Opener of the Sky

by Mary R Woldering

  “A daughter of Khufu?” Marai recoiled, surprised. “Didn’t realize you were connected that high up. You’re old Hordjedtef’s nephew too… and even related to our nasty mannered princeling?” Marai felt mystified and amused at the way everyone was related who had anything to do with governing the red and black lands.

  “No, more like a cousin, and Djedi was Elder Hordjedtef’s uncle. I don’t even think he has taken the trouble to recognize that I may be part of this… just how he can control me; hence these artificial ‘forays’ of our prince when the hunting is actually better in the western grasses near the Elephant Isle.

  Great King Khufu appointed the man who took me as a son, because there was no strong king alive in Ta-Seti, Wawat, or Kush and the tribes were always warring. My ‘father’ was no noble. He was a soldier of fortune who had wandered in from the Wawat as a youth and worked his way into the king’s favor. He singlehandedly put down the rebellion of Kush, though many were slaughtered by the kings’ men, and began to work out the terms of the “Peace of Suph.” Old Khufu knew how unstable the region was and didn’t want to risk one of his own sons there, so he installed him at Buhen, and dispatched his daughter, Ko, by one of his Ta-Seti concubines to be a second wife and to form a peace bond which was re-instated by Djedephre, and later Kaphre and Menkaure. Because of our prince, and what he has done to my people for no reason other than to show his brutality and might, I am petitioning to his ‘new’ Majesty to either send another emissary, or consider the Suph finished. Anyway…” Akaru Sef continued, seeing his chatter was about to be interrupted by the servant bringing nighttime sleep tea.

  Marai looked for Ariennu. She was in the darkened area with a lamp, checking on Djerah.

  “The woman turned up barren, and she worried the treaty would be shattered if she had no child. When I was found, she became my mother. When father passed into the Reeds the rule passed to me,” he shrugged.

  “The people here never objected to a bright-skinned man as a sepat ruler in a dark brown land?” Marai listened carefully, trying to anticipate. “You’re pinker than I am. Were there no other children to contest it?”

  “Oddly, no,” he frowned. “I thought it was because of the wife who served as my mother… her rank, and that on her death it would be trouble for me since there were half-brothers by other wives to contest me. Instead, they got me to come down here to re-build in the place of the gods where the old ones once walked and were happy to stay in higher lands and rule there.”

  Ariennu returned and flopped down onto the mat with the others, snickering and taking up the cup of tea offered to her.

  “Gold. His hair wants to be twisted with gold just as yours is with the silver color,” she giggled, then caressed one of the curls at Marai’s brow. “Like the sun kissed it bright. Just a streak or two for now. His color is getting better, too. I think he’s going to be a pretty one,” she grinned, but her smile wasn’t even close to one of maternal pride.

  “Should we warn him about you?” Marai laughed and ducked as if Ariennu had reached forward to smack the back of his head. Instead, she brought forward Wserkaf’s Wdjat.

  “Maybe you should, or maybe it’s time to look through this thing here while we still have our hands on it?”

  “Oh?” Akaru craned his neck to look at the crystalline disc, shocked “I haven’t seen that since I was a boy. It belonged to Djedi, but he told me he found it near here before I was born.” He beckoned the servant waiting up to tidy the cups after they slept.

  “A pan of water, would you? Then, don’t worry over the clutter here. Go to sleep.”

  While the man dipped a pan into the pool, Akaru reached forward to touch it, then sighed. “It has made quite a journey. I wouldn’t have thought...” he started, pausing to ‘read’ the surface. “Djedi to Great Hordjedtef to Neferhetepes daughter of Djedephre,” his eyes twinkled, “to her son Wserkaf, to you, Lady Ariennu is it, to the woman of Ta-Seti, and now again you have it?”

  “It was Deka. She gave it to us. His Highness didn’t try to stop her, because he knew it belonged to Prince Wserkaf,” Naibe quickly answered, but Marai finished her statement:

  “The seven traveling stones and five more were part of a promise that he will bring the others. He wants to see their full power and knows he won’t until all are together again. I don’t know how he thinks the priests would allow it, unless Great One does and that’s not likely.” He stared at the mat where he had almost drifted to sleep while Ari massaged him. He wanted to lie down again. The relaxing tea was having the desired effect.

  Ariennu yawned again, too.

  “He definitely has something else going on under his collar and khat,” Akaru shook his head. “Wonder what?”

  “He believes he is one of the Children’s chosen since Deka chose him,” Marai shrugged, “or so he said before he kicked us out of his camp.”

  “Perhaps he is, then,” Akaru nodded prosaically. “Perhaps this was the real reason why you couldn’t kill him, handily and not due to any spell he may have used. Maybe it was why the ladies made you stop, which brings me back to the thought of my ability or anyone’s ability to change hearts.”

  “Now there’s a truly rude thought.” Even though Marai had been carefully taught by old man Hordjedtef that every brightness needed something in the dark to balance it, Akaru’s concept made him groan. “One of the basic truths in the world, I suppose. Evil is needed in order for our spirits to progress. I just wouldn’t understand someone accepting that they were the evil side and embracing it.”

  “Ah yes, you know that then,” the old man chortled, suddenly more animated. “Adversity is the seed to doing well. Without it, the soul would not know how to do well. It serves us the same way fire makes brass true. Without it, the brass wouldn’t shine,” Akaru smiled. “How can one be good without the knowledge of evil? How would you know what not to do if there was no evil example shown to you? How would you know not to kill, unless you had seen or known the horror of murder? It has to exist. Without evil, we would ascend and drift without a point of reference. We are not ready to do that. Here…” the elder pinched his flabby forearm skin and held up his own arm. “Here is where we prepare even though we may be stuck in the glamour of our physical lives. Our people fell so far into the abyss along with Apep and the damned that when we rise up we will ascend to a place never opened before, higher than the one from which we came.”

  Ariennu floated the crystal disc gently on the surface of the water.

  Wonder how it rides just below the surface, but above the bottom of the pan? It’s cupped. Bubble under the surface? The design covers everything but I still see…

  For several moments the four of them said nothing. They contemplated the images they saw. Then, in the distance to the south and east, as if an unknown thing had been listening for them, something in the wind changed.

  PART 5: WOLVES AND LIONS

  CHAPTER 31: WEPWAWET

  In the early morning, just as the grey of the dawn mist had begun to clear, Maatkare’s personal guard and a patrol chief crept to the royal tent. They had a message.

  “Fool,” Maatkare’s head raised. At the same moment, his hand curled around his throwing dagger and sent it whistling past his guard’s right ear into a nearby post. “Tired of living this morning? At least you knew enough not to flinch and lose an ear or eye.” He sat up further on his elbows as the startled man pried the blade from the post and sheepishly returned it. Maatkare laughed a little, then glanced to his left arm. Nefira Deka slept beside him.

  Ought to sleep. And I ought to sing that one’s praises for distracting me with her fire last night, too. I almost didn’t hear the guard. Bad luck if the humps start making me too tired for proper command.

  “So, what do you want?” he addressed the men.

  The captain of the watch bowed low and backed up after he had returned the knife. Still mortified, he quietly stated: “A lion, Your Highness. It’s in the grass not far from camp. It’s an old
rogue, maybe starving or wounded, some of the men said. No pretty trophy and a good tangle of tough meat, but the sport would be excellent and quick enough that no one will be overly tired before they bring him in,” the man looked up expectantly.

  Lion. Been waiting for a mean old boy like that. I’ll name this one Marai the Sojourner and work some irritating spells on their leaving with his death. The prince threw aside his bedsheet, which woke Deka. Before she could ask or complain, he addressed her:

  “Lion’s been seen, old and past his prime. I’m going to bring him in by heat of the day. I expect I’ll be hot and tired, so do be ready to soothe me,” he scrambled quietly, belting his kilt and gathering bows and arrows. Then, in a surprise gesture, he brought his new fancy knife out of hiding. Stopping to stroke it and feel it purr in his hand, he stowed it in a temporary leather sheath around his waist.

  Without even making eye-contact, he gave Deka a quick kiss on the face, then slung his equipment in various quivers and scabbards about his body before he left with the guard and the captain to round up men, spears, and nets.

  Whenever Maatkare left Deka alone in the royal tent, she usually amused herself by singing, tidying, and straightening all of her possessions.

  Highness is particular about cleanliness and neatness. It pleases him to see things well ordered, she repeated to herself, recalling his frequent rages over soiled clothing, a bed untidied and unfreshened for too long after he had risen, a shoddy bit of grooming. She wanted to be certain that his ill temper was never directed at her.

  Today, after a final tour of their nicely put away room, she noticed the angle of the sun and chided herself.

  Here I am, dreaming again. She had cleaned the plate that held a light meal of bread and date honey that reminded her of the confections she, Baby, and Wise Mama sold a long time ago when they had lived in Ineb Hedj. Her head bowed so she wouldn’t think about them or guess what they were doing.

  They let me stay, she contemplated. Man-Sun didn’t put up much of a fight for me. Did he never desire me? Part of my soul has always told me he did. Wonder what happens when Wise Mama realizes Baby One has always been for him, Men say they want more woman than one can meet, but soon enough they pick a favorite. Raem has picked me, even above wicked Sadeh at his home. I will free him from her and her dull spawn soon enough when we return victorious.

  Wise Mama will find a man. She always wrapped her legs around something, before, during, and after Marai. Shouldn’t worry over her finding her way. She’s that sort. I shouldn’t be thinking of them. It has passed down the river from me, so to speak!

  She belted her kala more securely under her breasts and adjusted the straps to cover her nipples. When she had painted her lips red and retouched the red color on her nails, she left the tent to wander the camp.

  It was quiet outside. Her new guards Rutiy and Sutiy were out with the hunting party, so they didn’t come to flank and walk with her. There was no speech lesson to teach them today.

  Maybe they are not even mine any more. If they do well on the hunt today; prove themselves, Raem will want them as his own. Someone’s already pointed out to him that for all of their muteness and dull wits, they are excellent trackers. They move like lions. Lions? I’ve never truly seen a lion up close except for the shape I take in my dream. I feel her energy more strongly now. Maybe they sense it.

  Wawat slaves and black as night. Twins and mute… cast out as suspicious when my senses tell me twins are instead highly valued. They were a gift from this man who governs the sepat where we bathed. Still… why would they not be good at what they do?

  She had at first regarded them as docile, until she saw the way they had obediently and without any sense of hesitation tortured and killed those boys who came with ill-inspired Djerah. Their cold and passionless administration of justice had proven them to be so much more than they appeared.

  Will you take them from me, my Raem? They are not proper women’s servants, but I was seeing if I might heal their voices. I know they have mes sages for me about Ta-Te and about what I may face soon. I can feel it when I look into their darkest eyes. They should be free, not bound. Their thoughts call me MaMa Menhit and it burns my ears. I need to know why.

  When she returned from her walk, she began to grind up some powder and then mix it with a purified fat to make cosmetics for both herself and the prince. Later, she constructed a bead frame, threaded it, and worked on a new collar for her beloved as well as more jewelry for herself.

  Bored again by midday, she rested then walked out to see the brewers draw beer from the fermenting vats. She paced restlessly. It was the heat of the day.

  Raem. Beloved. Hurry back to me. This has gone on far too long. Am I nothing but your pet to come home to; a lioness caged? She sent her thoughts into the air, but knew it was pointless. You are driven to be all your men need, but do not forget me. The men must have gone far into the grass, she thought. Most of the time when the men hunted, the wind brought in distant sounds of animals crying in panic or men shouting. A cheer always rose toward the end of the hunt when the prince made the kill. Then, he would come home.

  When Naibe and Ariennu had been here, there were more distractions. The younger of her “sisters” would grow anxious about what the prince might demand of her. Ariennu would simply posture and mock, then put her thoughts in the rudest place possible. Deka remembered just shrugging at them, trying to ignore them both and do her beading or needlework. Now that they were gone, she felt like fretting.

  As the afternoon wore on, Deka knotted the row ends for the beading strands and pulled them loose from the frame. The remainder of the Child Stones beckoned to her from their box on the top of the trunk where Maatkare had placed them. She had steadfastly ignored them, feeling that if Maatkare had obtained them as a prize and had even had them make him a knife, perhaps it was best if she left them alone.

  Then, she heard:

  Deka… come and play with me.

  The voice of a young child whispered, perhaps from the box of stones. Her fingers froze. Quietly, she put the handful of bead ropes away, sat on her heels in front of the trunk, and carefully lifted the lid.

  When she opened the box, she saw nothing had changed about the unsorted remaining Children of Stone. They glimmered a little unsteadily. This caused her to worry that there would be some sort of anguish, regret, or even reprisal that would leap out of the box ready to accuse and scold her about her decision to stay with the prince.

  She waved her fingertips over them without touching them, then stared at them again. This time, the glimmering stones found more words. She couldn’t understand them and so she placed her hand over them.

  Deka Nefira Sekht

  The child voice whispered.

  Do you hear me calling you?

  “Who is it?” she asked the air and for a moment there was silence. Then:

  Ameny…

  Deka gasped, then frowned. Her hand found her belly instinctively as if to soothe the one newly sprouted there. My child? I don’t believe you, she wondered.

  Perhaps, perhaps not… but you refuse to see me, Ha-go-re!

  The Ta-Seti woman jumped, startled. You know that word? She shut her eyes and let the music the child sent rise through her body. Akh-go-re Nejter Deka Nefer Sekht.

  An impish giggle returned as if the small spirit was amused by this game.

  Her hands gracefully stroked the stones, feeling their sigh evolve into more poetry. This time, they answered her fully.

  Whisper how the heart is gentle

  Soften when the heart is hard

  Give birth again to something new

  Rebirth to what is old

  And ever was here before

  Heal the hurt given

  Give not your hurt in place of joy.

  It’s true. I have been lonely. I miss them already, I guess, she reflected. Can you send word to them that we will all be together soon? I just have to see something here, and Marai couldn’t stay. It’s ju
st for me and I need more time to know what it is. I thought it was the spirit of Ta -Te calling me home, but now I’m not so sure… Perhaps reaching through these little ones here might be a way to ease that. She waited, but there was no response.

  Tell them we’ll meet again in the north after the hunt is over. We will be at the funeral if the winds are good for the journey back. I will bear young Ameny in Ineb Hedj and begin to raise him up as a young god, while my Raem endears himself to the new king who has no child marked as his heir… Perhaps he will be a consort for his daughter in the fullness of time. And Raem has been out in the grass with his men all day! She knew it was a lonely dream.

  A few of the men had drifted back with the first kills by early afternoon. There had been no lion, but there had been other game. They needed to process the meat before the heat spoiled the blood in it and worms came. Once again, she put away the Children of Stone and went out to walk among them. She shivered in jealous delight as they hung up and bled the carcasses. They laughed and cheered among themselves about her beloved’s unflagging manly energy. Maatkare Raemkai was so like Anhur, the hunter’s god, the men exclaimed. It was such a wonder and an honor to be on his elite hunting team and wonderful to run out with him, even in his most awful and tyrannical moments when things went wrong.

  I want to go out with him. I should be with him, Deka grumbled as she moved through the clumps of men while they worked the hides and trued nicked and bent weapons.

  Does he forget what blood runs in my veins? I’m no blossom of the back roads of Ineb Hedj like Sadeh… no pampered god’s daughter like Meryt. I should be at his side like a sister, to draw a bow, to chase and fell prey; to drink the heart’s blood of a kill. She paused, puzzled, and then returned her gaze to the men as they worked. Does he pamper me? I’ve only just now told him of the child. I can still run and fight for many a moon yet. I am no plaything to be left and to be picked up on his return. If I show him…