The Pilgrims of the Rhine

  Then the friends of Voltoch murmured among themselves, and they said,"Shall this man dictate to us who shall be king?" But the people andthe warriors shouted, "Listen to the star; do we not give or deny battleaccording as the bird flies,--shall we not by the same token choose himby whom the battle should be led?" And the thing seemed natural to them,for it was after the custom of the tribe. Then they took one of thedoves that built in the roof of the palace, and they brought it to thespot where Morven stood, and he, looking up to the stars and mutteringto himself, released the bird.

  There was a copse of trees at a little distance from the spot, and asthe dove ascended, a hawk suddenly rose from the copse and pursued thedove; and the dove was terrified, and soared circling high above thecrowd, when lo, the hawk, poising itself one moment on its wings,swooped with a sudden swoop, and, abandoning its prey, alighted on theplumed head of Siror.

  "Behold," cried Morven in a loud voice, "behold your king!"

  "Hail, all hail the king!" shouted the people. "All hail the chosen ofthe stars!"

  Then Morven lifted his right hand and the hawk left the prince andalighted on Morven's shoulder. "Bird of the gods!" said he, reverently,"hast thou not a secret message for my ear?" Then the hawk put its beakto Morven's ear, and Morven bowed his head submissively; and the hawkrested with Morven from that moment and would not be scared away. AndMorven said, "The stars have sent me this bird, that in the day-timewhen I see them not, we may never be without a councillor in distress."

  So Siror was made king and Morven the son of Osslah was constrained bythe king's will to take Orna for his wife; and the people and the chiefshonoured Morven the prophet above all the elders of the tribe.

  One day Morven said unto himself, musing, "Am I not already equal withthe king,--nay, is not the king my servant? Did I not place him over theheads of his brothers? Am I not, therefore, more fit to reign than heis; shall I not push him from his seat? It is a troublesome and stormyoffice to reign over the wild men of Oestrich, to feast in the crowdedhall, and to lead the warriors to the fray. Surely if I feasted not,neither went out to war, they might say, 'This is no king, but thecripple Morven;' and some of the race of Siror might slay me secretly.But can I not be greater far than kings, and continue to choose andgovern them, living as now at mine own ease? Verily the stars shall giveme a new palace, and many subjects."

  Among the wise men was Darvan; and Morven feared him, for his eye oftensought the movements of the son of Osslah.

  And Morven said, "It were better to _trust_ this man than to _blind_,for surely I want a helpmate and a friend." So he said to the wise manas he sat alone watching the setting sun,--

  "It seemeth to me, O Darvan! that we ought to build a great pile inhonour of the stars, and the pile should be more glorious than all thepalaces of the chiefs and the palace of the king; for are not the starsour masters? And thou and I should be the chief dwellers in this newpalace, and we would serve the gods of night and fatten their altarswith the choicest of the herd and the freshest of the fruits of theearth."

  And Darvan said, "Thou speakest as becomes the servant of the stars. Butwill the people help to build the pile? For they are a warlike race andthey love not toil."

  And Morven answered, "Doubtless the stars will ordain the work to bedone. Fear not."

  "In truth thou art a wondrous man; thy words ever come to pass,"answered Darvan; "and I wish thou wouldest teach me, friend, thelanguage of the stars."

  "Assuredly if thou servest me, thou shalt know," answered the proudMorven; and Darvan was secretly wroth that the son of the herdsmanshould command the service of an elder and a chief.

  And when Morven returned to his wife he found her weeping much. Now sheloved the son of Osslah with an exceeding love, for he was not savageand fierce as the men she had known, and she was proud of his fame amongthe tribe; and he took her in his arms and kissed her, and asked her whyshe wept. Then she told him that her brother the king had visited her,and had spoken bitter words of Morven: "He taketh from me the affectionof my people," said Siror, "and blindeth them with lies. And since hehath made me king, what if he take my kingdom from me? Verily a new taleof the stars might undo the old." And the king had ordered her to keepwatch on Morven's secrecy, and to see whether truth was in him when heboasted of his commune with the Powers of night.

  But Orna loved Morven better than Siror, therefore she told her husbandall.

  And Morven resented the king's ingratitude, and was troubled much, fora king is a powerful foe; but he comforted Orna, and bade her dissemble,and complain also of him to her brother, so that he might confide to herunsuspectingly whatsoever he might design against Morven.

  There was a cave by Morven's house in which he kept the sacred hawk,and wherein he secretly trained and nurtured other birds against futureneed; and the door of the cave was always barred. And one day he wasthus engaged when he beheld a chink in the wall that he had never notedbefore, and the sun came playfully in; and while he looked he perceivedthe sunbeam was darkened, and presently he saw a human face peering inthrough the chink. And Morven trembled, for he knew he had been watched.He ran hastily from the cave; but the spy had disappeared among thetrees, and Morven went straight to the chamber of Darvan and sat himselfdown. And Darvan did not return home till late, and he started andturned pale when he saw Morven. But Morven greeted him as a brother, andbade him to a feast, which, for the first time, he purposed giving atthe full of the moon, in honour of the stars. And going out of Darvan'schamber he returned to his wife, and bade her rend her hair, and goat the dawn of day to the king her brother, and complain bitterly ofMorven's treatment, and pluck the black plans from the breast of theking. "For surely," said he, "Darvan hath lied to thy brother, and someevil waits me that I would fain know."

  So the next morning Orna sought the king, and she said, "The herdsman'sson hath reviled me, and spoken harsh words to me; shall I not beavenged?"

  Then the king stamped his feet and shook his mighty sword. "Surely thoushalt be avenged; for I have learned from one of the elders that whichconvinceth me that the man hath lied to the people, and the base-bornshall surely die. Yea, the first time that he goeth alone into theforest my brother and I will fall upon him and smite him to the death."And with this comfort Siror dismissed Orna.

  And Orna flung herself at the feet of her husband. "Fly now, O mybeloved!--fly into the forests afar from my brethren, or surely thesword of Siror will end thy days."

  Then the son of Osslah folded his arms, and seemed buried in blackthoughts; nor did he heed the voice of Orna, until again and again shehad implored him to fly.

  "Fly!" he said at length. "Nay, I was doubting what punishment the starsshould pour down upon our foe. Let warriors fly. Morven the prophetconquers by arms mightier than the sword."

  Nevertheless Morven was perplexed in his mind, and knew not how tosave himself from the vengeance of the king. Now, while he was musinghopelessly he heard a roar of waters; and behold, the river, for it wasnow the end of autumn, had burst its bounds, and was rushing along thevalley to the houses of the city. And now the men of the tribe, and thewomen, and the children, came running, and with shrieks, to Morven'shouse, crying, "Behold, the river has burst upon us! Save us, O ruler ofthe stars!"

  Then the sudden thought broke upon Morven, and he resolved to risk hisfate upon one desperate scheme.

  And he came out from the house calm and sad, and he said, "Ye know notwhat ye ask; I cannot save ye from this peril: ye have brought it onyourselves." And they cried, "How? O son of Osslah! We are ignorant ofour crime."

  And he answered, "Go down to the king's palace and wait before it, andsurely I will follow ye, and ye shall learn wherefore ye have incurredthis punishment from the gods." Then the crowd rolled murmuring back, asa receding sea; and when it was gone from the place, Morven went aloneto the house of Darvan, which was next his own. And Darvan was greatlyterrified; for he was of a great age, and had no children, neitherfriends, and he feared that he could not of himself esca
pe the waters.

  And Morven said to him soothingly, "Lo, the people love me, and I willsee that thou art saved; for verily thou hast been friendly to me, anddone me much service with the king."

  And as he thus spake, Morven opened the door of the house and lookedforth, and saw that they were quite alone. Then he seized the old man bythe throat and ceased not his gripe till he was quite dead; and leavingthe body of the elder on the floor, Morven stole from the house and shutthe gate. And as he was going to his cave he mused a little while, when,hearing the mighty roar of the waves advancing, and far off the shrieksof women, he lifted up his head and said proudly, "No, in this hourterror alone shall be my slave; I will use no art save the power of mysoul." So, leaning on his pine-staff, he strode down to the palace. Andit was now evening, and many of the men held torches, that they mightsee each other's faces in the universal fear. Red flashed the quiveringflames on the dark robes and pale front of Morven; and he seemedmightier than the rest, because his face alone was calm amidst thetumult. And louder and hoarser became the roar of the waters; and swiftrushed the shades of night over the hastening tide.

  And Morven said in a stern voice, "Where is the king; and wherefore ishe absent from his people in the hour of dread?" Then the gate of thepalace opened, and, behold, Siror was sitting in the hall by the vastpine-fire, and his brother by his side, and his chiefs around him: forthey would not deign to come amongst the crowd at the bidding of theherdsman's son.

  Then Morven, standing upon a rock above the heads of the people (thesame rock whereon he had proclaimed the king), thus spake:--

  "Ye desired to know, O sons of Oestrich! wherefore the river hath burstits bounds, and the peril hath come upon you. Learn, then, that thestars resent as the foulest of human crimes an insult to their servantsand delegates below. Ye are all aware of the manner of life of Morven,whom ye have surnamed the Prophet! He harms not man nor beast; he livesalone; and, far from the wild joys of the warrior tribe, he worshipsin awe and fear the Powers of Night. So is he able to advise ye of thecoming danger,--so is he able to save ye from the foe. Thus are yourhuntsmen swift and your warriors bold; and thus do your cattle bringforth their young, and the earth its fruits. What think ye, and what doye ask to hear? Listen, men of Oestrich!--they have laid snares for mylife; and there are amongst you those who have whetted the sword againstthe bosom that is only filled with love for you all. Therefore have thestern lords of heaven loosened the chains of the river; therefore doththis evil menace ye. Neither will it pass away until they who dug thepit for the servant of the stars are buried in the same."

  Then, by the red torches, the faces of the men looked fierce andthreatening; and ten thousand voices shouted forth, "Name them whoconspired against thy life, O holy prophet, and surely they shall betorn limb from limb."

  And Morven turned aside, and they saw that he wept bitterly; and hesaid,--

  "Ye have asked me, and I have answered: but now scarce will ye believethe foe that I have provoked against me; and by the heavens themselvesI swear, that if my death would satisfy their fury, nor bring down uponyourselves and your children's children the anger of the throned stars,gladly would I give my bosom to the knife. Yes," he cried, lifting uphis voice, and pointing his shadowy arm towards the hall where the kingsat by the pine-fire,--"yes, thou whom by my voice the stars choseabove thy brother; yes, Siror, the guilty one! take thy sword, and comehither; strike, if thou hast the heart to strike, the Prophet of theGods!"

  The king started to his feet, and the crowd were hushed in a shudderingsilence.

  Morven resumed:--

  "Know then, O men of Oestrich, that Siror and Voltoch his brother, andDarvan the elder of the wise men, have purposed to slay your prophet,even at such hour as when alone he seeks the shade of the forest todevise new benefits for you. Let the king deny it, if he can!"

  Then Voltoch, of the giant limbs, strode forth from the hall, and hisspear quivered in his hand.

  "Rightly hast thou spoken, base son of my father's herdsman! and forthy sins shalt thou surely die; for thou liest when thou speakest of thypower with the stars, and thou laughest at the folly of them who hearthee: wherefore put him to death."

  Then the chiefs in the hall clashed their arms, and rushed forth to slaythe son of Osslah.

  But he, stretching his unarmed hands on high, exclaimed, "Hear him, Odread ones of the night! Hark how he blasphemeth!"

  Then the crowd took up the word, and cried, "He blasphemeth! heblasphemeth against the prophet!"

  But the king and the chiefs, who hated Morven because of his power withthe people, rushed into the crowd; and the crowd were irresolute, norknew they how to act, for never yet had they rebelled against theirchiefs, and they feared alike the prophet and the king.

  And Siror cried, "Summon Darvan to us, for he hath watched the steps ofMorven, and he shall lift the veil from my people's eyes." Then three ofthe swift of foot started forth to the house of Darvan.

  And Morven cried out with a loud voice, "Hark! thus saith the star, who,now riding through yonder cloud, breaks forth upon my eyes, 'For the liethat the elder hath uttered against my servant, the curse of the starsshall fall upon him.' Seek, and as ye find him so may ye find ever thefoes of Morven and the gods!"

  A chill and an icy fear fell over the crowd, and even the cheek of Sirorgrew pale; and Morven, erect and dark above the waving torches, stoodmotionless with folded arms. And hark!--far and fast came on thewar-steeds of the wave; the people heard them marching to the land, andtossing their white manes in the roaring wind.

  "Lo, as ye listen," said Morven, calmly, "the river sweeps on. Haste,for the gods will have a victim, be it your prophet or your king."

  "Slave!" shouted Siror, and his spear left his hand, and far above theheads of the crowd sped hissing beside the dark form of Morven, and rentthe trunk of the oak behind. Then the people, wroth at the danger oftheir beloved seer, uttered a wild yell, and gathered round him withbrandished swords, facing their chieftains and their king. But atthat instant, ere the war had broken forth among the tribe, the threewarriors returned, and they bore Darvan on their shoulders, and laid himat the feet of the king, and they said tremblingly, "Thus found we theelder in the centre of his own hall." And the people saw that Darvanwas a corpse, and that the prediction of Morven was thus verified. "Soperish the enemies of Morven and the stars!" cried the son of Osslah.And the people echoed the cry. Then the fury of Siror was at its height,and waving his sword above his head he plunged into the crowd, "Thyblood, baseborn, or mine!"

  "So be it!" answered Morven, quailing not. "People, smite theblasphemer! Hark how the river pours down upon your children and yourhearths! On, on, or ye perish!"

  And Siror fell, pierced by five hundred spears.

  "Smite! smite!" cried Morven, as the chiefs of the royal house gatheredround the king. And the clash of swords, and the gleam of spears, andthe cries of the dying, and the yell of the trampling people mingledwith the roar of the elements, and the voices of the rushing wave.

  Three hundred of the chiefs perished that night by the swords of theirown tribe; and the last cry of the victors was, "Morven the prophet!_Morven the king!_"

  And the son of Osslah, seeing the waves now spreading over the valley,led Orna his wife, and the men of Oestrich, their women, and theirchildren, to a high mount, where they waited the dawning sun. But Ornasat apart and wept bitterly, for her brothers were no more, and her racehad perished from the earth. And Morven sought to comfort her in vain.

  When the morning rose, they saw that the river had overspread thegreater part of the city, and now stayed its course among the hollows ofthe vale. Then Morven said to the people, "The star-kings are avenged,and their wrath appeased. Tarry only here until the waters have meltedinto the crevices of the soil." And on the fourth day they returned tothe city, and no man dared to name another, save Morven, as the king.

  But Morven retired into his cave and mused deeply; and then assemblingthe people, he gave them new laws; and he made t
hem build a mightytemple in honour of the stars, and made them heap within it all that thetribe held most precious. And he took unto him fifty children from themost famous of the tribe; and he took also ten from among the men whohad served him best, and he ordained that they should serve the stars inthe great temple: and Morven was their chief. And he put away the crownthey pressed upon him, and he chose from among the elders a new king.And he ordained that henceforth the servants only of the stars in thegreat temple should elect the king and the rulers, and hold council,and proclaim war; but he suffered the king to feast, and to hunt, and tomake merry in the banquet-halls. And Morven built altars in the temple,and was the first who, in the North, sacrificed the beast and the bird,and afterwards human flesh, upon the altars. And he drew auguries fromthe entrails of the victim, and made schools for the science of theprophet; and Morven's piety was the wonder of the tribe, in that herefused to be a king. And Morven the high priest was ten thousand timesmightier than the king. He taught the people to till the ground andto sow the herb; and by his wisdom, and the valour that his propheciesinstilled into men, he conquered all the neighbouring tribes. And thesons of Oestrich spread themselves over a mighty empire, and with themspread the name and the laws of Morven. And in every province which heconquered, he ordered them to build a temple to the stars.

  But a heavy sorrow fell upon the fears of Morven. The sister of Sirorbowed down her head, and survived not long the slaughter of her race.And she left Morven childless. And he mourned bitterly and as onedistraught, for her only in the world had his heart the power to love.And he sat down and covered his face, saying:--

  "Lo! I have toiled and travailed; and never before in the world did manconquer what I have conquered. Verily the empire of the iron thews andthe giant limbs is no more! I have founded a new power, that henceforthshall sway the lands,--the empire of a plotting brain and a commandingmind. But, behold! my fate is barren, and I feel already that it willgrow neither fruit nor tree as a shelter to mine old age. Desolate andlonely shall I pass unto my grave. O Orna! my beautiful! my loved! nonewere like unto thee, and to thy love do I owe my glory and my life!Would for thy sake, O sweet bird! that nestled in the dark cavern of myheart,--would for thy sake that thy brethren had been spared, for verilywith my life would I have purchased thine. Alas! only when I lost theedid I find that thy love was dearer to me than the fear of others!" AndMorven mourned night and day, and none might comfort him.

  But from that time forth he gave himself solely up to the cares of hiscalling; and his nature and his affections, and whatever there was yetleft soft in him, grew hard like stone; and he was a man without love,and he forbade love and marriage to the priest.

  Now, in his latter years, there arose _other_ prophets; for theworld had grown wiser even by Morven's wisdom, and some did say untothemselves, "Behold Morven, the herdsman's son, is a king of kings: thisdid the stars for their servant; shall we not also be servants to thestar?"

  And they wore black garments like Morven, and went about prophesying ofwhat the stars foretold them. And Morven was exceeding wroth; for he,more than other men, knew that the prophets lied. Wherefore he wentforth against them with the ministers of the temple, and he took them,and burned them by a slow fire; for thus said Morven to the people: "Atrue prophet hath honour, but _I_ only am a true prophet; to all falseprophets there shall be surely death."

  And the people applauded the piety of the son of Osslah.

  And Morven educated the wisest of the children in the mysteries of thetemple, so that they grew up to succeed him worthily.

  And he died full of years and honour; and they carved his effigy on amighty stone before the temple, and the effigy endured for a thousandages, and whoso looked on it trembled; for the face was calm with thecalmness of unspeakable awe!

  And Morven was the first mortal of the North that made Religion thestepping-stone to Power. Of a surety Morven was a great man!