The Quest of Iranon

Written on Feb 28, 1921 Published in July through August of 1935 in The Galleon

Into the granite city of eloth !andered the youth, "ine#cro!ned, his yello! hair glistening !ith $yrrh and his %ur%le robe torn !ith briers of the $ountain &idra' that lies across the anti(ue bridge of stone) he $en of eloth are dar' and stern, and d!ell in s(uare houses, and !ith fro!ns they as'ed the stranger !hence he had co$e and !hat !ere his na$e and fortune) &o the youth ans!ered* +I a$ Iranon, and co$e fro$ Aira, a far city that I recall only di$ly but see' to find again) I a$ a singer of songs that I learned in the far city, and $y calling is to $a'e beauty !ith the things re$e$bered of childhood) ,y !ealth is in little $e$ories and drea$s, and in ho%es that I sing in gardens !hen the $oon is tender and the !est !ind stirs the lotus#buds)+ When the $en of eloth heard these things they !his%ered to one another- for though in the granite city there is no laughter or song, the stern $en so$eti$es loo' to the .arthian hills in the s%ring and thin' of the lutes of distant /onai !hereof tra"ellers ha"e told) And thin'ing thus, they bade the stranger stay and sing in the s(uare before the o!er of ,lin, though they li'ed not the colour of his tattered robe, nor the $yrrh in his hair, nor his cha%let of "ine#lea"es, nor the youth in his golden "oice) At e"ening Iranon sang, and !hile he sang an old $an %rayed and a blind $an said he sa! a ni$bus o"er the singer0s head) 1ut $ost of the $en of eloth ya!ned, and so$e laughed and so$e !ent to slee%- for Iranon told nothing useful, singing only his $e$ories, his drea$s, and his ho%es) +I re$e$ber the t!ilight, the $oon, and soft songs, and the !indo! !here I !as roc'ed to slee%) And through the !indo! !as the street !here the golden lights ca$e, and !here the shado!s danced on houses of $arble) I re$e$ber the s(uare of $oonlight on the floor, that !as not li'e any other light, and the "isions that danced on the $oonbea$s !hen $y $other sang to $e) And too, I re$e$ber the sun of $orning bright abo"e the $any#coloured hills in su$$er, and the s!eetness of flo!ers borne on the south !ind that $ade the trees sing) +/h Aira, city of $arble and beryl, ho! $any are thy beauties2 3o! I lo"ed the !ar$ and fragrant gro"es across the hyline 4ithra, and the falls of the tiny .ra

that flo!ed though the "erdant "alley2 In those gro"es and in the "ale the children !o"e !reathes for one another, and at dus' I drea$ed strange drea$s under the yath#trees on the $ountain as I sa! belo! $e the lights of the city, and the cur"ing 4ithra reflecting a ribbon of stars) +And in the city !ere the %alaces of "eined and tinted $arble, !ith golden do$es and %ainted !alls, and green gardens !ith cerulean %ools and crystal fountains) /ften I %layed in the gardens and !aded in the %ools, and lay and drea$ed a$ong the %ale flo!ers under the trees) And so$eti$es at sunset i !ould cli$b the long hilly street to the citadel and the o%en %lace, and loo' do!n u%on Aira, the $agic city of $arble and beryl, s%lendid in a robe of golden fla$e) +5ong ha"e I $issed thee, Aira, for i !as but young !hen !e !ent into e6ile- but $y father !as thy .ing and I shall co$e again to thee, for it is so decreed of Fate) All through se"en lands ha"e I sought thee, and so$e day shall I reign o"er thy gro"es and gardens, thy streets and %alaces, and sing to $en !ho shall 'no! !hereof I sing, and laugh not nor turn a!ay) For I a$ Iranon, !ho !as a Prince in Aira)+ hat night the $en of eloth lodged the stranger in a stable, and in the $orning an archon ca$e to hi$ and told hi$ to go to the sho% of Atho' the cobbler, and be a%%renticed to hi$) +1ut I a$ Iranon, a singer of songs, + he said, +and ha"e no heart for the cobbler0s trade)+ +All in eloth $ust toil,+ re%lied the archon, +for that is the la!)+ hen said Iranon* +Wherefore do ye toil- is it not that ye $ay li"e and be ha%%y7 And if ye toil only that ye $ay toil $ore, !hen shall ha%%iness find you7 8e toil to li"e, but is not life $ade of beauty and song7 And if ye suffer no singers a$ong you, !here shall be the fruits of your toil7 oil !ithout song is li'e a !eary 9ourney !ithout an end) Were not death $ore %leasing7+ 1ut the archon !as sullen and did not understand, and rebu'ed the stranger) + hou art a strange youth, and I li'e not thy face or thy "oice) he !ords thou s%ea'est are blas%he$y, for the gods of eloth ha"e said that toil is good) /ur gods ha"e %ro$ised us a ha"en of light beyond death, !here shall be rest !ithout end, and crystal coldness a$idst !hich none shall "e6 his $ind !ith thought or his eyes !ith beauty) :o thou then to Atho' the cobbler or be gone out of the city by sunset) All here $ust ser"e, and song is folly)+ &o Iranon !ent out of the stable and !al'ed o"er the narro! stone streets bet!een the gloo$y s(uare house of granite, see'ing so$ething green, for all !as of stone) /n the faces of $en !ere fro!ns, but by the stone e$ban'$ent along the sluggish ri"er ;uro sat a young boy !ith sad eyes ga<ing into the

!aters to s%y green budding branches !ashed do!n fro$ the hills by the freshets) And the boy said to hi$* +Art thou not indeed he of !ho$ the archons tell, !ho see'est a far city in a fair land7 I a$ =o$nod, and borne of the blood of eloth, but a$ not olf in the !ays of the granite city, and yearn daily for the !ar$ gro"es and the distant lands of beauty and song) 1eyond the .arthian hills lieth /onai, the city of lutes and dancing, !hich $en !his%er of and say is both lo"ely and terrible) hither !ould I go !ere I old enough to find the !ay, and thither shouldst thou go and thou !ouldst sing and ha"e $en listen to thee) 5et us lea"e the city of eloth and fare together a$ong the hills of s%ring) hou shalt she! $e the !ays of tra"el and I !ill attend thy songs at e"ening !hen the stars one by one bring drea$s to the $inds of drea$ers) And %erad"enture it $ay be that /onai the city of lutes and dancing is e"en the fair Aira thou see'est, for it is told that thou hast not 'no!n Aira since the old days, and a na$e often changeth) 5et us go to /onai, / Iranon of the golden head, !here $en shall 'no! our longings and !elco$e us as brothers, nor e"en laugh or fro!n at !hat !e say)+ And Iranon ans!ered* +1e it so, s$all one- if any in this stone %lace yearn for beauty he $ust see' the $ountains and beyond, and I !ould not lea"e thee to %ine by the sluggish ;uro) 1ut thin' not that delight and understanding d!ell 9ust across the .arthian hills, or in any s%ot thou canst find in a day0s, or a year0s, or a lustru$0s 9ourney) 1ehold, !hen I !as s$all li'e thee I d!elt in the "alley of 4arthos by the frigid >ari, !here none !ould listen to $y drea$s- and I told $yself that !hen older i !ould go to &inara on the southern slo%e, and sing to s$iling dro$edary#$en in the $ar'et%lace) 1ut !hen I !ent to &inara i found the dro$edary#$en all drun'en and ribald, and sa! that their songs !ere not as $ine, so I tra"elled in a barge do!n the >ari to ony6#!alled Jaren) And the soldiers at Jaren laughed at $e and dra"e $e out, so that I !andered to $any cities) I ha"e seen &tethelos that is belo! the great cataract, and ha"e ga<ed on the $arsh !here &arnath once stood) I ha"e been to thraa, Ilarne', and .adatheron on the !inding ri"er Ai, and ha"e d!elt long in /lathoe in the land of 5o$ar) 1ut though i ha"e had listeners so$eti$es, they ha"e e"er been fe!) and I 'no! that !elco$e shall !ait $e only in Aira, the city of $arble and beryl !here $y father once ruled as .ing) &o for Aira shall !e see', though it !ere !ell to "isit distant and lute# blessed oonai across the .arthianhills, !hich $ay indeed be Aira, though i thin' not) Aira0s beauty is %ast i$agining, and none can tell of it !ithout ra%ture, !hilist of /onai the ca$el#dri"ers !his%er leeringly)+ At the sunset Iranon and s$all =o$nod !ent forth fro$ eloth, and for long !andered a$idst the green hills and cool forests) he !ay !as rough and obscure, and ne"er did they see$ nearer to oonai the city of lutes and dancingbut in the dus' as the stars ca$e out Iranon !ould sing of Aira and its beauties and =o$nod !ould listen, so that they !ere both ha%%y after a fashion) hey ate %lentifully of fruit and red berries, and $ar'ed not the %assing of ti$e, but $any years $ust ha"e sli%%ed a!ay) &$all =o$nod !as no! not so s$all, and s%o'e

dee%ly instead of shrilly, though Iranon !as al!ays the sa$e, and dec'ed his golden hair !ith "ines and fragrant resins found in the !oods) &o it ca$e to %ass that =o$nod see$ed older than Iranon, though he had been "ery s$all !hen Iranon had found hi$ !atching for green budding branches in eloth beside the sluggish stone#ban'ed ;uro) hen one night !hen the $oon !as full the tra"ellers ca$e to a $ountain crest and loo'ed do!n u%on the $yriad light of /onai) Peasants had told the$ they !ere near, and Iranon 'ne! that this !as not his nati"e city of Aira) he lights of /onai !ere not li'e those of Aira- for they !ere harsh and glaring, !hile the lights of Aira shine as softly and $agically as shone the $oonlight on the floor by the !indo! !here Iranon0s $other once roc'ed hi$ to slee% !ith song) 1ut /onai !as a city of lutes and dancing, so Iranon and =o$nod !ent do!n the stee% slo%e that they $ight find $en to !ho$ sings and drea$s !ould bring %leasure) And !hen they !ere co$e into the to!n they found rose#!reathed re"ellers bound fro$ house to house and leaning fro$ !indo!s and balconies, !ho listened to the songs of Iranon and tossed hi$ flo!ers and a%%lauded !hen he !as done) hen for a $o$ent did Iranon belie"e he had found those !ho thought and felt e"en as he, though the to!n !as not a hundredth as fair as Aira) When da!n ca$e Iranon loo'ed about !ith dis$ay, for the do$es of /onai !ere not golden in the sun, but grey and dis$al) And the $en of /onai !ere %ale !ith re"elling, and dull !ith !ine, and unli'e the radient $en of Aira) 1ut because the %eo%le had thro!n hi$ blosso$s and acclai$ed his sings Iranon stayed on, and !ith hi$ =o$nod, !ho li'ed the re"elry of the to!n and !ore in his dar' hair roses and $yrtle) /ften at night Iranon sang to the re"ellers, but he !as al!ays as before, cro!ned only in the "ine of the $ountains and re$e$bering the $arble streets of Aira and the hyaline 4ithra) In the frescoed halls of the ,onarch did he sing, u%on a crystal dais raised o"er a floor that !as a $irror, and as he sang, he brought %ictures to his hearers till the floor see$ed to reflect old, beautiful, and half#re$e$bered things instead of the !ine# reddened feasters !ho %elted hi$ !ith roses) And the .ing bade hi$ %ut a!ay his tattered %ur%le, and clothed hi$ in satin and cloth#of#gold, !ith rings of green 9ade and bracelets of tinted i"ory, and lodged hi$ in a gilded and ta%estried cha$ber on a bed of s!eet car"en !ood !ith cano%ies and co"erlets of flo!er# e$broidered sil') hus d!elt Iranon in /onai, the city of lutes and dancing) It is not 'no!n ho! long Iranon tarried in /onai, but one day the .ing brought to the %alace so$e !ild !hirling dancers fro$ the 5iranian desert, and dus'y flute# %layers fro$ ?rinen in the @ast, and after that the re"ellers thre! their roses not so $uch at Iranon as at the dancers and flute#%layers) And day by day that =o$nod !ho had been a s$all boy in granite eloth gre! coarser and redder !ith !ine, till he drea$ed less and less, and listened !ith less delight to the songs of Iranon) 1ut though Iranon !as sad he ceased not to sing, and at e"ening told again of his drea$s of Aira, the city of $arble and beryl) hen one

night the reddened and fattened =o$nod snorted hea"ily a$idst the %o%%ied sil's of his ban(uet#couch and died !rithing, !hilst Iranon, %ale and slender, sang to hi$self in a far corner) And !hen Iranon had !e%t o"er the gra"e of =o$nod and stre!n it !ith green branches, such as =o$nod used to lo"e, he %ut aside his sil's and gauds and !ent forgotten out of /onai the city of lutes and dancing clad only in the ragged %ur%le in !hich he had co$e, and garlanded !ith fresh "ines fro$ the $ountains) Into the sunset !andered Iranon, see'ing still for his nati"e land and for $en !ho !ould understand his songs and drea$s) In all the cities of Aydathria and in the lands beyond the 1na<ie desert gay#faced children laughed at his olden songs and tattered robe of %ur%le- but Iranon stayed e"er young, and !ore !reathes u%on his golden head !hilst he sang of Aira, delight of the %ast and ho%e of the future) &o ca$e he one night to the s(uallid cot of an anti(ue she%herd, bent and dirty, !ho 'e%t floc's on a stony slo%e abo"e a (uic'sand $arsh) o this $an Iranon s%o'e, as to so $any others* +Aanst thou tell $e !here I $ay find Aira, the city of $arble and beryl, !here flo!s the hyaline nithra and !here the falls of the tiny .ra sing to the "erdant "alleys and hills forested !ith yath trees7+ and the she%herd, hearing, loo'ed long and strangely at Iranon, as if recalling so$ething "ery far a!ay in ti$e, and noted each line of the stranger0s face, and his golden hair, and his cro!n of "ine# lea"es) 1ut he !as old, and shoo' his head as he re%lied* +/ stranger, i ha"e indeed heard the na$e of Aira, and the other na$es thou hast s%o'en, but they co$e to $e fro$ afar do!n the !aste of long years)I heard the$ in $y youth fro$ the li%s of a %lay$ate, a beggar0s boy gi"en to strange drea$s, !ho !ould !ea"e long tales about the $oon and the flo!ers and the !est !ind) We used to laugh at hi$, for !e 'ne! hi$ fro$ his birth though he thought hi$self a .ing0s son) 3e !as co$ely, e"en as thou, but full of folly and strangeness- and he rana!ay !hen s$all to find those !ho !ould listen gladly to his songs and drea$s) 3o! often hath he sung to $e of lands that ne"er !ere, and things that ne"er can be2 /f Aira did he s%ea' $uch- of Aira and the ri"er 4ithra, and the falls of the tiny .ra) here !ould he e"er say he once d!elt as a Prince, though here !e 'ne! hi$ fro$ his birth)4or !as there e"er a $arble city of Aira, or those !ho could delight in strange songs, sa"e in the drea$s of $ine old %lay$ate Iranon !ho is gone)+ And in the t!ilight, as the stars ca$e out one by one and the $oon cast on the $arsh a radiance li'e that !hich a child sees (ui"ering on the floor as he is roc'ed to slee% at e"ening, there !al'ed into the lethal (uic'sands a "ery old $an in tattered %ur%le, cro!ned !ith !hithered "ine#lea"es and ga<ing ahead as if u%on the golden do$es of a fair city !here drea$s are understood) hat night so$ething of youth and beauty died in the elder !orld)