my men was in sum gladness when they hierde this and was ascan me what will we do who will we tac. well i wolde not sae mor at that time for in triethwe the words was dry so all i saed was we will hunt a man a great man we will mac the bastard ingenga duc himself teorn his eages to us in fear. saen this then i colde not sae mor and i did not cnaw why i had saed any thing or what wolde cum from it. but by this time i had gifen my self to the gods to weland to my wyrd i was walcan paths laid down for me and when the words cum i moste spec them
but i seen on this mergen that the dream of aelfgifu ascd sum thing of me and that i moste gif a good answer. it seemed to me that i moste go to the eald hus again and it seemed then that this was why i had cum baec though i had walced here cnawan naht. i had spoc to odelyn at her graef and now to aelfgifu in the deorc world and now i most go in my lytel boat to the eald deop treows. though it is not seen by men there is a way to this world and sum times it can be seen as the sunne can be seen through cloud and then the eages for a lytel time is blind again
this colde be why i did not go alone this time this colde be why i toc tofe. i wolde nefer haf thought before to tac any other to the eald hus or to the treows but on this mergen with aelfgifu thynne and graeg still in my heorte and with my worc hefig on me i did so. to myself i saed that this cilde neded to see of what i spac for the eald gods was moccd by so many folcs now that their men moste gif their tales to the yonge so that the hus wolde not be forgot in the cuman deorc times when ingenga cyngs and biscops wolde together mac angland their poppet
so i telt tofe to cum with me from the fyr and he cum gladly for he was blithe about what we wolde do. i had gan locan in the fenn and i had found my eald boat there still tied with line though full of water and weods and i had clened it and it was not holed. i telt tofe to cum with me to my boat and i macd him tac the ars and row in to the fenn what on this mergen was loud with fugols and wyrmfleages as if no war had efer cum to this land. tofe saed lytel at the start but after sum time of rowan he spac
buccmaster he saes where is we goan
thu will see
is it far
far enough
well he saed naht mor then only rowed as i telt him to with his yonge mans strength until we had got to the place i wolde cum to. as i cum through the yeolo secg to the mere of the eald treows i felt a great thing i felt lic i sceolde be here that this was my place that i was wel cum baec that they had been waitan
thu has cum
now i seen why
it is past time
but i is here
thu brings the cilde
i will tell him of the eald hus
he is not of this place
i needs a son
thu needs strength
stronger i is now stronger than efer
strong men is needed for the hunt
the hunt
spec to them
i will
spec and hiere thy wyrd
tofe cilde i saes we is here stop rowan. tofe does so and locs at me as the lytel boat sits roccan in the still mere
what is this place buccmaster he saes to me
it is the eald hus cilde i saes
the eald hus
the hus of the eald gods cilde the place of the treows i has telt thu of this place before. tofe then his eages growan big as he locs at me
eald gods he saes lic he is afeart
loc in to the water cilde i saes loc down. tofe does so and as i did when a cilde he seen the treows
do not be afeart cilde i saes i has telt thu of this. and i telt him then as we sat in the boat all that my grandfather had telt me when a cilde. i spoc of woden of thunor of ing of balder and frigg of what the preosts done and of the cuman baec we awaited the cuman baec what wolde cum when angland was triewe and in need
when i has stopped talcan tofe locs at me and then again ofer the boat in to the water where the great blaec stoccs colde be seen deop under the mere
this is a fearful place he saes
no i saes not fearful all men here feels as they sceolde feel when in the hall of a great ealdor. they is here they is still here they is locan at us tofe and they is waitan for us to be waecened. hope for angland now is not in fyrds in eorfic or ingenga cyngs it is under this mere cilde in these treows
tofe saes naht only cepes locan down
what will we do here buccmaster he saes
i has cum to asc them the way
the way
i moste haf stillness cilde i saes stillness now. i colde not stand and spec to the gods with the cilde there so instead i moste be still. in the boat then roccan slow on the mere in the mergen sunne i closed my eages and i spoc to them that only i colde hiere
we gan huntan i saes huntan for angland
i has cum to asc thu
who sceall be hunted
who sceall be hunted
and as i satt then in the boat roccan on the water all the sounds of the mere they cum baec to me as one. the wind the fugols the wyrmfleages the mofan of the secg and the water on it all of them cum together for me and i hierde them then i hierde the gods spec through the world itself i hierde the words they gaf to me in the specan of the wilde and the words was clere as ys in a winter well
the crist
the crist
the crist
blaec water blaec and deop and naht mofan. night time the mona full the secg still the ule callan the fenns is still this night there is no sound in no place but the ule far from here far in another world
the mere is deop and wid and from this strand can be seen an ealond blaec in the night hwit undor the mona. the ealond is long and on it a great hus of stan lic a castel but not a castel for there is a cross on it this is a hus of the crist an abbodrice. around this abbodrice a wall and around this wall a mere and no way out
the mona has risen it is high and hwit only now to loc at it seems it is sum other thing also for the mona is becuman sum thing else. it is becuman a heafodpanne it is red now red lic blud ofer the abbodrice and now the mere the stan of the hus of the crist the secg all is red and still no sound in all the world only the fenn growan deorc under the heofon the waters growan red and men all ofer angland mofan to this place to stand for the last time as men of their cynn
well what to do with this what to do. when the gods specs a man moste lysten but they specs as in the raedels of a gleoman or the song of a fugol. my men is by the fyr in the aesc of my hus waitan for me to lead them in the huntan of a great ingenga waitan for the eages of the bastard duc to teorn on us in the fenns and see our great strength at last but raedels is all i has to follow
so micel to thinc of and my mind deorc all deorc all deop lic the mere of the gods. cuman baec on the boat to the secg by my hus with tofe rowan and the lytel boat mofan under me i was thincan of the last time i left this place when i was a yonge man when i was sent away i was thincan of how deorc things was then also and how deorc my mind
well i tried to tac my grandfathers bodig i tried to put him in the boat to send him in fyr to the gods well i seen now i is a man that this was a dumb thing to do but i colde not let my esol father gif my grandfathers bodig to the preosts. but to the preosts he went for i colde do naht and my father my dumb father he beat me beat me so hard i colde not thinc my own father nefer wolde i thinc this of him efen of him
in the mergen after in the dawn my father cum to me with a sacc and in this sacc was sum loafs sum ealu a scramasax sum clothes and shoes a fyr stan and sum other things. well in the night he had left me on the ground bledan and breathan and he had toc my grandfathers bodig and put it baec on the bier and put the blosms baec on it so that all was the same and he had not saed one word to me
now he cums to me in the light of the daeg and he gifs me this sacc
son he saes these is thy things today thu will be goan from this hus. thu has broc all things here now and thu is wel cum no mor
father
thu is a man now son thy lif is thine thu is my son no mor. thu has bro
ught sceomu on me lic thy grandfather before thu and i has telt thu son i has telt thu there will be no mor of this no mor in this hus. on my death this hus and land will be thine for thu is the only son of mine what lifs. but after this daeg i will not loc upon thu again in this world
well my father was dumb an esol a scucca for all that he done but i was a cilde and he was my father and on this daeg my heorte was broc. aelfgifu she ascd my father so many times not to do this not to send me away but he wolde not hiere her and put her in fear so that she saed no mor. on the land then we stood and i gripped her and she me and there was tears efen from me for i was a cilde and not yet strong as i wolde becum
brothor she saes
aelfgifu
i wolde cum with thu but
i will go alone i is man now mor man than him
he may cum to sum other thincan he may thinc again thu colde cum baec in sum lytel time when our grandfather is in his graef it colde be that our father will wel cum thu
i will not wel cum him
brothor
i will not and when i sees him again he will be on his bier with blosms on him and i will send him on a fuccan boat in to the mere and i will fyr that boat with blitheness and the gods will see how angland has been sold
aelfgifu she saes naht only mofs her head with tears cuman from her eages
aelfgifu my sistor i will cum baec for thu
brothor
i go now i go in to the fenns i go to lif in other parts and when thu sees me again sistor i will be ealdor of this land
well i colde say no mor i colde stay no mor i wolde weep i was still a cilde and though i had becum a man this daeg to leaf aelfgifu was a hard thing my sistor my dear sistor my luf and
i gan then i teorned and i i walced the path that toc me in to the holt. i toc the sacc from my father and all other things i left behind not cnawan if i wolde efer see them again. all was blaec in my mind and in my heorte but in the heofon was sum thing that wolde cum for me in time and bring me to what i wolde be
tofe and i cum up to the secg and gan from the boat in to the water. i hid the lytel boat what was so eald now i hid it in the secg for i did not cnaw if i wolde be baec here and we gan baec to the fyr on my land to find my men
well we colde see before we got to them that they was not alone. we had left aelfgar and siward and godric only by the fyr but we colde see now that there was two other folcs with them and they not frenc they was specan lic all was well lic they was freonds and when i gan near i seen them and they seen me
it was one man and one wifman and to see both of them it was lic a strael in me
buccmaster saes the man and he stands as i walcs to the fyr
thu
buccmaster what was saed will not be saed again
i will cwell thu esol go from this place now
it is my place also
why is thu here grimcell
why is thu
we has cum baec to my lands we has worc to do in the fenns
we has cum here also for we had no other place to go and we wolde see what had becum of our ham. we did not cnaw thu wolde be here
now i locs at the wifman who is with him and i cnawan her i had cnawan her when i seen her from far off
buccmaster of holland she saes to me she does not smerc only locs at me lic she is ascan sum thing. it is annis the gebur of my dead wifman i had thought her gan in the fyr
annis i saes why is thu with this man
i will tell thu this saes grimcell and i will tell thu what has becum of the fyrd of the north and the eorls if thu will hiere it
all i will hiere from thu is scit i saes
cum now saes aelfgar who stands now also. we has all spoc hard things for these is hard times but we is all anglisc folcs agan the bastard can we not sitt and spec
i locs hard then at grimcell and at annis. then i saes spec then spec for we wolde cnaw the tidans but if there is any words of ire or any scit spoc about the eald hus or buccmaster and his cynn there will be blud
by the fyr then we sits and we eats loafs and tofe who seems blithe to see grimcell again saes to him so tell us tell grimcell what has been. has thu been with the fyrd of the north has thu been feohtan
grimcell then he bites from a loaf and he eats slow and then he specs
i gan from the brunnesweald he saes not locan at me and i gan to earninga straet and i gan north. on the straet i found other men who also was gan to eorfic for we had all hierde about the eorls and the fyrd and we was thincan we wolde be in a great war agan the frenc and we wolde haf our blud for the blud of our cynn and cyng at sanlac and angland wolde be anglisc again
well we walced for two daegs on this straet but we did not get to eorfic for soon we seen men cuman south and they was in fear and ire. when we spac to them they saed they had cum from eorfic and that the fyrd of the north was gan for the men had run there had been no feohtan
what cum saes godric
a fyrd cum together saes grimcell in eorfic with edwin and morcar and cyng malcolm of the scots and sum wealsc folcs and many anglisc. the bastard hierde of this and he gan north also he toc his cnihts up the straet and he cum to eorfic and efen before they seen him cum malcolm and the wealsc they gan baec for they was full of great words when alone but when they seen a fyrd of the frenc with the flag of the bastard at its head they scat their brices and they fled lic wifmen
fuccan ingengas i saes i telt thu do not trust them
and what of the anglisc fyrd saes tofe
the anglisc fled also saes grimcell and i sees he does not loc at me as he specs. none wolde feoht the frenc cnihts on hors in style with sweords. so the bastard he gan in to eorfic and the tun gan on its cneows to him and the northern eorls runs for the holt and all is worse efen than before the risan. now the frenc they has macd castels in eorfic and in grantabrycg and huntenadun and efen in lincylene in this scir and these castels they is macd by anglisc thralls and is full of frenc cnihts so that if efer again there is a risan in these places there will be anglisc blud before efen it has begun
naht is saed for sum time after this tale but my heorte is full. i locs at my men and i can see they is thincan yes buccmaster was right. yes we was agan him and we did not lysten but he was right there was no hope with this fyrd for he has seen the triewth when other men is esols.
after sum time i spac to annis
and thu annis i saes what does thu do here with this man
i cum baec down earninga streate saes grimcell to me and i did not cnaw what to do or where to go. i wolde not go baec to the brunneswealde but where else colde i go. i did not cnaw so i walced to the fenns for it colde be there was folcs there i cnawan it colde be i might lif there again in sum way. and then on the straet i cum across annis who i cnawan well as the gebur of thy wifman odelyn
do not spec her name cottar
and i also was lost saes annis. she specs slow lic she is not afeart. nefer had i trusted this gebur. she was a scort wifman scort and eald her haer graeg her nebb lined and her eages blaec. when she was my wifs gebur i had thought she was agan me always she wolde stand by odelyn and when i needed to beat my wif or to tell her what she most do in the hus annis wolde stand there still saen naht locan most times at the ground but i colde feel she was agan me
i was lost she saes and had been since i left this ham. i had been in sum other hams with folcs i had cnawan but always i was mofan i had no place to go to be. on the straet i seen grimcell and we thought to cum baec here to see what had becum of this place
and thu was hiere
what does thu mean
thu was here gebur when the frenc cum to my hus
annis she does not loc at me now only locs in to the fyr and for sum time is still and then she specs
yes she saes i was here
i sees aelfgar and tofe locan at me but i does not loc at them
then thu will tell me i saes tell me now of it
annis saes naht
annis i saes i wolde cnaw what cum to my w
if
well at this annis she loccd at me and her eages was lytel and it was lic she was locan in me for sum thing. why wolde i asc her why wolde she tell me why wolde i belyf her belyf any folcs
buccmaster she saes and she specs soft to me lic i is a cilde buccmaster we did not cnaw where thu had gan
i gan to get aels i saes i telt odelyn i gan to get aels for foda
she locs at me again then and then she specs. well she saes it seemed lic a good daeg i will always see it in my heorte. the heofon was wid and clene that daeg
it was i saes it was
well it was only a daeg she saes lic any other daeg and we was doan things in the hus. odelyn began weafan on her loom she was macan a rug and i gan down to the barn to fecc milc from the cu so i was not in the hus when
she stops then
i milcd the cu she saes and i cum out of the door of the barn and from there i seen two men cum to the hus on two hors. i colde see from there that these was not men from the ham or any men i had efer seen and they did not loc lic they brought us good things
annis stops specan again and locs at the fyr
i did not go to the hus buccmaster she saes. i gan baec in the barn so i colde not be seen and i loccd ofer
tell me i saes tell me wifman
what to tell she saes slow. they gan in thy hus buccmaster and i hierde wepan then callan from odelyn and still i loccd when i sceolde haf gan to help or to get help but i did not cnaw what i wolde do. there was wepan and callan from odelyn and i colde not stand to hiere it but then it stopped and then there was stillness i colde hiere fugols callan in the holt
and then
after sum time i seen the fyr gan up in the thaecc of thy hus buccmaster and it teorned the heofon blaec and that mofd me that woc me and i gan from the barn in to the holt and i ran to the ham
The Wake: Man Booker Prize 2014 Longlist Edition Page 22