Time and the Gods

by Lord Dunsany

  THE CAVE OF KAI

  The pomp of crowning was ended, the rejoicings had died away, andKhanazar, the new King, sat in the seat of the Kings of Averon to dohis work upon the destinies of men. His uncle, Khanazar the Lone, haddied, and he had come from a far castle to the south, with a greatprocession, to Ilaun, the citadel of Averon; and there they had crownedhim King of Averon and of the mountains, and Lord, if there be aughtbeyond those mountains, of all such lands as are. But now the pomp ofthe crowning was gone away and Khanazar sat afar off from his home, avery mighty King.

  Then the King grew weary of the destinies of Averon and weary of themaking of commands. So Khanazar sent heralds through all cities saying:

  "Hear! The will of the King! Hear! The will of the King of Averon andof the mountains and Lord, if there be aught beyond those mountains, ofall such lands as are. Let there come together to Ilaun all such ashave an art in secret matters. Hear!"

  And there gathered together to Ilaun the wise men of all the degrees ofmagic, even to the seventh, who had made spells before Khanazar theLone; and they came before the new King in his palace placing theirhands upon his feet. Then said the King to the magicians:

  "I have a need."

  And they answered:

  "The earth touches the feet of the King in token of submission."

  But the King answered:

  "My need is not of the earth; but I would find certain of the hoursthat have been, and sundry days that were."

  And all the wise folks were silent, till there spake out mournfully thewisest of them all, who made spells in the seventh degree, saying:

  "The days that were, and the hours, have winged their way to MountAgdora's summit, and there, dipping, have passed away from sight, notever to return, for haply they have not heard the King's command."

  Of these wise folks are many things chronicled. Moreover, it is set inwriting of the scribes how they had audience of King Khanazar and ofthe words they spake, but of their further deeds there is no legend.But it is told how the King sent men to run and pass through all thecities till they should find one that was wiser even than the magiciansthat had made spells before Khanazar the Lone. Far up the mountainsthat limit Averon they found Syrahn, the prophet, among the goats, whowas of none of the degrees of magic, and who had cast no spells beforethe former King. Him they brought to Khanazar, and the King said untohim:

  "I have a need."

  And Syrahn answered:

  "Thou art a man."

  And the King said:

  "Where lie the days that were and certain hours?"

  And Syrahn answered:

  "These things lie in a cave afar from here, and over the cave standssentinel one Kai, and this cave Kai hath guarded from the gods and mensince ever the Beginning was made. It may be that he shall let Khanazarpass by."

  Then the King gathered elephants and camels that carried burdens ofgold, and trusty servants that carried precious gems, and gathered anarmy to go before him and an army to follow behind, and sent outhorsemen to warn the dwellers of the plains that the King of Averon wasafoot.

  And he bade Syrahn to lead to that place where the days of old lie hidand all forgotten hours.

  Across the plain and up Mount Agdora, and dipping beyond its summitwent Khanazar the King, and his two armies who followed Syrahn. Eighttimes the purple tent with golden border had been pitched for the Kingof Averon, and eight times it had been struck ere the King and theKing's armies came to a dark cave in a valley dark, where Kai stoodguard over the days that were. And the face of Kai was as a warriorthat vanquisheth cities and burdeneth himself not with captives, andhis form was as the forms of gods, but his eyes were the eyes ofbeasts; before whom came the King of Averon with elephants and camelsbearing burdens of gold, and trusty servants carrying precious gems.

  Then said the King:

  "Yonder behold my gifts. Give back to me my yesterday with its wavingbanners, my yesterday with its music and blue sky and all its cheeringcrowds that made me King, the yesterday that sailed with gleaming wingsover my Averon."

  And Kai answered, pointing to his cave:

  "Thither, dishonoured and forgot, thy yesterday slunk away. And whoamid the dusty heap of the forgotten days shall grovel to find thyyesterday?"

  Then answered the King of Averon and of the mountains and Lord, ifthere be aught beyond them, of all such lands as are:

  "I will go down on my knees in yon dark cave and search with my handsamid the dust, if so I may find my yesterday again and certain hoursthat are gone."

  And the King pointed to his piles of gold that stood where elephantswere met together, and beyond them to the scornful camels. And Kaianswered:

  "The gods have offered me the gleaming worlds and all as far as theRim, and whatever lies beyond it as far as the gods may see--and thoucomest to me with elephants and camels."

  Then said the King:

  "Across the orchards of my home there hath passed one hour whereof thouknowest well, and I pray to thee, who wilt take no gifts borne uponelephants or camels, to give me of thy mercy one second back, one grainof dust that clings to that hour in the heap that lies within thycave."

  And, at the word mercy, Kai laughed. And the King turned his armies tothe east. Therefore the armies returned to Averon and the heraldsbefore them cried:

  "Here cometh Khanazar, King of Averon and of the mountains and Lord, ifthere be aught beyond those mountains, of all such lands as are."

  And the King said to them:

  "Say rather that here comes one greatly wearied who, havingaccomplished nought, returneth from a quest forlorn."

  So the King came again to Averon.

  But it is told how there came into Ilaun one evening as the sun wassetting a harper with a golden harp desiring audience of the King.

  And it is told how men led him to Khanazar, who sat frowning alone uponhis throne, to whom said the harper:

  "I have a golden harp; and to its strings have clung like dust someseconds out of the forgotten hours and little happenings of the daysthat were."

  And Khanazar looked up and the harper touched the strings, and the oldforgotten things were stirring again, and there arose a sound of songsthat had passed away and long since voices. Then when the harper sawthat Khanazar looked not angrily upon him his fingers tramped over thechords as the gods tramp down the sky, and out of the golden harp arosea haze of memories; and the King leaning forward and staring before himsaw in the haze no more his palace walls, but saw a valley with astream that wandered through it, and woods upon either hill, and an oldcastle standing lonely to the south. And the harper, seeing a strangelook upon the face of Khanazar, said:

  "Is the King pleased who lords it over Averon and the mountains, and,if there be aught beyond them, over all such lands as are?"

  And the King said:--

  "Seeing that I am a child again in a valley to the south, how may I saywhat may be the will of the great King?"

  When the stars shone high over Ilaun and still the King sat staringstraight before him, all the courtiers drew away from the great palace,save one that stayed and kept one taper burning, and with them went theharper.

  And when the dawn came up through silent archways into the marblepalace, making the taper pale, the King still stared before him, andstill he sat there when the stars shone again clearly and high aboveIlaun.

  But on the second morning the King arose and sent for the harper andsaid to him:--

  "I am King again, and thou that hast a skill to stay the hours and mayestmay bring again to men their forgotten days, thou shalt stand sentinelover my great to-morrow; and when I go forth to conquer Ziman-ho andmake my armies mighty thou shalt stand between that morrow and the caveof Kai, and haply some deed of mine and the battling of my armies shallcling to thy golden harp and not go down dishonoured into the cave. Formy to-morrow, who with such resounding stride goes trampling through mydreams, is far too kingly to herd with forgotten days in the dust ofthings that were. But on some future day, when Ki
ngs are dead and alltheir deeds forgotten, some harper of that time shall come and from thosegolden strings awake those deeds that echo in my dreams, till my to-morrowshall stride forth among the lesser days and tell the years that Khanazarwas a King."

  And answered the harper:

  "I will stand sentinel over thy great to-morrow, and when thou goestforth to conquer Ziman-ho and make thine armies mighty I will standbetween thy morrow and the cave of Kai, till thy deeds and the battlingof thine armies shall cling to my golden harp and not go downdishonoured into the cave. So that when Kings are dead and all theirdeeds forgotten the harpers of the future time shall awake from thesegolden chords those deeds of thine. This will I do."

  Men of these days, that be skilled upon the harp, tell still ofKhanazar, how that he was King of Averon and of the mountains, andclaimed lordship of certain lands beyond, and how he went with armiesagainst Ziman-ho and fought great battles, and in the last gainedvictory and was slain. But Kai, as he waited with his claws to gatherin the last days of Khanazar that they might loom enormous in his cave,still found them not, and only gathered in some meaner deeds and thedays and hours of lesser men, and was vexed by the shadow of a harperthat stood between him and the world.