Chapter 4: Mana
For an eight year old girl, Mana knew far too much of pain. The Egyptian sun scorched her skin on a daily basis, with no shelter offered to her much of the time. The boiling sands scalded her bare feet with every step she took through the streets of the slums of Egypt. Her stomach never ceased to complain that it wasn't receiving enough food or drink. Her bones ached from years of physical exertion unfair to someone of her age, as she spent countless hours running a cruel gauntlet in a desperate attempt to find just enough to survive.
She was crouched down in the shadow of an alley between two buildings that housed single room living quarters, peeking around the corner at a carpet salesman seated at a booth along the side of the street, eating a lunch of fish, bread and dates. He was very nearly done, and Mana patiently waited for him to set the remains to the side and resume selling. She figured she could at least scrape some morsels off the fishbones, and there was always a chance he would leave a few bites of bread or a couple dates.
This wasn't her first dance with the carpet salesman. Just a couple weeks ago she had tried to snatch the leafy stems from his lunch of turnips, seeking some tiny nourishment from the remaining bits. She had been caught that time, the salesman saw no benefit behind establishing a precedence of letting people dash into his booth and take anything. The man chose to take the matter of justice into his own hands, wrapping the small girl up in a wool blanket and leaving her out to bake in the sun. She sweated out a cruel hour in the wooly bonds before being released. However, when you were as hungry as Mana was, you tended to have a short memory.
To her dismay, the man finished his bread and dates. However, the fishbones he threw over his shoulder, towards the alley. As the man turned to look out at the customers, Mana decided the time had come, and skipped out into the booth's display area.
She skidded to a halt in the sands just short of the bones, snatching them up in her right hand before sprinting back the way she came. A pit in her stomach, she didn't dare to even turn to look behind her. She knew that if the man had spotted her, her small legs wouldn't carry her very far in a race against his fully-grown frame. The fear of potentially spending the entire afternoon wrapped in a prison of wool and sweat at her back, she sprinted across the sands as she never had before, making a sharp right turn down the alley separating two parallel streets.
A few buildings later, she dashed back to her left, then finally kneeled to a stop in the sands, panting heavily, as she came out into the street on the other side. Catching her breath, she turned back toward the alley to find no one behind her.
Swallowing hard, she turned back to the fishbones in her hand and quickly began sucking the remaining meat from them. It wasn't much, but she had long ago learned to take nothing for granted.
It took only a minute for the bones to be completely cleaned and discarded back into the alley. Perhaps taking only half a second to savor her victory, she looked around in the busy streetway. There was always another opportunity at hand somewhere in this city, a chance to get enough to live another day, and she constantly looked out for it. She could beg for coins, her adorable features always drew a little something from sympathetic crowds. Perhaps offer her services to carry something or clean something in the hopes of a reward. Or perhaps...
She grunted in annoyance at a quartet of boys about her age across the street, all wearing clothing that identified them as extremely impovished slumrats like her, nothing but a slightly longer loincloth to guard their modesty. She wore a similar loincloth along with a white sack that had been cut into a makeshift shirt that went to just below her hips. Two of the boys were pretended to fight each other in the streets, doing a convincing job of faking true violence. The other two were skillfully picking the pocket of a bystander, so distracted by the fight he didn't even notice the prying fingers in his pockets.
She rolled her eyes, even as jealously rose up in her chest. How she wanted to join their little con gang, how she longed to prove herself amongst the boys. The takes were much more organized, fun, and more importantly profitable. Even as she insisted she knew the streets and how to manipulate them as well as any other slumrat, the boys would either ignore her or stick their tongues out at her, unconvinced that a girl could add anything worthwhile to their little scams.
Her attention was snatched away, however, as an especially large carriage rolled down the street pulled by six enormous horses. She looked up at the giant cart, jumping to her feet in preparation. It was magnificent, a purple orb with gold trimmings criss-crossing it and rubies shimmering on the wheels. The entire street had fallen silent to gaze on this marvel, as it stopped right in front of Mana.
Mouth agape and stomach tying into a knot, her survival instincts told her to run like mad back into the alley, but her feet wouldn't obey. Was she in complete shock? Had fear rendered her unresponsive? Was she hoping to perhaps pry a ruby from the wheels of the carriage when no one was looking? It was hard to say. But she would not have made it far, as the door to the carriage quickly popped open to reveal the contents.
Her knees turned to jelly as she spied the inhabitants. She knew nothing about the world outside of survival in the slums, but even she knew the Pharaoh when she saw him. Massive, colorful hair, staff of gold with sparkling emeralds at the top, shining silk outfit...it could be no one else. Across from him in the cabin was someone she also recognized as the Queen, the beautiful and elegant Teana, dressed in a golden flowing dress of beautiful simplicity. There were others, but she had seen enough. Now, her survival instincts took over again. She looked down to realize she had already fallen to her knees without her even realizing it, so she bent her back down, planted her forehead into the sand, and closed her eyes.
The sands were boiling, scorching her face, but she didn't dare budge. Her knees, shins and feet also complained, but she ignored it, knowing that the wrong move by a mere fraction of a centimeter could result in torture and death. She figured she would remain here for a few minutes, until they passed, just to be safe. Surely they'd only spend minimal time here-
"Hello miss." Said a soft female voice from right in front of her. She felt her heart jump up into her throat, then start to pound at a thousand miles a minute. Who was that? The Queen? What an absurd thought, the Queen taking a second out of her time to talk to someone as low on the food chain as her. And yet, she dare not look up, for in the highly unlikely event it was the Queen, the slightest offense toward her would result in untold punishments.
"Are you alright?" The sweet voice followed up, as Mana did nothing but start to tremble. "You must be uncomfortable, the sands are burning."
Slowly, Mana started to tilt her head upwards. Surely no member of the royal family, or indeed anyone worth her supplication, would pause to ask her if the sands were burning her skin. However, all her eyes found was the hem of the golden dress and diamond laced sandals. Her heart went into overdrive, and she was sure it was going to blow a fuse. She buried her head back down into the sand, hoping against hope that the Queen had not noticed her offense or would forgive it.
"It's alright." The voice said, which Mana barely heard over the pounding in her ears. "Here." She heard a faint flapping sound to her right but did not dare move. "Please, it's okay. You can look." She said soothingly.
Her mind raced. On one hand, it could be a test of her obedience and respect for royalty, a test to see if she would take the bait for failing to show the required respect to them. But why would anyone bother to test her of all people? She also realized that, if the Queen's words were not a direct command or order, they were effectively a request, and no slumrat who valued his or her life failed to fill a royal request.
Slowly, bracing herself for a blade to fall on her neck as she, did, she lifted her head up inch by inch. Still quivering at an alarming rate, she again spied the dress hem and feet of the Queen, then slowly guided herself up her crouched body until she saw her gentle, smiling face. She didn't dare lift her body up an inch more, her head uncomfortably craned up to look at the Queen.
"Please." The Queen said, pointing to the ground on Mana's right. She tilted her head over, shaking her sweat-matted brown hair out of her eyes. A red, satin blanket had been laid out right next to her in the sands. "There's no need for you to burn your legs on my behalf."
Mana swallowed hard, feeling the sands bake her knees and shins. Her mouth very nearly watered at the prospect of getting to lay on the sheet. Quickly, she shuffled to her right, careful not to raise any part of her body up more than a foot above the ground. It was heavenly! As she came to rest on the satin, she feared she might never be able to tolerate the boiling sands again on her skin. It was so smooth and silky on her legs, she thought she might be eternally content to remain there forever. She had forgotten what it felt like to not be constantly in discomfort. She stuck her forehead back down into the ground, on the sheet, her mind racing with wonder at why the Queen would take even a split second of interest in her well-being.
"There. That's better, isn't it?" She said. "What's your name?"
Her heart pounded even harder. A direct question? She was being asked to speak before the Queen? Was the Pharaoh standing behind her? She hadn't noticed, her focus was so taken in by the Queen when she had looked, but dare she speak in the presense of the Almighty Pharaoh? Yet, it might be a worse offense to fail to answer a question, so she cleared her throat.
"Mana, Queen Teana." She croaked out.
"Mana?" The Queen repeated. "Well, Mana, how are you today?"
A new streak of fear suddenly struck her, and in a panic words began to flood out of her mouth. "Oh, a-a-almighty Queen, a million apologies! I c-c-c-confess! Please, f-forgive me, I was crazed from hunger and stole the fish! P-please, take pity, I swear I'll never steal anything ever again s-so long as I live!" She babbled, shivering as if she was resting on top of a massive block of solid ice, bracing herself for the Queen to grab her hand and a blade to sever it as punishment for her thievery.
Her pupils dilated and her entire body went numb when she felt a soft hand grab the fingers of her left hand, and she then shut her eyes tightly, waiting for the cut.
"Shhh..." The Queen soothed, holding her hand up to her face. In shock, Mana glanced up at the Queen's face as she took her tiny hand up to her face and kissed her fingers. In complete shock at this turn of events, she stared up at the Queen for a few seconds before remembering herself and sticking her forehead back onto the sheet.
"You're not in any trouble." The Queen said to the horribly confused little girl. "We're not here to hurt you. I promise. Please, sit up, I promise you will not be punished."
Another direct request. Even as a little voice in the back of her mind told her to stay planted right there, she slowly lifted her torso up. Her knees remained firmly planted into the ground, until she was asked to stand, but her face did come up to meet the Queen's. She made a quick glance around the Queen, and could not help but gasp in shock as she came to spy the Pharaoh, standing there and looking at her with amusement.
The Queen gave a light giggle at her reaction. "Well, Mana, it's nice to meet you." Mana remained frozen in place, not even wanting to chance a nod. "Please don't be frightened, we're not here to hurt you." The Queen glanced behind Mana, her focus taken by something in the alley behind her. The Queen smiled. "Looks like someone's looking for you."
Her stomach dropped. The carpet salesman must have caught up to her. Would he insist that she be punished for stealing the fishbones? Would the Pharaoh be forced to uphold the law of his land? She turned her head around to look down the alley, expecting to find the salesman and preparing to beg for forgiveness.
Instead, she found a much more settling sight. Her mother stood there, frozen in confusion, mouth agape as she stared at the scene. She shared Mana's tanned skin and brown hair, and wore a similar outfit of a loincloth and modified sack. Her eyes, however, were smaller and slanted, a contrast to Mana's large, round, and expressive ones.
As the unlikely trio looked at the middle aged women, reality struck her and she too fell to her knees, forehead planted in the sand. Teana smiled. "I see where your beauty came from, young Mana." She said. "Miss, please come forward." She called out.
Like a crab, the woman crawled forward, dragging her forehead through the sand as she did so. After a few seconds, she came to a stop where Mana had lay a minute ago.
"And your name?" Teana asked, crouching down in front of the woman.
"A-asenath." She stuttered. "Almighty Pharaoh, Almighty Queen, p-please. W-w-w-what has my d-daughter done-"
"Your daughter is a fine girl, and you should be proud of her." Teana replied. "Fear not, your lovely daughter is in no trouble. Now, please sit up."
Asenath quickly rose her torso up, staring in disbelief at the two members of royalty.
"We'd like to invite your daughter to the palace." Atemu said, walking up next to his wife. "We'd be more than happy to extend that same invitation to you if you would like."
The pair of peasants simply stared at the Pharaoh in shock, certain he must be playing some form of prank but too terrified to say anything alluding to such. Atemu looked down at them, waiting for a response. When none came, he turned back to his carriage and gestured at the door into it, where a few others still sat. "I have something ask of young Mana, and our meeting will not be without benefits." With this, one of the men inside the cart revealed a covered metal tray from underneath his seat. He removed the circular cover from the tray, showing off a lavish spread of fruits of every kind.
Inspite of herself, Mana could not help but salavate at the sight. On cue, her stomach groaned. She knew her mother was probably just as hungry as her, if not moreso.
"Of course, I know you two probably had plans this afternoon." Atemu continued. "I'm more than happy to compensate you for your time." At this, another man inside the carriage pulled a watermelon-sized burlap bag out from under his seat and threw it out onto the sands behind the Pharaoh. He turned around and bent down to pick it up, then set it down in front of the two on their knees, pulling the string around the neck slightly to reveal the contents. Asenath and Mana stared at the protuding coins, not made of copper or iron they were typically lucky to find, but what appeared to be solid gold.
"So..." Atemu said, drawing their attention away for a second from the bag. "How about a ride?"
""""
Mana ripped the plump green grapes from the stem as fast as her small nimble fingers could, popping each into her mouth as she pulled it. She had never eaten something so good in her entire life, she was positive, nor had she ever eaten so much. Even as she sat in the presence of the most powerful men and women in the world, she couldn't hold herself back. It took all she had to hold herself back from weeping in joy.
Asenath was biting into a peach next to her, more reserved, blushing slightly as her young daughter pigged out but lacking the heart to tell her to stop.
The four others in the carriage merely watched them eat, no clue to their intentions yet given. Mana abandoned her clean grapevine and picked up an orange, fingernails digging away at the skin.
"You may want to consider saving room." Atemu finally said as Mana bit into the juicy orange. "The fruit is just an appetizer."
Immediately, the two girls froze midbite, looking up at the Pharaoh as if he had just given an order.
"I just mean...once we get to the palace, my chefs can cook up anything your heart desires. Just something to keep in mind." He said.
Mana brought the orange down to her lap, wiping the back of her right hand over her mouth. Suddenly remembering, she bowed her head down toward the Pharaoh. "Almighty Pharaoh, your generousity knows no bounds, and I can not even begin to comprehend the kindness you possess to grant me and my mother such lavish and undeserved gifts."
Atemu smiled. "You're welcome, young Mana." He leaned forward from across the carriage, Teana sitting next to him and across from Asenath. "Let me ask you a few questions." He looked over to his left, past Teana, at his High Priest seated by the door. "Do you know who this is, Mana?"
She looked at the tall, thin man, looking at her without expression. His glittering uniform and tall hat seemed distinctive, but she could not quite place him by name. However, the pyramid insignia on his shoulders...she stared at that for a moment...
"Is he a priest?" She asked.
Atemu laughed. "Yes! Yes, very good. He's the High Priest, in fact, and my most trusted advisor, High Priest Seto."
Mana went slightly red, and bowed her head toward's the High Priest. "My apologies, mighty High Priest Seto." She said.
Seto nodded. Atemu then pointed at the man sitting to the left of Asenath, not quite as tall or thin as Seto, and more tanned, but somewhat similarly built. His similar uniform gave him away as a priest, but beyond that, she could not identify him.
"What about him?" Atemu asked. Mana shook her head. "Priest Mahad, another trusted advisor of mine." Both Mana and Asenath bowed their heads toward him as well, and he nodded.
"Do you follow the news very much, young Mana?" Atemu next asked. "Do you know what happened last night in this city?"
Mana blinked a few times. The truth was, she knew very little about what was going on in the world beyond what was relevant to her survival. So, truthfully, she could only shake her head.
"Last night, a major bank was robbed, thieves made off with a lot of gold." Atemu explained. "The first bank robbery in decades that succeeded. At approximately the same time, there was an attack on the palace, Queen Teana was very nearly killed in an explosion. Both of these attacks used a dangerous art, thought long extinct, called black magic. Do you know anything about black magic, Mana?"
She again shook her head, wondering if she was disappointing the Pharaoh with her ignorance.
"I thought not, very few do anymore." Atemu comforted her. "My priests are capable of using magic, but of a different type. They can divine the future, see into the minds of others. He leaned forward toward Mana, causing her to withdraw back a few inches. "Very few people in the world know this, young Mana." He whispered. "I am ill-equipped to handle someone who has re-learned black magic. My vast armies are just flesh and bone. They may be capable of destroying any other flesh and bone force in the world, but I fear this black magician is something I can't handle."
He sat back against the wall of the carriage chamber. "You see my conundrum?"
Mana nodded slowly, not daring to ask the many logical questions raised by this story.
He waved his hand towards Mana dismissively. "That's enough for now."
She looked back down at the orange in her hand, and her stomach quickly told what it thought about 'saving room'. She bit back into the fruit.
""""
The dining room of the palace was knee-weakingly beautiful, particularly to a pair of woman who had never left the slums in their lives before. The two looked around in wonder at the high, glittering ceilings of gold, the massive, thick pillars of marble that extended from those ceilings to the cool marble floors that felt so good on their bare feet. The long dining table of polished wood that could have seated over a hundred. They had never seen so much luxury in their lives.
"Do you like it?" Pharaoh Atemu asked, enjoying the looks of unabashed glee on their faces.
Mana opened her mouth to say something, but quickly swallowed it in favor of a more proper response. "Almighty Pharaoh, as great as this palace may be, it is still not fit to house someone as grand as you." She said.
Atemu smiled at her. "Smart girl." He said. "The palace has tripled in size since I took the throne. I felt it should stand to represent the empire that it oversaw."
"It is a truly beautiful and magnificent palace, Great Pharaoh, but only the entire world would serve as fit for you." Mana said.
"That's quite enough." Teana said teasingly, looking up at her husband. "The Mighty Pharaoh has a big enough ego as it is."
"Now then." Atemu began walking towards the exit of the room, back towards the steps that led outside. "I thought you might enjoy seeing the Grand Palace. Come with me."
The rest of the group fell in step behind him, with a confused Asenath and Mana in the rear.
""""
"Forgive me for taking so much amusement in your complete and utter confusion at all of these events." Atemu said as the carriage slowed to a halt. It had been a fairly short trip, Mana would have guessed they had simply gone to another area of the palace courtyard. "I have not given nearly enough information."
Asenath shook her head quickly, then bowed it toward Atemu. "Not at all, Almighty Pharaoh. Your discretion is the final word in all matters."
"Why thank you." Atemu replied. "In any case, you remember the problem I told you about earlier, Mana?"
She nodded, her mind returning to his problem as the door to the carriage opened. The passengers disembarked one by one, onto the sandy path in front of a palace.
Mana looked up at it, blinking. It was certainly enormous and grand from the outside, with golden fences stretching around the border and grand marble pillars holding a huge stone slab hundreds of feet up...but she was quite certain this one was smaller than the previous one by a great deal.
"Pharaoh, sir...my apologies, but where are we?" She dared to ask, hearing her mother draw a quick breath.
"Very good question." Atemu replied. "You see, when I took the throne and began to expand Egypt, I wanted to make my kingdom as grand as possible. After all, quantity is only half the equation." He looked up at the palace before them. "So I looked at my priests. Specifically, my trusted inner circle of priests. Under all previous reigns, all priests resided in a simple single room, bare and dull with only basic funishings. I understood the reasons for it, preaching a message of how material goods were unimportant and how priests should instead be connected to the more spiritual. Yet, I felt that my most trusted advisors should be rewarded in this life as well as the next. So I built palaces for each of the priests in my inner circle. This one is Mahad's." With that, he began walking down the path to the palace, with the rest of the group on his heels.
"It doesn't quite stack up with the Grand Palace, but I think you'll find it lovely all the same." Atemu continued to speak as they walked up the marble steps. "A hundred rooms, a thousand servants, a thousand guards. "I'd give you the grand tour, but you'll be getting to know the place a lot better from here on out so long as that's what you'd like, young Mana."
She stared up at the Pharaoh in confusion. "I-"
"Ah yes." The Pharaoh said, not turning to look at her. "Yes. Well, that problem I told you about. I need help, Mana. I need your help. My empire is threatened by this black magic, and you can help me."
She blinked stupidly a few times, almost tripping over the last step that took the group up to the entrance hall. "I-"
"You see, little Mana, my priests can see people." He quite suddenly turned around and went down on one knee to level with Mana. She stood frozen to the spot, lowering her head slightly so that she was still lower than the Pharaoh. Atemu reached out and lightly grabbed her waist. "They have seen you. And even though you don't know it yet. Even though you can't imagine it yet. Even if it seems impossible, they have seen the potential in you."
She continued to stare blankly, trying to drop down to one knee but Atemu held her up. "You have the gift, Mana. Black magic. It can't be taught, virtually every other person in the world couldn't use it even with a lifetime of training, but you..." he touched his right index finger to her chest lightly, causing her to flinch "...it's all here. Mahad knows the theory behind it, he's studied the history of it more than any other living human. He can bring the gift out in you with some training. I need your gift, Mana. I need your help. Your gift can defeat this new evil that threatens Egypt, your gift is the only thing that can." He grabbed her right hand, holding it up inbetween his, causing her heart to again accelerate. "Can you help me?"
Mana tried to croak out her immediate acceptance, but her voice failed her. She was in shock. Was this all a dream? Her, capable of an extinct form of powerful magic? It seemed so impossible. He must be mistaken. But if he was, and she promised to help him but proved incapable, the punishment would no doubt be severe beyond measure, and her entire body gave a cold shiver at the thought of such pain. That fear seemed to hold her voice back.
"You don't have to decide right now." Atemu said, standing back up and resuming his walk into the palace. The group followed, as Teana reached down to grab a stunned Mana by the hand and guide her and a near-catatonic Asenath finally started to follow three steps behind.
"If you choose to accept my offer, Mahad will teach you everything he knows about the art, and it won't be too long before you begin to see that you do possess the ability." They walked through the entrance hall, Atemu guiding them right of the main entrance. "Of course, your powers are for me to command as I see fit, for understandable reasons." They came to a large marble door in the side of the arch in the entrance hall. Atemu grabbed a metal ring in the marble and pulled, the large door slowly pulling open as he did. The door opened to reveal a stone smooth staircase, very wide, leading up to another door. The group began to make the quick climb. "In the event that I am mistaken, and I assure you I am not, I'll release you without any punishment." He continued to speak as Mana worked to get her vocal chords up and running.
They came to the top of the staircase, where a brown wooden door stood. Atemu turned the brass handle and pushed it open.
The room on the other side was a sight. Thick, purple carpet covered the floor, except for a small stone section in front of the fireplace on the left wall. The walls were patterned with decorations from all corners of the world, paintings and figurines positioned everywhere. There were massive purple and gold pillows laying about everywhere, along with several purple couches and three giant red beds along the right wall. There were two doors, left open, on the far side of the room, one led to an opulent bathroom and the other to a massive walk-in closet. And perhaps, most exciting to the two girls, a long wooden table was right in the middle of the room, lined with every type of food imaginable. Atemu had not been kidding, for this time, not only was there fruit, but every meat known to man, all wheat products imaginable, and any drink anyone in the world could think of was sitting there. The meats were still smoking and sizzling. The fruit glinted in the light from the sun coming in through the right window. It was dazzling, and Mana had to keep her lips tightly closed to keep from drooling all over the carpet.
She stood at the threshold of the room, wanting more than anything to run in and begin pigging out but terrified of appearing rude to her royal benefactors.
"Should you choose to stay, this will be your room, which your mother can share if she chooses to." Atemu said as Mana very nearly started to hyperventilate right on the spot. "I've already earmarked a hundred servants specifically for you, and you have unlimited funds to do whatever you'd like within reason. So, little Mana, can I count on you?"
She turned to Pharaoh Atemu, looking up at him with bright, sparkling eyes and a big smile. She dropped down to one knee, looking down at his feet. "Almighty Pharaoh, I swear to use my gift in service to you so long as I live, and do everything within my power to serve your will."
"Very good." Atemu said, nodding. "Now, why don't you try out your new room?"
With that, she jumped up and bolted in, making a line straight for the table. It took only a few seconds for her to grab a thin slice of ham from the end of the table and begin consuming it violently.
Asenath took a few unstable steps into the room, looking around in awe. Atemu took a step into the room, watching her look around. "I suppose I should get permission from the parent." He said. "Do you approve of this arrangement?"
She suddenly started to give out little choked sobs as she looked around the room, tiny tears falling from her eyes onto the carpet. Suddenly, she turned around, falling to her knees in front of the Pharaoh, still sobbing slightly. "T-t-hank you." She choked out, leaning forward to start kissing Atemu's right hand. She did so repeatedly before leaning back slightly. "T-t-t-thank y-you." she repeated, falling to the ground and starting to kiss the Pharaoh's feet. She repeated this several times as well, her tears of unmeasurable joy still hitting the carpet as she did so.
