And so I linked. The Writers’ Guild approving the book, I was traveling to my first age.
    Before I could realize it, I was there, my feet sinking in to deep in the soft soil. Too far, as I soon realized when footing slipped and I began to slide down the hill.
    I gig my hands into the ground, trying feebly to stop my slide. Finally getting a good grip, I slowed and stopped, with dirt everywhere.
    Oh well, I though, I’ll just wash it off in the water.
    That is when I remembered to turn and look at the water.  Swinging my eyes away from the hill, I saw what became of what I wrote.
    IT WORKED!
    Jet-black rings, held up by stone pillars jutting out of the sea, guided a steady current of water through them. The water never slowing, held aloft by some mysterious and invisible force.
    Beyond them I saw two massive and tall stone columns with a bowl like structure at the top of each. Out from these bowls streamed great currents of water, shooting up into the sky.  The currents so powerful, that the water did not come back down, but disappeared into the white clouds above them.
    But not above me, I thought, looking at the dark blue hole in the clouds overtop of me.
    I was torn from my observations by a yelp from higher up on the hill. Looking up I saw The guildmaster from the Maintainers guild sliding down after me. Getting a good footing, I braced to catch him before he slid into the water at the bottom of the hill.
    I grabbed him by the hand as he flew by. He dragged me down a ways before we stopped.
    Brushing off some of the dirt, the guildmaster stated the obvious, “First thing we do is build a platform up there so we don’t fall all the way down here every time we link.”
    With that, we started up the hill, sometimes falling down more than we went up. We reached the link site, but only after catching the next two junior guildsmen as they slid down.
    The guildmaster and I climbed to the top of the hill while the junior guildsmen caught the last two senior guildsmen completed the maintainers’ group.
    Coming up to the ridge, I saw the spouts of the other three great columns shooting up into the sky. I stepped up to the ridge, hoping to se it,
    And I did! The lake was there! And in the very center was some water being pushed up from beneath. Not enough force to brake free from the lake, but enough to make a bubbling mound on the surface.
    A steak of joy rushed through me. It worked, It all worked.
    “Very nice. But I have to ask. How did you do it? I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
    “I applied the same principle as a mag-lev uses. I just angled it slightly. The Mechanists’ Guild is applying the same concept to machines now.”
    “Yes, I’ve herd that. But what do they push against? Surely it can’t be the water itself?”
    “I believe it’s the trace elements in the water,” I told him.
    “Believe?” He turned to look down at one of the junior guildsmen. “Go back,” he called, “tell them to get some Chemists here to do a thorough testing on the water, and maybe the soil too. Get some people to build a platform down there too, so we don’t fall every time we link.”
    The guildsman nodded solemnly and walked back to the others. This was his first visit to a bran-new age, and he had to go back.
    “And where does that come from?” Pointing to the bubbling mound in the center of the lake, “Is it geothermic?”
    “It should come from out there,” I answered, pointing out to the sea.
    “Ah, underground tunnels through the base, with the same magnetism used.”
    “The same property used yes, but there are no tunnels because there is no base.” Looking back at him I noticed the strange look on his face. I then explained, “I wrote a much larger ring around the island under the sea. This ring keeps the island afloat, and keeps it in place too. The lake pumps directly from the sea beneath us.”
    “Ah, now I know what to expect.” He paused, obviously uneasy about being on I floating island. “Well, I have some work to do, so you can just explore the place.” He started down the hill and began to issue orders.
    And so I sit here, watching them work. The Chemists are checking the water and soil, and the linking platform is nearly complete. The maintainers brought a boat to explore the sea, I think I’ll join them.
53.8.9 (1)
The Jounal of K'lon: Sifay