Caspian X (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
the_seafarer) wrote2005-08-10 07:52 pm
the_seafarer) wrote2005-08-10 07:52 pm
In Aslan's Country
(Bird and bear and hare and fish)
Caspian wanders the fields of Aslan’s Country, and his head is bare under the sun that shines huge and golden-white here at the very edge of the world; gold that gleams off the circlet at his brow, gold that glints from the sword at his side.
(Give my love her fondest wish)
He wishes he could show this to Susan, but is afraid of the memories it might bring—not to her, but to him. There is something of the wildness of Narnia in her, though she be from a separate world.
(Daughter of Eve)
Somewhere, in the stars, there is a war being fought. He draws his sword, offers it up to the east, with the rising sun burning in his eyes.
(Deep Magic from the Dawn of Time)
“Be safe,” he says, and his voice is clear and strong in the crystal air. It is a benediction, a promise, a plea. “By the Lion. By the Table. By the Horn. By the Lantern.”
He swears by every Thing of Power he can think of.
“By the Rings. By the Gifts. By the Forest between the Worlds.”
(The stories are true)
“By these, we charge thee, Susan Delgado, and thytet, in thy quest. We charge thee to victory, and to thy safe return.”
(We are ka-tet. One from many.)
“One from many.”
In his mind’s eye, he sees, not Susan, but those she has given a new name to, superimposed in the glow of the sun. A sword, the bane of a wolf. A horn, with a call wild and clear across the open fields. A knife, dull stone dripping with heart’s blood. A diamond bottle, glittering with purest light. A ship, cutting a shining wake through a sea of lilies. A dragon, winging its way across the sky and flicking a cool shadow over his eyes. An arrow, swift and silent in flight. A chair, silver and evil, cleft in twain. A Lion, giant and golden brighter even than the sun, and Caspian bends his knee and bends his head before Him.
(When Adam’s flesh and Adam’s blood)
Peter. Susan. Edmund. Lucy. Caspian. Eustace. Jill. Rilian.
(Dearer than brothers and sisters to me)
Aslan.
(Magnificent. Gentle. Just. Valiant. Seafarer. Dragon. Wood-maiden. Disenchanted.)
One from many.
(Lion)
When he looks, he is alone, and the sword’s edge has drawn red blood in a thin line from his hand.
(Deeper Magic from Before the Dawn of Time)
He wipes the blade of his sword clean on the grass and sheathes it, and lingers, perhaps, a moment longer here, at the Eastern Edge of the World, before opening the door behind him and stepping back into the End of the Universe.
Caspian wanders the fields of Aslan’s Country, and his head is bare under the sun that shines huge and golden-white here at the very edge of the world; gold that gleams off the circlet at his brow, gold that glints from the sword at his side.
(Give my love her fondest wish)
He wishes he could show this to Susan, but is afraid of the memories it might bring—not to her, but to him. There is something of the wildness of Narnia in her, though she be from a separate world.
(Daughter of Eve)
Somewhere, in the stars, there is a war being fought. He draws his sword, offers it up to the east, with the rising sun burning in his eyes.
(Deep Magic from the Dawn of Time)
“Be safe,” he says, and his voice is clear and strong in the crystal air. It is a benediction, a promise, a plea. “By the Lion. By the Table. By the Horn. By the Lantern.”
He swears by every Thing of Power he can think of.
“By the Rings. By the Gifts. By the Forest between the Worlds.”
(The stories are true)
“By these, we charge thee, Susan Delgado, and thytet, in thy quest. We charge thee to victory, and to thy safe return.”
(We are ka-tet. One from many.)
“One from many.”
In his mind’s eye, he sees, not Susan, but those she has given a new name to, superimposed in the glow of the sun. A sword, the bane of a wolf. A horn, with a call wild and clear across the open fields. A knife, dull stone dripping with heart’s blood. A diamond bottle, glittering with purest light. A ship, cutting a shining wake through a sea of lilies. A dragon, winging its way across the sky and flicking a cool shadow over his eyes. An arrow, swift and silent in flight. A chair, silver and evil, cleft in twain. A Lion, giant and golden brighter even than the sun, and Caspian bends his knee and bends his head before Him.
(When Adam’s flesh and Adam’s blood)
Peter. Susan. Edmund. Lucy. Caspian. Eustace. Jill. Rilian.
(Dearer than brothers and sisters to me)
Aslan.
(Magnificent. Gentle. Just. Valiant. Seafarer. Dragon. Wood-maiden. Disenchanted.)
One from many.
(Lion)
When he looks, he is alone, and the sword’s edge has drawn red blood in a thin line from his hand.
(Deeper Magic from Before the Dawn of Time)
He wipes the blade of his sword clean on the grass and sheathes it, and lingers, perhaps, a moment longer here, at the Eastern Edge of the World, before opening the door behind him and stepping back into the End of the Universe.