s ability to describe. He had once visited the temple to a hundred gods in Castleforge which had been the largest building he’d ever seen. The temple mainly comprised of a circular dome surrounded by the hundred alcoves each containing an altar to a different god, goddess or spirit. It had been full of people, echoes, and the smell of incense. The great hall of the Lightning King was silent because cloud feet moving on a cloud floor make no sound. The vast space was practically empty, but it was not plain or boring, as light danced in myriad patterns across the inner surface of the dome. There was no scent of incense in the air just that crisp fresh smell, that comes after summer rain. So, lost in his surroundings Hans barely noticed that the three of them had arrived at a dais beneath an arched window which let in a brilliant shaft of sunlight.

“My darling children, Shower and Breeze. Please introduce me to your friend.”

“Daddy, this is Hans Clogsun,” as she spoke Breeze bobbed a curtsy to her father.

“Come here Hans, let me get a closer look at you it’s been a long time since I had any visitors to my kingdom.”

As the lightning King spoke, he gestured to a pair of chairs standing a short way from the dais. Hans could swear that the chairs had not been there a moment earlier when they had passed the spot. A little awkwardly he sat looking at the Lightning King, he was tall, more than seven feet tall in fact, his body consisted of dense black cloud and every so often a flash of lightning would run down his arms or between his fingers. His black beard came halfway down his chest and was almost permanently alive with little shocks of white lightning.

“Tell me boy how did you come to my kingdom?”

Remembering his manners Hans didn’t make a fuss about the fact he’d been called a boy, which he didn’t like as he was nearly thirteen. As simply as he could, he told his story, and made his request to go home.

“I’m sure I have a way in mind that will get you home, but I will need the help of my children. Join us all on the sun terrace and we can talk there.”

Following the king through an arched doorway Hans passed through a thin veil of clouds and emerged on a large balcony that overlooked a remarkable garden. There were huge fluffy trees made from clouds that bobbed and swayed in the wind, other trees had long sweeping branches like a willow tree, and they constantly shed drops of water. Hans got a good look at these enormous trees as he walked alongside the king through the garden.

“I see you’re admiring my sky garden, and of course the weeping willow trees, they seed the cloud with the mother of raindrops. It’s always nice to have someone admire the beauty of this place.”

“Have you had visitors before?”

“From time-to-time various gods and goddesses have stayed in my palace or in the towers of my castle. There have even been a few humans who used magic to come here, but they have never stayed for long.”

They reached a short flight of steps that led to a terrace at the edge of the cloud island. Brilliant sunlight illuminated the terrace. Seated at a large round table were nine figures and two empty chairs.

“Let me introduce you to the family, you already know my youngest daughter Breeze.”

Breeze smiled and waved from where she sat at the nearest point of the table, she nudged her older sister who sat on her left to try and encourage her to wave too. This older cloud girl was also made from white cloud, but she looked far more indistinct around the corners, as if she had a hard time holding herself together.

“This is Gale my third daughter and on her left my second daughter Storm.”

Storm looked even more indistinct than Gale, she also looked as if she’d been called away from some important task.

“On the Queen’s right we have my eldest daughter Hurricane.”

Hurricane was almost impossible to make out, as she didn’t consist of any cloud, but scraps of flying debris seem to be trapped within the vague shape of a tall young woman. Hans had to take a second look at the Queen however, as she appeared like a mortal woman. She wore robes of white cloud; her skin was a bronze colour and her black hair danced playfully around her shoulders. Seeing Hans staring, she bent backwards a little to whisper into the ear of her attendant. A fat cherub with feathery white wings nodded to his Queen, then flicked over like a hummingbird to relay the message to Hans.

“My Queen extends her warmest greetings; she hopes to hear many tales about the human world before you return home.”

The Lightning King cleared his throat and shooed the cherub away, before he continued to introduce his sons.

“The youngest of my children and my fourth son Drizzle, and on his right is Shower who of course you know.”

Drizzle was another of the king’s children who was hard to see, he had very little cloud in his form, mainly consisting of drops of water that hung together forming the outline of a boy, who had he been human, would have been around eight years old. Just as Breeze had done, Shower waved in a friendly manner, but he didn’t try jostling his elder brother.

“Rain is my second son and the hardest working of all of my children.”

“He’s not been working very hard in the Hammarot mountains this summer, where having a bit of a drought.” Stated Hans bluntly.

Rain didn’t try to deny his absence he merely shrugged his shoulders and adjusted the cape of infinite raindrops that hung behind him, the amazing cape disappeared down into the cloud upon which he sat.

“Finally, my eldest son Deluge.”

Deluge sat at the right-hand side of the empty throne, he was made from the same black thunderhead clouds as his father who he greatly resembled, but whilst the king smiled and had a friendly expression, his son looked as if he wanted an excuse to throw a tantrum. Now the introductions had been made the king took his place at the top of the table. Hans sat in the empty chair between Breeze and Drizzle. Since the table was circular Hans could see everyone as they discussed the various means to get him home. The Thunder Queen and most of her children seemed genuinely concerned about getting him home, but her eldest son and daughter looked displeased. Breeze explained about their attempt to put him down on the mountain, Rain suggested carrying him down on a sheet of water back to the pool, but the king rejected this idea.

“You could get Hans back to the ground by that means, but just as on the mountainside he would still be made of cloud rather than flesh and bone. The only option I believe we have is to ask a favour from your auntie Iris,”

As the King made his announcement the cherub who attended the Queen bobbed over, the two of them had a short, whispered discussion, then the cherub bowed, which is hard to do whilst hovering in mid-air, before he departed.

“I have sent a message to the rainbow goddess, explaining the situation and asking her to join as all in the Hammarot mountains. Even as we have been speaking, I have moved the castle northwest, the journey will be long, so we have time for stories, music and food.”

At that moment the Queen stood up and clapped her hands together, a number of cloud servants appeared straight up out of the ground, bearing platters of the most unusual things Hans had ever seen. There were apples made entirely of sweet water, that had been coloured red as if a sunset had been captured in each one, and this was the only item on his plate that Hans could adequately describe. The lonely goatherd drank from a goblet that appeared to be made from starlight, and tasted a drink that reminded him of a moonbeam. Cloud musicians played a number of instruments that sounded like wind and rain, but they conveyed a mesmerising melody just as adequately as any orchestra. Cloud dancers appeared at the end of the meal as the table sank into the floor, they trailed long strips of cloud behind them as they jumped and spiralled. The Lightning King drank heavily of the moonbeam drink, and when he clapped at the dancers, a small bolt of lightning jumped from his hands and disappeared through the cloud beneath his feet, he was scolded by his wife, who slapped his arm, but she did not raise her voice.

Hans had no way of knowing that the Thunder Queen had once been a minor muse, but had somehow displeased one of the great gods. She had been cursed to roar like funder every time she raised her voice. Sometime after she had been cast out by the other gods and left to walk the world of man alone, the Lightning King had found her and taken her as his wife, after all, words of love are all the sweeter when they are whispered to one another.

Hans danced with Breeze and Gale in turn, when the music finished they all watched Shower and Rain as they played some kind of game with a ball of water, the two young men tried to keep it from hitting the clouds beneath their feet. As the light faded for a second time the Queen gestured to young Hans and led him back into the castle. Her hand was warm as she held his and she smiled in that special way all mothers do, as the she tucked him into a cloud bed, she whispered to him.

“Sweet dreams.”

When the Queen kissed his forehead Hans knew that he would sleep more soundly than anyone in the world below, after all he was sleeping in the Cloud Castle which was said to be formed by the dreams of humans.

 

A servant woke Hans shortly before dawn, following him the young man emerged on a high balcony that took in the magnificent sunrise, as it crested the clouds. As he watched the sunrise and the myriad number of shades of gold that it painted across the cloud scape before him, he wondered if he would ever tire of such a sight. Most of the royal family came to join him, but Hurricane and Deluge were notable for their absence, the two elder siblings had not made any efforts to ingratiate themselves with the not quite human boy, and they had departed the dinner as early as possible the night before.

“My oldest brother and sister will be sulking in their rooms, Father called a meeting last night after you went to bed, and they’re not going to be part of the plan to get you home,” Breeze sounded wary.

“Will I be getting home today?”

“I’m afraid not my lad, moving the Cloud Castle that far, takes a lot of time and effort. We should be returning you to the sky door tomorrow afternoon,”

Hans opened his mouth to beg the Lightning King to do more to get him home sooner. He had been away for three days now, his mother would be worried, even his uncle with whom they lived would be worried by now.

“Before you ask, I cannot move faster, there are things that need to be set in motion in order to return you home safely and they cannot be rushed.”

From the final tone of the king’s voice Hans knew there was no point in pushing things further.

Hoping to spend the day with Breeze and Shower, Hans was dismayed to see them leaping from the balcony along with their other brothers and sisters. Fearing they would fall to their deaths he ran over to the edge of the balcony and looked down, all six of them had conjured up cloud beasts seemingly out of thin air and were scattering in all directions, obviously each had been charged with a task.

“Do not be concerned young man, my children will return with their tasks completed before dusk. This gives you plenty of time to tell my good lady stories of your homeland and your family.” As he spoke the King placed a gentle hand on Hans’s shoulder.

The cherub fluttered over to escort Hans to a small courtyard, which housed a single weeping willow tree, a cloud bench and the Thunder Queen. She smiled and beckoned for the young man to join her on the bench, she whispered at length to her attendant who began asking Hans questions.

Hans was a little nervous at first, he had never spoken to a queen before, and it was disconcerting how she never directly spoke to him. The little cherub fell about on the ground consumed with laughter, when Hans explained about the unfortunate connection between his name and the occupation of goat herding. After all Hans the lonely goatherd, was the equivalent of the village idiot in many mountain folktales. The Queen did not laugh aloud, she placed a hand to her mouth and smiled broadly behind it, her eyes conveying the laughter that did not escape her lips.

As the skies began to darken Hans realised the whole day had slipped past him, he had shared stories about his family, his village, and the trips he had taken with his father in happier years. Not once had he felt hungry or thirsty, but when the cherub announced it was time for supper, he could not wait.

Much as it had been the evening before, Hans joined the royal family for a sumptuous banquet, the only difference tonight was the fact they were not joined by Hurricane or Deluge. Without the eldest sibling’s presences, the dinner felt far more lively and more jokes were shared, mainly by the King to the sounds of groaning from his children.

Just as on the previous night, the Queen took him off to bed and whispered a sweet lullaby into his ear, all about starlight and dancing, these images invaded Hans’s dreams.

On the fourth day of his transformation Hans awoke with as much excitement as a child before the solstice celebrations, today was the day he was going home. Before the servants had even come to wake him, he was running down the corridor to the balcony to watch the sunrise. The scenery had changed dramatically from the day before, yesterday he had watched the sun rise over clouds above the ocean, today mountain peaks pierced the clouds on the northern horizon. With a feeling of utter joy Hans recognised some of the major peaks. He could see the Twins which were the largest mountains in Fantasia, and Old Jack, the highest mountain in the range. It was regularly and fiercely debated whether old Jack fell into the territory of Tannia or Tesemall. All that Hans knew was that his home lay in the valley between these two mountains.

“It won’t be long until we get you home, I’ll be sad to see you go, it would have been fun to teach you how to make sky beasts.”

Breeze had silently joined Hans on the balcony and the two of them stood alone for many minutes watching the sunrise.

 

The ‘show’ as the King referred to it began just before midday, Breeze and Drizzle, were the first to swing into action, quickly followed by Gale and shower, who really made an impact. With the two younger sisters working together, leaves stirred on trees and dry grass bent and shimmered. Following in their wakes Drizzle and Shower brought forward their talents, moistening the ground and laying a clear path for Rain to make his big appearance, quickly accompanied by his sister Storm. The hard mountain ground quickly became slick with water, and the streams that had dried up re-emerged. The land gratefully drank up the water, mosses that looked dead quickly returned to their former emerald green, and Hans fancied he could hear people cheering from his village far below for the grateful return of the rain.

Unknown to the Lightning King and his younger children, Hurricane and Deluge had slipped out of the Cloud Castle and were up to mischief in the mountains.

More abruptly than it had started, the rain stopped, the wind dropped, and everything went quite still. The air was laden with fine particles of water Drizzle was putting on his most impressive show.

“Any moment now.”

The King seemed to mutter to himself as he watched the skies, something golden glinted high above the Cloud Castle and came quickly towards them. A woman descended from the sky, her hair was as black as night, she wore it tied up with iris flowers of every colour of the rainbow, forming a crown. Her dress was as golden as the sun and light seemed to radiate from it. She trailed behind a cape so long, in fact it disappeared to nothing many miles behind her, the cape showed all seven colours of the rainbow. Without needing to be told Hans recognised Iris, she wasn’t a fully-fledged goddess, and like her sister had been a muse. Iris was now charged with the task of creating rainbows, which she did with great pleasure, along with carrying messages between the heavens and the world of Gear. Or at least Iris had done in times gone by, when normal humans could still hear the words of the many gods and goddesses.

Iris settled on the handrail of the balcony where Hans, the King and the Queen had been watching.

“Good afternoon sister, is this the boy who is to go with me?”

The Queen nodded and gestured towards Hans who bowed respectfully towards Iris, and wisely didn’t make an issue out of the fact he’d been called boy.

“We need you to deliver him to the sky door on one of your rainbows, only you can do this, as you are the messenger and the bridge between the heavens and Gear.”

Iris nodded in agreement with her brother-in-law and stretched out her hand for Hans to take. Like her sister, she felt solid and real, she pulled him off the balcony and he floated along with her as they sailed away. Only then did Hans realise he had not thanked the King and Queen for their hospitality, he had not even said goodbye to Breeze and Shower, when he urged Iris to take him back so he could do so, she explained that the elements would always be with him, and so he never needed to say goodbye.

The true sun began to shine at that moment, as the Lightning King pulled back the Cloud Castle. With the thinning clouds Hans was able to see the circular pool shimmering in its barren little valley, although the valley did not seem so barren now, mosses and lichens seem to have sprung up from nowhere and carpeted every surface in shades of green and yellow.

“I think we can do this with just one try, I’ll swoop down and let go of you just above the pool, all you need to do is drop.”

“Are you sure this will work Lady Iris?”

“If you managed to get up into the clouds just by falling into the sky door, it should be just as easy to get back. I think it would have been possible for you to walk down the mountain until you reached the sky door, but you would probably have fallen apart in the heat in your cloud form before you had gotten that far. But this time it will be different, the way has been made clear and safe for you, and I will accompany you right to the last step.”

As she finished speaking Iris drove down towards the pool, streaming her rainbow cape behind her. Out of the corner of his eye Hans spotted movement on a ridge overlooking the pool. Deluge was clearly visible pushing a large rock at the very edge of the ledge. Hans realised that he and Iris had picked up too much momentum to stop now. Seemingly out of nowhere at driving wind struck Iris from behind causing her to let go of Hans high above the pool. As he fell Hans swore that he could hear Hurricane’s mocking laugh as she disappeared. Iris did her best to catch up with the falling boy, but she had been driven far from him by Hurricane’s sneak attack. The rock came loose under Deluge persistent efforts and began rolling down the slope towards the sky door, Hans realised that if the pool was disturbed he could not use it as a portal.

Perhaps some great God was watching from up above, or perhaps the fates were feeling generous that day, either way Hans fell into the pool moments before the rock splashed down into it. Maybe the bigger miracle was the fact that he struggled out of the pool without a scratch on him as the giant boulder had missed him entirely. The rock now lay not quite in the centre of the circular pool, spoiling its reflection forever. Seeing that this portal to the sky would never be the same again Hans felt sad, as he had hoped he’d be able to see Breeze again.

From far above him and to the south, Hans heard the Thunder Queen roaring in anger at her two eldest children, she scolded them for the terrible deed they had done. Her anger was so great that for many minutes afterwards echoes rang up in the mountains, and a few small avalanches started higher up in the snow-capped peaks.

Young men who were nearly thirteen don’t cry, Hans tried to tell himself, as the tears ran down his face, but they were lost in the water that still clung to him as he climbed out of the pool dripping as he went. Turning his face up towards the sky Hans said his farewells.

“Don’t be silly, we will still be friends,” came the voice of Breeze out of clear air.

In that moment Hans knew that he would always have friends in Breeze and Shower, and maybe their other siblings too, although judging from their behaviour Hurricane and Deluge would never be friends of humans.

Turning his soggy feet in the direction of home Hans began his short walk with a light heart and a merry tune on his lips, after all he had real lips made flesh once more and he could whistle with them.

It said that he later taught this trick to Breeze and her sisters, that’s how the wind learnt to whistle.

It goes almost without saying that Hans’s mother was delighted to see him when he eventually returned home, after being absent for four days. His uncle gave him a clipp round the ear and told him off for making his mother worry. His little sisters cried and then demanded to hear the story, as of course anyone who had been lost in the mountains for so long must have one to tell. When the story had been told the only one who believed Hans was his grandmother.

As for the goats that Hans had wilfully abandoned on the mountainside, they were smart enough to make their own way home. In fact, they would have been smart enough to find their way in and out of the mountains without assistance, but nobody had bothered to ask them.

 

Epilogue.

 

A few years later when Hans was fully grown, he’d earned a reputation for always been right at predicting the weather. Whilst on the road to Good Hamlet for one of the season’s biggest markets, Hans and his cousins stopped at an inn along with a group of nobles from Fantasia. Hans begged the party of nobles not to try to cross the border that day, as he knew a great storm was coming, the nobles mocked him. But when he insisted and was even joined by his cousins, who knew his skill from many first-hand experiences, they delayed their trip. The storm was even more epic than anyone could have imagined. On the mountain road that led to the Fantasia border, trees fell down and on exposed sections of the mountain passes travellers were washed away. It turned out that one of the nobles was the young Prince Regent, he was so impressed by Hans’s ability to predict the weather he offered him the position of the first Fantasia weather wizard. The title that the prince had made up on the spot caught on, and eventually all men and some women, who dedicated their lives to studying the weather were known as weather wizards.

Hans took to his new role in the Fantasia court and performed it admirably for many decades. As an old man he told the story to his grandchildren, and told them to listen to the voices on the wind, for one of them might be Breeze giving them advice or warnings.

 

So, remember one and all, pay heed to the signs in the sky and to listen to the wisdom of the wind, and next time you see a great beast in the clouds that changes shape as it goes by, you might be watching one of the children of the Lightning King playing in the sky.

 

The end.