Work Text:
Above the skin of the sea billowed great wings, the sails of a fleet who held living souls in their wombs. With the eyes of the gulls and the ears of the bats, mirthful Jukov watched them come forth. Then he hied him to the Seat of the World, where he held counsel with his ancient brother, and with the Mother of All.
“It is Voortya and her children, whose maws seek blood,” Jukov spoke. “Long have they feasted on the tribute of the islands. Now they ride low, laden with spoils.”
“It is Voortya and her children, who grow brittle and frail so far from their home,” Taalhavras echoed. “Their strength is spent; they must drink of the fresh nectar of these shores, before they go forth again. Let us rise to greet them, and prepare them a worthy feast.”
But Ahanas spoke: “Beware! For Voortya has cleft even her own heart in twain. What need has she of our milk? What word has she to share with us, now that she has condemned herself to eternal silence? Listen well: there is no one, mortal or Blessed, who can endure like mighty Voortya. She may sustain herself in faithless lands and never tire, and if she goes forth from this life, it is only to wage war where there is no more dying. It may be that her children have tired of battle, since she can neither cheer their victories nor mourn their defeats. But I have beheld her within and without, and I tell you she is not here.”
Jukov listened, for he was flighty and fearful, not knowing truth from lies. But Taalhavras thought himself grand, like a mighty oak which, while it does not bend, shatters at the lightning’s touch. “Cornerstone and crux am I. What do you, seed-sower, lively one, know of warfare?”
“If Voortya herself cannot speak of it, who am I to testify? Were your ears worthy, you would already know the truth. But she has not seen fit to show you the way. No, none of you can bring forth life and growth and renewal. So you see, even the warrior is wiser than you, for she knows she has no need of you.”
Then with this Jukov grew much wroth, for he thought himself the mightiest among the Divinities, and would not hear otherwise. So he joined his might with that of Taalhavras, to go forth and make ready for the fleet.
[This text was found on a stone tablet in the Ahanashtani sector. The event described is obviously the discourse among the three surviving Divinities in early 1639. The composition is usually dated to the early 1640s, after the Blink; the Divinities are presented as disagreeing and fallible, presumably by an Ahanashtani devotee disturbed by their patrons’ mortality. With the benefit of hindsight, the more accurate view of the situation is retroactively projected upon Ahanas. However, because almost all organic Ahanashtani infrastructure was destroyed after the Blink, it is difficult to establish exact dates for comparison. I would like to consider the possibility that this was carved contemporaneously with the events related, before the deaths of Ahanas and the other Divinities. If so, this suggests that dissension among the Divinities was much more prevalent than conventionally understood, and Ahanas’ connection with Voortya may have persisted in some form for much longer than generally assumed. -EP]