Reports to My Most Glorious Sultan, Concerning the Prophet of Stars — Part One
By Jared Oliver Adams
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Happy New Story Sunday, Daily Tomorrow readers! This week, we have a fantastical fable by the stellar Jared Oliver Adams. Book club questions for this week: What genre does this story belong to? Does it matter? What sort of a publication is this, anyway? And why are we reading a serialized short story at our book club? —The Editor
Reports to My Most Glorious Sultan, Concerning the Prophet of Stars
By Jared Oliver Adams
A Portrait of the Star Prophet:
Before, the Star Prophet always appeared in my mind as he does at the temple balcony overlooking the bazaar, reclining in white robes that shimmer like an opal over his proud girth, jeweled turban shading his full-cheeked face, brown and white beard fluffing out over a hash of golden necklaces.
What I found in the desert was quite different: a man lying on his back amongst the rocks, gazing up at the night sky, clothed only in a coarse grey tunic, his large stomach simply another boulder in the darkness. I almost stepped on him.
"Never be so concerned with the stars that you forget to watch your feet, my new apprentice," he said, and our lessons began.
He suspects nothing.
Lesson 1: The Master and the ApprenticeThis pair of stars travel together, one large, one so small it is barely visible in the light of the other.
"Their distance changes," he says. "The Apprentice tests his bonds as he grows in knowledge, but always comes back to the wisdom of The Master. You would suppose that The Apprentice would grow larger, yes? To one day eclipse The Master's waning light? But this is not so. Ever, one is small and one is large. Do you know why this is so?"
"Because," I say, "the apprentice always respects the—"
"Phah. No. Because true mastery is recognizing that you are always apprentice to something larger."
Regarding His Secret Compound:
His dwelling may be a cave, but it is no hermitage. It is carpeted thickly and filled with tasseled cushions. Incense burns in hanging censers.
It is sumptuous, but has no security besides its remoteness and a thick, locked door closing off the chamber where he stores his precious prophetic tablets.
A map to the cave is enclosed, along with an impression of the key to the chamber.
Jared Oliver Adams lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he writes, explores, and dabbles in things better left alone. He holds two degrees in music performance, a third degree in elementary education, and is utterly incapable of passing a doorway without checking to see if it leads to Narnia.
Find him online at www.jaredoliveradams.com.
Copyright © 2025 Jared Oliver Adams
What a fantastic start! I am invested