Number of words: 5,553
Published date: June 8, 2013
Began chapter: May 20, 2013
Finished chapter: June 8, 2013
Chapter 24: Memories 1
Introduction
It wasn't until after the events of what came to be known by our historians as 'The Rebellion' that we learned of how some of Greed's siblings were involved in putting down the dissenters, for although Greed insisted at the time that he could sense his brother's Philosopher's Stone even over the vast distance, I had trouble believing that the Homunculi could be mixed up in our country's problems. And it wasn't until after these events transpired that we learned of how much remained unknown about the ancient, ruined city in which they occurred. Admittedly, I have not spoken firsthand with the archaeologists of our new sister country, but certainly our own archaeologists had no idea that the city held such a vast wealth of knowledge, that its history had been protected so zealously by the one who had a direct hand in the incident and who, though ending up protecting my throne, could in no way be mistaken as an ally.
Old friends and new came together to study this history and knowledge, to piece together what all had assumed lost to the forbidding and merciless desert. From my country's wealth I generously contributed to the project. Our bond with Amestris had thus far consisted mainly of militaristic and economic concerns; the alchemy teacher exchange program was only a first step. I wished to support such a combined research effort in order to expose my people to new ideas and modes of thought.
Please do not misunderstand me. I take great pride in my nation's cultural history. Our heritage and traditions form the core of our national pride. What other nations can boast of their ability to trace their lineage through ten generations? Or of their remembrance and respect for their ancestors, upon whose backs our prosperity exists? Our hierarchy, which serves to provide every citizen with a place in the world, from the lowliest servant to the emperor himself, so that none is bereft of purpose? Xing's history stretches back thousands of years into the mists of time and tradition, strengthened by this, gives us an identity and stability that the younger, impetuous countries like Amestris cannot begin to understand.
Nevertheless, it is my conviction that Xing as a country has stagnated.
I didn't realize this until I first traveled to Amestris.
Confronting an entirely different culture and way of life, I saw for the first time that my people, while blessed with wisdom and patience and a closeness with nature, also loathed change and avoided action. Tradition lent stability, but it also made us lazy. It is very easy to say that we do a certain thing because that is what has always been done, rather than admitting that we simply do not want to exert the effort required to change it.
As Emperor, I have a responsibility to do what is best for my people even when they do not like or want it. In Xing's history, I am rather unique, being one of only five emperors in the past thousand years to have set foot on foreign soil and being the only one to have lived among foreign commoners. Alphonse Elric once said that he thought my greatest challenge would be in taking the throne at such a young age, but in fact, there have been several emperors the same age as I was or younger when I took the throne. So it has not been my age, but my broadened perspective, that excites comments among the people.
My desire for change – in my relations with Amestris, in my greater accessibility to those of the lower classes and foreigners, in the protection extended to the Chang clan – labelled me by many as a revolutionary, or even a radical. I do not regret these changes, but in a way they also hold me responsible for The Rebellion. Those who acted to remove me from the throne did so out of fear that I would destroy tradition, tearing them from their positions of power and uprooting everything they knew.
Meanwhile, my Amestrian acquaintances can only shake their heads in consternation that the small changes I made could excite such terrible fears and reactions.
But I digress. This missive's purpose is to provide insight into the ancient civilization that was the birthplace of alchemy, not to reminisce about my own past feelings or regrets.
Before moving on, though, I should mention that although I paint my reasons as altruistic – supporting the research partnership to broaden my people's worldview – I also had personal motives. My friend was mostly uninvolved in the incident, but the effect on his family did not leave him unaffected and I wanted to do whatever I could to help them find the answer to Why.
Why did it happen?
What had been her motivation?
What had she been trying to accomplish?
Finding the answers took years of toil: by the researchers, some eager to learn for knowledge's sake and others only in it for the money; by the surviving Ishvalans versed in their ancient tongue and so the ones most proficient in translating the discovered texts; by the unassuming and yet incredibly talented records officer from Central City, who meticulously read and transcribed the volumes from memory so that exposure to air and light would not mean losing their contents; and of course by Pride himself, the oldest of the Homunculi and the one most knowledgeable about their origins. He claims to not know anything of their father's existence before his own birth and yet he had an intuitive understanding of what was uncovered, suggesting the meaning behind cultural phrases, rituals, and philosophies with confident insight that even he could not explain.
The journals hold the greatest wealth of information and without them we could not have answered those questions, but without knowledge of the writer's society, they are in places difficult to understand. For that reason, I wish to give the reader a short introduction to the society's structure and in particular the royal court, for it is within the royal court that much of the story occurs…
…
At first glance, Xerxes was not all that different from Xing. The Xerxians had a king instead of an emperor, but the difference in terms is only semantic; compared to my own sphere of power, the Xerxian king was my equal. His kingdom was smaller, but he had near unlimited power, with all citizens from the highest advisor to the lowest slave obliged to do his will. The king's position was hereditary (rather than democratic) but, unlike in Xing, it was reserved exclusively for males. It was impossible for a woman to become queen.
The ruler of Xerxes was worshipped as a divinely appointed being, much as the emperors of Xing were worshipped in my country's past, but it is difficult to establish exactly what the Xerxians believed in terms of a god. What we can piece together is mostly speculation, for if the Xerxians had a religious canon, their historical guardian did not see fit to protect that particular piece of knowledge.
It appears that the Xerxians held particular esteem for the sun, which is not surprising considering the sun's prominence in their lives. They believed that the sun had specially marked them and that their golden eyes and hair were proof of its blessing. They had some belief in fate and the heavens, but their philosophy mainly focused on this life rather than a world after death or a god (like the Ishvalans' religion). Their overarching beliefs revolved around the principles expounded in alchemy: that all life is connected and that things only exist as part of a whole. This extended into a belief that all good and bad acts eventually return to the one who commits them; an individual cannot live disconnected from everything else. There is some suggestion that they believed in reincarnation, but if so, they took it as a given and didn't feel the need to affirm it in their writings.
The Xerxians were also a proud people. Their country was isolated by the desert. They both distrusted and disdained outsiders. They believed that their advanced technologies – alchemy, architecture, agriculture, cloth dying, metallurgy, and well-digging – proved their superiority in allowing them to live and thrive in the inhospitable desert. Their society did not have as many divisions in hierarchy as in Xing, but the gaps were wider. There was the king, those in the royal court who served the king, the commoners, and slaves. With a few exceptions, people were equal to those in their respective groups, but interactions between groups was a delicate balance of deference by the weaker and condescension by the stronger.
The king was served and advised by two distinct groups: the alchemists and the seers. The alchemists were the scholars and philosophers of the Xerxian kingdom, while the seers were the mystics and soothsayers to the king.
The seers were made up only of women and they held their positions from birth, believing that their powers were hereditary and were passed down from mother to daughter. The alchemists, on the other hand, were all male and were picked from every level of society by the masters, who took promising students as apprentices. A seer was born, while an alchemist was made.
Although the two groups provided different services to their king and kingdom, it seems they held a bitter rivalry, which only grew in the years leading up to Xerxes' destruction. Both sides vied for the king's favour and often took opposite sides on an issue. The seers used their powers to predict future events and advise of appropriate actions to best benefit the kingdom. The alchemists used their powers for practical action, helping the people and liaising with village heads and governors to guard the throne's power.
It is hard to understand why these two groups did not get along, for their powers seem complimentary and they could have done much greater good working together. Instead, their differing philosophies only led to derision and competition. The alchemists accused the seers of being slavish fatalists and followers of a faith that was more superstition than science. The seers accused the alchemists of being spiritually dead and denying fate's hold on them. Both groups jealously guarded their domains.
…
This, then, was the world of Xerxes' last survivor: the political intrigue and rivalry of the royal court combined with a fatalistic belief in the powerlessness of the individual while at the same time commanding enormous power in her own right.
Despite what we've uncovered, there is still much we don't know about Dante. We have her history written in her own words, but there are gaps and missing explanations which we will never be able to fill in with one hundred percent certainty. Dante's early years describe events in a general sense but lack detail, and her later years suggest the slow onset of madness and obsession. I have my own hypotheses and interpretations. I know that Edward and Alphonse Elric have their own take, and I imagine the Homunculi too see things in a different way.
The following, then, is an edited translation of Dante's story. I leave it to the reader to draw his or her own conclusions.
Lord of the Imperial Throne
Guardian of the Xingese Dynasty
His Royal Highness
Emperor Ling Yao
The Fourth Day of Venus in the Month of the Lion in the Fifteenth Year of his Majesty's Reign
[Friday, July 30, 1475 – approximate Amestrian reckoning]
I am very excited. Today is important because I am being allowed to go with Mother to a royal cort meeting for the first time. It is because I became six years old today. Today is my birthday.
Mother would scold me for thinking that this day is speshal. According to the stars, this day is the same as any other day. I am too small for the stars to care about my life.
It hurts when Mother says this. Why don't the stars care about me? I care about them. I am the daughter of the great Seer Vashti. That makes me important too. After all, Mother knows everything. The stars tell her everything. She is never wrong when she sees the future. She is so blest by the Sun that her hair is pure white. I love Mother's hair. She is very beautiful. My hair is light, but not white like Mother's hair. I wish my hair was white like her's.
I am eksited about the meeting, but I am also scared. I have never met His Majesty before. What if I displease him? Only the seers and alchemists may see His Majesty's face. One day I too will be a seer like Mother, but I am not a seer yet. But Mother says one day I will be and she is always right, so I will try to not be afraid and to study hard.
There is a lot to study. It is confusing sometimes. Mother becomes angry when I do not understand things right away.
The stars tell truths about big things, things that will happen to many people, not just one person, so they are hardest to read. There are many stars and planets and signs. Every sign and planet has a speshal meaning and the meanings can be affected by other signs and planets. It is complicated. Mother says one day I will know all these meanings by hart, but it seems impossible. There are so many! I don't think I can ever know them all.
For one person, there are tarot cards and palm reading. Its big name is chiromancy. Mother says that a person's fate is writtin on their hands like a book and that one day I will be able to read the lines too. I don't like this method very much. It is hard to learn from books and there are few people for me to practis with. I am not allowed to leave the temple and the other seers are always busy. I like the tarot cards more. They have pretty pictures and I like looking at them. But I'm not allowed to play with them. Mother says the cards must be treated with respect. They won't tell the true future if the reader treats them like toys.
Mother has also started teaching me oneiromancy. (I checked my book to spell it right!) That means how to interpret dreams. She says that dream meanings come through exsperience, not study. Not every dream has a meaning. A true seer must be able to tell which dreams are important and which are not. I must practis to remember my dreams.
Mother tells me some of her past dreams and what they mean. She once told a dream of His Majesty that saved our country. His Majesty dreamed that five fat cows were eaten by five skinny cows. Mother advised that there would be five years of good crops followed by five years of famine. Because of her advise, His Majesty was able to plan ahead and save our people from starving.
One day I want to be a wise seer just like Mother. I will give advise to His Majesty so that Xerxes will always prosper.
The Second Day of the Sun in the Month of the Snake in the Twentieth Year of his Majesty's Reign
[Sunday, March 12, 1481]
Clearly I still have much to learn. I saw no signs in my morning reading that I would take advantage of Mother's rare summoning for a private audience with His Majesty. Perhaps Saturn, the planet of challenge, saw fit in the Sign of Scales to influence me through rebelliousness. I have never thought to disobey Mother before, so something in the stars must have demanded I act otherwise. Such is Heaven's will and only fools deny it.
I should have continued my studies alone. Instead, having unexpected time to myself, I was struck with the strangest urge. Those of the royal court who serve His Majesty (we seers and alchemists) are of course allowed to leave the palace as we choose, but I am not yet deemed a seer and Mother has forbidden me to leave the temple. It is unfitting for those of higher station to mingle with the commoners. Even more so those of us who are readers of fate. Mother warns that the things of worldly life are not our concern and that our presence would only make the ordinary people nervous. We would be like gods in their eyes. It is cruel to be among them because we remind them of how weak they are.
I know that what Mother says must be true, but even so, I have wanted to see our great city ever since I can remember. And not just through the temple doors. I have not even walked the palace grounds before! Even the slaves are allowed more freedom than me! They can enter and leave the temple as they please while I cannot. It is not fair, but Mother refuses to listen to me!
All I want is to see a little more of the world around me. Surely just stepping outside the temple for a short bit will not hurt anyone. Mother cannot see me anyway; she can barely see anything now. And no one would dare tell her, so there is nothing to worry about.
It was scary to take the first step through the temple doors, but because I did not want to be seen, there was not much time to think. Before I knew it, I was in the palace grounds.
It was hotter than in the temple. Most of the temple is underground and dark. The Sun affects our lives, but I did not know it was so hot too. I didn't really like it. The heat made me feel ill. And it was dusty.
Outside was also noisier. Mother does not allow me to speak unless she wants me to answer a question. The temple is very quiet, but outside, people and animals make a lot of noise. There were some horses tied to a water trough and whinnying. Several people were squatting on the ground, holding sticks and writing in the sand. One of them, a man a few years older than me, was teaching. Even from across the grounds, I could hear him. There were both men and women in the group but they stood side by side together as if it didn't matter. The listeners would stop the man who was teaching to ask questions and he let them speak and didn't seem to care that they'd stopped him. It was not at all the same as how Mother teaches. If I interrupt her with a question, I am sure to be punished.
Then a man came past me who I recognized by his robes. He was one of His Majesty's alchemists. His name is Paracelsus. I have seen him in court meetings. I don't like him. His eyebrows are big and his head is bald and he always looks angry. I have also heard him speak disrespectfully to Mother. I did not want him to see me, so I ducked down behind a cart to hide. He walked past without seeing me. When he was gone, I looked back at the group across the grounds, but many of them had left. Perhaps they also do not like the alchemist? The man who had been teaching was still there, though, and I think he saw me hide because, when he looked at me, he smiled and gave a small wave as if to say the man was gone.
I didn't go over to him, though I think that's what he wanted. By then, I was worried about being gone too long, so I went back to the temple. I returned to my room and my studies, but Mother was still with His Majesty. When she returned, she made no mention of my outing. It is the first time I have seen proof that Mother does not know everything.
The Third Day of Saturn in the Month of the Snake in the Twentieth Year of his Majesty's Reign
[Saturday, March 25, 1481]
I snuck out of the temple again yesterday. Mother has been distracted by something and so has not had time for my lessons. I do not know what is bothering her and I do not care so long as I get the chance to explore the palace without her knowing. I have wanted to ask if Saturn in the Scales could stir up rebelliousness, but then I am worried that she may question where I got this idea…
Most of the people I see in the palace ignore me. I thought that was strange until I realized that they do not know who I am, having never seen me before. I like it that way. I don't have to worry about being recognized and getting into trouble. I ignore them too.
I found a stairway in one of the buildings that went up several flights. At the top was a window overlooking the city. I know that the city is large and magnificent, but I was still overwhelmed by the view. Surely Xerxes must be the greatest kingdom in the world! Our buildings are beautiful and grand. I have heard stories about other peoples who live in homes made of leaves or animals skins. Imagine! Compared to us, they are barbarians.
I was startled when a man spoke behind me. It was the same man who had been teaching the group of people in the courtyard the first time I left the temple.
He recognized me and asked what I was doing there. At first I was nervous because I have never spoken to someone so close to my age before. And a man! Only women are allowed in the temple; even male slaves are not allowed inside, for they would desecrate the sanctum, and so I have had no occasion to speak to them.
I had not noticed the other day that he was dressed poorly. His clothes were barely rags. He wore no sandals and he held a broom in his hand. He was a slave! How could I have missed it before?
And imagine this: a slave talking to me, Dante, the daughter of the great Seer Vashti, one day to be His Majesty's most trusted and honoured advisor, as if we were equals! It was so preposterous that I couldn't think of how to answer.
Unaware of his lowly position, the man kept talking, warning that I had wandered into His Majesty's alchemists' quarters and that, judging by my reaction the other day, if I didn't want "the Master" to see me, I had better leave.
When I told him who I was, he didn't even believe me! The daughter of the all-seeing Seer? He said he had lived in the palace his whole life and had never seen me before. He accused me of being an unruly child who had snuck away from her parents and found herself in a place she didn't belong! When I grew angry, he said he was just trying to help me out, as if he was giving me advice for which I should be grateful. I was so angry that I threatened to go to his master and inform him of his slave's audacious behaviour to a member of the royal court. I told him that if he was lucky they would just cut out his tongue; a slave does not need to be able to speak to do his work, after all.
Unfortunately, he was unimpressed by the threat. He pointed out that even if I was who I said I was, I still was not allowed in the alchemists' quarters. (Which is true, I hate to admit.) He also said that he knew the look of someone guilty of doing something they're not supposed to do and that he was willing to bet I wouldn't go to his master because then I would get in trouble too.
Shrewd man. I thought all slaves were stupid simpletons. Perhaps this one is an exception.
I decided that it would be best to convince him that I was telling the truth, so I told him to give me his hand. My first reading. I spoke confidently, not wanting him to know that I am still an apprentice.
His head and heart lines were average and indicated that he would have a family later in his life. I hesitated over this interpretation, for I do not know if slaves are permitted to have families, but I suppose new slaves must come from somewhere and he looked pleased to hear it. His life line also confused me, for it was unlike any of the examples in Mother's books. In the middle of his line, there was a jagged split, then it continued thick and strong until abruptly cutting off at his wrist. Normally the line does not cut off so suddenly. Maybe he will die in an accident? But its length suggests he will live to be very old, and yet he will remain healthy until his death. I am curious to see what this means, but of course such will not be revealed until far into the future.
When I finished, he said he still couldn't be sure of my identity because I could just be making things up. The ignorant gall! I seriously considered going to his master regardless of the trouble I would be in too! My anger must have shown on my face – of which I am ashamed; Mother cautions that a seer's face should betray none of her thoughts or emotions – but apparently he finally came to his senses and began to speak respectfully. He assured me that he believed me. He asked if there were any other things I could tell him about his future. I told him that if I knew his birth date, there was much I would be able to tell him, but he replied that he did not know when he was born. We were both disappointed. It would have been nice to have someone to practice my readings with.
Wanting to address him, without thinking I asked his name, forgetting that slaves do not have names. Not unless their masters decide to give them one, which I doubt Paracelsus would bother to do. He looks too intimidating to care about his slaves. So I corrected myself, changing name to number.
But instead of looking embarrassed, he hesitated. He glanced around, checking that the hallway was empty. He looked at me as if debating with himself. Then he asked if I would keep a secret for him if he kept my being there a secret.
I did not want to bargain, but it seemed fair and I was curious to find out what he would say. I promised I wouldn't tell anyone.
He told me that his number was 23, but that he also had a name: Van Hohenheim.
I wanted to ask how he had gotten the name, but there was no chance. We heard someone's footsteps coming down the hall and Van quickly pushed me towards the stairs then began to sweep the floor so that he seemed hard at work. When I hesitated, he hissed at me to leave before I was spotted and we both got into trouble.
Van Hohenheim… A slave with a name. One who spoke to me as an equal. And he was teaching the other slaves. I did not realize that slaves knew how to read. It is a shame that he cannot come into the temple, because then we might have another chance to talk. He seems like an interesting person.
Well, if I get another chance to leave the temple, surely I will be able to talk to him again. My intuition is not at Mother's level yet, but I just feel certain that he will be important to me.
The First Day of Mercury in the Month of the Bull in the Twentieth Year of his Majesty's Reign
[Wednesday, May 4, 1481]
I have not been able to sneak away from the temple again, though I have been watching for an opportunity. I think Mother has realized that I may have disobeyed her. After I described Van's life line and asked what it might mean, Mother questioned where I had seen such a line. I said that it was just something I had thought of, but I don't think she believed me. Mother also became quite angry when I asked some questions about the slaves. She says that slaves are forbidden from having families. I wanted to ask what it meant if I was wrong about Van's lines, but of course I could not…
The First Day of Jupiter in the Month of the Beetle in the Twenty-First Year of his Majesty's Reign
[Thursday, July 7, 1481]
Mother has been teaching me about Xerxes' history and social structure. She says that I am at the point in my studies where I am ready to progress beyond just learning to predict the future, that I must learn to appreciate the grander scheme of the Heavens.
The laws of the universe show that everyone is ruled by fate. Everything that happens is caused to happen by something else. There is no way for someone to be unaffected by events around them. Our personality and desires are dictated at birth by the Heavens and we cannot choose the circumstances and setting of our life. So to say that we have control over our lives is a fool's belief. What happens is what has been meant to happen from the beginning of time. Our lives are set up from the moment of our birth.
The alchemists claim to understand this truth and yet they deceive themselves. They feel free to alter things and think they have control over their world. They don't know that they are destined to alter what they alter and they are destined to believe they control their world even though they do not.
This is obviously the truth, so Mother says the most important thing is that we accept fate. We are fated in our actions and thoughts and desires, so we should act as we wish but must always remember that there is only one possible path for our life to follow. The unwise think there are infinite possibilities in life.
These lessons make me think of Van and the other slaves.
Slaves are born into their positions. It is their fate to be what they are and most accept it without protest. They live properly, obeying the Heavens.
Mother and the others in the temple do not pay any attention to the slaves. They are property, not people, and so should be treated with no more concern than animals or objects. They do not read, they do not have names, and they should not imagine or desire that their lives be any different. This is the proper way of the universe, to accept our place in it.
I don't want to think of Van as a fool. He is the first person I have talked to as a peer and though he gains nothing by it and has no reason to help me, I know he will not betray my confidence.
Even so, he struggles where it is not his place. He refuses to tell me how he obtained his name, though he swears he did not choose it himself. He also refuses to tell me who taught him to read and write. Clearly he is protecting the culprit, so he realizes that they both should be punished. He has betrayed the social order and that is both foolish and dangerous. Maybe it seems like a small thing, but if slaves start thinking for themselves, who knows what trouble it could cause? For their own safety, slaves should not know how to read, for if they can, their masters would lose trust in them and might suspect the slaves of revealing their private work to others. For that the slave would be killed. And if a slave starts to seek knowledge, he can only find punishment for letting his work go undone. So it is much better that he remains ignorant.
I have faith that Mother would know if Van's oddities will cause trouble in the future – if not for him personally, then for the kingdom. My own readings reveal nothing noteworthy. Perhaps nothing will come of it…
The Fourth Day of Saturn in the Month of the Lion in the Twenty-First Year of his Majesty's Reign
[Saturday, July 30, 1481]
Today, I have now lived through twelve complete years, the same number of signs in the zodiac, and Mother has granted permission for me to leave the temple. I am now allowed to speak in front of His Majesty at meetings of the court, and even to speak to His Majesty directly if addressed first.
I do not need to do a reading to know that it will be much longer before I work up the courage to do so, however…
Author's Notes:
So here are the first hints of the real plot I've been promising. My hope is that you feel a little bit confused about how this is related to the rest of the story but that you can generally follow it. It will be hard to make judgments on the technique, presentation, or overall idea until later on.
Dante: For those readers not familiar with the 2003 series of FMA, this note is to assure you that I'm not just making up a new character for the purpose of this story. Dante was the antagonist in the 2003 series (as opposed to Father/Dwarf in the Flask). However, her history in the first series (as well as Hohenheim's) was vastly different from what I am presenting here and could never have fit into Brotherhood's canon. It isn't necessary, but I recommend eventually looking her up on the FMA wiki so that you can appreciate some of the parallels I'll be using to bring her from the 2003 series into Brotherhood.
Vashti: According to the FMA wiki and supported by Wikipedia, Xerxes was named after a Persian king and Amestris was named after his wife. Biblical scholars have identified Xerxes and Amestris with characters from the Book of Esther in the Old Testament. Xerxes is identified with the biblical Ahasuerus and Amestris has been identified with Queen Vashti (who refused to obey the King's command to display her beauty to his guests and so was banished from his presence, eventually being replaced as queen by the Jewish heroine Esther).
Paracelsus: Van Hohenheim is named after a German-Swiss alchemist, Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, who was also known as Paracelsus. Paracelsus claimed to have created a Homunculus, so I have chosen to give this name to Slave 23's master and later mentor, who either created the Dwarf in the Flask himself or was one of a group who did so and in canon remained unnamed.
Astrology: I will be modifying some of the astrological signs to better match the Xerxians for, as a desert people, they probably wouldn't be familiar with signs like Pisces the Fish or Cancer the Crab. I have replaced Pisces with "the Snake", since Pisces is typically represented as two fish joined by a string and the snake's shape could come from the string. Cancer is represented by "the Beetle", which is similar in shape but much more common in the desert. I hope that bringing astrology into the FMA world won't be seen as cheating or lame. If alchemy can be a viable science, I see no reason why other pseudosciences in our world cannot be real in the FMA world.
The ten cows: I took this dream from the biblical book of Genesis, chapter 41, in which Joseph interprets the Egyptian Pharaoh's dream of seven fat cows being eaten by seven skinny cows and of seven heads of good grain being eaten by seven heads of bad grain as predicting seven years of plenty for Egypt followed by seven years of extreme famine.
Spelling errors: I trust everyone can tell that I added spelling errors to the first entry intentionally to simulate a six-year old's writing. (Hopefully the writing isn't too much above a really smart six-year old's level; I don't know any six-year olds to check…)
