'The Weaver in the Vault' – Clark Ashton Smith

I'm into a couple of books right now but unfortunately nowhere near finishing them in time for a post today... That's the way it goes, sometimes you just can't get everything done and reading books was the thing that had to make way. I'm not going to beat myself up over it, just try and see if I can read quicker over the next few days ;o)

I did want to start the week off with a blog post though so figured it was about time we returned to the weird and beautifully drawn worlds of Clark Ashton Smith. This time round, instead of picking a story at random, I decided to go with whatever title stood out the most while I was glancing over the contents. 'The Weaver in the Vault' it is then...

'The instructions of Famorgh, fifty-ninth king of Tasuun, were minutely circumstantial and explicit, and, moreover, were not to be disobeyed without the incurring of penalties that would make mere death a pleasant thing. Yanur, Grotara, and Thirlain Ludoch, three of the king's hardiest henchmen, riding forth at morn from the palace in Miraab, debated with a thin semblance of jocosity whether, in their case, obedience or disobedience would prove the direr evil.'

There are still loads of Ashton Smith's stories that I haven't read but with 'The Weaver in the Vault', I can finally say that I've read at least one story in his 'Zothique' setting (which looks to be all desert from what I've seen so far, that's not a bad thing though as we'll discover in a bit) This trip to Zothique shows us once again that no matter how old and fabled a civilization is, Clark Ashton Smith is always capable of drawing the veil back on times even older and things that are perhaps best lost in the murky depths of pre-history.

'The Weaver in the Vault' shares some similarities with 'The Weird of Avoosl Wuthoqquan' in that our bravos are almost taking a trip back in time as they leave their city and make for the ruins of Chaon Gacca. Things grow older and more wild, the further they travel, and it's like we're gently being told (warned?) that whatever life is like in their home city of Miraab, it's just a thin veneer covering, well... I wouldn't say evil, Ashton Smith makes it clear that the Weaver is just after food, nothing more. Something dangerous though? Definitely. Things that should never have been forgotten are out there in the desert and our 'heroes' ride to meet them.

What I loved about this journey though (quite apart from the beautifully drawn landscape, I'm starting to take these moments for granted) is that while Yanur, Grotara and Thirlain Ludoch are aware that the ruins of Chaon Gacca are dangerous (there are some superb stories told here about what may lurk in the ruins), they are far more concerned about the dangers that they have left behind in Miraab; namely the Princess Lunalia and her own dark designs. This dialogue adds a hint of uncertainty to the story that almost demands that you keep reading just to find out whether Yanur et al are going to encounter the main thrust of the tale. Will it be in the crypts or is the 'Weaver' something to do with Lunalia? You know that the story isn't going to end well, for someone, but this approach makes it feel wide open with possibility.

And then we get to the ruins of Chaon Gacca where Ashton Smith does a great number of making the reader feel horribly claustrophobic (both in the descriptions of thre vaults and then with what happens to Grotara) but also gives us another reason to keep going? Where are all the bodies...? The Weaver itself is the answer and it's here that Ashton Smith lays the whole point of the story on us. Cosmic horror isn't just about things from outer space that man cannot comprehend, there is a dark void underneath us that hides monsters just as horrifying, and just as beautiful (in a weird 'look upon my beauty and grasp how insignificant you really are as I start to eat you' kind of way). And when the Weaver weaves... It is just beautiful but I was in no doubt that I'd rather be reading about it than experiencing that weaving at first hand. It's chilling stuff in its own way, especially as Grotara is in no doubt as to his fate at this point, he knows full well what is coming.

'The Weaver in the Vault' looks like a slowburner, of a tale, but is perfectly paced to build things up to the arrival of the Weaver. The prose is almost lyrical and in one well told tale, Ashton Smith has got me keen to seek out more Zothique tales. I'll let you know when I find them.

You can read 'The Weaver in the Vault' over Here.