At Long Last: The Secret of the Perilous Wood
Jagi here.
Five years ago, back in 2018, I wrote a series of articles on Defending the Wood Perilous. Or rather, I wrote four articles and then declared that I would write one called The Secret of the Perilous Wood.
I never got to it.
Ever since, John has been asking me to write it. He wanted to read the rest of it.
Well, I finally finished it, and I am glad I waited. I would not have been able to write this article in 2018–or if I had, it would not have meant as much.
As it turns out, this is not the end of the series. There will be more. But, for now, finally, here it is:: The Secret of the Perilous Wood!
(For those who want to read the series from the beginning, here is Part One. )
Here is an excerpt:
Now, finally, what is the Wood’s secret? To answer that question, I must tell you a story.
This is a true story. It happened long enough ago that travel from America to India was by ship, but it happened. If you wish to hear it yourself, I’ll put a link at the end, though it isn’t told by the person it happened to. Still, the person who tells of the experience also includes some related experiences of his own. It’s worth listening to.
A man wished to understand mesmerism better and how to fight it. He was so interested in this that he traveled to India to study with an Indian mystic and learn about their methods.
As he settled onto the ship, he met another traveler, a Hindu, and asked him if he believed in mesmerism.
The two of them were standing overlooking the front of the ship. It was a lovely day. Stevedores were loading baggage. The docks were busy.
Suddenly, a huge tidal wave struck the ship. The stevedores were swept away. Baggage was washed everywhere. The man had to hang on for dear life. It was a huge disaster.
Then, just as suddenly, it was over.
There was no tidal wave. The stevedores still worked on the deck. The baggage was still there.
The man’s fellow traveler smiled and asked, “Is that what you meant?”
