CHAPTER FOUR<\/p>\n
The tides passed quickly with the journey, and soon we<\/p>\n
reached the cool, crisp waters where the deep quickly filled with the<\/p>\n
joy of our song. As in tides past we grew strong there, eating the<\/p>\n
wonderful variety of foods that abounded in these waters: Tuna-tail<\/p>\n
and flipper-fin all made us fat and contented with the life we led. At<\/p>\n
times the irreverent humming of the shell-sharks broke the stillness<\/p>\n
of the sea, but they kept their distance and no one was harmed. It<\/p>\n
was a time in my life when I thought nothing would ever change.<\/p>\n
But the waters are always moving, and with that movement<\/p>\n
comes constant change. We had been in the cool waters this time<\/p>\n
for nearly a hundred tides when there came the strangers who<\/p>\n
changed all of our lives forever. That tide, the golden lights turned<\/p>\n
to muted gray as the dryside waters. Clouds skittered nearly at<\/p>\n
water\u2019s height, and there was no sky. It was a tide when I wished for<\/p>\n
nothing more than to fall asleep and wake to an early golden light.<\/p>\n
I had been at the outside of the pod, fishing for sweet meats<\/p>\n
in the sea. I was darting about, playing as much as hunting, when<\/p>\n
out of the murk of the deep came two ghostly forms, a silent bull<\/p>\n
whale and his mate. They were the first strangers I had ever met,<\/p>\n
although I had heard the faint song of the other whales. They stood<\/p>\n
off from me, floating still, seeming to be etched in the crystal sea.<\/p>\n
In time the female began to sing a melancholy song with a<\/p>\n
lilting accent the likes that I had never heard before, \u201cWe two come<\/p>\n
as one. We come from a pod that is no more and never shall be.<\/p>\n
My mate was the Scribe, the recorder of the song as sung by our<\/p>\n
pod. He has reason now to sing to your Scribe that which must be.<\/p>\n
He must sing his final song of the sea so that we may join the oth-<\/p>\n
ers.\u201d With that, she sang no more, the two floating deathly still in<\/p>\n
the water.<\/p>\n
I frantically rushed through the pod searching for Tympani. I<\/p>\n
finally found him listening on the far side and quickly told him of the<\/p>\n
ghostly pair.<\/p>\n
Tympani\u2019s eye widened. This truly was an event of great<\/p>\n
significance. \u201cThis, my Harmony,\u201d he said, \u201cis a deep sadness and<\/p>\n
does not bode well for the two strangers. For this Scribe must sing<\/p>\n
a song of the End of all as he knows it, before his song is complete.<\/p>\n
He must sing through the entire song to someone like me so that he<\/p>\n
too may have the end, the beginning. For a Scribe without an ac-<\/p>\n
tive pod song is a whale without reason for living. Come, you may<\/p>\n
listen, too, so that you might learn.\u201d<\/p>\n
We swam silently through the pod back to where the two<\/p>\n
ghostly whales were waiting. Tympani approached slowly and then<\/p>\n
stopped and sang the gentle opening of our song. His intonations<\/p>\n
were followed by the sweet lonely wail of the other Scribe, as he<\/p>\n
countered with the opening to his song.<\/p>\n
There was a pause, a blood-racing silence in the sea, and<\/p>\n
then the stranger continued in soft, deathly whisper, \u201cI wish to sing<\/p>\n
my song. In singing my song I will pass it on to you and then I may<\/p>\n
end, so that I might begin again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur pod began at the beginning, and it has swum the mighty<\/p>\n
waters of life recording all. There have passed many tides, and I<\/p>\n
am the twelfth and last in a series of Scribes that has recorded our<\/p>\n
song. Our song now ends in the glory of the END OF ALL, to hon-<\/p>\n
or one who wished all to share in the end, the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a deep, rich voice he sang of a lifetime of hunts, both in<\/p>\n
warm waters and cold. He sang of conflicts with the sandwalkers<\/p>\n
and their occasional attacks. He sang of strange lights on the dry-<\/p>\n
side beyond the waters. He sang of good. He sang of evil. He sang<\/p>\n
of the life and of the death in his pod. As the whale sang, he musi-<\/p>\n
cally bridged a chorus that resounded in lyric about the honorable<\/p>\n
end he called the THOUSAND DEATHS OF THE SANDWALKER,<\/p>\n
a symphony of glorious death to honor another. \u201cWe learned of the<\/p>\n
THOUSAND DEATHS from the ghosts of the sea, the Narwhal of<\/p>\n
the Horn. They taught us of the honor achieved in the DEATH, the<\/p>\n
protest of the sandwalker, the essence of all evil in the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n
How long we floated and listened I do not know but this<\/p>\n
strange song told all the history of this unknown pod that for what-<\/p>\n
ever reason seemed to have disappeared. Then, as the golden light<\/p>\n
began to change to the dark of the silverside, he sang these words<\/p>\n
I shall never forget, \u201cBut we are no more and never shall be, for we<\/p>\n
took upon us the honor and pledge of the THOUSAND DEATHS<\/p>\n
OF THE SANDWALKER as dreamed by the mystical Narwhal.<\/p>\n
Once the pod gave its pledge, it beached itself upon the shore so<\/p>\n
that all might die in honor of one whose end was near and to protest<\/p>\n
the encroachment of the sandwalkers on the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are the mystical Narwhal?\u201d I whispered to our Scribe.<\/p>\n
\u201cShh,\u201d snapped Tympani, \u201cNarwhal are the whales that no<\/p>\n
longer exist.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d I muttered.<\/p>\n
\u201dShh!\u201d<\/p>\n
The other whale paused looking at me bleary-eyed, then<\/p>\n
continued his song, \u201cOur Director had dedicated his lifetime to<\/p>\n
honor us all. Our leader was afraid, in part, of dying alone and<\/p>\n
asked us all to go with him to the end, the beginning. There is<\/p>\n
only one test that will stop the THOUSAND DEATHS OF THE<\/p>\n
SANDWALKER, and that is the sanity of the whale that requests<\/p>\n
the honor and the sacrifice. How there can be sanity in such a re-<\/p>\n
quest, I do not know, but our leader was judged to be right with the<\/p>\n
world, and the pod agreed to join in this beaching . . . this protest<\/p>\n
to the sandwalkers on the dryside.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two ghostly whales drew close as they sang this final<\/p>\n
stanza, \u201cChanting and wailing the pod swam to the edge of the world<\/p>\n
and lifted themselves onto the dryside. And there, voices sounding<\/p>\n
as one, they expelled their last breath as they died. Thus we sing<\/p>\n
our song. Thus we end our song. There is no more to our Song<\/p>\n
of the Sea.\u201d<\/p>\n
The waters ran colder still as the final notes of this strange<\/p>\n
song echoed, following the waves to the dryside. The two floated<\/p>\n
flatly in the water. I looked, and then I looked again shocked, for<\/p>\n
there was no life in them. They were both dead! They had died in<\/p>\n
the singing of the final notes of their song.<\/p>\n
As we floated in reverence near them the old, querulous voice<\/p>\n
of Philosophy murmured, \u201cI have heard this Death wish verse sung<\/p>\n
before,\u201d he mused, \u201cstill a very strange ending indeed. I must weigh<\/p>\n
the values of this. Is it good or is it bad? Is it right or is it mad? I<\/p>\n
wonder.\u201d With that, he began swimming away.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut what of the Narwhal?\u201d I asked again, shocked and<\/p>\n
moved by all that I had heard, \u201cWhat are they?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Narwhal lived long, long ago,\u201d Tympani\u2019s voice whis-<\/p>\n
pered from afar, \u201cbut it is sung that they were killed one and all by<\/p>\n
the sandwalker. It is said that their ghosts wander the sea seeking<\/p>\n
revenge against those who caused their extinction, by convincing<\/p>\n
other pods to give their lives in protest — the Thousand Deaths \u2013 a<\/p>\n
great beaching.\u201d<\/p>\n
We floated for a time, in respect and honor of those pass-<\/p>\n
ing beyond, then backed away as the two ghostly images dropped,<\/p>\n
swinging from side to side, into the waters deep, never to sing again.<\/p>\n
It took many tides for the memory of that ghostly pair to fade,<\/p>\n
but like the morning mist, it soon burned thin and soon was gone<\/p>\n
from the forefront of my memory. In the meantime the pod had<\/p>\n
moved to the top of the world where the water was clear and so cold<\/p>\n
that massive mountains of ice floated on the sea like some dryside<\/p>\n
islands. It was in the shelter of these islands of ice that I did often<\/p>\n
seek solace from the bickering of my age mates.<\/p>\n
Early one tide, as I swam between the floes of ice, my child-<\/p>\n
hood friends called out to me to play some silly game. Deep in<\/p>\n
thought I swam beneath the ice to escape the noise of their game. I<\/p>\n
moved swiftly through the water and when their voices were nothing<\/p>\n
but a faint whisper I rose to the surface only to find myself surround-<\/p>\n
ed by frozen walls of the water — ice. Everywhere I looked were<\/p>\n
reflections of me. Like an echo of light, my many images bounced<\/p>\n
and glittered all around me. I forgot the others and began singing<\/p>\n
simple songs that caused the frost and rhyme to chime in harmony.<\/p>\n
I floated there for hours wrapped in the wonder of my own conceit.<\/p>\n
As light turned to dark, the walls of ice became even more magical,<\/p>\n
filled with myriad dancing lights that skipped along the sky in a pro-<\/p>\n
fusion of fantastical colors, shimmering as if they were not there.<\/p>\n
Finally, I realized I must return to the pod and dove down and<\/p>\n
under the crystal islands. With one eye cast above for the silverside<\/p>\n
light, I continued diving but could not reach the dryside. I swam<\/p>\n
and I swam as my heart began to pound like a great drum in my<\/p>\n
ears. My lungs began to ache and my mind screamed the need for<\/p>\n
breath. I raced along, the ice ever present above. Now my reflec-<\/p>\n
tion was a haunting image above me, mocking me in my fear.<\/p>\n
When I thought I could swim no more, I spied dancing lights<\/p>\n
on open water above. I breached high into the dryside blowing<\/p>\n
hard. Snow now speckled the sky. I sucked in the sweet air and<\/p>\n
slowly my heart stilled its hammering. I looked around but could<\/p>\n
see nothing of other whales, and new panic replaced old. Where<\/p>\n
was the pod?<\/p>\n
I quelled my fears and listened, at first hearing nothing but<\/p>\n
the gentle wash of the sea. Then I began to hear the welcome<\/p>\n
sounds of whale nearby, feeding. Relieved, I swam toward the mut-<\/p>\n
ed song. As I swam back to the pod I availed myself of a few of the<\/p>\n
sweet-meated flash-fish that came my way. Soon, I found myself<\/p>\n
hunting in pack with other whales swimming on the other side of<\/p>\n
this gigantic school of fish. I ate and ate, and soon I was once<\/p>\n
again satisfied with life.<\/p>\n
I sang out in joy my simple song of adventure in the mirrored<\/p>\n
ice. I had just finished my new verse when I realized that no one<\/p>\n
else was singing. I stopped mid-note, embarrassed that somehow<\/p>\n
I was singing out of tune. Then I heard the others, and something<\/p>\n
was definitely wrong! The song wasn\u2019t right; the melody was differ-<\/p>\n
ent and the pitch had changed.<\/p>\n
I moved closer to the singing whales and then stopped. This<\/p>\n
wasn\u2019t my pod. Before me were the most peculiar whales I had ever<\/p>\n
seen. Their skin was opalescent, pearly white; almost as white as<\/p>\n
mine, and each whale had a long, twisted horn of ivory growing in<\/p>\n
the center of its head.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, tides! Am I dead or am I dreaming?\u201d I moaned trying to<\/p>\n
put this visage into some logical sense.<\/p>\n
A heavily accented voice rang out from close range, \u201cYou are<\/p>\n
not dead and you are not dreaming though as a white whale without<\/p>\n
horn, you are an oddity, even here. Prophetic, some might say.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned to the sound, and there was another of these strange<\/p>\n
horned whales floating vertical in the water, the lights of the silver-<\/p>\n
side sparkling down from the surface. \u201cWhat are you?\u201d I muttered.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you whale or fish or something magically in-between?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are the Narwhal of the Horn,\u201d whispered the other whale<\/p>\n
in his odd accent. \u201cI am Godwin, the Avenger, I am the keeper of the<\/p>\n
Holy Song of Truth. \u201dThe pod of Narwhal had moved closer and the<\/p>\n
water buzzed as they chorused, \u201cAnd this is good!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSurely you have heard The Holy Song of Truth?\u201d Godwin<\/p>\n
continued, moving closer. \u201cOur song is the essence of the Song of<\/p>\n
the Sea. Others have come to hear our song, the truth, the only<\/p>\n
truth. We sing of wisdom. We are the chorus from all of the pods<\/p>\n
that sing.\u201d Again, the water agitated as the pod intoned, \u201cAnd this<\/p>\n
is good!\u201d \u201cFrom us the truth of the dryside sandwalker is known. To<\/p>\n
us comes the plight of the dolphin and our other brethren, these<\/p>\n
truths are woven into the Holy Song of Truth and then are sung for<\/p>\n
all to hear. For we, the Narwhal of the Horn, were there at the be-<\/p>\n
ginning of it all and our song is the oldest song of all.\u201d \u201cAnd this is<\/p>\n
good!\u201d<\/p>\n
Godwin had moved nearly within a fluke\u2019s distance of me<\/p>\n
and again twisted his body upright in the water. His closeness was<\/p>\n
uncomfortable and there was a sense of energy that was not unlike<\/p>\n
the feeling that I had when the sharp-fin had ignored Cacophony\u2019s<\/p>\n
first attack. I was filled with unease, but still and all was captivat-<\/p>\n
ed by the hypnotic tone of this horned whale. \u201cI have heard you<\/p>\n
called both Narwhal,\u201d I sang nervously as the pod drew even closer,<\/p>\n
\u201cand the Ghost that wander the seas, but I was told that you all had<\/p>\n
passed on to ALL THAT IS RIGHT IN THE WORLD.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pod murmured in unison, \u201cA lie! A lie!\u201d<\/p>\n
Godwin chuckled, his horn bobbled in the light as a nighttime<\/p>\n
rainbow danced on his ivory staff, reflecting off the ice. His eyes<\/p>\n
squinted and he drew his thin lips into a tight smile. \u201cAs you can<\/p>\n
see we are quite alive, filled as we are with the Holy Song of Truth.<\/p>\n
If we be ghosts, then the seas best beware, be aware!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd this is good! And this is good,\u201d the others chorused.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is time for all the truth to be known, time that all the words<\/p>\n
be sung.\u201d Murmured Godwin, his eyes foggy-veiled. Ponderously,<\/p>\n
he began toning the litany, \u201cIn the beginning, all the world was dry-<\/p>\n
side drenched in the darkness of the deep. ALL THAT IS RIGHT IN<\/p>\n
THE WORLD smiled and the world was bathed in golden light.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was good!\u201d The Narwhals exclaimed.<\/p>\n
Godwin, his pitch rising with fervor, continued, \u201cThen, ALL<\/p>\n
THAT IS RIGHT IN THE WORLD slapped his mighty tail upon the<\/p>\n
heavens and caused the sands of the world to crash and explode,<\/p>\n
ringing smoke-filled clouds around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was good!\u201d the other whales chanted.<\/p>\n
\u201cALL THAT IS RIGHT IN THE WORLD laughed in delight<\/p>\n
at his creation, his tears of joy falling to the fiery dryside that<\/p>\n
exploded in the heat of his passion creating billowing clouds of<\/p>\n
steam. Again, he sang, and the cloud-filled skies burst, and the<\/p>\n
rains fell and the world was filled with the essence of ALL THAT IS<\/p>\n
RIGHT IN THE WORLD, the waters of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes! Yes!\u201d the others chanted, enraptured by the words.<\/p>\n
This was good!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd in the waters of life he made the fishes: Sharp-fin,<\/p>\n
tuna-tail, wiggle-fin and all the other fishes, all were one in the sea.<\/p>\n
And ALL THAT IS RIGHT IN THE WORLD continued creation for<\/p>\n
a thousand tides, until the waters were filled to brimming with every<\/p>\n
form of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a pause, a beat, a measure, then, all sang, \u201cThis<\/p>\n
was good!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cALL THAT IS RIGHT IN THE WORLD looked down on all<\/p>\n
that he had created and smiled, for it was good. The smile turned<\/p>\n
to laughter, and the laughter became thunder that rolled through the<\/p>\n
darkness and golden light alike and in that moment there appeared<\/p>\n
in the waters Mother Whale.\u201d<\/p>\n
All of the brethren Narwhal harmonized in a low hypnotic<\/p>\n
murmur, \u201cThis was good, good, good!\u201d<\/p>\n
Godwin stretched his flukes in benediction and continued,<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd from this Mother Whale calved all the species of whale and<\/p>\n
brethren: flipper-fin, dolphin and others. All the whales of the world<\/p>\n
sang the same song and everything that was, filled the majesty of<\/p>\n
that melody. Whales swam the seas without fear and we all sang<\/p>\n
the same song, a song so strong that we were as one pod, and there<\/p>\n
were no others.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd this was good! And this was right!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe water was clear and we thought we would and could see<\/p>\n
forever. The waters surged and rolled about the world but there was<\/p>\n
a wrongness coming for there were the others, those who belonged<\/p>\n
to the waves and lolled at the surface and refused ever to come<\/p>\n
to the deep. These creatures fed upon themselves in frenzy and<\/p>\n
brought discord to the song, charging the waters with fear.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a break of harmonic, the Narwhal chorus sang with angry<\/p>\n
strength, off-key and in staccato, \u201cAnd that was not good!\u201d<\/p>\n
Godwin paused, enthralled with the engaging power in the<\/p>\n
singing of the song. Ponderously, his rich voice continued, \u201cIn its<\/p>\n
wisdom, ALL THAT IS RIGHT IN THE WORLD knew that there<\/p>\n
must be balance in all things, and he caused the golden light to<\/p>\n
burn hotly upon the seas and clouds were formed and the waters<\/p>\n
were diminished. Then, there was formed by the receding sea the<\/p>\n
very edge of the world, the dryside. ALL THAT IS RIGHT IN THE<\/p>\n
WORLD listened as the song was being sung, and those that would<\/p>\n
not sing the song were cast from the seas and damned to the dry-<\/p>\n
side for all the tides to come–and they were called – – – sandwalkers.<\/p>\n
For then and evermore, these sandwalkers stood up on spindly fins<\/p>\n
and paraded along the wave-drenched shores, longing to return to<\/p>\n
the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n
And the Narwhal in chorus sang, \u201cNow the sea was again<\/p>\n
right within itself. This was good!\u201d<\/p>\n
As the horned one called Godwin continued, the song took<\/p>\n
on an ominous tone as the other Narwhal rose silently to the sur-<\/p>\n
face and began to softly slap the waters with their flukes, in a coun-<\/p>\n
terpoint rhythm, \u201cBut the sandwalkers were not content with all that<\/p>\n
had been given to them, the dryside. They came to the edge of our<\/p>\n
world, dragging hollowed shells. They floated their shells on the<\/p>\n
sea and stood in them, brazenly free to skim upon the surface of<\/p>\n
the waters of life and again bringing discord to the song.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd this was not good!\u201d proclaimed the pod.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sandwalkers took from the sea but gave nothing back.<\/p>\n
In the spirit, the love of the song and as directed by the Holy Song<\/p>\n
of Truth we, the Narwhal, went to the sandwalkers as they floated<\/p>\n
on the waters to sing to them in hopes of resurrecting their very<\/p>\n
souls. With blank eyes and open mouths the sandwalkers stupidly<\/p>\n
listened not understanding a word that was sung, nor were they able<\/p>\n
even to hear the melody. Their deafness crazed them and in their<\/p>\n
frenzy they attacked a Narwhal that floated close to their shells,<\/p>\n
dragging her up onto one of the shells and beat at her with sticks<\/p>\n
and their flimsy fins until she was dead. As the pod watched in hor-<\/p>\n
ror the sandwalkers ripped the sacred horn from her head and used<\/p>\n
the bloody stump to murder others. They killed all that they could<\/p>\n
reach from the shell-sharks, and the seas ran red with the blood of<\/p>\n
Narwhal.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pounding on the waters became louder and louder still as<\/p>\n
they all sang, \u201cThis was not good!\u201d<\/p>\n
Godwin shook in rapture, equal anguish and rage, as he<\/p>\n
bellowed, \u201cAn alarm was sounded to all the brethren warning of<\/p>\n
the true ways of the sandwalker. Heeding our warning the brethren<\/p>\n
swam into deeper waters away from the sandwalker. But, no matter<\/p>\n
where they went, the spindly beasts followed killing all that it could<\/p>\n
find. The Narwhal were not as fleet of fin and most all of the sacred<\/p>\n
horned ones were murdered. The brethren, whales, dolphins and<\/p>\n
flipper-fin, thought the Narwhal dead, but this was not true. A few<\/p>\n
survived and sequestered themselves in this enclave of ice. It is<\/p>\n
here that we have remained hidden, afraid to venture forth into the<\/p>\n
world.\u201d<\/p>\n
The waves rolled crashing hollow on the icy walls around,<\/p>\n
and I thought all was done, but Godwin continued and, if possible,<\/p>\n
became angrier still.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sandwalkers were not content simply with the death<\/p>\n
of the brethren of the sea. To add to this insult, they poured their<\/p>\n
filthy offal into the waters and all that swam close to these evil<\/p>\n
waters died or were changed into hideous forms. The waters nearby<\/p>\n
filled with wrongness. ALL THAT IS RIGHT IN THE WORLD began<\/p>\n
to cry bitter tears, and even this rain stung the skins of those who<\/p>\n
ventured too close to the dryside.\u201d<\/p>\n
The song ended here, as these ivory-horned whales floated<\/p>\n
silently rising and falling on the lifting waves. Godwin shook him-<\/p>\n
self from his cloudy reverie and slowly floated to the surface. His<\/p>\n
mouth twisted into a thin, oily smile and he whispered conspiratori-<\/p>\n
ally, \u201cWe call upon you, as we have called upon others, to do your<\/p>\n
part; gain us some measure of revenge. You now hold the secret.<\/p>\n
You now can change the world forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMe?\u201d I was very confused and little of what he said made<\/p>\n
sense. \u201cBut what can I do? I am but a young whale not yet to<\/p>\n
his prime.\u201c I asked. \u201cWhat possibly could I do that would have<\/p>\n
any effect?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAhh!\u201d Godwin murmured, looking back at the pod that wait-<\/p>\n
ed expectantly, \u201cthere is a significant verse of the Song of the Sea,<\/p>\n
a verse that few pods sing. It is this verse that the Song deals with<\/p>\n
the cataclysm called the Conclave.\u201d \u201cConclave?\u201d I muttered not<\/p>\n
knowing where this was going. \u201cYes, my young whale,\u201d chuckled the<\/p>\n
Narwhal, \u201cthe Conclave. Let me sing you the verse from the Holy<\/p>\n
Song of Truth so better you may understand your part and measure<\/p>\n
of the Song.\u201d Again Godwin slipped beneath the surface and with<\/p>\n
tail down he floated in the water, twisting his body from side-to-side<\/p>\n
and began to chant, \u201cLo, one golden tide a sacred white whale will<\/p>\n
be born, and this great whale will be special to all the Brethren of all<\/p>\n
the seas.\u201d<\/p>\n
In unison the pod responded, \u201cLet the world rejoice. Let the<\/p>\n
whales sing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis whale will live and learn of all things. There will come<\/p>\n
a time in the sacred one\u2019s life that he will find himself alone. He will<\/p>\n
find himself holding song with no one to sing to. In this moment,<\/p>\n
this time of soulful mourning this whale and this sacred whale alone<\/p>\n
will have the right to call for a Conclave, a gathering of all the Breth-<\/p>\n
ren here in the cool, crisp untainted waters at the top of the world,<\/p>\n
where the blue ice drops into the bay. His verse calling for Conclave<\/p>\n
will echo throughout the waters of the world carried by the melody<\/p>\n
of the Song of the Sea. And they will come: flipper-fin, dolphin and<\/p>\n
whale. Here in Conclave the sandwalker will finally be judged!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet the world rejoice! Let the whales sing!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe verdict is predestined. There can be no other call. For,<\/p>\n
in Conclave the sandwalkers will be damned for all the evil they have<\/p>\n
done. Then and only then will all the Brethren be empowered to rid<\/p>\n
this world of the beast that walks on the dryside!\u201d<\/p>\n
The pod of Narwhal chanted as one, \u201cAnd this is good! And<\/p>\n
this is meant to be!\u201d<\/p>\n
Godwin\u2019s tail snapped down hard on the surface of the water<\/p>\n
as he raged on, \u201cAnd with that blessing we can freely kill the Sand-<\/p>\n
walker without conscience as the sandwalker has killed us. Death<\/p>\n
now to the sandwalkers and all that soil the sea! Death now to the<\/p>\n
spindly-legged filth. Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDeath! Death! Death!\u201d the others chanted, the water froth-<\/p>\n
ing as they all began to spin in spasms created by the passion of<\/p>\n
their anger.<\/p>\n
I trembled confused. \u201cI have seen the sandwalker, and, al-<\/p>\n
though in part they helped in the death of my friend Adagio, I have<\/p>\n
seen no other evil you say they portend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Godwin continued in his sing-song voice, \u201cThen I challenge<\/p>\n
you to go swim all the waters of all the world and see all that you<\/p>\n
must see to believe. When you have seen all there is to be seen you<\/p>\n
will share this song. You too will join the quest. Soon all that sing<\/p>\n
in the sea will join in chorus, a chorus that will celebrate the death<\/p>\n
of the sandwalker. So speak I, Godwin the Avenger, he who sings<\/p>\n
the Song of the Holy Truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
A light wispy mist danced upon the waters giving ghostly<\/p>\n
pale to these horned whales that floated, rising and falling with the<\/p>\n
gentle waves that rolled between the cliffs of ice. All that had been<\/p>\n
sung numbed me to my very soul but my reverie was broken finally<\/p>\n
by the voice of the avenger.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour family pod is beyond that shelf of ice.\u201d Godwin twisted<\/p>\n
his horn and pointed to the ice looming in the distance. \u201cDive deep,<\/p>\n
my friend, and swim true, for our song is now part of your song. I<\/p>\n
assure you this,\u201d he whispered ominously, \u201cwe will meet again, you<\/p>\n
and I. For our destinies are one.\u201d With that, he slowly floated away<\/p>\n
into the mist. I spun around. They were all gone, ghosts again in<\/p>\n
the seas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CHAPTER FOUR The tides passed quickly with the journey, and soon we reached the cool, crisp waters where the deep quickly filled with the joy of our song. As in tides past we grew strong there, eating the wonderful variety of foods that abounded in these waters: Tuna-tail and flipper-fin all made us fat and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1328","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1328"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1329,"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1328\/revisions\/1329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephencosgrove.com\/bookstore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}