The Lonely Runner
On their eastward journey, each of the Three Sisters observed something in the world that became dear to her. For Swift Canelle it was the many games mortals invented in the short time since emerging from the fruits. She came to love these games, and their many contests of strength and speed.
Once the fate of the sisters became tied to that of the gods of the tree, Tall Canelle spent more time among mortals than gods. This was for two reasons. First, Darmon's passion for her perplexed and annoyed her, making time among the gods irksome. Second, she found herself happiest testing her speed and might against mortal athletes. But this passion for competition with mortals dissipated, for she never found a challenge. As her power waxed, it seemed the skills of mortals waned. As the years accumulated, the mortal races diminished in power, length of life, and prowess.
But what they lost individually, they gained collectively, for their numbers swelled, and they filled every land. When Canelle the Victorious had lost all hope of ever being challenged by a mortal again, there arose from the East a great champion. No one knew his name; he was called the Lonely Runner, because when he ran a race, he left everyone else so far behind, that he always ran the finish alone.
Seeing a challenge, Canelle entered herself into a great tournament held by the archons of the West’s largest city. The finest athletes of the five races had come to compete for the prize: a hart, five hands high, made of pure gold. The tournament grounds were littered with champions, but only two had any chance of winning: The Lonely Runner and Canelle.
In the archery contest, each achieved perfect marks; in every following contest, they both achieved the highest possible scores. At last, the competition was to be decided by the final race. None of the other competitors even took to the field, for none might win but this strange Easterner or this red-headed giant of a woman. The crowd roared as the two walked onto the field, and all fell silent when the flag fell.
Fleet-footed Canelle and the Lonely Runner left their starting positions more swiftly than arrows. Side by side, they shot around the field, neither giving the other an inch of advantage. Absolute silence reigned throughout the crowd. Around and around the runners went, still elbow to elbow, breath to breath. As they reached the finish, neither sped past the other, and they crossed the line at the same moment.
“We will run again!” Canelle demanded at once. “A month from now! A year! We will run again, and know who is best!”
But the Lonely Runner hunched over and panted. He could not speak for some time, for he had run his greatest race, and was but a man. When at last he could, he said, “Great lady! I’ll run against you if you command it. But should we run again and again and again, it is sure to go sore against me, in the end. I may run at your side for another year, or many years, but in the end I will age, and you will not.”
At this, Triumphant Canelle was amazed, for mortals did not yet worship her and her sisters, and her name was not known to the temples of the world. The Lonely Runner saw her face and remarked, “Indeed, milady, I know who you are, for you raced my father’s father before I was born, and he told me of you, the Red Lady who will run against only the best, defeat them, and then disappear. My father told me that you come to teach us humility, to remind us that no matter how great we think we are, there is one better. But as I grew greater in skill and speed, I learned the truth: You come for the challenge. They call me the Lonely Runner, and so I am, for I have not been challenged in many years, and my heart is heavy with misery. I have spent all my days becoming the best, and it is a lonely path. You have given me joy this once, for you have challenged
me, and I hope I have returned the delight, but if you race me again, some day you will be victorious over an old man, and your joy will be gone again.”
And Tall Canelle knew he was right; someday she would outrace him, not because she was better, but because she was immortal. She left him there without a word and went to one of the great houses of Urian. The lord of the heavens was not sure what to make of these three sisters who had come into his family so suddenly, but he heard Canelle’s plea, and agreed to its terms.
So it was that Canelle the Victorious returned to the mortal realm and found the Lonely Runner. Taking him by the hand, she led him into the heavens, and placed him among the stars. There he can still be seen, running across the night skies. The race between him and Swift Canelle has been preserved for eternity, for he will never age.
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