Brokedown Palace (38 page)
Authors: Steven Brust
The Legend of Fenarr
L
ONG AGO THERE LIVED A MIGHTY LORD NAMED FENARR. Some say he came from the lands around the North Sea, where the cold winds had frozen his sinews until they were like fine steel. Others say the Great Plains to the east had tempered his heart with the burning sun, so he feared nothing. There are those who tell how he came from the ocean far to the south, through underground streams that emerge high in the Grimtail, the southeastern part of the Grimwall, where he learned to live with great privation. Still others claim he grew to manhood in the Western Mountains on the very borders of Faerie, and thus knew the denizens of that land better than any other mortal man.
ONG AGO THERE LIVED A MIGHTY LORD NAMED FENARR. Some say he came from the lands around the North Sea, where the cold winds had frozen his sinews until they were like fine steel. Others say the Great Plains to the east had tempered his heart with the burning sun, so he feared nothing. There are those who tell how he came from the ocean far to the south, through underground streams that emerge high in the Grimtail, the southeastern part of the Grimwall, where he learned to live with great privation. Still others claim he grew to manhood in the Western Mountains on the very borders of Faerie, and thus knew the denizens of that land better than any other mortal man.
Wherever he came from, he arrived one day in the land bounded to the west by the Western Mountains, which are sometimes called the Mountains of Faerie, to the north and east by the Grim Circle, and to the south by the Wandering Forest and the Great Marsh. In this land he found a people who had lived for long years, even then, beneath the shadow of Faerie. They were a warlike people descended from horsemen who had lived by plundering until they had come through the Grimwall Pass into the area they now inhabited.
It is told that a great chieftain of the tribe was shown a clod of earth from the River basin and was given a taste of water from the River, and said, “We have found our home.” From that time on they had dwelt around the lakes and in the great sweeping plains and hills and valleys of the land.
It is told that a great chieftain of the tribe was shown a clod of earth from the River basin and was given a taste of water from the River, and said, “We have found our home.” From that time on they had dwelt around the lakes and in the great sweeping plains and hills and valleys of the land.
They lived with the threat from the west, and often they would bring out their straight swords and long spears, giving battle to the lords of Faerie who challenged them for possession of the land. There was no peace then, and the people suffered, and many spoke of returning to the old ways of riding and plundering—of leaving the land in the mountains.
Then Fenarr came and soon grew to love the land. When he learned of the troubles that beset it, he resolved to go into Faerie and win peace from those who dwelt there. He built a mighty army from the people of the land, even of the women and children, yet he could find no way past the borders of Faerie.
At last, in desperation, he went alone into the mountains to find a passage. As the days went by he became hungry. Yet he remained, searching for a way to pass the border. One night, he felt he was close to starving to death. Yet he had promised the people that he would find a way or die, so that is what he resolved to do. When hunger and fatigue finally overcame him, he fell asleep. Then, as he lay sleeping on a rock, a mighty stallion, all of white, caused him to waken. It spoke to him, for it was a
táltos
horse and knew the tongue of men. The stallion said, “Master, look beneath this rock and thou shalt find thy salvation.”
táltos
horse and knew the tongue of men. The stallion said, “Master, look beneath this rock and thou shalt find thy salvation.”
So Fenarr turned over the rock on which he had slept, and beneath it was a Sword, taller than he (yet he was of great height), and filled with the power of Faerie itself. Then the stallion said, “Turn over the next rock.” Fenarr did this, and beneath it was food enough to last him for many days.
When he had eaten his fill, the stallion bade him turn over the
third rock. Beneath it were garments of silver. Fenarr dressed himself and took the Sword into his hand.
third rock. Beneath it were garments of silver. Fenarr dressed himself and took the Sword into his hand.
Then the stallion said, “Mount upon my back, master, and I will bear thee to the lord of Faerie. But first you must groom and brush me until my coat shines like the stars. Then you must make a fire. When it has burned down to embers, you must let me eat the embers, and bring me a cask of water to wash them down.”
Fenarr groomed the horse carefully, using his cast-off shirt, until the stallion’s coat gleamed so that it hurt his eyes. Then, using the Sword of Faerie, Fenarr cut down wood from the spruce that grew in the mountains. He built a great fire. When the fire had burned down to embers, the
táltos
stallion ate them all, then drank a cask of water.
táltos
stallion ate them all, then drank a cask of water.
“Come, master,” he said. “We are ready.”
So Fenarr mounted upon the back of the stallion, and the stallion carried him through secret ways in the mountains until they came to a land on the other side, where the sun hid its face from the lords of Faerie.
Fenarr came to them, even to the seat of Kav, mightiest of the lords of Faerie, and said, “Stay you in your lands, and we will stay in ours. Make war upon us no more.” But Kav laughed, for he was filled with the power of Faerie, and he called upon his power to destroy Fenarr. But the stallion leapt up before Fenarr and was slain in his stead. Then Fenarr was filled with a terrible anger. He brought forth the Sword of Faerie and held it at Kav’s breast. Kav was astounded and cried, “How hast thou a Sword from the land of Faerie?”
But Fenarr only said, “With this Sword will I slay thee, and all of thine, unless thou vowest to leave my people alone.”
“I will vow this, indeed,” said Kav. “But thou must return the Sword unto us, for ’tis not a weapon for humankind.”
Fenarr did not trust him, and said, “An thou would’st have this
Sword, thou must take it from me, and I will slay all who try, and thee first.”
Sword, thou must take it from me, and I will slay all who try, and thee first.”
“Yet,” said Kav, “thou can’st not slay us all.” The other lords of Faerie gathered around, preparing to slay Fenarr if he should strike Kav with the Sword. But then fires poured from the mouth of the
táltos
stallion, and black smoke came from his nostrils. Then a voice came from his body, and it spoke to Fenarr, saying, “Master, thou can’st trust him. An he vow, he shall keep his word.”
táltos
stallion, and black smoke came from his nostrils. Then a voice came from his body, and it spoke to Fenarr, saying, “Master, thou can’st trust him. An he vow, he shall keep his word.”
The lords of Faerie were astounded and filled with fear, but Fenarr said, “I will give this Sword unto thee, an thou vow never to harass the people of my land.” So Kav did vow never to cross the Mountains of Faerie save in peace, and never to make war upon the people of Fenarr.
Then did Fenarr give unto Kav the Sword of Faerie, and he returned over the mountains to the land he had left. There he built a home next to the River of Faerie, and soon a city was built around it, and the city and then the land came to be called Fenario, as they are still called today.
Author’s Note: The names Devera, Alfredo, and, in fact, Fenario, are
not
Fenarian, and one oughtn’t use the above rules in pronouncing them.
not
Fenarian, and one oughtn’t use the above rules in pronouncing them.
—S. K. Z. Brust
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
In Hungarian—whoops!—in
Fenarian
we have one of the world’s most phonetically spelled languages. Having once learned their alphabet, school children from this land do not waste their precious youthful years, as do their less fortunate English-speaking counterparts, in endless hours of drudging homework to learn orthography. Even as adults, many—perhaps most—speakers of English persevere, resentfully, as slaves of old Dan Webster. Hence, a spelling bee is an unheard of institution in a country where the language is pronounced exactly as it is written and written exactly as it is pronounced.
Fenarian
we have one of the world’s most phonetically spelled languages. Having once learned their alphabet, school children from this land do not waste their precious youthful years, as do their less fortunate English-speaking counterparts, in endless hours of drudging homework to learn orthography. Even as adults, many—perhaps most—speakers of English persevere, resentfully, as slaves of old Dan Webster. Hence, a spelling bee is an unheard of institution in a country where the language is pronounced exactly as it is written and written exactly as it is pronounced.
Another delightful plus for the native Fenarian (and an enormous bonus for foreigners learning his language) is the uniformity of accent. Unlike English or Russian or even German, Fenarian stress is permanently fixed: on the first syllable of every word. Only those who toiled to acquire any of the above three languages can appreciate what a blessing it is to confront such regularity. Still, despite the uniformity of stress, Fenarian is an exceptionally musical language whose underlying principle is based on vowel harmony, a feature of the linguistic family to which it belongs.
The Fenarian alphabet proper consists of forty letters. Of these twenty-six are consonants, but an additional five consonants, so as
to include foreign words, give the language a total of forty-five characters. By the use of the long and short diacritical marks (which have nothing to do with accent) over the customary vowels—
a, e, i, o,
and
u
—these five are expanded to fourteen vowels, enabling every Fenarian sound to have its own distinctive symbol. It is a phonetic
tour de force
.
to include foreign words, give the language a total of forty-five characters. By the use of the long and short diacritical marks (which have nothing to do with accent) over the customary vowels—
a, e, i, o,
and
u
—these five are expanded to fourteen vowels, enabling every Fenarian sound to have its own distinctive symbol. It is a phonetic
tour de force
.
An approximation of these vowel sounds in American pronunciation would be:
a
as in
law; á
as in
father
;
e
as in
met
;
é
as in the
ay
of
day
;
i
as in the
ie
of
field
;
í
as
ee
in
bee
(longer than
ie
in
field
);
o
as in
old
;
ó
as in
oh
(longer than
old
);
u
as in
rule
;
ú
as in
pool
(longer than
rule
);
ü
represents a sound similar to the
ü
of German
über
or the
u
in French
tu
. For readers unfamiliar with these languages,
ü
can be thought of as a sound similar to the
i
in English
fin
but pronounced through pursed lips. The
is a longer and tenser version of this sound. The
ö
is very much like the
ö
of German
schön
or the
eu
of French
meurt
. Again, some readers not familiar with these languages may be guided by the hint that
ö
resembles the
e
of
her
, only tenser and the
is a longer and even tenser version of this same sound.
a
as in
law; á
as in
father
;
e
as in
met
;
é
as in the
ay
of
day
;
i
as in the
ie
of
field
;
í
as
ee
in
bee
(longer than
ie
in
field
);
o
as in
old
;
ó
as in
oh
(longer than
old
);
u
as in
rule
;
ú
as in
pool
(longer than
rule
);
ü
represents a sound similar to the
ü
of German
über
or the
u
in French
tu
. For readers unfamiliar with these languages,
ü
can be thought of as a sound similar to the
i
in English
fin
but pronounced through pursed lips. The
is a longer and tenser version of this sound. Theö
is very much like the
ö
of German
schön
or the
eu
of French
meurt
. Again, some readers not familiar with these languages may be guided by the hint that
ö
resembles the
e
of
her
, only tenser and the
is a longer and even tenser version of this same sound.With the exception of
c, j
, and
s
the consonants are by and large not too unlike those in English. The
c
(and in older proper names the
cz
) is pronounced as
ts
in the word
hits
. The
j
has the sound of
y
in
you
. The
s
is like
sh
in
she
or the
s
in
sure
. The consonant combinations are as follows:
cs
is like the
ch
in
church
;
sz
as the
s
in
sun
; and
zs
as the
z
in
azure
.
c, j
, and
s
the consonants are by and large not too unlike those in English. The
c
(and in older proper names the
cz
) is pronounced as
ts
in the word
hits
. The
j
has the sound of
y
in
you
. The
s
is like
sh
in
she
or the
s
in
sure
. The consonant combinations are as follows:
cs
is like the
ch
in
church
;
sz
as the
s
in
sun
; and
zs
as the
z
in
azure
.
Finally, the letter
y
, except in old proper nouns—mainly family names—or in modern foreign loan words when it is equivalent to the English
ie
in
field
, appears only as part of consonant combinations and palatalizes or softens the preceding consonant. The
gy
in
nagy
(big) would be pronounced somewhat like the
d
and the
y
in the words
mind you
, when pronounced rapidly. The
l
in the combination
ly
as in the name of the composer
Kodály
is mute so that the second syllable rhymes with
high
. The consonants
ny
as in
hanyag
(negligent) and
ty
as in
tyúk
(hen)
are
sounded and the
y
in both cases approximates the
y
in
you
.
y
, except in old proper nouns—mainly family names—or in modern foreign loan words when it is equivalent to the English
ie
in
field
, appears only as part of consonant combinations and palatalizes or softens the preceding consonant. The
gy
in
nagy
(big) would be pronounced somewhat like the
d
and the
y
in the words
mind you
, when pronounced rapidly. The
l
in the combination
ly
as in the name of the composer
Kodály
is mute so that the second syllable rhymes with
high
. The consonants
ny
as in
hanyag
(negligent) and
ty
as in
tyúk
(hen)
are
sounded and the
y
in both cases approximates the
y
in
you
.
—W. Z. Brust
March, 1985
St. Paul, Minnesota
March, 1985
St. Paul, Minnesota
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