"'For,' said, the star of right, 'the birds are children of the
winds, they pass to and fro along the ocean of the air, and
visit the clouds that are the warships of the gods.

"'And their music is but broken melodies which they gleam from
the harps above.

"'Are they not the messengers of the storm?

"'Ere the stream chafes against the bank, and the rain descends,
know ye not, by the wail of birds and their low circles over the
earth, that the tempest is at hand?

"'Wherefore, wisely do ye deem that the children of the air are
the fit interpreters between the sons of men and the lords of
the world above.

"'Say then to the people and the chiefs, that they shall take,
from among the doves that nest in the roof of the palace, a
white dove, and they shall let it loose in the air, and verily
the gods of the night shall deem the dove as a prayer coming
from the people, and they shall send a messenger to grant the
prayer and give to the tribes of Oestrich a king worthy of
themselves.'

"With that the star spoke no more."

Then the friends of Voltoch murmured among themselves, and they
said, "Shall this man dictate to us who shall be king?"