The Towers of Trebizond

“The sheening of that strange bright city on the hill, barred by its high gates . . .”“Barred from all, Phrastes?”“From all, Eroton, who do not desire to enter it more strongly than they desire all other cities.”“Then it is barred indeed, and most men must let it go.”“Those who have once desired it cannot let it go, for its light flickers always on the roads they tread, to plague them like marsh fires. Even though they flee from it, it may drag them towards it as a magnet drags steel, and, though they may never enter its gates, its light will burn them as with fire, for that is its nature.”“Who then were the builders of this dangerous city?”