The Gods of Pegana Read online

  And every day and all night long did Yun-Ilara cry aloud: "Ah, nowfor the hour of the mourning of many, and the pleasant garlands offlowers and the tears, and the moist, dark earth. Ah, for reposedown underneath the grass, where the firm feet of the trees griphold upon the world, where never shall come the wind that now blowsthrough my bones, and the rain shall come warm and trickling, notdriven by storm, where is the easeful falling asunder of bone frombone in the dark." Thus prayed Yun-Ilara, who had cursed in hisfolly and youth, while never heeded Mung.

  Still from a heap of bones that are Yun-Ilara still, lying aboutthe ruined base of the tower that once he builded, goes up ashrill voice with the wind crying out for the mercy of Mung, ifany such there be.

  OF HOW THE GODS WHELMED SIDITH

  There was dole in the valley of Sidith. For three years there hadbeen pestilence, and in the last of the three a famine; moreover,there was imminence of war.

  Throughout all Sidith men died night and day, and night and daywithin the Temple of All the gods save One (for none may pray toMANA-YOOD-SUSHAI) did the priests of the gods pray hard.

  For they said: "For a long while a man may hear the droning oflittle insects and yet not be aware that he hath heard them, somay the gods not hear our prayers at first until they have beenvery oft repeated. But when your praying has troubled the silencelong it may be that some god as he strolls in Pegana's glades maycome on one of our lost prayers, that flutters like a butterflytossed in storm when all its wings are broken; then if the gods bemerciful they may ease our fears in Sidith, or else they may crushus, being petulant gods, and so we shall see trouble in Sidith nolonger, with its pestilence and dearth and fears of war."

  But in the fourth year of the pestilence and in the second yearof the famine, and while still there was imminence of war, cameall the people of Sidith to the door of the Temple of All the godssave One, where none may enter but the priests--but only leavegifts and go.

  And there the people cried out: "O High Prophet of All the godssave One, Priest of Kib, Priest of Sish, and Priest of Mung,Teller of the mysteries of Dorozhand, Receiver of the gifts of thePeople, and Lord of Prayer, what doest thou within the Temple ofAll the gods save One?"

  And Arb-Rin-Hadith, who was the High Prophet, answered: "I pray forall the People."

  But the people answered: "O High Prophet of All the gods save One,Priest of Kib, Priest of Sish, and Priest of Mung, Teller of themysteries of Dorozhand, Receiver of the gifts of the People, andLord of Prayer, for four long years hast thou prayed with thepriests of all thine order, while we brought ye gifts and died.Now, therefore, since They have not heard thee in four grim years,thou must go and carry to Their faces the prayer of the people ofSidith when They go to drive the thunder to his pasture upon themountain Aghrinaun, or else there shall no longer be gifts uponthy temple door, whenever falls the dew, that thou and thine ordermay fatten.

  "Then thou shalt say before Their faces: 'O All the gods save One,Lords of the Worlds, whose child is the eclipse, take back thypestilence from Sidith, for ye have played the game of the godstoo long with the people of Sidith, who would fain have done withthe gods'."

  Then in great fear answered the High Prophet, saying: "What if thegods be angry and whelm Sidith?" And the people answered: "Then arewe sooner done with pestilence and famine and the imminence of war."

  That night the thunder howled upon Aghrinaun, which stood a peak aboveall others in the land of Sidith. And the people took Arb-Rin-Hadithfrom his Temple and drave him to Aghrinaun, for they said: "There walkto-night upon the mountain All the gods save One."

  And Arb-Rin-Hadith went trembling to the gods.

  Next morning, white and frightened from Aghrinaun, came Arb-Rin-Hadithback into the valley, and there spake to the people, saying: "Thefaces of the gods are iron and their mouths set hard. There is nohope from the gods."

  Then said the people: "Thou shalt go to MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI, to whomno man may pray: seek him upon Aghrinaun where it lifts clear intothe stillness before morning, and on its summit, where all thingsseem to rest surely there rests also MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI. Go to him,and say: 'Thou hast made evil gods, and They smite Sidith.'Perchance he hath forgotten all his gods, or hath not heard ofSidith. Thou hast escaped the thunder of the gods, surely thoushalt also escape the stillness of MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI."

  Upon a morning when the sky and lakes were clear and the worldstill, and Aghrinaun was stiller than the world, Arb-Rin-Hadithcrept in fear towards the slopes of Aghrinaun because the peoplewere urgent.

  All that day men saw him climbing. At night he rested near thetop. But ere the morning of the day that followed, such as roseearly saw him in the silence, a speck against the blue, stretch uphis arms upon the summit to MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI. Then instantly theysaw him not, nor was he ever seen of men again who had dared totrouble the stillness of MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI.

  Such as now speak of Sidith tell of a fierce and potent tribethat smote away a people in a valley enfeebled by pestilence,where stood a temple to "All the gods save One" in which was nohigh priest.

  OF HOW IMBAUN BECAME HIGH PROPHET IN ARADEC OF ALLTHE GODS SAVE ONE

  Imbaun was to be made High Prophet in Aradec, of All the Gods saveOne.

  From Ardra, Rhoodra, and the lands beyond came all High Prophetsof the Earth to the Temple in Aradec of All the gods save One.

  And then they told Imbaun how The Secret of Things was upon thesummit of the dome of the Hall of Night, but faintly writ, and inan unknown tongue.

  Midway in the night, between the setting and the rising sun, theyled Imbaun into the Hall of Night, and said to him, chauntingaltogether: "Imbaun, Imbaun, Imbaun, look up to the roof, where iswrit The Secret of Things, but faintly, and in an unknown tongue."

  And Imbaun looked up, but darkness was so deep within the Hall ofNight that Imbaun saw not even the High Prophets who came fromArdra, Rhoodra, and the lands beyond, nor saw he aught in the Hallof Night at all.

  Then called the High Prophets: "What seest thou, Imbaun?"

  And Imbaun said: "I see naught."

  Then called the High Prophets: "What knowest thou Imbaun?"

  And Imbaun said: "I know naught."

  Then spake the High Prophet of Eld of All the gods save One, whois first on Earth of prophets: "O Imbaun! we have all lookedupwards in the Hall of Night towards the secret of Things, andever it was dark, and the Secret faint and in an unknown tongue.And now thou knowest what all High Prophets know."

  And Imbaun answered: "I know."

  So Imbaun became High Prophet in Aradec of All the gods save One,and prayed for all the people, who knew not that there wasdarkness in the Hall of Night or that the secret was writ faintand in an unknown tongue.

  These are the words of Imbaun that he wrote in a book that all thepeople might know:

  "In the twentieth night of the nine hundredth moon, as night cameup the valley, I performed the mystic rites of each of the gods inthe temple as is my wont, lest any of the gods should grow angryin the night and whelm us while we slept.

  "And as I uttered the last of certain secret words I fell asleepin the temple, for I was weary, with my head against the altar ofDorozhand. Then in the stillness, as I slept, there enteredDorozhand by the temple door in the guise of a man, and touched meon the shoulder, and I awoke.

  "But when I saw that his eyes shone blue and lit the whole of thetemple I knew that he was a god though he came in mortal guise.And Dorozhand said: 'Prophet of Dorozhand, behold that the peoplemay know.' And he showed me the paths of Sish stretching far downinto the future time. Then he bade me arise and follow whither hepointed, speaking no words but commanding with his eyes.

  "Therefore upon the twentieth night of the nine hundredth moon Iwalked with Dorozhand adown the paths of Sish into the futuretime.

  "And ever beside the way did men slay men. And the sum of theirslaying was greater than the slaying of the pestilence of any ofthe evils of the gods.

  "And cities arose and shed their houses in dust, and ever thede
sert returned again to its own, and covered over and hid thelast of all that had troubled its repose.

  "And still men slew men.

  "And I came at last to a time when men set their yoke no longerupon beasts but made them beasts of iron.

  "And after that did men slay men with mists.

  "Then, because the slaying exceeded their desire, there came peaceupon the world that was brought by the hand of the slayer, and menslew men no more.

  "And cities multiplied, and overthrew the desert and conquered itsrepose.

  "And suddenly I beheld that THE END was near, for there was astirring above Pegana as of One who grows weary of resting, and Isaw the hound Time crouch to spring, with his eyes upon thethroats of the gods, shifting from throat to throat, and thedrumming of Skarl grew faint.

  "And if a god may fear, it seemed that there was fear upon theface of Dorozhand, and he seized me by the hand and led me backalong the paths of Time that I might not see THE END.

  "Then I saw cities rise out of the dust again and fall back intothe desert whence they had arisen; and again I slept in the Templeof All the gods save One, with my head against the altar ofDorozhand.

  "Then again the Temple was alight, but not with light from theeyes of Dorozhand; only dawn came all blue out of the East andshone through the arches of the Temple. Then I awoke and performedthe morning rites and mysteries of All the gods save One, lest anyof the gods be angry in the day and take away the Sun.

  "And I knew that because I who had been so near to it had notbeheld THE END that a man should never behold it or know the doomof the gods. This They have hidden."

  OF HOW IMBAUN MET ZODRAK

  The prophet of the gods lay resting by the river to watch thestream run by.

  And as he lay he pondered on the Scheme of Things and the works ofall the gods. And it seemed to the prophet of the gods as hewatched the stream run by that the Scheme was a right scheme andthe gods benignant gods; yet there was sorrow in the Worlds. Itseemed that Kib was bountiful, that Mung calmed all who suffer,that Sish dealt not too harshly with the hours, and that all thegods were good; yet there was sorrow in the Worlds.

  Then said the prophet of the gods as he watched the stream run by:"There is some other god of whom naught is writ." And suddenly theprophet was aware of an old man who bemoaned beside the river,crying: "Alas! alas!"

  His face was marked by the sign and the seal of exceeding manyyears, and there was yet vigour in his frame. These be the wordsof the prophet that he wrote in his book: "I said: 'Who art thouthat bemoans beside the river?' And he answered: 'I am the fool.'I said: 'Upon thy brow are the marks of wisdom such as is storedin books.' He said: 'I am Zodrak. Thousands of years ago I tendedsheep upon a hill that sloped towards the sea. The gods have manymoods. Thousands of years ago They were in a mirthful mood. Theysaid: 'Let Us call up a man before Us that We may laugh inPegana.'"

  "'And Their eyes that looked on me saw not me alone but also sawTHE BEGINNING and THE END and all the Worlds besides. Then saidthe gods, speaking as speak the gods: "Go, back to thy sheep."

  "'But I, who am the fool, had heard it said on earth that whososeeth the gods upon Pegana becometh as the gods, if so he demandto Their faces, who may not slay him who hath looked them in theeyes.

  "'And I, the fool, said: "I have looked in the eyes of the gods,and I demand what a man may demand of the gods when he hath seenThem in Pegana." And the gods inclined Their heads and Hoodrazaisaid: "It is the law of the gods."

  "'And I, who was only a shepherd, how could I know?

  "'I said: "I will make men rich." And the gods said: "What isrich?"

  "'And I said: "I will send them love." And the gods said: "What islove?" And I sent gold into the Worlds, and, alas! I sent with itpoverty and strife. And I sent love into the Worlds, and with itgrief.

  "'And now I have mixed gold and love most woefully together, and Ican never remedy what I have done, for the deeds of the gods aredone, and nothing may undo them.

  "'Then I said: "I will give men wisdom that they may be glad." Andthose who got my wisdom found that they knew nothing, and fromhaving been happy became glad no more.

  "'And I, who would make men happy, have made them sad, and I havespoiled the beautiful scheme of the gods.

  "'And now my hand is for ever on the handle of Their plough. I wasonly a shepherd, and how should I have known?

  "'Now I come to thee as thou restest by the river to ask of theethy forgiveness, for I would fain have the forgiveness of a man.'

  "And I answered: 'O Lord of seven skies, whose children are thestorms, shall a man forgive a god?'

  "He answered: 'Men have sinned not against the gods as the godshave sinned against men since I came into Their councils.'

  "And I, the prophet, answered: 'O Lord of seven skies, whoseplaything is the thunder, thou art amongst the gods, what needhast thou for words from any man?'

  "He said: 'Indeed I am amongst the gods, who speak to me as theyspeak to other gods, yet is there always a smile about Theirmouths, and a look in Their eyes that saith: "Thou wert a man."'

  "I said: 'O Lord of seven skies, about whose feet the Worlds areas drifted sand, because thou biddest me, I, a man, forgive thee.'

  "And he answered: 'I was but a shepherd, and I could not know.'Then he was gone."

  PEGANA

  The prophet of the gods cried out to the gods: "O! All the godssave One" for none may pray to MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI, "where shall thelife of a man abide when Mung hath made against his body the signof Mung?--for the people with whom ye play have sought to know."

  But the gods answered, speaking through the mist:

  "Though thou shouldst tell thy secrets to the beasts, even thatthe beasts should understand, yet will not the gods divulge thesecret of the gods to thee, that gods and beasts and men shall beall the same, all knowing the same things."

  That night Yoharneth-Lahai same to Aradec, and said unto Imbaun:"Wherefore wouldst thou know the secret of the gods that not thegods may tell thee?

  "When the wind blows not, where, then, is the wind?

  "Or when thou art not living, where art thou?

  "What should the wind care for the hours of calm or thou fordeath?

  "Thy life is long, Eternity is short.

  "So short that, shouldst thou die and Eternity should pass, andafter the passing of Eternity thou shouldst live again, thouwouldst say: 'I closed mine eyes but for an instant.'

  "There is an eternity behind thee as well as one before. Hast thoubewailed the aeons that passed without thee, who art so muchafraid of the aeons that shall pass?"

  Then said the prophet: "How shall I tell the people that the godshave not spoken and their prophet doth not know? For then should Ibe prophet no longer, and another would take the people's giftsinstead of me."

  Then said Imbaun to the people: "The gods have spoken, saying: 'OImbaun, Our prophet, it is as the people believe whose wisdom hathdiscovered the secret of the gods, and the people when they dieshall come to Pegana, and there live with the gods, and there havepleasure without toil. And Pegana is a place all white with thepeaks of mountains, on each of them a god, and the people shalllie upon the slopes of the mountains each under the god that hehath worshipped most when his lot was in the Worlds. And thereshall music beyond thy dreaming come drifting through the scentof all the orchards in the Worlds, with somewhere someone singingan old song that shall be as a half-remembered thing. And thereshall be gardens that have always sunlight, and streams that arelost in no sea beneath skies for ever blue. And there shall be norain nor no regrets. Only the roses that in highest Pegana haveachieved their prime shall shed their petals in showers at thyfeet, and only far away on the forgotten earth shall voices driftup to thee that cheered thee in thy childhood about the gardens ofthy youth. And if thou sighest for any memory of earth because thouhearest unforgotten voices, then will the gods send messengers onwings to soothe thee in Pegana, saying to them: "There one sighethwho hath remembered Earth." And they shall make Pegana
more seductivefor thee still, and they shall take thee by the hand and whisper inthine ear till the old voices are forgot.

  "'And besides the flowers of Pegana there shall have climbed bythen until it hath reached to Pegana the rose that clambered aboutthe house where thou wast born. Thither shall also come thewandering echoes of all such music as charmed thee long ago.

  "'Moreover, as thou sittest on the orchard lawns that clothePegana's mountains, and as thou hearkenest to melody that swaysthe souls of the gods, there shall stretch away far down beneaththee the great unhappy Earth, till gazing from rapture upon sorrowsthou shalt be glad that thou wert dead.

  "'And from the three great mountains that stand aloof and over allthe others--Grimbol, Zeebol, and Trehagobol--shall blow the windof the morning and the wind of all the day, borne upon the wingsof all the butterflies that have died upon the Worlds, to cool thegods and Pegana.

  "'Far through Pegana a silvery fountain, lured upward by the godsfrom the Central Sea, shall fling its waters aloft, and over thehighest of Pegana's peaks, above Trehagobol, shall burst intogleaming mists, to cover Highest Pegana, and make a curtain aboutthe resting-place of MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI.

  "'Alone, still and remote below the base of one of the innermountains, lieth a great blue pool.

  "'Whoever looketh down into its waters may behold all his lifethat was upon the Worlds and all the deeds that he hath done.

  "'None walk by the pool and none regard its depths, for all inPegana have suffered and all have sinned some sin, and it lieth inthe pool.