"The Voyage of King Euvoran" (or "Quest of the Gazolba") is a short story by American author

Clark Ashton Smith Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893 – August 14, 1961) was an American writer and artist. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Algernon Charles Swinburne ...

as part of his

Zothique ''Zothique'' is a collection of fantasy short stories by Clark Ashton Smith, edited by Lin Carter. It was first published in paperback by Ballantine Books as the sixteenth volume of its Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in June 1970. It was the firs ...

cycle. It was first published as "The Voyage of King Euvoran" in the

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

book ''The Double Shadow and Other Fantasies''. It was republished as "Quest of the Gazolba" in the September

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

issue of ''

Weird Tales ''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, prin ...

'' where it was the

cover story Cover story or Cover Story may refer to: * A magazine or newspaper article whose subject appears on that issue's front cover, and may be profiled in depth. * A fictitious explanation intended to hide one's real motive; see disinformation, cover-u ...

with art by Boris Dolgov.

Plot

King Euvoran of the Ustaim city Aramoam grows weary of overseeing justice for petty criminals. When one proves worthy of torture or execution, they animate the stuffed bird on the king's crown which flies far from Euvoran. Euvoran implores the god Geol in a temple about his predicament. The voice of Geol tells him he will slay the bird far from home. Euvoran then assembles a fleet of ships to find the bird as the kingdom's peoples would not respect a king without the crown. They sail east. They stop a moment in Sotar but find the so-called Gazolba is rather a local bird. They travel to Tosk where the humans were closer to apes but received no clues. They stop by an isle but are attacked by vampires. The vampires devastate much of king Euvoran's fleet. They proceed to Ornava which is full of birds. Hoping to take one as a hunting prize, the king shoots an owl but is attacked by all the birds. A giant bird takes him away to a tower where he is judged by a king bird. The king bird tells Euvoran what he is guilty of but remarks he may defend himself. However, Euvoran makes matters worse as he tells the bird his quest which involves killing a bird a second time. The king bird imprisons Euvoran so they may stuff him for their collection. Fooling a guard, Euvoran uses the guard's feathers as a disguise and leaves the tower. Returning to his fleet, Euvoran has the ships continue their quest. They are soon overtaken by a storm that leaves the king as the only survivor. Shipwrecked somewhere the Gazolba is common, Euvoran runs into someone hunting Gazolba who wears one on his head. Euvoran tells him this is a royal bird which the hunter laughs about. The hunter says he is a captain from Ullotroi and that he eats these birds for sustenance. Naz Obbamar says he will teach Euvoran how to cook Gazolba which they do as they spend the rest of their days eating the bird.

References

External links

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Text of "The Voyage of King Euvoran"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Voyage of King Euvoran, The Short stories by Clark Ashton Smith Fantasy short stories 1933 short stories

Plot

See also

References

External links