On the Wings of the Falcon

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INTRODUCTION

THE ELIXIR OF PROSPERITY

Amazingly, our sage forefathers had discovered the elixir of good fortune: And it was nothing but a balanced approach to life. They had realized that balance was the key to enjoyment and prosperity in life. Thus they cherished the pair of the scales guided by their beams of equilibrium [shahins]. And they named the beams falcons meaning the birds of Luck.

They described the scales as A highly remarkable and commendable apparatus — An impartial and unbiased tool which does not move in anybody’s favor. It takes neither orders nor bribes from anyone. The beams would only show the ‘truth’ and veracity. The two keen-eyed falcons would see nothing but the ‘truthfulness’ and reality. With binocular visions so powerful, they would be blind to favoritism and unfairness. Indeed, a dear gift from the hallowed heavens!

Heaven has pinned the grand image of the wondrous apparatus upon the starry constellations of the blue empyrean for all to see and be guided by. By order of the angels, falcons soar to remind everyone to follow their beams of truth and virtue, as righteousness is the path to prosperity.

CHAPTER I

THE AMAZING JOURNEY OF LIFE

ON THE WINGS OF THE FALCON

The Falcon outspread her wings and soared, turned her head back, and glanced at the long road over 1000 parasangs¹ stretching from Ekbatana to Susa, and then with her sharp eyes gazed at a fire burning in the hearth on top of a hill in Estakhr. A learned Magus² sitting on a hearthrug put his book down and rushed to the window to watch the stately falcon. A rack of dark clouds moved, a sandstorm stirred the air, and in a wink, she flew up to the vault of the heavens. An Angel with a cherubic face looked from the blue empyrean. The Falcon smiled at the Angel, and two teardrops gently fell from her eyes. The Magus read his book:

Long, long ago, in a time of truth and candor in a faraway land, lived the most learned and the most beautiful woman in the hemisphere named Mondonna. She was the daughter of Porchista, the seraphim of knowledge and virtues on the earthly sphere, and unrivalled in wisdom and erudition. Heaven had bestowed her many gifts. Among the gifts, one was insight into men’s thoughts; and one was bearing children. Porchista was blessed with many children, as abundance was the key to survival in those olden days. Mondonna, a paragon of beauty, was magically attractive, and at the same time mysteriously wise with an occult knowledge of all the secrets concealed in life. Heavens had endowed her with both beauty and wisdom. Kings and kinglets, emperors and princes, chieftains and men of power in the vast region were slaves of her nonpareil beauty. Nonetheless, she derived her power from her incomparable knowledge and wisdom, not her measureless wealth. She had more gold and treasure in her coffers than most kings and queens. Her radiant beauty was beyond what any tongue could explain and her wisdom was in excess of what any mind could perceive. Her unparalleled beauty, her soft peachy complexion and smooth dark hair drew men and women from other lands merely to behold her. In addition, people from every corner of the land, from every rank and status, from every position and echelon, took their pilgrimage to her stately castle, consumedly to find answers to their grievances and perplexing questions. People of all stripes and all walks of life would beg for remedies to their troubles. Petitioners crowding at her gate would queue up for days where devotions were paid for the donations to be gained in return. Suppliants would kneel at her gate earnestly asking their questions as if at a sacred altar. Everyone was treated alike, and nobody with any more or any less bias or predisposition to any angle, and all would receive truthful responses to their queries.

Her majestic castle was situated on an eminence nestled among beautiful trees with colorful blossoms, and with a picturesque view of the land below. The imposing castle was surrounded by tall trees, efflorescence of flowers, and beautiful gardens blazoned with roses, jasmines, tulips, and other dainty flowers. It was located in the uttermost northern part of a land known as the land of Anshan, and it was oriented north and south, with its front façade facing the blossomy valleys and the verdant hills of the south. Behind the grand castle to the north, were furlongs of green fields cordoned off by rows of very lofty trees before reaching the slopes of the northern mountains. There lay a stretch of woods for 90 furlongs before the land surrendered to the rocky and rigid mountains. On the pinnacle rising above the right-corner turret on the top of the castle lived a royal falcon named Shahin³.

Three and a half parasangs or 90 furlongs to the west of her castle was the palace of the neighboring monarch. One hot and long summer day, the roads and hills bathed in sunlight, the king from the neighboring land traveled incognito for 90 furlongs. After waiting in line at Mondonna’s gate for a long time, he was given permission to enter and ask his troubling questions. One hundred of her soldiers escorted the king, and he was led to the perron. He passed through the portals and entryways with marble archways, walked through halls and the atrium adorned beyond praise, waited in the drawing room, escorted to the antechamber, and then finally, he was led to the throne room. He was amazed at the beauty of the castle, the arched ceilings and the vaults studded with rare stones, and its unique architecture. He looked at the crystalline marble and granite columns and beams and admired them. He stared at the limestone and mosaic walls and niches, the bronze and marble statues, rare vases and potteries and marveled at them. He drew his glaive and laid it in a gold tray at the entrance. He stared at the shinning tray gleaming in the light of the torches and cressets. His eyes caught sight of an image of a falcon outspreading its wings on the center of the gold tray. The handles of the tray were ornamented with brilliant jewels and large emeralds. The hilt of his sword was embellished with precious stones and on its pommel there was a shining large rare jewel.

Once he stepped into the throne room, and was in Mondonna’s presence, he bowed, made a profound reverence, and then prostrated himself before her while kissing the marble floor. Ten of her soldiers carried the large Persian carpet that the king had brought with him as a present for the queen of the castle, and without waiting, they unrolled it under her feet. It was an exquisite carpet, nonesuch in beauty and color, woven with fine sheeny silk threads and elaborately patterned with many colorful flowers and stunning birds interlaced with strong wool and an exceptional quality of silk from a Persian loom. The warp of the splendent rug was made of gold silk, and threads were crossed by the finest wool woof also painted with a gold brush. Rare and fine emeralds, diamonds and turquoises were masterfully woven in the texture. It was a splendid masterpiece intertissued with jewels and precious stones. At the center of the rug, there was an image of an overt falcon with outspread wings adorned with emerald studs and interwoven with precious gems and gold silk threads. As her courtiers spun the rug to unroll it on the floor of tesserae of delicate marble, scores of precious and exquisite sparkling gems wrapped in the fine gift flew around. There were hundreds of them - diamonds, rubies, emeralds, turquoises, sapphires, green and fire opals. Her majesty gracefully walked down the gem-strewn path on the carpet spread out under her feet and ascended to her throne, not amused with the sight of the precious treasure scattered on her floor, as if they were worthless pebbles littering the marble.

Arrayed in lilac and azure sheen Mondonna was standing by the window glancing out. She was wearing a silk and taffeta long dress with petite turquoise blue Alençon lace and ruffles round her sleeves. She had a scarlet and sapphire taffeta tippet-like shawl with lacy gold filigree worn about her shoulders. Her elegant flowing gown was trimmed with ermine and Persian-lambed fur as a symbol of fairness, purity, and patience. She was wearing heavy makeup and her plenteous tresses were adorned with precious gems. She had a sheer silk lace over her black hair. The back of her long hair was bejeweled with interlacing silk tulle that glamourously shone at the reflection of light in the brilliant sunshine through the window. The color of her green eyes matched the shade of her large brilliant emerald sitting on the front of her glamorous crown, and they were in tone with the color of the emeralds adorning her jewelries. The flawless unique emerald which was her insigne had been given to her by Porchista and it was one of the rarest fine gems in the land. The rimmed jewel in its setting was encircled by large inlaid diamonds and many rows of red rubies embraced by rows of blue sapphires and sky-blue turquoises to protect her from evil-eyed and envious malice. Some erudite pundits believed that the dazzling Kohinoor⁴ was a magic charm and an amulet with some writings or images carved on it in cuneiform⁵ inscriptions obscure to earthly mortals. They said it was a talisman engraved with occult symbols in the shape of falcons that had fallen from some far stars, and that no worldly creature was able to view its marks or read its symbols. The rim of the crown was ornamented with orient pearls as a sign of the lustrous ocean of beauty. Some alleged that she had the power to foresee the future through her amazing flawless paragon. She was wearing a gold armlet filigreed with patterns of flowers and falcons incrusted with emeralds and sprayed with emethysts and rubies. A dazzling large emerald was scintillating among all the other gems on that armlet. That glittering green emerald was to banish harm and danger, and bring good luck. Some learned and sage scholars were of the opinion that the precious jewel had intaglios engraved below the surface that no human was able to comprehend nor could view its sign and sigil, through which she was able to sense and intuit anyone’s inner true feelings. She was wearing a beautiful locket adorned with precious gems around her neck on an emerald necklace. The learned women and the sage Magi believed she was carrying a miniature painting of a falcon with a head and torso of a robed-human outspreading its wings, with some posies engraved in Ogham script within the locket to ward off evil spirits. Her scepter was adorned with scores of precious jewels as well, and on its top there sat a large grass-green emerald among many clear ambers and a crowd of other valuable gems. The large glowing emerald was embossed with secret hieroglyphics and magic runes unintelligible to anyone. It was said that sinners and perjurers were blinded or turned into hollow stones by merely looking at it. Many believed that she could view and read anyone’s mind through that mystic large emerald. The precious stone had the virtue of