The stranger continued to hold the sword at the boy's forehead. "Why did you read the flight of the birds?" "I read only what the birds wanted to tell me. They wanted to save the . Tomorrow all of you will die, because there are more men at the oasis than you have."
The sword remained where it was. "Who are you to change what Allah has willed?"
"Allah created the armies, and he also created the . Allah taught me the language of the birds. Everything has been written by the same hand," the boy said, remembering the camel driver's words.
The stranger withdrew the sword from the boy's forehead, and the boy felt immensely relieved. But he still couldn't flee.
"Be careful with your prognostications," said the stranger. "When something is written, there is no way to change it."
"All I saw was an army," said the boy. "I didn't see the outcome of the battle."
The stranger seemed satisfied with the answer. But he kept the sword in his hand. "What is a stranger doing in a strange land?"
"I am following my destiny. It's not something you would understand."
The stranger placed his sword in its scabbard, and the boy relaxed.
"I had to test your courage," the stranger said. "Courage is the quality most essential to understanding the Language of the World."
The boy was surprised. The stranger was speaking of things that very few people knew about.
"You must not let up, even after having come so far," he continued. "You must love the desert, but never trust it completely. Because the desert tests all men: it challenges every step, and kills those who become distracted."
What he said reminded the boy of the old king.
"If the come here, and your head is still on your shoulders at sunset, come and find me," said the stranger.
The same hand that had the sword now held a whip. The horse reared again, raising............