The fire rose with the chant, throbbing as if it were made of musical flame,
until it cast a bright illumination through the whole apartment, revealing its simplicity and
splendor.
The floor was laid with tiles of dark blue veined with white;
pilasters of twisted silver stood out against the blue walls; the clearstory of round-arched windows
above them was hung with azure silk; the vaulted ceiling was a pavement of sapphires, like the body of
heaven in its clearness, sown with silver stars. From the four corners of the roof hung four golden
magic-wheels, called the tongues of the gods. At the eastern end, behind the altar, there were two
dark-red pillars of porphyry; above them a lintel of the same stone, on which was carved the figure of
a winged archer, with his arrow set to the string and his bow drawn.
The
doorway between the pillars, which opened upon the terrace of the roof, was covered with a heavy
curtain of the color of a ripe pomegranate, embroidered with innumerable golden rays shooting upward
from the floor. In effect the room was like a quiet, starry night, all azure and silver, flushed in
the east with rosy promise of the dawn. It was, as the house of a man should be, an expression of the
character and spirit of the master.
He turned to his friends when the song
was ended, and invited them to be seated on the divan at the western end of the room.
"You have come to-night," said he, looking around the circle, "at my call, as the
faithful scholars of Zoroaster, to renew your worship and rekindle your faith in the God of Purity,
even as this fire has been rekindled on the altar. We worship not the fire, but Him of whom it is the
chosen symbol, because it is the purest of all created things. It speaks to us of one who is Light and
Truth. Is it not so, my father?"
"It is well said, my son," answered the
venerable Abgarus. "The
Get ALL YOU CAN BOOKS absolutely FREE for 30 days. Download our FREE app and enjoy unlimited downloads of our entire library with no restrictions.
Have immediate access and unlimited downloads to over 200,000 books, courses, podcasts, and more with no restrictions.
Everything you download during your trial is yours to keep and enjoy for free, even if you cancel during the trial. Cancel Anytime. No risk. No obligations.
For just $24.99 per month, you can continue to have unlimited access to our entire library. To put that into perspective, most other services charge the same amount for just one book!
As avid readers, we understand the joy of immersing ourselves in a captivating story or getting lost in the pages of a good book. That's why we founded All You Can Books back in 2010, to create a platform where people can access an extensive library of quality content and discover new favorites.
Since our founding days, we’ve continuously added to our vast library and currently have over 200,000 titles, including ebooks, audiobooks, language learning courses, podcasts, bestseller summaries, travel books, and more! Our goal at All You Can Books is to ensure we have something for everyone.
Join our community of book lovers and explore the world of literature and beyond!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Story Synopsis:
Artaban is a young wise man, and