it was anluan, the father of eean, anluan who had once been a fisherman by the shores of the western ocean, who told this story of the enchanter of the isle of britain. the fishermen know the story, and they, more often than any others, have seen the island of the white tower[pg 141] as it shows itself on the rim of the western ocean.
the story was told after the white horse and the red horse had clattered across the stones of the courtyard, bringing eean and bird-of-gold toward their meeting with merlin. candles thicker than a man’s wrist had been put upon the supper table; fresh torches had been set in the sconces along the walls; and logs of resinous wood had been piled upon the hearth. all this was done so that the king and his lords might drink their last cups of wine before they went into the sleeping chambers.
and now, in the light of shining candles and blazing torches and mounting hearth fires, the squires and the servers went amongst the company filling the wine cups up. some had already the wine in their cups, and were waiting for king manus to raise his in a health. then the strangest of strange things happened. no wind came into the hall, but suddenly the candles upon the table and the torches along the walls went out. the servers went to relight the torches at the hearth,[pg 142] but the hearth blaze had died down, and all the logs were black.
and blackness was in the chamber where, a minute before, candles and torches and hearth fires were blazing. the king and his lords stood around the table, while the servers and squires ran through every chamber of the castle to find a spark of light.
but not even a spark could they find; not the light of a rush candle even was to be found in any hall or chamber in the castle. and on every stairway the same story was told, how suddenly light and fire had gone black out.
but now the grooms came in with flints and steel and tow. every one tried to strike a spark, but no spark came for all their striking. and now, all over the castle, there were outbursts of woe: the cooks were lamenting that they would have no fires, and the women were weeping because lights could not be brought them. it was then that king manus bade his lords stand around laying their hands upon the table.
the next thing was that a figure appeared at[pg 143] the doorway. all saw it, for there was a line of faint light around it. it was the figure of a tall man. “speak,” said king manus with his hand stretched to the figure.
“if you will have me speak,” said the man.
“the lights and the fires have been quenched in the castle. how has this come to be?”
“it is in the power of an enchanter of the second degree to quench light and fire,” said the man in the darkness. “further, king manus: the fire and light that is extinguished cannot be brought back until the enchanter lifts his ban.”
“have you come to tell me this?” asked the king.
“i have come to make a request of you, king manus,” said the man in the darkness.
then anluan, the father of eean, he whose duty it was to let none that might have a request come face to face with the king, groped around the room that he might place himself before his master. but ere he came to where king manus stood the man with the line of light around had[pg 144] come so close that he and the king looked into each other’s eyes.
“o king,” said the stranger, “i have answered what you asked of me. now i make my request. it is that the black horse that is in your stable be given to me.”
there was a stir in the darkened hall, and then there was an outcry. it was from anluan, the father of eean. “o, king manus, beware of the man who knows of the powers of enchanters. he may be the one who would ride in chase of eean, my son!”
“he has made a request of me,” said king manus. “by the open hand of my father, it will have to be granted him.”
“it is for the one horse that can follow the others,” anluan cried.
“i have never refused a request! alas, alas, in one night the three horses that were my pride are taken from me!”
“strike now, and light candle and torch and hearth fire,” said the one who had come amongst them.
[pg 145]
flint was struck upon steel; sparks came and made the tow blaze; candle and torch and hearth fire were lighted again. then all looked at the one who had come amongst them.
tall he was, with a dark and bony face, and eyes that were like a hawk’s eyes. his dress was a plain cloak that had a hood that went over his head. and yet, although he had not the staff nor the robe of an enchanter, it did not need anluan’s cry to tell the company that here was the one to whom his son had been apprenticed—zabulun the enchanter!
“why do you go in chase of my son?” anluan cried.
“harut and marut laid hands upon me. am i to have no more mastery because of that?” said zabulun. “for forty days i was laid in the cave that is under the sea, and do men think that all power is gone from me because of that? i thought all that time that what i worked for would come to pass, and that the magic mirror of babylon would be lost in the ruin of the tower of babylon and that destruction would come upon[pg 146] the babylonians. this would have been if the boy who was my apprentice had been faithful to me. but he spoke the words that restored the mirror to the kings of babylon. and i, whose name, as i thought, would stand forever as one who had worked a great destruction, am as naught—my name is a name to laugh at. and shall he pass from my mastership, the boy who let this befall me? not so; he has still to be my aid. i have paid you, his father, gold for his seven years’ service, and his service still belongs to me.”
then, turning to king manus, zabulun said, “you have granted my request. command now that your grooms go to the stable and bring out the black horse that i am to ride.”
king manus gave the commands. then out of the door of the castle they all went and into the courtyard. the still light of the dawn, the dawn of midsummer’s day, was coming over the world. the grooms went to the stable, and in full sight of all unlocked the great stable door and brought out the black horse whose swiftness was such that he could overtake the wind of march that[pg 147] was before him, while the wind of march that was behind could not overtake him. they brought forth the black horse and they held him while the dark-faced man put himself astride. then the hoofs of the last of the king’s horses struck fire out of the stones of the courtyard, while a cry went up from anluan, the one-time fisherman.
and away went zabulun the enchanter, away, away in pursuit of eean and bird-of-gold, and the light of the midsummer day came into the world.
