CHAPTER LV.
LEXINGTON AND LYONE HAILED KING AND QUEEN OF ATVATABAR.
The extraordinary scenes attending the reincarnation of Lyone had leftme, when I returned to my senses, exhausted with emotion. It wasgloriously true that she who was the Supreme Goddess, she who hadsuffered death in the fortress of Calnogor, had been restored to lifeby the powerful necromancy of the sorcerer and his college oftwin-souls.
I rushed forward in presence of the entire congregation and embracedin turn the radiant Lyone and the beloved Charka.
I took her living figure in my arms. She was in a limp, tranquilcondition, yet happily alive. The happy priests and priestessesshouted with enthusiasm: "Long live Lexington and Lyone, King andQueen of Atvatabar!"
It was a blissful moment to us both. The future, that had lain underthe terrors of death, now smiled again. I gazed upon my beloved's facewith unspeakable tenderness. I saw that she smiled at me sweetly.
Her apostasy was victorious, but who could have supposed thatmartyrdom and reincarnation were the path to glory? She had exchangedthe crown of the goddess for that of a queen.
HEAVENS AND EARTH! HE WAS HOLDING LYONE IN HIS ARMS,ALIVE FROM THE LIVING BATTERY! LYONE, THE PEERLESS SOUL OF SOULS,ALIVE ONCE MORE AND TRIUMPHANT OVER DEATH.]
Handing my precious burden back to Charka again, I addressed thecongregation as follows:
"Priests and priestesses of Egyplosis, wayleals and amazons of thesacred and victorious army, I thank you from the depths of my heartfor your loyal salutation, but I particularly thank the grand sorcererCharka, and you his hierophants, for your glorious restoration of hermajesty to life, king and crown, thus defeating the cowardly crime ofthe ex-king. By reason of our victory, their majesties King Bhoolmakarand Queen Toplissy of Atvatabar are deposed from the throne, and hisex-majesty, by reason of his great crime, is condemned to death.
"The causes that led to this revolution are already known to you. Thetime was ripe for a reform in Egyplosis. Regulation and notsuppression will be our aim, and they who have helped us to this greatconquest will not go unrewarded.
"After her tremendous experiences, the queen will require a season ofabsolute rest to restore her to perfect health. I will intrust thetask of establishing a reform of Egyplosis in competent hands,assisted by a council of your own representatives. The present crisisis too overwhelmingly happy to permit me to say more to you. Onanother occasion I will thank you more effectively."
This speech was received with enthusiastic applause.
On a litter, supported by six twin-souls, Lyone was tenderly borne outof the temple. We departed amid joyful peans of music, our pathwaybeing strewn with flowers. We reached the supernal palace, and sawfrom every roof floating the flag of Lyone, in token of our victory.
In her palace, on a couch of pale green velvet, lay the reincarnatedform of Lyone, filled with a sense of luxurious rest. The experiencesof the past few days demanded a period of profound repose. Her facewore a blessed and triumphant smile. She had paid with suffering forthat Nirvana of joy. With reincarnation, or rather resurrection, hadcome a holier transfiguration of form and face. She was still too weakphysically to discuss at length the great changes that had come to heror to the history of Atvatabar.
She was the symbol of the more sensitive souls of humanity, who,capable of intense suffering and delirious rapture, must needspurchase all their joys with heart-rending experiences. The culturethat comes from agony is our most priceless possession, and brings thesoul to every feast, as well as the body. The body, daily slain bysuffering, is resurrected with a purer flesh, and receives areincarnated soul fitted for ideal delights. It has attained ameasure of Nirvana. It anticipates immortality by reason of sufferingand love. Lyone had more than all achieved an ideal existence. Beforeshe would be able to return again to the realities of the world, itwas necessary that time should be given her for physical and spiritualinvigoration.
"I feel neither pain nor fatigue," said Lyone; "my senses seemeddrowned in a delicious rest. You tell me that I have been dead andbrought to life again, and although I have no sense of having passedthrough the agony, I must believe you. I remember touching a goldenvase of flowers in my prison, and then all became a blank until Istood with the grand sorcerer in the temple of reincarnation."
"That vase you touched," said I, "was connected with a powerful magnicbattery, which was placed in your apartment by the king's order, tokill you. Grasnagallipas, leader of the king's bockhockids, onlearning of his royal master's treachery, immediately transferred hisallegiance and important command to our army, and was mainlyinstrumental in securing the victory."
"So our cause has triumphed," said Lyone; "and what has become of theking?"
"The king," I replied, "is king no more. I am King of Atvatabar andyou are my beloved queen."
Lyone turned aside her face and wept tears of joy.
"Our marriage," I added, "will inaugurate the reign of a religion ofwedded love, and you will sit with me as queen on the throne ofAtvatabar."
"That will be glorious," said Lyone, "but I fear our marriage willalso end ideal love and sorcery, and the Nirvana of a hundred years,the fairest products of Egyplosis."
"Do you see now," I said, "that ideal joys in the world can only bebuilt on more extensive miseries? It would be a glorious thing tobuild houses of jewels, but so long as real jewels are so rare, wemust be content with rocks. Still, there are jewels, and in AtvatabarI learn they are much more abundant than on the outer planet;therefore it might be proper for twin-souls to walk on love'senchanted ground for a brief though definite period."
Lyone had undergone transfiguration. Beautiful as a spirit, her figureseemed plastic porcelain. Death had made more luminous the splendidsculpture of her face. As she spoke, it seemed to me that we hadclosed the door on the infelicitous experiences of actual life, andwere opening the gates of a more glorious day.
I informed Lyone of the arrival of the two vessels from the outerworld, and of the great services of Captain Adams and Sir John Forbesin turning the tide of battle by sea in our favor. She was delightedat the prospect of meeting fresh visitors from the outer world, and indue time Captain Adams and Sir John Forbes and their entire ships'companies stood before her who was delighted with the fulleracquaintance thus made with the people of the outer world. Both thecaptains and their officers realized her ideal of exotic manhood,which combined stalwart proportions with intellectual benignity offace.
Sir John Forbes was very complimentary in his praise of the grace andbeauty of Lyone and her associates among the priestesses of Egyplosis.He considered Lyone to possess spiritual beauty to an extraordinarydegree. The wonderful pale-gold of her complexion was in markedcontrast to the old-gold complexion of the women of Atvatabar. He alsopraised the splendid beauty of Zooly-Soase and Thoubool, who wereindeed magnificent women.
My success encouraged the strangers to consider that conquest in otherrealms of Plutusia would be an easy accomplishment, especially ifarmed with such weapons as those possessed by the sailors of the_Polar King_. But even admitting superiority of weapons, they thoughtit a marvellous thing that one small vessel with but eighty men couldconquer fifty millions of people.
In my own mind I thought it possible that the _Polar King_ mightconquer still greater kingdoms, and that in time I might be Plutarchof Plutusia. But in such business one realm at a time is enough. Isuggested to our visitors that there were at least twenty realms, eachas large as Atvatabar, in this interior planet, that would give themopportunity for adventure.
"We also wish," said I, "both the United States and England to knowthat our ports are open for commerce, and foreign trade is welcome toseek our shores. We have gold enough to enrich all comers from theouter world."
The eyes of our visitors and their officers glistened at thisintelligence. And well they might, for Atvatabar was worth a thousandrealms like Golconda or Peru. We had wealth for literature andscience, art and commerce, which rightly used would make Atvatabar thewonder of
the ages, a realm of palaces and temples, the fountain ofwisdom, the mother of art, and its commerce would make both the earthsrich beyond the dreams of fortune. I was determined that the royalmagnificence of the thrones of all time on either surface of the earthshould be outrivalled by the supreme glory of that of Atvatabar. Iknew there was an inspiration to human endeavor that magnificencealone can give, and would use my wealth to advance the happiness ofhumanity.
Lyone being at last fully restored to health, we determined to delayno longer the important ceremonies of our royal marriage andcoronation, not only to complete our happiness, but to reallyestablish the government on a personal basis so agreeable to thewishes and customs of the people.
Lyone's aerial yacht was made ready for the journey to Calnogor. Itwas large enough to carry the captains, officers, and men of the_Mercury_ and _Aurora Borealis_, the captain, officers, and men of the_Polar King_, as well as Lyone and myself and the great officers ofstate and retinue. All being safely on board, I gave the signal forflight, and in a moment we were launched on the air with tremendousspeed.