Tale of the Scepter

“Hurry up!” “Hurry up!” Taharqa shouted to his younger brother. The Sun was setting, yet Piye hadn’t managed to get a drop of water, from the drying well. It was the only water source they came across, after three sunsets.

“If it were not for the desert storm, I wouldn’t have lost all the gold pieces…..” Taharqa lamented deep in his soul. The two brothers had travelled to Egypt to sell leopard skins, in exchange of gold. Egypt was believed to be a land where gold literally fell from the sky in the night, as a blessing from their gods. Ironically, no one witnessed such a miracle, though the belief was taken seriously by the two Nubian boys.

“It is about to be dusky; let’s search for a shelter to protect us throughout the night”. “Where?” Taharqa saw some palm trees between dunes. “Over there, ahead of us!” he affirmed confidently.

The only thing they had to protect themselves from cold was a single fleece, which they also used as a trading bag.

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The fleece was very hot, and the ground warm. It was day once more. The Sun’s heat rays was powerful enough to wake anyone up, especially people who slept as their faces faced the sky; Taharqa and Tiye being one of them.

Waking up and grooming themselves as fast as soldiers, Taharqa picked up the fleece, and set off southwards.

Mild desert winds, and fear of quick sands burdened them as they trekked. At noon, when the Sun was overhead, they walked as though they had drunk a lot of palm wine. Exhaustion and thirst was slowly creeping into their breath. Death seemed inevitable. Tiye didn’t have the energy to weep; tears had also vanished in the Sun. Hallucinations and blurry images started to haunt them, as they gradually passed out.

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As he lazily opened his eyes to regain consciousness, three shadows of men in robes caught his attention. Tiye had been warned myriad times by his parents, never to wander in the desert alone, as that was the hotspot of slave traders and desert robbers. “I wonder whether we’ll set together with the Sun………..” he thought.

Taharqa’s belly was facing the ground, as he lay motionless. Tiye was confused on which of the decisions in his mind was better; whether to run away, wake his brother – if he woke up, they run away, or pretend to be a magician, for magicians weren’t of any use to slave traders. They wanted strong men and boys, who would sell for lots of gold.

“I am a magician; devotee of Amun!” “Prove it!” the fattest of the three men shouted at him. “A magician should be able to survive a sword’s strike…..” As they drew their swords, eager to see a magician’s blood, a flash of blinding light appeared suddenly!

“I am Geb, Lord of all Lands! Spare this boy’s life and I’ll spare yours!” the voice commanded. Screams of fright followed, as the three men took to their heels. It is this supernatural drama that woke up Taharqa. He looked alert and energetic, as though he pretended to pass out.

Ten steps from where Taharqa was lay a golden scepter. “I’m very certain there wasn’t anything shiny here before. Where might it have come from?” Tiye thought.

Curiosity surpassed caution, and he went ahead to examine the object. He picked it up, and marveled at its design. It had hieroglyphs on one side, and hooked at the end.

As the moon became totally visible in the empty, blue sky, they set off southwards once more. It did not take long for them to see the pyramids, their tops pointing the stars. “It’s a sign that Amun is guiding us back home safely!” Taharqa said confidently.

“If you were awake just like me, when a voice came from a flash of light, you would experience a real miracle” Tiye spoke in his heart.

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The air was calm and serene all around the village. Elders were playing draft outside their huts, as they discussed about the future of their future generations.

“The rains have taken long to come. Cattle are falling to their death one by one…… What are we going to do about this damnation?!” one of the elders asked. Deep, disturbing silence followed.

Two homesteads away, Tiye was busy trying out magical spells to bring rain. The golden scepter that he picked from the desert six months ago was his magical wand. He had tried the spells for more than a dozen times, without a tiny white cloud to show for his effort.

“Besides us surviving the hot desert, what else can you say that it is a miracle?” his brother occasionally scorned.

As he stared the empty sky with teary eyes, stars gradually started to appear! Geb had heard the cries of his soul. Great things were expected soon…..