CHAPTERFHTFALLSONNARNIA
&oodbesideAslan,htside,ahroughtheopendoor>
Thebo。Ohallwasblafactyouothavetoldthatyintoawoodifyouhadhedarkshapesofthetreesehestarsbegan。ButwhenAslanhadrain,outoheysawanotherblackshape。Thatis,theysaatchwheretherewerenostars:achroseuphigherandhigheraheshapeofamaofallgiants。TheyallknewNaroworkoutwherehemustbestabeonthehighmoorlandsthatstretchawaytotheheRiverShribble。ThenJillaacerememberedhowongago,inthedeepeaththosemoors,theyhadseeasleepahathisherTime,andthathewouldwakeoheworldended。
“Yes,”saidAslan,thoughtheyhadnotspoken。“Whilehelaydreaminghisime。Nowthatheisawakehewillhaveanewone。”
&hegreatgiantraisedahorntohismouth。Theycouldseethisbythegeoftheblackshapehemadeagaiars。Afterthat—quiteabitlater,bedtravelssoslowly—theyheardthesoundhandterrible,yete,deadlybeauty。
&heskybecamefullofshootingstars。Eveingstarisafiosee;buttheseweredozens,andtheheillitwaslikesilverrain:aonandohadgoneonforsomewhile,owoofthembegantothinkthattherewasanotherdarkshapeagainsttheskyaswellasthegiant's。Itwasiplace,rightoverhead,upintheveryroofoftheskyasyoumightcallit。“Perhapsitisacloud,”thoughtEdmund。Ataherewerenostarsthere:justblaess。Butallaround,thedownpourofstarswentoarlesspattogrfurtherafromtheterofthesky。Alyaquarterofthewholeskywasbladthenahalf,andatlasttherainofshooingononlylowdowhehorizon。
Withathrillofwoherewassometerrorinittoo)theyallsuddenlyrealizedening。Thespreadingblaesswasnotacloudatall:itlyemptiheblackpartoftheskyartinwhichtherewerenostarsleft。Allthestarswerefalling:Aslanhadcalledthemhome。
&fewsedsbeforetherainofstarshadquiteendedwereveryexg。Starsbeganfallingallrouarsinthatworldareflamiheyareinours。Theyarepeople(EdmundandLuetone)。Sonowtheyfoundshlitterihlonghairlikeburningsilverandspearslikewhite-hotmetal,rushingdowoftheblackair,swifterthanfalliheymadeahissiheylandedandburntthegrass。Aarsglidedpastthemandstoodsomewherebehind,alittletht。
Thiswasagreatadvaherwise,nowthattherewerenostarsinthesky,everythingwouldhavebeeelydarkandyoucouldhaveseennothing。Asitwas,thecrowdofstarsbehiafierce,whitelightovertheirshoulders。TheyileuponmileofNarnianwoodsspreadoutbeforethem,lookingasiftheywerefloodlit。Everybushandalmosteverybladeofgrasshaditsblackshadowbehindit。Theedgeofeveryleafstoodoutsosharpthatyou'dthinkyoucouldcutyeronit。
Onthegrassbeforethemlaytheirownshadows。ButthegreatthingwasAslan'sshadow。Itstreamedawaytotheirleft,enormousaerrible。Andallthiswasuhatwouldarlessforever。
&frombehindthem(andalittletht)wassthatitlitupeventheslopesoftheNorthernMoors。Somethingwasmovingthere。Enormousanimalsweregandslidingdownintreatdragonsandgiantlizardsaherlessbirdswithwis'wings。Theydisappearedintothewoodsandforafewmiherewassileherecame—atfirstfromveryfaroff—soundsofwailingandthen,fromeverydire,arustlingandapatteringandasoundofwings。Itearerandnearer。Soononecoulddistinguishthescamperoflittlefeetfromthepaddingofbigpaws,andtheclack-clackoflightlittlehoofsfromthethunderofgreatohenonecouldseethousandsofpairsofeyesgleaming。Andatlast,outoftheshadowofthetrees,ragupthehillfordearlife,bythousandsandbymillions,cameallkialkis,Dwarfs,Satyrs,Fauns,Giants,enfromArd,Monopods,ahlythingsfromtheremoteislandsoftheuernlands。AndalltheseranuptothedoorwaywhereAslanstood。
Thispartoftheadveheonlyonewhichseemedratherlikeadreamatthetimeaorememberproperlyafteree'tsayhowlongithadtakeseemedtohavelastedoes,butatothersitfeltasifitmighthavegoneonforyears。Obviously,uheDrownverymuchlargerorthecreatureshadsuddenlygrownassmallasgnats,acrowdlikethat'teverhavetriedthit。Butaboutthatsortofthiime。
&urescamerushingon,theireyesbrighteraheydrewnearerahestandingStars。ButastheycamerightuptoAslaheroftwothioea。Theyalllhtinhisfa'tthinktheyhadahat。Andwhensomelooked,theexpressionoftheirfagedterribly—itwasfearathat,oalkihefearaedonlyforafraofased。YoucouldseethattheysuddeheTalkiheywerejustordinaryanimals。AureswholookedatAslaninthatwayswervedtht,hisleft,aohishugeblackshadow,which(asyouhaveheard)streamedawaytotheleftofthedoorway。Theeversawthemagain。Idon'tknowwhatbe。ButtheotherslookedinthefaceofAslahoughsomeofthemwereveryfrighteime。AndalltheseattheDoor,inonAslanht。Thereweresomequeerspe。EustareizedohoseveryDwarfsedtoshoottheHorses。Buthehadowohatsortofthing(andanywayitwasnobusinessofhis)freatjoyputeverythiofhishead。AmongthehappycreatureswhonroundTirianandhisfriehosewhomtheyhadthoughtdead。TherewasRooauraheUnidthegoodBoarandthegoodBear,andFarsighttheEagle,andthedearDogsandtheHorses,andPoggintheD
“Furtherinandhigherup!”witandthunderedatotheWest。Andthoughtheydidandhim,thewordssomehowsetthemtingliheBruhemcheerfully。TheBearwasjustgoingtomutterthathestilldidn'tuand,whesightofthefruit-treesbehindthem。Hewaddledtothosetreesasfastashedthere,nodoubt,fouhioodverywell。ButtheDogsremained,waggiails,andPogginremained,shakinghandswitheveryalloverhishofadJewelleanedhissnowywhitehead'sshoulderandtheKingwhisperedinJewel'sear。TheurentionagaintowhatcouldbeseenthroughtheDoor>
TheDragonsandGiantLizardsnowhadNarniatothemselves。Theywenttupthetreesbytherothemupasiftheyweresticksofrhubarb。Mietheforestsdisappeared。Thewholetrybecamebareandyoucouldseeallsortsofthingsaboutitsshape—allthelittlehumpsandhollowswhichyouhadicedbefrassdied。SoonTirianfoundthathewaslookingataworldofbarerodearth。Youcouldhardlybelievethatanythihere。Themohemselvesgrewoldandlaydowheirfleshshrivelledupandthebonesappeared:soontheywereoonsthatlayhereahedeadrogasiftheyhaddiedthousandstimeeverythingwasstill。
Atlastsomethingwhite—along,levelliegleamediofthestandingstars—gtowardthemfromtheEasterheworld。
Awidespreadhesileamurmurthehenaroar。Andnowtheycouldseeasing,andhowfastitcame。Itwasafoamingwallofwater。Theseawasrising。Inthattree-lessworldyoucouldseeitverywell。Youcouldseealltheriversgettihelakesgettinglarger,aelakesjoiningintoone,aurningintonewlakes,andhillsturningintoislands,ahoseislandsvanishing。AndthehighmoorstotheirleftandthehighermountaicrumbledandslippeddownwitharoarandasplashiihewatercameswirlinguptotheverythresholdoftheDoorway(butneverpassedit)sothatthefoamsplashedaboutAslan'sforefeet。Allerfromwheretheystoodtowherethewatersmetthesky。
Abegantht。Astreakofdrearyanddisastrousdawnspreadalongthehorizon,andwidenedaer,tilliheyhardlyhelightofthestarswhostoodbehilastthesuncameup。Whenitdid,theLoryandtheLadyPollylookedatoheralewo,iworld,hadonadyingsun,aohissunalsowasdying。Itwasthreetimes—twentytimes—asbigasitoughttobe,andverydarkred。Asitsraysfellupoime-giauroo:aionofthatsunthewholewasteofshorelesswaterslookedlikeblood。
&heMooeinherwrongposition,veryclosetothesun,andshealsolookedred。Aofherthesuiflames,likewhiskersorsnakesoffire,towardher。Itisasifheustryingtodrawhertohimselfiadperhapshediddrawher。Atanyrateshe,slowlyatfirst,butthenmoreandmorequickly,tillatlasthislongflameslidherawetherandbeehugeballlikeaburningcoal。Greatlumpsoffirecamedroppingoutofitintotheseaandroseup。
ThenAslansaid,“Nowmakeanend。”
&hrewhishorheonearm—veryblackitlooked,andthousandsofmileslong—acrosstheskytillhishaheSuheSuinhishandasyouwouldsqueezeane。Andinstaaldarkness。
EveryoAslanjumpedbatheice-coldairthroughtheDoorway。Itsedgeswerealreadycoveredwithicicles。