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He stood fast. "You have changed quickly, Maskull." Maskull, without answering him, turned to Catice. "Why do men go on living in this soft, shameful world, when they can kill themselves?" "Pain is the native air of Surtur's children. To what other air do you wish to escape?" "Surtur's children? Is not Surtur Shaping?" "It is the greatest of lies. It is Shaping's masterpiece."
"Who can doubt now that our death is close at hand?" said Tydomin. "I have been close to death twice today. The first time I was ready, but now I am more ready, for I shall die side by side with the man who has given me my first happiness." "Do not think of death, but of right persistence," replied Spadevil. "I am not here to tremble before Shaping's portents; but to snatch men from him."
I therefore made up my mind to travel into my mother's country, where, as she had often told me, nature was most sacred and solitary. "One hot morning I came to Shaping's Causeway. It is so called either because Shaping once crossed it, or because of its stupendous character. It is a natural embankment, twenty miles long, which links the mountains bordering my homeland with the Ifdawn Marest.
"You may call it music," remarked Maskull thoughtfully, "but to me it bears a closer resemblance to actual life." "If Shaping's plans had gone straight, life would have been like that other sort of music. He who seeks can find traces of that intention in the world of nature. But as it has turned out, real life resembles my music and mine is the true music." "Shall we see living shapes?"
In the very middle shot up a tall, stately tree, with a black trunk and branches, and transparent, crystal leaves. At the foot of this tree was a natural, circular well, containing dark green water. When they had reached the bottom, Joiwind took him straight over to the well. Maskull gazed at it intently. "Is this the shrine you talked about?" "Yes. It is called Shaping's Well.
"Now if Panawe knew that Panawe existed, he might be jealous." Panawe put his hand on her gently. "You would not talk like that in Shaping's presence," he said. "No. Forgive me! I'm not quite myself. Perhaps it is Maskull's blood in my veins.... Now let us bid him adieu. Let us pray that he will do only honourable deeds, wherever he may be." "I'll set Maskull on his way," said Panawe.
"They say that when the world was born, Krag was born with it a spirit compounded of those vestiges of Muspel which Shaping did not know how to transform. Thereafter nothing has gone right with the world, for he dogs Shaping's footsteps everywhere, and whatever the latter does, he undoes.
"You have repaid me well for my answers," said the old man gruffly. "But it's not your fault, and in Shaping's world the worst things happen." The eldest boy came close to Maskull, and frowned at him. "Farewell, big man!" he said. "But guard my mother well, as well as you are well able to, or I shall follow you, and kill you." Maskull walked slowly along the creek bank till he came to the bend.
"'Nothing, Slofork. "'And what is Nothing? "'That you must tell me. "'Tell you I will. This is Shaping's world. He that is a good child here, knows pleasure, pain, and love, and gets his rewards. But there's another world not Shaping's and there all this is unknown, and another order of things reigns. That world we call Nothing but it is not Nothing, but Something. "There was a pause.
"What is the greatest wonder, in all this wonderful scene?" he demanded. "Acquaint us," said Maskull. "All that you see is born from pleasure, and moves on, from pleasure to pleasure. Nowhere is right to be found. It is Shaping's world." "There is another wonder," said Tydomin, and she pointed her finger toward the sky overhead.
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