Monthly Archives: August 2013

Mystical Realms Newsletter for August, 2013

Greetings!

And welcome to my newsletter for August, 2013! Please feel free to forward this to anyone you think would be interested in keeping up with me! To receive these newsletters regularly, please drop me an email or subscribe online from my website (http://www.JefMurray.com ) or at:http://groups.google.com/group/Mystical_Realms . Notices of events and items of interest are at the bottom of this email.

 

Pitchers ===============

•      The first ever 2014 Jef Murray Chronicles Calendar is now available! This calendar features characters, scenes, and landscapes inspired by C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. Each month features one painting image and one sketch, plus the calendar includes moon phases, equinoxes and solstices, many major holidays, and visual cues for other dates of significance. To learn details, and to order yours, see: www.JefMurray.com

•      The 2014 Jef Murray – AL3P Middle-earth Calendar is also now available! With half of proceeds going to support A Long Expected Party III in Kentucky in September, 2014, this calendar features painting images from the entire spectrum of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Legendarium. To learn details, and to order yours, see: www.JefMurray.com

•      “Seer: A Wizard’s Journal” is continuing to be well received, and several very kind reviews have been posted of late. “Seer” will be carried by the booksellers at DragonCon in anticipation of signings and a reading I’ll be doing there over Labor Day weekend (see below). For more about this collection of tales, poems, and illustrations, see: www.JefMurray.com

Prospects ===================

•      I am honoured to have been asked to appear as a guest at this year’s DragonCon in Atlanta! Currently, my schedule is as follows:

Friday, 8/30              2:30pm: “Smaug Con: Tolkien and His Dragons” Jim Wert with Jef Murray, L401 – L403 – Marriott

Saturday, 8/31          10am: DragonCon Parade

2:30pm: Autograph Session, International Hall South – Marriott

5:30pm: Readings from “Seer: A Wizard’s Journal”, Roswell – Hyatt

Sunday, 9/1             2:30pm: “A Visual Journey Through Middle-earth”, L401 – L403 – Marriott

 

•      I am equally honoured to have been invited as a guest to the Mythmoot II, sponsored by The Mythgard Institute (http://www.mythgard.org) This weekend of celebration and discussion will be held in December. Location to be announced soon….

•      The third great gathering of Tolkien fans in Kentucky has now been announced for September, 2014! A Long Expected Party 3 (acronym “AL3P) is now open for registration, and the 170 beds available at Shaker Village for the event are already largely claimed. Nevertheless, you can still register, and offsite lodging is still available. I’m delighted to announce that I will be one of three guests at the event; the other two are Dr. Michael Drout and Dr. Amy Sturgis. For more information, see: http://www.alep-ky.us/

 

Ponderings ==============

(The following is a serial tale that has grown in the telling. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 were published in previous months and you can read each of them online here: http://mysticalrealms.mymiddleearth.com/2013/08/07/the-prophesies-of-yeshi-chapter-1/ . The tale continues with Chapter 4, below, which follows a reprise of Chapter 3).

Chapter 3; Amsalegenet

 Gabriel sat back in his chair.

Charles looked startled at the sudden silence. “You’re not going to stop there, are you? What did you do next?”

Gabriel sat back and bowed his head; he observed Charles through his thick eyebrows. “Forgive me for having interrupted the tale mid-stream,” he said, “but I needed to collect my thoughts before I continued.

“You’ve known me for a while now, Charles, and I daresay I’ve said and done and said many things that might seem, well, a bit odd. But, over the long years I’ve walked this earth, I’ve discovered much, some of which is not considered quite respectable, nor even believable, amongst modern folk. So, when I tell you what happened next, I fully expect you to be incredulous. For that reason, I should like to propose, if you request it, a demonstration.”

“A demonstration? Of what?”

“That you shall see. But, will you agree? That is, if what I tell you — and, by the way, this applies to anything in my tale that might strike you as difficult to digest — if what I tell you strains your faith in any way, do say so, and I’ll be happy to do my best either to explain further or to demonstrate what I mean. Is that agreed?”

“Fully.”

“Good. Then, let me pour myself another cup of tea, and we’ll dispatch the lions.”

“Dispatch them? You mean you killed them?!”

“That, you shall see. Now, is your cup in need of refilling? There we are, then.

“Yes, the lions. As I mentioned, they had surrounded us. My camel had bolted once he caught sight of them, but he could not go far, and he was soon back by my side, trembling and spitting. I had my gun on the ground beside me; happily I had kept it in hand when I dismounted. But I knew that I was not capable of reliably stopping all three lions; I doubt if even an Allan Quatermain could have managed that feat, and I am no such marksman as he.

“I thought that the sound of the gun’s retort might give the beasts pause, however, so I fired several rounds into the air. This doubtless terrorized my camel further, but its immediate effect on the lions was as I’d hoped: they were startled, and they hesitated in their charge, at least for a few moments. Those moments were all I needed.

“I grabbed the reins of the camel and pulled his head down toward my own. Camels, like horses, have an intuition about their circumstances beyond what we might otherwise assume, and after I spoke a few words to the frightened creature, he became calmer and ceased his trembling. At the same time, I took from my pack a vial containing a small amount of powder, the nature of which will become apparent. With this in hand, I walked around the camel, committing a thin circle of the dust to the air around him. Then, just as the lions once more roared and continued their charge, I completed the circle and stepped within it.

“The predators were nearly upon us, but instead of lunging straight at the camel, or at me, they halted, confused, and began pacing around the spot on which we stood. The body of the mauled man was near us, but outside the circle. They sniffed the corpse, and then lifted their noses in the air, wrinkling them as they attempted to detect our scent; for, you see, for all practical purposes we had become invisible to them, and scentless as well. Provided we remained absolutely silent, they would be unable to detect our presence, even though we were literally within a very few feet of them.”

“Now, wait a minute,” said Charles, “you did this with some sort of powder?! So you’re saying that you have a way to make yourself disappear…just like that?” He snapped his fingers.

“Indeed, I do, Charles, and I’ll be happy to demonstrate, as I promised. The effect does not last long, and it is most satisfactory when the light is not too strong, as in our situation with the lions. But, as you can see, having such a tool at hand proved invaluable. Shall I demonstrate?”

“Yes indeed, if you don’t find my skepticism insulting.”

“Not at all! I quite anticipated your incredulity. So, as it happens, I have a bit of the powder in question upon me, as I expected I might need it.”

“What’s it made of? It sounds like something that could come in mighty handy at times….”

“Indeed, it is, but it is not easily come by. Another time, perhaps, I can tell you the long tale of how I came to discover it.

“But, for now, a tiny demonstration. Here is the vial.” Gabriel stood and drew from his waistcoat a small green bottle. He pulled the stopper from it and poured a pinch of the powder into the palm of his hand. Then, after pushing his chair back from the table, he sifted the powder between his fingers, circumscribing the chair. The dust, which appeared to be golden in the lamplight, drifted downward slowly, describing wild swirling patterns as it sank toward the floor. Once the circle was complete, Gabriel looked up at Charles and said simply, “Observe.”

He stepped within the settling circle of dust, and it seemed to Charles that Gabriel’s tall figure became gauzy, as if seen through a dense fog, and then it was gone. The chair, too, had vanished.

“My God!” Charles said.

“No, not God, Charles,” came Gabriel’s voice, seemingly, out of thin air. “It is just a unique combination of scent, visual confusion, and, with people anyway, the power of suggestion. The effect will not last long, perhaps a few minutes; but it persists with animals, which are often completely confused and troubled by the effect for quite a half an hour or more.”

Gabriel again stepped outside the circle, and to Charles it appeared as if he had materialized before him.

“I…I’ve never seen anything like it before….” Charles placed his teacup back upon the table, and as he did so noticed that his hand was shaking.

“There is quite a rational, if somewhat esoteric, explanation,” said Gabriel, “but I won’t belabor you with it now. Suffice it to say that, in my situation with the lions, this was a tremendous aid.” He held the vial aloft, and then tucked it back into his waistcoat pocket.

“But, to continue the tale. The lions were confused, and they were none too happy to have been deprived of an easy — and quite substantial I might add — meal. But, the dead man was still near them, and after some mewling on their part, the three great beasts gathered around the corpse and one of them, the largest, began dragging it away. Presumably they had had quite enough of my tricks, and wanted to find a quiet corner within their lair in which to dine.

“I was troubled by their taking of the dead man’s remains, but knew there was little I could do in the situation other than to allow them their feast; I could not retrieve the corpse nor bury him without once again endangering my life. So, I stood silently and waited. The lions dragged the man into the thorn brake, and once more they were lost from view.

I replaced my rifle in its holster and remounted my camel. I tugged at the reins to guide the beast around the thorns and toward the east once again, and we left the magic circle behind us. But just then I heard a high-pitched call, like that of a bird. I was startled; the arid wilds, excluding the roaring of the lions, had been deathly quiet thus far. But, looking around, I saw a small figure, appearing to be that of a young girl, calling out to me in the distance. But what was truly astonishing was this: she was standing at the opening to the thorn thicket, the very one through which the lions had just passed!

“You were clearly startled, Charles, by the effect of my little demonstration, and rightly so. But I have never been more dumbfounded than by the sight of this girl emerging, apparently unharmed, from the den of those fearsome predators!”

“Had she been there all along?” Charles asked.

“No, certainly not, else I’d have seen her when the lions departed. But, I had no time to ponder the issue. I beckoned for the girl to come to me, and I dismounted so that I could help her onto the camel. She came, and I put her in front of me on the beast. She was quite small, but I could not make out much else about her in the dim light.

“I urged the camel eastward, and he needed little convincing, I can assure you! For safety’s sake, we travelled in silence for many miles before I ventured to speak. Then I asked the girl who she was.

“‘I am named Amsalegenet,’ she replied, ‘and the Mistress of the Mountains bids me tell thee to heed the manner in which thou foundest me; for, many years hence, thou shalt find me so again, though changed.’

“I asked her who her mistress was, and Amsale, for so she was called, said ‘she whom thou seekest: Yeshi of the Brethren.’

“And so it was that I came to know the one who was to be my guide to Yeshi. And, truth to tell, Amsale was not mistaken in the words with which she greeted me. Many, many years passed before I came to understand them fully, but it is true that I met her once more, and in nearly identical circumstances. But, that you shall come to hear.

“The rest of my travels with Amsale were, with one exception, without major incident. Yeshi lived, as it happened, much farther east than any of my sources knew. Amsale guided us around Asmera and northeastward, up, up into the high range of the mountains that separate Samhar, along the coast, from the Hamasen and Senhit wilds. There, between the peaks of Zagher and mighty Fagena, a fair valley stretches; one that is easily missed. The passage into that realm is nearly impossible to discover without a guide, as I came to discover in later years. But there Yeshi made her home.

“And of Yeshi I shall speak, but first I must acquaint you further with Amsale. It took us two days more to reach the valley of which I spoke, and in that time I learned much of how Amsale came to be in the lion’s den.

“It seems that Yeshi knew of my coming and had sent the girl to guide me. Amsale was – how shall I say this? – a messenger of sorts. She was no servant of Yeshi’s by any means, but simply a willing herald and helper.

“Amsale appeared, to all who beheld her then, to be a maiden of perhaps 12 or 13 years of age. She was breathtakingly beautiful, beyond even the normal comeliness of the Ethiopian women that I had known, with delicate, ethereal features and a figure that just hinted at approaching womanhood. I must confess that, even after all these years, I still recall the astonishment I felt when first I saw her clearly in the morning light. It made her subsequent story all the easier to appreciate.

“For, as I said, she had been sent to guide me. But Yeshi did not know my exact route, only where I was to be found when she dispatched Amsale, along with the path I was most likely to tread. So, Amsale came first through Asmera. There, she could not help but be noticed by a headman of a powerful clan, a yagosa mari, and he desired her for himself. So, after she passed through the western gates and out into the lawless reaches, this yagosa mari sent a band of men to capture her, knowing that she was alone and unlikely to be able to prevent her abduction. There he was wrong.

“The mari’s men caught up with Amsale not far from the lion’s den. But just as they were closing in, the lions erupted from the thorn brake and surrounded her, protecting her as if she were one of their cubs. The men halted, and the lions, after a protracted stand-off, retreated into their lair with Amsale in their midst. The men followed at a distance, and were just in the process of storming the thicket when I arrived. How they hoped to overcome three full-grown lions without firearms, I cannot fathom, but I believe fear of the consequences of their returning to Asmera without Amsale must have played a large part.

“‘They, and the yagosa mari they serve, are evil men, and they bear the mark of evil,’ Amsale told me, pointing to her forehead. Then I remembered the curious glyph I had seen on the dead man’s corpse. ‘But, when next we meet,’ Amsale continued, ‘they shall seem to thee as saints.’”

Gabriel sighed and shook his head. “Truer words were never spoken.”

 

Chapter 4; Yeshi

 Charles looked past Gabriel and noticed that his studio was dark. Evening was falling, and, as if wakened from a deep sleep, both men leaned back in their chairs, blinked, and yawned.

“It appears that my tale has eaten away our daylight,” Gabriel said, chuckling.

“Yes, but we can’t stop now. Surely there’s time to tell me about Yeshi?”

“Yes, certainly, but first, we need sustenance. Shall I treat you to supper at the Bell? It’s the least I can do for so monopolizing your day.”

“Yes, that would be great,” said Charles. “But, can we pick up the tale again afterwards? Perhaps over dessert?”

The two men donned cloaks against the chill spring air, strolled to the Bell Inn, and there feasted on mini roast haggis, neeps, and tatties, followed by large plates of langoustines. Rather than stay at the Bell for dessert, they returned to Charles’ studio for cheese, fruit, and biscuits, and to sip on Amaretto di Saronno.

“Ah, what a fine way to spend an evening!” said Charles.

“I agree. And if you don’t mind, I believe I’ll have a pipe before I resume my disgracefully long-winded tale.”

“By all means!”

“There we are, then. Now, where was I?”

“You were with the girl, Amsale, and on the way to meet Yeshi.”

“Yes, yes. And I believe I mentioned that we had one additional adventure before we made it safely into Yeshi’s valley. It was a small one, but important, as you’ll see.

“We were into the mountains now, and these are desolate places. Even today, along the major roadways, it is always best to keep on one’s toes, as wild creatures ever haunt the heights. This was even more so then, as the ruggedness of the terrain kept all but the occasional hunter from residing in the craggy highlands.

“Amsale directed us forward along a perilous path that, I confess, I could hardly follow, though to her it appeared as plain as day. We had just ascended a particularly steep grade, one at which we both dismounted so as not to overly tax our camel, when I saw movement near the tops of the adjacent cliffs. Even as we halted so that I could get a better look, we heard the barking of baboons echoing from the peaks, and I could see scores of the creatures above us. Their chatter and barking increased, and we soon saw that a veritable tide of the creatures was descending upon us, with those at the front screaming and baring their enormous fangs.

“I told Amsale to stand near the camel, as I proposed to once more make use of the invisibility powder I possessed, but she smiled and shook her head. She seemed genuinely amused at my concern for our safety! But, there was no time to argue; the army of baboons was now nearly upon us. The surging mass of creatures leapt to the very brink of the rocks above the path, still screaming and barking. Then, Amsale lifted her hand and spoke a single word, softly.

“The effect was instantaneous. Within seconds, all of the baboons halted, and a silence so complete that it was palpable descended upon the pass. At the forefront of the troupe of baboons was an enormous male, whose fangs had, just moments before, been bared in preparation for a leap upon our camel’s back. This great ape now bowed before Amsale and covered his head with his forepaws. In waves, all the rest of the creatures did likewise, and I was reminded of nothing so much as an ocean of worshippers making obeisance at the appearance of some pagan goddess.

“Amsale stepped toward the great male baboon, who reached out his right hand toward her, palm upward. She stroked his palm and spoke in his ear. At that, the spell was broken. The male lifted himself from the rock, turned, and barked a command at the thousands of other baboons. Each of these, in turn, rose up and departed, leaping from rock to rock and sailing effortlessly over the fissures and crags stacked on high above us. Soon there was no sign of that great army of watchers, and all was once again silent.

“’How is it, Amsale, that these fierce creatures yield so readily to your will? Have you some special magic, that you can tame even these thousands with but a word?’ I asked her.

“’My father,’ she answered, ‘does not the child recognize the mother and do all that she would ask, with no need of spells? So do these recognize who I am and what I am, and so they do all for the sake of the one I serve.’

“Amsale would say no more, so I was forced to be content with this explanation; nor would Yeshi satisfy my curiosity on the matter when later I queried her. Rather, she simply smiled and said that Amsale had spoken, and there was an end to it.

“But, this was nearly the last of the strange events that transpired on my travels to Yeshi, and as we continued on our way, we soon cleared the pass and started down the far side of the mountain range. But, at an outcropping along the trail, Amsale suddenly halted us. Nestled into a rift in the cliff face was an oddly-shaped juniper tree that was blackened on one side; doubtless from a lightning strike from the previous stormy summer season. Behind this tree was a fissure in the rock that would just admit us, although it was a tight squeeze for the camel. Nevertheless, we led  him past the tree and into the fissure, picking our way among many fallen stones.

“The path, now close and dark, wound through the living rock, and at each turn I expected to find our way barred by debris. But, the way remained open, and far above our heads, all that I could see of the sky was the thinnest strip of ultramarine. This was untouched by clouds, and was of such a hue, due to our elevation, that it struck me why this region is called the “Roof of Africa”.

“The passage continued for perhaps a mile, although it wound in such a serpentine fashion that it might well have been much more. But at length, after one last doubling back on itself, I perceived that the way forward was now, indeed, blocked, but not by debris. There stood before us a heavy pair of metal gates. They appeared to be made of solid iron, and were quite old, though I could detect no signs of rust or wear. The surface of each gate was inscribed, but in the dim light I could not decipher what was written upon them, and they stood nearly twenty feet tall. Sharpened spikes crowned them, and clearly, even with grappling hooks, it would have been quite impossible to climb over them. I examined each surface as carefully as I was able but could discover no lock or other means of opening them. I turned to ask Amsale whether she knew what was to be done, but to my dismay, she had vanished.

“As you’ve heard, I had already been in far worse straits, and it occurred to me for an instant that perhaps Amsale also had a way of tricking my eyes. But, I could think of no reason why she would wish to deceive me. So, I hobbled the camel at the gate and partially retraced our steps, trying to recollect when I’d last been certain that Amsale had been with us. I had led us through the rift, but I believed she had been with us through most of the journey.

“Nevertheless, I could find no trace of her, nor any alternate passage that I might have missed. So, I started back toward the gate to ponder what was to be done. As I did so, I heard a distant sound of voices echoing through the fissure. The sound was confused, and this was doubtless heightened by the rock passage itself, which stretched and distorted every sound made within it. I had noticed this when first we entered, as the echoes of our footsteps often continued eerily whenever we paused.

“But now I heard the voices of men, and the tramp of many feet, and I suddenly feared that we had been followed into the rift. By whom, I did not know, but my heart told me that I should flee.

“I ran back to the massive iron gates, and just as I arrived there, a crack of light appeared in them. They began slowly to swing outward, away from me, and the brilliant light beyond them was so blinding that I could not see clearly for some time. But I turned away from the light and untied the camel, noting that the sounds from the rift behind me were now growing much louder.

“Turning back toward the light, I saw a figure in silhouette beckoning me forward. I led the camel through the gates, still blinking, and turned around once we were past them. Beside the gates I saw what appeared to be a woman swathed in white robes and a veil. She stepped before the iron doors and raised her hands to each side. Then, she slowly brought her palms together. As she did so, the massive barriers swung slowly and silently upon their hinges, finally clanging into place as they touched. No man could have moved those massive doors, as they were easily half a foot thick and must have weighed many tons.

“The woman turned to me, and I could see, despite her veil, that she was not Amsale, for she stood much taller. Regal, she appeared, but she did not speak. She bowed to me, and then swept past the camel, beckoning us to follow. As we did so, I heard, from behind us, the sound of many men. Their voices came angrily from the gap above the barrier, and soon I heard a pounding on the iron doors. But I had no fear that the gates would yield. Even explosives, it seemed to me, would be insufficient to dislodge them; and to use explosives would have meant certain death for those in the rift, as the sheer rock walls above them would almost certainly have collapsed, burying alive all that stood near the gates.

“But I quickly found that my attention was diverted, for now I saw stretched before us a beautiful green valley, with lush stands of trees, and dotted with flowers and gardens. At the center of this idyll stood a cluster of small round buildings, arranged like one of the native kraals found in southern Africa and enclosing a croft; but these structures were built of hewn stone, and their fashioning reminded me not so much of southern Africa as of Egypt. The largest of them had a parapet along the top, and its roof was flat, with unimpeded views of the heavens. I later learned that this was where Yeshi came to gaze at the stars.

“We proceeded to this kraal, and I loosed the camel inside the croft. Hay was already piled next to one of the outbuildings, and this, added to the lush grass and water from a spring the splashed through the croft, gave the camel all it could wish for.

“I followed our guide into the largest of the round structures. Within, the woman motioned me to a chair near one wall and disappeared behind a curtained doorway. I glanced at the interior of this space and was immediately struck by the number and quality of the icons with which it was adorned. These were brilliantly coloured, and coupled with the light that entered through high windows, they gave the space a most holy and solemn air. My immediate sense was that I had stepped into a chapel rather than a dwelling place. And, as I came to learn, I was not wrong in thinking this.

“After a few minutes, the curtain once again lifted, and a tall woman entered. Like Amsale, she was somewhat light skinned, after the manner of Ethiopians. But, she was tall, and far older than the young girl with whom I had travelled.

“’I am Yeshi,’ the woman said. ‘I bid you welcome, Brother. Amsale did well to find you and hasten you here in time.’”

“I stood and bowed. ‘Long have I sought you, Sister, and I am happy now to have finally found you. But, I fear yet for Amsale; she guided me until just before the iron gates were opened, but I know not what became of her, and I fear, for her sake, those that followed us through the mountain rift.’”

“’There is no need for concern. Amsale is safe. She comes not into Mekdes, and would not, even bidden.’”

“’So, is Mekdes the name of this valley?’”

“’It is. You tread upon sacred ground, Gabriel; this is where I live and study. Mekdes is my mother and my father: my sanctuary, my library, my desert hermitage. It is everything to me, saving only God Himself.’”

“’And, do you abide here alone, Sister?’”

“’Yes. You are the first in many decades to enter through the great gates, and you shall be the last; that is, until you return, decades hence, when all comes to pass that I shall show you.’”

“’How can you know when I will return?’”

“’The prophesies shall have been fulfilled; then you will come, with one other, and he shall tarry here as I have tarried, though not alone. And after him others will also come seeking refuge. For the day is approaching when those who would flee from evil will seek asylum in secluded places; and as I have said, this is sacred ground.’”

“But will you welcome all of these into Mekdes?’”

“’You do not understand, Gabriel. When that time comes, you shall find me here no more. You shall be the one who must welcome them.’”

“’But, Sister, where will you have gone that I must do this thing?’”

“’I? I shall be with my Father. Understand, Gabriel, that when next you return here, my work shall be done; I shall be dead.’”

13_08_07_Baboon002_BW_enh_600

[To be continued]

 

The Prophesies of Yeshi: Chapter 6

 

Chapter 6: The Coming Storm

  The wind outside of Charles’ flat was now whipping willow tree branches against the diamond panes, and a slight hint of thunder rumbled in the distance. Gabriel looked with sympathy at Charles face, on which were playing out myriad emotions: amazement, perplexity, fear, anger, exasperation. They all passed, one by one, but no words were spoken. Finally, Charles leaned forward, rubbing his eyes. He pushed back his hair and looked up at the older man.

“OK,” he said at last, “so, what now? Let’s say I accept what you’re telling me, and all of the things you’ve been telling me all evening. Where does this leave us; and me in particular? What am I supposed to do?”

Gabriel smiled. He had expected this reaction, of course, since he had seen these moments run over and over in his mind. The visions at Mekdes had been deeply impressed into his memory.  Yet the emotional impact of the events playing out in reality was greater than he had anticipated. Tears welled up in his eyes.

“Charles, Yeshi assured me that you would be a most remarkable person, but I did not realize just how much so until now. Here I am, telling you things that no reasonable man should be willing to accept, and yet you do so, and then some.

“You ask what you are supposed to do? Certainly nothing on your own! This is but a single melody in a much larger symphony, and it is one I have known about, however incompletely, for many decades. You must act on what I have been telling you, but helping you to reach understanding and obtaining your assent was and is paramount. For, believe me, there are many forces at work that would discourage any action on your part, and they are at work even now.”

“What do you mean?”

“I shall show you. Stand up and go over to the picture window. Take a look outside, as if you were watching the storm roll in. Then let your eyes drift downward toward the street and tell me what you see. Try not to make it obvious that you’re looking down.”

Charles rose from the fireside did as Gabriel bid him. “I see two, no, three men across the street. They appear to be watching my building.”

“That is precisely what they are doing. In fact, they are waiting for you to turn out your lights.”

“What for?”

“So that they can more easily make their way up the stairs to your flat and break in.”

“Why would they want to do that?!”

“Cast your mind back to what I was saying earlier about my travels through Ethiopia to find Yeshi. Do you recollect the men with the lions? The ones who sought to capture Amsale?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Do you remember that I mentioned that each of them had a tattoo on his forehead, a glyph?”

“Yes. I think you said it meant ‘darkness’.”

“Not quite. The glyph was for the word ‘Amenta’. It is Egyptian, and it references the underworld, or the ‘Land of the Dead’. In the context of the mari’s men, it was a sign of allegiance to the forces of evil. Those who bear that glyph are the opposite, in a way, of the members of the MEB. Instead of seeking to sustain the world through the dark ages, they are the very heralds and agents of that darkness.

“Throughout my time of ‘seeing’ with Yeshi, and threading its way through all of the visions that we shared, was the image of Amenta, and the growing evil that it represented. Over the long decades, we traveled a thick thread of light, but ever the darkness followed close behind. That pall has waxed over the years; never more so than in these recent days. And behind that darkness are those who either consciously have chosen it, or who have capitulated to it by default.”

“But how can you say that? Surely the 20th century, rather than our own, was filled with greater horror and evil?” asked Charles. “As bad as things are now, do we really have anything like a Hitler or a Stalin rising to power?”

“We actually have worse, Charles. Hitler and Stalin were actively resisted, but today the seeds of darkness are not resisted, they are welcomed! The average citizen of any so-called free country today is enslaved by his desire for luxury, for comfort, for diversion. Horrors happen on every street corner, but no one notices because they aren’t acknowledged by the authorities, or, if citizens do recognize them and protest, they themselves are often slandered, threatened, or worse. Orwell was right; when you control the language and the media, you control the masses.

“This is how Rome fell, Charles. It is how all the great civilizations have eventually fallen: through decadent neglect of virtue, of truth, of freedom, of human dignity. Once the forces of Amenta have entire civilizations locked into their support of spectacle and of corruption, the end cannot be far behind. Bread and circuses, Charles, bread and circuses! And make no mistake; that is where we are today, whether we look to Europe, to America, or anywhere else. We are not too far removed from the situation that J.R.R. Tolkien described in his book, The Lord of the Rings. Smoke does, indeed, rise from the Mountain of Doom, and the hour grows late. But, we will not ride to Isengard to seek counsel; we will ride, instead, to Mekdes.”

“To Mekdes?!”

“Yes, and as quickly as we are able. In Mekdes we may house many, as I’ve said, and we may be able to counter the coming darkness, or at least to await the end if that time is truly at hand.”

“But, don’t you know? You’ve said that you foresaw much of what is happening now.”

“I did indeed, but the visions are not guarantees; they are only probabilities. I foresaw what is coming, and it will be horrible indeed, but I could not see past that calamity. For, I am not even a prophet, and even Yeshi herself could see only so far. But you may be able to see more, once you’ve tasted of the Waters.

“First, however, we must escape our current circumstances.”

“Yes, and just how are we to do that?” asked Charles. “You’ve said that these men are here to break in once my lights are turned out?”

“Yes, that is their plan. My own steps have been dogged since those earliest days in Mekdes, and I believe that all of my actions have been watched over the years, and never more painstakingly than now. The enemy has spiritual aid, as do we, and the spirits of the underworld have certainly come to know that you are important and must be…neutralized. I believe that these men intend to break in tonight and capture you or kill you; either would likely be acceptable to the enemy.”

“Then what are we to do?! Surely we cannot leave the flat without their seeing us!”

“No, but we can do better than that, Charles.” Gabriel smiled. “We can simply disappear….”

. . .

April 23rd: The Feast of St. George

On this feast day of our patron saint, I wish to recount the events that led to our coming at last into the holy valley of Mekdes, in the mountains of what is now called Eritrea. It is five full years since Gabriel and I set out from England to escape the men sent to kill me, and nearly four years since we passed the great Iron Gate that leads into the valley. I fear that not many additional souls shall come to swell our ranks while the evil times last, and that the final resolution of these days still remains very much in doubt.

Gabriel was as good as his promise. We escaped from my flat in Oxford with the aid of the invisibility powder that he kept with him at all times. The Enemy’s men did indeed break in as soon as the lights in my flat were doused, but we stood near the window quietly watching them as they ransacked my studio. I had gathered several of the paintings that I knew were important, including my portraits of Sogna and of Gabriel; these, too, we kept hidden from the assassins. I brought all of them with us to Mekdes, but the number of my works has increased greatly since that time; the waters from the Well of the Wise have allowed me to see many things yet to come, and these I have duly recorded in pigment.

Our journey out of England was beset with difficulties, and snags and delays abounded as we traveled across Europe and the Mediterranean and into Egypt. Rather than fly directly to Asmara, as we might have done, Gabriel took us along the route he had first travelled so many decades before, when he first sought Yeshi. Along that route we discretely contacted as many of the Brotherhood as we were able, warning them of what was coming, and telling those we most trusted of the means by which they might send messages to us, and, if need be, join us in exile.

Once we had passed into the upper reaches of the Nile, and from thence to the Atbara, Gabriel found us camels to take us from the river through the rural stretches of Eritrea. And, just as had been foretold, Gabriel and I were again met by Amsale, and in very nearly the same place and in the same circumstances as before. This time, however, the angelic messenger came to us in the form of a young boy. But he was once more being pursued by men who had sighted him in Asmara. I wish I could say that we were surprised at the depravity of a headman who now sought to satisfy his lusts by capturing and defiling a boy rather than a young woman, but in these dark days, deeds that would once have been considered horrors have become routine, and even fashionable.

“It is as I told thee, Gabriel,” said the boy Amsalegenet, “the men who sought to capture me at our first meeting are as saints compared to these.”

Yet, we were able, at last, to reach the mountain passes, and once more Amsale commanded the Watchers who descended from the cliff tops to guard the passage into the holy valley. The great baboons, which had been unable to stop the large force of men that first followed Gabriel into the valley, nevertheless had destroyed all of those who found their way back from the Iron Gate. They were picked off a few at a time as they left the passes to communicate with the mari in Asmara, and thus the secret of the existence of Mekdes had been kept safe through the long years. Gabriel confirmed this, relating to me that when he had finally left Yeshi, the pass was strewn with the bones of those killed by the baboons.

I will not relate all that transpired on our journey, other than to mention that we stopped briefly in Rome to meet with members of the Brotherhood in secret in the ancient catacombs, and to take counsel with the Benedictine Abbott who had first helped Gabriel find the MEB. This Abbott, along with others of his order, remains outside of Mekdes, even as the hour grows late; they seek to find additional shelter and to render further aid to those fleeing the darkness. I fear many of them will be martyred before the time comes for us to close the Iron Gates for good.

Just as we escaped England, Pope Benedict XVI resigned as pope and Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope Francis I. Given what I have seen in my visions, I begin to give some credence to the prophesies of St. Malachy, and fear that Francis may be the last man to sit on the throne of St. Peter. With the rising persecution of the Church, it would not surprise me to hear someday soon that the City of Seven Hills had been destroyed, as has been foretold. And if this comes to pass, then surely we are living in the final days, and even the final hours, of this world.

But, all of this is in God’s hands now, as it ever was. We shall await what comes, offering help to our brothers and sisters in need, and opening our arms to all who seek asylum; this whether they come to us here in the wilds of Africa, or to other hidden places in Europe, Asia, the Americas, or Oceana. The Middle-earth Brotherhood must survive, and will do so, with God’s aid. We will ever nurture the Truth that has been revealed to us, seeking to succor all, and praying even for those who have succumbed to the Amenta and who mean to destroy us.

But for now, I must finish this entry, for Sogna is calling. Today is the birthday of our first child, who was christened Michael George. He will be raised as well as anyone can hope to be in these days: away from the spiraling horrors of the outside world, and kept safe for as long as we are able to do so. Sogna has also drunk of the waters of the Well, and we cannot help but wonder if Michael and his brothers and sisters will not be similarly gifted with the Vision in due time.

I have no doubt that at some point Gabriel will come again to Mekdes, to take Michael out into the world to learn its ways, and to assist him in his never-ending travels. For we can, none of us, ever rest, nor cease from rendering aid and counsel to all who are beset; for we have been commanded so to do. And we look to the ancient prophesies as well as to those given us in our own day, and hold close to what we have been taught:

“And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”

And again:

“Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.”

[Thus Concludes The Prophesies of Yeshi, Book 1 of The Gabriel Chronicles]

The Prophesies of Yeshi: Chapter 5

Chapter 5; The Well of the Wise

  “Dead?!” Charles interjected.

“Indeed, that is what she told me,” said Gabriel. “And, as you’ll see, I came to have little cause to doubt her, since so much else that she has shown me has, indeed, come to pass.”

“Shown you? What do you mean ‘shown you’?”

“That, I am coming to. Yeshi’s words, of course, startled me very much. Here I was, having traveled from England to simply find her, having passed through dangerous straits to come into the relative safety of her valley, pursued, as it seemed, by unknown assailants. And there, I was told that I would somehow be required to return again to make safe the way for others. It was all a bit much, and I told her so at the time. But, she simply smiled and said that I would soon come to understand better.

“But then Yeshi asked if I was hungry, and whether I might wish to rest after my journey. I was delighted to accept her hospitality, so she led me from what I came to regard as the ‘Chapel’ into an adjacent building. Here I found a table laden with viands the likes of which I had never tasted before, and in great abundance. There was a platter with what appeared to be cold pheasant, a tureen filled with steaming soup that tasted of fresh fish and coriander, many bowls of spiced vegetables, mounds of fresh and aromatic apricots, grapes, and oranges, and chilled white wine that I could only compare to a delicious but obscure vintage I had once tasted in Sicily. There were also plates of injera, the ubiquitous flatbread of Ethiopia that serves not only as food, but also as the means of dining, since traditional Ethiopian meals are eaten with the hands.

“I was astonished to find such fare before me, since it appeared that Yeshi lived in Mekdes alone, and I could think of no way that such a feast might have been prepared without the help of many servants. Yet, when I turned to thank her for her hospitality and consideration, and to ask who had prepared such a feast, Yeshi had already vanished.

“I came to accept the peculiarities of Yeshi and of the manner of happenings in Mekdes as the days progressed, but in this first instance, I admit I was startled, or rather, puzzled. Nevertheless, I set to the meal with a hearty appetite, and afterwards I found that, adjoining what I came to regard as my ‘Parlor’, there was a small suite of rooms including a dressing area. Here a basin and pitchers of hot and cold water were set out, and adjoining this was a bedroom with a curtained window that faced toward the east. Fresh clothes had been laid out for me: white robes not unlike those in which Yeshi clothed herself, but which fit me perfectly.

“Over the next many days, I was able to assess the size of Mekdes, and most of its features. It was hemmed in on all sides by the peaks and hair-raising passes of the Sahel. It appeared to have but one way to reach it, at least by land, and that was through the gated rift by means of which Amsale had brought me. But the valley itself was large enough not only to provide land for the cultivation of food for many souls, but also for many wild animals to thrive. There was a modest stream that was fed from many springs, and in this dwelt a species of fish that was readily caught with net or angle. There also were forests and grasslands frequented by the pheasant-like birds that I mentioned. I saw now signs of any dangerous animals; not even the baboons that we had met on the mountain pass.

“So, I was able to content myself that, indeed, many might find refuge in Mekdes, should the need for a sanctuary truly arise. But, I also knew that I would require more time with Yeshi in order to understand why she had summoned me. For, make no mistake; I could never have found Yeshi unless she had called me to her; and this alone, coupled with what I learned of her own deep studies and wisdom, was enough for me to give credence to her initial words.

“After several days had passed and I had thoroughly rested from my travels, a morning came when Yeshi joined me at breakfast. She ate sparingly, but it was clear that she felt it was time for us to speak at length. After the meal, I accompanied her back to the Chapel.

“I had not been in that place since my first arrival, and then the hour had been late. By morning light, the Chapel was even more ethereal than I had remembered, and I once again felt that this was a place of great sanctity. As I’ve said, brilliantly colored icons filled the walls and even the ceiling; much of the interior was gilded, and the morning light, shining in beams through the misty air, enhanced its otherworldly aspect.

“This is the Holy of Holies, Gabriel,” said Yeshi. “It is here that I come to learn all that I must know for the sake of the Brotherhood and the souls with whom I am entrusted.’

“Then Yeshi motioned me past the curtain through which she had passed on my arrival. Within was a smaller room: round and also bedecked with icons. But, at the center of this space stood a golden basin and a fountain that was the source of a spring of fresh water. But, this was not like any other water.

“‘King Solomon himself knew of this well,’ said Yeshi. ‘And drinking from the fount, he came to understand God’s work as few have before or since. By partaking of this water and heeding the urgings of my dreams, I have been provided me with all knowledge that is needful to me. The spring’s location and its properties have been held as a close secret for thousands of years, and now, other than myself, you alone of all humankind know of its existence. Come, Gabriel; drink, and we will explore the future together’

“And so, I drank. Behind the fountain was affixed a large icon. It consisted simply of a golden frame within which stood a featureless field of ultramarine; there were no figures painted there, no landscapes: just a sea of deepest blue. I knelt before it. At first, looking at the empty blue field, I could see nothing. But then, Yeshi placed her hands upon my shoulders. She, too, gazed at the icon, and at that moment I perceived that the blue was melting away, and it seemed that forms swam in depths beneath the surface of some wild ocean. These became ever clearer, and for the next several hours I was lost in this vision, this dilation of time, that had opened up before us…”

“But what, specifically, did you see?” asked Charles.

“Many, many things, some of which I only came to understand later, with Yeshi’s help. I saw, first, the lands at the edges of Mekdes, and saw it littered with the bodies of dead men, their carcasses being picked clean by vultures and jackals. But then the vision broadened, and I saw towns and cities in Ethiopia and Egypt. Wars erupted; regimes rose and fell; great monstrous machines travelled in the air, loosing destruction beneath them. A great king was cast down, bringing to an end a line of royalty that stretched back to Solomon. I saw events tangled, as with some great webbing, and each moment was tied to the next in a tapestry of gossamer threads.

“But, because Yeshi was directing our gaze through the many twists and turns of possible outcomes, I came to see that there was a single broad thread that we were following. And because of its strength, it seemed that it could only be broken through some tremendous cataclysm. Yet the thread itself led to Apocalypse, a dimly-seen series of catastrophes that might only be avoided through divine intervention. Yeshi did not believe that such intervention would come; instead, the Suffering Times need be endured, and these tribulations would then lead to the end of all things.”

“The end of all things?”

“Indeed. The players were set, even back then, and it is many generations since first I saw these visions. But nothing has changed the course of that thread of events. Whether you choose to rejoice or to suffer great trepidation, or both (which is likely the most prudent reaction), the end of this age is coming; it is nearly upon us. And we shall see much of it through together.”

“I…I don’t know what to make of any of this, Gabriel,” said Charles, shaking his head.

“Did I not tell you, even as you were painting my portrait, that you were a part of all of this? And that Yeshi told me about you? Well, as it happens, yours was one of the countless faces that I saw in the visions, but one that I came to see ever more clearly. I was curious about you, and Yeshi told me much that she had learned on her own; about you, and about what will be required of you and of those that will come to help you along the way.”

“You make it sound like I have some great quest ahead of me.”

“That you do, my boy, that you do!” Gabriel sat back in his chair. He knocked the ashes from his pipe and refilled it. “But it will not be a quest that you undertake alone.”

In the brief silence that ensued, the sound of rising wind could be heard through the windowpanes, and the suggestion of thunder could be heard distantly. “And so, it begins,” thought Gabriel to himself, thinking back on the vision of this night that he had had so many decades before.

“But, Gabriel, how can I take this seriously?” asked Charles. “It’s a singular tale, but even without you telling me what lies ahead, how can you be sure that I am the person that Yeshi told you about? Or that you saw in the vision?”

“It is a very good point, and one that I anticipated,” said the old man. “I knew you were likely to play the role of ‘Doubting Thomas’, and who can blame you? But, tell me, how many times have we been together since first we met?”

“I’d say, perhaps a half dozen.”

“And have I ever, to your knowledge, been in this flat before?”

“No. This is the first time I’ve had you up; for the portrait, you know.”

“Good. Then, if I’ve never been here before, I could not know, for example, about the paintings you have stored in that room yonder…” Gabriel pointed toward a closed door just outside the kitchen.

“No, I suppose not.”

“And thus, I also could not know that you have been working on the portrait of a young lady for quite some time now; a young lady with whom you are in love…correct?”

Charles blushed. “No, I suppose you couldn’t know that. But, that said, what does this lady look like, if you somehow know about the portrait?”

“You’ve shown the painting to no one, I take it? And no one knows of its existence, not even the young lady in question?”

“Just so.”

“But the lady in question is unusual, and even you don’t know that much about what she looks like, since she is always veiled. Am I right?”

“Yes…but this is uncanny!”

“You have rendered her seated before a blue background. She is dressed all in white, and held in her left hand is an object that looks rather like a pendulum of some sort, wrought in gold.”

“Oh my God!”

“There are other details I can describe; the vision of the painting was very clear when first I saw it in my visions. And its most singular feature is that the woman is painted without her veil: with violet eyes within which there are no pupils. You saw this vision of her yourself, in a dream, and you have attempted to capture that dream in paint ever since it first came to you.”

“Now you are truly scaring me, Gabriel!”

“Not as much as I should do! For we’ve not yet discussed what is to come! But, you required proof….”

“But…but nobody knows about this! No one! And you almost seem to be making light of the fact that you’ve seen something that no one could possibly have seen!!” Charles was ashen white and trembling.

Gabriel leaned over to him and grasped his hand. “Charles! Take a few deep breaths. There. Be at peace. I knew this night would be difficult for you, but I hope perhaps we’re nearly through the worst of it.

“For unbelief is the greatest hurdle; we live in an age of such skepticism that the minds of even those who profess to believe in ‘all things visible and invisible’ can be put in great jeopardy. It is always a shock when we see past the veil ourselves for the first time. But this isn’t even the first time for you, is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that you have a very special gift, Charles, whether you’re yet fully conscious of it or not.”

“What sort of a gift?”

“Well, to put it bluntly, you, too, are able to see things that others can’t see.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Look, Charles, you’ve admitted that you painted this picture of Sogna…”

Charles gasped.

“Yes,” Gabriel said, “I said ‘Sogna’. You don’t think I’d know about the portrait without also knowing the name of the young lady, did you? But, as I was saying, you painted the picture of Sogna from an image that came to you in your dreams. But those aren’t just random dreams; they have a very special quality that you’ve come to know; and you’ve had them all your life, haven’t you?”

“Yes…yes, I have. They’re unusually vivid. But they’re really just dreams, after all….”

“No, that is precisely where you’re wrong. Charles. They are not ‘just dreams’, nor are they just your brain sorting things out, as most dreams are for the rest of us; they are premonitions of actual events.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying, Charles, that you can see the future; that your dreams are messages and omens of what is to come. In short, Charles, just like Yeshi, you are nothing less than a prophet of God.”

[To be continued]

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The Prophesies of Yeshi: Chapter 4

Chapter 4; Yeshi

 Charles looked past Gabriel and noticed that his studio was dark. Evening was falling, and, as if wakened from a deep sleep, both men leaned back in their chairs, blinked, and yawned.

“It appears that my tale has eaten away our daylight,” Gabriel said, chuckling.

“Yes, but we can’t stop now. Surely there’s time to tell me about Yeshi?”

“Yes, certainly, but first, we need sustenance. Shall I treat you to supper at the Bell? It’s the least I can do for so monopolizing your day.”

“Yes, that would be great,” said Charles. “But, can we pick up the tale again afterwards? Perhaps over dessert?”

The two men donned cloaks against the chill spring air, strolled to the Bell Inn, and there feasted on mini roast haggis, neeps, and tatties, followed by large plates of langoustines. Rather than stay at the Bell for dessert, they returned to Charles’ studio for cheese, fruit, and biscuits, and to sip on Amaretto di Saronno.

“Ah, what a fine way to spend an evening!” said Charles.

“I agree. And if you don’t mind, I believe I’ll have a pipe before I resume my disgracefully long-winded tale.”

“By all means!”

“There we are, then. Now, where was I?”

“You were with the girl, Amsale, and on the way to meet Yeshi.”

“Yes, yes. And I believe I mentioned that we had one additional adventure before we made it safely into Yeshi’s valley. It was a small one, but important, as you’ll see.

“We were into the mountains now, and these are desolate places. Even today, along the major roadways, it is always best to keep on one’s toes, as wild creatures ever haunt the heights. This was even more so then, as the ruggedness of the terrain kept all but the occasional hunter from residing in the craggy highlands.

“Amsale directed us forward along a perilous path that, I confess, I could hardly follow, though to her it appeared as plain as day. We had just ascended a particularly steep grade, one at which we both dismounted so as not to overly tax our camel, when I saw movement near the tops of the adjacent cliffs. Even as we halted so that I could get a better look, we heard the barking of baboons echoing from the peaks, and I could see scores of the creatures above us. Their chatter and barking increased, and we soon saw that a veritable tide of the creatures was descending upon us, with those at the front screaming and baring their enormous fangs.

“I told Amsale to stand near the camel, as I proposed to once more make use of the invisibility powder I possessed, but she smiled and shook her head. She seemed genuinely amused at my concern for our safety! But, there was no time to argue; the army of baboons was now nearly upon us. The surging mass of creatures leapt to the very brink of the rocks above the path, still screaming and barking. Then, Amsale lifted her hand and spoke a single word, softly.

“The effect was instantaneous. Within seconds, all of the baboons halted, and a silence so complete that it was palpable descended upon the pass. At the forefront of the troupe of baboons was an enormous male, whose fangs had, just moments before, been bared in preparation for a leap upon our camel’s back. This great ape now bowed before Amsale and covered his head with his forepaws. In waves, all the rest of the creatures did likewise, and I was reminded of nothing so much as an ocean of worshippers making obeisance at the appearance of some pagan goddess.

“Amsale stepped toward the great male baboon, who reached out his right hand toward her, palm upward. She stroked his palm and spoke in his ear. At that, the spell was broken. The male lifted himself from the rock, turned, and barked a command at the thousands of other baboons. Each of these, in turn, rose up and departed, leaping from rock to rock and sailing effortlessly over the fissures and crags stacked on high above us. Soon there was no sign of that great army of watchers, and all was once again silent.

“’How is it, Amsale, that these fierce creatures yield so readily to your will? Have you some special magic, that you can tame even these thousands with but a word?’ I asked her.

“’My father,’ she answered, ‘does not the child recognize the mother and do all that she would ask, with no need of spells? So do these recognize who I am and what I am, and so they do all for the sake of the one I serve.’

“Amsale would say no more, so I was forced to be content with this explanation; nor would Yeshi satisfy my curiosity on the matter when later I queried her. Rather, she simply smiled and said that Amsale had spoken, and there was an end to it.

“But, this was nearly the last of the strange events that transpired on my travels to Yeshi, and as we continued on our way, we soon cleared the pass and started down the far side of the mountain range. But, at an outcropping along the trail, Amsale suddenly halted us. Nestled into a rift in the cliff face was an oddly-shaped juniper tree that was blackened on one side; doubtless from a lightning strike from the previous stormy summer season. Behind this tree was a fissure in the rock that would just admit us, although it was a tight squeeze for the camel. Nevertheless, we led  him past the tree and into the fissure, picking our way among many fallen stones.

“The path, now close and dark, wound through the living rock, and at each turn I expected to find our way barred by debris. But, the way remained open, and far above our heads, all that I could see of the sky was the thinnest strip of ultramarine. This was untouched by clouds, and was of such a hue, due to our elevation, that it struck me why this region is called the “Roof of Africa”.

“The passage continued for perhaps a mile, although it wound in such a serpentine fashion that it might well have been much more. But at length, after one last doubling back on itself, I perceived that the way forward was now, indeed, blocked, but not by debris. There stood before us a heavy pair of metal gates. They appeared to be made of solid iron, and were quite old, though I could detect no signs of rust or wear. The surface of each gate was inscribed, but in the dim light I could not decipher what was written upon them, and they stood nearly twenty feet tall. Sharpened spikes crowned them, and clearly, even with grappling hooks, it would have been quite impossible to climb over them. I examined each surface as carefully as I was able but could discover no lock or other means of opening them. I turned to ask Amsale whether she knew what was to be done, but to my dismay, she had vanished.

“As you’ve heard, I had already been in far worse straits, and it occurred to me for an instant that perhaps Amsale also had a way of tricking my eyes. But, I could think of no reason why she would wish to deceive me. So, I hobbled the camel at the gate and partially retraced our steps, trying to recollect when I’d last been certain that Amsale had been with us. I had led us through the rift, but I believed she had been with us through most of the journey.

“Nevertheless, I could find no trace of her, nor any alternate passage that I might have missed. So, I started back toward the gate to ponder what was to be done. As I did so, I heard a distant sound of voices echoing through the fissure. The sound was confused, and this was doubtless heightened by the rock passage itself, which stretched and distorted every sound made within it. I had noticed this when first we entered, as the echoes of our footsteps often continued eerily whenever we paused.

“But now I heard the voices of men, and the tramp of many feet, and I suddenly feared that we had been followed into the rift. By whom, I did not know, but my heart told me that I should flee.

I ran back to the massive iron gates, and just as I arrived there, a crack of light appeared in them. They began slowly to swing outward, away from me, and the brilliant light beyond them was so blinding that I could not see clearly for some time. But I turned away from the light and untied the camel, noting that the sounds from the rift behind me were now growing much louder.

“Turning back toward the light, I saw a figure in silhouette beckoning me forward. I led the camel through the gates, still blinking, and turned around once we were past them. Beside the gates I saw what appeared to be a woman swathed in white robes and a veil. She stepped before the iron doors and raised her hands to each side. Then, she slowly brought her palms together. As she did so, the massive barriers swung slowly and silently upon their hinges, finally clanging into place as they touched. No man could have moved those massive doors, as they were easily half a foot thick and must have weighed many tons.

“The woman turned to me, and I could see, despite her veil, that she was not Amsale, for she stood much taller. Regal, she appeared, but she did not speak. She bowed to me, and then swept past the camel, beckoning us to follow. As we did so, I heard, from behind us, the sound of many men. Their voices came angrily from the gap above the barrier, and soon I heard a pounding on the iron doors. But I had no fear that the gates would yield. Even explosives, it seemed to me, would be insufficient to dislodge them; and to use explosives would have meant certain death for those in the rift, as the sheer rock walls above them would almost certainly have collapsed, burying alive all that stood near the gates.

“But I quickly found that my attention was diverted, for now I saw stretched before us a beautiful green valley, with lush stands of trees, and dotted with flowers and gardens. At the center of this idyll stood a cluster of small round buildings, arranged like one of the native kraals found in southern Africa and enclosing a croft; but these structures were built of hewn stone, and their fashioning reminded me not so much of southern Africa as of Egypt. The largest of them had a parapet along the top, and its roof was flat, with unimpeded views of the heavens. I later learned that this was where Yeshi came to gaze at the stars.

“We proceeded to this kraal, and I loosed the camel inside the croft. Hay was already piled next to one of the outbuildings, and this, added to the lush grass and water from a nearby spring gave the camel all it could wish for.

“I followed our guide into the largest of the round structures. Within, the woman motioned me to a chair near one wall and disappeared behind a curtained doorway. I glanced at the interior of this space and was immediately struck by the number and quality of the icons with which it was adorned. These were brilliantly coloured, and coupled with the light that entered through high windows, they gave the space a most holy and solemn air. My immediate sense was that I had stepped into a chapel rather than a dwelling place. And, as I came to learn, I was not wrong in thinking this.

“After a few minutes, the curtain once again lifted, and a tall woman entered. Like Amsale, she was somewhat light skinned, after the manner of Ethiopians. But, she was tall, and far older than the young girl with whom I had travelled, with deepset eyes that were difficult to read.

“’I am Yeshi,’ the woman said. ‘I bid you welcome, Brother. Amsale did well to find you and hasten you here in time.’”

“I stood and bowed. ‘Long have I sought you, Sister, and I am happy now to have finally found you. But, I fear yet for Amsale; she guided me until just before the iron gates were opened, but I know not what became of her, and I fear, for her sake, those that followed us through the mountain rift.’”

“’There is no need for concern. Amsale is safe. She comes not into Mekdes, and would not, even bidden.’”

“’So, is Mekdes the name of this valley?’”

“’It is. You tread upon sacred ground, Gabriel; this is where I live and study. Mekdes is my mother and my father: my sanctuary, my library, my desert hermitage. It is everything to me, saving only God Himself.’”

“’And, do you abide here alone, Sister?’”

“’Yes. You are the first in many decades to enter through the great gates, and you shall be the last; that is, until you return, decades hence, when all comes to pass that I shall show you.’”

“’How can you know when I will return?’”

“’The prophesies shall have been fulfilled; then you will come, with one other, and he shall tarry here as I have tarried, though not alone. And after him others will also come seeking refuge. For the day is approaching when those who would flee from evil will seek asylum in secluded places; and as I have said, this is sacred ground.’”

“But will you welcome all of these into Mekdes?’”

“’You do not understand, Gabriel. When that time comes, you shall find me here no more. You shall be the one who must welcome them.’”

“’But, Sister, where will you have gone that I must do this thing?’”

“’I? I shall be with my Father. Understand, Gabriel, that when next you return here, I shall be dead.’”

 

The Prophesies of Yeshi: Chapter 3

Chapter 3; Amsalegenet

 Gabriel sat back in his chair.

Charles looked startled at the sudden silence. “You’re not going to stop there, are you? What did you do next?”

Gabriel sat back and bowed his head; he observed Charles through his thick eyebrows. “Forgive me for having interrupted the tale mid-stream,” he said, “but I needed to collect my thoughts before I continued.

“You’ve known me for a while now, Charles, and I daresay I’ve said and done and said many things that might seem, well, a bit odd. But, over the long years I’ve walked this earth, I’ve discovered much, some of which is not considered quite respectable, nor even believable, amongst modern folk. So, when I tell you what happened next, I fully expect you to be incredulous. For that reason, I should like to propose, if you request it, a demonstration.”

“A demonstration? Of what?”

“That you shall see. But, will you agree? That is, if what I tell you — and, by the way, this applies to anything in my tale that might strike you as difficult to digest — if what I tell you strains your faith in any way, do say so, and I’ll be happy to do my best either to explain further or to demonstrate what I mean. Is that agreed?”

“Fully.”

“Good. Then, let me pour myself another cup of tea, and we’ll dispatch the lions.”

“Dispatch them? You mean you killed them?!”

“That, you shall see. Now, is your cup in need of refilling? There we are, then.

“Yes, the lions. As I mentioned, they had surrounded us. My camel had bolted once he caught sight of them, but he could not go far, and he was soon back by my side, trembling and spitting. I had my gun on the ground beside me; happily I had kept it in hand when I dismounted. But I knew that I was not capable of reliably stopping all three lions; I doubt if even an Allan Quatermain could have managed that feat, and I am no such marksman as he.

“I thought that the sound of the gun’s retort might give the beasts pause, however, so I fired several rounds into the air. This doubtless terrorized my camel further, but its immediate effect on the lions was as I’d hoped: they were startled, and they hesitated in their charge, at least for a few moments. Those moments were all I needed.

“I grabbed the reins of the camel and pulled his head down toward my own. Camels, like horses, have an intuition about their circumstances beyond what we might otherwise assume, and after I spoke a few words to the frightened creature, he became calmer and ceased his trembling. At the same time, I took from my pack a vial containing a small amount of powder, the nature of which will become apparent. With this in hand, I walked around the camel, committing a thin circle of the dust to the air around him. Then, just as the lions once more roared and continued their charge, I completed the circle and stepped within it.

“The predators were nearly upon us, but instead of lunging straight at the camel, or at me, they halted, confused, and began pacing around the spot on which we stood. The body of the mauled man was near us, but outside the circle. They sniffed the corpse, and then lifted their noses in the air, wrinkling them as they attempted to detect our scent; for, you see, for all practical purposes we had become invisible to them, and scentless as well. Provided we remained absolutely silent, they would be unable to detect our presence, even though we were literally within a very few feet of them.”

“Now, wait a minute,” said Charles, “you did this with some sort of powder?! So you’re saying that you have a way to make yourself disappear…just like that?” He snapped his fingers.

“Indeed, I do, Charles, and I’ll be happy to demonstrate, as I promised. The effect does not last long, and it is most satisfactory when the light is not too strong, as in our situation with the lions. But, as you can see, having such a tool at hand proved invaluable. Shall I demonstrate?”

“Yes indeed, if you don’t find my skepticism insulting.”

“Not at all! I quite anticipated your incredulity. So, as it happens, I have a bit of the powder in question upon me, as I expected I might need it.”

“What’s it made of? It sounds like something that could come in mighty handy at times….”

“Indeed, it is, but it is not easily come by. Another time, perhaps, I can tell you the long tale of how I came to discover it.

“But, for now, a tiny demonstration. Here is the vial.” Gabriel stood and drew from his waistcoat a small green bottle. He pulled the stopper from it and poured a pinch of the powder into the palm of his hand. Then, after pushing his chair back from the table, he sifted the powder between his fingers, circumscribing the chair. The dust, which appeared to be golden in the lamplight, drifted downward slowly, describing wild swirling patterns as it sank toward the floor. Once the circle was complete, Gabriel looked up at Charles and said simply, “Observe.”

He stepped within the settling circle of dust, and it seemed to Charles that Gabriel’s tall figure became gauzy, as if seen through a dense fog, and then it was gone. The chair, too, had vanished.

“My God!” Charles said.

“No, not God, Charles,” came Gabriel’s voice, seemingly, out of thin air. “It is just a unique combination of scent, visual confusion, and, with people anyway, the power of suggestion. The effect will not last long, perhaps a few minutes; but it persists with animals, which are often completely confused and troubled by the effect for quite a half an hour or more.”

Gabriel again stepped outside the circle, and to Charles it appeared as if he had materialized before him.

“I…I’ve never seen anything like it before….” Charles placed his teacup back upon the table, and as he did so noticed that his hand was shaking.

“There is quite a rational, if somewhat esoteric, explanation,” said Gabriel, “but I won’t belabor you with it now. Suffice it to say that, in my situation with the lions, this was a tremendous aid.” He held the vial aloft, and then tucked it back into his waistcoat pocket.

“But, to continue the tale. The lions were confused, and they were none too happy to have been deprived of an easy — and quite substantial I might add — meal. But, the dead man was still near

them, and after some mewling on their part, the three great beasts gathered around the corpse and one of them, the largest, began dragging it away. Presumably they had had quite enough of my tricks, and wanted to find a quiet corner within their lair in which to dine.

“I was troubled by their taking of the dead man’s remains, but knew there was little I could do in the situation other than to allow them their feast; I could not retrieve the corpse nor bury him without once again endangering my life. So, I stood silently and waited. The lions dragged the man into the thorn brake, and once more they were lost from view.

I replaced my rifle in its holster and remounted my camel. I tugged at the reins to guide the beast around the thorns and toward the east once again, and we left the magic circle behind us. But just then I heard a high-pitched call, like that of a bird. I was startled; the arid wilds, excluding the roaring of the lions, had been deathly quiet thus far. But, looking around, I saw a small figure, appearing to be that of a young girl, calling out to me in the distance. But what was truly astonishing was this: she was standing at the opening to the thorn thicket, the very one through which the lions had just passed!

“You were clearly startled, Charles, by the effect of my little demonstration, and rightly so. But I have never been more dumbfounded than by the sight of this girl emerging, apparently unharmed, from the den of those fearsome predators!”

“Had she been there all along?” Charles asked.

“No, certainly not, else I’d have seen her when the lions departed. But, I had no time to ponder the issue. I beckoned for the girl to come to me, and I dismounted so that I could help her onto the camel. She came, and I put her in front of me on the beast. She was quite small, but I could not make out much else about her in the dim light.

“I urged the camel eastward, and he needed little convincing, I can assure you! For safety’s sake, we travelled in silence for many miles before I ventured to speak. Then I asked the girl who she was.

“‘I am named Amsalegenet,’ she replied, ‘and the Mistress of the Mountains bids me tell thee to heed the manner in which thou foundest me; for, many years hence, thou shalt find me so again, though changed.’

“I asked her who her mistress was, and Amsale, for so she was called, said ‘she whom thou seekest: Yeshi of the Brethren.’

“And so it was that I came to know the one who was to be my guide to Yeshi. And, truth to tell, Amsale was not mistaken in the words with which she greeted me. Many, many years passed before I came to understand them fully, but it is true that I met her once more, and in nearly identical circumstances. But, that you shall come to hear.

“The rest of my travels with Amsale were, with one exception, without major incident. Yeshi lived, as it happened, much farther east than any of my sources knew. Amsale guided us around Asmera and northeastward, up, up into the high range of the mountains that separate Samhar, along the coast, from the Hamasen and Senhit wilds. There, between the peaks of Zagher and mighty Fagena, a fair valley stretches; one that is easily missed. The passage into that realm is nearly impossible to discover without a guide, as I came to discover in later years. But there Yeshi made her home.

“And of Yeshi I shall speak, but first I must acquaint you further with Amsale. It took us two days more to reach the valley of which I spoke, and in that time I learned much of how Amsale came to be in the lion’s den.

“It seems that Yeshi knew of my coming and had sent the girl to guide me. Amsale was – how shall I say this? – a messenger of sorts. She was no servant of Yeshi’s by any means, but simply a willing herald and helper.

“Amsale appeared, to all who beheld her then, to be a maiden of perhaps 12 or 13 years of age. She was breathtakingly beautiful, beyond even the normal comeliness of the Ethiopian women that I had known, with delicate, ethereal features and a figure that just hinted at approaching womanhood. I must confess that, even after all these years, I still recall the astonishment I felt when first I saw her clearly in the morning light. It made her subsequent story all the easier to appreciate.

“For, as I said, she had been sent to guide me. But Yeshi did not know my exact route, only where I was to be found when she dispatched Amsale, along with the path I was most likely to tread. So, Amsale came first through Asmera. There, she could not help but be noticed by a headman of a powerful clan, a yagosa mari, and he desired her for himself. So, after she passed through the western gates and out into the lawless reaches, this yagosa mari sent a band of men to capture her, knowing that she was alone and unlikely to be able to prevent her abduction. There he was wrong.

“The mari’s men caught up with Amsale not far from the lion’s den. But just as they were closing in, the lions erupted from the thorn brake and surrounded her, protecting her as if she were one of their cubs. The men halted, and the lions, after a protracted stand-off, retreated into their lair with Amsale in their midst. The men followed at a distance, and were just in the process of storming the thicket when I arrived. How they hoped to overcome three full-grown lions without firearms, I cannot fathom, but I believe fear of the consequences of their returning to Asmera without Amsale must have played a large part.

“‘They, and the yagosa mari they serve, are evil men, and they bear the mark of evil,’ Amsale told me, pointing to her forehead. Then I remembered the curious glyph I had seen on the dead man’s corpse. ‘But, when next we meet,’ Amsale continued, ‘they shall seem to thee as saints.’”

Gabriel sighed and shook his head. “Truer words, I fear, were never spoken.”

 

The Prophesies of Yeshi: Chapter 2

Chapter 2; The Lions

Charles paused for a moment, holding his paintbrush aloft. “You’re kidding me, right?”

“Not at all,” said Gabriel. “Yeshi meant what she said, and, what’s more, I believed her then and I believe her now.”

Charles rested his palette on the table beside him, attention now fully upon Gabriel’s face. “So, you’re telling me you think the world is about to end?”

Gabriel chuckled and stroked his full, grey beard. He turned his head for a moment and gazed out the window. The spring sky was a deep cerulean, with mare’s tail clouds riding high in the atmosphere. “Rain is coming,” he thought.

“I think, if you’ll allow me, it might be best to discuss Yeshi from the beginning; that is, with my journey to find her. That may take some time, so what would you say to a spot of tea?”

“Sure, we could use a break.” Charles put down his brush, wiped his hands, and started into the kitchen, never once looking back at his canvas. Gabriel rose and followed him.

Once the kettle was singing and the cups, plates, spoons and biscuits were laid out, Gabriel picked up his tale.

“I know this will strike you as very odd indeed, Charles, but I’m not relating this tale as a diversion. I’m quite serious about what I’m going to say, and, frankly, I was at a loss as to how I might bring any of this up without…well…startling you a bit. Because, you see, the very fact that I believe what Yeshi told me isn’t the most compelling part of this tale. What will most strain your credulity is yet to come, and that is that you yourself are part of what I am about to tell you. Yeshi told me about you long before we ever met.”

I am a part of it? But how could this person have even known about me? Didn’t you say that all this happened a long time ago, before I was even born?”

“It did, and it was just as you say. But, that is not as surprising to me, perhaps, as it will seem to you. As I told you, Yeshi was an extraordinary creature, and everything she has ever foretold has come to pass, and in just the way she anticipated.

“But, let us take things in their proper order. May I pour you some tea? Good. Now, sit back and I’ll continue….

“When I began my journey, I was led to believe that Yeshi lived in the upper reaches of the Nile, so I traveled the river by boat, sailing up the ancient river on a merchant barque. In a port along the way, I met another member of the Brotherhood. This was long after we had left modern day Egypt, at the town of Atbara. This Brother claimed that news of Yeshi had come to him from folk traveling down the Atbara river. So, I continued, still by boat, upstream to the Tekeze, deep within the interior of Ethiopia, and then to the Adama river. At that point, I lost her trail once more.

“There were herdsmen in those arid lands, people of great faith, yet still in touch with the pagan spirits of the land, the rivers, and the air. None of them had heard of Yeshi. Yet, one very old man, leather-skinned and wizened, spoke to me of a sorceress who resided near the Red Sea, saying that, if this woman was not the one I sought, perhaps she might yet bring me tidings of her.

“So, I left the waterways. I purchased a camel, water skins, and other supplies; then I struck out across the flatlands northeastward toward the town of Barentu. The Nama and Kunama tribesmen inhabited this area only sparsely, and as I rode eastward, I encountered only the occasional herders of goats outside of village walls. The people of these regions were lithe, dark-skinned, and tall, and the thin, dry air of the higher elevations that so saps the strength of lowlanders such as ourselves bothered them not at all.

“But, over the next week, I was hard pressed on several occasions, as I and my camel, which I came to regard fondly, sought to sustain ourselves in a region filled with bandits and wild predators. I had little fear from the former; they regarded me as a griot, or azmaris. These are wise men, perhaps even wizards, and they are treated with great respect and deference in the rural wilds of Africa. Thus, I had no great concern for my safety from brigands; but the hyenas, jackals, leopards, and even the occasional lion, were quite another matter.

“As I said, I set off toward Barentu on my camel, striking out in the late afternoon. That night we travelled until the moon set. Then I gathered brush and lit a fire to deter predators and to ward off the chill night air. For, although it was springtime and the sun was strong in the afternoons, the thin air and the height of these lands makes the nights bitterly cold. I heard hyenas frequently as I dozed, and more than once saw cold green eyes wink on and off in the gloom beyond the reaches of the firelight. Thankfully, none came close enough to cause me great concern.

“The next morning I broke camp and continued toward Barentu, arriving there late in the day. I spent two nights in the town and made the innkeeper with whom I stayed know that I was seeking an azmaris named Yeshi, a wise woman who was believed to live in the Gash-Barka wilds, or perhaps further east. He asked friends, family, and customers over the course of the next day, but by the morning after my second night in Barentu, I was still none the wiser as to Yeshi’s whereabouts.

“I had been warned in Atbara that I would find no more members of my order or the Brotherhood in the region, nor anywhere else in Ethiopia, until I came upon Yeshi, so I was at a loss what to do. But I still had a strong intuition that I should proceed east, even if I ultimately reached the Red Sea with no new tidings. So, I packed my things once more and left the town, this time heading toward Asmera.

“Asmera is now a very European city. In those days, too, Italian colonials had settled there in preference to Massawa, on the coast, and its population was considerable. But, I knew it would take at least four days to reach the city, and that those days would be wearying both for myself and for my camel. We would be climbing the entire trip, and the air would get ever thinner with each passing mile. Worse still, there were virtually no habitations along the path I chose, and although that meant less concern with the banditti, it also meant that there might be much more to fear from the hyenas, jackals, and leopards.

“I had purchased a gun in Barentu. I have rarely used guns in all my long years, and I am but a middling marksman, but I thought that having one in this instance might prove prudent. The noise alone, it seemed to me, would ward off all but the most persistent of carnivores, and if I found it needful, it might at least provide some protection if I was charged, or if my camel was threatened.

“In any event, all proved tranquil until the third day. On that evening, after traversing a seemingly endless grove of baobab trees, I was startled to hear the sound of lions roaring ahead of us.

“The male lions of Ethiopia and Eritrea are very striking, with black, unruly manes that sprout from behind a coronet of golden fur. The gold frames the face and ears, lending them a regal appearance. But, as striking as they are, and as famous, there are but few of them, and I had encountered none thus far on my journey. Yet, now I heard the roar of more than one.

“I removed my rifle from the pack on the back of the camel, and urged my camel forward toward the sound. The poor creature was none too happy with this, but he did not balk. We came to the end of the baobab copse, and ahead I saw a group of men on foot clustered near a thorn thicket. They bore clubs, swords, and spears, and were clearly agitated, gesticulating wildly and circling the thicket, which, from the sound of things, must have been the lair of the lions that I had heard.

“Before I could get closer, this seemed to be confirmed, as from separate openings into the thicket, two enormous male lions appeared and charged the men. One of the tribesmen had his spear knocked from him, after which one of the beasts sprang upon him, grasped him by the neck, and shook him like a rag doll. The second lion circled the tribesmen on the far side, and then a third beast emerged from the thicket and roared. At this, the men, who numbered about eight, turned and fled, dropping spears and shields in their haste to save their skins.

“I had reined in my camel as soon as the first lions appeared, and although I had hoped to aid the tribesmen, I was neither near enough nor fast enough to save the first man that had been mauled. Now that the remainder were fleeing, I was perplexed as to what to do. Prudence seemed to dictate that I give the thorn thicket a wide berth and follow the tribesmen, who were headed in the direction I wished to take. Yet, I felt a sense of obligation to wait for the lions to retire so that I could make sure that the man that had been mauled was indeed dead. I also hoped to discover, if he had miraculously managed to survive the attack, what might have caused this confrontation between man and beast.

“So, I waited. The sun began to set behind the baobab grove. The three lions did not pursue the fleeing men, but soon returned to their thicket, leaving the mauled man lying motionless on the ground. As soon as dusk settled, I urged my camel forward, trying my best to proceed as silently as possible. The wind was from the east, so I was reasonably sure that our scent would not attract the predators.

“We reached the man, but it was clear he was dead; his eyes were already glazed over. I dismounted and searched through his clothing to see if I could discover whence he and his fellows had come, but there was nothing to identify him other than a tattoo on his forehead.  In the dim light, it was difficult to make out, but it appeared to be some sort of a glyph. It reminded me of an open umbrella, but with two straight handles descending from it. I later came to learn that the sign is called “Amenta”, and that it represents the underworld.

“At this point there was nothing more I could do to help the man than to bury him. Yet I knew that doing so would almost certainly alert the three lions to my presence. Night was falling; the beasts were liable to leave the thorn brake at any moment and begin their evening hunt. So, I decided to try to lift the body onto my camel and get as far from the lions’ den as possible.

“But, it was already too late. While I considered how best to raise the corpse, my camel screamed and bolted. All the while I had been searching the man’s clothing, the lions had crept from their thicket. Now, to my horror, I saw that I was surrounded, and that the three fearsome predators were closing in fast.”