But they must get to the palace-fortress on the top of this world, which was shaped like a tower of babel. There they would gate through, though reluctantly, to Earth again. Reluctantly, because neither cared too much for Earth I. It was over-populated, polluted, and might at any time perish in atomic-warfare.
“Maybe Wolff and Chryseis will be there by the time we get there. It’s possible they’re already there. Wouldn’t that be great?”
They were on the mountain, above the riverval-ley, when he said this. Halfway down the slope were the birches from which they would build a canoe. Smoke rose from the chimneys of the tiny village on the bend of the river. The air was pure, and the earth beneath them did not rise and fall. A great black eagle soared nearby, and two hawks slid along the wind, headed for the river and its plentitude offish. A grizzly bear grunted in a berry patch nearby.
“Anana, this is a beautiful world. Jadawin may be its Lord, but this is really my world, Kickaha’s world.”
THE END