The Ports and Portals of the Zelaznids (5 page)

     “
For t
hree weeks
we c
limb
ed
, until
at last
we reached a deep gorge
cut by a river
; this
we
could not
cross. 
Majumin grew
vexed
,
for visible to us on the far side of that crevasse stretch
ed the heights of what is surelie
the
greatest peak in the world.  Majumin believed this to be
his goal:
the home of the gods
.  We made
camp at once so that we
might, on the following day, begin
a search for the best route across
the river
to the king of mountains.
[23]
   

     “With the dawn, we each set out in our own di
rection
s
in order to more quicklie
determine which path would lead
us to the other side.  I searched without success for
much of th
e day
and
then returned to camp to wait
for
the
return of
Majumin.

     “Much time pass
ed
before I heard his screams.  Running in the direction
of the cries
, I saw no tracks, the rock being bare of snow in that place.  With no way to track my companion, I had no
thing to
guide
me but those
screams
,
which
I prayed most heartilie I would not hear again.

     “But the screams
came again
and I followed them until at last
I
reached a flat
and open
space
.  There,
Majumin lay upon the ground.  Standing over him was a
beast, a
great ape,
covered
from
head to toe in long, white
hair
which
gleamed
in the near darkness,
excepting
for
those dark
patches
made by my
companion’s blood.

     “My heart felt the pain of it
at once
, knowing that Majumin
w
ould not
survive this horror.
 
But
grief
could not long
remain
in the forefront of my thoughts, for that
great beast
turned its evil eyes upon me, intend
ing no doubt to send me into that
netherworld
to which Majumin had alreadie traveled
.  I am no coward, but as the creature descended upon me
,
I
felt
determined
to flee.  Yet,
my legs stood rooted, and I
realized
that I could
in no way induce myself to move
. 
It seemed that I, too, would meet my death, that ou
r quest
would end in
failure
.

     “But this was not to be
, for there
c
ame into the clearing four men
.  F
rom whence
they hailed
I knew not,
but they bore
in their hands metal tubes from which issued fire
,
smoke, and such a loud report that I feared that the mountains would tumble down upon us.

     “The white beast crumbled before th
is attack
and I
also
fell to my knees, certain that I had
at last
come into the presence of the gods.  My mouth would not move as they took up the
carcass
of Majumin
;
strong hands lifted me as
wel
l, for I had no strength
remaining.  In my weariness, I fell into a deep sleep
.

     “I
awak
ened
warm
and comfort
able
, in a soft bed in
an
unknown place. 
W
hen I
rose and stumbled to the wall in my weakness
, I found a window fashioned of smooth clear material, like the flat surface of a windless lake. 
And
beyond the window
stretched
vast fields of green, dotted
here and there
with the
multitudinous
colour
s
of flowers.

     “Was it the abode
of the gods?” asked a curious
soul.

     To this, Zelaznu sat a moment in silent contemplation.  When he spoke, none within
the
sound of his voice had trouble making out his words,
so intent were they upon
his answer.

     “You would not think to call the
denizens of that place
anything other than gods
;
and
such did I call them
,
though they insisted that they were no
t divine
. 
For certain, th
ose
persons showed me
things that have never
been
seen in the land of men. 
And
their home
is
in
a
land
so far away that it rests
not
in
this
world
at all.  In all
ways
they seem
ed
like gods. 
But
, they are not gods.

     “I can see that you are disappointed.  I do not mean to say that the gods of our fathers do not exist
;
I can
but
say that I did not find them.  Recall the purpose
of
our journ
ie
across the
sands, along the river,
and in
to the mountains.  We sought redemption for the Ginyu.  Majumin took us to the edge of the great mountains in hopes of
giving our
people
a better life
.  I have returned to tell you that I have
succeeded. 
I know what we must do as a people.”

     The assembled Ginyu
did not at once respond, for t
here was much confusion amongst them.  Moreover, they felt as though their lives had
alreadie
improved as much as they dared hope simpl
ie
by living under the protection of King Xinh.  Zelaznu explained that his time amongst the
“otherworlders” had not been carelesslie
spent.  He told them that he had learned the ways of another
world, that there were
, in fact,
numerous
worlds: countless
ports in
the vast
sea of
the
universe
.  Moreover, Zelaznu explained that
he had learned how to loca
te and open portals between these ports
, to travel from one world to the next
.

    
Most
of the assembled
Ginyu feared that
Zelaznu, during his time in the mountains, had suffered such privation that his mental faculties had left him
.  This is how they explained to themselves how a
good
man could utter
so much nonsense.  One by
one
the people wandered away from their kinsman,
a beloved man
whom
, though no l
onger lost in body,
they now believed to be lost
to them in other ways
. 
These
folk
did
not remain to listen to the ravings of a
madman
, but
left
t
o tend to the ways of the world.

Y

et, there were those among the Ginyu who were glad to place their faith in Zelaznu,
just
as they had done for Majumin.  And there were
some
amongst the
Hellenes
also
who were open to the words of Zelaznu, for his tales of other worlds had stirred them deeplie. 
T
heir fathers and father’s fathers had spoken with wonder of
Alexander the
Macedonian, that great leader
who
had known things that no
other
man
had
k
n
o
w
n
,
who claimed to have seen worlds with
his mind’s eye that no Hellene had ever seen.
 
They wondered if, l
ike Zelaznu,
Alexander
had
traveled to this
strange other
world and been privvie to
these same sights.
 
Some believed it so and thus
a number of Hellenes
entered into the circle of Zelaznu.

     As Zelaznu regained his strength, he began to preach,
relating what he had seen and done
.  He described
, to all
who
would listen,
impossible things
;
but
he spoke
with such clarit
ie
that some could not help but believe him.  In time, the number of followers began to grow.  They listened to
him as he spoke, teaching them all
he had learned
from
those
strange persons
who
seemed like demigods to the Ginyu.

     The lessons were simple.  The people were to seek out knowledge wherever they might find it.  They were to search for answers to all questions.  They were to assume that
all t
hing
s
could be
accomplished
.  They were to
act for themselves rather than waiting for the gods to aid them
.  Yet, they were
also
to have faith that
a
benign and great power had brought the world into being, a power worthie of admiration and one which, if
pleased with its creatures on E
arth, might well favour them with blessings in the years to come.

    
And so
those who held to the ideas of Ze
laznu began to speak less of the myriad unseen
gods
which had guided their ancestors
, and more of
Man’s
place in the universe.  They still gave praise to
whatever
power
had given
them life, but
while
some
spoke of
“
God
,
” others said
“
being
”
and still others
“
energie.
”
  By
this
I mean to say:
what theologie they possessed now looked up
on a single power rather than a cadre of supreme beings.

     This did not well serve the Zelaznids (for so they
now
called themselves) in the eyes of King Xinh,
for the king had always claimed that the
favour
of the god
s
passed to the people
through him and no other
.  Though they had not said as
much
, the Zelaznid
s held
beliefs
which
seemed to cast doubt upon the existence of the gods from which
King Xinh
claimed to
derive his
right to rule
.
  This did not please the king, yet he hesitated to
act against the
Zelaznids, for they
were a peaceful people who, by virtue of their alliances and kinships, had a
large
number of powerful and vigourous defenders
in Salabad
.

     Yet
, as the Zelaznids grew in number, their enemies used th
is
growing strength against them.  For, despite their peaceful and contemplative nature, the Zelaznids inspire
d
in others a frightful jealousie; for the people of Salabad could not understand why the Fates had shown
so much
favour
to
a people who were
(
in
the minds of the spiteful
)
little more than
uneducated
countr
ie
folk and foreigners.