The Knight twk-1 Read online

  The Knight

  ( The Wizard Knight - 1 )

  Gene Wolfe

  The Knight

  Gene Wolfe

  Dedicated with the greatest respect to Yves Meynard, author of The Book Of Knights

  The Riders

  Who treads those level lands of gold,

  The level fields of mist and air,

  And rolling mountains manifold

  And towers of twilight over there?

  No mortal foot upon them strays,

  No archer in the towers dwells,

  But feet too airy for our ways

  Go up and down their hills and dells.

  The people out of old romance,

  And people that have never been,

  And those that on the border dance

  Between old history and between

  Resounding fable, as the king

  Who held his court at Camelot.

  There Guinevere is wandering

  And there the knight Sir Lancelot.

  And by yon precipice of white,

  As steep as Roncesvalles, and more,

  Within an inch of fancy’s sight,

  Roland the peerless rides to war.

  And just the tip of Quixote’s spear,

  The greatest of them all by far,

  Is surely visible from here!

  But no: it is the Evening Star.

  —Lord Dunsany

  Ben, look at this first.

  I have been reading through the first part of this letter, and there are an awful lot of names you will not know. So I have listed most of them here. If you come across one and wonder who that is, or where it is, you can look here. You would be wasting your time to read this now. It is just to look the names up in.

  If a name is not here, I missed it or I do not know either, or I knew you would know already. Here they are.

  ABLE This is the name I use here. It was also the name of Bold Berthold’s brother.

  AELF Fifth-world people. They do not work much, protect trees and so forth, and see certain things differently.

  AELFRICE The fifth world, under Mythgarthr.

  AGR He was Marder’s marshal, and I have known worse people.

  ALVIT One of the shield-maidens who ride for the Valfather.

  ANGRBORN The giants who got forced out of Skai. All of them are descended from a famous giantess named Angr, or say they are.

  ARNTHOR The king of Celidon. His picture was on the money. Disiri gave me a message for him.

  ATL One of Thunrolf’s servants.

  AUD Thunrolf’s steward.

  BAKI A Fire Aelf girl I met at the Tower of Glas. She and Uri said they were my slaves.

  BALDIG One of the peasants who used to live in Griffinsford.

  BATTLEMAID Ravd’s sword. Swords get names, like ships.

  BATTLEWITCH Garvaon’s sword.

  BEAW One of Garvaon’s men-at-arms. He was a good guy too.

  BEEL The baron Arnthor sent to Jotunland.

  BEN My brother back in America, who I still miss. Did you read this, Ben?

  BLACKMANE Ravd’s charger.

  BLUESTONE CASTLE Indign’s castle. Some Osterling pirates wrecked it.

  BLUESTONE ISLAND A high, rocky island about a quarter of a mile from the mainland.

  BODACHAN BOLD Earth Aelf. They are one of the small clans.

  BERTHOLD The peasant from Griffinsford who let me cook my grouse and live with him in his hut. We said we were brothers, and he believed it.

  BREGA A peasant woman who lived in Glennidam.

  BYMIR The first Angrborn I ever saw.

  CASPAR The head warder at Sheerwall Castle.

  CELIDON A big country, longer than it is wide, on the west coast of the mainland. Irringsmouth, Forcetti, and Kingsdoom are all towns in Celidon.

  COLLINS My old English teacher.

  CROL Beel’s herald.

  DISIRA Seaxneat’s wife.

  DISIRI The queen of the Moss Aelf.

  DOLLOP AND SCALLOP The inn where we stayed in Forcetti.

  DUNS Uns’ older brother.

  EAST HALL Woddet’s manor.

  EGIL One of the outlaws.

  EGR One of Beel’s upper servants.

  ETERNE The Mother of Swords.

  FINEFIELD Garvaon’s manor.

  FIRE AELF The clan Setr took over completely.

  FORCETTI Marder’s town, a seaport.

  FREE COMPANIES Outlaw gangs. This was the polite name.

  FROST GIANTS The Angrborn, especially the raiders.

  GARSECG The name Setr was using when I met him.

  GARVAON Beel’s best knight.

  GAYNOR Arnthor’s wife, the queen of Celidon.

  GERDA The girl Bold Berthold was going to marry.

  GERI The girl you were dating when I lost America.

  GILLING The king of the Angrborn.

  GLENNIDAM The village where Ulfa and Toug were born.

  GORN The innkeeper at the Dollop and Scallop.

  GRENGARM The dragon who had Eterne.

  GRIFFIN The little river running past Griffmsford and into the Irring.

  GRIFFINSFORD A village the Angrborn wiped out.

  GYLF My dog. The Valfather lost him, and I got to keep him until the Valfather wanted him back.

  HEIMIE Gerda’s son by Hymir. It made him a Mouse.

  HEI The Overcyn woman in charge of death.

  HELA Gerda’s daughter by Hymir, Heimir’s sister.

  HERMAD One of Marder’s knights.

  HOB One of Caspar’s warders.

  HOEDSVIN The cook on the Western Trader.

  HULTA A woman in Glennidam.

  HYMIR The Angrborn who got Gerda.

  HYNDLE Hymir’s Angrborn son.

  IDNN Beel’s daughter, pretty small and next to beautiful. Her voice and big dark eyes were what you remembered.

  INDIGN A duke Osterlings killed. Bluestone Castle was his.

  IRRING A big river.

  IRRINGSMOUTH Indign’s town, where the Irring empties into the sea. Osterlings had burned a lot of it.

  JER The head of an outlaw gang.

  JOTUNLAND The Angrborn country, north of the mountains.

  KELPIES Sea Aelf girls.

  KERL The first mate on the Western Trader.

  KINGSDOOM The capital of Celidon, a seaport.

  KLEOS The second world, above Skai.

  KULILI The person responsible for the Aelf.

  LADY The Valfather’s youngest daughter. No one is supposed to use her name in ordinary talk, so we say the Lady.

  LUD One of Marder’s knights.

  LUT The smith who forged Battlemaid.

  MAG Bold Berthold’s mother.

  MAGNEIS The charger Marder gave me.

  MANI The big black tomcat who followed Gylf and me.

  MARDER The duke of the northernmost duchy in Celidon.

  MICHAEL A man from Kleos.

  MICE People who are half Angrborn and half human.

  MODGUDA A servingwoman in Sheerwall.

  MOONRIDER Any knight the Lady sends to Mythgarthr.

  MORCAINE A princess. Arnthor and Setr are her brothers.

  MORI A smith in Irringsmouth.

  MOSS AELF Disiri’s clan.

  MOSSMAIDENS Girls of the Moss Aelf.

  MOSSMATRONS Older women of the Moss Aelf.

  MOSSMEN Men of the Moss Aelf.

  MOUNTAIN OF FIRE A gate to Muspel.

  MOUNTAINS OF THE MICE Same as the Mountains of the North.

  MOUNTAINS OF THE NORTH The mountains between Celidon and Jotunland.

  MOUNTAINS OF THE SUN The mountains between Celidon and Osterland.

  MUSPEL The sixth world, under Aelfrice.

  MYTHGARTHR The fourth world, where Celidon is.

>   NEEDAM An island south of Celidon. I have never been there.

  NJORS A sailor on the Western Trader.

  NUKARA Uns’ mother.

  NUR The second mate on the Western Trader.

  NYTIR The knight I beat in the tap of the Dollop and Scallop.

  OBR Svon’s father. He was a baron.

  OLOP The baron who took over the Mountain of Fire while Thunrolf and I were in Muspel

  ORG The ogre I got from Uns.

  OSSAR Disira’s baby.

  OSTERLAND The country east of the Mountains of the Sun.

  OSTERLINGS People who eat other people to become more human.

  OVERCYNS The people of Skai—the Valfather’s people.

  PAPOUNCE One of Beel’s upper servants.

  PARKA Beel’s grandfather. He was King of Celidon.

  PHOLSUNG A woman from Kleos.

  POUK BADEYE A sailor I got to help me.

  POTASH He taught Chemistry and Physics.

  QUEEN OF THE WOOD This means Disiri. A lot of people are afraid to say her name because they think she might come. (It never worked for me.)

  RAVD The best knight I ever saw.

  RED HALL Ravd’s manor.

  RIVER ROAD The main road inland from Irringsmouth. It runs along the north bank of the Irring.

  ROOM OF LOST LOVE A room that was like another world when you got inside. Sometimes dead people were alive again in there.

  ROUND TOWER The biggest castle at the Mountain of Fire.

  SABEI A dead knight.

  SALAMANDERS The Fire Aelf. Uri and Baki were Salamanders.

  SCAUR A nice fisherman in Irringsmouth.

  SCHILDSTARR One of the most important Angrborn.

  SEAXNEAT A man in Glennidam who traded with the outlaws.

  SEAGIRT Thunrolf’s castle.

  SETR A dragon with a human father.

  SHEBRWALL Marder’s castle.

  SHA A fishwife, but she was nice to me.

  SKAI The third world, above Mythgarthr.

  SKJENA A girl that lived in Griffinsford.

  SPARREO My math teacher. She was pretty nice.

  SURT Hordsvin’s helper.

  SVON Ravd’s squire.

  SWERT Beel’s valet.

  SWORD BREAKER My mace. Sort of like a steel bar.

  THIAZI Gilling’s minister.

  THOPE Marder’s master-at-arms.

  (OLD) TOUG Ulfa’s father.

  (YOUNG)TOUG Ulfa’s brother, my age or little older.

  TUNC A master of arms who taught Garvaon.

  ULD A farmer who used to live in Griffinsford.

  ULFA The girl who made clothes for me in Glennidam.

  URI A friend of Baki’s. (Sometimes they said sister.)

  UNS A handicapped peasant.

  UTGARD Gilhng’s castle, also the town around it.

  VALFATHER The king of Skai.

  VALI A man old man Toug got to help him kill me.

  VE Vali’s little boy.

  VIDARE One of Marder’s knights.

  VOLLA Garvaon’s dead wife.

  WAR WAY The main road north from Celidon into Jotunland.

  WELAND The man who forged Eterne. He was from Mythgarthr but he became king of the Fire Aelf.

  WESTERN TRADER The ship I took from Irringsmouth.

  WISTAN Garvaon’s squire,

  WODDET The biggest knight at Sheerwall.

  WULFKIL A creek that emptied into the Griffin.

  WYT A sailor on the Western Trader.

  YENS A little port between Forcetti and Kingsdoom.

  YOND Woddet’s squire.

  There they are, Ben. It has been easy for me to name them. What was hard was making you see them. Remember that the Osterlings had long teeth and starved faces, and the Angrborn stunk. Remember that Disiri was a shapechanger, and all her shapes were beautiful.

  Chapter 1. Dear Ben

  You must have stopped wondering what happened to me a long time ago; I know it has been many years. I have the time to write here, and what looks like a good chance to get what I write to where you are, so I am going to try. If I just told everything on a couple of sheets, you would not believe most of it. Hardly any of it, because there are many things that I have trouble with myself. So what I am going to do instead is tell everything. When I have finished, you still may not believe me; but you will know all that I do. In some ways, that is a lot. In others, practically nothing. When I saw you sitting by our fire—my own brother—there on the battlefield ... Never mind. I will get to it. Only I think it may be why I am writing now.

  Remember the day we drove out to the cabin? Then Geri phoned. You had to go home and did not need a kid around. So we said there was no reason for me to go too, I could stay out there and you would come back the next day.

  We said I would fish.

  That was it.

  Only I did not. It did not seem like it was going to be much fun with you gone, but the air was crisp and the leaves were turning, so I went on a hike. Maybe it was a mistake. I went a long way, but I was not lost. Pretty soon I picked up a stick and hiked with it, but it was crooked and not very strong. I did not like it much and decided I would cut a good one I could keep out at the cabin and use whenever we were there.

  I saw a tree that was different from all the others. It was not very big, and it had white bark and shiny leaves. It was a spiny orange tree, Ben, but I had never heard of them. Later Bold Berthold told me a lot. It was too big for me to cut the whole thing, but I found a branch that was almost straight. I cut off that and trimmed it and so forth. That may have been the main thing, my main mistake. They are not like other trees. The Mossmen care more about them.

  I had gone off the path when I saw the spiny orange, and when I got to it I saw it was right at the edge of the woods, and past it were the downs. Some hills were pretty steep, but they were beautiful, smooth and covered with long grass. So I hiked out there with my new stick and climbed three or four hills. It was really nice. I found a little spring at the top of a hill. I had a drink, and sat down—I was pretty tired by then—and carved the stick some, making who-knows-what. Just whittling. After a while I lay down and looked at the clouds. Everybody has seen pictures in clouds, but I saw more that afternoon than I ever have before or since—an old man with a beard that the wind changed into a black dragon, a wonderful horse with a horn on its head, and a beautiful lady who smiled down at me.

  After that, a flying castle, all spiky like a star because there were towers and turrets coming out of all its sides. I kept telling myself it had to be a cloud, but it did not look like a cloud, Ben. It looked like stone. I got up and chased after it, waiting for the wind to blow it apart, but it never did.

  Night came. I could not see the castle any longer, and I knew I had to be a long way from our cabin. I started back across the downs, walking fast; but I got to walking down a slope that had no bottom. Somebody grabbed me in the dark, and somebody else caught my ankle when I slapped that hand away. Right then somebody said, “Who comes to Aelfrice!” I still remember that, and for a long, long time after that, that was all I could remember. That and being grabbed by a lot of people.

  * * *

  I woke up in a cave by the sea, where an old lady with too many teeth sat spinning; and when I had pulled myself together and found my stick, I asked where we were, trying to be as polite as I could. “Can you tell me what place this is, ma’am, and how to get to Griffinsford from here?” For some reason I thought Griffinsford was where we lived, Ben, and I still do not remember the real name. Maybe it really is Griffinsford. They are all mixed up.

  The old lady shook her head.

  “Do you know how I got here?”

  She laughed, and the wind and the sea were in it; she was the spray, and the waves that broke outside her cave. When I talked to her, I was talking to them. That was how I felt. Does it sound crazy? I had been crazy since I was born, and now I was sane and it felt wonderful. The wind and the waves were sitting in that cave with me twis
ting thread, and nature was not something outside anymore. She was a big part of it, and I was a little part of it, and I had been gone too long. Later Garsecg said the sea had healed me.

  I went to the mouth of the cave and waded out until the water came up to my waist; but the only things I could see were cliffs hanging over her cave, deep blue water farther out, gulls, and jagged black rocks like dragons’ teeth. The old woman said, “You must wait for the slack of the tide.”

  I came back, sea-wet to my armpits. “Will it be long?”

  “Long enough.”

  After that I just leaned on my stick and watched her spin, trying to figure out what it was that she was turning into string and why it made the noises it did. Sometimes it seemed like there were faces in it and arms and legs coming out of it.

  “You are Able of the High Heart.”

  That got my attention, and I told her my old name.

  Up to then, she had never looked away from her spinning. “What I say aright, do not you smite,” she told me.

  I said I was sorry.

  “Some loss must be, so this I decree: the lower your lady the higher your love.” She stopped spinning to smile at me. I knew she meant it to be friendly, but her teeth were terrible and looked as sharp as razors. She said, “There must be a forfeit for insolence, and since that’s how it usually is, that one shouldn’t do much harm.”

  That was how I got my name changed.

  She went back to spinning, but it looked like she was reading her thread.

  “You shall sink before you rise, and rise before you sink.”

  It scared me, and I asked if I could ask her a question.

  “It had best be, since you ask one. What do you want to know, Able of the High Heart?”

  There was so much I could not get it out. I said, “Who are you?” instead.

  “Parka.”

  “Are you a fortune-teller?”

  She smiled again. “Some say so.”

  “How did I get here?”

  She pointed with the distaff, the thing that held the stuff she was spinning, pointing toward the back of the cave, where it was all black.

  “I don’t remember being there,” I told her.

  “The recollection has been taken from you.”

  As soon as she said it, I knew it was right. I could remember certain things. I could remember you and the cabin and the clouds, but all that had been a long time ago, and after it there had been a lot I could not remember at all. “The Aelf carried you to me.”