Yusuv Al-Zuras is a 16th-century Egyptian scholar, artist, and merchant, known for his lithographs. He also created the Al-Zuras Deck having Olive's Star Card and the Al-Zuras Journal containing a number of clues regarding Flight 828 and the passengers' Death Date.
Biography[]
Al-Zuras went sailing with his men, and was caught by a lightning storm, and saw a silver dragon, flight 828.
In his journal, Al-Zuras wrote in Latin about his experiences, including "after a decade we arrived, but for the men on board no time had passed. Each of us was as young as when we left, only now we could hear the word of God." The Callings. "Lumen" was the word they used. "Glow." They thought it was a curse. "For every blessing a price must be paid. We returned after 10 revolutions of the sun, only to learn our lives would be taken after just 10 more." His Death Date. "And for every good that comes from the Voice, a trial must follow. And so began our quest to dispel our ailment and cheat death once again."
Al-Zuras had a recurring vision about a silver dragon. "And on the dragon's wings was borne despair and the makings of our own demise."
"The curse begat the affliction." Some of Al-Zuras' men tried to get rid of the Callings but ended up going mad. Some even threw themselves overboard. "In the end, there is no way to be rid of the Voice. The only way to survive is to accept. All other paths lead to disaster."[1]
According to history, it's ultimately unknown when Al-Zuras died. Olive Stone and TJ Morrison conclude that Al-Zuras could've either perished on his Death Date or beat it to live for years more. By the 21st century, his only surviving work is the journal full of clues that he had made about Flight 828 and the Death Date, and depictions of many of the woodblocks used to create his tarot deck.[2]
Manifest[]
Return Trip[]
Olive Stone and TJ Morrison's investigation of the Star Card leads them to get a reproduction of the Al-Zuras Deck and to research him. The two learn from the Internet that legend has it that Al-Zuras was lost at sea for 10 years and mysteriously returned, exactly what happened to Flight 828. "Upon returning he claimed he could hear the voice of God in his head." The two realize that the resurrections have happened before and the Callings led them to Al-Zuras to show that the Death Date was real. Although when and where Al-Zuras' died is unknown, TJ assumes that he had a Death Date ten years after his return. Olive isn't so sure, suggesting that the Calling led them to Al-Zuras because he survived the Death Date instead.
Olive later shares her findings about Al-Zuras with Ben.
Emergency Exit[]
TJ receives an email from Yale Library that they found Al-Zuras' Journal in their collection. However, antiquarian books are inter-library lend only and must be requested by faculty at an approved institution. TJ explains that he was doing a deep dive on Al-Zuras and a title popped up from a collection at Yale University and TJ figured they'd get some answers from it about the Death Date. TJ arranges to have the journal sent to Ben Stone.
After TJ's apparent death in a nightclub fire, Olive informs her father of the discovery of the journal and that TJ had it sent to Ben's office. After getting the journal, Ben flips through it and discovers a depiction of the Star Card. In the journal, the image appears to be Ben carrying Olive out of the earlier fire. As Ben looks at it, the journal begins to glow.
Carry On[]
Ben thinks Al-Zuras illustrated in his journal the moment when he carried Olive through the fire.
Airplane Bottles[]
In the midst of a thunderstorm, Olive and TJ study the journal for clues on how to beat the Death Date while Cal is compelled by a Calling to build something connected to the disappearance of the plane. Olive tells TJ that she needs his knowledge of Latin to translate the writings which had come back as gibberish with Google Translate.
TJ is able to confirm that Al-Zuras was definitely like the 828 Passengers and translates "after a decade we arrived, but for the men on board no time had passed. Each of us was as young as when we left, only now we could hear the word of God." Olive realizes that Al-Zuras is describing the Callings which Al-Zuras and his men had called "Lumen" meaning "Glow" which Al-Zuras had believed to be a curse. The journal states that "for every blessing a price must be paid. We returned after 10 revolutions of the sun, only to learn our lives would be taken after just 10 more. And for every good that comes from the Voice, a trial must follow. And so began our quest to dispel our ailment and cheat death once again." This confirms that Al-Zuras had his own Death Date, but reveals that for every good that comes from the Callings, something bad will happen as well. TJ suggests that since Al-Zuras seemed to think he could get rid of the Callings, finding out what happened to him could be the key to figuring out how to beat the passengers' Death Date.
Olive and TJ later ask Ben and Grace if Cal had mentioned a silver dragon because Al-Zuras talks about one in his journal. "And on the dragon's wings was borne despair and the makings of our own demise." The group then discovers that the storm isn't actually real and is a part of a Calling as Olive sees a clear sky with a sunny day. While Al-Zuras didn't much to say about shared Callings, he did have a lot to say about electrical storms, just like Captain Bill Daly. One of the pictures in the journal is of Dark Lightning over Al-Zuras' ship with a silver dragon flying over it. While Olive and TJ continue to study the journal for clues, Ben goes to help Grace and Cal complete the "spider web" that Cal is being compelled to build.
After Cal is unsuccessful, Ben returns and finds a depiction of screaming men and writing revealing that some of Al-Zuras' men had tried to get rid of the Callings but went mad with some even throwing themselves overboard. The group realizes that they're experiencing the same symptoms as Al-Zuras and his men, apparently going mad. TJ tries to leave after reading that the Callings won't ever stop, "in the end, there is no way to be rid of the Voice. The only way to survive is to accept," but he and Ben see a lightning bolt identical to the one depicted in the journal. The mast on the ship in the picture flashes for the two men and Ben realizes that Cal has been trying to build a replica of Al-Zuras' ship.
After Cal's replica is completed, he, Ben, TJ and Grace are transported onto Al-Zuras' ship in the midst of a storm. Overhead flies the silver dragon that Al-Zuras mentioned: Flight 828. After the Calling ends, it's realized that Al-Zuras' ship and the plane were somehow in the same place at the same time during the same storm.
Ben subsequently tells TJ that he believes that the journal is trying to tell them that the only way to beat the Death Date is to follow the Callings. However, it also comes with a warning that "all other paths lead to disaster." This causes Ben to realize that Saanvi Bahl is in danger because of her attempts to stop the Callings.
Wingman[]
Olive impresses Levi by telling him that she could write a dissertation on Al-Zuras and then showing the graduate student her knowledge on the subject.
Bogey[]
Ben discovered in ancient text that Noah's Ark was lit by sapphire. The Hebrew word for sapphire is sappir, which comes from sefirah, which means Glow of God. The Glow is what Al-Zuras named the Callings. He also see Saanvi depicted with Al-Zuras men who went mad and an image of men going overboard.
Final Boarding[]
At the campsite there's a volcano with balance scales engraved in a rock. When all the passengers are close to the fissure Flight 828 is restored from the earth. The plane is 828 version of the scales, their place of judgement. While looks for clues in grandmas box they find Photographic slides called silver drake. Drake is another word for dragon, and the silver dragon is what Al-Zuras called Flight 828. One of the slides the petrograph has the inscription. "Forgiveness lightens the heart. P. I. X. L. A. Z." Olive thinks it meaning Al-Zuras pictures, Al-Zuras has a journal full of pictures. In page nine same volcano as we saw on the rock, The World Card is on page nine. P is for page and IX for the Roman numeral nine, L for fifty. On page fifty, Olive thinks is a picture of her and Ben, realizing it wasn't her it was Angelina. The only way for Ben to survive his Death Date is to forgive Angelina.
Trivia[]
- In "Airplane Bottle" it the first clue of the Last Trial, but they don't know that until "Water Landing." They don't see that Saanvi is drawn there until "Bogey".
- Al-Zuras called the Callings the Glow. In "Go-Around" they figure the glow from outside the plane and the Callings, it's all one, it's all connected, is where they were, inside the glow. The plane was in the divine consciousness. Now they refer the Glow as the divine consciousness.
- Al-Zuras saw Flight 828 in the Glow.
- The first clue of "Forgiveness lightens the heart." was in "Wingman" (S3:E3).
Appearance[]
| Manifest: Season Two | |||||||
| "Fasten Your Seatbelts" | "Grounded" | "False Horizon" | "Black Box" | "Coordinated Flight" | "Return Trip" | "Emergency Exit" | |
|
Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
Mentioned |
Mentioned | |
| "Carry On" | "Airplane Bottles" | "Course Deviation" | "Unaccompanied Minors" | "Call Sign" | "Icing Conditions" | ||
|
Mentioned |
Mentioned |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent | ||
| Manifest: Season Three | |||||||
| "Tailfin" | "Deadhead" | "Wingman" | "Tailspin" | "Water Landing" | "Graveyard Spiral" | "Precious Cargo" | |
|
Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent | |
| "Destination Unknown" | "Bogey" | "Compass Calibration" | "Duty Free" | "Mayday (Part 1)" | "Mayday (Part 2)" | ||
|
Absent |
Mentioned |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent | ||
| Manifest: Season Four | |||||||
| "Touch-and-Go" | "All Call" | "High Flight" | "Go-Around" | "Squawk" | "Relative Bearing" | "Romeo" | |
|
Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent | |
| "Full Upright & Locked Position" | "Rendezvous" | "Inversion Illusion" | "Final Descent" | "Bug Out" | "Ghost Plane" | "Fata Morgana" | |
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Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent | |
| "Throttle" | "Furball" | "Threshold" | "Lift/Drag" | "Formation" | "Final Boarding" | ||
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Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
Absent |
Mentioned | ||