On the Long Night
The priests at the temples have written much about the Long Night. I often find it difficult to believe that, in times now long past, men once spoke directly with the Aionani—that mankind possessed divine guidance, and that we were gathered beneath the shelter of the empire. It is said that the capital once stood where the Astelanen Sea now lies, that the vast waters were once the very heart of a divinely guided civilization. The Reckoning ended it all.
Of course, I would never publicly contradict the record. Of course not. To do so would invite charges of heresy. I am not saying that the old accounts are false—only that it is difficult to imagine a world other than this one, the Long Night. We are like children cast into the wind, born into a harsh world without instruction. Only man finds himself in such a state. The trees, the cattle, the birds—they do not suffer so.
Let us suppose that the ancient accounts are correct, that centuries ago a great stone fell from the heavens and nearly destroyed mankind. Why should such a calamity impair the voices of the Aionani themselves? We have rebuilt temples and shrines. We make offerings. And yet all we receive is silence.
The practical men of Kortos give such matters little thought, content to smelt weapons and raise horses.
The hard warriors of Arista—who proclaim themselves the true heirs of the empire—believe firmly that the Reckoning was divine judgment for laxity and impiety, and that only harsh punishment could preserve us from corruption. Perhaps they are right. Yet if so, we in Kanayama make little effort toward such austerity.
Interestingly, in the Bjornlinga Saga, there are those who claim to have pierced the veil, if only slightly—not reaching the Aionani themselves, but perhaps their servants. Such accounts are, of course, denounced as fanciful madness by the temples. If the Aionani were ever to speak again, it would surely be to the pure-blooded of Astela, not to illiterate barbarians.
Still, in private at least, I found something in Fjolvak’s account that moved me deeply. I must seek further Gotan texts, to see whether any other such testimonies exist.