Sarati nods, then heads over to the ladder, this time climbing up. A minute later, a soft hum starts up, and the ship jerks, shudders, and then the view begins to change as the docks slide past them. Soon they hit a denser patch of the shimmery fog, and the ship rocks slightly as if on a wave. It's a smooth ride overall, far moreso than any sailing ship at sea, but the floor is still shaking and occasionally tilting a bit. 

The banks of wispy mist increase steadily, until the island slowly recedes from view, and then it's like they've crossed some invisible line. The entire ship pitches forward then back, then yaws left to right, then settles with a shuddering groan. The mist lightens, and they can suddenly see the ley. The fog forms dense, opaque structures like waves that are moving parallel to them, and its colors shift through the rainbow like an oil slick. Glimpses and flashes of frozen lightning in impossible colors arc across the fog, some thin tendrils extending - not into the air, but into the area of thinner mist. Something streams through the air at high speed, making a low moaning sound that almost harmonizes with the engines' hum. 

Yes she was right this is astounding and what the heck is that something?

It's not entirely clear! Whatever it is glimmers in flashes, like stars or bits of metal.

"I've never seen anything as amazing as that." Tetsuma is staring, thoroughly enraptured.

"Me neither. We should ask Sarati about that, whatever that is."

"Definitely. I think she said she'd be down at some point? I wonder what a storm looks like."

"Guessing 'terrifying and beautiful'."

"Probably! She did say they're dangerous to be outside in."

He nods, and stares some more at all the pretty.

Tetsuma is fully willing to join him in that.

After a while, Sarati comes back down to the main room.

"Hi! That's beautiful!"

"It really is! I'm glad you're enjoying the view."

"So question." Point. "What's that?"

"The flashing lights? No one quite knows for sure; we haven't managed to look up close at any. They're called star-flecks."

"What happens if you try to go up close to them?"

"They don't get close enough to the ships to grab easily, for one. Attempting to reach them with a long pole or something's unwise; the pole will be destroyed, if you're lucky. If you're not, you can unbalance the ship."

"Oh. What if you use one pole on either side?"

She shakes her head. "The winds snatch them, is the problem, and not predictably."

"...there must be some way," he insists stubbornly.

"People've been trying for about a hundred, hundred fifty years now. Especially Bajilda; if it involves the ley, they want to know about it. It's possible you could with a large enough research ship, but ships large enough to be stable twist themselves apart. Better materials is a bit of a priority, since you also need a larger ship to survive larger storms and go further from the lanes. I'm not saying they're impossible to study, I'm saying people've tried, and we'll need a technology jump or currently unknown magic to get any farther."

Sigh. "Let's try for the former."

"If you're interested in studying the ley, the university in Elgadhzi really is best. It's where I did my formal studies."

"In the future, yeah."

"What else do they teach? It doesn't sound like anything in my world."