Riallaro- The Archipelago of Exiles

John Macmillan Brown, born in New Zealand and a distinguished university professor, penned his works under the pseudonym Godfrey Sweven. In this captivating excerpt from the Introduction, he describes a moment of profound wonder Absorbed in contemplation of its sublimity, I sat for a moment on a rock that rose out of the bush. I almost leapt from it, startled; a voice, unheralded, fell like a falling star through the soundless air. I had heard no footstep, no snap of trodden twig or rustle of reluctant branch. My senses were so thrilled with the sound that its purport shot past them. There at the base of the rock stood the strangest figure that ever met my eyes. - Summary by Kirk202