“That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die.”[144]
Only the grim brooding desert gods know what really took place—what indescribable[145] struggles and scrambles in the dark I endured or what Abaddon guided me back to life, where I must always remember and shiver in the night-wind[146] till oblivion—or worse—claims me. Monstrous, unnatural, colossal, was the thing—too far beyond all the ideas of man to be believed except in the silent damnable small hours[147] when one cannot sleep.
I have said that the fury of the rushing blast was infernal—cacodaemoniacal—and that its voices were hideous with the pent-up viciousness of desolate eternities. Presently those[148] voices, while still chaotic before me, seemed to my beating brain to take articulate form behind me; and down there in the grave of unnumbered[149] aeon-dead antiquities, leagues below the dawn-lit world of men, I heard the ghastly cursing and snarling of strange-tongued fiends. Turning, I saw outlined against the luminous aether of the abyss what[150] could not be seen against the dusk of the corridor—a nightmare horde of rushing devils; hate-distorted, grotesquely panoplied, half-transparent;[151] devils of a race no man might mistake—the crawling reptiles of the nameless city.
And as the wind died away I was plunged into the ghoul-peopled blackness[152] of earth’s bowels; for behind the last of the creatures the great brazen door clanged shut with a deafening peal of metallic music whose reverberations swelled out to the distant world to hail the rising sun as Memnon hails it from the banks of the Nile.
Notes
Editor’s Note: The story was first published in the Wolverine (November 1921). At some later date HPL prepared a new T.Ms. bearing slight but significant revisions from that text. HPL speaks in letters of his many failed attempts to land the story in various pulp markets. He presumably sent the existing T.Ms. to Fanciful Tales (ed. Donald A. Wollheim and Wilson Shepherd), where it appeared in the Fall 1936 issue. HPL complained to numerous correspondents (although not to Derleth or Wandrei) about the many “misprints” in this appearance, which suggests that the divergences between the T.Ms. and the Fanciful Tales text are the result of printing errors and not of deliberate revision by HPL (which would presumably have necessitated the preparation of a new T.Ms., for which there is no evidence). The Arkham House editions unfortunately followed the Fanciful Tales text; indeed, the 1965 edition made numerous errors even from the text it had printed in 1939.
Texts: A = Wolverine No. 11 (November 1921): 3–15; B = T.Ms. (JHL); C = Fanciful Tales 1, No. 1 (Fall 1936): 5–18; D = The Outsider and Others (Arkham House, 1939), 234–41; E = Dagon and Other Macabre Tales (Arkham House, 1965), 99–110. Copy-text: B.
1. travelling] traveling E
2. grandams] grandmas D
3. sheiks,] sheiks C, D, E
4. eternal] eteral C
5. even] om. E
6. die.”] die”. A; die.’ C
7. night-wind] night wind A, B, C, D, E
8. roseal] roseate D, E
9. the] om. E
10. led] lead D
11. Meroë] Meroe C, D; om. E [see below]
12. remember;] remember: C; om. E [see below]
13. stone . . . place] place; that place E
14. palaces] places D, E
15. those] these C, D, E
16. the] this C, D, E
17. walls, and the] walls and the C; walls and D, E
18. Chaldaea] Chaldea A
19. grey] gray C, D
20. bed-rock] bed rock A, B, C, D, E
21. facades] façades D, E
22. of] om. E
23. whatever] what ever C, D
24. nor] or A, B, E [revised in B by HPL]
25. chiselled] chiseled A
26. more than] om. D, E
27. shewed] showed E
28. part] part of it C, D, E
29. nature,] nature C, D, E
30. other] om. E
31. of] om. E
32. primeval] primitive C, D, E
33. camel,] camel D, E
34. winds] winds that C, D, E
35. that] om. C, D, E
36. perceiving] I perceived A; perceaving C
37. sand.] sand, C
38. about] among D, E
39. cavern,] cavern A, B, C, D, E
40. as] an C
41. well-fashioned] well fashioned C
42. prehistoric] pre-historic C, D
43. shewed me] showed me C; showed D, E
44. artificial ] artificial A, D, E
45. numerous,] numerous E
46. thoughts,] thoughs, C
47. the] the / the C
48. only] only for E
49. had] om. C, D, E
50. steepness,] steepness; C, D, E
51. wriggle] wriggle my E
52. my] om. C, D, E
53. it] it, A
54. high] om. C, D, E
55. has] had A, C, D, E
56. treasury] bijouterie A, B [revised by HPL]
57. apocryphal nightmares] apoeryphal mightmares C
58. “Image du Monde”] Image du Monde E
59. the apocryphal . . . Metz.] Poe and Beaudelaire [Baudelaire B], and thoughts from the venerable Ambrose Bierce. A, B [revised by HPL]
60. chanting] chaunting A, C, D
61. tales—“the] Tales—“the A; Tales—“The D; tales—“The E
62. abyss”.] abyss.” A, C, D, E
63. sing-song] singsong D
64. more:] more— A
65. cauldrons] caldrons A
66. Sea] Seat D, E
67. palaeozoic] palaeozotic A; Palaeozoic D, E
68. found] found that C, D, E
69. occasionally] occasionly A
70. sure] sur C
71. Man] man C
72. on] om. C, D, E
73. contained] containing C, D, E
74. fore legs] fore-legs D, E
75. evidently flexible] evidently C; evident D, E
76. bulldog,] bull-dog, A
77. had] had had C, D, E
78. protuberant] protruberant D
79. alligator-like] aligator-like A
80. half] have A
81. not] not help C, D, E
82. I thought] om. E
83. of] om. A
84. shrank] shrunk A
85. afterward] afterwards A
86. connexion] connection C, D, E
87. recognised] recognized A, E
88. epic] epopee A, B [revised by HPL]
89. leave-taking] leave taking C
90. long,] long C, D, E
91. primal] premal C
92. never] nevef A; had never C, D, E
93. closely,] closely C, D, E
94. later civilisations] latler eivilisations C
95. Chaldaea,] Chaldeo, A; Chaldea D, E
96. omissions.] omissions C
97. shewn] shown D, E
98. earthly] om. C, D, E
99. extravagance;] extravagance: E
100. or] of C, D, E
101. hewed] hewn A
102. a] om. E
103. half revealing] half-revealing A, B, C, D, E
104. shewn] shown E
105. spectrally] sprectrally A
106. believed;] believed, E
107. ethereal] etherial A
108. skilful,] skillful, E
109. as] was D
110. about] above C, D, E
111. City of Pillars,] city of pillars, A
112. remembered] remember D, E
113. city,] sity, E
114. great] om. C, D, E
115. the] om. E
116. death-like] death like A; deathlike B
117. banish.] banish— C
118. noted] noted lightly C
119. heyday,] heyday— D, E
120. prominence,] prominance, C
121. should] would D, E
122. importance.] importane. C
123. deities] dieties A
/>
124. had] here C, D, E
125. easily] om. A; easly C
126. passage] passages C, D, E
127. weird] wierd A
128. hills,] om. C, D, E
129. in] of A, C, D, E
130. aeons] ages C, D, E
131. and] had C
132. and] om. C, D, E
133. sitting] setting C
134. much] om. C, D, E
135. soon it] it soon E
136. served to reveal] revealed C, D, E
137. which] that C, D, E
138. shrieking, moaning] shrieking A
139. night-wind] night wind A, B, C, D, E
140. that] the E
141. other] om. C, D, E
142. snapped,] snapped; C, D, E
143. unexplainable] inexplainable A
144. die.”] die”. A; die” C
145. indescribable] indescrible C
146. night-wind] night wind A, B, C, D, E
147. hours] hours of the morning C, D, E
148. those] these C, D, E
149. unnumbered] un-numbered C
150. what] that D, E
151. half-transparent;] half-transparent C, D, E
152. ghoul-peopled blackness] ghoul-peoled darkness C; ghoul pooled darkness D; ghoul-pooled darkness E
The Quest of Iranon
Into the granite city of Teloth wandered the youth, vine-crowned, his yellow hair glistening with myrrh and his purple robe torn with briers of the mountain Sidrak that lies across the antique bridge of stone. The men of Teloth are dark and stern, and dwell in square houses, and with frowns they asked the stranger whence he had come and what were his name and fortune. So the youth answered:
“I am Iranon, and come from Aira, a far city that I recall only dimly but seek to find again. I am a singer of songs that I learned in the far city, and my calling is to make beauty with the things remembered of childhood. My wealth is in little memories and dreams, and in hopes that I sing in gardens when the moon is tender and the west wind stirs the lotos-buds.”[1]
When the men of Teloth heard these things they whispered to one another; for though in the granite city there is no laughter or song, the stern men sometimes look to the Karthian hills in the spring and think of the lutes of distant Oonai whereof travellers have told. And thinking thus, they bade the stranger stay and sing in the square before the Tower of Mlin, though they liked not the colour of his tattered robe, nor the myrrh in his hair, nor his chaplet of vine-leaves, nor the youth in his golden voice. At evening Iranon sang, and while he sang an old man prayed and a blind man said he saw a nimbus over the singer’s head. But most of the men of Teloth yawned, and some laughed and some went away[2] to sleep; for Iranon told nothing useful, singing only his memories, his dreams, and his hopes.
“I remember the twilight, the moon, and soft songs, and the window where I was rocked to sleep. And through the window was the street where the golden lights came, and where the shadows danced on houses of marble. I remember the square of moonlight on the floor, that was not like any other light, and the visions that danced in the moonbeams when my mother sang to me. And too, I remember the sun of morning bright above the many-coloured hills in summer, and the sweetness of flowers borne on the south wind that made the trees sing.
“O Aira, city of marble and beryl, how many are thy beauties! How loved I[3] the warm and fragrant groves across the hyaline Nithra, and the falls of the tiny Kra that flowed through the verdant valley! In those groves and in that vale the children wove wreaths for one another, and at dusk I dreamed strange dreams under the yath-trees on the mountain as I saw below me the lights of the city, and the curving Nithra reflecting a ribbon of stars.
“And in the city were palaces of veined and tinted marble, with golden domes and painted walls, and green gardens with cerulean pools and crystal fountains. Often I played in the gardens and waded in the pools, and lay and dreamed among the pale flowers under the trees. And sometimes at sunset I would climb the long hilly street to the citadel and the open place, and look down upon Aira, the magic city of marble and beryl, splendid in a robe of golden flame.
“Long have I missed thee, Aira, for I was but young when we went into exile; but my father was thy King and I shall come again to thee, for it is so decreed of Fate. All through seven lands have I sought thee, and some day shall I reign over thy groves and gardens, thy streets and palaces, and sing to men who shall know whereof I sing, and laugh not nor turn away. For I am Iranon, who was a Prince in Aira.”
That night the men of Teloth lodged the stranger in a stable, and in the morning an archon came to him and told him to go to the shop of Athok the cobbler, and be apprenticed to him.
“But I am Iranon, a singer of songs,” he said, “and have no heart for the cobbler’s trade.”
“All in Teloth must toil,” replied the archon, “for that is the law.” Then said Iranon,[4]
“Wherefore do ye toil; is it not that ye may live and be happy? And if ye toil only that ye may toil more, when shall happiness find you? Ye toil to live, but is not life made of beauty and song? And if ye suffer no singers among you, where shall be the fruits of your toil? Toil without song is like a weary journey without an end. Were not death more pleasing?” But the archon was sullen and did not understand, and rebuked the stranger.
“Thou art a strange youth, and I like not thy face nor[5] thy voice. The words thou speakest are blasphemy, for the gods of Teloth have said that toil is good. Our gods have promised us a haven of light beyond death, where there shall be rest without end, and crystal coldness amidst which none shall vex his mind with thought or his eyes with beauty. Go thou then to Athok the cobbler or be gone out of the city by sunset. All here must serve, and song is folly.”
So Iranon went out of the stable and walked over the narrow stone streets between the gloomy square houses[6] of granite, seeking something green in the air of spring. But in Teloth was nothing[7] green, for all was of stone. On the faces of men were frowns, but by the stone embankment along the sluggish river Zuro sate[8] a young boy with sad eyes gazing into the waters to spy green budding branches washed down from the hills by the freshets. And the boy said to him:[9]
“Art thou not indeed he of whom the archons tell, who seekest a far city in a fair land? I am Romnod, and born of the blood of Teloth, but am not old in the ways of the granite city, and yearn daily for the warm groves and the distant lands of beauty and song. Beyond the Karthian hills lieth Oonai, the city of lutes and dancing, which men whisper of and say is both lovely and terrible. Thither would I go were I old enough to find the way, and thither shouldst thou go an[10] thou wouldst sing and have men listen to thee. Let us leave the city[11] Teloth and fare together among the hills of spring. Thou shalt shew me the ways of travel and I will attend thy songs at evening when the stars one by one bring dreams to the minds of dreamers. And peradventure it may be that Oonai the city of lutes and dancing is even the fair Aira thou seekest, for it is told that thou hast not known Aira since old days, and a name often changeth. Let us go to Oonai, O Iranon of the golden head, where men shall know our longings and welcome us as brothers, nor ever laugh or frown at what we say.” And Iranon answered:
“Be it so, small one; if any in this stone place yearn for beauty he must seek the mountains and beyond, and I would not leave thee to pine by the sluggish Zuro. But think not that delight and understanding dwell just across the Karthian hills, or in any spot thou canst find in a day’s, or a year’s, or a lustrum’s journey. Behold, when I was small like thee I dwelt in the valley of Narthos by the frigid Xari, where none would listen to my dreams; and I told myself that when older I would go to Sinara on the southern slope, and sing to smiling dromedary-men in the market-place.[12] But when I went to Sinara I found the dromedary-men all drunken and ribald, and saw that their songs were not as mine, so I travelled in a barge down the Xari to onyx-walled Jaren. And the soldiers at Jaren laughed at me and drave me out, so that I wandered to many other cities
. I have seen Stethelos that is below the great cataract, and have gazed on the marsh where Sarnath once stood. I have been to Thraa, Ilarnek, and Kadatheron on the winding river Ai, and have dwelt long in Olathoë[13] in the land of Lomar. But though I have had listeners sometimes, they have ever been few, and I know that welcome shall wait me only in Aira, the city of marble and beryl where my father once ruled as King. So for Aira shall we seek, though it were well to visit distant and lute-blessed Oonai across the Karthian hills, which may indeed be Aira, though I think not. Aira’s beauty is past imagining, and none can tell of it without rapture, whilst of Oonai the camel-drivers whisper leeringly.”
At the sunset Iranon and small Romnod went forth from Teloth, and for long wandered amidst the green hills and cool forests. The way was rough and obscure, and never did they seem nearer to Oonai the city of lutes and dancing; but in the dusk as the stars came out Iranon would sing of Aira and its beauties and Romnod would listen, so that they were both happy after a fashion. They ate plentifully of fruit and red berries, and marked not the passing of time, but many years must have slipped away. Small Romnod was now not so small, and spoke deeply instead of shrilly, though Iranon was always the same, and decked his golden hair with vines and fragrant resins found in the woods. So it came to pass one day that Romnod seemed older than Iranon, though he had been very small when Iranon had found him watching for green budding branches in Teloth beside the sluggish stone-banked Zuro.[14]
Then one night when the moon was full the travellers came to a mountain crest and looked down upon the myriad lights[15] of Oonai. Peasants had told them they were near, and Iranon knew that this was not his native city of Aira. The lights of Oonai were not like those of Aira; for they were harsh and glaring, while the lights of Aira shine as softly and magically as shone the moonlight on the floor by the window where Iranon’s mother once rocked him to sleep with song. But Oonai was a city of lutes and dancing, so Iranon and Romnod went down the steep slope that they might find men to whom songs and dreams would bring pleasure. And when they were come into the town they found rose-wreathed revellers bound from house to house and leaning from windows and balconies, who listened to the songs of Iranon and tossed him flowers and applauded when he was done. Then for a moment did Iranon believe he had found those who thought and felt even as he, though the town was not a[16] hundredth as fair as Aira.