Re: Unto Us A Child - part 1
His third wife, a deliciously tender and gentle girl only recently acquired, had been discovered behind a statue in his magnificent gardens with one of his head grooms last year and instead of beheading them both, as he would have been absolutely entitled so to do, he had her banished to a remote village (although it broke his heart) and had merely chopped the groom’s hand off, although as he later reflected, perhaps he had severed the wrong appendage. All in all, he considered himself a just and fair minded ruler. He knew however that he would not rule forever, and that perhaps – at the end of his gruelling journey– history itself would have to be re-written. On the other hand, if he was horribly mistaken and had somehow mis-read the portents then the physical and mental torture to which he was subjecting his old body, the agonising jolting of the camels, the burning pains in his knees and shoulders, would have been for naught. How his court doctor would laugh when – if – he ever returned, resembling nothing more than a loose sack of scrawny weather-beaten bones held together by richly decorated silken and velvet clothes. “Here’s mad old Parathus back again” he’d smirk, “Old age has finally driven him to insanity. Travelled halfway across the globe, dragging his poor idiot servants along just for the ride. And for what?”Re: Unto Us A Child - part 1
“Maybe he would be right” Parathus considered, when he was at his most exhausted and weak, longing for a deep fragrant bath and the ministrations of a compliant female. “Perhaps I have been misled in my failing eyesight and thirst for celestial signs. I should return home.” And yet, and yet … some stubborn core in his wheezing chest drove him on.Re: Unto Us A Child - part 1
“Prepare my breakfast, we leave shortly” Parathus instructed the younger man, a slim youth who had been in his employ all his life. “Dates and flat bread will suffice, and make sure the beasts are fed, it will be another long day.” “Yes, my lord” murmured the lad. “And the direction? It is still the same?” Parathus smiled grimly. “Yes indeed, still the same direction. I checked last night. And I feel we have not much time.”Re: Unto Us A Child - part 1
The small party again set off slowly eastwards across the desert, the camels plodding steadily with their supercilious expressions as if mocking man’s foolish whims, and the high loads on their backs swaying rhythmically with each long step.Re: Unto Us A Child - part 1
Inside, glowing with the patina of centuries, was a precious stone, polished to a silken gleam, with inner fires of ruby and crystal, and fashioned into the shape of a five pointed star. It seemed to sing to Parathus and pulse with an inner energy like the beating heart of the planet itself. The star rested in his gnarled palms, beautiful to behold and intricately veined. It was a gift he had felt compelled to carry with him, an offering ………..Re: Unto Us A Child - part 1
It seems it's a bit cryptic, it was supposed to suggest there were originally four Magi .... it's uncomfortable having to explain ones own plot!Thread Tools | |
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