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      A Persian Tale

       Other Books by Kevin J. Todeschi

      Non-Fiction:

      Dream Images and Symbols

      Edgar Cayce’s ESP

      Edgar Cayce on the Akashic Records

      Edgar Cayce on Soul Growth

      Edgar Cayce on Soul Mates

      Edgar Cayce on Vibrations

      Family Karma: The Hidden Ties that Bind

      God in Real Life

      Soul Signs

      Fiction:

      The Rest of the Noah Story

      A Persian Tale

      A Novel of the Ancient Past

      By Kevin J. Todeschi

      Yazdan Publishing • Virginia Beach • Virginia

      Copyright 2010

      By Kevin J. Todeschi

      Printed in the U.S.A.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles of reviews.

      Published by:

      Yazdan Publishing

      P.O. Box 4604

      Virginia Beach, VA 23454

      ISBN 13: 9780984567201

      Cover design by Richard Boyle

      Text and design layout by Cathy Merchand

      From time to time, throughout the history of the ages, seemingly the hand of God has gently reached down to touch the face of the earth. Lands scattered upon the planet have been transformed, often within a relatively short period of time–even as it is measured by humankind. On occasion, through the activity of a solitary figure, hope reigns anew. In the course of events, nations rise and fall.

      Time and again, one fraction of the peoples of the earth has arisen from the depths of anonymity to become a leader among nations. Often spiritual, sometimes secular, leadership has driven them towards a new direction–civilizations each attempting to reach that same glimmering vision handed down to them by their prophet.

      Unable to look upon that same visionary horizon, however, humanity’s eyes became clouded. Time and opportunists took their toll and the picture became lost. In the end a nation’s leadership was forfeited and a civilization forgotten, becoming more obscure than before its miracle of transformation–lost and buried beneath the faded memories of time.

      And yet, stories persist as fables. Remembered tales of hope handed down as things that might have been true. Places where the potential of humankind flourished for a time in the vast history of human endeavor.

      This is one such tale . . .

      Humata, Hukhta, Hvarshta

       (Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Deeds)

      CONTENTS

       The Return 7638 BC

       1 Chapter

       2 Chapter

       The Attack

       3 Chapter

       4 Chapter

       5 Chapter

       6 Chapter

       The New City

       7 Chapter

       8 Chapter

       9 Chapter

       10 Chapter

       The Faith

       11 Chapter

       12 Chapter

       Epilogue

       Parsee Terminology

      The Return

      7638 BC

       Answer me truly, for this I ask thee, Ahura Mazda: Who set the earth in its place below, and the sky in the heavens above? Who gave forth the waters of the deep and the plants of the ground? Who yoked the wind to the clouds and did cause the creatures of the world to come forth? Answer me truly, Ahura Mazda, Who, Oh Wise One, is the Creator of all?

      1

      Never before had the Lydian Empire known such splendor. Throughout the Emperor Croesus’s citadel, lavish cloths of silken brilliance hung from marbled walls, gems of intricate design adorned palace women and delicacies able to entice even the palates of foreign ambassadors could be summoned from the kitchens with a solitary command. Riches of gold and silver from Ophu and Abni and every corner of the continent lay scattered about palace chambers, given no greater significance than fine fabrics from Syria, incense from Baghdad, spices and ornate treasures from the East, or merchant wares having undergone exchange or not-so-friendly barter. Pearls from the Gulf found their way to the city as readily as imported gems, spices from Ceylon, or the polished ivory of India. Croesus’s iron rule guided the empire with fervor and unquenchable zeal.

      Treasure stores were continuously replenished by the steep one-quarter duty imposed upon all merchants trading within the city’s borders. The moneys assured merchants safe passage through a desert filled with thieving nomads and vicious marauders just waiting to ambush unsuspecting caravans. However, some believed that the majority of murdering nomads were, in fact, Croesus’s own mercenary patrols making certain the payment of duty remained a necessity. The kingdom was one of opposites, where the glamour of wealth comfortably ignored dark alleyways and unspeakable crimes of lack. Life was rewarding for those who received the emperor’s favor. Those who lacked value or had managed to outlive it simply disappeared

      And within the idle luxury of the fortified palace, there arose a school for the palace maidens, which included Croesus’s daughter, Lila, and Serena, the emperor’s beautiful niece.

      All her life Serena had been surrounded with pomp, grandeur, and all good things that could be had

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