s: 'Our hands can hold swords no
more, our voices cannot be heard, we are stalwart men no longer. We
are but dreams, let us go among dreams. Go all of you, and thou too,
young Iraine, and trouble the dreams of all the men that sleep, and
urge them to take the old swords of their grandsires that hang upon
the walls, and to gather at the mouth of the ravine; and I will find
a leader and make him take my sword.'

Then they passed up over the ramparts and into their dear city. And
the wind blew about, this way and that, as he went, the soul of
Welleran who had upon his day withstood the charges of tempestuous
armies. And the souls of his comrades, and with them young Iraine,
passed up into the city and troubled the dreams of every man who
slept, and to every man the souls said in their dreams: 'It is hot
and still in the city. Go out now into the desert, into the cool
under the mountains, but take with thee the old sword that hangs
upon the wall for fear of the desert robbers.'

And the god of that city sent up a fever over it, and the fever
brooded over it and the streets were hot; and all that slept awoke
from dreaming that it would be cool and pleasant where the breezes
came down the ravine out of the mountains; and they took the old
swords that their grandsires had, according to their dreams, for
fear of the desert robbers. And in and out of dreams passed the
souls of Welleran's comrades, and with them young Iraine, in great
haste as the night wore on; and one by one they troubled the dreams
of all Merimna's men and caused them to arise and go out armed, all
save the purple guard who, heedless of danger, sang of Welleran
still, for waking men cannot hear the souls of the dead.

But Welleran drifted over the roofs of the city till he came to the
form of Rold lying fast asleep. Now Rold was grown strong and was
eighteen years of age, and he was fair of hair and tall like
Welleran, and the soul of Welleran hovered over him and went into
his dreams as a butterfly flits through trellis-work into a garden
of flowers, and the soul of Welleran said to Rold in his dreams:
'Thou wouldst go and see again the sword of Welleran, the great
curved sword of Welleran. Thou wouldst go and look at it in the
night with the moonlight shining upon it.'

And the longing of Rold in his dreams to see the sword caused him to
walk still sleeping from his mother's house to the hall wherein were
the trophies of the heroes. And the sou