Everyone had a hearty appetite after a day on the trail, and the evening meal was gulped down quickly in relative silence. Afterward Prince Ahmad reclined on a pillow in his pavilion while Umar sat next to him, straight-backed. The high priest wanted nothing more than to sleep after the day’s fatiguing activities, but the prince needed to expound on the wonders of the world he was just discovering. He spoke rapidly and loudly, his voice high-pitched in his youthful excitement.
“It’s all so beautiful,” he rhapsodized. “The sky and the mountains and the plains and the forest. I feel so much closer to Oromasd out here than I ever did in that stuffy city.”
“It follows rationally that a benevolent creator will only create beautiful things,” Umar replied, almost by reflex. “The world and its w
