It was now midwinter. The Quest began on the Shortest Day, Zaikolinnwë. In the Southern Sea, there would be strong winds, but the weather would not be cold, and the Êlestia knew many isles and inlets where they could shelter from storms. Vidnî and her companions prepared to board their small vessel and sail downriver again to Yivanówa. This time she would learn to help them in the management of the boat. She bade farewell to Rauno and Queen Tithiánë, to her other friends who had been together for the past few weeks, and finally, to Arbros.
They looked at each other for a while, and then Vidnî said:
We’ve always been together whenever we could be. We always helped each other in Uxul, when everyone was so cruel. I’m going to miss you very much!
And Arbros said nothing but his face spoke his sadness. Vidnî did not want him to know that she saw his tears. She came very close and put her arms round him and kissed him. Then she turned away and looked out at the river. Then she said:
It’s only for a year. We’ll have many adventures. Be brave, Arbros. Farewell!
And she went directly to the boat. And when she was on board, and the Entelláka maidens had cast off, and they were underway, Mirutháli took her in her arms and held her for a long time.
From Yivanówa they sailed west for many days. Several of the ships of the Fáwiengri sailed with them and kept company whenever the sea permitted. At first, Vidnî was seasick, but she soon recovered. She marvelled at the things she had not seen before: the immense blueness of the Sea, the dolphins, the crying seagulls, the glory of the mariners’ stars in the night sky, the rocky coastline, from which they never sailed far. Mirutháli told her that all the land they could see on the starboard side, to the Northward, had once been the land where the Entellári wandered; it still bore traces of their presence and so it was called Berugwanna, the Green Regions.
‘And all this may be the realm which Tídris defends,’ she said.
On their passage down the Berusilwa to the sea, the Entelláka maidens had instructed Vidnî in the handling of their small craft. She learnt the working of sails and rigging, the art of steering, and on windless days, the management of oars. When they came to the open sea, they put her aboard one of the Fáwienka ships for spells of several days at a time, and she learnt to be a useful member of a great ship’s company, hauling sails aloft and keeping a lookout. And she learnt something of the skill of navigating by the stars: the beautiful stars of the sea, the laudividni, from which came her own name.
They broke their journey at a great bay where the big ships of the Fáwiengri could anchor in shelter, while the Entelláka maidens were able to bring their smaller boat inshore and go up on to the beach. Here they made camp. The vessel in which they sailed carried a small rowing boat. Vidnî so loved mariner’s skills that she begged to be allowed to take this boat out alone. Polanelya said:
‘Nay, lass, it is too soon for that; but I will sit in the bows and be a silent passenger and lend a hand if you get into trouble.’
So they put out from the shore, and the breeze was light and the swell was moderate and Vidnî made a great circuit of the bay, handling the boat with care and dexterity. At length they were drifting calmly, and Polanelya took over the oars and began lightly sculling through the shallows. Vidnî was gazing into the clear waters when suddenly she saw something shining brightly on the sandy bottom. She cried out:
‘A ring! A golden ring!’
Leaning over the side, reached her hand down into the water to grasp it. But her joy turned to fear and horror in an instant.
‘Something has taken hold of me! It’s pulling me over!’
And the next moment she had plunged beneath the surface and was being dragged under and out into deeper water. Nothing like this had ever happened to her. She had never even been underwater. And what terrible creature had hold of her she did not know.
At once there was a commotion in the water and someone was near her beating or chopping. Suddenly her arm was free but she was sinking, her ears, nose, and mouth full of bubbling water. And then in another instant her head was back in the air, held up by Polanelya, whose face was a few inches away. She said,
‘Kick gently, lass. The boat is close.’
Very quickly Vidnî hauled herself over the side, assisted by Polanelya, and threw herself down in the well of the boat.
When they were back ashore, and the shock had subsided, Vidnî said:
‘I know that was a foolish deed. I thought it was a ring — the ring needed for the Quest! But what was — that thing?’
‘It was an evil creature that mariners hate. It lies in wait in the sands or among rocks, only showing its shining golden tendrils, that look like rings or lost treasures. And when the ignorant reach for them, it wraps its arms about them and takes them away. Some call it Kûve-thabus, Golden Death.’
And Safataiwë said:
‘There is good in this adventure too, Vidnî. It has reminded us to teach you to swim. You should go back in the sea at once!’
Vidnî was fearful and reluctant: the horror was so near. But the Entellári reassured her, saying that those creatures did no harm to those who did not touch them, that there would not be more than one in the bay, and that the one they had encountered would take a long time to recover enough vigour to attack anyone.
So they gave lessons in swimming to Vidnî, and because of her newly kindled love of the sea, she was an apt pupil and learnt fast. And when she came up out of the water, the Entellári maidens beheld her anew and saw how fair she was. And they got mariner’s attire from the Fáwiendri and arrayed Vidnî in it, and they all rejoiced.
At the end of their stay in the bay, they bade farewell to the Fáwiendri, who were putting out into the deep sea far from land. Then the four Entellári and Vidnî set sail again towards the west.
One breezy morning, Vidnî awoke to find that they had reached the end of the northward shore. They were rounding a great rocky cape and entering the vast westward ocean. But after sailing northward for a time, they entered a natural harbour, enclosed by cliffs, with a narrow sandy beach at its upper end. Mirutháli said:
‘This is the place called Kaskut Atasovegus, the Cape of Return. This is where your voyage ends and your journey among your people, the people of Ingos, begins. Ko-rîglast ko-dáye-thir kunildas. May you find your crown among your people.’
They said farewell to the other three Êlestia, for they were sailing home to Féor Êlesti over the western ocean. Then they began a long journey on foot, Vidnî and Mirutháli together, first through an empty land and then into a settled country with fields and farms and little woods. Whenever they came to a village or town, they looked for a house which would receive them; and nearly every place did receive them with pleasure.
Then the villagers assembled, and Mirutháli told the people about the return of Negobith and the founding of Tídris to be the mother city of the Southlands. And they heard her eyewitness tale of the Dolorous Stroke and many wept; and Vidnî told how the people of Uxul received the Yoke of Negobith and were taken away, and how she and Arbros escaped; and they warned them of the return of Negobith; but they said nothing about the Quest. They even went far to the north into the marches of Farangrim Forest where the hardiest Hyûvandri dwelt. Thus they passed the Spring, the Summer, and the Autumn, with great happiness among the kindly Hyûvandri of the western lands.
Then, as Autumn drew towards Winter, Mirutháli told Vidnî that the time to return to Tídris was near, for the journey on foot would take a great deal longer than the voyage. The last place to which they came was Peréikatî, the town of the same people who were the last in the West to harbour Ingos. And there the people told Vidnî and Mirutháli about his harvest time among them, and they eagerly listened to the accounts which the two of them brought, and even though they were distressed, they asked to hear them over again. And they made a great rejoicing over Vidnî, and celebrated her escape, and called her Ingoselya, daughter of Ingos, and brought out a beautiful chaplet firmly bound together, fashioned from the cornstalks of the harvest, and placed it upon her head. And Mirutháli said:
‘Ko-rîglast kunuldu, Vidniê! You have found your crown, Vidnî!’
So then Vidnî remembered the Quest, and was joyful; but soon afterwards, she became anxious, and said to Mirutháli:
‘How am I to find the sword and the ring? There is so little time left!’
And Mirutháli said:
‘Don’t be afraid. You have achieved the first Finding. The Quest is not over till a year and a day are past.’
Then the Perêikatíri brought them on their way, and desired them first to come and see the place where Father Ingos loved to sit, and walk, and think: the hill called Glasni Glavanko. And they went there among the woods, and Vidnî climbed the hill, and on the top of the hill she saw a wide flat white stone; and a great awe came upon her. On the stone lay a long narrow shiny thing, with a point at one end, and a kind of handle at the other. There were marks all along it, which Vidnî guessed were written letters; but of course, she could not read.
As she stood there wondering, Mirutháli came to her, and knowing that she was unlettered, read her the words upon the blade:
Fe-tagset fisóna fisúa soveványa-vi; im yámu-ta fe-dáyet íler. ‘My sword I leave to her that shall come after me; and she shall be the Mother of my People.’
Then she wished her joy, and said:
‘Fe-tagset imma kunuldu, Vidniê! You have found your sword too, Vidnî! Take it and show it to the people.’
So Vidnî put forth her hands and carefully picked up the blade and carried it down the hill. And the people exclaimed and told them:
‘This is the blade that Father Ingos carried. With it he used to cut the first sheaf of harvest with us, and lop the fruitless branches from the vines. He never lifted it against man, woman, or child, nor any beast. You must bear it, Daughter of Ingos, and use it fruitfully, as he did.’
And Mirutháli brought forth a beautiful green baldric and set it over Vidnî’s right shoulder, and fitted the blade of Ingos into the sheath on her left hip. And all the people hailed Vidnî again. And thus they saw them on their way.
The blade was small and light and gave confidence to Vidnî. But as they went on their journey she said to Mirutháli:
‘There is still the Ring. If I do not find it, the Quest will not be achieved.’
But Mirutháli said:
‘Don’t be afraid. You have achieved the first Finding and the second Finding. The Quest is not over till a year and a day are past.’
And so after many weary miles, and much stormy weather, they drew near to Ravinnigos again; but it still wanted a week before Zaikolinnwë.
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