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I was far away from this place, in a wood on one of the Grecian
isles, to judge by the flora and the quality of light slanting
through the towering trees. As I slipped out of the waking world
in my cabin, I slipped into another in my dream, seeming to wake
sitting against the bole of a great yew.
As I awoke, I felt an urge come upon me, driven by a knowledge
that burned bright in the fore of my mind. The world, it seemed
to me, was at this time divided upon very simple lines, with
the minor distinctions of the countries being bound to one major
division of East and West. This Pangean geography was a crude
boundary formed as much in the minds of the people as it was
in the work of the cartographers. Further, I was aware that very
far away from here in a place I could not name, coexisted all
the centuries that are dead, in a valley hidden from the world,
but accessible to those who knew of it and were willing to undertake
the journey.
Knowing this, I resolved to visit this place and pay tribute
to those good years long past, and more, to take with me a wreath
to lay at their feet in token of my tribute for their passing
and the wisdom they have imparted. |