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Act I: The Icelost Years _ Scene VI: His Hands Matched His Tongue

Writer's picture: Maxwell A DurbinMaxwell A Durbin

Rithör Læmbén's last scroll of Act I is the first time we get the point of view of our protagonist- The Boy. He is no longer a young child and is beginning to question both himself and the world around him. Being raised by his father, shielded from the crueler and less innocent parts of life, The Boy is very naive, and without any significant life experience. Though the boy is blissfully ignorant (and will reach enlightenment many times throughout the story), he still recognizes that trouble weighs heavily on his father and that he is hiding both himself and his past from him.

Yet, he cannot bring himself to ask his father these questions. He wants to help him, but can’t if his own father remains a mystery to him. Even outside the confines of The City and around the cleansing waters of The Lake, he still finds himself plagued by the sings of ignorance and cowardice. The Boy even recognizes that his father will not be around forever and that he does not have infinite time to avoid asking him these questions. But still knows that he will never do it and that he will eventually pass without him knowing the answers. Still, he’ll hold onto the things he taught him: to always be a good person and to live a happy life. However as we’ll soon find, it will not be so easy for him to hold onto these words and live by them. The tragic irony of the Sailor is that even after teaching his son to be good and guarding him against all the wrongs of the world he still manages to do the same mistakes as he did, and be used by powerful, immoral men. He will become a man filled with flaws, shaped by experiences to come. These experiences will shape his personality due to his ignorance and naivety.




Naj-ri’uik Mau-ræ Lameñ Nae’reûk

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(translated) His Hands Matched His Tongue


A long walk home, riddled with regret

Uncommonly comfortable, but still I believe

That in time I think I’ll see just what’s been weighing down on me

An unearthly Void collapsed, exposing what was trapped

To release this serendipitous design


The smell of smoke, the evening sky was proof

Belated conversation saturate anticipation for answers that won’t come


But not I, I won’t ask

Forget my place amongst the grass

The leaves and the trees remember me

And in my naivety, it might be seen

The pail has leaks and even if

You put all your water into it

You end up with nothing left to drink

The well has gone dry and I with it


(Someday she’ll be gone)

(But we’ll still have her song to sing)


Sing softly, bring me to the Lake

Sing softly, sing me to the Lake



- The Icelost Years (translated by Rithör Læmbén)

Scene VI: His Hands Matched His Tongue

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