by Daniel Caet
I do not remember how I got back to my rooms, I just woke up the next morning on my cot with a terrible headache. With the sadness of what happened last night still stuck in the bowels I prepared for the big day, the festival of the valley. I went to the courtyard of the palace where all servants had to wait for the parade to begin as if I were a lifeless body animated by some strange magic. The noise that came from the other side of the palace walls was deafening. Different music from all over intermingled with the laughter of the people and the noise of the conversations. Although I could not see it, I imagined that the whole city had gone out to celebrate that party, to indulge in fun and forget about their problems. It was as if nothing could bother them at that moment, as if life were just that, a celebration, a waste of continuous happiness and they did not have to worry at all about tomorrow. I felt a little emptiness taking hold of me, as that happiness reminded me enormously of one that I had lived a long time ago when for me time did not mean anything either, when I was eternal, and that memory caused the great hollow of my heart to be even bigger.
Suddenly the palace doors opened, and it was as if a great void filled everything. The crowd that was on the street suddenly fell silent, there was no more music or conversations, no more laughter, no more joy, only an almost fearful silence. At that moment, as if out of nothing, I saw the reason for that silence pass by my side. Seti had just appeared in the courtyard surrounded by all the members of the court and the royal family who would accompany him on the pilgrimage that was about to begin. The procession stopped just outside the palace and in a moment all the men, women and children who were by the gate, withdrew to make way for the pharaoh. Their knees prostrated on the ground and their heads bowed in respect. However, I could not help but notice that it was not respect what their faces showed but fear, the instinctive fear of a creature that is above the mortals, a God made man. The procession began to walk guided by Seti conveniently surrounded by soldiers of the royal guard. I knew that the first stop would be the Karnak temple where Seti had to meet the image of the god whom the Egyptians worshiped above all, Amun-Ra. Ptehsure had explained to me that the festival of the valley was the time when Amun-Ra, his wife Mut and their son Khonsu traveled to the west bank of the river to visit the funeral temples of the dead kings and their sanctuaries in the necropolis of Thebes. That trip was a representation of the trip that, according to them, all men make to their death, from the edge of the living to the opposite bank of the Nile where the tombs of those who had left this world were found so that in that celebration their memory was honoured. That way of clinging to the earthly part of human existence that had once seemed so banal to me had taken on a different meaning now that, as a human, I had experienced what loss means to you. That fear of losing again what I wanted had also gotten under my skin, and I had no way of removing it.
The voice of one of the palace foremen brought me out of my thoughts, shouting that I should prepare myself to join the rank of slaves at the end of the group. Just when that man finished shouting I saw her pass before me, Ankh, dressed in the finest Egyptian linen that marked her figure, her face painted as if she was a goddess, covered with jewels of bright colours and with the serenity of an alabaster statue. She did not look at me, I do not even know if she noticed my presence, but there was someone who did. Her husband who walked beside her turned his face to look at me for a second with a sinister smile. If at that moment I suspected something of what the future would bring, I did not have time to cling to that idea because the foreman grabbed my arm to throw me behind the group with very bad manners. From my new position, I could see that Sadith was walking just behind Ankh and that made me feel somewhat calmer, although I would have preferred a thousand times to be myself who would watch over her.
The procession continued its way through the streets of Thebes towards Karnak. The road lasted much longer than I expected because the pace of the procession was much slower than that of a single person, despite the fact that the streets through which it passed were completely clear and people swirled on the sides to see us. Finally, we arrived at the temple just before noon and the priests of Amun came out to receive us singing songs of praise to the god and Seti, whom they recognised as the son of Amun.
The entrance to the temple was as crowded as the city, but none of us would be allowed to enter that day. The foremen separated the slaves from the rest of the procession and put us to the right of the entrance to the temple. Seti, accompanied by the priests, entered the building where he would make offerings to the god, whom he would later accompany on his journey to the other shore. On the other hand, Tuya, went accompanied by her ladies of the court to present their offerings to the temple of Mut that was on the right side of the complex. To my surprise, that presentation of offerings lasted a long time and the afternoon was already advanced when the procession finally left the temple again. This time, the order had changed. It was no longer Seti who was the leader of the procession, but he had been displaced by the image of the gods he had to accompany. The figure of Amun, a small statue representing a man sitting on a throne, was in the lead followed by the figure of a woman wearing a headdress of vulture wings and carrying an Ankh in her hand. That figure, proudly erect and painted as if she were dressed in red and blue colours reminded me for a second of Sadith, and I could not help but smile at the thought of what she would tell me if she knew. The last figure, the one of Khonsu, son of Amun and Mut, represented a small boy, with the tuft of hair falling on the side of his face and dressed in a white shroud. Although the statues did not stand out because of their size, the way they were transported and the respect with which the people of Thebes knelt in front of them to show their devotion impacted me greatly.
The cortege came to our position and again the foremen lined us up behind to make our way to the docks where the ritual boats were waiting. A single drum beat generated by one of the priests was the signal to begin the way towards the river. That dry sound gave way to another much louder and happier when the people who swirled around the entrance to the temple began to sing while throwing flowers and fruit in our path. In a moment, the smell and the colour of the flowers flooded everything, the petals spread at our feet like a carpet that received the god in his way. Some people picked up the pieces of fruit that had touched the image of the god from the ground to offer them later to their own dead in their graves, as food blessed by the divine hand. The spectacle of the rain of petals accompanied us to the same river to the rhythm of the song of the Thebans.
When we finally reached the shore, the procession stopped, and I could see how the god and his family would cross to the other side. The river was occupied by a multitude of boats of different sizes, mostly small ones made of bundles of papyrus tied together though there were other larger boats, made of wood and lavishly decorated, which I assumed belonged to the nobles of the court of Seti. But standing out above all of them, there were two boats that caught all attention for their beauty and the richness of their decoration. They were the boats destined to transport the gods on their way. One of them, the largest, was the one destined for Amun, a large dark wooden boat painted in red earth and gold with a large square sail. Only the god and his son Seti would travel on that ship. For their part, Mut and his son Khonsu would be transported in a somewhat smaller boat, but decorated in an equally beautiful way and accompanied by Tuya and her companions. The rest of the nobles would be divided among the rest of barges docked there. To my surprise, although the gods, Seti and his family boarded first, they were the last to leave the dock and, although at that time I could not understand the reason, it was evident as soon as we reached the other shore. That event was organised to the last detail and nothing could fail. Allowing the slaves and the people to arrive first at the west bank, the priests made sure, on the one hand, that labour was available for any eventuality upon arrival, including the unloading of the heavy statues. On the other hand, Seti and Amun would be received on the west bank with the same effusiveness and displ
ay of music and flowers that had accompanied them throughout the trip. I could not help but be amazed by the beauty of the whole ritual, and for a moment I could forget the pain of what had happened with Ankh the night before. The way in which the city of Thebes was overturned with the journey of its god and the way in which everything that he represented was revered seemed wonderful to me. I could understand why my father had always been tolerant of the way humans addressed him in any of his forms. What mattered which name you gave him if you were capable of creating so much beauty? That show of happiness and light around me made me realise how wonderful human beings can become when it is the light that drives you. Unfortunately, I was about to find out how deep darkness can be when it nests in your hearts.
Upon their arrival on the west bank, the statues of the gods were unloaded and transported once again among music and flowers to a small chapel built on the living rock, at the entrance to the sacred valley where all the kings were buried. In that place the gods would rest until the next morning as they shared their light and their protective energy with all those who were buried there. To ensure that nothing could disturb them, four ceremonial torches were lit that were placed in the four cardinal points in order to ensure that the darkness could not make its way to them, and four vessels full of milk were placed for sustenance. That act was at the same time an end and a beginning, the end of God's purifying journey and the beginning of celebration for men.
The foremen immediately began to organise the mob of slaves brought from the palace so that the tents necessary for the celebration banquet that would honour the deceased were lifted. Everything necessary for the party had been brought the previous night from Thebes, and in just a whisper the esplanade was full of large linen stores that, although fragile and humble on the outside, they kept inside all the necessary comforts so that both the pharaoh and his family and the nobles did not miss their palaces and houses in Thebes. Armchairs, embroidered cushions, carved oil lamps, woven carpets and dinnerware brought for the occasion were joined by pets brought from the far part of the kingdom, flowers of all sizes, colours and smells and a selection of the most beautiful slaves to meet the needs of those men and women. I was assigned the task of helping with what would be the armchairs for the pharaoh and his family, large solid wood structures, painted in bright colours and with animal figures by legs. Next to the pharaoh's chair, the queen’s and her son Rameses’, I had to place many other lower and less opulent chairs for the members of the family that were distributed inside the tent. Once the task was finished, one of the foremen indicated to me with bad manners that someone was waiting for me outside the tent. I felt my heart speed up as I went outside, thinking that it might be Ankh, but when I got out, it was Sadith who was waiting for me.
“I'm sorry I'm not who you expected,” she said noticing my disappointment on my face.
The reality was that I had never seen her so beautiful before. She wore a linen dress of a dirty white colour that clung to her body marking her forms and a large pectoral decorated with lapis lazuli representing two cats looking at each other. Her head was covered by a new wig and her eyes were painted with Kohl as was tradition in Egyptian women. Her hands were covered with rings of coloured stones to match the breastplate. Dressed this way, and in spite of her not excessive stature, Sadith was a woman capable of attracting the attention of any man and somehow her body transmitted a security that indicated that she was also aware.
“I did not mean to offend you,” I said, half ashamed. “You're so beautiful!”
“You do not need to flatter me, Helel. If I wanted empty compliments, I would be among the queen's friends and her suitors,” she said, turning and walking away without asking herself if I would follow her. “I need you in the pharaoh's tent. Ankh is there, and Sarureptah has made sure that she cannot move from his side, so every time I try to get close to her, someone from his entourage stops me.”
“Why would that bastard stop you from approaching her? You are her mother.”
“Because he knows that I am the only person who could convince her to stay away from him permanently and return to you.” Her words sounded too empty for me to believe that this was truly what she wanted, and once again Sadith must have noticed it in my face, so she stopped short to stare at me. “Do not get me wrong, Helel, I do not think you're the man she needs to be happy, but there is something I do believe, by your side at least she will be safe, and she will not continue to suffer the abuse of a monster like Sarureptah every day of her life. Call it a minor and necessary evil, if you want.”
“I have been called worse.”
“I have no doubt. And surely all well-deserved,” she answered, turning her back on me again, although this time I could swear that her face had shown a small smile.
“But, if Sarureptah will not let you get close to her, much less he will let me.”
“Of course not, but you cannot avoid it if you are there as a personal slave of Seti´s.”
“But I'm not Seti's personal slave,” I replied, suspecting what her response would be.
“Yes, you are now.” And she opened the back entrance of the big tent to enter. His usual slave has felt indisposed, it is probable that he never recovers, and I have offered him the services of my best slave, which he has accepted happily. Put on that clean kilt you see there, he is waiting for you.” she said pointing to a small piece of cloth placed on top of clay jars filled with something that smelled like wine. I picked up the cloth and looked around for a discreet place to change, but it was clear that there was nothing suitable. “What happens?” she asked.
“Do you want me to change in front of you?”
“Helel, I have seen naked men much better equipped than you, believe me, you are far from provoking me any emotion in that sense. I must also remind you that I helped my mother to heal your wounds when you arrived at our house, everything you have I have already seen before, so change now or I will change you myself.”
Her answer left no doubt that I was capable of doing so, so I did not argue anymore, and I changed in front of her without wanting to think about the strangeness of the situation. Immediately Sadith pushed me into the part of the tent where the nobles were with Seti. As soon as I entered, the smell of the tent flooded my nose, it was extremely sweet and narcotic, as if many perfumes had been mixed in a single room. I looked around and realised that my guess was not too far from reality. All attendees wore a cone of oil over their heads that slowly melted, impregnating their wigs with a perfume that mixed with the smell of flowers arranged throughout the room and the incense that burned in the burners arranged in the corners. But there was something else, something I had not seen before. All the guests had in their hands a large flower of an intense blue color and inhaled their perfume constantly. Sadith must have guessed my thoughts and approached me to whisper.
“Blue lotus. Its perfume has the ability to put whoever smells it in contact with the other shore, so they can communicate with their ancestors. Stay away from it at any cause. Soon most of the attendees will be asleep or in a trance, but you must stay alert for the good of Ankh.”
“But, why do you suspect that something can happen?” I asked.
“Look at Sarureptah, do you notice anything strange?” she said as she indicated where that bastard was with Ankh. I took a moment to understand what he was referring to, but it was suddenly evident.
“He's the only one that does not have a lotus, he's not smelling the flower.”
“Exact. And you can believe me that if there is something that Sarureptah likes, it is a party and the state of fainting that the lotus produces. He wants to be awake for some reason. Maybe I'm being too cautious, and it has nothing to do with Ankh, but I do not like that he does not let myself get close to her. There is something that escapes me.”
We could not continue our conversation because the entrance of Seti in the tent made everyone keep a sepulchral silence and bow their heads as a sign of respect. Sadith pushed me to come to the c
hair where Seti had to sit trying not to let anyone else notice the gesture. Seti approached his seat and stared at me for a few seconds as if trying to remember where he has seen that stranger before. Sadith came up to him and indicated that I was the slave she had promised. Seti, without uttering a single word, nodded slightly and sat solemnly, at which point the noise of the party returned to normal.
Serving Seti was not easy. Most of the time the pharaoh did not drink or eat anything; he just sat there, watching everything that happened around him. The fact that the pharaoh insisted on having his favourite pet by his side permanently, a leopard brought from the mountains that he had raised by his own hand and that had an absolutely jealous behaviour with respect to his master, did not help either. From time to time, some nobleman would come to talk to him, if murmuring praises kneeling in front of him without daring to look up could be considered talking. For a moment, I came to pity that life that forced him to be a god among men, but a god who instilled fear and induced estrangement. A part of me could sympathise with the loneliness of that man on his high throne. Would my father have felt that way too? But then I remembered that loneliness is a human feeling, animal if you prefer, and the gods are neither one thing nor another.
The night went ahead, and I was still watching Sarureptah and Ankh as Sadith had indicated, but I had not noticed anything different apart from his lack of interest in the lotus flower. The man had his back to me and blocked my vision of Ankh’s, so I could not find out from her face if she was okay or something was bothering her. Suddenly, all the sound in the tent disappeared but not in a natural way as it had happened with the entry of Seti, rather as if suddenly my ears had gone deaf. I could see the guests move their mouths, but no sound reached me. A quick glance at Sadith made me realise that she had noticed it too.
