Alamut by Vladimir Bartol Page B

master of his body and its weaknesses. That is our goal! That is how we will be able to serve Our Master and carry out his commands.”
    Ibn Tahir listened to him eagerly. Yes, this was what he had unconsciously always wanted: to overcome his weaknesses and serve a greater purpose. Nothing that he had just experienced seemed frightening to him anymore. It was with utter conviction that he now responded when Abdul Malik asked him if he had understood.
    “I understand, reverend dai.”
    “Step forward and hold your breath!”
    Ibn Tahir obeyed without a second thought. He gazed ahead into the distance, as he had seen Suleiman do earlier, and he drew a deep breath. It seemed as though everything around and within him became suddenly quiet. His vision began to blur. He could feel his veins straining, and he wanted to breathe again, but he controlled himself. An odd buzzing started in his ears and his legs felt unusually weak. He regained consciousness for a brief moment, then surrendered to dimness, but with the last glimmer ofa thought he still knew—
I have to, have to hold out!
—until total darkness engulfed him. He swayed and pitched to the ground, exhaling as he fell.
    “How was it?” Abdul Malik asked him, laughing.
    Ibn Tahir rose to his feet.
    “Fine, reverend dai.”
    “This boy has potential,” he said. Then, turning to ibn Tahir, he added, “That was just an introduction to breathing exercises, a test to see how much command a person has over his body. The real lessons have yet to begin. We’ve already made substantial progress.”
    Obeida and Suleiman rejoined the group.
    Abdul Malik gave a new order. Some of the novices began quickly digging at a certain place in the ground. They dug out a ditch that must have been made ready beforehand and then filled in with lightly packed sand. It was rectangular and not particularly deep. In the meantime, some of the others had retrieved a pan filled with glowing coals from a nearby building and dumped them into the pit. They fanned the coals, then Abdul Malik spoke.
    “With sustained practice, mastery of the body and force of will can attain a level where they don’t just overcome a person’s weaknesses but even nature itself and its laws … New boy! Open your eyes and see the truth of my words!”
    He stepped out of his sandals, lifted his cloak so it reached his knees, and belted it at that level. Then he rolled up his tapered pant legs and stood in front of the pit of glowing coals, staring ahead.
    “He’s focusing his thoughts and mustering his will,” ibn Tahir’s neighbor whispered to him.
    Ibn Tahir held his breath. Something said to him, “You’re experiencing great things now, grandson of Tahir. Things that people on the outside don’t even dream about.”
    Suddenly Abdul Malik began to move. Slowly, probingly, he stepped a foot out onto the glowing coals, then quickly and as straight as a cypress waded across them. He came to a stop on the other side, gently shaking his head as if waking up from a dream. Then he returned to the novices and, with a pleased look on his face, showed them his feet. There wasn’t a trace of a burn on them.
    “This is what a person can achieve if he trains his will properly,” he said. “Who would like to repeat the experiment after me?”
    Suleiman volunteered.
    “Always the same one,” Abdul Malik complained irritably.
    “Then I’ll try,” Yusuf spoke up. There was a slight hesitation in his voice.
    “Over live coals?” Abdul Malik asked, with a barely perceptible smile.
    Yusuf anxiously looked around.
    “Wait until we heat up the plate,” the dai said indulgently.
    Just then Jafar said that he’d like to try.
    “Good show,” Abdul Malik praised him. “But first tell me what you have to think about in order to focus your will.”
    “Allah, great and all-powerful, keep me from being burnt. And I won’t be,” Jafar responded.
    “Good. But do you have the necessary confidence?”
    “I do, reverend