Local knowledge of the Eternal Whirlpool should not have been necessary for anyone to stay away. And yet, one day townsfolk on the north shore and townsfolk on the south, two different towns, saw a boat rowing far too close to it.
"Hey! It's dangerous! Hey!" The southerners called out, grabbed ropes, and sailed as close as they dared. "Jump out! Swim over here! We'll haul you in!" But the northerners simply watched.
The lone man in the boat went against the warnings, ignored the stars, and thought nothing of the whirling waters. He rowed straight forward till the force of the Eternal Whirlpool made it impossible to do anything without curving. Down he spun, and then he was gone.
The southerners cried and wondered what had led up to the loss of life while the northerners looked as if they knew, as if the same idea had occurred to them. Either way, there was nothing to be done.
Three weeks later, eternity abandoned the whirlpool. It straightened out and became as predictable as any watery way governed by currents and tides. Strangeness remained above it, for a man stood there as if on land, the Spiral Crown on his head. He called the townsfolk and all heard him regardless of distance.
"I have recovered the Spiral Crown and restored with it the epoch of hero-kings. This will be my capital, both towns together. Those in the south, who attempted to aid me, will become the rulers of counties, and may your benevolence be an aid to the world. Those in the north, who trusted me, will become the judges, the treasurers, and the generals, and may your stolidity be a bulwark against the world." And all was done as he said.
Finis
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