The Voyage of King Euvoran

"The Voyage of King Euvoran" (or "Quest of the Gazolba") is a short story by American author Clark Ashton Smith as part of his Zothique cycle. It was first published as "The Voyage of King Euvoran" in the 1933 book The Double Shadow and Other Fantasies. It was republished as "Quest of the Gazolba" in the September 1947 issue of Weird Tales where it was the cover story with art by Boris Dolgov.[1]

"The Voyage of King Euvoran"
Cover page spread of Clark Ashton Smith’s “Quest of the Gazolba” as it appeared in Weird Tales September 1947.
AuthorClark Ashton Smith
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SeriesZothique
Genre(s)Fantasy
Published inThe Double Shadow and Other Fantasies
Publication typeTrade paperback
PublisherSelf-published
Media typePrint
Publication date1933

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
  1. Weinberg, Robert (1999). The Weird Tales Story. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Wildside Press. p. 76. ISBN 1587151014.

See also
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