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The Dragon and the Mountain

Part Two

Gohna, for his own part, was obviously pleased with what he was hearing. He had similar opinions to these men and was considered mad for his dislike of the proud warriors and the tribal spirit that kept his kinsmen safe. Hardly anyone listened to him at all, customarily, except for Visha. To the King’s discomfort she spent far too much time with the blind boy, listening to his ramblings.

Yenahu’s tales became harder for Gohna to relay as he described creations using strange skills and techniques, metalwork that was quite unfamiliar, and powders that caused fire. But hardest of all for the King and his advisors to grasp was the suggestion of foretelling the future with great accuracy. Lomen was used to wild ravings from Drayhus of coming doom, but he was increasingly uncertain of the value of sorcery and definitely convinced it was never a precise art. Here he was faced with an intelligent, articulate man, who did not have any outward signs of the touch of sorcery, who seemed to be warning him of danger yet to come.

“Three waves, I tell you”, said Yenahu “the first a darkness during the day, the second famine, and the third a plague”. Worst of all, he assured the King, there was precious little time to prepare for it. The signs had been seen. They talked at length of ways to deal with this coming disaster, but it sounded almost hopeless.

They had tried to keep their talk to themselves, to avoid spreading panic around the villagers, but somehow Drayhus had heard and was arguing with the guards at the door.

“Oh let him in” said the King wearily “Maybe he can plead our case to the Gods.”

The usually inscrutable Drayhus was excited and angry.

“I have been trying to tell you of this!”

The King rolled his eyes. He was never really sure what Drayhus was trying to tell him. The old man spoke in riddles.

“Drayhus, I think if you had told me of this I would remember.”

“My Lord! Not a Moon has passed since I warned you of darkness, terrible darkness.”

Somewhere in the back of his mind the King DID remember that conversation. Not that he took any notice of it at all at the time. No wonder, it had consisted of arguing with the old fool about what he was teaching the children in the village, and telling him that the time of his Old Ways was over, that something new and forward-looking was called for instead.

“Are you so sure of that my King?” Drayhus had asked.

“As sure as I am that the Sun will rise on the morrow,” said Lomen.

“Then I tell you My Lord, the day will come when the Sun does not rise, not for one morrow or many, and then you shall see why we need the Old Ways!”

Lomen felt distinctly uncomfortable now. His world of reality was coming apart at the seams. He looked across at Gohna, and tried a joke. The situation was absurd anyway.

“Darkness! Then the boy shall be our guide! He lives in perpetual darkness!”

But Gohna wasn’t amused.

“No my Lord, I live in light. It is a confused light, but my eyes open to it just as yours do. I fear this darkness spoken of is far worse than I know of, it is forever night.”

Not understanding the boy’s riddles the King had had enough of this and stormed out of the door for some fresh air. How could it be? Only the superstitious believed in the loss of the Sun. He had no time for such nonsense. It was reliable. It was always there, every dawn. He knew this in his heart. He just wished his heart would stop trying to fight its way right out of his chest.

It was late afternoon. Yenahu asked if his men could join him. They had gifts and more information. There seemed no point in doing otherwise, so the King agreed to their arrival. The village filled with people eager to see these strange visitors, and a feast was quickly put together. The evening was warm, and the bright colors of the strangers clothing and jewelry was more interesting to the ordinary people than any talk of doom. After ale was shared by all, dancing and singing commenced, and the depression that had hung over the Great Hall earlier in the day was temporarily lifted. Only the King sat quietly brooding, hadn’t eaten at all, and finally lost his temper completely when he saw his daughter dancing with Gohna. He called her to him.

“Visha, you are too fond of that boy. I know he is your distant kin, and a good match for you in that, but otherwise - I can NEVER countenance such a match!”

“Father, we were only dancing............”

“But people talk Visha. They see you two together all the time. You are even beginning to talk like him.”

“But Father, he is a good man......”

“A MAN! A man you say? He is a boy! A man proves himself. He can never pass the trials of manhood!”

“Only because he can’t see. He is strong, and fit. I have watched him swing an axe Father, he is as strong as any warrior. But he is a man of peace. I thought you were too?”

She looked at him sadly.

“Would that I could be my dear, but war comes upon us from time to time. And worse than war perhaps. Still maybe you are right. Our warriors will serve us no purpose if the Sun disappears. Alas, I fear for our people Visha. Forgive my mood."

Finding Gohna nowhere Visha danced with a series of villagers, each entranced by her grace and beauty, each wishing to win her heart. But it belonged to only one.

In the hut offered to the visitors for their stay, Gohna was in deep discussion with an old man named Ilhan. What he spoke of was beyond comprehension, but for a young man with ambition it was an irresistible idea. Ilhan told of a crystal-like substance made in a faraway land that when polished like the inside of a seashell could be seen through like still clear water. And yet more, when cut like a gemstone, it could be made to enlarge images magically. Several of these pieces, placed in a hollow bronze tube at angles enabled the sailors to see stars too small to see otherwise. On a cloudy night this made navigation possible. Even distant shores appeared to come closer, what was just a dark shape turned into a building, or even a man! Gohna listened fascinated as Ilhan went on to say that during experiments with these large lentil-shaped pieces of the translucent material, some old men, previously unable to see well, had found they could see as well as in their youth. They were able to work at their crafts once again.

“On your boats. Do they have these implements?” Gohna asked.

“Yes, we have several.”

“Then I yearn to be taken there. I would give my life for just a few seconds to clear my eyes.”

“Tomorrow,” said Ilhan “We have signaled to them already. Tomorrow they will come ashore.”