PART 2 - THE MAGICAL JOURNEY
The idea of a journey through which Ali gets to know himself has already been exposed in Quest for
Freedom, but truly in a totally different set. So, what makes the difference? The inspiration, in the first place. The journey of
Q3 is a philosophical, historical, legendary one. It has been inspired by a Mexican legend.
"The legend is not really a 'legend' in the strict sense of the word. It's not a known legend either. It's more like a
philosophical thing. Any prehispanic ceremony here in Mexico starts with the priest offering fire and/or copal (a type of mexican
incense) to the 4 Roads of the Universe. They also blow at the sea shell at the 4 Roads of the Universe. I've been ALWAYS
fascinated by those ceremonies. And I always wondered about that specific ritual.
I learned then that ancient Mexicans thought there were 4 gods supporting heavens, supporting the world itself.
Each one of those gods were in one of the corners of the universe so those gods have to be respected and praised, for them support
our world. That's why it's so important to offer fire and copal to them at the beginning of each ceremony.
But then I came to the legend of Quetzalcoatl who happens to be my fave Mexican God! That man is amazing and
for years I wanted to write something Quetzalcoatl related... it's not hard to imagine that Azrak is my representation of Quetzalcoatl
(at some level at least!) as the fair, wise and powerful, GOOD man he was. When I related Azrak to Quetzalcoatl I immediately had
to relate it to the ideas Quetzalcoatl had about the 4 Roads of the Universe. And that was where the whole idea for Ali's quest came
to my mind.
Quetzalcoatl, being the great philosopher he was, believed that men had to travel across those 4 roads in order to
find themselves as true human beings. We will learn something in each of those roads. This is the basis of Quetzalcoatl philosophy in
the Toltec culture. From the Toltecs it went to the Mayans and then to the Aztecs. The legend of Quetzalcoatl is so universal in the
Ancient Mexican world that I decided to give it an even more universal approach and take it to the golden sands of Arabia. And it
proved its universality since it worked even there! :D
I wrote a rough plot about the 4 roads of the Universe back in September 1992 (the same year Aladdin was
released) after a trip to the Mayan world. I was very inspired. But I filed that little document waiting for the right time to actually
transform it into a story. And the time arrived 8 years later. :)
When the whole Q3 theme came to mind, I KNEW it was time to use that little tale here! It's amazing how things
worked, don't you think? I searched through ALL my *old* papers and I found it! It's a 3 pages thingie that helped me with the
development of the story of Q3.
Quetzalcoatl was the prototype of the cultural, fair man and it was related to the morning star (Venus) as much as
Azrak is related to the crescent moon. In an old toltec document they wrote: "That was his name, that was the way they invoked
him: Quetzalcoatl, he comes from the 4 roads of the universe, from the 4 big sections of the world."
For the ancient mexicans the world was divided in 4 big zones or sections that converged in the center of the
world. They divided those zones this way:
1. East, the zone of light, of fertility and life, symbolized by the color white.
The universe is full of gods and forces. Some of them are visible, some of them are invisible and good gods are
always in a cosmic fight against the dark powers of the universe. Quetzalcoatl knew that human life was always menaced by death
and he thought that man had to prove himself on Earth if he wants to reach the wisdom, the ultimate wisdom that would lead him to
the Zone of Light, in a place way beyond this world. This trip was not a physical thing but a spiritual journey. But he believed that the
only way to reach that zone of light was fighting on Earth in a physical way, taking challenges and proving our own inner worth. He
thought each one of the roads of the universe represented a challenge, something a man had to conquer in order to reach
perfection. This means that only walking on Earth one can reach immortality, facing challenges and conquering them.
That's basically the concept (in few words) and I think it can be easily related to the world of Ali and Azul... of
course I changed things a little, giving new colors and new significance to each of the roads of the universe but I thought Purity,
Courage and Wisdom had to be the characteristics of Ali and Azul in this journey and in the rest of their lives. I also covered that
eternal fight representing it with the eternal fight of Aswad and Azrak... the black and the blue... even if the ultimate battle was held
by Ali and Azul who, indeed held Azrak's blood within then."
The journey then follows an accurate plan, through particular symbols. Each road is necessary for Ali to prepare
himself for Karak. The first step however, is about Ali taking his role as the Lion of the Desert. "I've read countless times in many
books that in the old Art of the Middle east, even from the times of the Mesopotamic cultures, they ALWAYS used the lion as a
symbol of strength, courage and protection." The author explains. "They even put those lions at the entrance of the houses or
buildings trying to represent the protection against evil. I wanted to present Ali with a title... and I thought that the lion was a good
option because of the symbology it already had in the Middle East cultures. Royalty, Courage, Strength, Protection, those were things
I could easily relate Ali to.... and since in the iconography we always represent those kind of virtues with animals or other symbols
(the 4 evangelists and their symbols came to mind) I thought it could be cool to give Ali such a title. Then I read an Arab poem that
called a king 'the old lion' and I thought it'd be cool to call Ali like that. The young lion... but not any kind of lion... but a Lion of the
Desert. And he got the title killing a magical lion that had been tormenting the village of Hessa for generations. The good lion killed
the bad lion. A new age had begun."
So, what about the courage test?
In the 4 roads Ali only had to prove what he already had earned over the years. Courage in this case. The bravest
act here was NOT the adventure in the volcano. I think any adventurer could've tried it without any problem. The REAL act of bravery
here was the moment Ali decided to help those people, taking precious time away from his own quest. Risking Azul's life to help that
girl, because he knew it was the right thing to do. It was something he'd be proud of... also because he felt the pain of those people,
he made that pain his own... but most of all, because he knew Azul would be proud of him.
The volcano was only a representation of Ali's burning heart then. Courage is proved under fire... I just took it
literally here. And what better way to prove courage than to descend to the fire just to get a flower? That volcano IS Ali's burning
heart. I guess what I wanted to say was that Ali HAD to go to the bottom of his heart to find his own courage. I guess that volcano
was NOT a place.... it was just... Ali's heart. As brave as he is, as strong as he is, as violent as he can be... deep inside him there's
something very soft, very delicate... those flowers. Azul's inspiration... and that's what gives him his strength. I mean, one of those
flowers saved a life, one of them transformed in the red crystal, the other of them stayed inside the volcano. I guess I wanted to say
that Ali's ultimate inspiration is just Azul. She is his own flower of fire. So tiny and so delicate, and yet SO strong to live in such fire
(which is also a little representation of Azul's own journey in Karak)."
* * *
The second stage of the Magical Journey is Malahy. Madeenet El Malahy. Through this enchanting city and its temptations, Ali will have to prove himself in Purity. And he will succeed, believing again in a dream, in a shadow.
The author says about the second test: "When I thought: Purity, a gorgeous queen came to mind. Someone who would prove how strong Ali's love for Azul was... in a VERY human (physical) way. I guess Ali had been proved SO many times before in this road of the universe. All those times when he didn't accept to marry someone he didn't love. When he allowed his heart to wait for a little more... just to find the REAL thing. When he decided he wouldn't marry for political conveniences or for a good alliance. He'd marry for LOVE.
And love is the purest feeling in the world. I just wanted to put Ali under the pressure of a PERFECT situation: a beautiful, powerful, rich, charming queen who ruled on a magical, gorgeous place. Karima is NOT even a bad girl. She's not an evil person. She's just... a lonely queen I think. So Ali's test was quite simple here: resist Karima's temptations and prove that his love for Azul was bigger and stronger than any magic... and since Azul's love is that delicate flower that grows in the deepest part of HIS heart, well, not even Karima can reach that. Ali has proved that only HIMSELF can get in his own heart... and when he entered there he discovered Azul. So Azul is Ali's essence somehow. You just cannot take that away from any person.
So as much as Karima tried and wanted to break his will, Ali proved that well... they can take away from you everything you are, who you are, where you come from, what's your mission, EVERYTHING can be taken away... but your inspiration, that little thing that makes your heart beat, that just cannot be taken away. And Ali cannot do the wrong thing if Azul is inspiring him. That love that grows inside his heart, among the fire, that's the purest feeling in Ali's life. That's something that cannot be taken. And when he let that love out.... he wins over Karima and her magic. I guess in the white road I only want to put temptation in the form of pleasure, wealth, an easy life... all of it in the hands of a woman named Karima."
In this chapter we find another huge difference between this journey and the first Quest. Evi told me once: "I think the Quest Saga has to be more complex every time. Quest's Ali was a 17 years old boy... he was more boyish then... more clumsy. Then we have the 18 1/2 years old Q2's Ali... he finds love, he fights a war. Things are more complicated for him. And now we have a 21 years old Ali. He is a man now. His life sure is more complex. And his life is not HIS now. His life belongs to the woman he loves."
I guess we could say that in Quest he's still looking for his path, he's putting the basis of his life, he tries to find values and to give meaning to his 'being a prince' life, but most of all, to the fact of 'becoming a man'. Yet, under this appearance, that was the theme of his first quest, you can see the future Ali. Originally he's not the romantic-type just because he is still only a boy, and love isn't among his plans yet. There're more important things he has to learn first. He needs to learn about his own life, love will come in time. I guess he first needs to become seriously conscious of his life, to get 'possession' of his life. Then he'll be able to love, that will mean being able to give his life to Azul, to belong to her.
As Evi says: "I think when he started to grow up he realized his position as the heir and for a few years he lost that spark, that mischievousness, that funny side of him. He was worried for his future, he was not sure about himself, he was scared he was not as good as his parents deserved him to be... in Quest we had a very sad Ali. In Quest he was lost. He needed something to fill his life with. He needed to prove himself."
Ali is the Lion of the Desert, but his whole life doesn't belong to him anymore, he totally surrended himself to Azul. And whatever she says or she does, he's at her feet. Even if their love is so true that just frees each of them, she still has this power, she kinda has a higher moderating role. Why, we could also say Azul is his guardian angel, specially during the Q3 journey. And she doesn't even have to express herself with words, just a look is enough and Ali already knows all what she wanted to say.
This is why the proof of Purity is so important in Q3. The connection between the two main characters is as strong as it has ever been. The chapter was not easy at all to manage, since Ali and Azul are on their separate parallel quests. As the author says: "Quite a contrast between Ali and Azul in this chapter, huh? I tried to match both of them as much as I could in this chapter, like both of them trying to escape a city and being tempted by power and stuff. It was a wonderful and yet complicated chapter to write. But then again Azul is wonderful here. As for Ali, I'd say: 'Don't be afraid to be weak, don't be too proud to be strong.'"
Originally Karima and her 3 sisters were going to appear here. But then it was clear that Karima was hard enough to handle all by her own. She's really an Arabian Nights character. A powerful Queen of a prosperous and magical city. "But then again the main point here was tempting Ali with power, wealth, lust, that kind of stuff," Evi comments. "Ali was weak at some points but I am trying to make him look as a human, not as a hero or a demi-god with no faults. I wanted him to be weak because otherwise what kind of test would be if he had it passed for granted? Besides he wasn't thinking. He was under a spell and yet he resisted himself to fall, and his only reason was a simple image from his dreams. While Azul is such a stubborn strong-head here... but then again, that gives them the chance to fight themselves and become better persons. As Azul tells Ali: 'Victory can corrupt the heart but the battle always makes the heart stronger...' and I think they will never give up in their fights. Victory is not important... but the battle is everything.'
This is particularly true in Ali's case. He lost everything, except his love, even though he had no idea what that feeling was... but that blue eyed girl was always there for him. All hopes could be lost, but love is still there and it's love what keeps them moving."
* * *
At the beginning of Chapter 7 we find Ali travelling to the North, searching for the last of the Crystals of Infinite. The Blue Road that will take him to Wisdom. How could Ali be proved in wisdom? War surely appears as the best choice, for we know Ali fought a war on his own in Quest 2.
The two Kingdoms of Hagol set the beautiful scenery for the chapter. But before reaching the cold reigns of snow and ice, Ali has a meeting with a shepherd. It seems one of those encounters the classic poets used to describe in their bucolic poems. The shepherd is a quiet, peaceful man who lives of sheep and memories. Ali is a burning fire proved in courage and purity. And they're like talking two opposite languages. The shepherd just cannot understand Ali's motives, he believes Ali is only looking for adventures, just as he used to be when he was younger. Then he realizes that there's much more in his eyes, he can see the flame of love burning there.
This meeting is the occasion to show Ali's wisdom even before he actually faces the test. His words are the proof of his interior harmony and completeness. Ali is following the right path, not just a blind one.
He is so conscious and sure of his feelings that the shepherd just cannot understand him. Ali seems really mature and adult now. He can be the funniest boy ever, but when the time comes he recovers the seriousness life requires every now and then.
The man is impressed. He's probably never met someone so sincere and so sure of his path, but, most of all, of his own feelings. The love that burns in Ali's eyes is truly the real thing. The shepherd is really amazed, he doesn't understand, he cannot understand, but he can feel there's something special in that young man.
Ali's journey follows then the path to the North, to meet two kings who've probably never thought about their own motives to fight one against the other. This stage of the testing process obviously reflect Ali's own experiences. We know that the prince has been in a war once, and that he led the army of Agrabah to victory. We never got to actually see that war, but it's clear it was terrible and inhuman like every war. Ali's wounds, physical and emotional, were healed by Azul, as he keeps repeating since Crescent Love. We don't know how this happened, but it surely took a long time and a difficult experience.
Ali just comes to bring the kings back to their senses. A peace agreement is only the beginning of a new life for them. A new stage in the history of their countries signed by a royal wedding. A marriage not for interests or business, but for sincere love. It is not an excuse to sign the peace, but it is the start of peace itself.
As Evi says: "I've always thought blue is the color of wisdom. I don't know why, I just do. And I just figured out that Ali IS a wise guy, despite of his craziness and his playfulness. He's wise because, as the heir he is, he's been studying ALL his life. But knowledge is NOT wisdom. When he was 17 he started a Quest that became a rollercoaster of emotions. And every step of the way taught him a way to apply what he knew... and he started to transform his knowledge in wisdom. I just figured out that the thing that had touched him the MOST in his life (other than Azul, of course) was that war he lived. I know for sure it was a VERY bad one and I know Ali was in the middle of lots of very hard situations there. And he had to make decisions, he was the general after all. I think he got a tremendous amount of wisdom there.
He knew war, which made him love peace. So when he arrives in Hagol and learns that a war is going on, he HAS to stop it, to talk the kings out of it because he KNOWS first hand what it is like. It's time to apply what he knows, what he's lived... to stop a war that is not even his. But he values peace and one more time he just KNOWS it is the right thing. He proves his knowledge (even speaking a language that's not his) but he has to use all his wisdom to stop that war, to find a good arrangement between the two kingdoms. He's been trained to be a diplomat after all.
I guess this stage gives us some idea of the kind of Ruler Ali is going to make when it's his turn. A wise one, very concerned about people - even when it's NOT his people -, trying to fix things in a pacific way, trying to arrange things... Ali didn't want to force the end of the war, he wanted to CONVINCE the guys that was wrong. There's a difference. A truce would mean a possible future way, but a peace that has been reasoned would mean a permanent peace, even signed with a marriage... a LOVE marriage. And the end of a war that had lasted for generations comes in the hands of a little, young boy who doesn't even talk the language of the mountains, who's freezing to dead up there, who doesn't even join the celebrations after the peace has been made. That's the kind of person Ali is.
I just decided to send him to the icy mountains because I think that wisdom IS cold. Sometimes you have to put your feelings aside to act in the right, wise way. Courage is HOT.... but wisdom HAS to be cold. And the final peak is Mount Serek... the final peak where you reach the stars. That's a word that I made up from two Mayan words. 'Ek' means 'star' in Mayan. So the word would mean actually 'Mount of Stars' in Mayan."
While Ali has been on his journey through Hessa, Habaan, Malahy and Hagol, Azul is in Karak, but she's not playing the part of the damsel in distress waiting for her hero to come and rescue her. As the first draft of the Q3 plot says: "Azul is fighting her own battle in Karak's palace against Aswad. She's trying to escape the whole time. She's trying to find a way to help Ali and she's always challenging Aswad and spoiling his plans. As much as he wants to break her she won't give up. She's not giving up. She has the force of Ali's love and also the protection of the small mystical blue diamond in her neck. She is scared to death, but she'd show no fear against Aswad. She's trying to find a way to stop him and she finds a way to destroy the city once and for all. But she needs the 3 crystals to cast that spell. While Ali is in his quest Azul is fighting with all she has in the city of Karak."
This show clearly the kind of woman Azul has become. In fact, the story is mainly focused on Ali and the scenes with Azul and Aswad in Karak weren't in the original rough plot but they just.... happened. As Evi says: "I thought I just COULDN'T leave poor Azul all alone in Karak. And I decided to keep an eye on her the whole time."
Azul's development is something amazing. She's the same girl of Q2, and yet she's different. She's passed through the Crescent Love times. Now she's a woman, a woman in love, and she's not going to let Aswad spoil her plans for the future. Azul is truly the star in Q3, she's always been a wonderful character, but here she's giving out her best. This kinda completes the sweet and loving girl of Alexandria and gets out the strong part of her.
The author points out that "She is a very strong woman spiritually. She has strong values and deep beliefs. She usually keeps Ali in line. She never loses her head, unlike Ali does. Hmmm... so, I wouldn't say she "changed", I think she just matured, spiritually and of course physically. In Q2 she was a girl... now she is a woman. A beautiful woman indeed. She is really simple, so true... so... herself. That's one thing I love about her."
* * *
With Chapter 8, the second part of Quest 3 comes to its conclusion. It is time for Ali to give all the strength he has left, to push himself till his limits. Only keeping going, and following a sign, he can save himself and Azul now. This is the last part of its journey, and Ali has passed each proof he was supposed to take. But now, it's time for the hardest challenge of all: believing in destiny. As the song Return to Innocence says:
But he is frustrated, tired and sick... his will would keep him going, but his body is deserting him. He feels totally uninspired, thrown into a journey he never decided to take. He's losing his hopes, he's about to think this whole quest has been useless.
The sudden bite of a scorpion is the call from destiny. Ali has to keep believing, he has to reach the Sanctuary of Dawn, the Temple of Light. He has been living like a whole long night during his journey, only Azrak will be able to explain him how Fate decided for him, to show him the dawn and the first rays of light. In fact his true light is still kidnapped in Karak. Azul is Ali's light, fire, inspiration. When they meet again in Karak, Ali will tell Azul: "This has been the longest night of my life."
Azrak's words give meaning to Ali's quest, but not completely. He is still not convinced about his role in destiny. He still finds mysterious the way Azrak leaves him. His words sound like an Oracle. Two Questaholics, Smadar and Alex, reported us an amazing little book, saying that it could be easily related to Q3. Then, as Paulo Coelho wrote in The Alchemist: "Maktub." It was written. It is this way because it was meant to be.
Surely Chapter 8 does give the final philosophic touch to Q3. Azrak is on the scene again, and it's normal that the style of the story follows the path traced by a sorcerer, a wise man and a philosopher. As Evi says, "All of Azrak's parts were written before I started writing Q3. I wrote all those parts in an evening. I took my car, when outside the city, stopped and went to the peace of the open country and there I started to write Azrak's lines. It was a cool experience. Before that I had read some philosophy books and some books about the Mayan cosmogony, the way they saw the world. That really inspired me. So when I started to write those parts I was really in the mood and I just tried to write them in a mysterious way, in an Azrak's way. It was good to have those lines written before the chapters were written, that way when I started to write those chapters I had something to aim to and that made things easier."
But Azrak also wants to offer Ali another message, the most important of all: "Show no fear." This line, carved on the Amulet, has been inspired by the Neverending Story song:
As Evi once told me: "I relate this song to Q3 very well. I mean, if Ali shows fear he is going to fail and Azul is going to fade away! He might be dying inside but he must be strong, he has to show no fear! That's why I have the amulet saying that. Like: 'Be strong, otherwise you'll lose her!'"
The magical journey of Ali finishes here. But his quest continues. For Ali never went looking for courage, purity or wisdom. He went to find Azul, and only her. Fate arranged things for him, testing him, making him stronger and ready for the final battle. But through the character of Azrak there lies the conclusion of Q3 as a story.
In the author's words: "I think that Ali taking that journey through the 4 Roads of the universe means that we all have to actually take the journey in this world. The 4 roads are a way to say 'ALL over the world'. I believe we have to face all the challenges and the troubles the world has for us, that's the only way to get stronger and wiser. I think we have to fight all the temptations and all our own weaknesses, to keep going, never stop. We have to keep our eyes in that goal, in that star at the end of the road, whatever that star might be. At the end, after traveling those 4 roads we'll get the ultimate reward, and I think this ultimate reward in peace. Our own inner peace. For Ali Azul was his peace. The purpose of the journey was not Azrak or the crystals or the amulet, not even Karak. The ultimate purpose of his journey was Azul... his peace.
I think basically what I wanted to say with this story is: don't trap yourself in your palace, in your house, whatever... go out, live your own 4 roads of the universe, earn all the crystals, earn your amulet, learn well... beat your own Karak (your fears and doubts) and then your life will be fulfilled with your own inner peace, the ultimate reward in this journey."
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