"I'm halfway down now, Lord!"
Fans of Eddie Murphy's Delirious will get this joke. If not, I'm writing my recap of Issue 38 of The Sandman with a sense of wonder that I've gotten this far. What started out as an attempt to post some Sandman-related material on a Facebook page has become a weekend ritual for me, and I'm still determining how I'll fill the void when it's done. That's tomorrow's problem. We've arrived at a collection of short stories Neil calls Convergences. Distilled to its essence, the convergence relates to the interaction of Dreamers with the host of the Dreaming and the Lord Shaper.
The Hunt employs the age-old trope of a grandparent passing on tales to a younger family member. It's a time-honoured tradition most of us recognize from personal experience or through fiction. One of the best examples of this is Goldman's Princess Bride, played so memorably by Peter Falk and Fred Savage in the film adaptation. The worst example (though hilarious) is undoubtedly Grandpa Simpson's tale about going to Shelbyville when it was called Morganville, which was what it was called in those days... you get the idea.
The grandfather tells a story from long, long ago, always a good start, about a young man of his people. His granddaughter reacts predictably, bored with any story not presented through a cathode ray tube. He has no patience with this desire since it's apparent he's heard similar complaints before. After a few seconds of shaking his fist at the clouds that include a bizarre comment about decapitation, asafoetida and crossroads, he accepts her apology and calms down.
Guilted into listening, the granddaughter tries to coax her grandfather into resuming his tale, which he does eventually, but not before milking the situation a little.
The story resumes with the young man who lived in the forest, not the ones we know today where park rangers sit watch over tourists walking well-known trails. This forest is old, the kind of old that hides ents, fairies, and witches in houses made of candy. It is a forest that sits at the world's edge, where true wolves emerge from the steppes hunting what scarce game exists. When the girl interrupts his prolonged description of the wood, he ignores her and continues, allowing the audience to appreciate that the forest is as much a character as the young man in this tale.
In these woods, small communities of the true folk huddle around campfires in the clearings surrounding the thick ash, linden and birch trees. They live apart from the occasional woodcutter, charcoal burner or hunter. Our hero was brought into the world by his mother who left him with a legacy of a wooden finger ring and a name. Vassily.
The granddaughter reacts to the name, but the storyteller dismisses her. Vassily is a common name back in the old country.
Vassily and his father live a reclusive life, even for the true folk, seldom encountering anyone in the deep forest. When the boy turned sixteen, he met a crone with bright eyes and two good teeth. She sees him stalking her and bids him to show himself. Vassily emerges from his hiding place. The old woman reveals her hunger, and Vassily goes away and catches a rabbit for her to eat. As she prepares the meal, the lady assures Vassily she means no harm to him, as she is a peddler looking for customers.
Her wares include the heart of Koschei the Deathless, a character from Russian folklore appearing in Alexander Afanasyev's Russian Fairy Tales. A cloak from a land where night never ends, woven by the silk of blackworms feeding on the leaves of that twilight world. Last but not least, a drum made of wyvern hide and wood from Yggdrasil.
Young Miss Skeptical naturally questions her grandfather on how an old peddler could have come into possession of such treasures, and he quickly explains that Romany peddlers saw no sin in swindling the 'gaje' or outsiders. Like every snake oil salesman that ever lived, the trick is in the showmanship. Vassily is taken in by all this and is about to make a deal when his father appears and puts an end to it. The older man sends the woman on her way, reminding Vassily he is meant to be hunting.
Once alone, Vassily's father explains to his curious son that the people of the forest are not to be trusted and they would harm him and his father. Throughout the night, his father reveals the nature of their relationship with outsiders and the other inhabitants of the woods, but Vassily doesn't hear him. The old woman's treasures have ensnared his imagination.
The next day, he seeks her out and tells her that his father believes her treasures are worthless trinkets. She reveals that their authenticity is not what makes them valuable but the dreams they inspire. Grateful for the meal of the rabbit, which will apparently go a long way, the old woman gifts Vassily a miniature portrait attached to a chain. The image is of the Duke's daughter, a beautiful young woman. As she hands over the miniature, the old woman recounts her youthful beauty and how becoming Desire's creature and rejecting her father's choice of a suitor led to her ruin.
Apologizing for her lapse, the lady offers to tell Vassily's fortune until something about him terrifies her. She flees into the forest, not looking back.
Life goes on, with Vassily helping his father prepare for the coming winter, but his heart isn't in it. He spends his nights looking at the portrait, which the grandfather describes in great detail. Even the hunt is becoming more challenging, with little pride taken in the scarce kills. Finally, Vassily packs all his belongings and leaves home while his father is hunting. Once again, the girl compares his departure to her own experiences with coming home late , but the storyteller assures this behaviour was not uncommon in the old country.
Vassily journeys through the forest and encounters the old woman, or what is left of her. She's been dead for a while, and the blood around her torn throat has dried. He walks for days, leaving the woods to arrive at an inn. The Innkeeper, believing him to be a peddler, admonishes Vassily for venturing into the Old Forest. It is a place filled with ogres and ghouls, but Vassily assures the man he saw nothing dangerous. When asked what is on sale, Vassily describes his wares without the crone's dramatic flair. He asks the Innkeeper how to find the Duke and learns that the palace is a two-week journey west.
Lodging overnight at the inn, Vassily finds the food and the surroundings alien and is unable to sleep on a bed bolted to the floor. Instead, he sleeps on the floor on the other side of the room. It is a decision he doesn't regret because, during the dead of night, the Innkeeper sneaks into a room with a hatchet, intending to kill and rob him. Vassily leaves the inn the next day, alive and hale, keeping his coin for the lodgings and learning a lesson about talking and trusting strangers.
Two days later, as the snow falls, Vassily encounters a familiar figure to us Constant Readers. A bespectacled tall, thin man asks after Vassily's wares and reveals his interest in a book. Vassily feigns ignorance about the item in his possession. The stranger, a librarian, elaborates a little more about Koschei the Deathless's heart. The conversation eventually turns back to the book, which has become lost from a library, a situation its guardian cannot tolerate. Vassily agrees to surrender the book in exchange for the Duke's daughter.
These are terms the librarian cannot meet and disappears a moment later.
The girl questions if the man is a fairy and then proceed to impose modernist prceptions on the tale, testing her grandfather's patience. After properly admonishing the girl, he resumes his storytelling.
Vassily continues his journey, followed by a raven flying far above him. Several days later, he meets the librarian again. This time, Vassily is offered gold in exchange for the book in his keeping. Once again, he declines. His price remains the same. The librarian withdraws, and Vassily resumes his quest to find the Duke's daughter.
On the night of a full moon, Vassily picks up the scent of deer, and throughout the night, he relishes the thrill of the hunt, running down his prey before the final stroke can be delivered. However, before he can claim his prize, someone else has pounced, killing the deer instead. The young woman, also of the woods, greets Vassily as a kinsman. He follows her back to her community, populated by folk like himself. He has never seen so many of his people in one place, and they welcome him without question.
At the camp, Vassily discovers the presence of a hut standing on living chicken legs, scratching in the dirt. Outside the hut is an old woman. Although he calls her Auntie, she is really Baba Yaga, and Vasssily knows he has something she yearns greatly. The heart of Koschei the Deathless. In exchange for the heart, he wants to get to the Duke's palace. Baba Yaga agrees to his terms, and the two ride her pestle-driven mortar through the sky, spreading strife across the land as she passes.
Baba Yaga brings Vassily to the palace as promised, and he fulfils his part of the bargain, handing over the heart. With that, the great lady leaves on her mortar, creating new construction opportunities for builders in her wake.
Vassily knocks on the palace door and is greeted by a rotund servant dressed in proper livery and a powdered wig. The servant reacts to Vassily's request to see the Duke's daughter with sarcasm that Vassily does not recognize due to his unfamiliarity with city folk. When the man tells Vassily that the lady needs time to get dressed to greet him properly, he accepts this without question and follows the servant to an appropriate 'waiting area' at the bottom of a winding stone staircase.
Once in the cellar, he is directed to a room behind an iron door and steps in, not realizing the danger until it is too late.
Trapped in the cell, with nothing but walls around him, Vassily sees no escape through the mortared walls and suffers in silence, subsisting on the little food in his pack. Eventually, these meagre supplies are exhausted and he waits to die, realizing that his end would neither be swift nor noble.
The librarian appears to him in the cell, offering freedom for the book. Vassily points out the visitor could have waited another week and simply taken it from his dead corpse, as he is languishing from starvation and dehydration. The man explains that at Vassily's death, the book will become the property of the Duke, and the librarian has no wish to negotiate with him. Besides, such a transaction will attract attention, and the librarian wants his lord to remain in the dark about his losing a book.
Vassily will not be denied his prize. He is from a proud lineage and will not surrender what is his, no matter the consequences. He will have the woman.
Realizing that Vassily will not yield, the librarian concedes defeat and asks Vassily to follow him through a door not present earlier. Entering it, Vassily enters a room filled with old and beautiful books. The great library is vast and endless, and the librarian instructs Vassily to be quiet as he wants to sneak the young man through without alerting the master of the house.
Unfortunately, nothing gets past the Lord Shaper, and Morpheus catches them both and inquires after Lucien's guest. Lucien admits the loss of a book but promises Morpheus the situation is being remedied because he is paying Vassily's price. When questioned what that price is, Vassily presents the miniature portrait and explains himself to the Lord of Dreams. After hearing his tale, Morpheus smiles in understanding.
He instructs Vassily to hand the book to Lucien, which is, in fact, an unpublished edition of Christopher Marlowe's The Merrie Comedies of The Redemption of Doctor Faustus, a tale that only existed in the author's dreams. Once the book is delivered, Morpheus takes Vassily to see the Duke's daughter, whose name might be Natasha.
She is in bed asleep, lost in her own stories, and Vassily admires the woman who is as beautiful as he dreamed. The young lady awakens at his touch, understandably puzzled by the visitors to her chamber.
"This is yours."
Vassily hands her the miniature and turns to Morpheus. He is hungry and wants to leave.
They return to the Dreaming, where Morpheus and Lucien play the part of good hosts, feeding the ravenous young man food and drink fit for a king. While Lucien is puzzled by Vassily's reaction to Natasha, Morpheus is not. Some dreams are best not granted.
Vassily wakes up alone in the forest, free.
Later in the early spring, when the moon is high, Vassily runs through the woods in his wolf form and recognizes a familiar scent. He pursues her all night in a hunt that culminates not in death but in fiery passion. After consummating their union in human flesh, they are married at a wedding attended by many and lived all their lives together until death parted them.
The story ends with the granddaughter being none too impressed. It's a sexist tale, according to her, and she believes it's been told at the instigation of her parents. They are none too impressed that she is dating someone who is an outsider. As the girl launches into a tirade, the grandfather tries to explain that he had no ulterior motive for telling her the story, only to let her know where she came from and what Vassily understood seeing the sleeping woman in the flesh. Some dreams are best left alone.
His granddaughter sees none of this, and in the end, he concedes defeat, letting her get back to her MTV . However, before he leaves, he wishes the girl had gotten to know her grandmother.
Not only was his wife an amazing woman, but she never let him forget she got to the deer first.
And that's a wrap on The Hunt! Hope you enjoyed it!
NEXT - Issue 39 - Soft Places
