And
then, behold, I was aware of a murmur in the night, coming to me, dim
and from afar off; and I saw the little shapes of the Peoples in the
lower embrasures, in constant movement; and I knew upon the instant that
the Multitudes did take that salute unto themselves, and cried out and
waved to me their farewells, or to come back--as may be. And, indeed, I was but a lonesome person looking up at that great
mountain of metal and Life. And I knew that I had danger to realise my
plight; and I stayed no more; but did raise the Diskos, reversed, as was
but meet from one young man unto all the Millions. And I looked swiftly upward through those eight great miles of night,
unto that Final Light which did shine in the black heavens; so that my
friend should know that I thought of him that was beyond my sight, in
that last moment. And it may be that the invisible millions that were
far up in the night, in the Upper Cities, did take that also to be a
meaning of farewell to themselves; for there came down out of the
monstrous height, a far, faint murmur of sound, as of a vague wind up in
the night. Then did I lower the Diskos, and turn me about. And I breasted strangely
against the Air Clog, and stept forward across the Circle, into the
lonesomeness of the Night Land. And I looked no more behind; for that
which was my Home did weaken my heart somewhat, to behold; so that I
made determination that I look not again to my back, for a great while. Yet, about me as I went, there was constant surging in the aether of the
world; and it did tell unto me how that those, my people and kin, had
continual mind of me, both in prayer and wishings, and in a perpetual
watching. And the same gave to me a feeling as of being something
companied; yet, in a time, it came to me that this disturbance of the
aether should tell to some Evil Force how that I was there abroad in the
Land. But how to stop this thing, who should have power? For, of truth,
had I been among them to make a full explaining of the danger, they had
been yet powerless to cease; for but to have such great multitudes
a-think upon one matter, was to set a disturbance about, as should be
most clear to all. Now, at the beginning, I did walk outwards into the Night Land, somewhat
blindly, and without sure direction; being intent only to put a good
space to my back, that I might cure somewhat the ache which did weaken
my heart at the first. But, in awhile, I ceased somewhat from my overswiftness, and did put
thought to my going. And I came quickly to reason that I should try a
new way through the Land; for it might be that there was an
over-watchfulness in that part which had been trod by the Youths. And I began therewith to set this thought to the practice; and went not
direct towards the North; but to the North and West; and so in the end
to mean to circle around to the back of the North-West Watcher, and
thence to the North of the Plain Of Blue Fire; and afterwards, as might
be, have a true and straightway to the North; and by this planning come
a long way clear of that House of Silence, which did put more fear upon
me than all else that was horrid in the Land. Yet, as all will see, this made to me a greater journey; though, in
verity, it were better to go slowly and win to success, than to make a
greater haste towards Destruction; which was, indeed, surely to be mine
end, did I not go warily. Now it may be thought upon with wonder, that I did go so assuredly to
the North; but I went thiswise, part by an inward Knowing, and part come
upon by much latter studying, within the Pyramid, of olden books; and by
reasoning upon all things that I did observe, that had seemings of
verity in them. And because of this constant searching upon one matter, I had come, but
a while back, upon a little book of metal, very strange and ancient,
that had lain forgot in a hid place in the Great Library through ten
hundred thousand years, maybe, or less or more, for all that I had
knowing. And much that was writ in the book was common knowledge, and set mostly
to the count of fairy-tales and suchlike, even as we of this our age
take not over-surely any belief in Myths of olden times. Yet had I
always much liking for such matters, perceiving behind that outer shell
which did win always so much unbelief, the kernel of ancient truths and
happenings. And thus was it, concerning this little book which I had made discovery
of; for it told again, that which oft I had heard (even as we in this
age, read of the Deluge) how that once, in a time monstrous far back
from that, but utter future to this age of ours, the world did brake
upwards in a vast earth-quaking, that did rend the world for a thousand
miles. And there came a mighty chasm, so deep that none might see the bottom
thereof; and there rushed therein an ocean, and the earth did burst
afresh with a sound that did shake all the cities of the world; and a
great mist lay upon the earth for many days, and there was a mighty
rain. And, indeed, this was just so set in certain Histories of the Ancient
World. Also, there was made reference to it, within some olden Records. Yet nowise to be taken with a serious mind, to the seeming of the
peoples of the Mighty Pyramid; but only as a quaint study for the
Students, and to be set out in little tales that did entertain the
nurseries; or, as it might be, wise men and the general. Yet, there was this, about that small and peculiar book, that it did
speak of many of these things, as it were that it did quote from the
pens of those that did have actual witness; and set all out with a
strange gravity, that did cause one to consider it as meant to be indeed
the tellings of Truth, and to seem thiswise to have great difference
from all that I had read before concerning those matters. And there was, further, a part in the ending of the book, that did seem
to be writ of a time that came afterwards, maybe an hundred thousand,
and maybe a million years; but who shall say. And therein it did tell of an huge and mighty Valley that did come out
of the West, towards the South-East, and made turning thence Northwards,
and was a thousand miles both ways. And the sides thereof were an
hundred miles deep, and the Sun did stand in the Western end, and made a
red gloom for a thousand miles. And in the bottom there were great seas;
and beasts strange and awesome, and very plentiful. Now this, as may be seen, was as the talk of Romance; yet did I turn my
wits to their natural end, and made thus plain of it. For, in truth, I
to have something of belief, and it to seem to me that in a bygone
Eternity, when the world was yet light, as in my heart I knew to have
been indeed a thing of verity, there was a great and wondrous
earthquake.