This is a sneak preview from our up-coming Going Down Swinging #33 from the story The Old Woman’s Tale by Robin Davidson. We will be launching the new GDS #33 on Sunday 2 September at the Toff in Town with an amazing line up of performers.
Event details can be found here.
LONG, LONG AGO, AFORE A-COMING OF THE DUST, the
mani-lands were a-crowdening with mani-folk, and the mani-folk were
a-crowdening with differings. There were folkings who wrapped all
a-fur in the skinness of wild things, there were folkings a-decked in
shimberings dug of deep earthing, there were folkings a-laugh upon
the great waters in boats of tree-skin, and folkings a-voyage on the
backs of a-snorting tall beasts. All these differings of folking were
followings of differing godness and a-bowed before differing spiriters.
There were the followings of Baby Cheeses, the cow-child who a-gave
milk-love for the folk afore she was nallied to the crotch. There were
followings of Ma-Comet, who a-blazed the amighty naming Ulular
upon the skyne; the followings of the Urging Hairy, Cover of Sod;
and of the Lord Boater, who a-voyaged the eddings and shoalies of
minding.
These a-differed followings fell a-bickering and a-fighting, atween
Lord Boater’s wayings of water and Ma-Comet’s blaze of skyne,
atween the milky of Baby Cheeses and the Earthing of the Urging Hairy,
and bloodness and fearings a-curdled milk and darkened skynes,
a-troubled waters and rotted earth. One of the followings – no memory
now a-knowing of the which – a-made darkening magics of yellow
stones and thunderness that a-roared death and a-killing stain
left all on the earthing.
But in a-killing of folkings of other followings, this a-roaring left
the worldlings a-crack, and a-squeezing through the crack from no
place a Demon came. His coat was scarlet a-soaking with bloods,
an ancient white beard a-grasped his chinny, and his fingers all
a-wicked talons were. When he a-squeezed through the crack, he
a-slunk to north of the northest, and builted a castle of magic water
hardened into white-rock. Many a year he a-brooded and a-laboured
and a-forged tools of a-wonder and magicness, then he a-shinied
them all in bright wraps and tie-ups, he a-gathered them all to one
mightly sack and a-flew them across the mani-lands, a-leaving them
to all the differing mani-folks.
And the mani-folk of the mani-lands were a-wonder with these
prezlings, never had any eyed such magics. And word came a-creeping
across the mani-lands that all the differing followings found
prezlings, whether a-following of the Baby Cheeses or the Urging
Hairy, of Ma-Comet or the Lord Boater. And wondriment fell upon
the mani-folk that a spiriting gave to all the followings, not to one-anonly,
and wondriment was who this amight spiriting be.
Then by the magicking of the prezlings the Demon a-spokered,
a-made that laughting and jollity was he, and that his a-naming be
Satan Claws…
