King. And he told of ventures in palace towers in the quiet, and knew
the spell whereby a man might send the light of the moon right into the
soul of his foe. And Night spoke of the forest and the stirring of
shadows and soft feet pattering and peering eyes, and of the fear that
sits behind the trees taking to itself the shape of something crouched
to spring.

But far under that arbour of the gods down on the earth the mountain
peak Mondana looked Morning in the eyes and forsook his allegiance to
Night, and one by one the lesser hills about Mondana's knees greeted
the Morning. And all the while in the plains the shapes of cities came
looming out of the dusk. And Kongros stood forth with all her
pinnacles, and the winged figure of Poesy carved upon the eastern
portal of her gate, and the squat figure of Avarice carved facing it
upon the west; and the bat began to tire of going up and down her
streets, and already the owl was home. And the dark lions went up out
of the plain back to their caves again. Not as yet shone any dew upon
the spider's snare nor came the sound of any insects stirring or bird
of the day, and full allegiance all the valleys owned still to their
Lord the Night. Yet earth was preparing for another ruler, and kingdom
by kingdom she stole away from Night, and there marched through the
dreams of men a million heralds that cried with the voice of the cock:
"Lo! Morning come behind us." But in that arbour of the gods above the
fields of twilight the star wreath was paling about the head of Night,
and ever more wonderful on Morning's brow appeared the mark of power.
And at the moment when the camp fires pale and the smoke goes grey to
the sky, and camels sniff the dawn, suddenly Morning forgot Night. And
out of that arbour of the gods, and away to the haunts of the dark,
Night with his swart cloak slunk away; and Morning placed her hand upon
the mists and drew them upward and revealed the earth, and drove the