Messengers ran around all districts of the city announcing that Far-li-mas would be speaking that evening in the main square in front of the people. In the main square, a veiled chair was erected for the king between the king’s palace and the houses of the priests. When it was evening, the people gathered from every part and settled themselves in a circle. Thousands and thousands of people had assembled. The priests came and took their place. The guests and the ambassadors came and took their place. Sali sat beside the veiled King Akaf. Far-li-mas was called.

Far-li-mas came. All of Far-li-mas’s servants followed him. They were all dressed in magnificent robes. Far-li-mas’s servants sat beside the priests. Far-li-mas prostrated himself before King Akaf. Then he took his place.

The chief priest stood up and said: “Far-li-mas has destroyed order at Naphta. Tonight he will show whether this was God’s will.” The priest sat down. Far-li-mas stood up. He looked Sali in the eyes. Far-li-mas turned his gaze from Sali and toward the crowd. Far-li-mas looked at the priests. Far-li-mas said: “I am a servant of God and believe he abhors all evil in the hearts of men. Tonight God shall decide.” Far-li-mas began his story. The words that came from Far-li-mas’s mouth were as sweet as honey. His voice penetrated the listeners like the first summer rain on parched land. From Far-li-mas’s mouth came a perfume more subtle than musk or incense. Far-li-mas’s head shone like a torch, alone in the black of night.

Far-li-mas’s story was at first like hashish, which makes wakefulness happy. Then it was like hashish, which makes dreams delirious. As morning approached Far-li-mas raised his voice. His words swelled like the Nile that rises in the hearts of men. For some his words brought peace, but for others they were as terrifying as the apparition of Azrael, the angel of death. Happiness overwhelmed the souls of some, horror the hearts of others. As morning drew ever nearer, the more powerful his voice became, the more its sound echoed in the people. The hearts of the people rose against each other, as in battle. They raged against each other, like the clouds in the sky on a stormy night. Flashes of anger clashed with thunderbolts of fury. When the sun rose, Far-li-mas reached the end of his story. The confused minds of the people were overwhelmed with indescribable amazement. For when those still alive looked around them, their eyes fell on the priests. The priests were lying on the ground, dead.

Sali stood up. Sali prostrated herself before the king. Sali said: “King Akaf, my brother, throw off the veil, show yourself to your people and perform, now, the sacrifice; for these beings have been struck down by Azrael, through God’s command.” The servants removed the veils from the throne. King Akaf stood up. He was the first king the people of Naphta had seen. And King Akaf was handsome as the rising sun.

The people rejoiced. A white horse was brought in, onto which the king leaped. To his left was his sister, Sali-fu-Hamr, to his right Far-li-mas. The king rode as far as the temple. Inside the temple the king took a spade and dug three holes in the holy ground. He put three seeds into them. The king dug two holes in the holy ground. Sali put two seeds into them. And immediately the five seeds sprouted and grew before the eyes of the people. At noon the five plants had produced ripe ears of corn. In all the courtyards of the city, fathers broke the fetlocks of great bulls. The king extinguished the fire. All fathers in the city put out the fires in their hearths, Sali lit a new fire, and all the virgins came to take from it.