This is the third chapter.

“So that’s when you fell from the sky, right?” asks Tusken, struggling to keep up with his newfound guest’s back-story.

“Yes. The next thing I know, I’m being jolted awake on a fishing boat in the middle of the ocean,” continues Tavern.

The two scruffy individuals are silent for a moment as they drink coffee in Tusken’s kitchen. Tavern sits with a blanket draped around himself while Tusken refills his pipe.

“You know what?” Tusken chimes, “I’ll take you through the desert into the city. You should be able to find a job or something there. Start a new life!”

“No! I must return to the sky! I have a family! And my kids! They are so little. I must return to them, and defeat the evil that has overtaken the community,” shouts Tavern.

“Fine. But I still should bring you to the city. Maybe you can find some sort of transport or someone who can help you,” replies Tusken.

In the afternoon, the two ride to the city within the sand, Oasis, on sandchoppers (basically a very wide, bulky, and all-range desert Harley with spikes adorning each side). They speed through the dunes at breakneck speeds, blissfully unaware that they are being tailed. The bandit doesn’t make a single sound as it leaps from its buggy onto Tusken’s sandchopper. His bike spins out of control as he combats his sudden assailant with a crowbar. The bandit counters the clubbing with slashes from his very own machete. The two continue fighting each other as the bike skids at hundreds of miles per hour across the desert wasteland. They become so focused on hacking away at each other that they do not notice the rocks they are approaching at a rapid pace. The bike slams into a boulder, catapulting the two directly into the face of the rock. Tavern notices this, and zooms over to the scene. He takes Tusken’s crowbar and thrusts it through the bandit’s eye-socket, impaling it into the rock. As Tusken opens his eyes, lying against the rock, he notices the second bandit buggy to accelerate toward them. He stands, walks over to the kabob of a bandit next to him, and steals his machete. Tavern retrieves the crowbar, and the two armed men turn slowly toward the increasing buggy noise. They look at each other nervously and understand each other’s facial expressions. The buggy roars toward them and advances closer. Just before it hits them, the two spin around and leap backwards into the windshield of the buggy, shattering glass everywhere. Tavern lands in the passenger seat and Tusken is launched into the driver’s seat, decapitating the bandit driver with a machete in midair. The two heroes drive the buggy back to their sandchoppers and finish the journey to Oasis.

Outside the gates, Tusken spies a bandit jeep and fashions a make-shift Molotov cocktail. He steals a bottle of rum from a vagabond and grabs a piece of cloth out of a dumpster. Using his own matches, he ignites the cloth and shoves it in the neck of the bottle. Without any hesitation, he casually tosses it onto the hood of the buggy, torching the vehicle. As Tusken proceeds coolly into the city, Tavern is already ahead inquiring about possible modes of transport. The inside of the city is filled with dense jungles and beautiful waterfalls. It is truly an “oasis” within the desert, complete with fresh water and vibrant plant life. An annoyed civilian passes by Tavern and suggests the bar, explaining how all sorts of people can be found in such a place. As Tusken catches up, hands in pockets with his pipe resting between his teeth, Tavern begins to briskly walk toward the bar.

The two enter the establishment, look around the main room, and realize they are covered in dirt and blood. They notice because they seem to fit in with the rest of the crowd, an achievement they are not usually able to obtain. The place is filled to the brim with unique characters, each visually diverse from each other with assumed legendary back-stories. After a few drinks, Tusken and Tavern begin to socialize and look for transportation. Finally after an hour they meet a stranger and the men are told of a man who has a very easy and very low-key method of illegal transportation. They are pointed in the direction of the corner of the room, a booth filled with a man, his many enthusiastic dates, and his own swagger.

“I hear he is called ‘Toast,’” reveals the stranger. “And I hear he raises flying horses.”

This is the second chapter.

The fisherman awoke at daybreak. He prepared a delightful breakfast of sunny side up eggs and bacon with a glass of orange juice. The sunrise sang of a beautiful new day with a vibrant voice that lit up the ocean-filled horizon. Tusken smiled to himself as he appreciated the beauty of mother nature. He stared out for a few more minutes, digesting his breakfast, then lit up his corn cob pipe and took a deep drag. Sun seems a little brighter today, Tusken the fisherman thought to himself as he leaned against the back of his shack and exhaled a thick white smoke into the sea breeze. Slowly but surely the world began to make sense to him again as he broke his flirtation with the orange horizon. “I’ve got some work to do.”

He made his way down the green hill behind his shack overlooking the sea and boarded his fishing boat. He tuned the radio to his favorite station and started the engine as he tapped his foot to Johnny Cash. The motor and the music were the only things breaking the silence of the calm waters. Tusken reached into a toolbox and obtained the pair of welding goggles he used when building his own abode. He would wear these every so often, generally on those mornings when the sun was especially bright. A few more kisses with his pipe followed by the locomotive of smoke escaping from his mouth into the oblivion of the wind rushing by. He slowed down the boat and proceeded to cut the engine.

Tusken did not believe in God, nor did he care to spend his time anticipating an afterlife. He was content fishing every day for a steady income and a simple occupation. It was easy to maintain and it allowed for a sense of control. Having no interests in surrendering his fate over to a higher power, Tusken took pride in have such mastery over his path in life. His desire to live was kept alive by witnessing majestic displays of beauty, such as his daily sunrise showcases. Tusken had a very interesting outlook on life. It was an outlook that was not shared by most of his fellow Earth-dwellers. He would frequently fill his mind with philosophy on these morning fishing outings. As the fisherman pondered existentialism, he cast his line off into the sky and watched it sail through the air until it landed in the water.

The fishhook is such a fascinating character. As it sails through the air, it believes it is having overwhelming amounts of fun and it feels on top of the world. It has no need for external forces to tell it what to do. It chooses not to be dictated by others. The object’s is inanimate, therefore having no concept of fear and so it does not have to worry about misplacing its faith. But even as it rejoices in its independence as it sails through the air, it eventually hits water. As soon as it finds its place to settle down, it accidentally begins a secret job. It is unaware that as soon as a fish bites it, its task is complete and it has successfully been used by an external force much more powerful and knowing than it can comprehend. Perhaps it should break with reason and begin to feel a sense of self-worth, as though its lifelong purpose has been fulfilled. How on earth can Tusken relate this to the lives and the beliefs of humans? As he quizzed himself, he glanced down at his pipe and suspiciously raised an eyebrow.

Tusken once again admired the sun as it rose slowly above the sea. The colors that were being reflected on the surface of the water were beautiful and awe-inspiring. The moving waves refracted the light into all new colors and it became hydro-laser light show for the song on his radio. He looked up at the sky again, blowing circles of smoke into his view and turning the sun into a bulls-eye. What a beautiful morning. Unfortunately, Tusken’s breathtaking canvas of a view was briefly interrupted by a screaming man falling from the sky and crashing into the still waters next to his boat.

Tusken looked down at the newly formed bubbles and whitewash where just milliseconds ago a very loud man collided with very quiet water. He looked up again at the sun, took a long drag from his pipe, then returned his gaze the sea where he expected a certain loud man should have come up for air by then. Tusken dumped the ashes out of his pipe and kicked off his boots. He had finally caught up with the present.

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Tusken dives into the water, barreling into the abyss to try and rescue the sinking man. He must retrieve the man before all of their splashing disrupts something underneath the surface. He grabs hold of the limp body’s wrist and drags him upward toward oxygen. After dumping the man onto his boat, Tusken notices a strange rumbling sound. The water surrounding him and his vessel began to swell and rock, revealing the presence of a living creature. The diamond head of an enormous sea serpent rockets out of the deep, hissing at the relatively tiny fisherman. This was certainly not a first for Tusken, who at this time of day is more alert than ever. He grabs hold of his trusty harpoon and leaps onto the flat head of the serpent. As it roars and shakes itself violently, he suddenly slips into the jaws of the enraged sea beast. Tusken, harpoon in teeth, desperately attempts to pry open the mouth that cages him so fiercely. As he pushes the jaws apart, a monstrous fang digs into the skin of his left arm and summons a thin river of blood. His bicep is quickly decorated with streaks of red. He grabs the harpoon in between his own jaws and retaliates against the snake with a sharp thrust into its eye. Half blinded, it screeches and flails nightmarishly. It writhes in agony as Tusken pushes with all of his will and permanently cracks open the snake’s mouth. The exhausted fisherman grasps his harpoon and wrenches it out of the monster as he lazily falls backward out of the jaws and retreats back onto his boat as the song on the radio plays its final chord.

The jolt of Tusken’s body hitting the metal fishing boat wakes the unconscious man. After the man opens his eyes, he sits up and beholds a never-ending wasteland of water. His optics slowly fall to the bloody and scarred fellow to his side, loudly panting and gasping. He observes the wheezing gentleman sit up alongside him, pick up a corn cob pipe resting near his foot on the floor of the boat, and light it. After the battered fisherman stares with great nostalgia at the sun nearing the top of the sky, he exhales and asks the man a question.

“Who on earth are you?” breathes Tusken in exhausted desperation.

“I am Tavern. And I should not be on earth,” replies the dazed man from the sky.

This is the first chapter.

There is a man. He lives in a city nestled in the sky (Zephyria). The people of the city (Skylings) have developed an unhealthy religion involving the eventual transformation of the Judeo-Christian god into an almost Egyptian-esque Sun God. Light brings all things. The sun can bring warmth, fire, life, death… They have built their city to be carried by enormous balloons, like zeppelins carrying houses and public buildings. The transportation from one flying piece of land and the next are bicycles with a wing flapping mechanism hooked up to the pedals (as your bike goes faster, your wings flap faster). The community leader has appointed himself as a religious figurehead to the people. He has asserted his identity into the fabricated role of the “Solar Prince” (Reincarnation of Jesus in the new Sun-Testament form). The ultimate mission of this society is to one day reach the Sun and achieve eternal rest in Nirvana. The “Solar Prince” has been manipulating the population of Zephyria into believing that he is a divinely elected individual and he was chosen by their Sun-God to lead the Skylings. Eventually people begin to obey his word as scripture. The community leader’s real name is Morgen Till. A Skyling far up the political hierarchy (Grand Flash Tavern, “grand flash” being his title) has noticed Till’s attempts to draw the public focus away from finding their true goals (enlightenment and happiness) and weave webs of lies about his own “divine authority.” He calls a meeting of the Warden High Church Council (WHCC) to discuss the divinity of the so-called “Solar Prince.” Tavern explains to his fellow Wardens of the Council this issue, and Till is called forth and accused of fraud and attempts to hinder the plans of the city. Till apologizes for everything he has done, admits that he has been abusing his power, and agrees to change his ways. He believed that he was simply helping people by bridging a gap between the Skylings and their Sun-God. He did not intend to manipulate anyone. The Council agreed to keep him in the city with his usual position, but if one more formal accusation were to be made with the Council’s consent, he would be banished from the city. However, the Council was not exactly unanimous in this decision. The Wardens were divided by their opinions. Half sided with the religious propaganda of Morgen Till, and the other half backed Tavern with his accusation. The very next day during the morning sermon, Till said these words: “Now I appreciate all of my love and support from my dear fellow Skylings, but certain opinions have startled and shocked me. SOME OF YOU think that it is okay to QUESTION the Enlightened Role of “Solar Prince.” *crowd gasps* Some have called me a fraud! *crowd gasps louder* To those SOME of you, I say to question ME is to question GOD and his omnipotence!”

The crowd reacts with violent whispers and shielded murmurs. Tavern glares at the Speaking-Podium in the town square in awe of the hypocrisy of his Town Leader, his Religious Figurehead, his “Solar Prince.”

“Grand Flash Tavern has accused me of fraudulent behavior! Do you have any concern for your soul, young man? Would you enjoy the frozen hells of eternal damnation? Well, good people? Loyal followers? What should be done!?”

Cries of “Execution!” and “Kill! Kill!” roar throughout the crowds. The army that Till had yearned for had been birthed, and it was starving for blood. The arrogant zealot waved the crowd to silence and uttered the harsh sounds that composed the word “Banishment.”

To the people of Zephyria, the Earth was a primitive wasteland of ecosystems grown out of control and epic natural disasters. The Earthlings were “the rest of the known world” and were not to be generally associated with Skylings. The Skylings had left the Earth in search of religious freedom and a better life. But through the preaching of Till, the Skylings developed a superiority complex over the Earth’s inhabitants. “The Sky is higher and closer to God. We deserve more attention. We are of a nobler breed,” Till would spout. But back to the screaming mobs and the punishment.

As soon as the ocean of Skylings hears the word, Tavern is rushed and beaten, brought above the crowds as if floating on a lake of the hands of enraged ignorance. A tattered, bloody individual, Tavern is delivered to the podium and placed inside a cage. The man screams with every ounce of humanity he has left. Through his devilish words, the “Solar Prince” has swayed the population once again. He has turned each accusation into a claim of Tavern’s heresy. A once well-respected Grand Flash politician, now a public figure of humiliation and evil. The frustration is too much to handle coupled with the pure primal rage that Tavern experiences. The waves of the populace chant hymns of the Sun-God as they follow Till blindly and ignore any doubts. Tavern is too detached from the situation. He is in a state of shock. He has a family in Zephyria. They will certainly rescue me, he thought. Someone HAS to still believe in me. Surely I am not alone in this universe…

Tavern is dragged out of the cage to the edge of the soaring Town Hall land piece. A crowd of thousands watch, some with eager, hungry faces and some with worried, shocked faces. The “Solar Prince” drags him to the very edge and bellows, “This is where your world ends!” while holding Tavern’s hair so his face is staring down at the Earth 3,000 feet below. He beholds the grand stretch of an ocean, the first real one he has seen in years.

“Grand Flash Tavern, you are hereby ordered to be banished from Zephyria. You have been made an outcast by your congregation and your community. This town will associate your name with death and evil. You shall be killed upon your return. May the Sun shine upon you always, and may God care about your pathetic cries for mercy.”

And so Morgen Till, the “Solar Prince,” then let go of Tavern’s hair, sending him plummeting to the vast blue of an Earth ocean. First the man fell like a necklace of rocks, a missile of dead weight powered by gravity. Soon he came to his senses and shook himself out of his daze. What was left of Tavern’s faith in humanity was now dead, and he howled in his rage and sadness until his body slammed into the still blue, plunging limply into the deep.