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suffused his face, the straggling ends of his black beard quivering. I knelt patient and watched, while Eleazar ben Enokh descended slowly through the realms of Yeshuite heavens and returned to the here-and-now. I knew, when he opened his kind, brown eyes and shook his head, that he had returned empty-handed.
    “I have no name.”
    The words were spoken with ritual sorrow. He believed, Eleazar ben Enokh, that he beheld the Presence of God in his transports, and that one day he might return with the Sacred Name writ fast upon his heart. I nodded in acknowledgment, bowing low before him.
    “I am grateful for your efforts, father,” I said formally. Eleazar sighed and sat cross-legged, his bony knees poking sharply into his robes.
    “Yeshua have mercy on us,” he said sadly, “but we have lost the gift of it since we followed the Mashiach. He sent His Son to redeem our broken covenant.” He broke off a piece of bread and looked at it as if it were strange and wonderful in his sight, placing it on his tongue and chewing slowly. “It is said-” he swallowed a mouthful of bread, - that one tribe alone never faltered, that is the Tribe of Dân.” Eleazar shook his head again. “Adonai is merciful, Phèdre,” he said softly, “and to us He sent His Son, Yeshua ben Yosef. I catch a glimpse of His throne, of His almighty feet; no more. For the rest, there is Yeshua.” He smiled, and joy and sorrow alike were commingled in his mien. “It is upon his sacrifice that our redemption now depends. I do not think Adonai will make His sacred name known any more to the Children of Yisra-El. Perhaps He will do it for Elua’s child.”
    “Elua!” My voice was bitter. “Adonai cared so little for his ill-begotten scion Elua that he wandered forgotten for a hundred years while Adonai grieved for your Yeshua! I do not think He will share His name with one such as me.”
    “Then perhaps the Tribe of Dân holds it in keeping.” Eleazar ignored my sharp tone and scrubbed at his face, weary with long prayer. “If you can find them.”
    To that, I said nothing; every Yeshuite knows the myth of the Lost Tribes. Most believe, if they venture an opinion, that they went north, beyond the barren steppes, where Yeshua’s nation is to be founded in preparation for his return. Whether or not it is true, I do not know. Only that in the writings of Habiru sages before the coming of Yeshua, the Tribe of Dân is never mentioned among the exiles.
    “And mayhap Shalomon’s Ring lies forgotten at the bottom of my jewelry-box,” I said, “but I don’t think so.” Rising, I repented of my ill grace and stooped to kiss his cheek. “Keep searching, Eleazar. Your God is fortunate to be served with such devotion.”
    He nodded, tearing off another piece of bread and placing it in his mouth. I left him there, chewing meditatively, the remembrance of glory illuminating his narrow features. Adara showed me to the door, where I pressed a small purse of coin into her hands. “A token,” I said, “in gratitude for your hospitality.” So I said at every visit. Eleazar would never have taken it-or if he had, he would have given it away within the hour-but Adara knew the cost of bread and what was needful to allow her beloved husband to continue his contemplations untroubled.
    “You are always welcome in our house, my lady.” There was such gentle sweetness to her smile. “It tears at his heart to think how your friend suffers for Rahab’s cruelty.”
    Such is the carelessness of gods, I thought as I made my way home. And we are powerless against it. Even here, in the blessed realm, where Elua and his Companions gave us surpassing gifts of grace and beauty and knowledge, begetting musicians and chirurgeons, architects and shipwrights, painters, poets and dancers, farmers and vintners, warriors and courtiers, there is no power to be found to thwart a forgotten curse by the One God’s mighty servant. All the love in my heart was but a weak and foolish noise before the enduring force of Rahab’s hatred. And why? Because the Lord of the Deep had loved a woman, and she had loved another than him.
    Blessed Elua, I prayed, such things should not be. If there is a way, let me find it, for I do not think I can bear to live out my days with this knowledge. I do not think I can bear to laugh and make merry, living and loving while Hyacinthe raises wind and wave, gazes into a mirror and waits for time to make a monstrosity of him. Wherever the path