the hills, crept down to find the sea. And passing across the world
they came at last to where the white cliffs stood, and, coming behind
them, split them here and there and went through their broken ranks to
Slid at last. And the gods were angry with Their traitorous streams.

Then Slid ceased from singing the song that lures the world, and
gathered up his legions, and the rivers lifted up their heads with the
waves, and all went marching on to assail the cliffs of the gods. And
wherever the rivers had broken the ranks of the cliffs, Slid's armies
went surging in and broke them up into islands and shattered the
islands away. And the gods on Their hill-tops heard once more the voice
of Slid exulting over Their cliffs.

Already more than half the world lay subject to Slid, and still his
armies advanced; and the people of Slid, the fishes and the long eels,
went in and out of arbours that once were dear to the gods. Then the
gods feared for Their dominion, and to the innermost sacred recesses of
the mountains, to the very heart of the hills, the gods trooped off
together and there found Tintaggon, a mountain of black marble, staring
far over the earth, and spake thus to him with the voices of the gods:

"O eldest born of our mountains, when first we devised the earth we
made thee, and thereafter fashioned fields and hollows, valleys and
other hills, to lie about thy feet. And now, Tintaggon, thine ancient
lords, the gods, are facing a new thing which overthrows the old. Go
therefore, thou, Tintaggon, and stand up against Slid, that the gods be
still the gods and the earth still green."

And hearing the voices of his sires, the elder gods, Tintaggon strode
down through the evening, leaving a wake of twilight broad behind him