The Tale of Dûrok
The Carver of Isidar Mithrim
Summary:
Dûrok Ornthrond, carver of the Isidar Mithrim, spent fifty-seven years carving, polishing, and perfecting the red sapphire, the Star Rose. Upon completion, he wrote an account of his legacy, carving it into stone so that it might last for all time. This is Dûrok's tale.
"Now, at the end of my life, I, Dûrok Ornthrond, the Eagle-Eye in other tongues, set down into stone the account of my life, the account of the Isidar Mithrim, for that which is carved in stone cannot be made undone."
Note:
This story in no way reflects any of my personal or religious beliefs. CP wrote the tale, and so the tale really belongs to him. That being said, here is my take on Durok's tale, written and portrayed as accurately as possible to what the single paragraph in Brisingr dictated.
Farthen Dûr
In the Age of Harran
Now, at the end of my life, I, Dûrok Ornthrond, the Eagle-Eye in other tongues, set down into stone the account of my life, the account of the Isidar Mithrim, for that which is carved in stone cannot be made undone.
This is the case of my greatest achievement, my legacy, for my ancestors and the gods to judge. The tale of the Red Sapphire, the largest, purest stone in the whole of Alagaesia, the stone that consumed the whole of my life, the totality of my life force; herein lies the account:
~ Discovery ~
I walked silently though the twisting, intertwining tunnels under Farthen Dûr. My pick and shovel weighed heavy in my hands, like the weight of destiny baring cruelly down upon me. My companions spoke among themselves. I was too tired and weary to join in with their merry stories of the day.
Day in and day out, I dug and pounded into the earth, searching for precious gems. And when I found one, I carried it eagerly back to my shop to cut and polish to perfection. My work was good. My work was always good. It was almost like an obsession. But my obsession never got me anywhere. I had created no great legacy. The gods would surely forget me once I was buried beneath the stone of the Beor Mountains, crushed to dust by the weight of the world.
A legacy I must find! But one I never did. "Legacy finds you," the old ones always said. I did not believe such nonsense. I would find my legacy. I would drill into the earth until I found it. I would not leave this life with nothing to carry me into the next!
A young dwarf run up to my companions, now several yards ahead of me. The young dwarf spoke enthusiastically, but I could not discern his words. I stared down at my feet once more, tightening my grip on the pick and shovel in my hands. It did not matter what the young one had to say. A legacy would not find me this day.
"Dûrok!" one of the others cried back to me. "Come and see! We must go and see this great gem they have found!"
I cared not. Gems came in many sizes, some big and many small. A large gem was rare, but the size did not always matter. I did not quicken my pace. I barely glanced up from my feet.
One of my companions rushed back to my side. "You must come and see, Dûrok!" He grasped my arm and dragged me along. I had no legacy; I did not care where he dragged me.
Through the tunnels we scurried, like mad shrrgs racing towards a fight. The tunnels were familiar, as were all the tunnels to me, but the ones along which we now traveled were far more remote and unused, abandoned mines from long ago.
At last, we reached the end of the final tunnel, entering the mining shaft and following the last stretch before entering a large cavern. Laggardly, I glanced around, annoyed that they had dragged me so far for something that would not be my legacy.
I glanced up then, at the ceiling of the cave. I gasped. I stopped breathing altogether, as though all the air had been sucked from the cavern. For before me glinted, half embedded in rock, the largest gem I had ever seen in all my days. The gem stretched from the floor to the high vaulting ceiling of the cavern. The purest and deepest red sapphire my eyes had ever beheld glistened in the light from our torches. The light glinted off it like magic, it's red hue dark and as full of life as mine own blood.
Destiny. My legacy. The conviction rumbled in my mind and pumped through my veins. My grasp tightened on my hammer and chisel, my hands aching to begin my work. I would find a place at the table in the halls of my fathers in the life after, for now I had a marvelous task to complete!
It was then that I heard the others talking, discussing who would take such an insurmountable task into his hands.
"It is impossible! No master hammer would take the gem! It would take an entire lifetime to complete, granted if one even had a vision worth of the red sapphire," one insisted, and the others all nodded in agreement.
I knew then that the old ones were right. Destiny had found me, dropping a great legacy in my lap like a dog surrendering his prey to its master.
"I will do it!" I shouted. "And no other dwarf shall ever touch it!" My voice echoed loudly through the large cavern, my voice ringing with finality as it bounced off the cavern's stone walls, repeating mine own words back to my ears.
Fate was decided. The Red Sapphire was mine to carve to perfection!
~ Carving ~
-Year One-
I lifted my hammer and let it fall. The jolt of steel hitting rock vibrated up through my arm. I pounded against the stone around the sapphire. I was almost impatient and hasty in my giddy excitement. I forced myself to be calm, to clink my chisel gently against the surrounding stone lest any unintended crack appear in the gem.
-Year 7-
I lifted my hammer high over my head and brought it down sharply, precisely, on the head of the chisel. The smallest sliver of the sapphire crumbled from the side of the gem. A new facet of reflecting light glittered off the surface of the jewel.
Clink, clink, clink. My strokes were smaller now. Clink. The sound echoed down through the rock and bounced back through my skull. I knew nothing but the rock and the gem before me. I felt nothing but the rough texture of stone and the smooth texture of gem under my hands.
A plan unfolded in my mind, delicate intricacies making themselves know to me. The Red Rose formed in my mind, a creation unlike any other! At last, after years spent extracting the sapphire from the surrounding rock, I had a master plan, a genius plan, worthy to revival any gem of any carver that preceded me. I would be the greatest of all! I knew it, just as I knew that fate had also decided to give the red sapphire to me.
-Year 23-
I lifted my hammer and let it fall. POUND. POUND. POUND. The cadence never ceased. It was a song that was now a part of my bones, the song zinging through my veins. I chiseled and never ceased. I bent over my work in the late hours of the night. I slumped gently over the red glow of the stone in my exhausted slumber.
I lifted my hammer and let it fall. I am the hammer, pounding the chisel. I am the chisel wedged between the rock and gem. I am the rock, being pounded. I am the gem, being marvelously crafted and carved. I felt the sapphire consuming me. I would never cease until I finished my task. I would never stop until it was complete, even if an age must be spent to achieve the formation of a masterpiece.
-Year 32-
I lifted my hammer and let it fall. Chink, chink, chink. The feel of stone and gem under my hand, the touch as familiar to me as the feel of water running down my often parched throat.
My wife was there suddenly. I had almost forgotten that I had a wife. She spoke. Her words were muffled and sounded far away. POUND, POUND, POUND still reverberated too loudly in my head. The sound of my hammer drowned out all else.
I rested a moment, and I heard her words. Her voice was scratchy when she spoke. I glanced at her to see what was wrong with her that her voice should sound so strange. Her hair was streaked with gray, and the skin around her eyes was wrinkled. When had she suddenly become so old?
"You must share your work with your apprentices." Again her voice came from far away, like through a long tunnel, though her words were sharp and harsh.
I turned back to my work. I lifted my hammer and let it fall. I stopped and affectionately rubbed my gnarled hand over a smooth facet of the red sapphire. Never would I share my work. A legacy cannot be shared!
"I'm leaving you!" a heard a voice say from far away. Instead of responding, I stared admiringly at the contours of the rose petal I had been carving.
I lifted my hammer and let it fall. I am nearly one with the stone and gem. My mind never wanders from the plan. I would chisel for all time, if the red sapphire so required it of me.
My wife never bothered me again, and I never noticed that she was gone.
-Year 46-
Where was my wife? My mind was slow with all other things not pertaining to the Red Rose, the center vortex of the red rose being perfectly planned in my head. I dreamed new dreams each night of the gem, dreaming of my next step in the project. And with each stroke of the hammer, I knew that a legacy would soon finally be mine. Soon, the task would be complete. Soon.
I never wondered what I might do after; only the thought of achievement intoxicatingly filled my mind.
Where was my wife? I wondered again. Suddenly, I realized I did not care. I had not spoke much since the red sapphire's discovery, and I never spoke to her now.
She was gone, I remembered. She had left my hall. It doesn't matter, though. All that mattered was the completion of the star sapphire, the completion of my legacy.
The Star Sapphire. Isidar Mithrim, the Star Rose. Yes, yes! That is what I shall call it!
~ Polishing and Completion ~
-Year 57—
I lifted my hammer and let it fall. I pounded into the earth, the feel of stone and gem under my hand as familiar to me as the feel of my own skin stretched taunt over my aging body. Often I forgot which was me and which was the stone.
At last, I let my hammer slip from my fingers, clattering onto the cavern's stone floor far below. I sat atop the ladder next to my gem, dangling my legs down over the rungs. I observed my handiwork, and I was very satisfied with what I saw. I was proud even, proud as a father is of his son, as if the gem had accomplished this carving process of its own accord.
I rubbed my hands together with glee. The job was not yet complete. I had yet to polish the grand stone, complete its magnanimous glory.
I folded the white rag in my hand. Slowly and gently, in tiny circles, I brushed over the gem, rubbing away the last of the dust and imperfections. Circle, rub, brush. Circle, rub, brush. The motion was scintillating… relaxing… and oh, so dizzying!
My arms became numb from this new motion. My muscles protested, exhausted heat rising in them. But I did not relent from my work. I never relented from my work.
And then, at last, I finished. Just like that, I was done. No interlude, no parade, no magical song. That was it. It was done. Finished. Completed. Ended. I smiled at my achievement. Then, I suddenly frowned, angry at myself for my haste and despairing for the completion of my legacy.
~ Contemplation ~
And now comes the end of this account, and I hope also the end of this life, for what left is there to complete?
I cringe that I had once hoped to finally complete my task. Now that it is complete, what is left? For surely, I had unknowingly wished the darkest doom upon myself, one which is a meaninglessly, wandering path. No more do I wish to live. No more do I wish to move on to another gem. Never will such a gem be found again. Never again will I have anything more to achieve. Nothing is left.
My heart shivers and stutters. My hands shake as my blood runs cold.
"Gûntera, protect me! It is done."
~Dûrok Ornthrond