Table of Contents
Summary
A long airship journey aboard a vailx (a futuristic flying vessel) to the land of Suern. The trip includes a stop at Pitach Rhok, a mountain with personal significance to Anzimee, one of the passengers. As they fly, they witness diverse scenery and experience different weather conditions, such as a storm, which they brave from the safety of the airship. The vailx allows for rapid travel, and the passengers entertain themselves with conversations, music, and views of the world below.
Upon reaching Suern, they are unable to land due to strong winds, so they ascend higher to wait out the storm. The narrator reflects on their destination, Suern, and the political dynamics there. The ruler of Suern, Rai Emon, is a powerful leader, but his people seem angry and resentful, likely due to the oppressive nature of his rule. Despite their advanced magical abilities, the Suerni are deeply troubled, and Rai Emon explains that he has tried to lead his people toward a higher spiritual path but has faced resistance.
The chapter delves into philosophical reflections on the balance of power, spirituality, and human nature. Rai Emon explains his frustration with his people, who engage in black magic and refuse to live by the higher moral and spiritual laws he tries to enforce. His sadness culminates in a poignant monologue where he laments their ingratitude and predicts their eventual downfall, referencing future events such as the coming of Moses and the punishment the Suerni will face over the centuries.
Rai Emon dies shortly after this speech. The narrator, tasked with informing Suern’s court of their ruler’s death, faces resistance from the people, who mock Poseid’s authority. However, he successfully asserts his power, appointing a temporary governor from among the Incaleni (a spiritual order), and prepares to return to Poseid. The chapter concludes with the narrator’s concerns about his bold actions and his conversation with Anzimee, who reassures him that their mission is on track.
The Vailx
Flying Vessel:
The vailx is a highly advanced airship designed for rapid and versatile travel, far faster and more efficient than modern steamships or airplanes. It provides a smooth and controlled flight experience, capable of covering vast distances with ease.
Speed:
The vailx can reach speeds of up to 27 kilometers (16.78 miles) per minute (over 1,600 km/h). It can travel fast enough to match the rotation of the earth, allowing it to hover over a location while the planet moves beneath it.
Altitude Flexibility:
The vailx can fly at various altitudes, from close to the ground for better sightseeing to as high as 21 kilometers (13.05 miles) above the earth’s surface. This ability to adjust altitude helps avoid storms and turbulence.
Comfort and Safety:
The interior of the vailx is heated and maintains a comfortable air pressure, regardless of the external environment. Passengers can relax in a salon with soft lighting, heating, and windows that sometimes frost over due to high altitude.
Repulsion and Propulsion Technology:
Powered by forces from the “Night-Side of Nature” (Navaz), the vailx uses advanced propulsion and levitation technology. This allows it to resist gravity and remain stable even during strong storms, without the need for wings or gas reservoirs.
Entertainment:
The vailx is equipped with a variety of entertainment options, including libraries, musical instruments, and potted plants. Passengers can also use the naima, a technology that allows for real-time visual and vocal communication with distant people, appearing life-sized in mirrors.
Deck:
The vailx has a deck that can be opened when weather permits, allowing passengers to enjoy fresh air and sunshine. In harsher conditions, the deck is sealed for protection.
Self-Sufficiency:
Capable of covering thousands of kilometers without needing to stop, the vailx is self-sustaining over long distances. Its advanced technology allows for continuous travel across oceans, deserts, and other vast terrains.
Power and Control:
The ship is operated using specialized keys that control its propulsion, levitation, altitude, and speed. These controls allow for precise navigation and smooth adjustments during the journey.
Structural Integrity:
The vailx is designed as a long, white, aerial spindle. Its structure is built to withstand extreme weather conditions, including powerful winds and turbulence, ensuring passenger safety throughout the journey.
These details depict the vailx as an extremely advanced, efficient, and comfortable mode of air travel.
Locations
Pitach Rhok: A large mountain where the travelers make a stop at its summit, significant for Anzimee due to past events.
Poseid: The narrator’s homeland, referred to several times. It’s an advanced, ancient civilization that the narrator travels from.
Necropan: A distant land mentioned as being over 1,000 miles (1609.34 kilometers) (1,600 kilometers (994.19 miles)) east of the travelers’ location during the journey.
Sattamund (The Wasted Land / Sahara Desert): A great desert, referred to as the Sahara desert of today, where the travelers spend a night. It was once a more fertile land with lakes and trees.
Liberia: A modern location mentioned to indicate the proximity of where the travelers settle down for the night.
Southwest Incalia: A region affected by geological changes, today corresponding to parts of the American Southwest, including areas like the Rio Gila and Colorado.
Ganje: The capital city of Suern, described as a city built in cliffs along a riverbank, somewhat like the ancient city of Petra in Jordan.
Suern (Suernis): The destination of the voyage, a land with a mysterious and magical civilization. It is ruled by Rai Emon and is known for its occult practices.
Petra of Seir: An ancient and long-deserted city mentioned for comparison to Ganje. Petra is located in modern Jordan.
Chaldea: Mentioned as the homeland of Chaldeans (captured people brought to Suern). Chaldea corresponds to the region of southern Mesopotamia.
Caiphul: The capital city of Poseid, mentioned as the narrator’s ultimate destination upon returning home.
Chapter XVI – THE VOYAGE TO SUERN
Phylos the Thibetan is a pseudonym used by Frederick S. Oliver, who wrote the book A Dweller on Two Planets. This book was first published posthumously in 1905 and is considered a work of esoteric literature, contributing to early 20th-century ideas about lost civilizations, reincarnation, and spiritual teachings. In this book, Phylos discusses Atlantis extensively.
Hast thou ever been in the ancient and long-deserted city of Petra of Seir? That very peculiar city at the foot of Mount Hor, a city hollowed from the living rock? Quite likely not, for the followers of Mahomet make it hard to visit the place. But if thou hast read thereof, then thou hast some idea of Ganje, in old Suerna, built in the cliffs of the river banks.
Such details as embrace the manner of our reception are too trivial to fill this record. Suffice it that it was suited to the friendly international relations of Suern and Poseid, and to my station and rank as a high deputy. Rai Emon was far less interested in the vase and in the other gifts of gold and gems, than in the captive Saldani whom the tokens commemorated, particularly in the Saldu, Lolix the Rainu. I was startled at the monarch’s close knowledge of the whole affair in all its details, and of my sickness and other incidents which were not matters of public note; but I betrayed no such feeling, since it was but momentary and passed as soon as recollection came to me.
Speaking of the Saldui, but especially of Lolix, he said:
“I did not send the Chaldeans unto Gwauxln as objects of lust, neither as a retributive punishment, that by exile from their native Chaldea they might atone to Suern for their fathers, sons, brothers, or husbands who worked harm to Suernis. No, doubtless they were not more blameable than is a tiger which hath a similarly destructive nature, but by the laws of Yeovah we find that ignorance of the law never exempts a wrongdoer from penalty. Law says in regard to sin: ‘Thou shalt not.’ And the penalty lies alongside, inexorably, and is dealt out unsparingly for disobedience. Law, therefore, appears not to be retributive, but educational. Having felt the punishment, no one, either man or animal, is apt to try the error twice out of curiosity. Nature makes no penalty easy, saying: ‘When thou hast learned, then the punishment shall be more severe.’ If a babe fell over a cliff, its death would be the result, though its innocence knew nothing of sin, just as surely as a knowing man might meet the same fate deliberately.
Now the Chaldean women needed to learn that conquest, bloodshed, and pillage is a sin. The Chaldean nation needed a lesson also. It received it in the death of its prize soldiery. But such examples need finish; a diamond in the rough is surely a diamond, but how much doth the lapidary increase its beauty and value! Not to release unto them those women was to that nation what the faceting is to a gem. Thinkest thou not that I am right?”
“Even so, Rai,” I responded.
For several days we remained in the capital, and during this time were escorted over it by no less a person than Rai Emon himself.
It was a strange people, the Suerni. The elder people seemed never to smile, not because they were engaged in occult study, but because they were filled with wrath. On every countenance seemed to rest a perpetual expression of anger. Why, I pondered, should this thing be? Is it a result of the magical abilities they possess? By what to us of Poseid mere fiat of will these people appear to transcend human powers and set at naught the immutable laws of nature, though it cannot be said that Incal has not limited them as surely as He has limited our chemists and physicists.
The Suerni never lift their hands in manual labor, they sit at the breakfast or the supper table without having previously put upon it anything to eat or elsewhere prepared a repast; they bow their heads in apparent prayer, and then, lifting up their eyes, begin to eat of what has mysteriously come before them—of wholesome viands, of nuts, of all manner of fruits, and of tender, succulent vegetables! But meat they eat not, nor much that is not the finished product of its source, containing in itself the germ for future life. Hath Incal exempted them from His fiat as Creator of the world, which all men suffer, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread?” It is less onerous, certainly, on those who walk His paths, or even those who partly do so, and whose rule of life is continence. Such are more powerful, have occult powers that no eater of meats can ever hope to attain, but surely they are not wholly exempt; it must be somewhat toilsome to perform such magic feats as these. None ever got something for nothing. These people gaze upon the foes who come to menace them in their homes—and they are not!
What Poseida could do these things? Rai Gwauxln, Incaliz Mainin, but no more, at least none known to the public even by repute. But no man of all Atl had ever witnessed much display of such power on the part of either, and with the masses it was mere repute. I was favored beyond most Atlanteans in this respect. I noticed in our visits in and about the capital a thing which cast a shadow over me, that his people did not love Emon, however much they respected him and feared his power. That the Rai was aware of my knowledge of this dislike was obvious from his conversation.
“Ours is a peculiar people, prince,” he said to me. “During many years, centuries even, it hath had to reign over it rulers come from the Sons of the Solitude. Each and every one hath striven to train his subjects so as to fit some future generation for initiation, as an entire people, into the mysteries of the Night-Side of Nature, deeper than thy people of Poseid have ever dreamed of going. To this end moral codes have been insisted upon as a coefficient of tuition in operative magic. But the endeavor hath never produced the end sought; only here and there hath an individual arisen and progressed; soon every one of these hath fled away from the less energetic people and gone to the solitudes, to become one of the ‘Sons’ of whom thou mayst have heard; generically we term these students ‘sons’; specifically we would have to refer to them as ‘sons’ or ‘daughters,’ for sex is no bar to occult study.”
It had long been a matter of interest to me to learn all I could of this band of Nature students, Incalenes, as they were sometimes called, from Incal, God, and “ene,” to study. Thousands of years later, in the time of Jesus of Nazareth, these were called “Essenes.” But Atla, which possessed such a wealth of literature, had, with a single exception, no books on the subject. In that exception, a little volume printed in ancient Poseidonic, the details were very meager; yet its perusal had been of great interest to me. As I now listened to Rai Emon, my interest was reawakened, and I thought I might one day become a candidate for admission to the order, if—but that “if” was of a large size. If the study renders the student so wrathful in soul as I see the Suemi are, then I will have nothing to do with it. The seed was planted, however, and grew a little when I learned that the angry gloom was not due to occult study, except in the sense that the lower nature was rebellious against the purity of the study and cast up the mud of anger, rendering turbid the clear waters of the soul. It grew still more when the Rai remarked later on that “the girl Anzimee would one day be an Incalenu.” But the growth was not great in that olden time; it was reserved for a life to come, when decades upon decades of centuries had flown, till now!
The Rai continued: “Ye of Poseid dip a little into the Night-Side, and behold! out of it ye gather forces which open the penetralia of the sea, and of the air, and subject the earth.
“‘Tis well. But ye require physical apparatus; without it ye are nothing powerful. Those versed in occult wisdom need no apparatus. That is the difference between Poseid and Suernis. The human mind is a link between the soul and the physical. Every higher force controls all those lower. The mind operates through odic force, which is higher than any speed of physical nature; hence controls all nature, nor needeth apparatus.
“Now I, and my brother ‘Sons’ before me, have striven to teach the Suemi the laws which govern the operation of this force. Through this knowledge Yeovah lendeth His children strength. Hand in hand with this knowledge are physical acts, powers that come early in the study. So far have they gone, Incalene, above all things, to be moral. But man is an animal in his corporeal self, and the passions thereof are pleasant. Love is of twofold nature: love of God and of the Spirit, pure and undefiled, and love of sex, which may likewise be pure, though if the dominion of the animal in man be over it, and so not so that of the human, it shall cause the man to sin, for then it is lust. I have sought that the Suemi may know the law, that they may be the masters, not the creatures, of circumstance. But because they know a few things of magic, and in the greater feats were aided by the ‘Sons’ dwelling amongst them, lo, they are content. And behold! they rebel against punishment on account of the lustful nature they do indulge, and curse me
mightily because I exact obedience to the law, and penalty for the infraction thereof; and they curse my brother ‘Sons’ who do aid me, and therefore is their wrath my wrath, which it hath so troubled thee to witness. My people do things strange in thy sight, O Poseida, yet have no wisdom why it is so, and work their wonders headless of Yeovah. Wherefore they are a brood of sorcerers, and do not work white magic, which is beneficent, but black magic, which is sorcery. It shall work them exceeding woe. I would, O Zailm of Poseid, have taught these my people faith, hope, knowledge, and charity, which same make pure religion undefiled. Have I not done well? Gwauxln, my brother, have I not done well?”
Rai Emon was sitting in the salon of the vailx, and now addressed Gwauxln of Poseid, whom I saw in the naim as I looked around.
“Verily thou hast even so, my brother,” said Gwauxln.
For some moments the noble ruler was silent, and I could see teardrops falling occasionally from beneath his closed eyelids. Then he opened his eyes and began a most touching apostrophe to, and in some sort against, his people.
“Oh, Suernis, Suernis! I have given up my life for thee! I have striven to lead thee into &peid (Eden) to teach thee of its beauties, and thou wouldst not! I have tried to make thee van of all nations and thy name synonym with justice and mercy and love of God, and how hast thou requited me? I would be as a father to thee, and thou didst curse me in thy heart! Keener than knives is ingratitude! I would have led thee to the heights of glory, but thou wouldst rather lie in the wallow of ignorance, like swine, content to do what are marvels to other people, but thyself all ignorant of their import. Thou art an infidel, ingrate race, believing not in Yeovah, content to live by the little thou knowest, too slothful to learn, more ungrateful to Yeovah than to thy Rai! Oh, Suernis, Suernis, thou hast cast me off and made my heart to bleed! I go. From thy midst, the ‘Sons’ go also, a mournful band of disappointed men. And thou shalt become few where thou art many, a derision before men, and a prey to the Chaldeans; thou shalt dwindle and shalt wait until the centuries—even ninety centuries, are fled into eternity. And in that day thou shalt suffer until the time of him who shall be called Moses. And of them it shall be said, ‘They are the seed of Abraham!’ And behold, even as now the Spirit of God is abroad in the land, immanent in the Sons of the Solitude, and ye do mock It, so in remote days shall His spirit become manifest and shall incarnate as the Christ, and so shall the perfect human glow with the Spirit, and become First of the Sons of God. Yet shalt thou even then know Him not, but shalt crucify Him; and thy punishment shall go down the ages until that Spirit comes again in the hearts of those who do follow Him, and finds thee scattered to the four winds! Thus shalt thou be punished! From now until then shalt thou earn thy bread by the sweat of thy face. Thou shalt no more have the regal power of defense, lest thou use it for offense. I will no longer restrain thee. My people, oh, my people! Ungrateful! Yea, I forgive thee, for thou canst not know how I love thee! I go. Oh! Suernis, Suernis, Suernis!”
At the last word, the noble ruler’s voice lowered to a murmur, and he buried his tearful face in his hands and sat bowed in silent grief, except for a sigh of sorrow which once or twice he uttered. Several Suemi had heard his words, and these now left the vailx very quietly and went to the city.
“Rai ni Incal.”
I turned to the naim as these words were uttered and noted that a great shade of sadness rested upon the face of our own Rai, Gwauxln, as he looked upon Emon—like himself, an Adept Son. “Rai ni Incal, mon avazzam in disu,” which being translated, is, “To Incal the Rai; to the country of departed spirits he is gone!”
Startled, I looked around at the Suem Rai, who still sat silent as before, in the same position. I spoke to him, yet he gave no sign. Then I bent and gazed through his fingers into his fine gray eyes. They were set, indeed, and the breath of life was fled. Yea, verily, he had gone, even when he said those last words.
“Come unto me, Zailm,” commanded Gwauxln. I went to the naim and stood waiting.
“Are thy friends all within the vailx?”
“Even so, Zo Rai.”
“Take then thy guards and seek the palace of Rai Emon. Call upon his ministers to come before thee and tell them that their Rai is deceased. Tell them that thou wilt take his body in charge and carry it unto Poseid. Amongst the ministers are two elderly men and sedate; these are Sons. They are of that body of disappointed men who go forth from Suernis according to the words of Emon. These two will know that thou speakest truth when thou sayest that Emon of Suern hath left his Raina in hands to go as I shall decide is most wise. But the others will not know, and the Sons will leave to thee the telling of the facts. Great shall be the anger of them that are not Sons, so that they shall try to destroy thee by their terrible power, disliking to be told that they are deposed from authority. Nevertheless, this do and fear not; be of good cheer, for how shall a serpent bite if it hath lost its fangs?”
When, according to these orders, I had the court before me, I spoke as directed by the Rai. It was received with a courteous smile by the two who by their demeanor I recognized as the Sons of the Solitude. But by the others great anger was shown.
“What! and thou, Poseida, offerest us such indignity? Our Rai is dead? We are pleased! But we, not thou, will attend to the funeral rites. As to the government of Suern, we laugh with scorn! Begone! We are our own masters. Leave us our ruler, and thou, dog, leave this country!”
For reply, I repeated with emphasis the assertion of my authority. I confess to having felt an inward fear when the brow of one of these never-smiling men clouded with intense anger, as he pointed his finger at me and said:
“Then die!”
I did not outwardly shrink, though half expecting to perish on the spot. Neither did I feel any death tremor, though the menace, ever before fatal, was not withdrawn. Gradually the minister’s fury gave place to surprise, and he dropped his arm, gazing at me in amazement. I ordered my guards to manacle and take him to the vailx. Then I said:
“Suem, thy power is fled. Thus said Emon. He hath said that henceforth thou shalt earn thy bread by the sweat of thy face. Over this country Poseid shall rule. I, special envoy of Gwauxln VII, Rai of Poseid, do depose all ye that are here from rulership, except those two who offered not scorn but courtesy. While they remain, which will not be long, I will make them governors over Suem. I have spoken.”
Indeed, I had spoken, and that, to so great an extent, unauthorizedly. I was in an agony of doubt lest Rai Gwauxln should rebuke me. But I would not reveal my real weakness to these ingrates. Instead, I took a roll of parchment and wrote from the form of commission of memory following that of Gwauxln as Rai, using red ink, for which I sent a messenger to Anzimee at the vailx. My reason for appointing one of the Sons as Governor was that only one would serve. The other chose to ask passage to Caiphul in my vailx. Then, giving the Governor his commission, a document which he received with the remark, “Thou art a man, indeed, not longer a boy,”—words which, though so kindly meant, fell on heedless ears at the time, for as I made my return to the vailx I felt actually heartsick at what I feared had been the acme of indiscretion on my part. I called for Rai Gwauxln, and when he responded I told him what I had done. He looked grave, and said merely the words:
“Come home.”
Imagine now my distress. Not reprimanded, nor commended, but without any explanatory clue whatever, I was ordered home. Then it was that I sought Anzimee, and having found her in her stateroom, I told her all the story. Our Rai was known to be one who could be severe in his punishments, although these took the form of disgrace meted out, as public dismissal from office for being unworthy of trust. Anzimee was very pale but said hopeful words:
“Zailm, I see not but that thou didst right well. And yet, why was our uncle so gravely reticent?
Let me give thee a potion; lie here on this couch, and take what I give thee.”
She poured a few drops of some bitter drug, put in a little water, and handed the cup to me to drink from. Ten minutes later I was asleep.
Then she left the room and, as I afterward learned, called her royal uncle to the instrument, where she laid the case before him. He was troubled at the effect of his words upon me, an effect not intended, as he told her, and one which would never have occurred if he had not at that time been engaged in solving the very abstruse political problem presented by the new aspect of affairs through the decease of Rai Emon. What further he said was: “Be not worried because Zailm is called home for no purpose of punishment, since I am well satisfied and called him for quite another reason.”
I slept for hours, and when I at last awakened, Anzimee, sitting beside me, told me all that Gwauxln had said. As it was then nearly night, I concluded to go to my own room and prepare for the evening repast. On the way, I met the Son who was going to Caiphul with us. To this person, it seemed a great novelty to travel as he was then doing, although his remarks on the subject were few.
It was, as I reflected upon it, something of a novelty to be piercing the air at the rate of seventeen miles each minute, a mile above the earth. I tried to fancy how it would seem to one like my passenger to be doing this thing; but after five years of familiarity with it as a means of travel, I had poor success in attaining a sense of his feelings concerning the experience.
As we traveled westward, the sun seemed to remain as it was when we left Ganje, for its speed, or that of the earth, rather, was the same as our own. We had been on the way for five hours and had covered considerably over half of the distance home, the whole journey being something like seven thousand miles. The remaining two thousand miles would occupy some three hours for transit, a length of time that seemed to my impatient desire so long, that I paced the floor of the salon in very fretfulness. I have seen, since the days of Poseid, a time when a vastly slower progress would have seemed swift, but then the past had a veil obscuring it so that comparison was impossible—
“Man never is, but always to be blest.”
