Dylath-Leen (short story)

"Dylath-Leen" is a Dreamlands short story by Brian Lumley, first published in his 1971 Arkham House collection The Caller of the Black. It was later incorporated as part of Lumley's Titus Crow novel The Clock of Dreams.
==Synopsis==
Grant Enderby has visited the Dreamlands city of Dylath-Leen three times in his life. In his first visit, at age 18, he lodges with a local basalt quarrier named Bo-Kareth, and falls in love with his daughter, Litha. Enderby spends several weeks in Dylath-Leen, and makes it his mission to warn the locals against trading with the strange ruby merchants who travel in black galleys, as he is convinced that they are not human. Nevertheless, the rubies are sold for a very affordable price, and since the trade has been going on for years, the gems can be found in practically every house in Dylath-Leen at this point. Eventually, Enderby wakes up from the dream and thus returns to the Waking World.
Several years pass before Enderby visits the Dreamlands again. When he does, at age 30, he finds himself instantly transported to Dylath-Leen. He quickly notices that the city has been dominated by the ruby merchants, who are indeed not human, but the horned creatures known as the Men of Leng. When he gets to Bo-Kareth's house, he finds that a much longer time has passed in the Dreamlands compared to the Waking World, as Bo-Kareth has aged at least 20 years to Enderby's 12. He also learns that, a few years before, the Men of Leng brought a gigantic ruby as a gift to the people of Dylath-Leen, which was exposed in the city's main square. At night, the giant ruby was observed to glow, and the common rubies of all sizes everywhere in the city glowed in response as well. The light had a drowsing effect on the humans, and it was easy for the Men of Leng to take over the city and start to simply abduct people instead of buying slaves (which have been in short supply for a while). Many people have since left Dylath-Leen for the nearby Ulthar, including Litha, who now has a husband and children of her own. Pursued by the horned Men of Leng after sneaking out to see the giant ruby, Enderby manages to escape from the city just in time and wakes up.
At age 43, Enderby experiences his third and final visit to the Dreamlands. Finding himself at the outskirts of Ulthar, he learns that no one goes to Dylath-Leen anymore. Seeking to find the means to liberate the city, Enderby visits the Temple of the Elder Ones to talk to the wise priest Atal. The aged priest listens to the story about the ruby and finds a book which reveals that the great gem was carved in Yuggoth, and contains an entity known as the Fly-the-Light, which is the one responsible for mesmerising the people. To release it from the ruby would result in the most horrible death of everyone at the monster's reach, including its own allies, the Men of Leng. Enderby insists that he is willing to face the risk if it would avenge Dylath-Leen and prevent other cities from having the same fate, so Atal gives him two incantations and instructs him to chant the first while traveling the whole perimeter around Dylath-Leen. The spell will create a permanent and utterly impenetrable wall to prevent anything from coming in or out of the city, even the Fly-the-Light. Enderby follows the instruction, riding around Dylath-Leen and using a boat to cross over the bay while pursued by the Lengian sentries. Once the wall is formed, he utters the second incantation, which releases the Fly-the-Light from the ruby. The shock of witnessing the ensuing massacre causes Enderby to wake up.
At the end of the story, Enderby reveals that he now lives in terrible fear, as he realizes that at any night, he might dream of Dylath-Leen again and find himself trapped inside the wall that he himself created, alone with the ravenous beast.
Category:Expanded Mythos Works
Category:Brian Lumley works