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POLTARNEES, BEHOLDER OF OCEAN
Toldees, Mondath, Arizim, these are the Inner Lands, the lands whose
sentinels upon their borders do not behold the sea. Beyond them to the
east there lies a desert, for ever untroubled by man: all yellow it is,
and spotted with shadows of stones, and Death is in it, like a leopard
lying in the sun. To the south they are bounded by magic, to the west by a
mountain, and to the north by the voice and anger of the Polar wind. Like
a great wall is the mountain to the west. It comes up out of the distance
and goes down into the distance again, and it is named Poltarnees,
Beholder of Ocean. To the northward red rocks, smooth and bare of soil,
and without any speck of moss or herbage, slope up to the very lips of the
Polar wind, and there is nothing else there by the noise of his anger.
Very peaceful are the Inner Lands, and very fair are their cities, and
there is no war among them, but quiet and ease. And they have no enemy but
age, for thirst and fever lie sunning themselves out in the mid-desert,
and never prowl into the Inner Lands. And the ghouls and ghosts, whose
highway is the night, are kept in the south by the boundary of magic. And
very small are all their pleasant cities, and all men are known to one
another therein, and bless one another by name as they meet in the
streets. And they have a broad, green way in every city that comes in out
of some vale or wood or downland, and wanders in and out about the city
between the houses and across the streets, and the people walk along it
never at all, but every year at her appointed time Spring walks along it
from the flowery lands, causing the anemone to bloom on the green way and
all the early joys of hidden woods, or deep, secluded vales, or triumphant
downlands, whose heads lift up so proudly, far up aloof from cities.
Sometimes waggoners or shepherds walk along this way, they that have come
into the city from over cloudy ridges, and the townsmen hinder them not,
for there is a tread that troubleth the grass and a tread that troubleth
it not, and each man in his own heart knoweth which tread he hath. And in
the sunlit spaces of the weald and in the wold's dark places, afar from
the music of cities and from the dance of the cities afar, they make there
the music of the country places and dance the country dance. Amiable, near
and friendly appears to these men the sun, and as he is genial to them and
tends their younger vines, so they are kind to the little woodland things
and any rumour of the fairies or old legend. And when the light of some
little distant city makes a slight flush upon the edge of the sky, and the
happy golden windows of the homesteads stare gleaming into the dark, then
the old and holy figure of Romance, cloaked even to the face, comes down
out of hilly woodlands and bids dark shadows to rise and dance, and sends
the forest creatures forth to prowl, and lights in a moment in her bower
of grass the little glowworm's lamp, and brings a hush down over the grey
lands, and out of it rises faintly on far-off hills the voice of a lute.
There are not in the world lands more prosperous and happy than Toldees,
Mondath, Arizim.
From these three little kingdoms that are named the Inner Lands the young
men stole constantly away. One by one they went, and no one knew why they
went save that they had a longing to behold the Sea. Of this longing they
spoke little, but a young man would become silent for a few days, and
then, one morning very early, he would slip away and slowly climb
Poltarnee's difficult slope, and having attained the top pass over and
never return. A few stayed behind in the Inner Lands and became the old
men, but none that had ever climbed Poltarnees from the very earliest
times had ever come back again. Many had gone up Poltarnees sworn to
return. Once a king sent all his courtiers, one by one, to report the
mystery to him, and then went himself; none ever returned.
Now, it was the wont of the folk of the Inner Lands to worship rumours and
legends of the Sea, and all that their prophets discovered of the Sea was
writ in a sacred book, and with deep devotion on days of festival or
mourning read in the temples by the priests. Now, all their temples lay
open to the west, resting upon pillars, that the breeze from the Sea might
enter them, and they lay open on pillars to the east that the breezes of
the Sea might not be hindered by pass onward wherever the Sea list. And
this is the legend that they had of the Sea, whom none in the Inner Lands
had ever beholden. They say that the Sea is a river heading towards
Hercules, and they say that he touches against the edge of the world, and
that Poltarnees looks upon him. They say that all the worlds of heaven go
bobbing on this river and are swept down with the stream, and that
Infinity is thick and furry with forests through which the river in his
course sweeps on with all the worlds of heaven. Among the colossal trunks
of those dark trees, the smallest fronds of whose branches are man nights,
there walk the gods. And whenever its thirst, glowing in space like a
great sun, comes upon the beast, the tiger of the gods creeps down to the
river to drink. And the tiger of the gods drinks his fill loudly, whelming
worlds the while, and the level of the river sinks between its banks ere
the beast's thirst is quenched and ceases to glow like a sun. And many
worlds thereby are heaped up dry and stranded, and the gods walk not among
them evermore, because they are hard to their feet. These are the worlds
that have no destiny, whose people know no god. And the river sweeps
onwards ever. And the name of the River is Oriathon, but men call it
Ocean. This is the Lower Faith of the Inner Lands. And there is a Higher
Faith which is not told to all. Oriathon sweeps on through the forests of
Infinity and all at once falls roaring over an Edge, whence Time has long
ago recalled his hours to fight in his war with the gods; and falls unlit
by the flash of nights and days, with his flood unmeasured by miles, into
the deeps of nothing.
Now as the centuries went by and the one way by which a man could climb
Poltarnees became worn with feet, more and more men surmounted it, not to
return. And still they knew not in the Inner Lands upon what mystery
Poltarnees looked. For on a still day and windless, while men walked
happily about their beautiful streets or tended flocks in the country,
suddenly the west wind would bestir himself and come in from the Sea. And
he would come cloaked and grey and mournful and carry to someone the
hungry cry of the Sea calling out for bones of men. And he that heard it
would move restlessly for some hours, and at last would rise suddenly,
irresistibly up, setting his face to Poltarnees, and would say, as is the
custom of those lands when men part briefly, "Till a man's heart
remembereth," which means "Farewell for a while"; but those that loved
him, seeing his eyes on Poltarnees, would answer sadly, "Till the gods
forget," which means "Farewell."
Now the king of Arizim had a daughter who played with the wild wood
flowers, and with the fountains in her father's court, and with the little
blue heaven-birds that came to her doorway in the winter to shelter from
the snow. And she was more beautiful than the wild wood flowers, or than
all the fountains in her father's court, or than the blue heaven-birds in
their full winter plumage when they shelter from the snow. The old wise
kings of Mondath and of Toldees saw her once as she went lightly down the
little paths of her garden, and turning their gaze into the mists of
thought, pondered the destiny of their Inner Lands. And they watched her
closely by the stately flowers, and standing alone in the sunlight, and
passing and repassing the strutting purple birds that the king's fowlers
had brought from Asagéhon. When she was of the age of fifteen years the
King of Mondath called a council of kings. And there met with him the
kings of Toldees and Arizim. And the King of Mondath in his Council said:
"The call of the unappeased and hungry Sea (and at the word 'Sea' the
three kings bowed their heads) lures every year out of our happy kingdoms
more and more of our men, and still we know not the mystery of the Sea,
and no devised oath has brought one man back. Now thy daughter, Arizim, is
lovelier than the sunlight, and lovelier than those stately flowers of
thine that stand so tall in her garden, and hath more grace and beauty
than those strange birds that the venturous fowlers bring in creaking
wagons out of Asagéhon, whose feathers are alternate purple and white.
Now, he that shall love thy daughter, Hilnaric, whoever he shall be, is
the man to climb Poltarnees and return, as none hath ever before, and tell
us upon what Poltarnees looks; for it may be that they daughter is more
beautiful than the Sea."
Then from his Seat of Council arose the King of Arizim. He said: "I fear
that thou hast spoken blasphemy against the Sea, and I have a dread that
ill will come of it. Indeed I had not thought she was so fair. It is such
a short while ago that she was quite a small child with her hair still
unkempt and not yet attired in the manner of princesses, and she would go
up into the wild woods unattended and come back with her robes unseemly
and all torn, and would not take reproof with a humble spirit, but made
grimaces even in my marble court all set about with fountains."
Then said the King of Toldees:
"Let us watch more closely and let us see the Princess Hilnaric in the
season of the orchard-bloom when the great birds go by that know the Sea,
to rest in our inland places; and if she be more beautiful than the
sunrise over our folded kingdoms when all the orchards bloom, it may be
that she is more beautiful than the Sea."
And the King of Arizim said:
"I fear this is terrible blasphemy, yet will I do as you have decided in
council."
And the season of the orchard-bloom appeared. One night the King of Arizim
called his daughter forth on his outer balcony of marble. And the moon was
rising huge and round and holy over dark woods, and all the fountains were
singing to the night. And the moon touched the marble palace gables, and
they glowed in the land. And the moon touched the heads of all the
fountains, and the grey columns broke into fairy lights. And the moon left
the dark ways of the forest and lit the whole white palace and its
fountains and shone on the forehead of the Princess, and the palace of
Arizim glowed afar, and the fountains became columns of gleaming jewels
and song. And the moon made a music at its rising, but it fell a little
short of mortal ears. And Hilnaric stood there wondering, clad in white,
with the moonlight shining on her forehead; and watching her from the
shadows on the terrace stood the kings of Mondath and Toldees. They said.
"She is more beautiful than the moonrise." And the season of the
orchard-bloom appeared. One night the King of Arizim called his daughter
forth on his outer balcony of marble. And the moon was rising huge and
round and holy over dark woods, and all the fountains were singing to the
night. And the moon touched the marble palace gables, and they glowed in
the land. And the moon touched the heads of all the fountains, and the
grey columns broke into fairy lights. And the moon left the dark ways of
the forest and lit the whole white palace and its fountains and shone on
the forehead of the Princess, and the palace of Arizim glowed afar, and
the fountains became columns of gleaming jewels and song. And the moon
made a music at its rising, but it fell a little short of mortal ears. And
Hilnaric stood there wondering, clad in white, with the moonlight shining
on her forehead; and watching her from the shadows on the terrace stood
the kings of Mondath and Toldees. They said:
"She is more beautiful than the moonrise." And on another day the King of
Arizim bade his daughter forth at dawn, and they stood again upon the
balcony. And the sun came up over a world of orchards, and the sea-mists
went back over Poltarnees to the Sea; little wild voices arose in all the
thickets, the voices of the fountains began to die, and the song arose, in
all the marble temples, of the birds that are sacred to the Sea. And
Hilnaric stood there, still glowing with dreams of heaven.
"She is more beautiful," said the kings, "than morning."
Yet one more trial they made of Hilnaric's beauty, for they watched her on
the terraces at sunset ere yet the petals of the orchards had fallen, and
all along the edge of neighbouring woods the rhododendron was blooming
with the azalea. And the sun went down under craggy Poltarnees, and the
sea-mist poured over his summit inland. And the marble temples stood up
clear in the evening, but films of twilight were drawn between the
mountain and the city. Then from the Temple ledges and eaves of palaces
the bats fell headlong downwards, then spread their wings and floated up
and down through darkening ways; lights came blinking out in golden
windows, men cloaked themselves against the grey sea-mist, the sound of
small songs arose, and the face of Hilnaric became a resting-place for
mysteries and dreams.
"Than all these things," said the kings, "she is more lovely: but who can
say whether she is lovelier than the Sea?"
Prone in a rhododendron thicket at the edge of the palace lawns a hunter
had waited since the sun went down. Near to him was a deep pool where the
hyacinths grew and strange flowers floated upon it with broad leaves; and
there the great bull gariachs came down to drink by starlight; and,
waiting there for the gariachs to come, he saw the white form of the
Princess leaning on her balcony. Before the stars shone out or the bulls
came down to drink he left his lurking-place and moved closer to the
palace to see more nearly the Princess. The palace lawns were full of
untrodden dew, and everything was still when he came across them, holding
his great spear. In the farthest corner of the terraces the three old
kings were discussing the beauty of Hilnaric and the destiny of the Inner
Lands. Moving lightly, with a hunter's tread, the watcher by the pool came
very near, even in the still evening, before the Princess saw him. When he
saw her closely he exclaimed suddenly:
"She must be more beautiful than the Sea."
When the Princess turned and saw his garb and his great spear she knew
that he was a hunter of gariachs.
When the three kings heard the young man exclaim they said softly to one
another:
"This must be the man."
Then they revealed themselves to him, and spoke to him to try him. They
said:
"Sir, you have spoken blasphemy against the Sea."
And the young man muttered:
"She is more beautiful than the Sea."
And the kings said:
"We are older than you and wiser, and know that nothing is more beautiful
than the Sea."
And the young man took off the gear of his head, and became downcast, and
he knew that he spake with kings, yet he answered:
"By this spear, she is more beautiful than the Sea."
And all the while the Princess stared at him, knowing him to be a hunter
of gariachs.
Then the king of Arizim said to the watcher by the pool:
"If thou wilt go up Poltarnees and come back, as none have come, and
report to us what lure or magic is in the Sea, we will pardon thy
blasphemy, and thou shalt have the Princess to wife and sit among the
Council of Kings."
And gladly thereunto the young man consented. And the Princess spoke to
him, and asked him his name. And he told her that his name was Athelvok,
and great joy arose in him at the sound of her voice. And to the three
kings he promised to set out on the third day to scale the slope of
Poltarnees and to return again, and this was the oath by which they bound
him to return:
"I swear by the Sea that bears the worlds away, by the river of Oriathon,
which men call Ocean, and by the gods and their tiger, and by the doom of
the worlds, that I will return again to the Inner Lands, having beheld the
Sea."
And that oath he swore with solemnity that very night in one of the
temples of the Sea, but the three kings trusted more to the beauty of
Hilnaric even than to the power of the oath.
The next day Athelvok came to the palace of Arizim with the morning, over
the fields to the East and out of the country of Toldees, and Hilnaric
came out along her balcony and met him on the terraces. And she asked him
if he had ever slain a gariach, and he said that he had slain three, and
then he told her how he had killed his first down by the pool in the wood.
For he had taken his father's spear and gone down to the edge of the pool,
and had lain under the azaleas there waiting for the stars to shine, by
whose first light the gariachs go to the pools to drink; and he had gone
too early and had had long to wait, and the passing hours seemed longer
than they were. And all the birds came in that home at night, and the bat
was abroad, and the hour of the duck went by, and still no gariach came
down to the pool; and Athelvok felt sure that none would come. And just as
this grew to a certainty in his mind the thicket parted noiselessly and a
huge bull gariach stood facing him on the edge of the water, and his great
horns swept out sideways from his head, and at the ends curved upwards,
and were four strides in width from tip to tip. And he had not seen
Athelvok, for the great bull was on the far side of the little pool, and
Athelvok could not creep round to him for fear of meeting the wind (for
the gariachs, who can see little in the dark forests, rely on hearing and
smell). But he devised swiftly in his mind while the bull stood there with
head erect just twenty strides from him across the water. And the bull
sniffed the wind cautiously and listened, then lowered his great head down
to the pool and drank. At that instant Athelvok leapt into the water and
shot forward through its weedy depths among the stems of the strange
flowers that floated upon broad leaves on the surface. And Athelvok kept
his spear out straight before him, and the fingers of his left hand he
held rigid and straight, not pointing upwards, and so did not come to the
surface, but was carried onward by the strength of his spring and passed
unentangled through the stems of the flowers. When Athelvok jumped into
the water the bull must have thrown his head up, startled at the splash,
then he would have listened and have sniffed the air, and neither hearing
nor scenting any danger he must have remained rigid for some moments, for
it was in that attitude that Athelvok found him as he emerged breathless
at his feet. And, striking at once, Athelvok drove the spear into his
throat before the head and the terrible horns came down. But Athelvok had
clung to one of the great horns, and had been carried at terrible speed
through the rhododendron bushes until the gariach fell, but rose at once
again, and died standing up, still struggling, drowned in its own blood.
But to Hilnaric listening it was as though one of the heroes of old time
had come back again in the full glory of his legendary youth.
And long time they went up and down the terraces, saying those things
which were said before and since, and which lips shall yet be made to say
again. And above them stood Poltarnees beholding the Sea.
And the day came when Athelvok should go. And Hilnaric said to him:
"Will you not indeed most surely come back again, having just looked over
the summit of Poltarnees?"
- Athelvok answered
- "I will indeed come back, for thy voice is more
beautiful than the hymn of the priests when they chant and praise the Sea,
and though many tributary seas ran down into Oriathon and he and all the
others poured their beauty into one pool below me, yet would I return
swearing that thou were fairer than they."
And Hilnaric answered:
"The wisdom of my heart tells me, or old knowledge or prophecy, or some
strange lore, that I shall never hear thy voice again. And for this I give
thee my forgiveness."
But he, repeating the oath that he had sworn, set out, looking often
backwards until the slope became to step and his face was set to the rock.
It was in the morning that he started, and he climbed all the day with
little rest, where every foot-hole was smooth with many feet. Before he
reached the top the sun disappeared from him, and darker and darker grew
the Inner Lands. Then he pushed on so as to see before dark whatever thing
Poltarnees had to show. The dusk was deep over the Inner Lands, and the
lights of cities twinkled through the sea-mist when he came to
Poltarnees's summit, and the sun before him was not yet gone from the sky.
And there below him was the old wrinkled Sea, smiling and murmuring song.
And he nursed little ships with gleaming sails, and in his hands were old
regretted wrecks, and mast all studded over with golden nails that he had
rent in anger out of beautiful galleons. And the glory of the sun was
among the surges as they brought driftwood out of isles of spice, tossing
their golden heads. And the grey currents crept away to the south like
companionless serpents that love something afar with a restless, deadly
love. And the whole plain of water glittering with late sunlight, and the
surges and the currents and the white sails of ships were all together
like the face of a strange new god that has looked at a man for the first
time in the eyes at the moment of his death; and Athelvok, looking on the
wonderful Sea, knew why it was that the dead never return, for there is
something that the dead feel and know, and the living would never
understand even though the dead should come and speak to them about it.
And there was the Sea smiling at him, glad with the glory of the sun. And
there was a haven there for homing ships, and a sunlit city stood upon its
marge, and people walked about the streets of it clad in the unimagined
merchandise of far sea-bordering lands.
An easy slope of loose rock went from the top of Poltarnees to the shore
of the Sea.
For a long while Athelvok stood there regretfully, knowing that there had
come something into his soul that no one in the Inner Lands could
understand, where the thoughts of their minds had gone no farther than the
three little kingdoms. Then, looking long upon the wandering ships, and
the marvelous merchandise from alien lands, and the unknown colour that
wreathed the brows of the Sea, he turned his face to the darkness and the
Inner Lands.
At that moment the Sea sang a dirge at sunset for all the harm that he had
done in anger and all the ruin wrought on adventurous ships; and there
were tears in the voice of the tyrannous Sea, for he had loved the
galleons that he had overwhelmed, and he called all men to him and all
living things that he might make amends, because he had loved the bones
that he had strewn afar. And Athelvok turned and set one foot upon the
crumbled slope, and then another, and walked a little way to be nearer to
the Sea, and then a dream came upon him and he felt that men had wronged
the lovely Sea because he had been angry a little, because he had been
sometimes cruel; he felt that there was trouble among the tides of the Sea
because he had loved the galleons who were dead. Still he walked on and
the crumbled stones rolled with him, and just as the twilight faded and a
star appeared he came to the golden shore, and walked on till the surges
were about his knees, and he heard the prayer-like blessings of the Sea.
Long he stood thus, while the stars came out above him and shone again in
the surges; more stars came wheeling in their courses up from the Sea,
lights twinkled out through all the haven city, lanterns were slung from
the ships, the purple night burned on; and Earth, to the eyes of the gods
as they sat afar, glowed as with one flame. Then Athelvok went into the
haven city; there he met many who had left the Inner Lands before him;
none of them wished to return to the people who had not seen the Sea; many
of them had forgotten the three little kingdoms, and it was rumoured that
one man, who had once tried to return, had found the shifting, crumbled
slope impossible to climb.
Hilnaric never married. But her dowry was set aside to build a temple
wherein men curse the ocean.
Once every year, with solemn rite and ceremony, they curse the tides of
the Sea; and the moon looks in and hates them.
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