Songs of the Seven Gelfling Clans
Page 9
The Wayfarer’s Lanterns
Now I leave port for the Silver Sea
To be lost in the waves and the ocean breeze
But the wayfarer’s lanterns will call to me
Yes, the wayfarer’s lanterns, to me
In the night, when the land melts into the sky
And the embers above like the fireflies fly
Then the eyes of the stars call to me
Yes, the eyes of the stars, to me
In the day, when the ocean is all I can see
Flat and blue below a sky cloudless and free
The smiles of the Brothers shine on me
Yes, their smiles shine down on me
In the evening, when the Sisters quietly wake
And in their blue cloaks, their night walk make
Their sweet singing voices rain down on me
Yes, their songs rain down on me
Now long have I been on the Silver Sea
My journeys have made me so full and weary
And the wayfarer’s lanterns, they call to me
Yes, the wayfarer’s lanterns, to me
While the Sifa have preserved hundreds of Gyr’s songs, both in mind and tongue as well as on paper and tablet, since his time, many songs have also been written and told about his legendary adventures. One of the most well-told songs about Gyr is one I actually heard among the Spriton, far from the Silver Sea. The fact that word of his adventures has traveled so far from the Sifa Coast certainly speaks to Gyr’s widespread popularity among song tellers.
Sign of the Three Sisters
Gyr was a bard who traveled the seas
Oh li, oh la, oh lo
Told the songs of the rivers, the mountains, the trees
Oh li, oh la, la-lo
One long summer ago, the night stopped to come
The Sister Moons hiding, in fear of the suns
The daylight was endless, scorching the plains
So Gyr went to find them and bring night again
He found two of the moons at the edge of the sky
A lake at their feet from the tears they had cried
“The Brother Suns’ fire for us is too bright
While they rage in the sky we cannot bring the night
So we Sisters take turns going first into dawn,
To spy on the Brothers to see if they’ve gone
’Twas our second Sister Moon’s turn to go
Oh li, oh la, oh lo
But the second Brother Sun ate her whole
Oh li, oh la, la-lo
The moons were too fearful since their Sister’s sad fate
To bring night to the sky, to bring nine to the eight
So Gyr left them to watch the Brother Suns from the land
He returned three days later and told them his plan
The remaining two Sisters scaled the edge of the sky
Their fingertips wet from the tears that they’d cried
From their lips came a song: a mournful, sad sigh
And from the belly of the sun came a lonely reply
For the second Sister was still alive
Oh, the second Sister was still alive
To this day, though she’s hidden by Brother Sun’s light
Oh li, oh la, oh lo
Her song tells her Sisters to bring out the night
Oh she, oh sha, she knows
To bring out the night
Oh she, oh sha, she knows
Beyond his legendary songs and the songs of his adventures, some tales even suggest that Gyr may have had extraordinary powers. Of course, the talents and abilities of many folk heroes are exaggerated. During my travels (not only with the Sifa), I heard many songs speaking of Gyr’s surprising magical gifts, from the ability to speak in the Skeksis’ native tongue to a far-dreaming-like ability to transcend space and time, granted to him after a stay on a strange uninhabited island in the middle of the untraveled sea.
So, when I had the chance to mingle with Sifan song tellers, I was eager to know their opinions. In spite of the extravagant claims I had heard elsewhere, the Sifan bards were terribly casual about their ancestor, agreeing that it was unlikely Gyr was the sorcerer of words many make him out to be. However, one ability that was more or less agreed upon was that Gyr was in possession of a sacred Firca that he dream-crafted himself from the bone of a Bell-Bird.
Bell-Birds, while scarce in our day, are one of the few remaining creatures able to speak to stone. One is particularly blessed if one hears the echoing, ground-shaking, mountain-shivering call of a Bell-Bird, ringing out across the Skarith Land and audible from halfway across the world. Thus, it is not surprising that the songs told about Gyr’s mythical bone Firca say it was an instrument of incomparable power. One song in particular, written here, tells that the images and words of Gyr’s heart were etched into stone when he played upon the flute.
Gyr and the Bone Firca
Took he in his hand, Gyr the Song Teller
A bone of the Bell-Bird fallen
And the Bell-Bird collar
Dreamed he with heated fingertips the shape
Of all the songs of the ’verse
Every sound that rises from any
Wailing childling or old mauddy
The blue lifeblood aglow
Like steam from the seas as they touch
The shore, this song of the heart
Ere, across the faces of every cavern
Etched as rhymes on a still heart
Hot as truth on a cold lie
Dream-fastened through the power
Of the Bell-Bird’s song
The Sifa are loyal and passionate in their adoration of Lord skekSa the Mariner, leading them to name several constellations after their enigmatic idol. As the stars are often the only means of navigation on the sea, especially in the dark, when even nearby landforms are invisible, the Sifa have long used Lord skekSa’s features to characterize the night sky: For example, the Behemoth, a low-lying constellation visible far to the south, is named Vassafina after skekSa’s legendary beast of burden. And to the north is a bright configuration called the Mariner Star. Always visible, this constellation is actually three stars in close proximity. Some have illustrated it as Lord skekSa’s tricorn hat; others have envisioned it as representing the Three Sisters in star form. In turn, the Three Sisters are often represented in Sifan illustrations thus: skekSa as the Blue Moon, the Sifa as the Pearl Moon, and a mysterious entity called San as the Hidden Moon.
Whatever the representation, the light of the Mariner Star is fundamental to Sifan sailing, providing an eternal indicator of true north. Thanks to its constant shining, the Sifa sing dozens of devoted songs to this star, often overlapping with their thanks to and adoration of their patron Skeksis. The following is a song usually told by old sailors when they make port at Cera-Na and are eager to return to the open sea.
Ode to the Mariner Star
Shine, shine, shine
We sail below, below
The Mariner Star aglow
Shine, shine, shine
Sun, moon, star
We sail afar, afar
Shine, shine, shine
Bathe us awhile
In our Lord Mariner’s smile
During my time with the Sifa, I had the joy of visiting Cera-Na three times. On the third and final arrival, as we came around the rocky isthmuses that surround the port, I was stunned to see a great coral structure in the center of the bay. It blossomed up and out of the water like a flower. The throngs of smaller Sifan ships looked like minnows in comparison. As we drew cl
oser, I realized that the ivory and carmine reef was a vessel—an enormous ship built within a moving reef, accented with sails and rigging and a deck.
I was told its name: Omerya-Staba, or the Coral Tree. The Sifan maudra’s vessel. At her command, its sails unfurl and fill with wind, the rudders and fins built into the sides of the reef extend, and though it is thirty times the size of the other Sifan ships, it sails just as smoothly and easily.
Like the patron trees of the other Gelfling clans, the Omerya is regarded as the mother of the community. When it is in Cera-Na, there is always great jubilation; like a flock of birds, the Sifan ships congregate from all corners of the sea just to bask in the great Coral Tree’s radiance. So lovely is the tree that even the close-lipped Dousan cannot help but marvel at the sight when they come to trade in Cera-Na. The following is a song I heard from a Dousan sandmaster’s bard:
The Sifa Mother of Sa-Schala
Have you never seen such a drop of water upon a wave
As the Sifa Mother in the palm of Cera-Na?
Like a flower blooming
With her children blossoming
The Sifa Mother in the palm of Cera-Na
Have you never spied such a twinkling in the starlit sky
As the Omerya in the bay of the Silver Sea?
Like a torch a-burning
With her sails unyielding
The Omerya in the bay of the Silver Sea
Have you never felt such a cool shade on the warm sand
As the Sifa Mother of Sa-Schala?
Like a cool wind blowing
With her tendrils flowing
The lovely Sifa Mother of Sa-Schala
Thanks to my Sifan hosts, I was able to gain an audience with Maudra Affina aboard the Omerya. The deck of the ship is built of long planks that create an even surface on the top of the ship, and in the center of the vast deck is a stone hearth that is always alight with scented fire. Here the maudra’s far-dreamers gather, spying in the smoke the signs that will guide the Omerya, and thus, the rest of the clan. For although the Sifa do not always flock together, they are loyal, and whatever course the maudra sets, the rest of the clan will embark upon it with every sail unfurled.
The masts of the ship are coral spires, reinforced with timber and heavy Sifan rope—only in this way are they able to contain the sails necessary to move such a large vessel. The maudra’s crew is at least a hundred Gelfling strong, all of whom live their entire life aboard the Omerya serving the tree and its maudra captain. They taught me the following call-and-response song often sung by the Omerya’s sailors while they prepare the ship for a voyage.
Oh My Omerya
Do you hear me, oh my Omerya?—I wake to the sound of your song
Believe in me, oh my Omerya—I have been sleeping on shore too long
Do you yearn for the sea, oh my Omerya?—I hunger for horizons unbroke
Protect me, oh my lovely Omerya—I have sheltered you since I awoke
Do your sails crave the wind, oh my Omerya?—Stretch them and see, my child
Dance with me, oh my Omerya—I will take us out into the wild
Does your hull thirst for saltwater, Omerya?—Yea, my reefing aches for the waves
Wait for me, oh my Omerya—Light the fires and hoist your staves
A Final Word
I felt a great swaying beneath my feet the day my Sifan friends brought me to shore in Cera-Na. I stepped off our tiny, sturdy ship and onto the dock, holding to the post as my feet yearned for the waves. As we said our tearful goodbyes, I was given my first and only Sifan charm: a braid made from strips of sailcloth from the four ships within our samaudren. When asked where I would travel next, I realized I did not know—but for the first time, that did not frighten me. I would go where the wind would take me.
The Endless Forest may seem to sprawl forever in every direction, but even this wood has its boundaries. On the northwestern-most perimeter of the forest, the trees are anything but green and lush. Dry, salty dunes lap at their roots in rippling waves of shining crystal sand. Here, marked by a long line of dead trees bleached by the three suns, the Endless Forest ends and the great Crystal Desert begins.
It is not easy living on the sands of the Crystal Desert. Except for along the northern edge, where the Claw Mountains rise tall and red, there are very few structures to provide shade. Any moisture in the air that lands during the night evaporates almost immediately. But that doesn’t mean the desert is devoid of life. Though all is still one moment, in the next a pod of one hundred Crystal Skimmers bursts through the dunes, spraying crystal sand and sending rainbows flashing across the sky. These explosions of life and adventure characterize the desert, breaking the silence and stillness like lightning. One cannot remain still in such a place, nor can one become complacent.
The Dousan Gelfling are no different. Taking advantage of their long tradition of bone carpentry and their keen understanding of the desert’s weather, these nomads go where the sands take them aboard their sand skiffs of bone, crafted from the found remains of desert creatures. Countless generations inform their complex traveling patterns, and although I would have been lost without them, when I was with them, I found life on the Crystal Desert to be as fruitful as any.
Daily Life
Dousan daily life centers around communion with Thra and the Crystal, acknowledgment of the passing of time, the humility of mortality, and the divinity of the Crystal of Truth. Dousan rituals and prayers omit the Skeksis—a heresy only allowed because of the Dousan’s remote location, far from the castle, to be sure—and acknowledge Mother Aughra not as a sacred child of the Crystal and the voice of Thra, but as any other mortal creature who walks the land as Gelfling do.
A day in the Crystal Desert consists of two categories of task: “body tasks,” such as collecting water and preparing food, seeking shelter in storms, and so on; and “spirit tasks,” which are almost always periods of meditation (although there are some minor spirit tasks such as incense making and fire burning, as well). Body tasks are assigned to certain times of the day as appropriate, or as necessary in case of injury or other emergencies.
The remainder of the time in between is then allocated to spirit tasks. Thus, the days are filled with long periods of quiet reflection and meditation. Although meditation does not come naturally to me, I found that practice was the key to success; after trine sailing the sands, I became more finely tuned to the rhythm and the voice of the desert. Now, meditation comes more easily to me no matter where I am. In this way, I carry the Dousan with me, too.
The Xerics
Like the Sifa, the Dousan do not live their daily lives in a single community, but instead are divided into many smaller groups. Among the Dousan, these close-knit groups are called xerics, each led by a sandmaster who has been trained and trusted by the Dousan maudra herself. Xerics are made up of between twelve and thirty Gelfling each, split into crews that pilot their sand skiffs. Larger xerics often employ the aid of a Crystal Skimmer—sometimes more than one—which improves their traveling ability, due to the Skimmer’s sharp desert instincts and tireless endurance.
Out of necessity, the Dousan xerics are highly organized, with specific jobs assigned to small teams of Gelfling. Unlike the Sifan samaudren, which are formed out of the bonds of family or friendship, Dousan are assigned to xerics by the maudra and her council of sandmasters. These assignments are based on aptitude and skill. The day when a Gelfling is assigned to a xeric and leaves the Wellspring oasis is a very important day indeed.
Roles among the xerics vary depending on the size of the xeric itself, as well as the territory the xeric covers. All xerics are led by a sandmaster, and each sandmaster has two close companions—called second sandmasters—who have the knowledge and skill to take over for their leader in an emergency. They also serve on
the xeric’s council. All three of these leaders, the sandmaster and their two seconds, must agree on any important decisions before action is taken.
Two other important roles among the xerics are those of pilot and navigator, who work together both in and out of transit. The pilots are in charge of controlling the skiffs; the navigators are seasoned sky readers and occasionally far-dreamers with an eye for reading the constantly changing crystal dunes. Among larger xerics that train Crystal Skimmers for transportation, there is a second, more specialized group of pilots who are able to direct the Skimmers. The Skimmers are headstrong but loyal beasts; it takes a great deal of bravery and fortitude to build such strong bonds. Watching the pilots and navigators in action is exciting and almost unbelievable. I marveled every day at their ability to exchange such large amounts of information in such short periods of time using only hand signals.
Another role I found remarkable is that of guardian. When I first heard of the Dousan guardian role, I imagined it to be something akin to the Stonewood soldier or the like—a role focusing on defending the xeric and clan. While these duties are part of the guardian’s responsibilities—being skilled with a knife and so on—the Dousan interpretation of the word guardian could be more accurately defined as ritual guardian. A xeric’s guardian is responsible for delegating the daily spirit tasks, and in many cases, acting as a mentor among the xeric. The guardian is usually an elder and well versed in the many meditations and practices observed and performed by the Dousan; besides the two second sandmasters, a xeric’s guardian is the most well-respected member of a xeric, and always serves on the sandmaster’s elder council.
Life Apart
My first encounter with any Dousan was in Cera-Na, where they sometimes come to trade with the Sifa before returning to their solitary lives to the southeast of the Claw Mountains. I was not sure, in the beginning, whether I would be able to travel with them as I had with the other clans; the ways of the Dousan are well guarded and not easily shared with outsiders. However, after some time with the sandmaster of a smaller xeric, I was able to explain myself: that I was a historian and song teller eager to learn the ways of all the seven clans. Open to this idea, the sandmaster suggested I accompany his xeric to the Wellspring and wait to speak with the maudra and her elders.