Rising silently, the massive columns hung from the roof like green fangs. The fish drove the raft on, and the columns descended with a watery whisper. The cavern widened. From the right bank, fields and forests stretched away. On the left bank was a city of spheroid structure. Massed along the banks and bridges, the choralers were human, their green attire but scantily adequate, their titian hair worn in a loop between the shoulders.

The raft scraped gently against a wharf and Toka led his party ashore. As the patriarchal dignitaries stepped forward, Toka noted another universal characteristic—all these strange people had pale silvery eyes.

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