A Feast at World's End: VDT Part 6

We continue to sail into the utter East where new constellations rise, and the world starts to feel like the beginning of the end. We find Aslan’s Table, meet Ramandu and his daughter, find the final three lost Lords, and we learn that the only path to break an enchanted sleep requires us to leave someone behind at the end of the world.

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Welcome to Faithful Fables, the podcast dedicated to searching into the Christian themes and symbolism in fantasy stories. Join us for a journey that you will never forget, and remember to stay faithful. The wind never failed, but it grew gentler every day till at length the waves were little more than ripples, and the ship glided on hour after hour, almost as if they were sailing on a lake. And every night they saw that there rose in the east new constellations which no one had ever seen in Narnia, and perhaps, as Lucy thought with a mixture of joy and fear, no living eye had seen it all. Those new stars were big and bright and the nights were warm. Most of them slept on deck and talked far into the night and hung over the ship's side, watching the luminous dance of the foam thrown up by their bows. On an evening of startling beauty, when the sunset behind them was so crimson and purple and widely spread that the very sky itself seemed to have grown larger. They came in sight of land on the starboard bow. It came slowly nearer, and the light behind them made it look as if the capes and headlands of this new country were all on fire. But presently they were sailing along its coasts, and its western cape now rose up astern of them. Black against the red sky and sharp as if it was cut out of cardboard, and then they could see better what this country was like. It had no mountains, but many gentle hills with slope slopes like pillows. An attractive smell came from it. What Lucy called a dim, purple kind of smell, which Edmund said, and Rince thought was wrought. But Caspian said, I know what you mean. They sailed on a good way, past point after point, hoping to find a nice deep harbor, but had to content themselves in the end with a wide and shallow bay. Though it had seemed calm out at sea, there was of course surf breaking on the sand, and they could not bring the Don Shredder as far in as they would have liked. They dropped anchor a good way from the beach and had a wet and tumbling landing on the boat. The Lord Roop remained on board the Don Shredder. He wished to see no more islands. All the time they had remained in this country, the sound of the long breakers was in their ears. Two men were left to guard the boat, and Caspian led the others inland, but not far because it was too late for exploring, and the light would soon go. But there was no need to go far to find an adventure. The valley which lay at the head of the bay showed no road or track or other sign of habitation. Underfoot was fine springy turf dotted here and there with a low bushy growth, which Edmund and Lucy took for Heather. Eustace, who was really rather good at botany, said it wasn't. And he was probably right, but it was something of very much the same kind. When they had gone less than a bow shot from the shore, Drinian said, Look, what's that? And everyone stopped. Are they great trees? said Caspian. Towers, I think, said Eustace. It might be giants, said Edmund in a lower voice. Today we will be continuing our voyage to find the seven lost lords of Narnia. But before we get into this, I want to ask that you leave a comment and a rating on whatever podcast platform you're listening on, as this will help the podcast get in front of more people and help spread the gospel, which is the main goal of the show. And if you're on YouTube, leave a like and consider subscribing. It's completely free and you can always change your mind later if you desire. Now, let's get into this. So as we sail, we see new constellations, and Lucy thinks that no one has ever seen these before. She also has a mixed feeling of joy and fear. And the closer we get to the utter east, the more dreamlike everything starts to seem. And so we finally approach land, and Lucy notices an attractive smell and calls it a dim kind of purple smell. Now I'm not sure how purple has a smell. You know, if anything, I I think, you know, maybe grape, if anything, but because grape and purple are kind of associated, but yeah, I'm not too sure. And but I assume that it is similar to smelling the color nine. And so Edmund thinks that it's a smell like of rot, like that something's just rotting. And Caspian says that he knows what Lucy means by her description. And so we can't bring the far the ship, sorry, too far in, or yeah, as far in as we would like to. And when we do stop, that we uh we leave the newly rescued Lord Roop on board as he doesn't want to see any more islands. Which I really don't blame him after all that he's been through. Um so at this point, uh we don't explore too much on land because we're losing daylight, but luckily for us, we don't have to go too far before we find adventure. As we're taking a look around, we see no sign of habitation, but we do see something. Caspian thinks that it's great trees, Eustace thinks that it's towers, and Edmund thinks that it could possibly be giants. Now, Reapcheep, once again, seemingly you know the law the more logical of everyone on board uh says that we will only know what it is by going among whatever it is, which makes sense. And of course, he has his sword drawn. And so as we get closer, Lucy points out that it looks like ruins. The island has a this island, sorry, has gentle rolling hills. And most the the most notable thing is that there's a structure, so these ruins that we're seeing, and there's an open court surrounded by what these these ruins, these columns are. We see a table where a banquet or a feast, I guess, is being held. And this was a banquet the likes of which had never been seen before. Not even when High King Peter had his court at Care Paravelle. The feast had turkeys and geese and peacocks, boars heads, and sides of venison. There are pies shaped like ships under full sail, or like dragons and elephants. There were ice puddings and bright lobsters and gleaming salmon, nuts and grapes, pineapples and peaches, pomegranates and melons and tomatoes. The smell of the fruits and wine blew towards us with a promise of all happiness. Edmund points out that the chairs at the table are not empty, and that there are three somethings in the chairs. Lucy thinks that they look like three beavers, and Edmund suggests that it is a huge bird's nest, but to Caspian it looks more like a haystack. Repacheep decides to run along the table, and now we see that it is actually three men. The hair and beards of these men had grown to the floor. Caspian asks if the men are dead. Repacheep lifts the hand of one of the men and it is warm and with a pulse. So they're alive. Eustace says that they are only asleep. And Lucy points out that this has to be an enchanted sleep. Caspian shakes one of them to try to wake them, but the man only breathed and muttered, I'll go eastward no more. Out oars for Narnia and he went right back to sleep. The second also muttered something, he said, We weren't born to live like animals. Get to the east while you've a chance. Lands before the sun. And then the third simply said Mustard, please and we look at their rings that they're wearing, and it does confirm what Drinian and Caspian were thinking that this is the Lord Ravillian, the Lord Argos, and the Lord Mavremorn, the three remaining lords. But Lucy points out that we can't wake them. Rince suggests that we eat the food, because it is not every day that we see a feast like this, and Caspian instantly tells him, Not on your life, because there is too much magic happening here, which is why these lords have fallen into a seven year sleep. Edmund agrees with some of the men that said we should go back to this ship. We can decide what to do with these three sleepers tomorrow. We dare not touch the food either. Reapachep says that he will sit at the table until sunrise because this is a very great adventure, and no danger s seems to me so great as that of knowing when I get back to Narnia that I left a mystery behind me through fear. We once again see the bravery and valor of the noble mouse. Then Edmund, Caspian, and Lucy agree to stay with him. And then the person who never read or heard of anything like this until joining the Don Treader decided to stay as well. That's right. Eustace decided to stay, and this was a very brave thing for him to do because he didn't know anything about this sort of thing. Drinian begs Caspian to come back to the ship, and there was a lot of arguing between the two about this, but in the end, Caspian has his way, which, you know, makes sense, he is the king after all. The rest of the crew goes back to the ship. Probably everyone had the same reason, but no one said it out loud, for it was really a rather nasty choice. One could hardly bear to sit all night next to those three terrible hairy objects, which, if not dead, were certainly not alive in the ordinary sense. On the other hand, to sit at the far end so that you would see them less and less as the night grew darker and wouldn't know if they were moving, and perhaps wouldn't see them at all by about two o'clock. No, it was not to be thought of. So they stauntered round and round the table saying, What about here? And or perhaps a bit further on, or why not on this side? Till at last they settled down somewhere about the middle but nearer to the sleepers than the other end. It was about ten by now and almost dark. Those strange new constellations burned in the east. Lucy would have liked it better if they had been the leopard and the ship and the other old friends of the Narnian sky. They wrapped themselves in their sea cloaks and sat still and waited. At first, there was some attempt at talk, but it didn't come to much. And they sat and sat, and all the time they heard the waves breaking on the beach. After hours, that seemed like ages, there came a moment when they all knew they had been dozing. A moment before, but were all suddenly wide awake. The stars were all in quite different positions from those they had last noticed. The sky was very black except for the faintest possible grayness in the east. They were cold, though thirsty and stiff. And none of them spoke because now at last something was happening. Before them, beyond the pillars, there was the slope of a low hill. And now a door opened in the hillside, and light appeared in the doorway, and a figure came out, and the door shut behind it. The figure carried a light, and this light was really all that they could see distinctly. It came slowly nearer and nearer till at last it stood right at the table opposite to them. Now they could see that it was a tall girl dressed in a single long garment of clear blue, which left her arms bare. She was bareheaded and her yellow hair hung down her back. And when they looked at her, they thought they had never before known what beauty meant. After hours, the stars were in different positions now, and then something weird happens where from the side of the hill a door opens, and we see light coming from the doorway, and then a figure comes out and the door shuts behind it, and this figure is carrying a light, which is all that we're able to see. It turns out that this figure is a tall girl who is dressed in a single long garment made of clear blue and her arms are bare. We also see that she has yellow hair. And I did not mean to rhyme that on purpose, but there we go. Um The thing is when we see her, we feel like we have never known what beauty meant until now. The light that she has is a tall candle in a silver candlestick that burns as straight and as still as if it were in a room with the windows shut and the curtains drawn. In the light of the candle, gold and silver shine bright, like the gold and silver around us. And then Lucy notices on the table that there is a stone knife as sharp as steel, and it looks cruel and ancient looking. All of us rise to our feet because we feel that this is a great lady. She tells us that this is Aslan's table, not to be confused with the stone table, this is different. And she asks us why we don't eat or drink, and Caspian explains that we feared the food because we thought it had cast our friends into an enchanted sleep. She tells us that they never tasted it, they being the three men. Lucy asks what happened? And it is explained that seven years ago they came to the island and the one decided that this was a good place for them to end their days in peace. The other one wanted to go back to Narnia because maybe Miraz is dead now. The third wanted to spend the time that they had left seeking the unpeopled world behind the sunrise. And as they argued, he caught a stone knife that was on the table, and he would have fought the others, but it was not right for him to touch that knife. As soon as his fingers crossed or closed on the hilt, the three of them fell or yeah, the free three of them fell into this sleep, and they will not awake until the enchantment is undone. Eustace asks her what the knife is, and she asks us, Do none of you know it? Lucy says that it is a knife that or a knife like the one the witch used to kill Aslan, and the lady tells us that it is that same knife. That same knife that was used to kill Aslan is here at Aslan's table. She tells us it was brought here to be kept in honor while the world lasts. We notice that Edmund is looking more and more uncomfortable, which makes sense. He has some history with the White Witch. Um and he asks this lady how we can know that she is a friend. And he makes a good point that we've had really weird adventures until now on this voyage, and that things aren't always what they seem, to which the girl answers and tells him that we can't know if she's a friend or not, and that we can only believe or not. Repacheep asks Caspian to pour him a cup of wine. Caspian does so, and Repacheep drinks to the lady, and we all follow his example and drink. We even indulge in the food as well. Lucy asks why it's called Aslan's table, and we learn that Aslan set the table for those that made it that far. Some people have called this island the world's end, even though you can s sail further, but this is the beginning of the end. Eustace asks how the food is kept, and the lady explains that it is eaten and renewed every day. This you will see. Caspian asks a lot of questions, guys. Caspian asks, What are we supposed to do about the sleepers? And Caspian actually references a story from our world, that story being Sleeping Beauty. And then she uses Sleeping Beauty as an example and says, Here he cannot, like here on this island, he cannot kiss the princess till he has dissolved the enchantment. So she's just explaining how it's different here than the enchanted sleep in Sleeping Beauty. She tells him that her father will teach him how to do that. And we're all surprised. By this, like who's your father and where is he? And she turns around and points to the door in the hillside. And we can see more easily now because the stars have grown fainter. Slowly the door opened again, and out there came a figure as tall and straight as the girls, but not so slender. It carried no light, but light seemed to come from it. As it came nearer, Lucy saw that it was like an old man. His silver beard came down to his bare feet in front, and his silver hair hung down to his heels behind, and his robe appeared to be made from the fleece of silver sheep. He looked so mild and grave that once more all the travelers rose to their feet and stood in silence. But the old man came on without speaking to the travelers and stood on the other side of the table, opposite to his daughter. Then both of them held up their arms before them and turned to face the east. In that position they began to sing. I wish I could write down the song, but no one who was present could remember it. Lucy said afterward that it was high, almost shrill, but very beautiful. A cold kind of song, an early morning kind of song. And as they sang, the gray clouds lifted from the eastern sky, and the white patches grew bigger and bigger, till it was all white, and the sea began to shine like silver. And long afterward, but those two sang all the time. The east began to turn red. At last, unclouded. The sun came up out of the sea, and its long level ray shot down the length of the table on the gold and silver and on the stone knife. Once or twice before, the Narnians had wondered whether the sun, as it is rising, did not look bigger in these seas than it had looked at home. This time they were certain there was no mistaking it. And the brightness of its rays on the dew and on the table was far beyond any morning brightness they had ever seen. And as Edmund said afterward, though lots of things happened on that trip, which sound more exciting, that moment was really the most exciting. For now they knew that they had truly come to the beginning of the end of the world. Then something seemed to be flying at them out of the very center of the rising sun. But of course, one couldn't look steadily in that direction to make sure. But presently, the air became full of voices. Voices which took up the same song that the lady and her father were singing, but in far wilder tones and in a language which no one knew. And soon after that, the owners of these voices could be seen. They were birds, large and white, and they came by hundreds and thousands and alighted on everything. On the grass and the pavement, on the table, on your shoulders, your hands, and your head, till it looked as if heavy snow had fallen. For, like snow, they not only made everything white, but blurred and blunted all shapes. But Lucy, looking out from between the wings of the birds that covered her, saw one bird fly to the old man with something in its beak that looked like a little fruit, unless it was a little live coal, which it might have been, for it was too bright to look at. And the bird laid it in the old man's mouth. Then the birds stopped their singing and appeared to be very busy about the table. When they rose from it again, everything on the table that could be eaten or drunk had disappeared. These birds rose from their meal in their thousands and hundreds and carried away all the things that could not be eaten or drunk, such as bones, rinds, and shells, and took their flight back to the rising sun. But now, because they were not singing, the whirr of their wings seemed to set the whole air a tremble. And there was the table pecked clean and empty, and the three old lords of Narnia still fast asleep. So now we see another figure come out of the door. It's not carrying a light, but instead light is coming from it. Lucy sees that it looks like an old man, and it turns out that it is. And he stands opposite the lady who we've learned is his daughter, and they hold their arms up, look to the east, and start to sing. And Lucy says that it is like a high, almost shrill sound, but yet very beautiful. Now at this point, the sun comes out, seemingly from the song is kind of what it seems like, and the rays shine onto the stone knife. Edmund says that of all the things that happened, the moment the sun came up was the most exciting. Then it looks like something flying at them or at us, and the air is now full of voices that are all singing the same song, but yet in a language that no one knows. Now we see that there are thousands of large white birds. So far this is reminding me of the Holy Spirit. Now I don't know if this is what C. S. Lewis intended, but it seems like it could be. For example, Matthew 316 says When he had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighted upon him. The heavens opened up. Or the yeah, and that kind of reminds me of how in this in this story here this the sun suddenly started shining. And then descending like a dove is like the giant white birds coming down. We also hear that the birds are singing in a different language, and this reminds me of speaking in tongues. And of course, there's debate over whether tongues includes a heavenly language or as well as other known languages. And we're not going to get into that today, but it seems that speaking in tongues and this the Holy Spirit and all this is kind of what C.S. Lewis is hinting at here. And it was hundreds and thousands of birds. It looked like a heavy snow had fallen. Lucy sees one of the birds fly to the man with something like a little fruit or a small piece of live coal, but it was too bright to look at. The bird lays it in the man's mouth. Now later it's explained to us that the birds are the ones who eat and drink from the table, that they take all the things that can't be eaten, such as the bones, away. And Caspian asks the man to tell us how to break the enchantment. We are told to sail to the world's end and leave one person behind. Repacheep asks, What would happen to that person that stays behind? The one that is left behind must never return. Now this, of course, is Repacheep's desire and the goal for him on this voyage. Have you any knowledge of the seas and lands further east than this? I saw them long ago, said the old man. But it was from a great height. I cannot tell you such things as sailors need to know. Do you mean you were flying in the air? Eustace blurted out. I was a long way above the air, my son, replied the old man. I am Ramadu. But I see that you stare at one another and have not heard this name. And no wonder, for the days when I was a star had ceased long before any of you knew this world. And all the constellations have changed. Golly, said Edmund under his breath, he's a retired star. Aren't you a star any longer? asked Lucy. I am a star at rest, my daughter, answered Ramindew. When I set for the last time decrepit and old beyond all that you can reckon, I was carried to this island. I am not so old now as I was then. Every morning a bird brings me a fireberry from the valleys in the sun, and each fireberry takes away a little of my age. And when I have become as young as the child that was born yesterday, then I shall take my rising again, for we are at Earth's eastern rim, and once more tread the great dance. In our world, said Eustace, a star is a huge ball of flaming gas. Even in your world, my son, this is not what a star is, but only what it is made of. And in this world you have already met a star, for I think you have been with Koriakin. Is he a retired star too? said Lucy. Well, not quite the same, said Ramindu. It was not quite as a rest that he was set to govern the Duffers. You might call it a punishment. He might have shown a thousand of years more in the southern winter sky if all had gone well. What did he do, sir? asked Caspian. My son, said Ramindu, it is not for you, a son of Adam, to know what faults a star can commit. But come, we waste time in such talk. We learn that the man's name is Ramindu. Ramandu is an old man with silver hair and a beard that goes to the floor. He is tall and straight, he is wearing a robe that looks like it is made from the fleece of silver sheep, and he is also barefoot. He has a mild demean mild demeanor and seems to be radiating light. We also learn that he is a star, or rather a retired star. Every morning these birds give him a fire berry from the valleys in the sun, and these fire berries take away his age. So he is getting younger every day, and when he is a baby he will rise to be a star again. It is not a direct comparison, but it reminds me of Isaiah six six to seven, which says, Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal, which had been taken with the tongs from the altar, and he touched my mouth with it and said, Behold, this has touched your lips, your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged. So it is slightly different, but an angel, like the birds, put something like fruit or coal in the mouth of Ramandu. It is, of course, a fruit, but Lewis mention did mention coal. Now, of course, in Isaiah, it means something different. The coal was taken off the altar, and the seraphim needed to use tongs, and that just shows us how hot this coal was. And then it is touched to Isaiah's lips, and his sins were purged. Now, David Guzik says that Isaiah's sins had to be burned away. The fire of judgment was applied to his place of sin. Now this was a cleansing for Isaiah. And maybe in a way, Ramandu is also being cleansed as well, because once he is a baby again, he will rise to be a star. Different in context, but there are some similarities in these scenarios. Now Eustace tells him that in our world a star is a a ball of flaming gas, to which Ramadu says that that is what stars are made of, but there's more to it than that. He also says that we have already met a star, that being Korikin from the island of the Duffers. He is also a star who is being but he's being punished, and his punishment is to govern the Duffers. And the only thing we know about why he's being punished is that he failed in some way. And Ramandu even told Caspian that it is not for humans to know how um a star can mess up and make mistakes and whatever. And so this seems to be that maybe these stars are nod to angels in some way. Now I don't have a solid theology on angels yet, so I I don't want to say too much on that for now, but possibly as I study more, I can make an episode on this thought in the future. Caspian says that we should consider the rest of the crew before we sail on any farther. Ramadu says that we should let the crew know where and why we're going further. Um and then Caspian tells him about Lord Roop and what happened with him. Ramadu says that he can give Roop the rest that he needs, including asleep without dreams, where he can finally rest. He says that Roop can eat and drink from the table until we return. And Lucy likes this idea. So they talk about possible weather moving forward from here, and they mention January, February, and March. Now I bring this up because in Prince Caspian we notice that they had different names uh or a different name for a month, which really makes me wonder if Narnia has its own names for months for months, or if they possibly adopted the calendar from our world, which I'm starting to wonder if that's the case, seeing as Caspian mentioned Sleeping Beauty before. So maybe like how the fairy tales from our world have made it to Narnia, the names of the months could have as well. But anyways, Caspian tells the crew what's going on, and they are wondering how they'll get back to Narnia, because we are going to the end of the world. Like how can you go back from that? Even if the crew doesn't want to go with us, Reapercheep is still determined to go. He will even go in his little coracle, and then if he needs to, he'll swim, and you know what? Even after that, if he fails to get there, he's willing to drown with honor. Caspian gives a speech, and while the crew is deciding on what to do, Ramandu puts Roop to sleep at the table with the other lords, and we see that Roop finally looks content. I feel so happy for Roop. After the years of torment on the Dark Island, this man finally gets a peaceful sleep. It reminds me of how Jesus says that he will give us rest. Now Caspian's speech that he gave to the crew makes it honorable to go on to the rest of the voyage. Every crew member except for one decides to join us. Now this one, his name is Pitten Cream, and he very much wished he had gone with us because he isn't the sort of man who can enjoy talking to Ramindu and Ramindu's daughter, and they couldn't enjoy talking to him either. And it ended up raining a lot after we left, and although there was a wonderful feast on the table every night, he doesn't enjoy it. It gives him the creeps sitting there alone with the four lords, and in the rain too. But then when the crew returns, he feels so out of things that he deserted the voyage home at the Lone Islands and ended up living in Calerman, where he told wonderful stories about his adventures at the end of the world, until he became to believe the stories for himself. Of course, he never actually went to the end of the world, he just pretended like he did. And now for the rest of us moving on, it is a story of honor, and for the man staying back, it's a story of cowardice. And that night we all eat and drink together at the great table after the feast was magically renewed. The next morning the Dawn Treader sets sail again, just when the great birds have come and gone again. Caspian hopes to speak to Ramandu's daughter when we get back, and to this she smiles. A lot has happened in this episode, and there is a lot to ponder as we set sail further east towards Aslan's country. We found Aslan's table with a great feast that is eaten and replenished every night. We found the remaining three lost lords who are under an enchanted sleep. On the table, we see the stone knife that the white witch used to kill Aslan in Line the Witch in the Wardrobe. And we meet a lady and her father, who is retired star, who tells us that the only way to break the enchantment that the three lords are under is to set sail east to the end of the world and leave one of us behind. We see the possible symbolism to baptism and Isaiah's cleansing as well. Make sure you comment and leave a rating as as well to help the show get in front of more people. Subscribe to the Faithful Fables YouTube as well. And don't forget your Christian bracelets at freelumabracelets.com and use code STAYFAITFL at checkout to save 15% and to support FaithfulFables. Free Luma strives to bring daily scripture and inspiration right to your phone by simply scanning the NFC reader on the bracelet with your phone. I have one and I really love it, and I I support the mission that they have to get the gospel out to people. Now again, that code is stay faithful, all one word, capital S, capital F to save 15% on your order. Now that's all for me today. Thank you for being on this journey with me, and until next time, stay faithful.