The Harlequin's Dance

Book 0: The Orokon

by David Rain

Genres: Fantasy; Epic Fantasy; Historical Fantasy

Synopsis

The god Orok gave to his five children crystals to be embedded in a circle on the Rock of Being and Unbeing, whence had sprung the gods, the earth and all its peoples. This circle, known as The Orokon, ensured the harmony of life, until the dark god Koros plucked his crystal from the Rock and plunged the whole world into chaos and despair . . . In the village of Irion, the crippled boy known as Jemany Vexing lives with his dying mother and his fanatical Aunt Umbecca. Unable to walk, Jem is condemned to a wretched half-life, until he meets a mysterious dwarf. With his new strength comes a new friendship with the wild girl Catayane. as the horrors of the Bluejacket regime - the faction that overthrew the true king - begin, Jem becomes aware of his greater destiny: to find and reunite the five crystals of the Orokon. But he is not the only seeker . . . Originally released under the pseudonym Tom Arden

Release date: November 19, 2015

Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books

Print pages: 529

Sample

JEM, a crippled boy

CATA, a child of nature

SILAS WOLVERON, her father

UMBECCA RENCH, great-aunt to Jem

ELA (LADY ELABETH), mother to Jem

TOR (TORVESTER), her brother; a wanted man

THE HARLEQUIN, a mysterious entertainer

BARNABAS, a mysterious dwarf

XAL, a Woman of Wisdom

POLTY (POLTISS), a bully; leader of The Five

ARON THROSH (‘BEAN’), his best friend; member of The Five

LENY, VEL and TYL, members of The Five

NATHANIAN WAXWELL, surgeon and apothecary

GOODY WAXWELL, his wife

GOODY THROSH (WYNDA), mother to Aron; tavern-keeper

EBENEZER THROSH (EBBY), her husband

OLIVAN THARLEY VEELDROP, military commander

EAY FEVAL (THE CHAPLAIN), his chaplain

NIRRY, maid-of-all-work at the castle

STEPHEL, her father; old castle steward

THE OLD MAID

MORVEN and CRUM, soldiers

OLCH (‘WIGGLER’) and ROTTS, also soldiers

SERGEANT BUNCH, their immediate superior

CHILDREN OF KOROS (‘VAGAS’), travelling people

REVELLERS in the tavern

QUALITY-FOLK at the ball

VILLAGERS, PEASANTS, more SOLDIERS

&c.

 

OFF-STAGE:

EJARD BLUE, the king

THE FIRST MINISTER

JORVEL OF IXITER, forty-eighth Archduke of Irion

THE ARCHMAXIMATE, leader of the Order of Agonis

HUL and BANDO, members of the Resistance

PROFESSORS of the University of Agondon

INTERCESSIONISTS, historical theorists

PRE-AONS and QUEEN ELANISTS, other theorists

CHARACTERS in the novels of ‘MISS R——’

GREEN GARTERS and other HARLOTS

SOCIETY-FOLK of Agondon

HEROES of Ejland

ZENZANS

&c.

 

FROM THE PAST:

EJARD RED, the deposed king

LADY LOLENDA, mother to the Archduke

LADY RUANNA, his wife; sister to Umbecca Rench

YANE RENCH, their cousin, mother to Cata

TORBY RENCH, father to Umbecca and Ruanna

GOODY RENCH, their mother

ELIAK WOLVERON, father to Silas

OLION WOLVERON, uncle to Silas

THE HEAD PRECEPTOR of Temple College

COLLEGIANS of Temple College

NIRRY’S MOTHER

&c.

 

FROM THE EL-OROKON:

OROK, father of the gods

KOROS, his first-born; god of darkness

VIANA, goddess of earth

THERON, god of fire

JAVANDER, goddess of water

AGONIS, god of air

SPIRITS OF THE UNCREATED, creatures rejected by Orok

TOTH-VEXRAH, a mysterious enchanter

THE LADY IMAGENTA, his daughter

PEOPLES of El-Orok

&c.

 

FROM THE MYTHOLEGICON:

THE TARN, Creatures of Evil

SASSOROCH, greatest of The Tarn

AON THE IRONHAND, an ancient king

QUEEN NAYA, his queen

RIEL (NOVA-RIEL), her adopted son

IXITER IRION, first Archduke of Irion

SOOTHSAYER

MOTLEY, a court jester

SWINE-WARRIOR OF SWALE

PRINCESS ALAMANE

PRINCE YON

&c.

1

In the time before the earth was brought forth from Unbeing, there was great warmaking in the realm of The Vast, which is home to the gods. In time the warmaking ended; but the god Orok, who had fought long and righteously, knew that he was suffering from a fatal wound. So it was that he withdrew to a far wilderness, as a god must do when his time has come to die.

And deep in the wilderness he came upon a rock. With his sword he struck the rock, and said, ‘This rock I call the Rock of Being and Unbeing. This rock shall be the Rock of my dying.’

Around the Rock he raised a golden palace; and Orok withdrew into the palace he had made, to pass in silence the aeons before him.

For the dying of a god is a long slow dying.

*

Now it came to pass that the dying god grew lonely, and in his loneliness decreed he would have a son. He descended to the Rock of Being and Unbeing; and looking on the Rock, he saw its strength.

‘Rock of Being and Unbeing,’ he cried, ‘give to me a son so great and strong.’

And the dying god raised his sword, and struck the Rock. There was a blaze of radiance; but as the radiance died away the god stood back, aghast. For before him there had come into being a creature hunched and twisted, garbed in darkness. And the dying god said: ‘Creature, you are not comely. Tell me what you are.’

And the creature garbed in darkness said: ‘Father, I am Koros of the Rock, and I come to you as your son.’

Then the dying god Orok knew despair. With his sword he would have slain the creature, but compassion welled in him and he decreed: ‘Creature, you shall live.’ And so that the creature could live and not be lonely, the dying god fashioned for him a sister soft as leaves. Her name was Viana.

And the children lived in the Palace of Orok, but their father turned his eyes from them.

The aeons rolled by.

*

And it came to pass that the dying god grew weaker, and decreed once again that he would have a son. He ventured to the Rock of Being and Unbeing; and as he raised his sword, he felt its swiftness.

‘Rock of Being and Unbeing,’ he cried, ‘give to me a son so swift and fiery!’

There was a blaze of radiance; but again when the radiance died away the god stood back, aghast. For before him was a creature red of hair and eye, hovering on leathern wings. And the dying god said: ‘Creature, you are not comely. Tell me what you are.’

‘Father, I am Theron of the Sword,’ said the creature, ‘and I come to you as your son.’

Then it was that the dying god knew sadness. With harsh words he would have banished the creature, but compassion welled in his heart and he decreed: ‘Creature, you shall stay.’ And so that the creature could stay and not be lonely, the dying god fashioned for him a sister cool as water. Her name was Javander.

And the children lived in the golden palace, but their father turned his eyes from them.

*

And as the aeons rolled slowly past the dying god would venture many times to the Rock, and there he brought into being many creatures. But none of the creatures he permitted to live; for now he would have only perfection. Again and again he would strike the Rock; but again and again he banished his creatures to the Realm of Unbeing.

And the spirits of the Uncreated howled about the palace, but the dying god Orok did not hear them.

*

The dying god entered the last aeon of his age. The time of his creations soon must end, and he decreed that he must leave behind an heir. He looked on the Rock and then the Sword.

‘Rock of Being and Unbeing,’ he said, ‘in the blaze of radiance when Sword clashes Rock, then there is beauty. Give to me a son so bright and beautiful.’

And this time when he struck the Rock the radiance did not die, and there stood before him a being apparelled in light. And the dying god whispered to the bright being, ‘Fair one, you are comely! Tell me who you are.’

And the being apparelled in light said: ‘I am Agonis of the Light, Father. I am your son.’

Then the dying god Orok knew joy, and took his son to sit by him in the throne-room of the palace.

2

One day the fair son was wandering in the gardens when he came upon his dark brother speaking to the air.

‘Brother, to whom do you speak?’ the fair god asked.

And his brother Koros turned to him and smiled, ‘You cannot hear? All about us howl the spirits of the Uncreated. I had thought only our father could not hear them; I had not known, brother, that you heard with our father’s ears.’

From that time, Agonis too could hear the mournful cryings. So it was that he said to his father, ‘Father, the Uncreated are baying to be born. May I not make a world where they may live?’

And the dying god said, ‘My son, your compassion makes me love you more. But there are creatures that should not be brought into being. You may create a world; but first you must separate the creatures of good from the creatures of evil.’

So it was that the fair Agonis set about the task, calling the Uncreated to him one by one.

*

Now, Koros envied the task of his fair brother. He said to him, ‘Brother, let me aid you.’

But the fair Agonis only smiled and said, ‘Dark one, I pity you, but you are unfit for this task. For though your heart may be good, your shape is evil.’

Then the dark fire of resentment burned in Koros, and he went to his brother Theron and said, ‘The fair Agonis is making a world, and filling it with spirits only like his own. Our spirits, too, he would consign to Unbeing. Join with me, brother, to fight against him. For the death of our father is approaching fast, and soon a time of reckoning will be upon us.’

But the fiery Theron spurned his dark brother. ‘Begone, misshapen one! I am not so fair as our brother, but I am fairer than you. My fiery wrath shall always be raised in the righteous cause of Agonis.’

So it was that the vengeance of the dark god came to pass. As his father slept, the first-born stole the Sword of Fire; and calling to him the spirits of the Uncreated, led them to the Rock of Being and Unbeing.

‘Rock,’ he cried, as he raised the sword, ‘make for these creatures, the dark and fair alike, a world where all may live!’

He struck the Rock. An explosion shook the palace. Flames and black smoke filled the chamber and a black abyss opened in the floor. Through the abyss the Uncreated fell, and the dark god looked on the world he had made. Then it was that horror overcame him, for it was a world fashioned like himself. And the dark god hid in the chaos he had made, concealed among its vilest and most misshapen things.

*

Above, in the palace, his father trembled with fury. He called his children to him, and asked them what they would do.

Theron, red of hair and eye, would descend in wrath.

But the fair Agonis stepped forth and said: ‘Father, our foolish brother has created a world of torment. Yet the sacrifice of a god may save it. Let me descend to the world my brother has made, and bring light to his darkness.’

Then the dying god looked on his son and said, ‘My son, your sacrifice would make all love you. But I am nearing the time of my ending. It is ordained that I should die into this new world, and that you, my children, should tend to it after me.’

*

So it was that for a final time, the dying god descended to the Rock of Being and Unbeing. When he had completed the enchantments he there wrought, the chaos of his dark son was resolved into order. He ordered the times and seasons of the world; he ordered the ranks of the creatures that lived there. The good he placed in a plenteous valley; the evil he banished beyond the far mountains. In the centre of the valley, which was the Vale of Orok, he planted the Rock of Being and Unbeing; and when his work was done, the god who had died appeared before his children for a final time.

‘My children,’ the dead god Orok said, ‘this is not the world I wanted. In my dying I have divided dark from light; but darkness yet remains ever-present in this world. So it is that you must tend to this world.’

Then to each of his favoured children the dead god gave a province, and a crystal which embodied the powers of that province. First he called to him his two daughters. Blessing them, to Viana he gave a crystal coloured like earth; to Javander, one coloured like the sea.

He called to him his remaining sons. To Theron, Orok gave a crystal fierce as fire.

Then came the fairest son.

The lesser gods gasped.

For each crystal was a thing of rare beauty, but the Crystal of Agonis was rarest of all. Its colour shimmered and shifted like sunlight.

And Orok embraced his fair son, and kissed his eyes and lips. He said, ‘Now, my children, the time has come when I must descend into this Rock of my dying. Know that I command you to live in bonds of love, and use the crystals only for good.’

And the living gods stepped forth to bless their dead father, when all at once came a cry of ‘Hold!’ For the dark Koros had come forth from concealment, and in contrition he knelt before his father.

‘Forgive me, Father,’ the dark god said. ‘Bless me as you have blessed my sisters and brothers.’

The fiery Theron said, ‘Father, let me destroy him.’

But the fair Agonis took the hand of his dark brother, and said, ‘Father, he is contrite. Let him live and prove his worth.’

So it was that the dead god said to his son Koros, ‘Misshapen one, you deserve only to die. But the pity of your fair brother touches my heart. You shall live, but your province shall be death. You shall be the guardian at the Gate of Unbeing. Yours shall be places where fear dwells, dark caves of night and spider-filled corners, bleak mountain passes and the catacombs of death.’

And to his first-born he gave a crystal coloured like night, glowing purple-black with a light that was like darkness.

Then he descended into the Rock of his dying; and when he was gone, the fair Agonis drew his sisters and brothers to him and said, ‘Children, it is a great trust that our father has laid upon us. Let us swear to be true to that trust.’ And placing his crystal atop the Rock, he bade his sisters and brothers do likewise, and said, ‘Let us fuse our crystals into this Rock. And vow that for so long as they are here united, so their powers shall be used for good.’

So the five crystals were embedded in the Rock, forming the mystic circle called The Orokon; and for so long as the circle was unbroken, so the new world would live in harmony.

Thus it was in the first age of the earth, which women and men would call The Juvescence.

3

Now it came to pass that The Juvescence must end, and an age called the Time of Atonement begin.

When the earth was new, women and men would yield up their oblations to each of the five gods; but as time passed there gathered about each god a particular people, who were jealous of their god. Even the dark Koros had his people, who did not shun him, but dwelt like him with darkness.

One day the fair Agonis called his sisters and brothers to him and said, ‘Children, yesterday I spoke to our father, who lies in darkness in the Rock. Our father warned me that a time would come when the women and men of earth should not live in harmony. Thus it is that we must save them from themselves; we must bond them more strongly to the race of the gods.’

And when his brothers asked how this should be done, the fair Agonis told them it was decreed that a woman of earth should become his bride.

‘Brother,’ his sister Javander said, ‘the life of a woman of earth is short. How should you find one to share your long life?’

‘Brother,’ his sister Viana said, ‘the beauty of a woman of earth is fleeting. How should you find one who shall not fade?’

Their brother said he would search the earth for the fairest of its daughters; and when he had found her, he would make her a goddess.

*

Now it happened that in the Vale of Orok there lived an enchanter who wrought many spells. His name was Toth-Vexrah; and when he heard of the quest of the fair god he went to him and said, ‘Great one, I can show you what you seek.’ The enchanter brought forth a magic glass, and in the glass the god Agonis saw the image of a woman fair as himself.

‘You speak truth, enchanter,’ said the enraptured god. ‘This creature might be a goddess already. Tell me where I may find her.’

And the enchanter replied, ‘Great one, you have not far to seek. The name of this lady is Imagenta. She is my daughter, and I give you her hand.’

So it was that the enchanter brought his daughter to the god. Her face was swathed in a veil, which the god would sweep aside; but the enchanter called: ‘Hold! Great one, there is a condition I would lay upon you. The glass shows but the shadow of this lady’s beauty. In truth, my daughter is a creature so radiant that no man may look upon her who is not her husband. Part not the veil until she is yours.’

The god assented; but asked only that he might possess the magic glass, that he might gaze upon it until the wedding. The enchanter gave it to him, and the god looked on the glass with a yet more ardent longing.

4

Now there was much joy in the Vale of Orok when the wedding of the fair Agonis was announced. Women and men fashioned rich gifts for the gods; there were sacrifices of blessing. Only the countenance of Koros was unjoyful; for when he saw the image which had so entranced his brother, the first-born of Orok burned with a dark fury.

So it came to pass that on the morning of the wedding, the Lady Imagenta could not be found. The fair Agonis was struck dumb with sorrow; so the fiery Theron called a council of the gods.

One god did not come.

‘Sisters and brothers,’ cried the fiery god, ‘where is our brother Koros?’

Then it was that the enchanter Toth-Vexrah pounded at the doors, crying, ‘Great ones, it is your brother who has stolen my daughter! For he has taken her to the feet of the far mountains, and there he has imprisoned her in a fortress of darkness.’ And the enchanter made manifest an image of the captive.

‘This cannot be!’ cried the goddess Viana. ‘My brother’s powers are dark, but not wicked, and what we see must be an illusion.’

‘Goddess, it is no illusion,’ the enchanter replied. ‘For look you on the Rock of Being and Unbeing, and you shall see that the dark crystal has been plucked forth from its place.’

The gods looked on the Rock, and saw that it was true.

Then the fiery Theron flamed out. ‘Gods, our brother has broken our pact! Henceforth, he is our enemy. Fair brother, grieve not, for I shall destroy the traitor Koros.’ And the fiery god plucked his own crystal from the Rock.

‘Brother, I do likewise!’ cried the goddess Javander. ‘My powers, too, shall be raised against Koros! Sister Viana, will you join us in our fight?’

But the goddess Viana looked on them with loathing, and plucking from its place her own crystal cried: ‘Sister, I do likewise, but my powers are for Koros!’

So it was that the first war of earth came to pass, when the forces of Theron and his sister Javander fought against the forces of Koros and Viana. To the standard of each god an army rallied, and destruction rained down upon the Vale of Orok.

5

And in all this the fair god intervened not, for he only stared, grieving, into the magic glass.

So it was that after long years, the enchanter Toth-Vexrah came to Agonis and said, ‘Great one, the destruction which began at the feet of the far mountains is rolling ever closer to this palace of your grieving. Soon the whole of this vale shall be a wasteland. Even your fair people have gone to war in your name, wielding swords and axes. Yours is the most powerful of the Crystals of Orok. Use it now to bring an end to this war.’

‘Enchanter, your words are evil,’ said the fair god. ‘Our father commanded us to live in bonds of love, and use the crystals only for good. Though I grieve for the loss of your daughter, my heart forbids me to disobey my father.’

‘Then you are a fool!’ the enchanter replied, and seizing the crystal of the fair god he spirited it away to the fiery Theron. So it was that Theron was victorious, blasting at last into the dark fortress of Koros.

‘She is mine!’ the fiery god cried; for through all this, in the secrecy of his heart, Theron had sought the lady for himself.

Inside the fortress, he assailed his dark brother, stabbing him in the thigh as a punishment for his lust. Then, his heart exulting, he leapt to the chamber where the captive had been held.

But in the chamber his joy turned to rage, for the lady had vanished, and could not be found. The fiery god wailed, and beat at the walls; he raised the crystal that was coloured like the sun, and called down destruction on all the world.

Then it was that the firmament darkened, and a voice like thunder bid the fiery god to hold.

‘Father!’ cried Theron, and sank to his knees; for it was the voice of his dead father, who had risen like a phantom from the darkness of the Rock.

And darkness spread lowering over the ravaged vale as the children of the dead god were summoned to him again.

‘My children, you have destroyed this last of my creations. Were I still living, I should punish you mightily; but you have brought retribution upon yourselves. Your lives now must be lives of penance. It remains only that you retire to The Vast, and return this world to the Realm of Unbeing.’

And the god would have sunk back into the Rock of his death, but for his fair son, who called to him, ‘Father, consign not this world to Unbeing! For though the gods, your children, have erred so grievously, the women and men of earth do not deserve to die. Let us live out our penance here, and build this world anew.’

Then the dead god rose again and said, ‘My fairest son, my love for you has not waned. In the darkness of my death, I long for you to join me. But no, my child, the time has passed when the gods can live in this world; nor have its creatures deserved your care. Let it come to pass that this world shall live, but from now on its creatures must make their lives alone. Bring them to me.’

And the fair Agonis, sorrowing, gathered the peoples of earth to the Rock of Being and Unbeing; and there his dead father spoke to them thus:

‘Women and men of earth, you can no longer live with the gods. Nor can your races, which have become warring armies, continue with one another. They must be divided, and you must go forth from this vale, once so plenteous, which has become now only a vale of destruction. Tomorrow, after a night of mourning, my children shall return to The Vast, which is their home. Your fate lies beyond the far mountains.’

Then to each of the races of earth, the dead god gave a destiny. To the women and men of Viana, he ordained a journey to the east, where they would wrest new lives from a realm of dark forests. Calling to Viana for the crystal coloured like earth, the dead god entrusted it to the care of her people. ‘This crystal is a symbol of your goddess. Bear it with you always, and she shall go with you.’

To the people of Javander and Theron he did likewise. Javander’s people he would send across the seas, to the far islands of the west; Theron’s, to the south, to blazing lands where the sun flamed high.

The dead god turned to the people of his fairest son.

‘Children of Agonis, you have proved yourselves unworthy of him. Your journey is to the north, to mountainous lands of ice. There you shall live close to the vault of the sky, but yours shall be a sky that brings no warmth. Perhaps in time, as you look upon this crystal, you shall be brought to a proper atonement.’ For the time that was to come, he said, would be a Time of Atonement, when all would live in sorrow for the errors of the past.

And then the dead god would have dismissed the races from him, but his fair son Agonis stepped forth and said, ‘Father, you are just. But Koros stands here, too. What is to become of his people? Where is to be their home?’

Then the wrath of the dead god burst forth.

‘Speak not to me of one accursed, deserving only of detestation! Creatures of Koros, you shall have no home!’

And seizing the crystal of his first-born son, the dead god flung it to the skies, high and far, so that none could see where it travelled or where it would land.

‘Accursed tribe, it shall be your destiny to wander eternally through the lands of this world, searching for the crystal which alone might redeem you. And other races shall hold you in hatred, for they shall know it was your god who destroyed the Vale of Orok.’

So it was that the destinies of this earth’s races were ordained. And that night, the night before the gods would leave the earth, the fair Agonis drew his sisters and brothers to him and said:

‘Children, our father’s wrath is just. He has decreed a hard destiny for the women and men of earth. But I have communed with him, in the darkness of his death. Our father has divided the five crystals; and yet, in time, they shall be united again. It is our task to look upon our peoples, watching over them until this time of redemption. Let us meditate on this redemption now, before the hour comes when we must ascend to The Vast.’

*

But the fair god did not spend that night in meditation. Instead, he called to him the enchanter Toth-Vexrah.

‘Treacherous one, the time for recrimination has passed,’ he said. ‘But tell me, what has become of your daughter? My brother Theron told me she had vanished, but how can this be? Show me where she is.’

But the enchanter only said, ‘My daughter is gone, I know not where, and all my magic is powerless to find her.’

And the fair god sighed, and looked once more on the magic glass, in which the beauty of the lady had not faded.

‘This lady was to have been the redemption of this world. Had she been mine, this world would have prospered; because I have lost her, all has been lost.’

So it was that the night of mourning passed; and when the new day came, the five races gathered for a last time at the Rock of Being and Unbeing. The appointed time came; the gods arrived, and one by one bade their farewells to their peoples. But when it was time for the leave-taking of Agonis, the fairest of the gods was not to be found.

‘Where is Agonis?’ the cry went up, but the fair god had vanished, like the lady he had loved.

And to this day, his fate remains a mystery. Some say he descended into the Rock of Being and Unbeing, there to seek solace with the dead god, his father; some say he vanished into the magic glass.

Then there is the legend that he disguised himself that day, mingling with the peoples who were clustered about the Rock. They say he set out with them when they left the vale, determined to search the world for the missing lady. But in what disguise, or with which tribe he travelled, none can say.

And now, though aeons have rolled slowly past, still his worshippers look to the day when the lost god shall return to them, bearing his bride.

Only then, they say, shall The Atonement end, and a new age in the history of the earth begin.

Deep in the Wildwood there is a green enfolding silence. Though the crazed peal of the cuckoo rings out, and the carillon of the nightingale, all sounds, soft or sharp, are claimed back by the forest. The hush possesses all.

There was a flicker of brightness in the deep green.

‘Wood-tiger!’

Cata scampered forward, but the wood-tiger was gone.

‘Oh Papa, make him come back!’

‘Wood-tiger will do what he will, my child. He is a special fellow, and knows it. Should he show his stripes to silly little girls?’

Silly?

Cata stared indignantly into the gloom. She wanted all the creatures of the Wildwood for her friends. With just a look, without chanting or dancing, she could summon squirrels and robins, even the fat badger; she could converse with the wise damask owl and the sleek otter from the river. Only Wood-tiger would not come to her: still he remained the merest glimpse of gold, a flash of brightness in the dappled dark-green.

‘Sometimes the brightest things are hidden from us, my child. But we shall see them when our time has come.’

Cata sighed. How many times had Papa said this? This time he had not even turned his cowled head. Left foot, right foot, planting his staff before him in the thick forest floor, the old man continued his stately progress, his dun robes unflapping in the stillness of the heat.

She called after him, ‘Papa, when is my time?’

The old man only chuckled.

Cata’s bare feet itched to plunge into the undergrowth. On another day, all else forgotten, she might have vanished into the tangled brackens and ferns. Today she only sighed again, said to herself the Wood-tiger rhyme, then scampered after Papa and grabbed his hanging hand.

‘Papa, tell me again about the pretty fairings,’ said the girl after a moment.

Again came a chuckle from beneath her father’s cowl. Wood-tiger would wait, but the fair would not. All yesterday, and the day before, since the bright vans of the Vagas had lumbered into the village, the old man had spoken to the girl of the fairings, the stripy booths and raree-shows, the stones that flamed at the foreheads of the Vagas’ turbaned heads. With beguiling words he had summoned gaudy images: the particoloured harlequin in his cap and jangling bells; the grizzled woman of wisdom with her flashing crystal sphere; the man with no head and a face in his chest and the woman with a fish-tail where her legs should have been. Had he raised the girl’s hopes too high? Perhaps all these things, like so much else, now belonged only in that other world called the past. It had been so long since the fair had come; perhaps his own hopes were also too high.

‘Poor Wood-tiger! So she has forgotten you already, my fickle child?’ was all the old man said.

‘Oh, Papa!’ said the girl, and again scampered away from him.

She danced on the tangled path like a sprite.

So it was that they made their way through the Wildwood, the old man tramping like a pilgrim on ancient ways, the girl now dawdling, now darting forward, a restless familiar spirit in a grubby sackcloth shift.

The Wildwood encroached upon the village like a thief. The path was a sinuous, concealing tunnel.

The village of Irion lies deep in the Valleys of the Tarn, the green hollowings in the foothills of those peaks that are called, in the ancient tongue of the Juvescence, the Kolkos Aros: the Crystal Sky. South of here, in the rolling Ejland downs, the white mountains might almost be a myth, some high-hovering symbol of an ethereal other world. To the dwellers in the Tarn they are a perpetual presence, if still not quite real: they hang at the horizon like a ghostly backdrop, white against the azure intensity of the sky. Even in the season of burning heat they are a reminder that the cold relents only briefly, here in this northernmost of the Kingdoms of El-Orok.

Yet