earth.
And the God UL spake unto Gorim, saying, ‘Tempt not the
patience of thy God, Gorim. I have consented to be God unto thee
and thy people, but in no wise will I be God unto monstrous things.’
And the creatures who sat at the feet of Gorim made great moan.
‘Yet will I abide, oh, my God,’ Gorim said and rose not from the
earth.
‘Abide if it please thee,’ quoth UL and departed from that place.
THE RIVAN CODEX
And it was even as before. Gorim abode, and the creatures
sustained him, and UL was troubled.
And it came to pass that the Great God UL relented even as before
by reason of the holiness of the righteous man, Gorim, and he came
unto Gorim and spake, saying, ‘Rise, Gorim, that thou mayest serve
,thy God.’And he reached down and lifted up Gorim with his hands,
and commanded hhnhim, saying, ‘Bring unto me in turn each of the
creatures who sit before thee that I might consider them, for if it is as
thou sayest and each hath beauty and worthiness, then will I
consent to be their God also.’
And Gorim brought each creature before his God, and UL
marveled at the beauty of each and that he had not seen it before.
And the creatures prostrated themselves before the Great God UL
and made great moan and besought his blessing.
And the Spirit of UL raised up his hands and blessed them,
saying, ‘Behold, I am UL, and I find great beauty and worthiness in
each of you, in the Dragon and the minotaur, in the Dwarf and the
Basilisk, in the Unicorn and the Chimera, in the Dryad and the Troll,
in the Centaur and in the Thing Unnamed, and even find I beauty in
the Thing Unseen. And I will be thy God, and thou shalt prosper,
and peace shall prevail among you.’
And the heart of Gorim was made glad, and he called the name of
the high place where all of this had come to pass ‘Prolgu’, which is
‘holy place’. And he departed from that place and returned he unto
the plain to bring his people unto UL, their God. And behold, they
recognized him not, for the hands of UL had touched him, and all
color had fled from the touch of UL, and the body and the hair of
Gorim were as white as new snow. And his people feared him and
drove him from their midst with stones.
And Gorim cried out unto UL, saying, ‘Oh, my God, thy touch
hath changed me, and my people know me not.’
And the Spirit of UL raised his hand, and behold, the people were
all made even as Gorim. And the Spirit of UL spake unto the people
m a great voice, saying, ‘Hearken unto the words of thy God. This is
he whom ye have called Gorim. He it was who came unto me and by
reason of his great holiness prevailed upon me to accept ye as my
people, and watch over thee and provide for thee and to be God
over thee. And henceforth shall this man be called UL-GO in
remembrance of me and in token of his holiness. In him am I
wellpleased. Thou shalt do even as he commands thee, and thou shalt go
even where he leads. And behold, any who fail to obey him or to
THE HOLY BOOKS
follow him will I cut off even as the limb is cut from the tree, and
they shall wither and perish and be no more.’
And he who had been Gorim and was now called UL-GO spake
unto the people and commanded them to take up their goods and
their cattle and to follow him into the mountains before them.
And behold, the elders of the people believed him not, nor that
the Voice which they had heard had been the Voice of UL, and they
spake unto him in great despite, saying, ‘If thou be the servant of the
God UL, perform thou a wonder in proof thereof.’
And UL-GO answered them, saying, ‘Behold thy skin and thy
hair. Is this not wonder enough for thee?’
And they were troubled and went away. And again they came
unto him, saying, ‘Lo, the mark upon us is by reason of a pestilence
which hath fallen upon us and which thou hast brought unto us from
some unclean place. Still see we no wonder in proof of the favor of
the God UL.’
And UL-GO grew weary of them and spake in a great voice,
saying, ‘Verily I say unto the people, ye have heard the Voice of the
Great God UL. Much have I suffered in thy behalf, and now will I
return even unto Prolgu, the holy place. Let him who would follow
rne do; let him who would not, remain.And he spake no more, but
turned and went even toward the mountains. And some few of the
people took up their goods and their cattle and followed him. But
behold, the greater part of the people remained, and they reviled
UL-GO and those who followed him, saying, ‘Where is this wonder
l!,’
i
THE RIVAN CODEX
which proves the favor of UL? We defy the Voice which spake unto
ds. We will not follow UL-CO, neither will we obey him, and behold,
we wither not, neither do we perish.’
And UL-GO looked upon them with a great sadness and spake
unto them for the last time, saying, Verily, ye have besought a wonder
from me. Behold, then, the wonder. Even as the Voice of UL hath
said are ye wither’d as the limb of the tree which is cut off. In this
day have ye perished . And he led the few who would follow him
up into the mountains even unto Prolgu.
And the multitude of the people mocked hhnhim and then returned
they unto their tents and laughed at the folly of those who had
followed UL-CO.
‘Behold,’ they said, ‘howso are we wither’d, and by what token
might we know that we have perished?’ And they ‘laughed at this
great folly for the space of a year, and then laughed no more, for
behold, their women were barren and bore no more, and the people
wither’!d as the limb that is cut off, and, in time, they perished and
were no more.
But the people who followed UL-GO came with him unto Prolgu,
the holy place, and built there a city’ and the Spirit of UL was with
them, and they dwelt m peace with all the creatures who had sustamed
UL-CO.
And the peace of UL was with them for a thousand years, and yet
another thousand, and they were troubled not. And they deemed
that the Peace of UL should abide forever, but it was not so, for lo,
the younger Gods quarreled over a stone that one had made, and in
their quarrel was the earth broken asunder and the seas did come in.
And the earth was maddened by reason of her wounding. And
behold, the creatures which had dwelt in peace with the people of
UL-GO were maddened also by the wounding of the earth, and rose
they up against the fellowship of UL and cast down their cities and
slew the people, and few only escaped.
And these were the years of the troubling. The creatures which
had been the friends of the people of UL-GO hunted them and slew
them, and the people fled even unto Prolgu, the holy place, there
they durst not come for fear of the wrath of UL. And loud were the
cries and the lamentations of the people unto UL. And the Spirit of
UL was troubled by reason of their sufferings, and behold, he
revealed unto them the caves that lay under Prolgu, the holy place,
and went the people then into the sacred caves of UL and dwelt
there.
And the people of the other Gods came because their lands had
THE HOLY BOOKS
been broken by the war of the Gods, and they took lands and called
them by strange names. But held the people of UL to the caverns and
galleries beneath the holy place at Prolgu and had no dealings with
them. And UL protected his people and hid them from the strangers,
and the strangers knew not that the people were there.
And behold, the unseemly creatures which had broken the peace of
UL by reason of their maddening fed upon the flesh of the strangers,
and the strangers feared the mountains of UL and shunned them.
But the people of UL abode and were safe.
– The manuscript breaks off here.
NOTE-Excerpted from A History of the Twelve Kingdoms of the West
Being an account of their past their development, their geography,
their principal commerce and the character of their people. Compiled by
the Imperial Historical Society at the command of his Imperial Majesty,