The Speaking Lessons                                               Joshua Diaz


Kartir left the roadhouse early in the morning, when frogs still sat under the trees, croaking wet and broadly. The markets would be full that day, full of the calls of Parsis and Medes, full of tall Nubians bringing books and the Hellenes who bring fish.  Fish and salt fill  bellies, but not hearts, for men's hearts are nourished by the Ahura Mazda, who makes all men afraid of flame. But Kartir's destination was not the market for selling or buying, nor the courthouse for the settling of disputes. Kartir, village prophet and son of the farmer Adzum, was traveling to the city to visit the temple, to see the miraculous fountain.

Kartir walked towards the city,  looking upon the tradesmen and merchants gathered by the gate, and he greeted them with blessings of the morning sun. He spoke these words from his mouth: "Say, you men of the roads and the hills, the long rivers and the broad sands! Is there any in your number willing to speak a prayer, to rejoice in the song of sparks, that we may have good luck on this day?"

But the men continued to speak amongst themselves of news and profits.  Kartir began to recite, alone, those words which ask Mazda for blessings on a day of trials. At this, one of the men snorted and called out to Kartir, saying  'Silence, you country boy! Go home and tend to your horses, for if they are as dung-filled as your temples, they surely need you.' And the men laughed, and it made Kartir's heart dim, for these men were not followers of Zoroaster. Their rage gave Kartir's mouth to stumbling, for one cannot have peace and affection with those who cannot commit to the Flame of Truth. Kartir cast his eyes to the ground, and turned away from the men, so that he might return home.

Now over the laughter, another voice called out, which sounded like terrible trumpets. Kartir raised his eyes after the voice, and looked over the line of men, and saw a man twelve hands tall, and on his head a mighty crown of fire. The yazata,  spirit of wisdom,  did not shield himself from the travellers, for their eyes and ears were already cloudy with gossip.  'Put my courage in your heart, Kartir, and do not spend your time worrying about these men. Go to the temple and go to the fountain. Sip, and give tribute to me there, and I will soothe the pains of your fear. The words of these men are shadows, and my light casts away all such illusions.'

With these words,  the spirit of wisdom left Kartir, who felt new warmth in his chest. Thusly renewed, Kartir moved on past the tradesmen, towards the gates of the city. The wooden doors, heavy and tall, were held by two winged lions, terrible and fierce. One of the lions was hewn from black marble, and the other from white, and they grinned as they watched travelers move in and out. As Kartir walked under their gaze, he heard one of them whisper softly, 'Do not come, no, do not come, but return to your cottage, and your horses, and your fatted sheep. Your gods may come and speak pleasantries to you from outside the walls, but even their knees shake within our sight. This city does not care for more prophets, and its temples are black and vile places which will eat up a man like you. The fountain is bitter, and to sip it brings only more thirst.  We will only warn you once, that if Kartir the farmer enters, Kartir the farmer will not leave'.

At this terrible judgment, Kartir stopped, and stood in the road. Breathing heavy breaths, he reached to his wrists and touched there the bracelets his father, the farmer Adzum,  had given him. One bracelet was of copper, and the other of iron, and they were shaped like snakes and polished bright, such that all who saw them might see the light reflected from the Flame.  As he touched them, they spoke in the honeyed voice of Shahrevar, the angel who sleeps in metal, and they whispered to his ear,  'Kartir, do not heed those who bring discord. Walk past those who bar your path. Put our voice in your ears, Kartir, that we may grant you direction and movement, even when lions block the road.'

Hearing this, Kartir walked past the lions, which roared and snarled, but did not stir. As he stepped, he continued to touch the bracelets, as the voice of Shahrevar repeated to his ears to walk, and to endure, and this Kartir did.

Inside the city, Kartir saw many townsfolk, hurrying this way and that; servingwomen carried baskets of fruit, and tall men haggled over prices. But Kartir stopped for none of this, and he  came to the temple of the Ahura Mazda, which held the miraculous fountain.  The grand temple stood taller than the hills of Kartir's home, but the steps before it were filthy, and full of miscreants and beggars, who shouted at the servingwomen and pleaded with the tall men. As their eyes set up Kartir, they pleaded with him too, but Kartir touched the bracelets and heard only Shahrevar, and he continued walking.

Inside the temple, Kartir's eyes saw two lines of braziers, like straight rows of high grain, and a vast tapestry, before the entrances to the priest's quarters. On the tapestry, his eyes saw Zoroaster asking Mazda about the punishment of wicked men, and about the dominion of lands, and about the blessings, and Mazda giving him wisdom on all these things. And his eyes met Mazda's flashing eye, which was greater than he could see in one look, and he stood for some time, before he saw the fountain.

At the heart of the grand temple was the fountain, carved of stone brought by devotees from Qandahar, which sat atop a dozen wine jars. The fountain had a shape like wings, and on the sides of the fountain Kartir's eyes saw the second creation, Apas the waters, which give all life, and which bring men to new lands. And atop those waters was Hordad, She who keeps the waters pure, and her water-lilies, which remind all men that purity leads to new life. Within the fountain itself, arising from the jars, were pairs of iron and copper statues, the iron statues shaped like terrible daevas, the copper statues the beautiful yazatas.

When Kartir approached the fountain, two priests came out of the back, and they looked upon him sternly. They said with bile, 'Who are you, that would enter our temple?  Are you seeking a beerhouse, or or dancing women? Are you a beggar who cannot afford either, and who drinks from public fountains? Have you been sent by Ozer, that wretch? For his money will come, but not before that one sends to us what is our due.' And Kartir drew back,   for this was not the Greeting of Strangers, the words which welcome  those who have committed to the Flame of Truth. 

Seeing him draw back, a priest said to him 'Boy, do you come from this city? I think not, for your robes are not like those of the men of city, nor are they like the travellers who come from all lands. Who is your father, or brother, that I might know you by them? Do you have the truth in your mouth of where you are, or for what purpose you walked?' And the priest turned and walked away, and the other went to follow.

But Kartir, now in sight of the fountain for which he had walked over hills and through valleys, did not again turn away, but he showed obedience by his knees and said to the priest, ' You who tend the flames and wake the sparks, who stir the waters and perfume the air, who watch over the husbandman and the traveller and record the passages of the Sun and the asuras who watch over our dreams, be kind to this supplicant, who seeks to give thanks to the Ahura Mazda'.

At his supplication, which all men commited to the Flame of Truth know in their hearts, the priest  said to him 'Oh, do I hear one of the faithful who still wishes to come to this place? If you have come to this place for tribute to the Ahura Mazda, then I suppose you think it that the gods have guided you here.  Go, then, and drink from the fountain, that useless thing, and get yourself gone'.

Hearing in his ears only the words of the spirit of wisdom, now quieter than whispers, Kartir made a cup of his hands and knelt before the fountain to drink the clear waters which were so blessed. His copper and iron bracelets hung at his wrists, as heavy stones on a sinner awaiting execution. But at the very moment he put his hands into the fountain, a cry rang out, and blue light traveled up from his hands over the bracelets, across his outstretched arms, and into his mouth and eyes. He let out a pitiable cry as his legs kicked, knocking coals from the brazier, and he fell into a deep sleep.

Kartir lay on the floor for some time.

Upon awakening, Kartir began to pray to Mazda, but found he could not recall the words which had been so familiar. At this dark time, Kartir tried to bring from memory the words of the Avesta, which his father had told him, whose father had in turn told him, and so on until Zoroaster himself heard the words of the Ahura Mazda himself. The words which he recalled, however, were wrong, and Kartir for the first time found himself unable to remember the formulas. Kartir had in his heart knew only fear, and grief, for the gods had never abandoned him before.

Kartir stood up before the fountain, and saw the priest waiting. The priest's face was not clear, and he did not speak any words with his mouth, that he might give meaning to his silence. Kartir, unable to find a voice in his heart, asked the priest, 'Wise man, tell me, did this fountain in truth hold holy water? Why did Mazda not speak to me, and why did I receive no vision? Was I impious, or given judgment and found wanting? Is this temple a false cult, or was I tricked?  ' To his questions, the elder gave a great smile, like the jackal over a carcass, and walked off behind the tapestries.  Kartir watched the priest as he walked away, and stared at the tapestries, but they were still.

Kartir returned to the gates, and found the lions staring at the pass to his home. He reached to the touched the bracelets, but they were cold. To himself, he said with no voice, 'What could I gain by talking to them? They said Kartir would not leave, and yet here I am. Clearly, they were full of lies and deceit, and they did not know what I knew of the Flame of Truth. But now, I see they are mere stone, incapable of moving themselves. Those who submit to the Flame can move themselves. In this way, I am stronger than stone. Being stronger than stone, I shall have no fear, I shall not lose my way because of falsehoods.'   As he passed through the gate, there was only silence.

Kartir stepped beyond the threshold of the city, and found the traveling man who had insulted him earlier,  sitting now before a fire for their evening tea. Seeing him, the man rose up and shouted, 'Look,  it is the country boy! He has left the city already. Does he come to say prayers for me to sleep well, or does he return home to sweep the stables?'

At these words, Kartir said to himself, 'This is not  a man, but a shadow of man.  Therefore I shall not tremble, but I shall strike him with the fear of God, that Mazda might know I have no affection for the evil man.'

 And Kartir picked up a stone, and threw it at the man, and the man was both still and silent.  And so Kartir continued on the road to home, that he might spread these new lessons of still and silent speaking.