The stargazer’s servant

In the meanwhile, Al-Majnun has been hanging around the city market long enough, between the noisy rows of merchant stalls, who insistently and on surplus, suggested buying their commodities. To draw away merchant's attentions, he ostentatiously demonstrated his deep unconcern to the goods laid on the stalls. Walking along the rows, every now and again, throwing lecherously- furtive glances at the girls and women, he surreptitiously grabbing a cluster of bananas quickly hiding it in his habit.

At the market. Al-Majnun at his habitual business: chasing girls and stealing dates and bananas from the sacks of gaping merchants.

Despite the master's order, he could not resist the temptation and hanged bumbling behind a Berber-woman, in a flashy desert gown, tight in the waist, which exaggeratedly protrudes, as its broad magnificently voluptuous curves. Following the beautiful Berber-woman, Al-Majnun did not notice, as he crossed the noisy market area and appeared on the edge of the date palms wood groves.

In the middle of the Woods, was a small sun burned grass meadow, where on the braiding sacks, the pieces of salt[12 - Salt, digged out and brought to Aoudaghost, as a rule, from the salt mines of Taghaza (also Teghaza) an abandoned salt-mining centre located in a salt pan in the desert region of northern Mali. It was an important source of rock salt for West Africa up to the end of the 16th century. The obtained salt was brought on sale by the messufa, in the most cases, black slaves of berbers-sanhadzha.] of different sizes where gently laying. Each piece has been carefully set up opposite the gold bars and gold dust[13 - "Silent trade", also called silent barter, dumb barter ("dumb" here used in its old meaning of "mute"), or depot trade, is a method by which traders who cannot speak each other's language can trade without talking. Group A would leave trade goods in a prominent position and signal, by gong, fire, or drum for example, that they had left goods. Group В would then arrive at the spot, examine the goods and deposit their trade goods or money that they wanted to exchange.] bags. Without a moment hesitation, with the words "the master has many of that stuff, and I have not a bit of it!" Exclaimed Al-Majnun and deftly threw in one of his bags a couple of pieces of salt and a couple of bars of gold.

Despite the heavy burden on his shoulders, a sudden joy appeared in the soul of Al-Majnun, as well as an inexplicable ease at his feet. Sandals with curved tops, barely touching the ground, rapidly carried him back to the market.

Climbing the high wall separating the market from the rest of the town, Al- Majnun suddenly heard loud screams behind him.

"Stop, stop the thief! He has stolen my salt!" Shouted the black Messufa, dressed in a long brown coat, trying on the run, to choose a good position for throwing the javelin.

Al-Majnun flings off pursuers.

"That scoundrel stole my gold!" Shouted the berber-sanhaja, wearing a blue turban and bright orange brocade pants, waving a curve bedouin sword, furiously striving to get ahead and to be the first to over-take the robber.

Marvelously dodging the javelin, which, with a cracking sound, smashed against the wall next to his foot. Al-Majnun jumped on the ground dissolving into the market noisy crowd.

On the rush, he knocked down passers-by but when he rolled a cart loaded with watermelons and melons over, he unexpectedly felt that he was flying. On having made a dizzying somersault, he suddenly landed at the door of a familiar shop. It was the shop of an old acquaintance of Al-Majnun – the local brocade seller, who was fortunately sitting next to his shop.

Instinctively thrusting into the hand of the merchant, a small bag of gold dust, that he had hidden in the pocket of his robe in advance, Al-Majnun disappeared behind the door of the shop.

"Mustafa! Quickly bring me Indigo[14 - Indigo powder had a distinct black hue. Today is widely used by Sahara tribes to protect the skin from the direct sunrays.] and noble Soninke clothes!" Said Al-Majnun, gasping for new air almost before the phrase was finished.

"Al-Majnun! But the golden dust that you gave me is not enough even for one turban!" Exclaimed dazedly the brocade merchant, examining the bag liner.

"I square up with you as soon as I'll be dressed! Oh, and the most important clause… – you have not seen me here! For that clause you will receive another little payment!" Answered Al-Majnun, pushing his magic hat, astrologer robe and sandals with curved tops in the linen sack.

Taking a view of Al-Majnun from all sides, Mustafa marked amazing resemblance to the nobleman Soninke. Blue turban with a silver clasp in the form of a crescent in combination with a brown robe and blue brocade bloomers, very suited to the newly acquired, bluish black face color, hands and feet, stressed the distinction of the origin of his owner.

Having paid the merchant, Al-Majnun, in his newly acquired guise, went outside to carry out Al-Farouk's orders.

Hardly could he managed to make seven or ten steps from the shop as he suddenly stumbled upon his pursuers. "Look, Master!" Screamed out loud the black Mesufa to his Berber-sanhaja, – "This is him! This is beyond all doubts him!" Cried the black Messufa, pointing the tip of his javelin at Al-Majnun.

"You don't say so! Silly slave! (Let the Allah Almighty and Merciful tame your long and useless tongue!) The man who stole my gold was the Berber, in a big black cap and a black dressing gown! And who do you think is that? Look at him! You see the black grandee of a prominent Soninke, and he is dressed in a blue turban, a brown dressing gown and moreover in blue brocade pantaloons!" Said, said the Berber-sanhadja indignantly.

"Rather look for the thief! And don't irritate me with your silly conjectures!" Added the Berber, trying to spot the black peaked cap with stars in the raging market crowd.

Bargaining for a handful of grain, Al-Majnun, made all the necessary purchases. He loaded the portly and very fattened camels with water skins, pottery jars with grain and bales with food, and having fed and given water to the newly acquired black slaves, Al-Majnun directed his caravan to the town's gates.

"Did Al-Farouk guess my "small pranks" in the market?" Reflected Al-Majnun, driving the camels and cattle, and from time to time shouting at the black slaves.

The hot Saharan sun was slowly sloping to the horizon, painting the smooth blue surface of the Saharan sky in tender pink hues.

Al-Majnun suddenly remembered how once, long ago, he was a Katib[15 - Katib – from Arabic – record clerk, writer.] and at the same time the Charge d'Affaires for the Emir[16 - Emir of the city – from Arabic – city administrator.] of the city of Mema.[17 - Mema is a region in Mali, Africa. A plain of alluvial deposits, it is situated north of Massina; west of Lake Debo and the Inner Niger Delta. Historically, Mema was one of the smaller Soninke states; it was also at one time a province of Ghana.]

1.2 The stargazer's magical mysteries

He worked hard and for his work was granted with 4 thousand mithqals but decided to receive the same sum twice. He could not have thought up anything better then to complain to the Emir that the money had been stolen from him.

The Emir of Mema was so touched by Al-Majnun's story that, on the next day, with no delay, he called on the Supreme judge of the city, Abu-Al-Daud, and threatened him with the death penalty if he couldn't deliver the one who had stolen the money from the desolate and disadvantaged, but very willing and laborious Al-Majnun. The judge Abu-Al-Daud had very thoroughly searched for the thief but had found no one, because in the city there were no thieves.

Then the judge went to Katib Al-Majnun's house and severely interrogated his servants, threatening them with death. Eventually one of Al-Majnun's women slaves, had to confess, under the judge's pressure, saying: "Nothing had been stolen from him, but he has put the money in the sack and covered it up with sand under the tree." She showed the place and the judge extracted the money and brought it to the Emir, reporting all the history.

The Emir was angry at Al-Majnun and had to hunt him from the city to the country of nonbelievers, and people eaters.

Al-Majnun stayed with the men-eaters for 4 years, then by personal request of the caliph's astrologer, had been returned back to the city and placed in Al-Farouk's service.

The black man-eaters had not eaten АI-Majnun only because of the white color of his skin, insomuch as their strong tribal belief claimed that as if eating the whites was extremely harmful since they were not ripened, black on the other way, in their view, were quite ripened….

Travelling down memory lane and mulling over on the misadventures, and about kindness and knowledgeability of the great astrologer and soothsayer, Al-Majnun did not notice, as the city was gently wrapped by the lowering twilight.

After a while the full moon on a clear and cloudless sky, surrounded by a myriad of stars shined the caravan's way.

Having reached the tent of Al-Farouk, he unloaded camels, tied on the cattle, arranged slaves on lodging for the night in the palm grove, not forgetting to distribute mats and allowing making fire. Finished with all the necessary procedures, he counted the quantity of water skins, sacks and jars, as well as the bags with the rests of gold dust and went in direction of his master's tent.

Pushing aside the tent’s edge and calling for Al-Farouk, surprisingly discovered that the tent was empty.

"Where could he be? After all, if his horse is here then…," Al-Majnun speculated, skirting the palm grove and striking into the wilderness.

Having climbed on the sand dune, Al-Majnun grow numb with the scene that suddenly broke upon him. A fiery circle in the light of the moon and the stars glowed with the pictograms and magical characters with engraved mysterious symbols, that looked as though they had grown out of the sand. The stars whirled in a round dance over the glowing circle, creating a skied cover that bore a resemblance to the "Stellar Tabernacle".

In the center of the circle was Al-Farouk, and before him, hanging in mid-air, was an opened book with glowing letters of unprecedented language, previously seen by anyone. The book pages turned over by itself, thus Al-Farouk wrote down something, continuously pronouncing some conjurations in the strange language.

Scared Al-Majnun observes the Stargazer in the Stellar Tabernacle.

He attentively kept watching over the events from under a big pile of stones, Al-Majnun suddenly heard the loud and indignant shouts of his master, – "How could it be?! What!!? More than nine centuries are to elapse?!! How does it come, the heritor will be found in 941 years from now!! What!! How is it possible there will be two of them!!? What does that mean, one will come from the North, and another…What?!! A half from the North, and a half from the East!!?" cried, exasperatedly the Great astrologer.

"What…?!! My book containing all the ripest products of human wisdom, all the works, ancient and modern, which testify the presence and the rule of the Creator, the most precious knowledge of all my predecessors, will belong to swindlers and scoundrels!!!? What…?!! My priceless book of inherit wisdom will be used to kill cockroaches, and to cut a salty fish on it!!? Who is that, what's his name…L e о p о I d!!?".

The loud indignation shouts of Al-Farouk were dissolved in the night desert, having responded, as it seemed to Al-Majnun, from somewhere out of the farness depth of the sands, with a slightly audible echo, carrying the words, – "That is the Will, that is the Will

As soon as the last faintly distinguishable sounds of echo died away, getting lost somewhere in between the starry sky and magnificent sands of the ancient Sahara, instantaneously, both the book and a fiery circle with magic signs disappeared, leaving the great astrologer of the Caliph alone with the great and silent desert.

"Now, it's necessary to hurry for sure!" muttered Al-Majnun under his nose, dexterously rolling down from a steep sandy slope.

1.3 Al-Majnun contemplations

However, whether the Caliph's great astrologer might have guessed about the existence of the other book, which his servant Al-Majnun secretly wrote for his inheritor, one should have very much doubted. Being in the country of black men eaters and awaiting to be eaten one day, he had begun drawing. Furtively getting a load of tribal cave drawings and taking from local jungle nature its rich, subtle and elaborate forms, he little by little, had risen from nature to drawing animals and human beings. Every time pursuing to catch something new from nature, something terrific, he found the process of drawing arduous and exhilarating.