Table of Contents
Title Page
Foreword
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Glossary
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Book Club Questions
Praise for Shadow of the Sun
“An engrossing narrative...Wycoff illuminates the darkest aspects of the ancient Egyptian Royal Court. Seen through the eyes of Princess Merit-Aten, daughter of the heretic Pharaoh Akhenaten, Shadow of the Sun delivers a fictional peek into a world of treachery, political intrigue and religious strife. It is an enlightening story, not to be missed, and is enhanced by Wycoff ’s obvious flair in enlivening aspects of the known history with the deft skills of her pen.”
Lorraine Evans, Author of Kingdom of the Ark
“An intriguing historical fantasy, a rich and multi-layered tale of politics, religion and spirituality in ancient Egypt, seen through Nefertiti’s daughter’s eyes as she grows to womanhood. Full of vivid emotion, threat and dangerous choices.”
Robin D. Owens, Author of Enchanted Again
“Merrie P. Wycoff ’s first novel, Shadow of the Sun, is a heartfelt and lovingly told story of Merit-Aten, the first-born daughter of Nefertiti and Akhenaten, during the 18th Dynasty in Egypt. In reading this thoroughly researched and fascinating tale of mysticism and magic, of good and evil, of individual choices made that lead to enlightenment or damnation, I was transported to another time and another place. Shadow of the Sun is a wonderful debut for this promising and talented new author.”
Jessica Wulf, Historian, Editor and Author of The Wild Rose
“Reading Shadow of the Sun was like being transported through time... . The details of this ‘other world’ were so vivid and unique. It reinforced my inner knowing that ‘magic’ is indeed very real. Too often, metaphysical writings portray everything as like a ‘fairyland.’ This beautifully woven story has integrated the mature realization that light often creates shadows, and that this is very much a real challenge that we must face in the world of spirit. I savored reading a bit each day—because it brought me so much wisdom and delight! I can’t wait for her next book!
Christine Anderson, Award-winning Documentary Producer
“Merrie Wycoff offers a historical novel at once enjoyable and comprehensible, where many others have failed. She teaches the reader the intricacies of life at several societal levels in a dynamic land, with a cast of compelling and intriguing characters, at a vibrant time of history. The story line parallels a tale to which a contemporary reader can relate, at many levels. Ms. Wycoff skillfully interweaves powerful themes predicated on clear emotional expressions, thorough character development, and a flair for flow of story making Shadow of the Sun very desirable reading. I strongly recommend it.”
Ruago Salla, Ph.D.
“Great read! This book has it all, suspense, mystery, romance, magic... and very thought provoking. Set in one of the most tumultuous periods of ancient Egypt, Shadow of the Sun is a page-turner you won’t put down until the last page. I loved it.”
Lois Moger, Professional bookseller
Shadow of the Sun
by Merrie P. Wycoff
© 2012 Merrie P. Wycoff. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from author or publisher (except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages and/or show brief video clips in a review).
Published by: Rosa Mystica
Publishing, LLC
Colorado
merriepwycoff.com
Cover Art: Marty Petersen
Cover Design and Interior: Nick Zelinger
Book Shepherd: Judith Briles
ISBN: 978-0-9848906-0-6
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012905348
First Edition Printed in the United States of America
1. Historical Fiction 2. Paranormal Fiction 3. Spiritual/New Age 4. Women’s Fiction
Title 2012905348 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FOREWORD
Are our destinies written upon the wind, flinging stones upon our paths for us to stumble upon? Mine was. My mother kept a verdigriscolored bust of Queen Nefertiti upon our fireplace mantle. I would trace her face with my finger and wonder about that elongated crown and slender neck. When I was ten, my grammar school class took a field trip to the Rosicrucian Museum in San Jose, California, where I encountered the colossal stone statue of the mysterious Pharaoh Akhenaten. I found myself mesmerized by the beauty and curiosity of this abstract figure. After my class moved on, I vowed to write the truth.
My passion for Egypt never subsided and in 2003, I took my first tour and was able to explore the Temple ruins along the Nile. How fortunate I was that my group was the first in a 20 year history to be able to enter the underground chamber of the Sakkara Pyramid and sit in quiet meditation within the forgotten hidden cavern. Early one morning, we awoke to give homage to the Sphinx. Butterflies danced in my stomach; I could hardly breathe when the dark outline of her highness appeared through the gloomy morning still clothed in dark layers. We gathered between her paws when I heard a feminine voice say, “Welcome home!” I smiled and nodded.
“Thank you,” I responded to the Queen of the desert. “No!” she bellowed.
“Welcome, home!”
My face reddened and I felt faint. She was right, it dawned on me that I hadn’t stepped foot back to my homeland for thousands of years. Inexplicable memories flooded my senses, tastes, long lost aromas and the Sesh, my people, the Egyptians who surrounded me were so familiar my heart swelled. I made a promise to return.
Two years later, destiny beckoned me again when I took a class from Stephen S. Mehler, author of From Light into Darkness and The Land of Osiris, who invited me in 2005 to take his next tour to Egypt. Led by an ancient Egyptian wisdom keeper, Abd’El Hakim Awyan, who was an ind
igenous Elder for the Eye Tribe, a tribe who kept the living African oral tradition passed down from mother to child for tens of thousands of years.
We recognized each other instantly. Although everyone adored him, calling him Papa, there was a moment when his eyes welled up with tears and he said, “Long ago, you were my true daughter.”
As he guided us and gave us insight into the beliefs of the oral tradition that we live in cycles of time, he referred to the last time of enlightenment as the age of Aten. He shared that when man fell from consciousness, he descended into the time of Amun, an age of greed and fear. This was a time when man needed to stretch his borders, steal more land and possessions then enlisted an army to defend his new territory. Today, we still live in the age of Amun.
Then Hakim’s eyes lit up and he said that we are entering the Awakening, the new age of Kheper; later we will move to Oon, and then to Ra. I smile when I think that the first revolution of people rejecting the darkness of the age of Amun happened in Egypt, just as Hakim predicted. He took us through each sacred Temple and revealed an Egypt few get to experience. Stories of moving stones using sacred sounds, the true meaning of the hieroglyphs and how Egyptology, which is a comparatively new study since the translation of the Rosetta Stone, misinterpreted some of the true Khemitian philosophies and traditions. Upon returning home, I enrolled in an Egyptology program at the University of Manchester to earn my Egyptology certificate taught by Joyce Tyldesley and Glenn Godenho. This fast-paced exciting class is revealing the expansive and fascinating history of the 1-20th Dynasties to me. I am grateful for the knowledge and opportunity to explore my passion that was seeded so many years ago.
It is my fervent wish that Shadow of the Sun introduce readers to an unknown Egypt, or Khemit as I will refer to it. Because the names and geographic locations are hard to pronounce, I often used the most common names such as Thebes, Luxor, Karnak, Denderah, Abydos, etc. instead of the names they were called at the time of Queen Nefertiti and Pharaoh Akhenaten. Upon advice, I have used contractions in the narrative, even though I am well aware that they didn’t exist in ancient Egypt. I have used the word Ego, although the origin is Latin and the first known use of the word was in 1789. My intention is to demonstrate the opposite emotion of humility. The eloquent formal speech of the Royals is used as well because I wanted to pay tribute to this select few who received the highest education and adhered to strict standards of the court. Many books have already been written attributing the ruination of Egypt to Pharaoh Akhenaten commonly known as the “Heretic Pharaoh.” His name and his family had been excised out of the Amun history. It is my hope that you will share my reverence for and gratitude to this idealic dreamer.
The ancient “Sesh” or commoners of Egypt shared a similar goal with the Egyptians in revolution today. We all dream of a more harmonious Egypt and world, where equality, education, food and healthcare are available to everyone. And that the loving rays of the Aten fall upon us all, whether rich or poor, educated or ignorant, black, brown, red, yellow or white.
Egypt, 1350 B.C.
34th Regnal Year Amunhotep III
Ego. Salvation. Revelation. How could I understand the importance of those three words while imprisoned within the density of my pregnant mother’s womb? Before my spirit could ensoul this fetus, I agreed to the Divine Creator’s contract. Had I known that striving to fulfill it would cause such contention, I do not believe that even the gift of superior knowledge would have intrigued me enough to leave the exquisite silence or the harmonious pristine beauty of the heaven worlds. I prayed that I could indeed save my family in their quest to vanquish the malevolence tarnishing Khemit and restore the Loving Light of the Aten. And hope that history would not condemn us as heretics.
Little orange lights flickered from amber beeswax candles. Thick plumes of floral-scented smoke danced upward in sensuous circles. The fierce lion heat of the desert roared its hot breath in through the high window of the Opulent Room in the Per-Akh Birth House at Denderah on the Nile. Perhaps I would enjoy the earthly delights of a temporal life. Princess Nefertiti, my new mother-to-be, sucked in her breath. Her youthful face knotted with each rush of stabbing pain. Eyes darting, her hands pleaded for relief from the intolerable agony. “Another contraction,” said the princess.]
“Has the Chief Royal Physician arrived yet to oversee this birth?” Ti-Yee, the Queen of All Egypt, my new grandmother, paced in circles. “I ordered him to halt his attendance to any other patients tonight. I detest a man’s presence in our sacred birthing house. Aten knows we women have been birthing children forever but this is a Royal birth. We need him tonight.”
The dwarf Hep-Mut arranged the two blue and red painted bricks for Nefertiti to squat upon when she was ready to give birth. “No, Your Majesty. An official’s son drowned this afternoon. The Physician declared the Lustration Rites to ensure the boy’s safe passage through the netherworld.” Hep-Mut’s peculiar child’s voice seemed misplaced in a body that had to be at least as old as my new mother, Nefertiti.
Just as the sun is born each morning in the East, all new life emerges from the same direction. It’s the same when a soul has come to the end of her journey as it is with the sun each night; both must be swallowed up and die in the West. Oh, please remember to turn my mother to the East before she squats to birth me!
The Queen stiffened. “Egypt is a harsh land for the very young and very old. The next in line to my throne will be easting a child tonight. I must observe the Physician’s face before I observe the face of this child. That is an order.” She wore the matriarchal crown of a golden solar disk between cow horns. Her face revealed the graying edge of weariness.
“Hep-Mut, I wish to begin the chants now. And fetch some lotus and eucalyptus tea for Nefertiti.”
The harried dwarf bowed. “Yes, Your Majesty.” She scurried across the granite tile past the stone lotus-topped columns in the gilt-walled private chamber.
“Hurry.” Ti-Yee clapped her hands sharply. “You must midwife this child if the Physician does not get here in time, so do not dawdle gossiping.”
Hep-Mut’s nails bit into her palms. “Impossible. What if something goes wrong?”
Nefertiti tugged her right earring. “May I have something to eat?”
Ti-Yee shook her head. Her crown of cow horns spiked the air. “Do not be foolish. You might vomit. Only a dribble of tea, and keep walking.” Ah, I thought, Ti-Yee is the Queen Bee and we are the swarm ready to please.
Nefertiti, seized by another sharp pain, grabbed her abdomen. The umbilical cord encircled my neck. Every contraction inched my helpless body downward. What had happened to the sparkling vastness of the heavenworld I just left? My freedom and my body constricted in the tight darkness of this womb. I had not been prepared for this rope twisting the life from my new body. Would I west before I could fulfill my purpose? Dread tensed my tiny body.
The dwarf chanted, oblivious to my danger. “Praise be to Hathor. Deity of fertility. Dearest Mother who resembles the rising morning star. Fair of skin. Eyes of bright. We call unto the East winds to ease this child from your womb.”
No! It is too soon to begin the ritual—the physician has not yet arrived. Help me!
A dignified man with a shorn head dashed into the room. “Your Majesty.” The Physician collected himself, then bowed.
“Praise be that you showed up to oversee this delivery. I almost assigned your Royal Physician duty to someone else.”
“I would not disobey you.” The Physician quelled her fiery wasp-sting with his confident yet quiet manner as the Queen relaxed. He purified his hands in the alabaster water bowl.
Shadow of the Sun (The Shadow Saga) Page 1
