Time and the Gods

by Lord Dunsany

  THE COMING OF THE SEA

  Once there was no sea, and the gods went walking over the green plainsof earth.

  Upon an evening of the forgotten years the gods were seated on thehills, and all the little rivers of the world lay coiled at Their feetasleep, when Slid, the new god, striding through the stars, camesuddenly upon earth lying in a corner of space. And behind Slid theremarched a million waves, all following Slid and tramping up thetwilight; and Slid touched Earth in one of her great green valleys thatdivide the south, and here he encamped for the night with all his wavesabout him. But to the gods as They sat upon Their hilltops a new crycame crying over the green spaces that lay below the hills, and thegods said:

  "This is neither the cry of life nor yet the whisper of death. What isthis new cry that the gods have never commanded, yet which comes to theears of the gods?"

  And the gods together shouting made the cry of the south, calling thesouth wind to them. And again the gods shouted all together making thecry of the north, calling the north wind to Them; and thus Theygathered to Them all Their winds and sent these four down into the lowplains to find what thing it was that called with the new cry, and todrive it away from the gods.

  Then all the winds harnessed up their clouds and drave forth till theycame to the great green valley that divides the south in twain, andthere found Slid with all his waves about him. Then for a space Slidand the four winds struggled with one another till the strength of thewinds was gone, and they limped back to the gods, their masters, andsaid:

  "We have met this new thing that has come upon the earth and havestriven against its armies, but could not drive them forth; and the newthing is beautiful but very angry, and is creeping towards the gods."

  But Slid advanced and led his armies up the valley, and inch by inchand mile by mile he conquered the lands of the gods. Then from Theirhills the gods sent down a great array of cliffs against hard, redrocks, and bade them march against Slid. And the cliffs marched downtill they came and stood before Slid and leaned their heads forward andfrowned and stood staunch to guard the lands of the gods against themight of the sea, shutting Slid off from the world. Then Slid sent someof his smaller waves to search out what stood against him, and thecliffs shattered them. But Slid went back and gathered together a hoardof his greatest waves and hurled them against the cliffs, and thecliffs shattered them. And again Slid called up out of his deep amighty array of waves and sent them roaring against the guardians ofthe gods, and the red rocks frowned and smote them. And once again Slidgathered his greater waves and hurled them against the cliffs; and whenthe waves were scattered like those before them the feet of the cliffswere no longer standing firm, and their faces were scarred andbattered. Then into every cleft that stood in the rocks Slid sent hishugest wave and others followed behind it, and Slid himself seized holdof huge rocks with his claws and tore them down and stamped them underhis feet. And when the tumult was over the sea had won, and over thebroken remnants of those red cliffs the armies of Slid marched on andup the long green valley.

  Then the gods heard Slid exulting far away and singing songs of triumphover Their battered cliffs, and ever the tramp of his armies soundednearer and nearer in the listening ears of the gods.

  Then the gods called to Their downlands to save Their world from Slid,and the downlands gathered themselves and marched away, a great whiteline of gleaming cliffs, and halted before Slid. Then Slid advanced nomore and lulled his legions, and while his waves were low he softlycrooned a song such as once long ago had troubled the stars and broughtdown tears out of the twilight.

  Sternly the white cliffs stood on guard to save the world of the gods,but the song that once had troubled the stars went moaning on awakingpent desires, till full at the feet of the gods the melody fell. Thenthe blue rivers that lay curled asleep opened their gleaming eyes,uncurled themselves and shook their rushes, and, making a stir amongthe hills, crept down to find the sea. And passing across the worldthey came at last to where the white cliffs stood, and, coming behindthem, split them here and there and went through their broken ranks toSlid at last. And the gods were angry with Their traitorous streams.

  Then Slid ceased from singing the song that lures the world, andgathered up his legions, and the rivers lifted up their heads with thewaves, and all went marching on to assail the cliffs of the gods. Andwherever the rivers had broken the ranks of the cliffs, Slid's armieswent surging in and broke them up into islands and shattered theislands away. And the gods on Their hill-tops heard once more the voiceof Slid exulting over Their cliffs.

  Already more than half the world lay subject to Slid, and still hisarmies advanced; and the people of Slid, the fishes and the long eels,went in and out of arbours that once were dear to the gods. Then thegods feared for Their dominion, and to the innermost sacred recesses ofthe mountains, to the very heart of the hills, the gods trooped offtogether and there found Tintaggon, a mountain of black marble, staringfar over the earth, and spake thus to him with the voices of the gods:

  "O eldest born of our mountains, when first we devised the earth wemade thee, and thereafter fashioned fields and hollows, valleys andother hills, to lie about thy feet. And now, Tintaggon, thine ancientlords, the gods, are facing a new thing which overthrows the old. Gotherefore, thou, Tintaggon, and stand up against Slid, that the gods bestill the gods and the earth still green."

  And hearing the voices of his sires, the elder gods, Tintaggon strodedown through the evening, leaving a wake of twilight broad behind himas he strode: and going across the green earth came down to Ambrady atthe valley's edge, and there met the foremost of Slid's fierce armiesconquering the world.

  And against him Slid hurled the force of a whole bay, which lasheditself high over Tintaggon's knees and streamed around his flanks andthen fell and was lost. Tintaggon still stood firm for the honour anddominion of his lords, the elder gods. Then Slid went to Tintaggon andsaid: "Let us now make a truce. Stand thou back from Ambrady and let mepass through thy ranks that mine armies may now pass up the valleywhich opens on the world, that the green earth that dreams around thefeet of older gods shall know the new god Slid. Then shall mine armiesstrive with thee no more, and thou and I shall be the equal lords ofthe whole earth when all the world is singing the chaunt of Slid, andthy head alone shall be lifted above mine armies when rival hills aredead. And I will deck thee with all the robes of the sea, and all theplunder that I have taken in rare cities shall be piled before thyfeet. Tintaggon, I have conquered all the stars, my song swells throughall the space besides, I come victorious from Mahn and Khanagat on thefurthest edge of the worlds, and thou and I are to be equal lords whenthe old gods are gone and the green earth knoweth Slid. Behold megleaming azure and fair with a thousand smiles, and swayed by athousand moods." And Tintaggon answered: "I am staunch and black andhave one mood, and this--to defend my masters and their green earth."

  Then Slid went backward growling and summoned together the waves of awhole sea and sent them singing full in Tintaggon's face. Then fromTintaggon's marble front the sea fell backwards crying on to a brokenshore, and ripple by ripple straggled back to Slid saying: "Tintaggonstands."

  Far out beyond the battered shore that lay at Tintaggon's feet Slidrested long and sent the nautilus to drift up and down beforeTintaggon's eyes, and he and his armies sat singing idle songs ofdreamy islands far away to the south, and of the still stars whencethey had stolen forth, of twilight evenings and of long ago. StillTintaggon stood with his feet planted fair upon the valley's edgedefending the gods and Their green earth against the sea.

  And all the while that Slid sang his songs and played with the nautilusthat sailed up and down he gathered his oceans together. One morning asSlid sang of old outrageous wars and of most enchanting peace and ofdreamy islands and the south wind and the sun, he suddenly launchedfive oceans out of the deep all to attack Tintaggon. And the five oceanssprang upon Tintaggon and passed above his head. One by one the grip ofthe oceans loosened, one by one they fell back in
to the deep and stillTintaggon stood, and on that morning the might of all five oceans laydead at Tintaggon's feet. That which Slid had conquered he still held,and there is now no longer a great green valley in the south, but allthat Tintaggon had guarded against Slid he gave back to the gods. Verycalm the sea lies now about Tintaggon's feet, where he stands all blackamid crumbled cliffs of white, with red rocks piled about his feet. Andoften the sea retreats far out along the shore, and often wave by wavecomes marching in with the sound of the tramping of armies, that all maystill remember the great fight that surged about Tintaggon once, when heguarded the gods and the green earth against Slid.

  Sometimes in their dreams the war-scarred warriors of Slid still lifttheir heads and cry their battle cry; then do dark clouds gather aboutTintaggon's swarthy brow and he stands out menacing, seen afar byships, where once he conquered Slid. And the gods know well that whileTintaggon stands They and Their world are safe; and whether Slid shallone day smite Tintaggon is hidden among the secrets of the sea.