The Ports and Portals of the Zelaznids Read online

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  bdul Hazred, remembering his days searching for the Cittie of Pillars, knew that dark worlds might be reached by portals, to the greater sorrow of those who sought them. He taught that the number of portals leading to darkness was equal to the number of portals leading to light. And in each dark world, he warned, there are countless souls who live to oppose all that is good and true. Hazred believed that these portals to darkness existed according to the formula: ds^2 = a^2.(dX^2 + sinh^2X.(dT^2 + sin^2T.dB^2))[127]

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  elaznu, a simple herdsman, was no mathematician. Yet he opened portals in ways that did not resemble these models. His method, taught to Zelaznu by those who had saved him from the dangers of the mountains, was one of human will. To open a portal, Zelaznu summoned up what energie he could manage, forcing a portal into being where none had existed.

  Those who witnessed Zelaznu’s efforts spoke of them enough that we know much detail. They recalled sensing a tremendous energie emanating from the prophet on these occasions. Other believed that a great wind, unfelt by the skin of man, had swept from the fields and hills to descend upon Zelaznu, to then be expelled by him in the creation of a portal.[128]

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  eadying oneself to open a portal is no simple matter. The act of opening a portal saps large stores of energie from the user. Countless gatekeepers have been taken to the limits of strength and endurance by the opening of portals; not all have survived the effort. To avoid dangerous levels of weariness, a would-be portal opener should rest, gathering mental and physical energies for no less than a full day and night. Some have managed on less, but out of necessitie and in the interest of survival; these should be considered extreme cases. Some have lost their lives after opening a portal because their bodies lacked the energie to continue.

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  stablishing, in the manner which we have described, the method of finding portals, according to one’s own inner eye and through the use of ancient formulae; preparing oneself for the effort of opening a portal by pursuing rest; and securing the vicinitie from prying eyes - having done these things, it is then possible to proceed. To protect yourselves and those around you, learn from the experiences of others. Adhere to the rules stated here and they will protect whosoever might delve into these matters:

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  o not seek portals out of selfish desire; use such power for the benefit of all. Do not educate the unworthie to use portals; such is not for them. Do not fail to keep your inner eye open; this will guide you to the proper portal. Do not forget that portals exist to those with the faith to find them; all others are blind. Do honour to the sun when it touches the horizon; this will reveal your portal. Do proper meditation upon the nature of your portal; this will help you to distinguish the good from the bad. Do not fail to search the vicinitie of your portal for those who would do you harm; these must never witness the operation of portals. Do your utmost to dutifullie follow all preparations for the effort of opening portals; sufficient rest may thus save you from dire consequences.

  ~ 168 ~

  Chapter 14

  The Danger of Portals

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  ere let us speak of troubles which may result from the improper use of portals; for historie shows us that disaster awaits the unprepared and the unworthie alike. Heed well the lessons of both wise men and fools, who through error, negligence, or intent have so misused the skill of opening portals that dire consequences have befallen them. We have laid sundrie lessons before the reader as a warning. Let us now provide some few examples of mistakes made in this vein, so that it will be clear with what seriousness the student must approach the studie of ports and portals.

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  pening portals without proper preparation. - -

  Both mind and body must be as one for the safe and proper use of portals. Sundrie careless fools have failed to heed this lesson. Rest and meditation must come first, for the opening of portals saps from the user exceeding stores of energie. Even the great Lakku, wise and learned though he was, had cause to learn this lesson.

  It is written that Lakku, upon learning of the approach of the Kabul warriors, spent much time assisting his people in their preparations to flee through the portal rather than prepare himself as much as he should. His mistake might have led to his death had it not been for the strength of his constitution. Even so, Lakku spent a fortnight in a fever after his operation of the Sang-e portal.

  If one such as Lakku may suffer in such a way, what hope would he have who is weak of body or mind? How would such a one survive if faced with similar circumstances? It is a lesson not to be lost upon the novice.

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  pening portals without ensuring proper securitie. - -

  In terms of securitie, Hooshyar was said to be the most careful of all Zelaznids through the ages. Though it would cost him his life,[129] his sense of loyaltie led him to stand between his people and all who might threaten them. His concern for the securitie of his people was no more evident than in his use of portals.

  We know that Hooshyar opened portals in seven locations during his life and visited no less than ten separate worlds. Never, as far as we know, did that wise man ever let prying eyes see that which was not meant for them.

  By contrast, it is said that Adbul Hazred, who served as the leader of the Zelaznids after the passing of Lakku, once opened a portal without securing the vicinitie, and thus frightened a passing shepherd to such an extent that the fellow ran in terror to the nearest village, where he spoke openlie of the ‘devilrie’ he had seen. For this reason, the Zelaznids were forced to abandon the encampment in question.

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  howing the unworthie how they might open a portal. - -

  Arcturus Aurelius was not the first to acquire the skills of portal use under the tutelage of the learned Emlyn. Note that I do not say ‘wise’ in this instance. Though the old man was later considered one of the wisest of his time, his earlie years were fraught with ill-placed energies and foolish mistakes.

  At first, Emlyn trusted too easilie and filled his idle days by teaching everyone who wished to learn of ports and portals. This was in the years when Arcturus Aurelius was in his boyhood, before the boy’s training could begin.

  It is said that in these days, Emlyn extended his tutelage to one Llewellyn. This Llewellyn showed much potential, but little discipline and less patience. The student pressed Emlyn in his quest for knowledge and power. Then, one day while his master was absent, Llewellyn opened a portal and crossed into a primitive world, where he sought to establish himself as a god. Sad it was for Emlyn when forced to order the death of his pupil, but such are the dangers of training the unworthie.

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  eeding not the inner eye. - -

  Some have ever failed to find portals, though such a gate might be but a hand’s breadth away from them. This is because they have forgotten the value of the inner eye, which is drawn to the fore through no means but deep and meaningful meditation.

  Zelaznu knew this to be true and thus he regularlie turned to relaxation and the inner eye. Though Zelaznu rarelie opened portals, this method became a common feature of his training. Students came to him so that they might learn the ways of ports and portals; and to some of these Zelaznu taught the skills. But most were released from his tutelage without such training due to their inabilitie to master the inner eye.

  It takes more than concentration, according to the writings of Abdul Hazred; it takes faith, and more than faith; it takes the certaintie that you will find what you seek. Without this, there can be no finding of portals.

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  earning for power. - -

  Majumin, great man though he was, never learned the ways of ports and portals. Alas, he never saw the ultimate results of his strange journie across the Takla Makan. And yet, even Majumin held wisdom in one source of danger facing the user of portals: desire.

  “What is it that you seek, Master?” inquired a youth of the Ginyu tribe.

  “It matters not.” />
  “But surelie there is more to this life. You are a leader of men. What would you have?” asked another.

  To this, Majumin smiled, “People follow me. This does not mean that I lead them.”

  “But you have so much power, Master.”

  “I hope that I have none; nor would I seek such if it was within my grasp.”

  “Then why do you journie so far, to places you have never seen, enduring such hardship? Why do you leave behind all that you have known?”

  “Because this is what I am meant to do. It has been given to me to go to where the waters meet the mountains, and so I shall. That there are others at my heels matters not to me. I ask nothing of them and would that they ask nothing of me but that which I do. To seek more than this might lead a man to his destruction.”

  Majumin knew nothing of portals and the tremendous power they held. But this is immaterial. He knew the nature of Man, though the herdsman had associated with so few souls in his time, because he knew their hearts. He saw what ambition might do. Majumin’s warning was a warning for all matters, but let it be remembered as a warning for those who would learn of ports and portals; these things are not meant for ambitious eyes.

  Consider that wicked Frenchman, Nostradames, and the damage that he did to himself and others. The peace of nations crumbled at his touch. He took, and ordered to be taken, the lives of countless men. And what followed? His overuse of portals weakened his constitution until he was no longer able to fight the illnesses that consigned him to darkness.[130]

  Ambition takes its toll on the weak and strong alike. Masters throughout the ages have known this. We know of no masters who yet remain in this world, so we now pass on their wisdom in the event that the knowledge of ports and portals will survive, so that other masters will emerge who have the wisdom to use their skills for the benefit of all.

  For there have been other masters, those who failed to heed the threat of ambition. Of these persons, we have decided not to speak, to prevent future scholars from learning the wrong lesson from their example.

  Emlyn did not speak of those who had betrayed his teachings. Zelaznu, likewise, would not discuss such persons. Most of these lost souls have been so shunned in the memorie of the Zelaznids that their names are no longer known to us. This is just as well. They are best forgotten.

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  ttacking the denizens of another world. - -

  We need say little on this subject, for, apart from the immoralitie of the notion, the dangers are great and obvious. And yet, there are those who have ignored such warnings and pressed on without apparent concern for the consequences.

  A general in the armie of Alexander learned this lesson to his dismay. Thinking to please his lord, this foolish soul impressed upon a wise man of the camp to open a portal so that he might carrie the war of the Hellenes into another world, thus expanding the empire of Alexander beyond all imagination. The minor general followed this path with a fervor that might well have impressed Alexander, had disaster not befallen the excursion. Those who lived beyond the portal were not of a mind to cower before the armie of Hellenes. They faced the invaders with a defending armie thrice the size of that brought by the Hellenes, repelling the Greeks with weaponrie that this world would not know for two thousand years.

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  emaining too long absent from your own world. - -

  There have been some who became lost in their desire to explore other worlds, to the neglect of their home world. Of these persons little can be said, for most have been lost to the ages. But it is well known that the Fates have much in store for us in these little lives of ours; it is not meet that we should forget the lands of our birth.

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  Chapter 15

  The Enlightened

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  igh up in the mountains above the Persian cittie of Astrábád, where the deep brown hills meet the river Attuk, the people called the Zelaznids came to settle. And from that place, they vanished, chased from the world by the armies of the sultan. None know the fate of these people. Perhaps another portal will open one day, through which the Zelaznids will return. Or it may be that their like will never again be seen in this world. To be sure, no people have served the cause of knowledge as well as the Zelaznids. Would that they had remained with us longer, to reveal more wonders from this and other worlds.

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  ntil now, the Zelaznids have borne the chief responsibilitie for passing on the knowledge of ports and portals. But they have not been alone. Alexander knew not of the Zelaznids; neither did the great Euclid, Eratosthenes, nor Archimedes. Emlyn and Leonardo carried on without such knowledge, and we may be sure that Nostradame knew of no such people. Yet all of these knew the secrets of ports and portals.

  Now that the Zelaznids no longer live in this world, the burden falls upon us; we must give a sense of their accomplishments to the world. We are unable to instruct the reader fullie in the ways of ports and portals, but the ideas of the Zelaznids must survive. This treatise does not contain all of their wisdom, but it is a beginning.

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  id Majumin know what Fate would bring when he led his people from the desert? Who can say? Zelaznu, it is known, spoke of his own sense of revelation upon meeting those otherworlders for the first time. He knew that his world had changed.

  When Qutughai received his commission to serve in the distant Takla Makan, could he have imagined the trials that lay in store for him, or how beloved he would become in the eyes of the people he was meant to subdue?

  Did Abdul Hazred, while searching for the Cittie of Pillars in the Roba El Khaliyeh, know that he would one day find his true familie?

  When Lakku led his people from the village of Sang-e, did he know that they would never again call that place home?

  Was Hooshyar aware that he would perish for the salvation of the Zelaznids?

  There is no one who holds the answers. We can but convey what we know. We are called to do so by He who made all worlds, and we must obey the call.

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  s one voice, the whispers of time enjoin us to speak. Those of us who hold the truth in our hearts have spoken it, recalling those who have fallen; countless Zelaznid brothers have perished for the truth, as did he who first sought to bring this storie to light.[131]

  Come what may, we have told all that we know. May the Fates treat us well for it in their mercie. - -

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  Bibliography

  Alhazred, Abdul. Necronomicon, Olaus Wormius, trans. 1666.

  Barsoum, M.W., A. Gnaguly, and G. Hug. Microstructural Evidence of Reconstituted Limestone Blocks in the Great Pyramids of Egypt.” Journal of the American Ceramic Society, Vol.89, Issue 12 (November 2006): 3788-3796.

  Berossus and Manetho. Berossus and Manetho, Translated and Introduced: Native Traditions in Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, Gerald P. Verbrugghe & John M. Wickersham, trans. University of Michigan Press, 2001.

  Clapp, Nicholas. The Road to Ubar: Finding the Atlantis of the Sands. Houghton Mifflin, 1999.

  Eaton, George. “Maid of Mars: Speculations on the Origins of Joan of Arc’s Military Knowledge.” 2007 (unpublished).

  Epic of Gilgamesh, Benjamin R. Foster, trans. W.W. Norton & Co., 2001.

  Ferguson, Paul-Thomas. A Life in Chiaroscuro. Dark Highlands, 2008.

  Galip, Seyh. Beauty and Love, Victoria Rowe Holbrook, trans. MLA, 2005.

  Grann, David. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon. Doubleday, 2009.

  Huda, Ikraam. Earlie Days in the Light. R.C. Pubs., 1816.

  __________. What Remains Unseen. R.C. Pubs., 1828.

  Lovecraft, H.P. History of the Necronomicon. 1938.

  Misner, C.W., K.S. Thorne, and J.A. Wheeler. Gravitation, 2nd ed. W.H. Freeman, 1973.

  Verses. R.C. Pubs, 1818.

  Weber, Friedrich Christian. The Present State of Russia, Volume 2: Journal of Laurence Lange’s Travels to China. W. Taylor, 1723.

  The Works of Gildas and Nennius. James Bo
hn, 1861.

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  About the Author

  Paul-Thomas Ferguson is a poet, singer-songwriter, playwright, and novelist. He is the author of A Life in Chiaroscuro, a historical novel set in 1904 Milwaukee. Other works include: several published poems; One Cool Cat, the debut CD from his band, Cthulhu Ferguson; and The Scottish Play: A Travesty, a one-act comedy, written with Traci Davis and Jeremy Koester.

  Dr. Ferguson works as a full-time archivist for an international corporation and is a part-time history professor at a private university. He holds a Ph.D. in U.S., Urban, and Middle Eastern History and an M.A. in Medieval History from Marquette University, and a B.A. in European History from Western Illinois University.

  He is currently working on: his second full-length novel, Vishnu Springs; a stage musical based on Jack the Ripper; a textbook about the history of sports and recreation; a series of vintage-style radio plays, and several other projects.

  He lives in Rock Island, Illinois with his wife and their cats.

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  [1] Also called Seyh Galip (1757-1799).

  [2] See Beauty and Love, Victoria Rowe Holbrook, trans. (MLA, 2005).

  [3] The last major battle in history to feature navies comprised entirely of sailed vessels.

  [4] Refers to Keykānlū in the mountainous border region of northern Iran.

  [5] The Himalayas.

  [6] As previously noted, ‘Ikhu’ is likely the Turkish poet Ikraam Huda (1789?-1827).