Dinax in the Laercad's Court

Plevgone        Lord, who leads the Terginans!                                                             (1)

A man has arrived in our cells

great, divine, from Thunday,

who wants to see you now.---------------------------------------------------------4

Laercad      Dear Plevgone, let him come in (…)                                                              (2)

(Dinax enters)

(…) Son, what are you looking for and why

have you come to our cells?

Dinax[1]          Laercad, first man[2],--------------------------------------------------------------8

I have come to your court confessing that I have killed                                  (3)

a man, but doing it at the will of the gods;

this man had come to us to assault

and he had taken my weapon from inside my clothes--------------------------------12

and with that I just wanted to get it back.                                           (4)

I say all this

because some ipautcauds to one of our men

had been taken, but killing a man-----------------------------------------16

is not a crime, because the gods                                                                   (5)

want the punishment of the thief,

to be die by the assaulted's weapon.

Laercad      Son of Dutoria, I understand the reason,---------------------------------------------------20

but my ipautcauds                                                                                  (6)

don't look for people for crimes,

that happen in our city,

but they follow orders from this court,------------------------------------------------24

so they have been sent from here.                                                   (7)

And there's only one man inside our cells,

which is from Dutory like you

and, for being among those who killed my son,----------------------------------------28

Scaldridous, he was arrested.                                                                         (8)

Dinax              I understand what you're saying, but the man

who robbed me was not courteous,

but a beggar, with rags for clothes.---------------------------------------------32

Laercad       The gods desire justice,                                                                    (9)

but killing the son of a king is a aberration,

greater according to his will.

For this we must consult------------------------------------------------------------36

the gods, for what must be.                                                            (10)

Plevgone, then look for Dracasty.

(Plevgone comes out)

Laercad      Tell me, what is it, son, the reason

Why did you come here now?---------------------------------------------------------40

Your words are not from Tergine,                                                            (11)

but those of Dutory.

Dinax              Lord, because of your age you know a lot.

I'll tell you from the beginning what it was.--------------------------------------------------44

Know that I am Dinax[3], from Thunday,                                                       (12)

son of Torgus. In Torabe

I joined then to Lirous' crew,

seeking divine glory, because a girdle -------------------------------------------48

was made for her daughter

by the goddess who raises us all

and hid it somewhere in Cipte,

in the kingdoms, then, of the lands of Udmucrate.-----------------------------------52

Laercad       I understand what you are saying, son.                                                                 (14)

The journey here is long.

You know they don't allow Dutorian

enter Farta, so you must -------------------------------------------------------56

think of a way to deceive the militias.

Dinax              I understand what you're saying, but know you

that the will of the gods is certainly

about Dercan of Ipharmeler.------------------------------------------------------60

Gadacparic.    Lord, guide of the Terginians                                                                  (16)

The militias that roam your city

found this man

speaking the language of the Tharcaians around it.---------------------------64

Prisoner[4]      (Lord, who guides many Symbaians,

I don't understand what is being said because I am not from Simbay.

I come from Merinian).

Dinax          Do you know what this man said?                                                     (17)

Gadacparic.[5] What he said in the language of the Tharcaians

is that he comes here because Udmucrate ordered him to do so.

Laercad       If you do not know how to speak the language of those of Meriny,-------------------68

do not speak fallaciously,                                                             (17)

Gadacparicous, because this man didn't say

what you say, but he is from Meriny

and he doesn't understand what we say.----------------------------------------------------42

(Plevgone enters with Dracasty)

Plevgone    Lord, who leads the Terginans!                                                           (18)

The sibyl, Dracasty, has come to you.

Dracasty Lord, who is above the Terginans,

to say the will of the gods of the sky,---------------------------------------------------------76

I came here.                                                                                         (20)

Laercad          My chest, seeing you,

today is happy, eloquent old woman,

because the gods protect us.----------------------------------------------------------80

Know that this man Dinax.                                                             (21)

Also that he came from Thunday

and by destiny he goes towards Targathe.

My son Scaldridous was killed-----------------------------------------------------------84

by the hand of a man who came with his entourage,                                  (22)

and for this my ipautcauds

have arrested one of these,

who have come to us from Dutory.--------------------------------------88

And Dinax says he came                                                                        (23)

to find one of his sailors,

who had been captured, while he killed

in the city to a man who had stolen his weapon.---------------------------92

Dracasty I see in your clothes[6],                                                                                   (24)

of the blood of the king's son,

the stains, those of blood

from a nobleman of Farte---------------------------------------------------------------------96

and also those of the blood of a god.                                                         (25)

Dinax              Wise old lady, they are divine

                       the eyes that the things you don't see

                       another mortal come.-------------------------------------------------------------------------100

The gods have willed that,                                                                         (26)

in Toriundele, a son of Stix[7],

that kills men, to be killed by me.

We cover the bodies---------------------------------------------------------------------------104

with mud from the beach, so that the beas                                              (27)

don't smell our blood inside the vein,

But when then the sea water

Ulious' arm was suddenly splashed,------------------------------------------108

the son of Gigar de Ipharmeler,                                                                  (28)

whose first job was then

and who was still inexperienced,

the beast smelled it like that inside the arm,---------------------------------------------112

which took off quickly.                                                                        (29)

Then the blood of the beast splashed on me,

when I killed him with my erfy[8], my clothes

when I healed the wound-------------------------------------------------------116

by cleaning it with my clothes.                                                              (30)

Dracastía        I see what you say and I will do,

for this, that for which they summoned me, now. (she turns away)

Great god, you always go--------------------------------------------------------120

from the end of Parabas[9] to the other (end),                                                             (31)

the Symbaians are looking for you,

we, those protected by Stix,

so that you can communicate the desire of the Plaerx.--------------------------------------124

(Rhocous enters)

Rhocous[10]   Seeing daughter of Stix, here                                                                     (32)

you have one of the gods who travel

Parabas, carrying words.

Tell me, then, what you ask. ---------------------------------------------------128

Dracasty    Know that this man is Dinax.                                                             (33)

He also said that he came from Thunday

and by destiny it goes towards Targathe.

Laercad's son was killed-------------------------------------------------------132

by the hand of a man who came with his entourage.                                  (34)

and for this the ipautcauds

 have arrested one of these,,

that have come to us from Dutory.-------------------------------------136

And Dinax says that he came                                                                    (35)

to look for one of his sailors,

who had been captured, while he killed

in the city to a man who had stolen his weapon.--------------------------140

Rhocous         I truly know this Dutorian, for he killed Elutar[11]                        (36)

and, although the gods want the thief

die by the weapon of the assaulted,

Scaldridous,---------------------------------------------------------------------144

even though he was impious, he came of good birth                              (37)

came from and those of this origin are

those of the Plaerx want them to live longer,

and they want it that way,-----------------------------------------------------------148

to guide all the people of Symbay                                                          (38)

all

Dinax is the greatest among men

by the will of the gods, so--------------------------------------------152

the Plerco's wish is that Dinax be free                                              (39)

so that it reaches the shores of Farte.

And destiny is above the job.

This is why Dinax's is above Scaldridous' one.----------------------------------156

Dracasty         May the glory of the gods                                                                     (40)

last until time dies.

Here, you have the words of the Plaerx,

you, first man of Tergine.-------------------------------------------------160

Prisoner         (May the chest of Nerhus[12] protect me,

but I see a god here

whose skin illuminates more than his,

and whose shine covers us all).

Gadacparic.    That this man here                                                      (41)

has spoken against a god; those from Meriny,

compared to those of Zarquea, are

just as impious with those of the Plaerx.---------------------------------------------------164

Plevgone        Be silent you and don't speak,                                                                 (42)

senseless, because he

has not said impiety  of the god, but it has been the opposite

because he saw here-----------------------------------------------------------------168

that, of those who fly,                                                                     (43)

The glory is greater

than the god of those of Meriny.----------------------------------------------------------172

(Circchirious enters)

Circchirious    O man of Zundea, greatest                                                     (44)

among the Symbaians!

The gods made your chest big

so that you would come to court for a man.----------------------------------176

Gadacparic.    This man has escaped from the cells..                                                  (45)

Those of dutoria, the thrones,

that are not theirs,

they do not respect nor will they. (he pounces on him).-----------------------------------180

Dinax               You are cowardly and mean.                                                                     (46)

The gods, in this court,

They really don't want my men to die. (he kills him by stabbing him with the dagger).

Rhocous         You are strong, Dinax. Know that, for this, --------------------------------------------184

From the Plaerx they will give you glory,,                                                            (47)

but, with another daughter of Bosphy,

you must meet. And your sailor

will cause you jobs again. But Stix------------------------------------------188

will protect you on the way to Cipte                                                    (48)

and you will be the one who will really give it

the glory to the best son.

This is the destiny that takes you.----------------------------------------------------------192

[1] While Laercad, Plevgone and Dracasty speak in the Shulan dialect, since they are from Tergine, Dinax speaks in the Dutorian dialect from Torabe, which was spoken in Thunday. This is part of the dramatic art that the actor had to master. Here it is seen, for example, in the word χélax ft. (“man”), kílgos sh., χálaka dt.

[2] Gádakys palὴnoys, honorific formula with which the nobles referred to the kings, common in all the Symbaian kingdoms except those of Parthegar.

[3] In the southern dialects (Xamesians, Dutorians and Seletian-Phorchean), it is normal to make the phrase “know that…” as an imperative antipassive, but with a subordinate relative infinitive with an express subject, so in translations it is expresses the subject.

[4] The prisoner's dialogues are not in verse, so they are left out of the stanzas of the other characters.

[5] Gadacparicous is an ipautcaud of Telmither, so he speaks in the Fartan dialect (it can also be seen in his name, composed of gádax and pariγísam, of the respective dialect; cf. with breγêisem sh.). He is introduced as someone hostile and clumsy, who confuses the Merinian language with the Tharcaian language (which is plausible, since, being languages from the same family, they are similar). This is because, although Terginan had approved the Symbaian-Merinian alliance in the League, it had not supported the proscription of the Dutorians by Dercan of Ipharmeler, so this work, of Terginan origin, seeks to present a reconciliation between Dutory, Tergine and Meriny in the figure of Dinax, Laercad and the Merinian prisoner, respectively, and present in a positive way the Terginan characters, Dutorians and the Merinian, but in a negative way the Fartan character, whom he postulates as those who are in a reckless political position, in addition to also seeking to convince the Dutorians that those responsible are the Fartans, with whom the Dutorians always had conflicts, and not the League in general.

[6] The term oklὰnα refers to clothing made of wool.

[7] Main god of the Simbaíno pantheon. Here he is referring to the beast Elútar, who was the son of Stygus and the goddess Bosphy.

[8] Hand dagger of Vermaric origin.

[9] Goddess of the earth. His body constituted the physical world for the Symbaians.

[10] The deity speaks in Shulo dialect, corroborating that the author is of that origin.

[11] Giant wolf, son of Stix and Bosphy, who prowled around Toriundele, killing its inhabitants. He is also Rhocous' father.

[12] Nerhus is the Merinian god of the sky. In this passage, the Merinian prisoner is impressed that Rhocous, a god of relatively low status, to the point that he serves as a messenger to mortals, shines and emanates more power than one of the highest Merinian gods. However, the Symbaian author is evident in the expression “Nerhus' chest”, since the conception that the feelings and mind were housed in the chest (and, consequently, this type of expressions) is Symbaian. This is an eloquent attempt by the author to glorify the Symbaian deities, also in accordance with the pan-Symbaian ideology of the League, to which Tergine adhered and which would later be recovered by Lumpicurx, resignifying the image of the native deities.