XII - Nocturnal Travels

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“Seek not amongst the dunes of Jerah,
for the people in the East;
They are beyond you and above you,
where you seek them least.”

From stanza xvii of “The Song of the Heroes” (First Heroic Age)

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From “The Song of Gorin, stanzas 1415 - 1421

A fter about one hour of steady progress, Gorin realised the walls on either side of the gorge were not quite as high as they had been at the beginning. Consequently, a little more light was filtering in from the sky above. Admittedly, it was only starlight, but there was enough for him to see where he was going. His spirits rose again and he began to feel a little more confident. After all, he had made it this far. With Ecinlorne’s help admittedly, but even so...

These more positive thoughts led to Gorin feeling rather proud of the responsibility laid upon him by Hexard and the King, even if he was unable to grasp the full implications of his destiny. As for his own origins, they seemed to be of lesser importance now, for in some measure he had found the identity he lacked in his mission. It was carrying him forward, and there had even been intimations he would ultimately discover the truth of his own being in its fulfilment.

Then he heard the sound for the first time, sending all other thoughts fleeing from his mind.

It began in the remote distance, as if coming from another world. At first, Gorin supposed it to be a trick of the wind, wailing and echoing along the length of the gorge. The sound grew louder, and it was soon evident that no wind, not even the mightiest tempest, could stir up anything to equal these unearthly notes. They were high-pitched, then varied in tone as they grew in volume to the accompaniment of a powerful swishing noise, rising and falling like the waves of a mighty sea.

Instinctively, Gorin drew into the side of the defile, trying to hide himself among the few loose rocks lying there. He felt extremely vulnerable as the sound increased in intensity until it filled the air all around him, finally becoming distinguishable as ethereal music; a strange, powerful and rhythmic incorporeal chant.

It was followed by the light. A wave of brilliant effulgence surging up the ravine, throwing every rock into sharp relief. As the skyborne radiance approached, Gorin had to shield his eyes, for it burned with brightness greater than the noonday desert sun. Yet it was without heat. The chanting and swishing rhythm rose to a mighty crescendo as they passed overhead and then died away, as the splendour swept on down the gorge.

In a moment, all was as before, only seeming darker because of the sudden contrast with the wave of blinding intensity. Gorin lifted his eyes in time to see a concentrated blaze of light disappearing at the other end of the defile. He then realised it must have been one of those peculiar moving stars he had seen in the desert sky - and it had flown right over him, heading in the direction he was taking!

He wondered what connection there was between these speeding, chanting stars and the Hill-People he was supposed to seek out. Could any creatures having mastery of such power be interested in him? He found it difficult to see how.

All the confidence he had felt just a few minutes before dissolved in an instant, leaving him feeling vulnerable, alone and insignificant again. He soon realised there was no point in staying where he was however, cowering behind a rock at the side of the gorge like a cornered rat. He still had his mission after all, and there was no alternative but to press on, whatever the end might be.