A Dreamers Tales | Page 6

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