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 TM

Written by DAVID L. PULVER Edited by JAKE STEINMANN

Illustrated by STEVE CROMPTON, GLEN GRANT,
MICHAEL GOODWIN, DENIS LOUBET, FRED RAWLES, DAN SMITH,
MICHAEL SURBROOK, and GEORGE “SPEED” WEBBER

An e23 Sourcebook for GURPS ®

STEVE JACKSON GAMES ®

Stock #37-0120 Version 1.0 – October 2, 2007
 CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . 4 Enhanced, Multipurpose, Habitat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
About GURPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Science, and Tactical Hangar Bay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
About The Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Comm/Sensor Arrays . . . . . . . . . 15 Specialized Rooms for Habitats. . . . 18
Publication History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 External Clamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Jet Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Factory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Jump Gate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Force Screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Mining and Refinery . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
SPACECRAFT. . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Fuel Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Open Space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
SPACECRAFT STATISTICS . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Scaling Statistics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
EXAMPLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Star Flower-class
Tramp Freighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Midnight Sun-class
Orbital Shuttle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

SPACECRAFT SYSTEMS . . . . 8
DESIGN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Scaling Up Spacecraft. . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Spacecraft Hulls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
SYSTEM DESCRIPTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Free Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Additional Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Armor, Ice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Armor, Stone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Armor, Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Armor, Light Alloy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Armor, Metallic Laminate. . . . . . . . 12
Armor, Advanced Metallic
Laminate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Armor, Nanocomposite . . . . . . . . . . 12
Armor, Organic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Armor, Diamondoid. . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Armor, Exotic Laminate . . . . . . . . . 13
Cargo Hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Cloaking Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Contragravity Lifter . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Control Room. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Defensive ECM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Engine Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

GURPS System Design ❚ STEVE JACKSON Managing Editor ❚ PHIL REED Marketing Director ❚ PAUL CHAPMAN
GURPS Line Editor ❚ SEAN PUNCH Art Director ❚ WILL SCHOONOVER Sales Manager ❚ ROSS JEPSON
Indexer ❚ THOMAS WEIGEL Production Artist ❚ ALEX FERNANDEZ Errata Coordinator ❚ ANDY VETROMILE
Page Design ❚ PHIL REED and Print Buyers ❚ PHIL REED and GURPS FAQ MAINTAINER ❚
JUSTIN DE WITT WILL SCHOONOVER STÉPHANE THÉRIAULT

Lead Playtester: Jeff Wilson

Playtesters: Anthony Jackson, Charleson Mambo, Christopher R. Rice, David Scheidt, Douglas Cole, Frederick Brackin, Jake Steinmann, John W. Nowak, Jon Glenn,
Jon Walters, Jonathan Bennett, Karl Gallagher, Kyle Bresin, Nelson Cunnington, Paul Blankenship, Paul Chapman, Peter V. Dell'Orto, Robert Gilson,
Roger Burton West, Sam Young, Shawn A. Fisher, Thomas Gamble, Thomas Jones-Low, and Tim Ray.
GURPS, Warehouse 23, and the all-seeing pyramid are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. Pyramid, Spaceships, e23, and the names of all products
published by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated are registered trademarks or trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, or used under license.
GURPS Spaceships is copyright © 2007 by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights reserved.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this material via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal,
and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage
the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

CONTENTS 2
 Passenger Seating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 SPACE TRAVEL . . . . . . . . . 36 Functional Systems and Control
Power Plant, Chemical Energy . . . 20 MANEUVER DRIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Stations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Power Plant, Reactor. . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Newtonian Space Flight Pre-Battle Turns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Ramscoop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 and Delta-V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Space Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Reaction Engine, Chemical and Travel with Reactionless Drives . . . 38 Keeping it Simple:
HEDM Rockets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Continuous Acceleration NPC Crew Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Reaction Drive Engines . . . . . . . . . . 21 with Reaction Drives. . . . . . . . . . 38 Pilot Maneuvers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Reaction Engines, Electric . . . . . . . 22 Interplanetary Transfer Orbits . . . . . 38 Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Reaction Engine, Fission . . . . . . . . 22 Lightsails and Magsails . . . . . . . . . . 39 Advantaged Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Reaction Engine, Nuclear Pulse. . . 22 WEAPONS FIRE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Reaction Engine, Fusion. . . . . . . . . 23
STARDRIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Hyperdrive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Beam Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Reaction Engine, Total Conversion Ballistic Attacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Atmospheric Flight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
and Antimatter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Point Defense Attacks . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Jump Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Reactionless Engines. . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Dodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Warp Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Reconfigurable System . . . . . . . . . . 24 DAMAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Robot Arm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 SPACE OPERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Beam Damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Soft-Landing System . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Ballistic Attack Damage . . . . . . . . . 60
Solar Panel Array. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Cargo Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Computers and Software . . . . . . . . 44 Hull Damage and Hit Location . . . 61
Space Sails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Stardrive Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Comm/Sensor Arrays . . . . . . . . . . . 44 ACTION ABOARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Damage Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Stasis Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Overloading Life Support . . . . . . . . 46 Boarding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Upper Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Repair and Maintenance. . . . . . . . . 46 Launching Small Craft . . . . . . . . . . 65
Weapons, Major Battery . . . . . . . . . 26
Weapons, Medium Battery . . . . . . . 27 CONSUMABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 SPECIAL RULES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Weapons, Secondary Battery . . . . . 27 Refueling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Formations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Weapons, Tertiary Battery . . . . . . . 27 Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Ground Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Weapons, Spinal Battery. . . . . . . . . 28 Ammunition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Main Radiators in Combat . . . . . . . 65
Weapon Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Drop Capsules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Tractor Beams in Combat. . . . . . . . 66
Precision Attacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
DESIGN FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
BASIC SPACE COMBAT . . . 48 Targeting Exposed Systems . . . . . . 66
DESIGN SWITCHES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Weapons in Ordinary Combat . . . . . 66
Adapting Fictional Spaceships. . . . . 31
THE ENGAGEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
SPACE COMBAT TURNS . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 WEAPON TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
CREW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Beam Weapon Tables . . . . . . . . . . . 67
FINALIZING THE SPACECRAFT. . . . . . . 34 ACTION DURING A TURN. . . . . . . . . . . 50
Character Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Guns and Launchers Tables . . . . . . 68
Distance and Speed Units . . . . . . . . 36
When Not To Use These Rules . . . . . 50
INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

CONTENTS 3
 INTRODUCTION
This book describes how spacecraft are designed and
explains what the systems built into them do. Several examples
of spacecraft from different tech levels are also provided, along
with rules for space flight and a basic space combat system.
About The Series
Why a new system for describing spacecraft? GURPS has GURPS Spaceships is the core book in the GURPS
had several spaceship creation systems, but they were intend- Spaceships series, a series of 32-page volumes that will
ed for gamers who wanted to spend hours building a single supplement GURPS Space campaigns by providing
ship. If you enjoy that level of detail, GURPS Vehicle Design ready-to-use spacecraft descriptions and rules for
System and GURPS Traveller: Interstellar Wars are recom- space travel, combat, and operations. The series will
mended. This system is more abstract, but it’s also faster. The include Traders, Liners, and Transports; Warships
design rules are tightly integrated into the mechanics for space and Space Pirates; Fighters, Carriers, and Mecha;
combat, simplifying procedures for character actions, power Exploration and Colony Spacecraft; Mining and
allocation, and hit location. Industrial Spacecraft; Strange and Alien Spacecraft;
and Sentient Spacecraft.
Each volume provides spacecraft descriptions and
PUBLICATION HISTORY supplementary rules. For example, trade and passen-
gers are covered in Traders, Liners, and Transports,
GURPS Spaceships includes revised and expanded ver-
and hex-grid combat is covered in Warships and
sions of the space travel rules that first appeared in GURPS
Space Pirates.

Space (by William Barton and Steve Jackson) and the ship
combat rules that David Pulver added to GURPS Space 3rd
Edition.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David L. Pulver is a freelance writer and game designer
based in Victoria, British Columbia. He is the co-author
of the GURPS Basic Set 4th Edition and author of
Transhuman Space and numerous other roleplaying games
and supplements.

About GURPS
Steve Jackson Games is committed to full support of Errata. Everyone makes mistakes, including us – but we do
GURPS players. Our address is SJ Games, P.O. Box 18957, our best to fix our errors. Up-to-date errata sheets for all
Austin, TX 78760. Please include a self-addressed, stamped GURPS releases, including this book, are available on our
envelope (SASE) any time you write us! We can also be website – see below.
reached by e-mail: [email protected]. Resources include:
Internet. Visit us on the World Wide Web at
Pyramid (www.sjgames.com/pyramid). Our online maga- www.sjgames.com for errata, updates, Q&A, and much
zine includes new GURPS rules and articles. It also covers the more. To discuss GURPS with SJ Games staff and fellow
d20 system, Ars Magica, BESM, Call of Cthulhu, and many gamers, come to our forums at forums.sjgames.com.
more top games – and other Steve Jackson Games releases like You car find the GURPS Spaceships web page at
Illuminati, Car Wars, Transhuman Space, and more. Pyramid www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/spaceships.
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New supplements and adventures. GURPS continues to phies, and we’re putting them online – with links to let you buy
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rent catalog, send us a legal-sized SASE, or just visit for the “Bibliography” link.
www.warehouse23.com.
Rules and statistics in this book are specifically for the
e23. Our e-publishing division offers GURPS adventures,
GURPS Basic Set, Fourth Edition. Page references that begin
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INTRODUCTION 4
Other documents randomly have
different content
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The quest of
Iranon
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.

Title: The quest of Iranon

Author: H. P. Lovecraft

Illustrator: Virgil Finlay

Release date: March 16, 2024 [eBook #73182]

Language: English

Original publication: New York, NY: Weird Tales, 1939

Credits: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed

Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE QUEST

OF IRANON ***
 The Quest of Iranon

By H. P. LOVECRAFT

[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from

Weird Tales March 1939.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Into the granite city of Teloth wandered the youth, vine-crowned, his
yellow hair glistening with myrrh and his purple robe torn with briers
of the mountain Sidrak that lies across the antique bridge of stone.
The men of Teloth are dark and stern, and dwell in square houses,
and with frowns they asked the stranger whence he had come and
what were his name and fortune. So the youth answered:
"I am Iranon, and come from Aira, a far city that I recall only dimly but
seek to find again. I am a singer of songs that I learned in the far city,
and my calling is to make beauty with the things remembered of
childhood. My wealth is in little memories and dreams, and in hopes
that I sing in gardens when the moon is tender and the west wind
stirs the lotus-buds."
When the men of Teloth heard these things they whispered to one
another; for though in the granite city there is no laughter or song, the
stern men sometimes look to the Karthian hills in the spring and think
of the lutes of distant Oonai whereof travelers have told. And thinking
thus, they bade the stranger stay and sing in the square before the
Tower of Mlin, though they liked not the color of his tattered robe, nor
the myrrh in his hair, nor his chaplet of vine-leaves, nor the youth in
his golden voice. At evening Iranon sang, and while he sang an old
man prayed and a blind man said he saw a nimbus over the singer's
head. But most of the men of Teloth yawned, and some laughed and
some went away to sleep; for Iranon told nothing useful, singing only
his memories, his dreams, and his hopes.
"I remember the twilight, the moon, and soft songs, and the window
where I was rocked to sleep. And through the window was the street
where the golden lights came, and where the shadows danced on
houses of marble. I remember the square of moonlight on the floor,
that was not like any other light, and the visions that danced in the
moonbeams when my mother sang to me. And too, I remember the
sun of morning bright above the many-colored hills in summer, and
the sweetness of flowers borne on the south wind that made the trees
sing.
"O Aira, city of marble and beryl, how many are thy beauties! How
loved I the warm and fragrant groves across the hyaline Nithra, and
the falls of the tiny Kra that flowed through the verdant valley! In
those groves and in that vale the children wove wreaths for one
another, and at dusk I dreamed strange dreams under the yath-trees
on the mountain as I saw below me the lights of the city, and the
curving Nithra reflecting a ribbon of stars.
"And in the city were palaces of veined and tinted marble, with golden
domes and painted walls, and green gardens with cerulean pools and
crystal fountains. Often I played in the gardens and waded in the
pools, and lay and dreamed among the pale flowers under the trees.
And sometimes at sunset I would climb the long hilly street to the
citadel and the open place, and look down upon Aira, the magic city
of marble and beryl, splendid in a robe of golden flame.
"Long have I missed thee, Aira, for I was but young when we went
into exile; but my father was thy King and I shall come again to thee,
for it is so decreed of Fate. All through seven lands have I sought
thee, and some day shall I reign over thy groves and gardens, thy
streets and palaces, and sing to men who shall know whereof I sing,
and laugh not. For I am Iranon, who was a Prince in Aira."

That night the men of Teloth lodged the stranger in a stable, and in
the morning an archon came to him and told him to go to the shop of
Athok the cobbler, and be apprenticed to him.
"But I am Iranon, a singer of songs," he said, "and have no heart for
the cobbler's trade."
"All in Teloth must toil," replied the archon, "for that is the law." Then
said Iranon:
"Wherefore do ye toil; is it not that ye may live and be happy? And if
ye toil only that ye may toil more, when shall happiness find you? Ye
toil to live, but is not life made of beauty and song? And if ye suffer no
singers among you, where shall be the fruits of your toil? Toil without
song is like a weary journey without an end. Were not death more
pleasing?" But the archon was sullen and did not understand, and
rebuked the stranger.
"Thou art a strange youth, and I like not thy face or thy voice. The
words thou speakest are blasphemy, for the gods of Teloth have said
that toil is good. Our gods have promised us a haven of life beyond
death, where there shall be rest without end, and crystal coldness
amidst which none shall vex his mind with thought or his eyes with
beauty. Go thou then to Athok the cobbler or be gone out of the city
by sunset. All here must serve, and song is folly."
 "Beyond the Karthian hills lieth Oonai, the city of lutes and
dancing."

So Iranon went out of the stable and walked over the narrow stone
streets between the gloomy square houses of granite, seeking
something green, for all was of stone. On the faces of men were
frowns, but by the stone embankment along the sluggish river Zuro
sate a young boy with sad eyes gazing into the waters to spy green
budding branches washed down from the hills by the freshets. And
the boy said to him: "Art thou not indeed he of whom the archons tell,
who seekest a far city in a fair land? I am Romnod, and born in the
blood of Teloth, but am not old in the ways of the granite city, and
yearn daily for the warm groves and the distant lands of beauty and
song. Beyond the Karthian hills lieth Oonai, the city of lutes and
dancing, which men whisper of and say is both lovely and terrible.
Thither would I go were I old enough to find the way, and thither
shouldst thou go and thou wouldst sing and have men listen to thee.
Let us leave the city Teloth and fare together among the hills of
spring. Thou shalt show me the ways of travel and I will attend thy
songs at evening when the stars one by one bring dreams to the
minds of dreamers. And peradventure it may be that Oonai the city of
lutes and dancing is even the fair Aira thou seekest, for it is told that
thou hast not known Aira since old days, and a name often changeth.
Let us go to Oonai, O Iranon of the golden head, where men shall
know our longings and welcome us as brothers, nor ever laugh or
frown at what we say." And Iranon answered:
"Be it so, small one; if any in this stone place yearn for beauty he
must seek the mountains and beyond, and I would not leave thee to
pine by the sluggish Zuro. But think not that delight and
understanding dwell just across the Karthian hills, or in any spot thou
canst find in a day's, or a year's, or a lustrum's journey. Behold, when
I was small like thee I dwelt in the valley of Narthos by the frigid Xari,
where none would listen to my dreams; and I told myself that when
older I would go to Sinara on the southern slope, and sing to smiling
dromedarymen in the market place. But when I went to Sinara I found
the dromedarymen all drunken and ribald, and saw that their songs
were not as mine; so I travelled in a barge down the Xari to onyx-
walled Jaren. And the soldiers at Jaren laughed at me and drave me
out, so that I wandered to other cities.
"I have seen Stethelos that is below the great cataract, and have
gazed on the marsh where Sarnath once stood. I have been to Thraa,
Ilarnek, and Kadatheron on the winding river Ai, and have dwelt long
in Olathoë in the land of Lomar. But though I have had listeners
sometimes, they have ever been few, and I know that welcome shall
wait me only in Aira, the city of marble and beryl where my father
once ruled as King. So for Aira shall we seek, though it were well to
visit distant and lute-blessed Oonai across the Karthian hills, which
may indeed be Aira, though I think not. Aira's beauty is past
imagining, and none can tell of it without rapture, whilst of Oonai the
camel-drivers whisper leeringly."
At the sunset Iranon and small Romnod went forth from Teloth, and
for long wandered amidst the green hills and cool forests. The way
was rough and obscure, and never did they seem nearer to Oonai the
city of lutes and dancing; but in the dusk as the stars came out Iranon
would sing of Aira and its beauties and Romnod would listen, so that
they were both happy after a fashion. They ate plentifully of fruit and
red berries, and marked not the passing of time, but many years must
have slipped away. Small Romnod was now not so small, and spoke
deeply instead of shrilly, though Iranon was always the same, and
decked his golden hair with vines and fragrant resins found in the
woods. So it came to pass one day that Romnod seemed older than
Iranon, though he had been very small when Iranon had found him
watching for green budding branches in Teloth beside the sluggish
stone-banked Zura.
Then one night when the moon was full the travellers came to a
mountain crest and looked down upon the myriad lights of Oonai.
Peasants had told them they were near, and Iranon knew that this
was not his native city of Aira. The lights of Oonai were not like those
of Aira; for they were harsh and glaring, whilst the lights of Aira shine
as softly and magically as shone the moonlight on the floor by the
window where Iranon's mother once rocked him to sleep with song.
But Oonai was a city of lutes and dancing; so Iranon and Romnod
went down the steep slope that they might find men to whom songs
and dreams would bring pleasure. And when they were come into the
town they found rose-wreathed revellers bound from house to house
and leaning from windows and balconies, who listened to the songs
of Iranon and tossed him flowers and applauded when he was done.
Then for a moment did Iranon believe he had found those who
thought and felt even as he, though the town was not an hundredth
so fair as Aira.
When dawn came Iranon looked about with dismay, for the domes of
Oonai were not golden in the sun, but gray and dismal. And the men
of Oonai were pale with revelling, and dull with wine, and unlike the
radiant men of Aira. But because the people had thrown him
blossoms and acclaimed his songs Iranon stayed on, and with him
Romnod, who liked the revelry of the town and wore in his dark hair
roses and myrtle. Often at night Iranon sang to the revellers, but he
was always as before, crowned only with the vine of the mountains
and remembering the marble streets of Aira and the hyaline Nithra. In
the frescoed halls of the monarch did he sing, upon a crystal dais
raised over a floor that was a mirror, and as he sang, he brought
pictures to his hearers till the floor seemed to reflect old, beautiful and
half-remembered things instead of the wine-reddened feasters who
pelted him with roses. And the King bade him put away his tattered
purple, and clothed him in satin and cloth-of-gold, with rings of green
jade and bracelets of tinted ivory, and lodged him in a gilded and
tapestried chamber on a bed of sweet carven wood with canopies
and coverlets of flower-embroidered silk. Thus dwelt Iranon in Oonai,
the city of lutes and dancing.
It is not known how long Iranon tarried in Oonai, but one day the King
brought to the palace some wild whirling dancers from the Liranian
desert, and dusky flute-players from Drinen in the East, and after that
the revellers threw their roses not so much at Iranon as at the
dancers and the flute-players. And day by day that Romnod who had
been a small boy in granite Teloth grew coarser and redder with wine,
till he dreamed less and less, and listened with less delight to the
songs of Iranon. But though Iranon was sad he ceased not to sing,
and at evening told again his dreams of Aira, the city of marble and
beryl. Then one night the reddened and fattened Romnod snored
heavily amidst the poppied silks of his banquet-couch and died
writhing, whilst Iranon, pale and slender, sang to himself in a far
corner. And when Iranon had wept over the grave of Romnod and
strewn it with green budding branches, such as Romnod used to love,
he put aside his silks and gauds and went forgotten out of Oonai the
city of lutes and dancing clad only in the ragged purple in which he
had come, and garlanded with fresh vines from the mountains.
Into the sunset wandered Iranon, seeking still for his native land and
for men who would understand and cherish his songs and dreams. In
all the cities of Cydathria and in the lands beyond the Bnazic desert
gay-faced children laughed at his olden songs and tattered robe of
purple; but Iranon stayed ever young, and wore wreaths upon his
golden head whilst he sang of Aira.
So came he one night to the squalid cot of an antique shepherd, bent
and dirty, who kept flocks on a stony slope above a quicksand marsh.
To this man Iranon spoke, as to so many others:
"Canst thou tell me where I may find Aira, the city of marble and
beryl, where flows the hyaline Nithra and where the falls of the tiny
Kra sing to verdant valleys and hills forested with yath-trees?" And
the shepherd, hearing, looked long and strangely at Iranon, as if
recalling something very far away in time, and noted each line of the
stranger's face, and his golden hair, and his crown of vine-leaves. But
he was old, and replied:
"O stranger, I have indeed heard the name of Aira, and the other
names thou hast spoken, but they come to me from afar down the
waste of long years. I heard them in my youth from the lips of a
playmate, a beggar's boy given to strange dreams, who would weave
long tales about the moon and the flowers and the west wind. We
used to laugh at him, for we knew him from his birth though he
thought himself a King's son. He was comely, even as thou, but full of
folly and strangeness; and he ran away when small to find those who
would listen gladly to his songs and dreams. How often hath he sung
to me of lands that never were, and things that never can be! Of Aira
did he speak much; of Aira and the river Nithra, and the falls of the
tiny Kra. There would he ever say he once dwelt as a Prince, though
here we knew him from his birth. Nor was there ever a marble city of
Aira, or those who could delight in strange songs, save in the dreams
of mine old playmate Iranon who is gone."
And in the twilight, as the stars came out one by one and the moon
cast on the marsh a radiance like that which a child sees quivering on
the floor as he is rocked to sleep at evening, there walked into the
lethal quicksands a very old man in tattered purple, crowned with
withered vine leaves and gazing ahead as if upon the golden domes
of a fair city where dreams are understood.
That night something of youth and beauty died in the elder world.
 *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE QUEST
OF IRANON ***

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