Polaris Bell Divers — Arctic Fox Divers Reference Sheet

The story of Polaris Bell Divers

A fictional story inspired by the artwork.

A pearl came up from the north inlet with a hole clean through its middle. Under the lens the hole turned out to be square. Tavi threaded it onto the spike of her compass. It fit so neatly that all six divers agreed the fit was worth another trip below the ice.

On the bottom they found a brass post with five square spikes and four pearls. The missing pearl slipped into place. The current rocked the post and made the pearls tap against one another. Tavi put her ear against her copper helmet and heard four clear notes followed by a silence.

They brought the instrument to an old boatbuilder. She had set it in the inlet forty winters earlier, when her brother fished there in fog. The missing note was deliberate. From one side of the channel the current played the notes in rising order. From the other it played them backward. The pause told a crew where to start listening.

Tavi returned the post to its stone socket and recorded the tune in her journal. When the next fog rolled in, the boatbuilder took all six foxes out to hear it from the deck. She closed her eyes and steered them straight through the channel, smiling a little at the silent beat.

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