#1500 A Road Leading From The Bank~ You find yourself on a small road leading away from the edge of the River of Lost Souls. The dark waters of the River can be seen and heard just south of here. Looking to the east and west, you see only the walls of the rocky cliffs. Off to the north a strange path seems to lead straight into the depths of the mountain. ~ 15 c 4 D0 A strange path leads northwards. ~ ~ 0 -1 1501 D2 The River of Lost Souls flows just to the south of here. ~ ~ 0 -1 5619 S #1501 A Long Road~ You stand here in spiritual emptiness, beginning a long and dangerous path. Your honest submission has already been made, but the truth of your heart has yet to be told. Leave here now, and do not come back until you have grown. ~ 15 d 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1502 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1500 S #1502 A Long Road~ You stop for a moment, screaming in frustration. Surely it was that one sin that was avoidable, of all that you regret. The hitting and the hurting flash briefly before you. Moments later the pain passes, and the straight path reveals itself before you. ~ 15 d 0 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1501 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1503 S #1503 A Long Road~ The road clears, the fog and pain of the first few steps left behind you. Despite the sudden clarity, your mind is still haunted, images of an old woman kneeling in prayer, eyes closing, smiling and crying. ~ 15 d 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1504 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1502 S #1504 A Long Road~ Looking ahead, you can see that the path you have been following will soon come to an end, but something in the cold and the breeze tells you that that will be only the beginning of the journey. ~ 15 d 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1505 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1503 S #1505 A Test for the Faithful~ It is here finally that decisions must be made. The first one that confronts you is simple enough, to walk in the darkness, or to walk in the light. Only the depths of your soul can decide, but remember this much: the same truth lies at the end of both paths. ~ 15 d 0 D4 ~ ~ 0 -1 1507 D5 ~ ~ 0 -1 1506 S #1506 Halls of the Forgotten~ Even the darkest have a place on the road to the truth. It is in this place, so empty and forgotten, that God has chosen the worst, and brought them close to Him for one last time. ~ 15 d 0 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 1513 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 1508 D4 ~ ~ 0 -1 1505 S #1507 Shahadah~ It was written once, on an ancient parchment in a curious and flowing script, that there is in fact no god but Allah, and that Muhammad was the last of His Prophets. With this recognition, all else became empty and meaningless. ~ 15 d 0 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 1523 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 1518 D5 ~ ~ 0 -1 1505 S #1508 Earthly Evil~ Whatever it carries, that rage converts into a weapon. Wrath supplies all with arms. When an angry man thirsts for blood anything will serve him for a spear. Fury turns a stick into a cudgel. ~ 15 ad 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1509 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 1506 S #1509 Misguidance~ Some have been brought here not for what they did, but what they failed to do. It is these, the poor souls that were presented the fair evidence and rejected it with an honest mind, that deserve our pity the most of all. ~ 15 ad 0 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1508 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1510 S #1510 Temptation~ Old tales tell of a conversation between the devil and the Prophet Jesus: the devil offered him a kingdom, vast riches, the temptation of a glorious near-death saved by his angels. Even this Messenger of God was forced to stop and think. Imagine how hard it could be for the rest. ~ 15 ad 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1511 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1509 S #1511 Hypocrisy~ He called the populace to strict religious purity, rigidly enforcing the times of prayer and the most correct forms of the words of the Muezzin. All of this he strengthened by his most impeccable example, shunning all riches and riding in tattered rags through his capital on the back of a donkey. Despite all this, remember. Behind closed doors, all men are hypocrites. ~ 15 ad 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1512 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1510 S #1512 Hate~ There is little in life much easier, and truthfully, little that is a quicker ticket to damnation. You give brief thanks that you have come to the end of these trials, but your words are drowned out by something much louder, a mechanical preaching that drowns your ears in anger. You hear a steady, repetitive litany of the same phrase, over and over again: "I go the way history dictates with the blind assurance of a sleep-walker." ~ 15 ad 0 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1511 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1528 S #1513 Spiritual Danger~ Some evils are tangible, solid, so evident that they spit you right in the face. Others are more clever, more subtle, and it is these that present the greatest danger. Looking down the hall before you, a great fear fills your heart, and a great, heavy longing. ~ 15 ad 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1514 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 1506 S #1514 The Fall~ In the beginning, he was the best, the most beautiful of all the angels, and God's most loved creation. Look at your own beauty, human, and do what he could not. Look at your beauty, and learn to kneel! ~ 15 ad 0 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1513 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1515 S #1515 Temptation~ Temptation is the IF, the wondering, the second-guessing, the "I will be a better man... if..." And that if is usually taken, sitting alone, listening to that voice, calling you, offering such an easy way, but such a crooked one. ~ 15 ad 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1516 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1514 S #1516 The Last Day~ The din of a great battle shakes these halls, the moans of the earth erupting at the shakings of the End Time. Be ready for that day, be very ready, for if you are not, he will claim you for one of his own. ~ 15 ad 0 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1515 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1517 S #1517 Flame~ Undescribable horror and pain, a blackness drowned out only by the burning anguish, the inextinguishable fire coming not from some burning wood or molten lava but from the brightness and pain of the horrible, tortured souls that surround, everywhere you turn. ~ 15 ad 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1530 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1516 S #1518 Earthly Light~ To slip into evil is easy, but walking this path is the hardest of all. Even the four you will find here today have strayed from the line at least once in their lives, and there are still some living who curse the very sound of their names. Despite all this, confront them now, and let their actions serve as your example. ~ 15 d 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1519 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 1507 S #1519 The Light of the Rashidun~ Many believed that the Prophet would never die, but when the stark evidence of his body confronted them, it soon became necessary to provide for the future. The four that came after are called the Rashidun, the rightly-guided Caliphs that would spread the word and the light, and with it forge one of history's greatest empires. ~ 15 d 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1520 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1518 S #1520 The Light of the Rashidun~ The first Caliphs were chosen by consultation with a noble council of elders, each of whom, hoping to lead the world of Islam alone, voted to elect the one amongst them they thought was the weakest. Each time, they were wrong. Each one was more noble, more upright than the one before. ~ 15 d 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1521 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1519 S #1521 The Light of the Rashidun~ Every majestic and happy tale must end, usually all too soon, and thus it was with the golden age of the Caliphate. The Rashidun were pure men, good men, true to the path, but their followers soon began to bicker, and civil war was on the horizon. ~ 15 d 0 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1520 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1522 S #1522 The Light of the Rashidun~ The end of the Rashidun was the beginning of Schism. The memories of the Prophet and the living example of the Caliphs proved to be insufficient example to the faithful. Ali died, and some say that with him the Caliphate died too, a martyr, his blood still flowing in the nameless river. ~ 15 d 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1531 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1521 S #1523 Spritual Reward~ Behold, Allah is the Provider, the most Generous. He would not suffer his believers to walk the path of light without guidance. He provided the Prophets, may peace be upon them, and in the examples of their own growth, we shall find the truth of our own. ~ 15 d 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1524 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 1507 S #1524 Creation~ In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are signs for men of sense; those that remember Allah say: "Lord, You have not created this in vain!" ~ 15 d 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1525 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1523 S #1525 Revelation~ The Angel Gabriel came to him and said: "Read!" He replied: "But I cannot!" The order was repeated three times, until the Angel himself said: "Read, in the name of your Lord who created man from clots of blood. Praise be to God, Lord of the Universe." ~ 15 d 0 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1524 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1526 S #1526 Conversion~ Unbelievers, I do not worship what you worship, nor do you worship what I worship. I shall never worship what you worship, nor will you ever worship what I worship. You have your own religion, and I have mine. ~ 15 d 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1527 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1525 S #1527 Deliverance~ The balance had been made, the soul placed in readiness, and the final measurement taken. For those that have come this far, surely this is the day of immortality! ~ 15 d 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1533 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1526 S #1528 Repentance~ God forgives those who commit evil in ignorance, for He is all-knowing and wise. But He will not forgive those who do evil, and when death comes to them, say: "Now we repent!" For those We have prepared a woeful scourge. ~ 15 ad 0 D4 ~ ~ 0 -1 1534 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 1529 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1512 S #1529 Pilgrimage~ It is incumbent upon all Muslims to make the pilgrimage to Mecca once in their lifetime, if they are able, and for those unfortunate enough to follow the lives of the lower evils, such a pilgrimage with an open and contrite heart shall absolve them of all. ~ 15 ad 0 D4 ~ ~ 0 -1 1535 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 1530 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 1528 S #1530 Intercession~ It is written that no one may intercede with God on behalf of another. No prayers from another may save the soul of a doomed man; his only hope is prayers of his own. ~ 15 ad 0 D4 ~ ~ 0 -1 1536 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1517 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 1529 S #1531 The Upper Reaches~ You have traveled the righteous path, and you have faced the examples of the true models of the Prophet. Only the final journey awaits you; live like this and you shall live forever. ~ 15 d 0 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1522 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 1532 D5 ~ ~ 0 -1 1534 S #1532 The Upper Reaches~ When the records of men's deeds are laid open, and heaven is stripped bare; when Hell burns fiercely and Paradise is brought near: then each soul shall know what it has done. ~ 15 d 0 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 1533 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 1531 D5 ~ ~ 0 -1 1535 S #1533 The Upper Reaches~ You have traveled the righteous path, and your own journey has imitated the evolution of the most perfect soul. Only one final path awaits you; die as the one in the room before, and your death will mean nothing. ~ 15 d 0 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1527 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 1532 D5 ~ ~ 0 -1 1536 S #1534 The Final Facing~ The last of the darkness lies behind you; only the straight path remains. Go forth with a clean heart. Only the penitent shall find what they seek. ~ 15 cd 0 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 1535 D4 ~ ~ 0 -1 1531 D5 ~ ~ 0 -1 1528 S #1535 The Final Facing~ The last of the darkness lies behind you; only the straight path remains. Go forth with a clean heart. Only the penitent shall find what they seek. ~ 15 cd 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1537 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 1534 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 1536 D4 ~ ~ 0 -1 1532 D5 ~ ~ 0 -1 1529 S #1536 The Final Facing~ The last of the darkness lies behind you; only the straight path remains. Go forth with a clean heart. Only the penitent shall find what they seek. ~ 15 cd 0 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 1535 D4 ~ ~ 0 -1 1533 D5 ~ ~ 0 -1 1530 S #1537 A Straight Path~ The Compassionate, the Merciful, Sovereign of the Day of Judgment! You alone we worship, and to You alone we turn for help. Guide us to the Straight Path, the path of those whom You have favored, not of those who have gone astray. ~ 15 d 0 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1535 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1538 S #1538 Progression~ Were We worn out by the First Creation? Yet they are in doubt about a new creation. WE created man. We know the promptings of his soul, and are closer to him than his jugular vein. ~ 15 d 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1539 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1537 S #1539 Judgment~ Undoubtedly the shortest path is the straightest one. Only one more step awaits before a final decision is made and a home given to you for all eternity. ~ 15 d 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 1540 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1538 S #1540 The Utmost Throne~ You have come at last to the resting place of the most holy. Startling crystal clarity of vision has been granted to you; seven guardians rim the periphery of the throne and all is bathed in a warm and clean light. It is here that the final choice is to be made, and no defiance of yours can change the outcome. ~ 15 d 0 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 1539 S $