It was almost the stroke of the midnight hour, the whole province was silent, and the night sky was slowly tanning blue. Arnon stared into the skies and suddenly spotted a new sequence of stars form towards the East. “The sun god is furious for the tenth time this year. We are in for trouble once more. Two troubles within seven days.” The old sorcerer could tell from series of happenings that all was not well in the Kingdom of Egypt. He had been in the Kingdom for forty years of his seventy years of sorcery and soothsaying and was highly skilled in foretelling future happenings particularly potential political unrest or threats to the Kingdom.
“Ahmose is very adamant in not obeying my directives. The Kingdom is under threat. I saw it and told him the color of the Nile changed for three days. The spirit of Amenemhat is formidably guarding the land against political threats. Ahmose needs to see me tomorrow. This great Kingdom must be salvaged from the hands of evil forces from Nubia who keep hiding in the Sinai valley. These Nubians have set spies to subdue the main provinces of Egypt. Ahmose must rise up to defend his brother’s honor.” The old man kept speaking to himself as he entered his very antique, temple-like apartment.
He headed straight to his incantations room, where fifteen candles were already lit in a semi-circular fashion. After entering the room, he sat inside the space the candles had formed inside their semicircular arrangement. “The time is now. The much-anticipated time when this great Kingdom will dominate more provinces across the world. Ahmose will tear Egypt into shreds if he does not do the bidding of the spirits.” He kept murmuring with his eyes closed for several hours, until daybreak, when his servant came into his room to call him.
“Sir, it’s already daybreak!” The teenage boy shouted. Arnon turned reluctantly to look at the boy whom he was sure had served breakfast in the dining room. Without providing any answer, he turned his head back to face the candles. By this gesture, the boy understood that his information had been heard and well understood by the old sorcerer. As he closed the curtain at the doorway of the prayer room, he heard his master’s voice. "Prepare the place for receiving guests. Ahmose is coming here today. You can go tell his eunuchs that I want to see him by midday.”
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Arnon was the only person in the Kingdom who could summon the Pharaoh out of his palace to see him at his place. Ahmose had eliminated almost all sorcerers, philosophers, astrologers and scientist who had worked for his brother during his reign as Pharaoh before his death. Ahmose feared to assassinate Arnon whom he dreaded could escape death and had the power to kill him in advance before his plans materialized. Ahmose’s fears were legit, as he had tried to kill him by sending assassins into his house deep in the night only to find no one else in the room except certain terrifying looking creatures. These creatures looked like very large scorpions that attacked the killers fiercely and killed one of them during one of the three failed attempts.
Arnon’s great magical prowess and influence could not however cause Ahmose to be subdued under his instructions. The Pharaoh who was in office as temporary King but planning to take over the throne from the rightful heir kept being headstrong in his personal political ambitions. Arnon who could foretell the future happenings of Ahmose’s destiny in the Kingdom kept mute and watched the ruling King carry out his evil plots in the land
Arnon’s eyes were however on the little boy destined to be Pharaoh in the next few years when he turns seventeen. He knew the spirits were strongly protecting Prince Narmer who was under the mentorship of his uncle Ahmose to ascend the throne. “Prince Narmer has a brightly shining star in the skies that no one, not even the sun god could contest,” he always whispered to himself. “Ahmose has to be ready to fight with his life in order to change the course of destiny,” he often continued.
By noon, Ahmose had arrived at Arnon’s house. “Great seer of the unseen. Protector of the land. The eagle of the night! You asked to see me, I’m here Sir.” They sat in the hall after Ahmose signaled his eight servants to leave the room to go wait for him outside.
“Ahmose, the Kingdom your brother left behind is crumbling. Very soon, Egypt will be torn into shreds!”
“Egypt will never be torn into shreds Arnon! My brother’s spirit is over the land as you always say,” Ahmose retorted.
Arnon stared into Ahmose’s eyes continuously for three minutes without saying a word. His eyes began turning as red as blood and his body began shaking visibly. Ahmose was taken aback by the sudden gesture of the old man and became a bit frightened. The long silence was finally broken.
“Your brother’s spirit is protecting the land, for his son, and not for any other person who wants to takeover the throne!” the old man said in a fiercely deep voice, still staring at Ahmose.
“I don’t understand what you mean, Arnon.”
“The Nubians are planning and strategizing to take over certain provinces in our Kingdom. Their plans to conquer Egypt can only happen when the course of destiny is intertwined. Ahmose, the Kingdom of Egypt lies not in the hands of nobody, not even you, nor me, nor the spirits of the land. The kingdom lies in the hands of destiny.”
“You’re sounding philosophical Arnon. I’m finding it hard to understand your words”
“You have to co-operate with the forces that are working to fulfil destiny. Your brother’s legacy needs to be guarded. Your brother’s plan to make Egypt the most powerful nation for the next century needs to be realized. You have a pivotal role to play in making this dream possible.”
“Arnon, tell me what I need to do as the authority in the kingdom, and I will deliver within seconds.”
“Ahmose, I cannot talk any further on this. Egypt needs to be made more formidable, and this can be done if the demands of the higher forces of destiny are heeded.” The King began to ponder over the partially abstruse, proverbial words of the old sorcerer. “Does he mean I can’t be the next Pharaoh of Egypt. No this can’t be. I would rather die than relinquish the throne to anyone. Not even the so-called destined heir,” he said in his mind. He continued thinking; “I would have been elated if this old, stubborn magician had died after all my plots to eliminate him. He seems to be the only significant person in my way now.”
Ahmose lost in his thoughts, decided to look into Arnon’s face and he saw once again, the terrifying, scary look in the old man’s eyes. This time, the old man’s stare was more frightening and happened in a way that seemed as though the magician could see the thoughts he had in mind. Taken aback once again, Ahmose nearly fell off his seat in horror.
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