And I was
weak a little with the tumult and force of my emotion; but in a moment I
called eagerly with my brain-elements to Naani to give some explaining
of this thing that she had spoken to the utter troubling of my heart. Yet, once more she made no direct answer; but spoke the words again to
me across all the dark of the world. And it came to me suddenly, that it
was not Naani that spoke; but Mirdath the Beautiful, from out of all the
everlasting night. And I called: "Mirdath! Mirdath," with my
brain-elements, into the night; and lo! the far, faint voice spoke again
to my spirit through all the darkness of eternity, saying again those
words. Yet, though the voice was the voice of Mirdath the Beautiful, it
was also the voice of Naani; and I knew in all my heart that this thing
was in verity; and that it had been given to me to be birthed once more
into this world in the living-time of that Only One, with whom my spirit
and essence hath mated in all ages through the everlasting. And I called
with my brain-elements and all my strength to Naani; but there came no
answer; neither sign of hearing, though through hours I called. And thus at last I came to an utter exhaustion; but neither could be
quiet, nor sleep. Yet, presently, I slept. And when I waked, my first memory was of the wondrous thing which had
befallen in the sleep-time; for none in all this world could have known
those words; save it had been the spirit of Mirdath, my Beautiful One,
looking from above my shoulder in that utter-lost time, as I made those
words to her, out of an aching and a broken heart. And the voice had
been the voice of Mirdath; and the voice of Mirdath had been the voice
of Naani. And what shall any say to this, save that which I had in my
heart. And immediately I called to Naani, once, and again twice; and in a
little moment there came all about me the throbbing of the Master-Word,
beating solemnly in the night; and I sent the Master-Word to give
assurance, and immediately the voice of Naani, a little weak as was it
always when she had not the Instrument, but sent the message with her
brain-elements. And I answered her, and questioned her eagerly concerning her sayings of
the past time of sleep; but she disclaimed, and made clear to me that
she had no knowledge of having spoken; but had slept through all that
time of which I made to tell; and, indeed, had dreamed a very strange
dream. And for a little while I was confused, and meditated, not knowing what
to think; but came suddenly again to a knowledge that Naani's far voice
was thrilling the aether all about; and that she would tell to me her
dream; which had set strong upon her mind. And she told the dream to me, and in the dream she had seen a tall, dark
man, built very big, and dressed in unfamiliar clothing. And the man had
been in a little room, and very sorrowful, and lonesome; and in her
dream she had gone nigh to him. And presently the man made to write, that he might ease him by giving
expression to his sorrow; and Naani had been able to read the words that
he wrote; though to her waking spirit the language in which they were
writ was strange and unknown. Yet she could not remember what he had
writ, save but one short line, and this she had mind of in that he had
writ the word Mirdath above. And she spoke of the strangeness of this
thing, that she should dream of this name; but supposed that I had fixed
it upon her, by my first callings. And then did I, with something of a tremble in my spirit, ask Naani to
tell me what she remembered of the writing of that big, sorrowful
stranger. And, in a little moment, her far voice said these words all
about me:

    "Dearest, thine own feet tread the world at night--"

But no more had she memory of. Yet it was a sufficiency, and I, maybe
with a mad, strange triumph in my soul, said unto her with my
brain-elements that which remained of those words. And my spirit felt
them strike upon the spirit of Naani, and awake her memory, as with the
violence of a blow. And for a little while she stumbled, dumb before so
much newness and certainly. And her spirit then to waken, and she near
wept with the fright and the sudden, new wonder of this thing. And immediately, all about me there came her voice thrilling, and the
voice was the voice of Mirdath, and the voice of Naani; and I heard the
tears of her spirit make pure and wonderful the bewildered and growing
gladness of her far voice. And she asked me, as one who had suddenly
opened the Gates of Memory, whether she might be truly Mirdath. And I,
utter weak and shaken strangely because of this splendour of fulfilment,
could make no instant answer. And she asked again, but using mine old
love-name, and with a sureness in her far voice. And still I was so
strangely dumb, and the blood to thud peculiar in mine ears; and this to
pass; and speech to come swift. And this way to be that meeting of our spirits, across all the
everlasting night. And you shall have for a memory-picture, how that Naani stood there in
the world in that far eternity, and, with her spirit having speech with
mine, looked back through the part-opened gates of her memory, into the
past of this our life and Age. Yet more than this she saw, and more than
was given to me in that Age; for she had memory now and sight of other
instances, and of other comings together, which had some confusion and
but half-meanings to me. Yet of this our present Age and life, we spoke
as of some yesterday; but very hallowed. Now, as may be conceived, the wonder of this surety which had come into
my life stirred me fiercely to its completion; for all my heart and
spirit cried out to be with that one who was Mirdath, and now spoke with
the voice of Naani. Yet, how should this be won; for none among all the learned men of that
Mighty Pyramid knew the position of the Lesser Redoubt; neither could
the Records and Histories of the World give us that knowledge; only that
there was a general thought among the Students and the Monstruwacans
that it lay between the North-West and the North-East. But no man had
any surety; neither could any conceive of the distance from us of that
Refuge. And counting all this, there was yet the incredible danger and peril of
the Night Land, and the hunger and desolation of the Outer Lands, which
were sometimes named the Unknown Lands. And I spoke much with Naani concerning this matter of their position;
yet neither she nor her father, the Master Monstruwacan of that Refuge,
had any knowing either of our position; only that the Builder of the
Lesser Redoubt had come out of the Southward World in the Beginning, as
they had knowledge of by the Records. Also, the father of Naani set that ancient Compass to bear; for, as he
made explanation to us through the Instrument, so great a power of the
Earth-Current must be ours that, perchance it was our force which did
affect the pointer from steadfastness.