









                    The Coming of the Sea

                       by Lord Dunsany


Once there was no sea, and the gods went walking over the
green plains of earth.
   Upon an evening of the forgotten years the gods were
seated on the hills, and all the little rivers of the world
lay coiled at Their feet asleep, when Slid, the new god,
striding through the stars, came suddenly upon earth lying
in a corner of space.  And behind Slid there marched a
million waves, all following Slid and tramping up the
twilight; and Slid touched Earth in one of her great green
valleys that divide the south, and here he encamped for the
night with all his waves about him.  But to the gods as They
sat upon Their hilltops a new cry came crying over the green
spaces that lay below the hills, and the gods said:
   "This is neither the cry of life nor yet the whisper of
death.  What is this new cry that the gods have never
commanded, yet which comes to the ears of the gods?"
   And the gods together shouting made the cry of the south
calling the south wind to them.  And again the gods shouted
all together making the cry of the north, calling the north
wind to Them; and thus They gathered to Them all Their winds
and sent these four down into the low plains to find what
thing it was that called with the new cry, and to drive it
away from the gods.
   Then all the winds harnessed up their clouds and drave
forth till they came to the great green valley that divides
the south in twain, and there found Slid with all his waves
about him.  Then for a space Slid and the four winds
struggled with one another till the strength of the winds
was gone, and they limped back to the gods, their masters,
and said:
   "We have met this new thing that has come upon the earth
and have striven against its armies, but could not drive
them forth; and the new thing is beautiful but very angry,
and is creeping towards the gods."
   But Slid advanced and led his armies up the valley, and
inch by inch and mile by mile he conquered the lands of the
gods.  Then from Their hills the gods sent down a great
array of cliffs against hard, red rocks, and bade them march
against Slid.  And the cliffs marched down till they came
and stood before Slid and leaned their heads forward and
frowned and stood staunch to guard the lands of the gods
against the might of the sea, shutting Slid off from the
world.  Then Slid sent some of his smaller waves to search
out what stood against him, and the cliffs shattered them. 
But Slid went back and gathered together a hoard of his
greatest waves and hurled them against the cliffs, and the
cliffs shattered them.  And again Slid called up out of his
deep a mighty array of waves and sent them roaring against
the guardians of the gods, and the red rocks frowned and
smote them.  And once again Slid gathered his greater waves
and hurled them against the cliffs; and when the waves were
scattered like those before them the feet of the cliffs were
no longer standing firm, and their faces were scarred and
battered.  Then into every cleft that stood in the rocks
Slid sent his hugest wave and others followed behind it, and
Slid himself seized hold of huge rocks with his claws and
tore them down and stamped them under his feet.  And when
the tumult was over the sea had won, and over the broken
remnants of those red cliffs the armies of Slid marched on
and up the long green valley.
   Then the gods heard Slid exulting far away and singing
songs of triumph over Their battered cliffs, and ever the
tramp of his armies sounded nearer and nearer in the
listening ears of the gods.
   Then the gods called to Their downlands to save Their
world from Slid, and the downlands gathered themselves and
marched away, a great white line of gleaming cliffs, and
halted before Slid.  Then Slid advanced no more and lulled
his legions, and while his waves were low he softly crooned
a song such as once long ago had troubled the stars and
brought down tears out of the twilight.
   Sternly the white cliffs stood on guard to save the world
of the gods, but the song that once had troubled the stars
went moaning on awaking pent desires, till full at the feet
of the gods the melody fell.  Then the blue rivers that lay
curled asleep opened their gleaming eyes, uncurled
themselves and shook their rushes, and, making a stir among
the hills, crept down to find the sea.  And passing across
the world they came at last to where the white cliffs stood,
and, coming behind them, split them here and there and went
through their broken ranks to Slid at last.  And the gods
were angry with Their traitorous streams.
   Then Slid ceased from singing the song that lures the
world, and gathered up his legions, and the rivers lifted up
their heads with the waves, and all went marching on to
assail the cliffs of the gods.  And wherever the rivers had
broken the ranks of the cliffs, Slid's armies went surging
in and broke them up into islands and shattered the islands
away.  And the gods on Their hill-tops heard once more the
voice of Slid exulting over Their cliffs.
   Already more than half the world lay subject to Slid, and
still his armies advanced; and the people of Slid, the
fishes and the long eels, went in and out of arbours that
once were dear to the gods.  Then the gods feared for Their
dominion, and to the innermost sacred recesses of the
mountains, to the very heart of the hills, the gods trooped
off together and there found Tintaggon, a mountain of black
marble, staring far over the earth, and spake thus to him
with the voices of the gods:
   "O eldest born of our mountains, when first we devised
the earth we made thee, and thereafter fashioned fields and
hollows, valleys and other hills, to lie about thy feet. 
And now, Tintaggon, thine ancient lords, the gods, are
facing a new thing which overthrows the old.  Go therefore,
thou, Tintaggon, and stand up against Slid, that the gods be
still the gods and the earth still green."
   And hearing the voices of his sires, the elder gods,
Tintaggon strode down through the evening, leaving a wake of
twilight broad behind him as he strode: and going across the
green earth came down to Ambrady at the valley's edge, and
there met the foremost of Slid's fierce armies conquering
the world.
   And against him Slid hurled the force of a whole bay,
which lashed itself high over Tintaggon's knees and streamed
around his flanks and then fell and was lost.  Tintaggon
still stood firm for the honour and dominion of his lords,
the elder gods.  Then Slid went to Tintaggon and said: "Let
us now make a truce.  Stand thou back from Ambrady and let
me pass through thy ranks that mine armies may now pass up
the valley which opens on the world, that the green earth
that dreams around the feet of older gods shall know the new
god Slid.  Then shall mine armies strive with thee no more,
and thou and I shall be the equal lords of the whole earth
when all the world is singing the chaunt of Slid, and thy
head alone shall be lifted above mine armies when rival
hills are dead.  And I will deck thee with all the robes of
the sea, and all the plunder that I have taken in rare
cities shall be piled before thy feet.  Tintaggon, I have
conquered all the stars, my song swells through all the
space besides, I come victorious from Mahn and Khanagat on
the furthest edge of the worlds, and thou and I are to be
equal lords when the old gods are gone and the green earth
knoweth Slid.  Behold me gleaming azure and fair with a
thousand smiles, and swayed by a thousand moods."  And
Tintaggon answered: "I am staunch and black and have one
mood, and this -- to defend my masters and their green
earth."
   Then Slid went backward growling and summoned together
the waves of a whole sea and sent them singing full in
Tintaggon's face.  Then from Tintaggon's marble front the
sea fell backwards crying on to a broken shore, and ripple
by ripple straggled back to Slid saying: "Tintaggon stands."
   Far out beyond the battered shore that lay at Tintaggon's
feet Slid rested long and sent the nautilus to drift up and
down before Tintaggon's eyes, and he and his armies sat
singing idle songs of dreamy islands far away to the south,
and of the still stars whence they had stolen forth, of
twilight evenings and of long ago.  Still Tintaggon stood
with his feet planted fair upon the valley's edge defending
the gods and Their green earth against the sea.
   And all the while that Slid sang his songs and played
with the nautilus that sailed up and down he gathered his
oceans together.  One morning as Slid sang of old outrageous
wars and of most enchanting peace and of dreamy islands and
the south wind and the sun, he suddenly launched five oceans
out of the deep all to attack Tintaggon.  And the five
oceans sprang upon Tintaggon and passed above his head.  One
by one the grip of the oceans loosened, one by one they fell
back into the deep and still Tintaggon stood, and on that
morning the might of all five oceans lay dead at Tintaggon's
feet.
   That which Slid had conquered he still held, and there is
now no longer a great green valley in the south, but all
that Tintaggon had guarded against Slid he gave back to the
gods.  Very calm the sea lies now about Tintaggon's feet,
where he stands all black amid crumbled cliffs of white,
with red rocks piled about his feet.  And often the sea
retreats far out along the shore, and often wave by wave
comes marching in with the sound of the tramping of armies,
that all may still remember the great fight that surged
about Tintaggon once, when he guarded the gods and the green
earth against Slid.
   Sometimes in their dreams the war-scarred warriors of
Slid still lift their heads and cry their battle cry; then
do dark clouds gather about Tintaggon's swarthy brow and he
stands out menacing, seen afar by ships, where once he
conquered Slid.  And the gods know well that while Tintaggon
stands They and Their world are safe; and whether Slid shall
one day smite Tintaggon is hidden among the secrets of the
sea.
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