Clockwork Phoenix 3: new tales of beauty and strangeness

by Mike Allen

  I bring to you the mystery of life and death, which is to govern the world now the gate of Eden has been barred. On this day Chava has brought forth a second son, who is called Hevel, and in this manner shall all of mankind be propagated: in woman’s desire for her husband shall the seed be planted, and in pain for their sins shall she bring it forth. And their days upon the earth shall not be without number; in time their strength shall wane, and when that hour comes their souls shall depart their bodies, going to their heavenly Father to be judged. But of that mystery none among the bekhorim may speak, nay, not even myself; for that is reserved to mankind alone.

  Through me do they gain this gift of life, but you must bear it to them. As once you tended the trees in the garden, now shall you inhabit the wilderness without; to you the LORD gave dominion over every herb bearing seed, and every tree bearing fruit, to be in your care. You shall be of the trees, and of the waters, and of the airy winds, and of all things giving life. For you there shall be no weakness, nor any departure; you shall neither eat nor drink, save by your own desire, and the toil of mankind is not for you. Eternal shall your lives be, and this is the gift of the LORD to his firstborn creations.

  So taught Anaph, and the disciples marveled at her words.

  Then she laid the commandments of God upon them, saying, Remember always the day of your birth, which was the sixth day of creation; and celebrate it with your actions. Fear the name of the LORD, for it is fitting for the eldest to show respect by their fear. Give not your own names to those who might abuse them; names are holy things, and in them is power. Break not your oaths to any creature, for as light and all things came into being upon the word of the LORD, so too do your words call forth the thing which you swear; to render them false is to destroy that which you have created, which is an abomination.

  These were the teachings of Anaph to her eight disciples, and to Nachash, who was the ninth, and first among them all.

  5.

  After Anaph had wrought many miracles among the bekhorim, and taught to them their holy covenant, she drew apart for a time. And Nachash stayed by her side, for he had been with her since she opened his eyes in the wilderness, and he bore great love for her. Recognizing this, Anaph said unto him, It is not good that thou holdest me thus in thy heart, for it will only make heavier the burden thou bearest. But Nachash said, It is only through my love that I was saved; though I am not yet redeemed, for I still go upon my belly in the dust. I will obey any commandment of yours, save that which commands me not to love.

  Then she gathered together her disciples and once more imparted to them the will of God, saying, Chava hath borne two sons unto Adam, who are Qayin and Hevel; she will in time bear more, and daughters besides. But it is not fitting for a man to marry his sister, nor for a woman to lie with her brother; it is an abomination. How then are the generations of mankind to continue? I say to you, this is the gift the bekhorim shall bear to them, taken from the hand of the LORD. Two of you must go forth now to the place where Chava and Adam dwell, and give yourselves as wives to their sons. And before you depart I shall baptize you, and wash from you the gifts given to the bekhorim, that you may receive the gifts of mankind; human you will be, and bear sons and daughters to the sons and daughters of Adam.

  When the disciples heard this, they were much disturbed. They went apart from Anaph to consider her words in the stillness of their hearts. But when the bekhorim heard what had passed among them, many were wroth, and the angry ones said, We are the eldest children of the LORD, and favored in his eyes: for us there is no toil or sweat, no sickness and no death. Why should we abandon these gifts to become less than we are? For Anaph said also that others must go: until the numbers of Adam’s seed grew so many that one might not be close cousin to all the rest, they must take their husbands and their wives from among the bekhorim, who thereafter would be human.

  And even those who heeded Anaph yet questioned, asking, Is it not fitting that the seed of Adam should give something to us in return? This sacrifice is asked of us alone, whose numbers are few and unchanging; why should we not have compensation out of the multitudes of his children, to console us for those we have lost?

  She answered them, saying, Consolation shall be yours, for when it is needed, you shall bear children, and not with the pains of Chava. As you bring life to mankind, so must they bring it to you; they shall be your midwives when that time comes, that your numbers may be restored. And this reassured many, but not all.

  Her disciples then came to her again, and Anaph asked them for their answer. And Ometz stepped forward and said, I will be wife to Qayin, and Yedida followed her, saying, I will be wife to Hevel. To them Anaph said, Sorrows you both shall know, for hard is the way for those who first break the path; but you shall be rewarded for your choice.

  Then she took them to the banks of the river, and there she washed from them the guilt of Nachash, so they were bekhorot no more, but as women. But she clothed them in green, in remembrance of their former natures, and thus they went forth to the place where Adam and Chava dwelt, and there gave themselves as wives to Qayin and Hevel. And Anaph said, Keep the memory of this act, as your tribute to Heaven, and to the Father who gave you life; that in future times others may go unto mankind and cleave to them as wives. But let mankind treasure that which hath been given to them, and mistreat it not, lest they lose that which they have received.

  6.

  And to the six of her disciples that remained, and to also Nachash, Anaph said, The final mystery is soon to come, which shall seal your covenant with the LORD. Truly I say to you, though you understand it not, this is the fruition of all that my Father hath willed for you; for I am born of the tree of life, and this is the fruit I give unto you. Take, eat; by this are you washed clean of the guilt of Nachash, and made holy again in the eyes of the LORD.

  And the disciples did not understand. But Anaph drew apart with Nachash, and said to him in secret, This is the burden laid upon thee, that thou must understand more than all the rest. Unto Qayin thou must go, and counsel him; for the time hath come for the sons of Chava to make an offering unto the LORD. And he is a tiller of the ground, as his brother is a keeper of sheep, and from this will each make his offering: but unto Qayin thou shalt go, and tell him there is a fruit he must offer to the LORD.

  But Nachash, fearing, said unto her, I cannot tell him of this offering, for in the silence of my heart a voice speaks, warning me that great grief will come of it.

  Anaph said, And so it will. For it shall be as I warned thee: that thy greater understanding would be a burden, and thou wouldst be despised for it. Yet this is the mystery I bring to thee, that without death there cannot be life: whereas in the garden all was perfection, and neither life nor death were needed, here in the wilderness there must be both; and so I bring them. Through me did Chava bear her first son, and through me shall come also death, so that man’s time upon this earth shall not be eternal, but only that of the bekhorim.

  Then Nachash wept, for love abided in his heart, and so great was the pain that he thought this must be the death of which Anaph spoke. But death was not for the bekhorim. And he had promised her that he would obey any commandment, save the commandment not to love; and the bekhorim could not break their word, lest they commit an abomination.

  7.

  So he went forth, crawling upon his belly in the dust, until he came to the feet of Qayin. And to him he said, Go you into the wood, and you shall find there a tree, whose fruit is more pleasing than any that grow in this wilderness. Take with you your sickle, and reap from that tree, and offer its fruit unto the LORD. And Qayin thanked him and rewarded him, saying, For this gift I will give you a gift in return, that the first child my wife bears shall be yours to keep.

  When Nachash returned all the disciples questioned him, asking, Where is Anaph, for we cannot find her. Then Nachash told them all she had said. Of the mystery they did not understand, but Koach saw the meaning of his words, and began to stamp upon his ba
ck, crying, Traitor. The others took up this cry, and threw stones at him, as they had in days past, saying, Traitor; thou hast betrayed our teacher, and because of thee she will die. And he lay beneath their feet, accepting their punishment.

  At last Savlan halted them, saying, We must go find Qayin, and stop him, for he will slay our teacher.

  In haste they went, and Nachash followed them, crawling in secret upon his belly, hidden by the grasses of the earth: but in haste also went Qayin, to the place where Nachash had told him the tree might be found. Together they came to that place, and there stood Anaph in the form of a tree; and Qayin took a jawbone, the sickle with which he reaped his crops, and swung it at the fruits of the tree; and they fell into his basket. But the blood of Anaph fell upon a stone, staining it red: which henceforth became anathema to the bekhorim, for it was the blood of their savior that made the stain within the stone. And a voice came out of the temple of Heaven, saying, It is done.

  In that moment the tree withered and died. And the disciples, weeping, said, Where is the fruit that was promised to us? We have lost our teacher, the daughter of God; and in her place we have only desolation. And from the eyes of Nachash the tears fell unceasing.

  8.

  Then Qayin brought of the fruit of the tree an offering unto the LORD, and his brother Hevel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Hevel and to his offering: but unto Qayin and to his offering he had not respect. And Qayin was very wroth, and his countenance fell, for by his hand the savior of the bekhorim had died. But all this was intended by the LORD.

  In the place of sacrifice, Nachash remained upon his belly in the grass, gazing upon the desolation of the tree. Then came to him one whose face he did not recognize, whose form was that of an angel, saying to him, For what cause do you weep?

  Broken with grief, Nachash said, For the one who was my teacher and my love, who is now but dead wood before me; but truly for myself, who betrayed her, and who must now live with this pain until the day of judgment. For she brought death into the world, but it cometh not until its appointed hour, which lieth far off for me.

  Unto him the other said, That need not be so.

  Then he spoke divers things unto Nachash, of how the world might be changed; for if death were born untimely, then any creature might depart this earth and proceed to that which lay beyond. But Nachash said, Nothing lieth beyond, not for me, nor for any bekhor; for to mankind the LORD hath promised the paradise of the righteous, but to the bekhorim he hath promised nothing beyond this earth.

  The other answered, You would end, and be no more; and be annihilated utterly. And to Nachash this seemed a thing to be desired, for it would bring an end to his grief.

  He went therefore among his kindred, and again they drove him forth with stones. But many were angry, and to them he spoke, saying, Qayin hath killed our teacher; he hath slain the branch of the tree of life. To them we bring life, but to us they bring only death. And this perversion of the teachings the disciples did not hear, for they were occupied with their own grief.

  To those who listened, Nachash promised a different covenant, saying, In this covenant shall the bekhorim be exalted, and not made servants to mankind; for we are first-born, and it is fitting that the eldest should have dominion over the youngest. From among them we will take our servants, and surrender none as their wives; to them we will give no gifts, but take that which is pleasing to us. And we shall have life eternal, a covenant sealed with blood.

  He went therefore to Qayin, and to him he spoke, as once he had spoken to the woman Chava, but this time malice lived within his heart. He said, Why did the LORD have respect unto your brother and to his offering, and not unto you? Why should the younger be given the task of herding, that he might offer of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof, and the blood which is pleasing to the LORD, while the elder toileth among the thorns and the thistles of the ground? For Nachash had hatred in his heart for Qayin, and this was the counsel given unto him by the one who found him in his desolation, that it should bring greater grief upon him.

  Qayin went therefore to his brother Hevel, and walked in the field with him. And with the jawbone that cut down the branch of the tree of life he slew him, spilling the blood of his brother upon the ground, so that all the earth cried out. Then came the voice of the spirit of evil, saying, It is done; death hath entered the world untimely, and now man may die before his appointed hour. For Anaph had died at the time appointed by the LORD, but Hevel was the first to be murdered.

  And the LORD said unto Qayin, Where is Hevel thy brother? And he said, I know not: am I my brother’s keeper?

  And he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

  Thus was Qayin exiled from the presence of the LORD, with a mark upon him lest any should slay him; and this brought great joy unto Nachash, that he who spilled the blood of Anaph should suffer, and the gift of death should be denied him. But unto all the earth now that gift had been given: and so he went among the bekhorim who had heeded his words, saying, Remember this; slay their youths in the flower of their youth, before their appointed hour, in remembrance of the first murder. And this they did every seven years, on that night upon which Anaph was slain.

  9.

  But when half a year had passed after the murder of Hevel, a great wind sprang up in the lands about Eden, bearing a wondrous scent, as of blossoms and growing things; and all the wilderness came into bloom, though its glory was less than the garden of Eden. And the disciples went into the place of desolation, and there they found the tree that was dead now lived again, and upon its branches were a myriad of fruits. These they took and gave unto the people, and everyone who followed not the words of Nachash ate of them, and the fruit was the fruit of life. Then came Anaph among them once more, saying, This is my body, which hath been given for you.

  At the sight of her all the people marveled, and her disciples fell at her feet. Six there were, for Ometz and Yedida had gone as wives to the sons of Adam, and Nachash came not among them now. And Anaph questioned them, saying, Where is my first disciple? and where is he upon whom I laid this burden, which was to betray me unto my death, that I might be born again? And the disciples said, Teacher, he is gone; he hath formed a new covenant, which is not a covenant with God.

  And Anaph sorrowed, for her Father had foreseen all this, that Nachash would love her, and that his love would bring him to obey her; but upon her death it would lead him away once more, and into the path of evil. But of this Anaph herself had not known, and it grieved her.

  Of the resurrection of Anaph Nachash had heard, for the wind bore her touch to him. But he could not bear to look upon her again, with all the blood of his guilt upon her hands, and so he went once more into the wastelands about Eden, which were as wastelands no more, but blooming in the spring of her return. Unto the gates of Eden he went, and the cherubims permitted him passage, and the flaming sword did not strike him; unto the tree of knowledge of good and evil he went, which had once been in his care.

  And of its fruit he ate, and understood what he had done. He cried out then, and Anaph heard him cry, and bowed her head in sorrow; for upon his understanding, he went without hesitation unto the tree of life, and from its branches he hanged himself. For the gift of the spirit of evil unto the bekhorim was the gift of death, which to them brings annihilation, and Nachash was no more.

  10.

  And in after times those who kept the holy covenant were called Seely, which means Blessed, but those who kept the covenant of Nachash were called Unseely, and they kept his pact with Hell. And unto both was given eternal life, but iron is anathema unto them, for its mark in the stone is the mark of the blood of An
aph, who was the tree of life, and slain by Qayin. All this was known beforehand to the LORD God, who permitted Nachash entrance into Eden, that one among the bekhorim might understand what had come to pass. But when the day of judgment comes, then all the bekhorim shall cease to be, for on that day their appointed hour will come, and for them there is only life eternal, but nothing to come after.

  TOMORROW IS SAINT VALENTINE’S DAY

  Tori Truslow

  Elijah Willemot Wynn: A Life • Chapter 7

  Your Strangenesses are numberless

  For each I love you all the more

  It is not me that turns from you

  But my unenchanting form.

  —Catherin Northcliffe, “The Mortal Lover,” 1887

  Merish song was attributed unique physical qualities even in folklore, and as with much folklore this has proved to have a factual basis. We now know that their songs move through the air as particles rather than as waves, penetrating and becoming stuck under the shells of moon-floating molluscs. A layer of tissue forms over the song-grain, and a kind of pearl is formed. What remains unexplained is the remarkable fact that shells containing these pearls have recently been found on mortal shores, and when held to the ear have echoed mer-songs from over a hundred years ago.