The Boy with the Tiger


To which the Pharaoh Kai meets two interesting individuals


Picture yourself. The land was rather hot during the day, and freezing cold during the night. What fits that description? The moon? Well, now add golden sand, and a hot sun above you, shining with all its might until you could almost feel your blood evaporating from under your skin. Moon, indeed! Now where are you, reader? You are in a desert. Which desert is it? There are plenty of deserts on Earth, plenty more in the universe. Now picture yourself hunting. There is a great river beside the desert, and there thick vegatation gathered along with birds and beasts. Far far away you can see many great monuments, as well as a tall statue with a head of a man and a body of a lion.

To be sure, Egypt was too hot for a tiger as this. Especially this one, white like the snow on a mountain. It has dark stripes as black as night, and ice blue eyes like the sky on a clear morning.

It wasn't a big tiger. It wasn't especially young either, for it was an adult. Yet it was in the prime of its youth, with the grace and energy of a young cub.

At the sight of this creature in the midst of the market, all cleaned out and prepared, Pharaoh Kai stopped his train and observed this animal for a brief moment. One shouldn't be surprised that he would take a great liking to the tiger, for there are very few tigers in Egypt to begin with, and no white ones for that matter. The tiger was a lovely one, and Kai hesitated, wondering where he should keep this tiger at the palace...

" Dima!"

Kai turned at the sound of the young voice. He was rather curious as to whether ' Dima' was the name of the young tiger. It was, to his credit. He started back at the sight though. For the boy he saw was no more than eleven years old, with dark brown hair and the fairest skin that can be seen in all of Egypt, hot and sunny as it were. Eyes as blue as the tiger's, frame as thin as a poles. That child was a ragamuffin.

Before either of them can utter a word of surprise, a guard appeared out of nowhere. He seized the child, yanking the arm as he went.
" Get out, you scoundrel!" He shouted, not aware that the Pharaoh was right there. " Haven't you heard? The Pharaoh is coming today and he has no need to see bastards like you!"
" Dima!" The child whimpered, but Kai noticed there was a confusion in the boy's eyes, staring at him and than at the guard. He briefly thought why there was a confusion. Right. He was wearing the crown. The child must be wondering if he was the Pharaoh, and if he was why the guard was acting like he wasn't. " Dima!"

In answer, the magnificent tiger stalked toward the stunned guard, baring its teeth. The guard held on to the boy tighter, not aware that the tiger was coming because he was holding the boy in the first place.
" Get back, you...you abomination!" He cried, not knowing what to call the white creature.

Kai had a mind to stop the commotion at once and he saw that a lot of the nobles did too. He signaled them to wait. This was a perfect chance to see how his guards treated the commoners. A stupid guard can prove useful.

The guard drew his sword and began to stab at the tiger. The boy shrieked, throwing himself in the way of the sword so that it pierced his right shoulder. Blood flowed out of the wound as the soldier pulled it out, spurting all over the place. The boy's face dramatically became paler.

You can imagine what distress Kai was in! In his mind he ran through all the curses imaginable in Egyptian before proceeding to stop the guard. There was no need though. The magnificent tiger, once so still and so graceful, became a deadly monstrous beast. It leaped over the fallen boy and dug its teeth into the man's neck. The guard, in surprise and fear, dropped his sword and fell back, and the tiger pinned him under its crushing weight. The animal shook the corpse, before letting it go, licking the blood off its muzzle, and stalked slowly over to the fallen child.

Kai got there before the tiger. He could care less about the foolhardy guard. The boy stared at him, his eyes dilating as his face turned blue and he sighed, finally losing all consciousness. The Pharaoh was busy trying to get the boy in his arms, to stop the blood from flowing, when suddenly he heard a growl.

The ruler sighed, turning to meet a very angry and worried beast. They stared, eye to eye, before the tiger came closer. Kai wondered whether he should stand up and run, but the tiger took no notice of him, licking at the child's cold face, nuzzling him with its nose, nosing his chest, as if trying to wake him.

Kai finally realized that the tiger was no longer interested in him, and lifting the child slowly, he set him in his car, and, with the tiger following ( to the distress of the nobles) they made their way immediately back to the palace.



Eleven years before now in a house of a peasant family a child was born. To be sure, for those who understand the life of such a class, the child was not wanted. He was an extra mouth to feed, and yet, what could they do? A child was born, and they could not let him die, and after all, he was the oldest surviving child yet, and would be the heir to the little property his father had. So an extra mouth is an extra mouth. It could not be closed.

Five years passed, and another child was born. This one was no more wanted than the last, and the father had the mind to throw the creature away, which almost happened, had it not been for the first son, smitten with love for his brother, and saved it from his father's clutches. By now the eldest had grown into a tall, thin little boy of five years, with a shoulder length and unevenly cut brown hair, dirty with dust and dirt which he could hardly wash, and skin covered with mud, which partly protected him from the sun. The young one had dark black hair, eyes closed in tender sleep. The eldest begged, as was common, but this time he also stole, to provide for the young one his parents had abandoned, begging his mother with what he stole to provide the child with milk.

Four years passed. The baby boy had grown into a weak four-year-old, but alive. His devotion to his older brother was unlimited. The two were never found alone-one was always with the other. But one day, as the older child got home, he found his brother dead. The father, in drunken rage after spending the hard earned money at a wineshop flooded with women and wine, beat the helpless boy to death. Heartbroken and filled with rage, the older child bolted from the house, vowing never to come back despite his mother's pleadings.

From here, that child would have died. Died of lack of shelter, food, water, and protection against the hostile world. From here the boy would have withered away until nothing was left of him. But something interfered, whether it was Ra or Isis, Fate or simply Luck alone. Somehow, in ways I was never told, he was able to enter the storage area of a rich temple.

In those days, as you, reader, may well know, offerings of grain, wine, and fruits were common, especially in a polytheistic society such as Egypt, where gods were part of daily life and rituals part of yearly schedules. Tons of grain, corn, cattle, sheep, fruits, wine, water and vegatables were offered to the temple to please the gods.

Perhaps the child was too young to understand the legends of Ra and Nut, being only nine years of age. But nevertheless, if there was a Ra, an Anubis, a Horus, an Isis, they certainly were not displeased with a peasant child eating their fruits and cooked meat. The grains he could not touch, the vegatables were raw and rotting. But the fruits! Aye, the air of that temple was well enough to preserve fruits with all their juices, though I know not how. And so the child thrived more than he had ever thrived those two weeks, feasting on the abundant fruit and drinking the water.

Perhaps Fate also played a part in the coming of the white tiger cub, who lost its mother in the desert and had wandered, somehow unnoticed, into the temple. By the time it reached the temple it had traveled a whole day outside the city and a whole night inside, when people were asleep. It collapsed at the entrance, and could have died right then.

The boy, at first frightened, felt as much pity for the tiger as for his little brother, now dead and gone and hopefully happy in the afterlife. He took the cub in his arms.

" Lonely, are you?" The child said to the cub. " Hungry? Here there is plenty." He opened the cub's mouth, satisfied that there was teeth, and gave a small scrap of raw meat to it. The tiger, white as newfallen snow, gobbled it up like a starving dog, and licked the salts off the child's hand, wishing for more.

The child tore some more scraps and fed the young tiger affectionately.
" I think I'll call you Dima." He said. " It's a pretty name, and seems to fit you." The boy leaned against the wall and the cub curled up on his lap. They fell asleep.



For the next two years, the child and the tiger were inseparable. The tiger cub grew quickly and was especially protective of the boy. Never was there a more fearsome and affectionate guardian than that creature the boy had saved. Perhaps the tiger, dumb as it was, understood that the boy had saved its life. Perhaps. But nevertheless, it was gratitude to the extreme. It obeys every word that came from the boy's lips. It growls at all who it thinks may harm its master. And the boy, in turn, treats the tiger with such tenderness and love that it was not surprising the tiger was so devoted to the weak and frail child.

The bond was strong. The two of them were like brothers. The child instantly knows when the tiger's in pain, without even having to hear the whimpering of the cub. And the tiger, at the same time, needs no vocal command to do as it was told, for one look, one brief contact of the eyes, was worth a thousand words.

Ah, if only such bonds could still exist these days!



" My lord, this is madness!" The priest, Kijou, spoke harshly to Kai. " That child is no doubt a son of a sorceror. What are you doing, dragging him here to actually heal him?!"
" That boy is no sorceror!" Kai laughed. " He's a beauty, is he not? And the tiger too! Why, I would believe the child was a spirit, had not his blood flowed from his wound!"

Planchet looked at Kijou. " True, he is a beauty, but you don't even know his name, nor his age, nor where he came from-"
" All can be done in due time." Kai answered confidently. " Now, you may retire. I shall check the boy's condition."

The priests looked at each other and sighed. They bowed and left the hall. Kai went with his servants to the chamber where the child was cleaned and tended.

The tiger raised its beautiful head when he entered but otherwise did nothing. Kai stepped into the room with slight caution and found the child to be awake. He smiled kindly at the boy, who mustered a weak smile in return. He couldn't sit up for the wound though.

Kai made his way to the boy, consciously aware of the white tiger at the foot of the bed. He sat down next to the boy and took the boy's pale yet fair hands.

" Well, is our little one feeling better?" The Pharaoh laughed. " Indeed, I believe some color is coming to those hollow cheeks now!"

The child blushed, completely embarrassed.
" What is your name, little one?" The Pharaoh asked.
" S-Seto." The boy answered softly.
" How old are you?"
" I don't know."

Kai frowned. " Where do you come from?"
" I forgot."

The Pharaoh frowned. " Who are your parents?"
" I forgot."

Strange. The Pharaoh thought to himself.
" I had a brother named Mokuba." Seto shivered. " My father killed him. I ran away."
" Where?"
" To a temple."
" Did you stay there?"
" Yes. There was food there."

Kai turned to the healer who was washing herbs. She laughed.
" Ah, the boy found his way to the temple! He surely must be blessed!"
" How long were you there?"
" I was nine years old then." Seto said shyly. " Dima was a cub."
" A couple of years, probably." The healer came over. " And he wasn't caught? Quite odd!"

The tiger, disturbed at the laughter because Seto was, stalked up and climbed onto the bed, frightening the Pharaoh very badly. It growled, nosing at the child, before settling close to him, protecting him from any danger.

" It's okay Dima." Seto stroked the creature's head.
" He's called Dima?" Kai asked.

Seto nodded. " It's a she. She's my best friend."

Kai was hesitant. " Can I pet her?"

He notice a strange eye contact between the two pairs of blue eyes.
" Sure." Seto answered.

Kai reached out cautiously. The tiger did not move under his hand. He petted the soft fur, amazed and delighted.
" What a beautiful creature!" He smiled. The boy rubbed the creature's nose affectionately. The Pharaoh petted the tiger for a while, then rose.
" Tishe." He said to the healer. " Take care of the child. I must be going." He gave the boy's hand a squeeze before turning around and leaving.

Behind him, the child sighed in relief, then wrapped his thin arms around the tiger's neck, and closed his eyes.



Two to three years before now, in the woods far from the Nile, a female tiger gave birth to four squealing cubs. Although there was one that seemed quite odd, the tiger could not place what was so strange about it. So she nursed all four of them the way tigers do, devouring her meals to give them milk.

Presently the cubs were strong enough to play with each other, and the strange cub proved to be the weakest. Perhaps it was because of the milk, which she never seemed to get enough of. Nevertheless, the cub was weak. It could not play as long as the others or as enthusiastically. The mother did not care that much for. Survival of the fittest. If you're weak, you'll die, and there isn't much more to that.

One fine morning the mother just came back from killing a doe. She brought with her the head and neck, where the flesh was more tender. The cubs were excited by the smell of blood. They flurried over the neck, pulling with their tiny teeth, which were growing. The small tiger cub was not able to compete with the rest and sat desolately by the side in the bushes, watching hungrily but helplessly.

Suddenly, there was a crackle of leaves. Something flew at the mother tiger. With a growl she jumped up, and a stick was sticking out of her side. She growled, angry, then snapped her teeth. Something hit her on the head, penetrating to her brain. With a low groan, the beast slumped over to the side.

The small tiger cubs dashed away in terror, but the enemy already had their eyes on them. Several hunters threw a net over the cubs, who became tangled and helpless. The hunters laughed.
" That mother over there would make a fine cape for sure!" They chuckled, " And these cubs! No doubt we can domesticate them!"
" Aye, they're so small!" One agreed, as they picked up the net as if it had been a bag of potatoes, and carried off the whimpering and growling cubs, still hungry and frightened, off to wherever they came from.

The different and weak cub was left alone. Its mother lay dying on her side and the head and neck of the doe was nowhere to be found. The cub staggered to its mother, nosing her gently.

The mother did not move.

The cub turned around. The smell of death came from its mother and it was afraid. Beginning a slow and unsteady trot, it followed the direction of the men. It did not stop that entire day and the following day got only one hour of rest. It kept on going, even as the trees gave way to sand and burned its feet, the sun shining harshly upon its back. When night came the air was cold and the sand colder still. The wind scattered the grains into its eyes and it finally dropped, completely exhausted and extremely hungry, at the foot of a large stony temple, where its deliverer awaits.



When Seto got well, Kai decided to teach him how to write. A scribe, Phophe, was hired to do this, and the man was not the least displeased, for the child was a fast learner. What he never imagined, however, was the fact that the boy attempted to teach Dima. Phophe did not hinder this though. If the child's affection for the tiger was that strong, fine. He did find it funny though. An animal, that can read! Good heavens!

Pretty soon the child was able to read several simple and short scrolls and write some poems. The boy had a naturally delicate handwriting, very suitable for this kind of work, and Phophe once proposed that Seto should be taught the works of a scribe for the future. For some reason, the Pharaoh did not like that idea, feeling that although the class of a scribe is respectable, Seto seemed more advanced.

It didn't take long to prove that, despite Kai's own ignorance.



Around the same time the cub was born, the late Pharaoh called upon the council of Priests.

" My friends." He began. " For many generations, the Shadow Games have proved of great entertainment and show of intelligence. I am afraid the monsters are beginning to get out of control. We must invent a way to contain them, either in their tablets or in the Shadow Realm."

The Priests murmured, not happy with this idea, but the Living Horus was right.
" My lord, I believe there is a way to settle this problem." Said a young priest.
" Speak." The Pharaoh answered.
" Create, from the Shadow Magic," The priest began, " Seven talismans. One, for light, one for darkness, one for reality, one for illusion, one for death, one for life, and the final one-leave that vacant. Using these items as keys, we can lock the pathway between the Shadow Realm and ours, thus trapping the monsters forever in their own realm."
" How will these talismans work?" The Pharaoh asked.
" They will be objects of gold." Said the priest. " The Light one shall be a scale, one that compares the heart of mortals with the Feather of Maat. This one will banish the monsters to their doom. The Dark shall be in the form of a Ring. This one shall create the gate between the Shadow Realm and ours. Reality will be a rod. This will lure the monsters into the Shadow Realm. Illusion will be the Eye of Horus. This will control the magic powers of the Shadow Realm. Death will be the Tauk. This will ensure that no monster breaks through. Life would be the Key. This will be the key to the lock of the portal. And the last, the last will be that very lock that confines the monsters to their realm."

Murmurs spread throughout the group. The man must be mad! All of these, created out of gold, to trap millions of monsters into the Shadow Realm? One must need more than that! The man is mad!

The Pharaoh called for order. He rose.
" What is your name?" He asked.
" My name is Archniton."
" Very well, Archniton. Are you certain these items have the capability of confining the monsters?"
" Yes, my lord."
" Then proceed. But beware. If this fails, your rank will be lowered."
" I understand."



With the project of the late Pharaoh, Kai was forced to continue the beginning of imprisoning the monsters. The first thing that was created was the scale. The next was the eye, since it was easier to make and took less time. The priests and Kai had started making the rod when he found Seto and Dima. If the reader should wish to know what will be, please proceed to the next chapter.