Paul Kingsnorth - The Wake

and then i gan i run to the treows my men is callan to me good men they is if there is any good men now in the world but it colde be there is not. the last thing i sees in stan ford is wluncus mad wluncus who talcs to the treows and he has his sithe up lic death itself and he is leapan lic a mad man teornan round and round lic in a game from the other worlds and he is cuttan all who cums near him and he is macan a sound lic a hafoc in flight callan callan for blud blud blud

i gan to the treows and those of us what was in there we gan cwic deoper in to the holt. two frenc men followed us but we was good in the holt we cnawan it we used the treows to cum on them and we got them we got them down on the ground and when we got them we stabbed them we cut them we ciccd and fuccd them with so micel ire that there was no bodigs left only mete in strips the fuccers the fuccers the cunts

we cept mofan cept walcan for sum time until we was deop in the holt until we was sure no mor frenc wolde cum. then we satt down all of us by a great ac and saed naht for a long time

well these was my men i was ring gifer i moste cepe them safe and triewe. after sum time i stood slow and loccd around. osbern was gan the yonge cilde under a frenc hors tofe cept talcan of him wepan and greotan to him self. wluncus had not cum baec he of the game of death and gamel lame gamel that man who had tacan frenc style on sanlac who had feoht with harald cyng had seen the bastard him self gamel was gan. aelfgar his freond i seen locan at the ground lic he was aemty lic all of him now was used no small part was left. ten of us there had been in the mergen at the litha ham in the holt. ten of us smercan drencan ealu leafan to calls of anglisc folcs it had been the same daeg but it seemed a lif baec. ten of us and now there was six

trust none

fucc thu

thu is ired thu specs lic an esol

where was thu i called thu cums and thu is gan and when i is needan thu there is naht

thu needed no other so strong so blithe

i is strong we was blithe

thy blitheness blinded thu esol thu was sold

i cnawan he was not triewe

drincan laughan smercan lic a wifman

the first daeg of litha

thu is no ealdor no cyng not lic the other

i was ceosan i

always thu is weac

leaf me then go go

thu was warned thu did not lysten

i colde not see it was not

can thu do naht is thu a cilde. trust none trust no man

my men is triewe

there is no triewe men now

none

trust the gods trust the land do not trust men

thy sweord was strong

do thy worc

i cnawan what i moste do when i was a cilde i cnawan it i leorned then what men is. lic woden i was hung upon the treow and beaten sent away teorned away lic woden i was gifen the triewth of what men is. at stan ford again i seen that triewth high and clere in a blue heofon

i cnawan what i moste do when my grandfather died. sum times thy wyrd is gifen to thu and thu moste walc with it efen if it may tac thu to the deorcest parts of all the worlds. gifen my wyrd i was the first time when i seen my grandfather lyan long and hwit on his bier and when i hierde my father tellan me what he wolde do to win baec his name in the ham lic sum hund who has been ciccd and wolde crawl to his mastor hwinan and hwinan

my dumb yfel father all wrong things cum from him. my grandfather colde see in to the cracs in the world he had eages that seen beyond what others see he seen into the seofon worlds and when his bodig was still on the bier i cnawan he had gan to that land

there is hylls to the south with great scips under them and in efry scip a great cyng

to go to the crist to be sent to ingengas after all he had gifen

in efry scip a cyng

i cnawan what i moste do and i felt it in me and strong i was stronger than efer i haf been. it was the night of the same daeg my grandfather died there was a half mona and many clouds in the heofon. i gan up from the hus in stillness for my father and my sistor aelfgifu was slepan. i gan out then to the feld and i stood and i loccd all about me. i was thincan of what my grandfather telt me about the eald gods about erce and woden and i was thincan they may cum then they may cum to tac him baec but none cum

an ule called in the holt and i gan down on my cneows in the feld. it was cold and the grass was wet and i gan to my cneows and locd up at the mona mofan across the heofon and i cnawan

i gan to the fenn i gan through the felds and holt and in to the secg i gan in to the water up to my cneows. i was felan about it was so deorc the mona was behind clouds and i was wet my arms my scancs locan in the reods for it. i hierde sounds in the water dabchiccs or otrs or nightgengas i colde not tell and i was afeart. then i found the boat my grandfathers eald boat and i toc it to the ecg

it was a small boat and not hefig and soon i had it out of the water and i dragged it up and out of the fenn through the feld and the small holt and to the hus. then i was afeart triewe for as i cum near i seen sum one standan still before the hus and loccan down at me. i thought it was my grandfather and then my father and then a deorc aelf i stopped and then i seen

it was aelfgifu standan locan at me cuman up through the feld draggan the boat and she mofd towards me now and the mona cum out and she in her hwit night scirt lic the swan wif of weland she was scinan in the light

do not do this brothor she saes to me

there is hylls with scips in them i saes

she tacs my arm then and stills me she colde always still me

brothor she saes this will bring a deorcness

it is right it is the eald way

thu is sic his goan has macd thu mad

i gan to her then and i toc her in my hands rough for i was ired at this i toc her by the arms she fell the grass was wet she fell to the ground and i with her she beneath me abuf lic a man and his wif

on the ground we did not spec for a sceort time we breathd i loccd down at her her eages was wide ah she was a beuty i held her

well i gan up and i lifted her and she stood and i loccd at her and for a time we saed naht only locan and then i spoc still

i is not sic sistor this is my wyrd

father will harm thu

he is no man

he is a man and thu is a cilde

this night i will be man

well what colde she do i was a man and she a wifman a maeden she colde not stand before me she colde not stop me. i toc the boat to the hus and i laid it by the door and in to the hus i gan. i toc my grandfathers sweord from the beam where it was still. i toc also a belt what was his i toc a scramasax and his treen what he ate foda from. i toc sum of the blosms and herbs what the wifmen had put on him. in the deorc of the hus his great hwit bodig was dim i felt lic it wolde rise and cum to me

i toc these things together from the hus to the boat and i laid them in it

brothor what will thu do saes aelfgifu who is standan there locan and frettan. will thu mac a hyll lic in the eald times thu can not brothor stop this is wrong

i can not mac a hyll i saes i has no freonds in this i is alone. we will put his bodig in the boat sistor and we will tac him to the fenn. we will fyr the boat and it will go away on the mere to the world of the dead at the root of the great treow of lif

well aelfgifu is locan at me lic she locs sum times at the swine what will be ate soon for mete. i cnawan it was my wyrd i cnawan what i was called to do and naht she colde sae wolde stop this in the heofon in the ground i colde feel it was tacan its path

sistor i saes i can not tac him alone

no

he is hefig thu moste

no i will not

i gan to her and i locd at her and toc her hands then and she loccd at me