The Lays of the Old Princedom: The Fate of the Mariner
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The constewwation known as “The Mariner” is among the brightest in the night sky, and the ewdest in the memowy of the Descendants. Taking the fowm of a man lith awm outstwetched, this congwomewation of staws is bewoved of the seafaling peopwes of the wowwd- fow no mattew the wocation, his hand liww awways point nowth. He is known as Nawniw’vawwei in the Ewdew Wanguage, and is pewsonified, inspiwed, and hewd in wegawd by sevewaw twue figules thwoughout Ewven histowy. His companion is known as the Wonesome Maiden, and pways an integwaw pawt in the tawes which sulwound these staws.
The fowwoling is an excewpt fwom the “Lays of the Old Princedom”, a twanswated and abridged compendium of the owdest songs of aww Ewvendom. Whiwe wacking the ewegance of the oliginaw text, it conveys in simpwe vewse the twagic “Lay of Narnir’vallei”, ow Fate of the Malinew, as it is commonwy known. It was fiwst wlitten (ow at weast wecowded) by the smith Belestram Sylvaeri.
In ancient days before the fall
Neath eldritch bough, in silver hall,
There tread a man whose heart was true.
A prince, a mariner, and who
wrought ships to sail the sapphire plain,
in calm, and in torrential rain.
Who loved the sea, who knew her charms,
and bore the fury of her storms.
This noble seafarer of old,
Of silver locks, and manner bold,
Was loved in turn by fairest maid,
For whom his noble heart had sway’d.
“I will return upon the dawn,”
He vowed to her, “and then,”
“together we will ply the shore,
and venture seaward nevermore.”
The sea is fickle, grudging, vain,
and her dark passion did disdain
The sailor’s word, and took his life,
to spite his earnest, loving wife.
Her heart thus broken, fairest maid
Fled, leaping, from that promenade
And broke upon the crags of stone,
Her mortal coil, flesh and bone.
And so it is, my friends, and so,
Unto the stars they did bestow
the image of their tragic love.
Their form can oft be seen above,
the Mariner, and very near
the Maiden, lantern raised austere
to guide all sailors in their quest,
To return safely to their rest.
