Time and the Gods

by Lord Dunsany

  THE MEN OF YARNITH

  The men of Yarnith hold that nothing began until Yarni Zai uplifted hishand. Yarni Zai, they say, has the form of a man but is greater and isa thing of rock. When he uplifted his hand all the rocks that wanderedbeneath the Dome, by which name they call the sky, gathered togetheraround Yarni Zai.

  Of the other worlds they say nought, but hold that the stars are theeyes of all the other gods that look on Yarni Zai and laugh, for theyare all greater than he, though they have gathered no worlds aroundthem.

  Yet though they be greater than Yarni Zai, and though they laugh at himwhen they speak together beneath the Dome, they all speak of Yarni Zai.

  Unheard is the speaking of the gods to all except the gods, but the menof Yarnith tell of how their prophet Iraun lying in the sand desert,Azrakhan, heard once their speaking and knew thereby how Yarni Zaideparted from all the other gods to clothe himself with rocks and makea world.

  Certain it is that every legend tells that at the end of the valley ofYodeth, where it becomes lost among black cliffs, there sits a figurecolossal, against a mountain, whose form is the form of a man with theright hand uplifted, but vaster than the hills. And in the Book ofSecret Things which the prophets keep in the Temple that stands inYarnith is writ the story of the gathering of the world as Iraun heardit when the gods spake together, up in the stillness above Azrakhan.

  And all that read this may learn how Yarni Zai drew the mountains abouthim like a cloak, and piled the world below him. It is not set inwriting for how many years Yarni Zai sat clothed with rocks at the endof the Valley of Yodeth, while there was nought in all the world saverocks and Yarni Zai.

  But one day there came another god running over the rocks across theworld, and he ran as the clouds run upon days of storm, and as he spedtowards Yodeth, Yarni Zai, sitting against his mountain with right handuplifted, cried out:

  "What dost thou, running across my world, and whither art thou going?"

  And the new god answered never a word, but sped onwards, and as he wentto left of him and to right of him there sprang up green things allover the rocks of the world of Yarni Zai.

  So the new god ran round the world and made it green, saying in thevalley where Yarni Zai sat monstrous against his mountain and certainlands wherein Cradoa, the drought, browsed horribly at night.

  Further, the writing in the book tells of how there came yet anothergod running speedily out of the east, as swiftly as the first, with hisface set westward, and nought to stay his running; and how he stretchedboth arms outward beside him, and to left of him and to right of him ashe ran the whole world whitened.

  And Yarni Zai called out:

  "What dost thou, running across my world?"

  And the new god answered:

  "I bring the snow for all the world--whiteness and resting andstillness."

  And he stilled the running of streams and laid his hand even upon thehead of Yarni Zai and muffled the noises of the world, till there wasno sound in all lands, but the running of the new god that brought thesnow as he sped across the plains.

  But the two new gods chased each other for ever round the world, andevery year they passed again, running down the valleys and up the hillsand away across the plains before Yarni Zai, whose hand uplifted hadgathered the world about him.

  And, furthermore, the very devout may read how all the animals came upthe valley of Yodeth to the mountain whereon rested Yarni Zai, saying:

  "Give us leave to live, to be lions, rhinoceroses and rabbits, and togo about the world."

  And Yarni Zai gave leave to the animals to be lions, rhinoceroses andrabbits, and all the other kinds of beasts, and to go about the world.But when they all had gone he gave leave to the bird to be a bird andto go about the sky.

  And further there came a man into that valley who said:

  "Yarni Zai, thou hast made animals into thy world. O Yarni Zai, ordainthat there be men."

  So Yarni Zai made men.

  Then was there in the world Yarni Zai, and two strange gods thatbrought the greenness and the growing and the whiteness and thestillness, and animals and men.

  And the god of the greenness pursued the god of the whiteness, and thegod of the whiteness pursued the god of the greenness, and men pursuedanimals, and animals pursued men. But Yarni Zai sat still against hismountain with his right hand uplifted. But the men of Yarnith say thatwhen the arm of Yarni Zai shall cease to be uplifted the world shall beflung behind him, as a man's cloak is flung away. And Yarni Zai, nolonger clad with the world, shall go back into the emptiness beneaththe Dome among the stars, as a diver seeking pearls goes down from theislands.

  It is writ in Yarnith's histories by scribes of old that there passed ayear over the valley of Yarnith that bore not with it any rain; and theFamine from the wastes beyond, finding that it was dry and pleasant inYarnith, crept over the mountains and down their slopes and sunnedhimself at the edge of Yarnith's fields.

  And men of Yarnith, labouring in the fields, found the Famine as henibbled at the corn and chased the cattle, and hastily they drew waterfrom deep wells and cast it over the Famine's dry grey fur and drovehim back to the mountains. But the next day when his fur was dry againthe Famine returned and nibbled more of the corn and chased the cattlefurther, and again men drove him back. But again the Famine returned,and there came a time when there was no more water in the wells tofrighten the Famine with, and he nibbled the corn till all of it wasgone and the cattle that he chased grew very lean. And the Famine drewnearer, even to the houses of men and trampled on their gardens atnight and ever came creeping nearer to their doors. At last the cattlewere able to run no more, and one by one the Famine took them by theirthroats and dragged them down, and at night he scratched in the ground,killing even the roots of things, and came and peered in at thedoorways and started back and peered in at the door again a littlefurther, but yet was not bold enough to enter altogether, for fear thatmen should have water to throw over his dry grey fur.

  Then did the men of Yarnith pray to Yarni Zai as he sat far off beyondthe valley, praying to him night and day to call his Famine back, butthe Famine sat and purred and slew all the cattle and dared at last totake men for his food.

  And the histories tell how he slew children first and afterwards grewbolder and tore down women, till at last he even sprang at the throatsof men as they laboured in the fields.

  Then said the men of Yarnith:

  "There must go one to take our prayers to the feet of Yarni Zai; forthe world at evening utters many prayers, and it may be that Yarni Zai,as he hears all earth lamenting when the prayers at evening flutter tohis feet, may have missed among so many the prayers of the men ofYarnith. But if one go and say to Yarni Zai: 'There is a little creasein the outer skirts of thy cloak that men call the valley of Yarnith,where the Famine is a greater lord than Yarni Zai,' it may be that heshall remember for an instant and call his Famine back."

  Yet all men feared to go, seeing that they were but men and Yarni Zaiwas Lord of the whole earth, and the journey was far and rocky. Butthat night Hothrun Dath heard the Famine whining outside his house andpawing at his door; therefore, it seemed to him more meet to witherbefore the glance of Yarni Zai than that the whining of that Famineshould ever again fall upon his ears.

  So about the dawn, Hothrun Dath crept away, fearing still to hearbehind him the breathing of the Famine, and set out upon his journeywhither pointed the graves of men. For men in Yarnith are buried withtheir feet and faces turned toward Yarni Zai, lest he might beckon tothem in their night and call them to him.

  So all day long did Hothrun Dath follow the way of the graves. It istold that he even journeyed for three days and nights with nought butthe graves to guide him, as they pointed towards Yarni Zai where allthe world slopes upwards towards Yodeth, and the great black rocks thatare nearest to Yarni Zai lie gathered together by clans, till he cameto the two great black pillars of asdarinth and saw the rocks beyondthem piled in a dark valley, narrow and aloof, and knew that
this wasYodeth. Then did he haste no more, but walked quietly up the valley,daring not to disturb the stillness, for he said:

  "Surely this is the stillness of Yarni Zai, which lay about him beforehe clothed himself with rocks."

  Here among the rocks which first had gathered to the call of Yarni Zai,Hothrun Dath felt a mighty fear, but yet went onwards because of allhis people and because he knew that thrice in every hour in some darkchamber Death and Famine met to speak two words together, "The End."

  But as dawn turned the darkness into grey, he came to the valley's end,and even touched the foot of Yarni Zai, but saw him not, for he was allhidden in the mist. Then Hothrun Dath feared that he might not beholdhim to look him in the eyes when he sent up his prayer. But laying hisforehead against the foot of Yarni Zai he prayed for the men ofYarnith, saying:

  "O Lord of Famine and Father of Death, there is a spot in the worldthat thou hast cast about thee which men call Yarnith, and there mendie before the time thou hast apportioned, passing out of Yarnith.Perchance the Famine hath rebelled against thee, or Death exceedshis powers. O Master of the World, drive out the Famine as a moth outof thy cloak, lest the gods beyond that regard thee with their eyessay--there is Yarni Zai, and lo! his cloak is tattered."

  And in the mist no sign made Yarni Zai. Then did Hothrun Dath pray toYarni Zai to make some sign with his uplifted hand that he might knowhe heard him. In the awe and silence he waited, until nigh the dawn themist that hid the figure rolled upwards. Serene above the mountains hebrooded over the world, silent, with right hand uplifted.

  What Hothrun Dath saw there upon the face of Yarni Zai no historytelleth, or how he came again alive to Yarnith, but this is writ thathe fled, and none hath since beheld the face of Yarni Zai. Some saythat he saw a look on the face of the image that set a horror tinglingthrough his soul, but it is held in Yarnith that he found the marks ofinstruments of carving about the figure's feet, and discerning therebythat Yarni Zai was wrought by the hands of men, he fled down the valleyscreaming:

  "There are no gods, and all the world is lost." And hope departed fromhim and all the purposes of life. Motionless behind him, lit by therising sun, sat the colossal figure with right hand uplifted that manhad made in his own image.

  But the men of Yarnith tell how Hothrun Dath came back again panting tohis own city, and told the people that there were no gods and thatYarnith had no hope from Yarni Zai. Then the men of Yarnith when theyknew that the Famine came not from the gods, arose and strove againsthim. They dug deep for wells, and slew goats for food high up onYarnith's mountains and went afar and gathered blades of grass, whereyet it grew, that their cattle might live. Thus they fought the Famine,for they said: "If Yarni Zai be not a god, then is there nothingmightier in Yarnith than men, and who is the Famine that he should barehis teeth against the lords of Yarnith?"

  And they said: "If no help cometh from Yarni Zai then is there no helpbut from our own strength and might, and we be Yarnith's gods with thesaving of Yarnith burning within us or its doom according to ourdesire."

  And some more the Famine slew, but others raised their hands saying:"These be the hands of gods," and drave the Famine back till he wentfrom the houses of men and out among the cattle, and still the men ofYarnith pursued him, till above the heat of the fight came the millionwhispers of rain heard faintly far off towards evening. Then the Faminefled away howling back to the mountains and over the mountains' crests,and became no more than a thing that is told in Yarnith's legends.

  A thousand years have passed across the graves of those that fell inYarnith by the Famine. But the men of Yarnith still pray to Yarni Zai,carved by men's hands in the likeness of a man, for they say--"It maybe that the prayers we offer to Yarni Zai may roll upwards from hisimage as do the mists at dawn, and somewhere find at last the othergods or that God who sits behind the others of whom our prophets knownot."