A Voyage to Arcturus

by David Lindsay

  Chapter 11. ON DISSCOURN

  BY THE TIME that they regained the mouth of the cavern, Blodsombre wasat its height. In front of them the scenery sloped downward—a longsuccession of mountain islands in a sea of clouds. Behind them thebright, stupendous crags of Disscourn loomed up for a thousand feet ormore. Maskull’s eyes were red, and his face looked stupid; he was stillholding the woman by the arm. She made no attempt to speak, or to getaway. She seemed perfectly gentle and composed.

  After gazing at the country for a long time in silence, he turned towardher. “Whereabouts is the fiery lake you spoke of?”

  “It lies on the other side of the mountain. But why do you ask?”

  “It is just as well if we have some way to walk. I shall grow calmer,and that’s what I want. I wish you to understand that what is going tohappen is not a murder, but an execution.”

  “It will taste the same,” said Tydomin.

  “When I have gone out of this country, I don’t wish to feel that I haveleft a demon behind me, wandering at large. That would not be fair toothers. So we will go to the lake, which promises an easy death foryou.”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “We must wait till Blodsombre is over.”

  “Is this a time for luxurious feelings? However hot it is now, we willboth be cool by evening. We must start at once.”

  “Without doubt, you are the master, Maskull.... May I not carryCrimtyphon?”

  Maskull looked at her strangely.

  “I grudge no man his funeral.”

  She painfully hoisted the body on her narrow shoulders, and they steppedout into the sunlight. The heat struck them like a blow on the head.Maskull moved aside, to allow her to precede him, but no compassionentered his heart. He brooded over the wrongs the woman had done him.

  The way went along the south side of the great pyramid, near its base.It was a rough road, clogged with boulders and crossed by cracks andwater gullies; they could see the water, but could not get at it. Therewas no shade. Blisters formed on their skin, while all the water intheir blood seemed to dry up.

  Maskull forgot his own tortures in his devil’s delight at Tydomin’s.“Sing me a song!” he called out presently. “A characteristic one.”

  She turned her head and gave him a long, peculiar look; then, withoutany sort of expostulation, started singing. Her voice was low and weird.The song was so extraordinary that he had to rub his eyes to ascertainwhether he was awake or dreaming. The slow surprises of the grotesquemelody began to agitate him in a horrible fashion; the words were purenonsense—or else their significance was too deep for him.

  “Where, in the name of all unholy things, did you acquire that stuff,woman?”

  Tydomin shed a sickly smile, while the corpse swayed about with ghastlyjerks over her left shoulder. She held it in position with her two leftarms. “It’s a pity we could not have met as friends, Maskull. I couldhave shown you a side of Tormance which now perhaps you will never see.The wild, mad side. But now it’s too late, and it doesn’t matter.”

  They turned the angle of the mountain, and started to traverse thewestern base.

  “Which is the quickest way out of this miserable land?” asked Maskull.

  “It is easiest to go to Sant.”

  “Will we see it from anywhere?”

  “Yes, though it is a long way off.”

  “Have you been there?”

  “I am a woman, and interdicted.”

  “True. I have heard something of the sort.”

  “But don’t ask me any more questions,” said Tydomin, who was becomingfaint.

  Maskull stopped at a little spring. He himself drank, and then made acup of his hand for the woman, so that she might not have to lay downher burden. The gnawl water acted like magic—it seemed to replenish allthe cells of his body as though they had been thirsty sponge pores,sucking up liquid. Tydomin recovered her self-possession.

  About three-quarters of an hour later they worked around the secondcorner, and entered into full view of the north aspect of Disscourn.

  A hundred yards lower down the slope on which they were walking, themountain ended abruptly in a chasm. The air above it was filled with asort of green haze, which trembled violently like the atmosphereimmediately over a furnace.

  “The lake is underneath,” said Tydomin.

  Maskull looked curiously about him. Beyond the crater the country slopedaway in a continuous descent to the skyline. Behind them, a narrow pathchannelled its way up through the rocks toward the towering summit ofthe pyramid. Miles away, in the north-east quarter, a long, flat-toppedplateau raised its head far above all the surrounding country. It wasSant—and there and then he made up his mind that that should be hisdestination that day.

  Tydomin meanwhile had walked straight to the gulf, and set downCrimtyphon’s body on the edge. In a minute or two, Maskull joined her;arrived at the brink, he immediately flung himself at full length on hischest, to see what could be seen of the lake of fire. A gust of hot,asphyxiating air smote his face and set him coughing, but he did not getup until he had stared his fill at the huge sea of green, molten lava,tossing and swirling at no great distance below, like a living will.

  A faint sound of drumming came up. He listened intently, and as he didso his heart quickened and the black cares rolled away from his soul.All the world and its accidents seemed at that moment false, and withoutmeaning....

  He climbed abstractedly to his feet. Tydomin was talking to her deadhusband. She was peering into the hideous face of ivory, and fondlinghis violet hair. When she perceived Maskull, she hastily kissed thewithered lips, and got up from her knees. Lifting the corpse with allthree arms, she staggered with it to the extreme edge of the gulf and,after an instant’s hesitation, allowed it to drop into the lava. Itdisappeared immediately without sound; a metallic splash came up. Thatwas Crimtyphon’s funeral.

  “Now I am ready, Maskull.”

  He did not answer, but stared past her. Another figure was standing,erect and mournful, not far behind her. It was Joiwind. Her face waswan, and there was an accusing look in her eyes. Maskull knew that itwas a phantasm, and that the real Joiwind was miles away, atPoolingdred.

  “Turn around, Tydomin,” he said oddly, “and tell me what you see behindyou.”

  “I don’t see anything,” she answered, looking around.

  “But I see Joiwind.”

  Just as he was speaking, the apparition vanished.

  “Now I present you with your life, Tydomin. She wishes it.”

  The woman fingered her chin thoughtfully.

  “I little expected I should ever be beholden for my life to one of myown sex—but so be it. What really happened to you in my cavern?”

  “I really saw Krag.”

  “Yes, some miracle must have taken place.” She suddenly shivered. “Come,let us leave this horrible spot. I shall never come here again.”

  “Yes,” said Maskull, “it stinks of death and dying. But where are we togo—what are we to do? Take me to Sant. I must get away from this hellishland.”

  Tydomin remained standing, dull and hollow-eyed. Then she gave anabrupt, bitter little laugh. “We make our journey together in singularstages. Rather than be alone, I’ll come with you—but you know that if Iset foot in Sant they will kill me.”

  “At least set me on the way. I wish to get there before night. Is itpossible?”

  “If you are willing to take risks with nature. And why should you nottake risks today? Your luck holds. But someday or other it won’thold—your luck.”

  “Let us start,” said Maskull. “The luck I’ve had so far is nothing tobrag about.”

  Blodsombre was over when they set off; it was early afternoon, but theheat seemed more stifling than ever. They made no more pretence atconversation; both were buried in their own painful thoughts. The landfell away from Disscourn in all other directions, but toward Sant therewas a gentle, persistent rise. Its dark, distant plateau continued todominate the landscape, and after walking for an
hour they seemed nonethe nearer to it. The air was stale and stagnant.

  By and by, an upright object, apparently the work of man, attractedMaskull’s notice. It was a slender tree stem, with the bark still on,imbedded in the stony ground. From the upper end three branches sprangout, pointing aloft at a sharp angle. They were stripped to twigs andleaves and, getting closer, he saw that they had been artificiallyfastened on, at equal distances from each other.

  As he stared at the object, a strange, sudden flush of confident vanityand self-sufficiency seemed to pass through him, but it was so momentarythat he could be sure of nothing.

  “What may that be, Tydomin?”

  “It is Hator’s Trifork.”

  “And what is its purpose?”

  “It’s a guide to Sant.”

  “But who or what is Hator?”

  “Hator was the founder of Sant—many thousands of years ago. He laid downthe principles they all live by, and that trifork is his symbol. When Iwas a little child my father told me the legends, but I’ve forgottenmost of them.”

  Maskull regarded it attentively.

  “Does it affect you in any way?”

  “And why should it do that?” she said, dropping her lip scornfully. “Iam only a woman, and these are masculine mysteries.”

  “A sort of gladness came over me,” said Maskull, “but perhaps I ammistaken.”

  They passed on. The scenery gradually changed in character. The solidparts of the land grew more continuous, the fissures became narrower andmore infrequent. There were now no more subsidences or upheavals. Thepeculiar nature of the Ifdawn Marest appeared to be giving place to adifferent order of things.

  Later on, they encountered a flock of pale blue jellies floating in theair. They were miniature animals. Tydomin caught one in her hand andbegan to eat it, just as one eats a luscious pear plucked from a tree.Maskull, who had fasted since early morning, was not slow in followingher example. A sort of electric vigour at once entered his limbs andbody, his muscles regained their elasticity, his heart began to beatwith hard, slow, strong throbs.

  “Food and body seem to agree well in this world,” he remarked smiling.

  She glanced toward him. “Perhaps the explanation is not in the food, butin your body.”

  “I brought my body with me.”

  “You brought your soul with you, but that’s altering fast, too.”

  In a copse they came across a short, wide tree, without leaves, butpossessing a multitude of thin, flexible branches, like the tentacles ofa cuttlefish. Some of these branches were moving rapidly. A furryanimal, somewhat resembling a wildcat, leaped about among them in themost extraordinary way. But the next minute Maskull was shocked torealise that the beast was not leaping at all, but was being thrown frombranch to branch by the volition of the tree, exactly as an imprisonedmouse is thrown by a cat from paw to paw.

  He watched the spectacle a while with morbid interest.

  “That’s a gruesome reversal of rôles, Tydomin.”

  “One can see you’re disgusted,” she replied, stifling a yawn. “But thatis because you are a slave to words. If you called that plant an animal,you would find its occupation perfectly natural and pleasing. And whyshould you not call it an animal?”

  “I am quite aware that, as long as I remain in the Ifdawn Marest, Ishall go on listening to this sort of language.”

  They trudged along for an hour or more without talking. The day becameovercast. A thin mist began to shroud the landscape, and the sun changedinto an immense ruddy disk which could be stared at without flinching. Achill, damp wind blew against them. Presently it grew still darker, thesun disappeared and, glancing first at his companion and then athimself, Maskull noticed that their skin and clothing were coated by akind of green hoarfrost.

  The land was now completely solid. About half a mile, in front of them,against a background of dark fog, a moving forest of tall waterspoutsgyrated slowly and gracefully hither and thither. They were green andself-luminous, and looked terrifying. Tydomin explained that they werenot waterspouts at all, but mobile columns of lightning.

  “Then they are dangerous?”

  “So we think,” she answered, watching them closely.

  “Someone is wandering there who appears to have a different opinion.”

  Among the spouts, and entirely encompassed by them, a man was walkingwith a slow, calm, composed gait, his back turned toward Maskull andTydomin. There was something unusual in his appearance—his form lookedextraordinarily distinct, solid, and real.

  “If there’s danger, he ought to be warned,” said Maskull.

  “He who is always anxious to teach will learn nothing,” returned thewoman coolly. She restrained Maskull by a pressure of the arm, andcontinued to watch.

  The base of one of the columns touched the man. He remained unharmed,but turned sharply around, as if for the first time made aware of theproximity of these deadly waltzers. Then he raised himself to his fullheight, and stretched both arms aloft above his head, like a diver. Heseemed to be addressing the columns.

  While they looked on, the electric spouts discharged themselves, with aseries of loud explosions. The stranger stood alone, uninjured. Hedropped his arms. The next moment he caught sight of the two, and stoodstill, waiting for them to come up. The pictorial clarity of his persongrew more and more noticeable as they approached; his body seemed to becomposed of some substance heavier and denser than solid matter.

  Tydomin looked perplexed.

  “He must be a Sant man. I have seen no one quite like him before. Thisis a day of days for me.”

  “He must be an individual of great importance,” murmured Maskull.

  They now came up to him. He was tall, strong, and bearded, and wasclothed in a shirt and breeches of skin. Since turning his back to thewind, the green deposit on his face and limbs had changed to streamingmoisture, through which his natural colour was visible; it was that ofpale iron. There was no third arm. His face was harsh and frowning, anda projecting chin pushed the beard forward. On his forehead there weretwo flat membranes, like rudimentary eyes, but no sorb. These membraneswere expressionless, but in some strange way seemed to add vigour to thestern eyes underneath. When his glance rested on Maskull, the latterfelt as though his brain were being thoroughly travelled through. Theman was middle-aged.

  His physical distinctness transcended nature. By contrast with him,every object in the neighbourhood looked vague and blurred. Tydomin’sperson suddenly appeared faint, sketch-like, without significance, andMaskull realised that it was no better with himself. A queer, quickeningfire began running through his veins.

  He turned to the woman. “If this man is going to Sant, I shall bear himcompany. We can now part. No doubt you will think it high time.”

  “Let Tydomin come too.”

  The words were delivered in a rough, foreign tongue, but were asintelligible to Maskull as if spoken in English.

  “You who know my name, also know my sex,” said Tydomin quietly. “It isdeath for me to enter Sant.”

  “That is the old law. I am the bearer of the new law.”

  “Is it so—and will it be accepted?”

  “The old skin is cracking, the new skin has been silently formingunderneath, the moment of sloughing has arrived.”

  The storm gathered. The green snow drove against them, as they stoodtalking, and it grew intensely cold. None noticed it.

  “What is your name?” asked Maskull, with a beating heart.

  “My name, Maskull, is Spadevil. You, a voyager across the dark ocean ofspace, shall be my first witness and follower. You, Tydomin, a daughterof the despised sex, shall be my second.”

  “The new law? But what is it?”

  “Until eye sees, of what use it is for ear to hear?.... Come, both ofyou, to me!”

  Tydomin went to him unhesitatingly. Spadevil pressed his hand on hersorb and kept it there for a few minutes, while he closed his own eyes.When he removed it, Maskull observed that the sorb was transform
ed intotwin membranes like Spadevil’s own.

  Tydomin looked dazed. She glanced quietly about for a little while,apparently testing her new faculty. Then the tears started to her eyesand, snatching up Spadevil’s hand, she bent over and kissed it hurriedlymany times.

  “My past has been bad,” she said. “Numbers have received harm from me,and none good. I have killed—and worse. But now I can throw all thataway, and laugh. Nothing can now injure me. Oh, Maskull, you and I havebeen fools together!”

  “Don’t you repent your crimes?” asked Maskull.

  “Leave the past alone,” said Spadevil, “it cannot be reshaped. Thefuture alone is ours. It starts fresh and clean from this very minute.Why do you hesitate, Maskull? Are you afraid?”

  “What is the name of those organs, and what is their function?”

  “They are probes, and they are the gates opening into a new world.”

  Maskull lingered no longer, but permitted Spadevil to cover his sorb.

  While the iron hand was still pressing his forehead, the new law quietlyflowed into his consciousness, like a smooth-running stream of cleanwater which had hitherto been dammed by his obstructive will. The lawwas duty.