The Sacrifice

by Sarban

  ‘So the years went by and among the tribes of Hazroar Tathnarzuk the dwarf became only a name, and a bogey to frighten children with; until one day when King Hazroar was hunting he was attacked by a furious she-leopard and mortally wounded before his men could kill the beast.

  ‘After he had been carried to his tent and he knew that he was dying he bade them send for his sons and bade his servants also send to King Zuwar of Mauritania to say that the time was now come when their pledge should be fulfilled and the sons should marry the daughters, for they were about to receive their portions of his kingdom.

  ‘When the word came to Azito and Menesca they mounted and each with his followers rode hard to reach their father’s camp while he yet lived. They entered his pavilion and knelt and kissed his hand and asked his blessing. He blessed them and said: “My sons, the time has come for you to perform your last service for me. Tomorrow you shall wrap my body in my cloak and carry me into the midst of the great camp of my people and there bury me in my own tent and raise over me the mound of earth and sacrifice upon it my horses and my slave-girls and my page-boys that I may go well attended among the dead. Then shall you enjoy long and prosperous days in the kingdom that I now leave to you and divide between you. Thou, Azito, shalt be king of all the north; and thou, Menesca, shalt have the south, as far as the great river, for thy kingdom.”

  ‘ “And when you have buried me and done all things according to our customs, make haste and ride to the court of my brother Zuwar, the King of Mauritania, for you know of the pact that is between us, and there claim from him each of you one of his daughters; then enter with your brides upon your kingdoms and pitch your tents in peace and keep with King Zuwar our ancient alliance.”

  ‘Then he made them kneel again and he called in all the chiefs and principal men who were about him to witness the division of the kingdom that he had made and to make them swear an oath that they would abide by his will. But before they could swear the flap of the tent was lifted and something like a hound or a baboon came bounding in and seized the King’s hand and cried: “Thou hast yet a son, O King! I am Tathnarzuk and I rejoice that I come not too late for thy blessing.”

  ‘All were astounded at Tathnarzuk’s appearance among them; it was so many years since any of them had seen him, and they could not understand by what means he had heard of what had befallen Hazroar. They had forgotten how great a gift he had for gathering intelligence and they did not know that many travellers made the Lake their halting-place: the storks and the wild duck and the swallows winging their ways north or south with the seasons.

  ‘Azito and Menesca were honest men and they had never grudged Tathnarzuk his share in their father’s love; nor did they know what the old King believed about his birth. Now they spoke for him.

  ‘ “It is indeed thy third son,” they said, for the King was near to death and his sight was dim and his speech feeble. “It is our brother Tathnarzuk and it is just that he should have a share in our inheritance.”

  ‘ “Thou art come too late,” Hazroar whispered. “The land is divided.”

  ‘ “I ask for no land, my father,” said Tathnarzuk. “I am content with the water.”

  ‘ “Then be blessed in thy possessions and trouble not my people with any arts of thy people,” said the King, speaking in so low a voice that only Tathnarzuk heard these words while he knelt close beside Hazroar to receive his blessing.

  ‘Then the King made a sign to his servants to raise him, and gathering his last strength he said: “This is my will: Azito, thou art King of the North; Menesca, thou, of the South; and thou, Tathnarzuk, thou art King of the Lake. Now swear all of you to keep the division I have made.”

  ‘So the soothsayers brought in the skulls of horses that were set on spears at the door of the tent and all the chiefs and others assembled there swore an oath upon the skulls.

  ‘King Hazroar died and was carried to the great encampment of his people and there buried with all the ceremonies required by custom. Then, when the rites were completed, Azito and Menesca prepared to ride into Mauritania to claim their brides from King Zuwar.

  ‘After they had gathered together all their followers and a wealth of gifts: fleet mares and dromedaries, mules and strong white asses, hounds, cheetahs and hawks, ostriches and lion cubs, fair young slave-girls from beyond the Atlas and little black boys from the south; when they had assembled all their caravan they said farewell to Tathnarzuk.

  ‘ “We shall meet again,” he said, “at the court of King Zuwar.”

  ‘Azito and Menesca were greatly troubled when they heard this, because they knew that King Zuwar would never give his daughter, nor she consent to be married to a creature so deformed that he could neither walk nor ride like other men, whose head would not reach her girdle when he stood upright and who could not carry her into his tent as a bridegroom should. So they tried to dissuade him from going into Mauritania to spare him the shame of being laughed at and driven from King Zuwar’s court with jeers and jests.

  ‘Now Tathnarzuk had received reports from his many intelligencers about King Zuwar’s daughters from the days of their birth and especially about his third daughter who, if the pact were kept, should be his bride. Her name was Herali, and she was now about eighteen years of age. Tathnarzuk’s informants told him that she was so beautiful that when she went down to the river to bathe the reeds stopped their whispering and the herons stretched up their necks and the otters swam near and lifted their round heads above the surface to watch. She was as accomplished as she was beautiful and excelled in all the exercises which in those days the Mauritanians had their children trained in, girls as well as boys; such as running, swimming, jumping, riding and shooting with the bow and throwing the javelin. These reports so inflamed Tathnarzuk with desire to see Herali, and the ambition to possess so beautiful a maiden so overcame his judgement that he forgot his own hideous deformity and forgot how the Mauritanians scorned all arts except those of war.

  ‘So he answered his brothers: “I was betrothed to the third daughter of King Zuwar from before my birth. He cannot break his oath.”

  ‘Azito and Menesca then saw that it was useless to try to change his purpose and they rode away towards the court of King Zuwar in the west, while Tathnarzuk, he also, made his preparations. In his heart he knew that his brothers were right, but he said to himself: “Perhaps, if my reports are true and Herali surpasses all other maidens in beauty, with so much loveliness of form there may go surpassing wisdom and kindness also, and though I am not shaped like a man she may love me for my learning and the arts that I can teach.”

  ‘King Zuwar had proclaimed a great feast to celebrate the arrival of the sons of his old friend. His people gathered from every corner of his kingdom and there was rejoicing with assemblies of troops and games and horse-racing and the slaughter of multitudes of cattle and sheep for many days. Then Azito and Menesca were married to the two elder daughters of King Zuwar, and after he had embraced them they rode away, each in their separate caravans, bearing many loads of gifts.

  ‘The dust of their caravans had long disappeared beyond the horizon; the sun was declining to the rim of the Ocean, and the people were dispersing to their homes away from King Zuwar’s city. The King sat in his great hall with his bodyguard and the officers of his household and his counsellors and the officials of his kingdom about him, ordering the business of his state, and with him there sat his youngest daughter, Herali.

  ‘Now Herali had shed some tears when she said farewell to her sisters and had appeared to be downcast that she was left alone without a husband. But secretly she rejoiced that her sisters were gone and that of the King’s children she and her half-brother Thelou were left alone, because Thelou loved her for her great beauty and although she did not return his love she had made a secret compact with him that she would never marry but that when their father grew old they would remove him from the throne and she and Thelou would reign together as equal sovereigns like a queen and her conso
rt; for that, anciently, had been the custom in Mauritania, when the throne descended through a line of queens.

  ‘Thelou was of her own age, but whereas she was forever active, exerting herself in every kind of game and sport, he was sluggish, gross and fat, lying long in bed, stirring little out of doors, indulging himself all day with food and drink and every luxury the city’s wealth provided. For all his sloth he had some wit and knew that though the throne would be his by right when his father died, yet he could never keep it without the alliance of his sister who, in particular, had a powerful influence over the King’s bodyguard. Therefore their conspiracy was firmly grounded on a common interest.

  ‘On the last day of the feasts, towards sunset, then, King Zuwar sat in his hall consulting with his ministers and officials; a troop of his bodyguard was drawn up in lines in the entrance to the hall, and on a divan a little below the King’s, Prince Thelou and Princess Herali sat side by side conversing.

  ‘Suddenly there was a great shout and a clashing of shields at the door of the hall. The officers ran down to see what was the matter and one came back to where the King and his ministers sat expectant and cried, though he could scarcely get out the words for laughter and amazement:

  ‘ “There is one here, O King, who says he is the third son of King Hazroar and he has come to claim his bride.”

  ‘The ministers stood all dumb with amazement. Herali sprang up, white with anger, thinking it was some clumsy hoax of the court jester’s, while Thelou sat gaping.

  ‘But King Zuwar’s eyes grew sad and he sat down on his throne and at length he sighed and said: “Alas, there was a third son. I had thought that he was dead. Let him be admitted.”

  ‘The bodyguard opened their ranks and the ministers and officers of the court fell back and stood in rows upon the steps leading up to King Zuwar’s throne. Then across the wide space of the black marble floor, slowly and awkwardly, swinging itself along on its knuckles like an ape, there came a droll little figure with a great lolling head which wagged ridiculously as the creature hopped and swung along. The wedding garments in which the thing was tricked out sat on it as ludicrously as the tawdry finery an ape so sadly wears when he is dragged about the streets by a ruffian showman to make the crowd laugh.

  ‘In a dead silence, under all those staring eyes, Tathnarzuk came to the foot of the steps. There he touched the floor with his forehead in respect to the King and then, with little jumps he mounted the steps until he came to where Herali stood just below her father’s throne.

  ‘Tathnarzuk raised his head and looked at her and saw that every report he had had of her had fallen far short of the truth. In all King Hazroar’s kingdom there had been no maiden half so lovely as she. So profound was the effect of her beauty on him and so wild his grief that he was not as his brothers were, that the tears filled his eyes and he trembled violently and his head rolled back and forth on his shoulders. But Herali stared at him with wide eyes and an expression first of utter amazement, then disgust, and then burning indignation.

  ‘For some time Tathnarzuk could not speak, but at last, in an uncertain voice, he said: “Sire, great kings do not lightly swear their oaths. I am the third son of thy brother Hazroar. Here is thy third daughter. Do according to thine honour.”

  ‘Zuwar would not willingly break his oath; but he looked from the unsightly brown dwarf below him to that tall girl with flashing eyes and glowing cheeks, all in the first flower of her beauty which scorn and anger made the more vivid, and he could find no answer.

  ‘Then the old vizier stepped forward and speaking sternly and coldly to Tathnarzuk said:

  ‘ “What does this mean? For whom art thou wearing these wedding garments? The King has no woman of thy own kind to bestow on thee. Kiss the King’s hand and begone. The feasts are over; the buffoonery is finished.”

  ‘But Tathnarzuk would not brook such words from such a one as he. Addressing the King in a firm voice he said:

  ‘ “I will take my answer from thee, O Zuwar, or from her. I will deal only with my peers.”

  ‘The people at the door had by now unloaded six mules which stood in the palace court and they began to bear in bales which they undid on the steps of Zuwars’ throne and spread out the presents Tathnarzuk had brought. All the courtiers who had been contorting themselves in efforts to choke back their laughter out of respect for the King’s presence, now crowded forward, thinking to make a fine joke out of such pitiful gauds as such a creature would think suitable presents for a king. But instead of giggling they gasped with wonder. From out of the bales the slaves brought shirts of the finest bronze mail, hauberks of bronze-gilt scales and one of pure gold; helmets also most cunningly wrought and inlaid; swords of a temper unknown in Mauritania, and shields that flashed like mirrors; goldsmith’s work, also, most intricate and delicate—brooches and torques of red gold, collars and pendants of gold and enamel, and necklaces of pearl and emerald; they strewed the steps of the throne with the gold-work and jewels, and still they brought out rich things from the bales: plates of silver and porcelain, and goblets of crystal; then splendid cloths of gold and silver thread and silk embroidery. All these things they spread out before the silent crowd, between Zuwar and Tathnarzuk.

  ‘At last Prince Thelou’s slow wits understood who Tathnarzuk was and on what business he had come. The veins swelled in his temple and his face darkened with the rising blood. He heaved his fat bulk up from the divan and opened his mouth and roared like a bull:

  ‘ “And hast thou the impudence to offer to buy the princess, my sister, with this flashy gear? Dost thou offer to marry her—thou tailless lizard, thou ape, thou toad! Get out. Get out from this city! Scamper off before I squash thee under foot as a bull would tread a frog into the mud in thine own marsh!”

  ‘The courtiers began to titter, and even Herali, in her indignation, could not help laughing, so apt were Thelou’s names for Tathnarzuk. But the King commanded silence, and sighing heavily he turned to his daughter.

  ‘ “Herali,” he said. “You know my oath. Will you be married to the Prince Tathnarzuk? If you will not he must take you against your will, for I cannot break my oath.”

  ‘Herali fell on her knees and in a great passion, sobbing with anger, she cried: “Father! I will not go with him! It is not right that an oath sworn before I was born should bind me to such a loathsome thing as this.’ She sprang up again and stamped her foot and cast on Tathnarzuk the bitterest looks of scorn and loathing. ‘You have heard what my brother has called him. Look at him! Can the King of Mauritania bear it to be said up and down the world that he married his fairest daughter to a frog? Could you bear to keep your throne after such shame?”

  ‘Tathnarzuk had well-nigh choked with rage when he heard Thelou’s insults, but when Herali spoke and looked at him so bitterly, sorrow overcame his rage.

  ‘ “Well?” asked Zuwar.

  ‘Tathnarzuk kissed the step in front of the King’s feet, then he lifted his head, and he spoke as a prince to a prince.

  ‘ “It is well, O Zuwar. All my life I have sought wisdom, and I am the wiser for this journey here. Keep thy daughter. A slave is taken by force, but not a bride. I know now the truth of my birth, and from this day all human kind shall be no more kin to me than the gazelles on the plains and the cattle in the forest. Farewell!”

  ‘He turned his back, and thrusting aside the precious things that strewed the steps, he went swinging and hopping down and so across the great hall to the door.

  ‘King Zuwar was stricken with remorse when he saw him departing thus, and he rose and called out to him:

  ‘ “Prince! Tathnarzuk! Nay, go not so, in anger . . . thy gifts . . .”

  ‘ “Keep them!” shouted Tathnarzuk. “They are but the rubbish of my kingdom.” And then he had passed through the bodyguard and was gone.

  ‘For a moment after he had gone there was still silence, then the great hall buzzed suddenly with talk. The King rose and retired alone; the vizier and the treasur
er jealously gathered up the gifts; the courtiers went scurrying off to be first with the tale among their friends; and at last Herali rose and stalked away to her own apartments.

  ‘By and by Prince Thelou followed her there and found her alone, pacing her room, her eyes still brilliant with indignation and her lips working as she thought of the story that was even now being told all over the city.

  ‘ “How can I show my face abroad again?” she demanded. “The whole city will be quivering with laughter by tomorrow over Herali’s husband. The beggar boys will scream after me—‘See, the frog’s bride’, and the children will croak at me from the gutters. And my father! Could anyone have believed such a tame spirit in a king, and one that boasts he was a warrior in his youth. That his own daughter should be so insulted and held up to mockery and ridicule before all his court, and he let the repulsive little creature go impudently away! He should have been seized; he should have been brought bound to my feet; I should have been asked to name his punishment. And you, with your boasts. Can you do nothing but roar?”

  ‘Prince Thelou had thrown himself upon a couch and he watched her lazily, for he found her beautiful in her fury. Then he said:

  ‘ “My father is in his dotage. It is a sign that we must not delay in carrying out what we have planned. Be calm Herali. You are the clever one, but because your pride has been wounded your wits have flown out of the window. I don’t stomach the little toad’s impudence any more than you, but while you have been raging I have been thinking. And I have a plan that will give you all the revenge you want; and also make us some sport with the little animal. Listen to me! My father will not suffer any harm to be done to a guest within his kingdom, nor would any of the captains or the soldiers or the officers of the city obey us if we ordered them to seize him. But the bodyguard is loyal to you alone, under the King, and they have no law except your word. Therefore you and I will ride out softly tonight with a squadron of the bodyguard and we will overtake this insolent dwarf and carry him off to my castle on the sea-coast and there we will teach him respect for princes at our leisure.”