"I have no patience for those who pretend to be powerful. I can see through them—they aren't as readable as you'd think. Even if you treat them well, they will deceive you the moment your guard drops, betraying you in the blink of an eye."
Luckily, I'm not like that. My father raised me to be genuinely strong. He once told me, "If you love someone, be as steadfast as a fortress. That way, you'll have the strength to protect people you love, and you'll be too high for anyone to bring you down." His philosophy was rooted in the idea that power was synonymous with love, and weakness with loneliness. People might hurt those they love, but they fear those who are strong. Most people despise dictators not because of their tyranny, but because they themselves lack the courage to wield control over others.
My grandfather was the son of Shoshenq I. Shoshenq loved the land of Kemet and was deeply connected to its pyramids, nature, and traditions. He was a compassionate leader, being the first pharaoh to grant value to slaves by allowing them to own property, rent it out, and even buy their own freedom. Many of the slave traders at that time were former slaves themselves.
Shoshenq was imbued with the ideology of his homeland, Phut, located on the eastern side of Tamazgha. When he returned to Kemet as pharaoh, he appointed his son Opote as the head priest and named his son Osercon as his successor. My grandfather, however, was an illegitimate child, the son of Zanaflia, daughter of Saaf III, the ruler of Phut. When it was discovered that Zanaflia was pregnant, her life was in danger. She fled to Kemet, where Shoshenq, then head of the army, secretly gave her a place to stay.
After the death of Pseuneiseus II, who left no legitimate heirs because his children were cursed with magic powers, Shoshenq sought to make his son pharaoh, disregarding the curse that had led to Pseuneiseus's demise. He appointed Opote as the head priest of Thebes to spread his ideologies among the Kemites, and designated Osercon as his successor. Opote, unhappy with his father's decision, harbored resentment.
For a year, Shoshenq secretly visited Zanaflia and their son, Zisi, who was born shortly after. Eventually, Zanaflia insisted on living openly in Shoshenq's mansion. Shoshenq agreed but introduced Zanaflia as a concubine he had married. Zisi, my grandfather, was not pleased and returned to the secret place where he had grown up. Zanaflia, unable to endure the oppression, followed Zisi with her second son, Zossofer. Tragically, they were attacked by the royal family of Phut, and Zisi lost his family.
Opote found Zisi and helped him for two years, making him his favorite student and teaching him spiritual practices. However, one day, Zisi witnessed Opote performing strange rituals and overheard him plotting against Osercon. Opote revealed to Zisi that he was using magic to curse his brother, promising Zisi the throne if he helped. He taught Zisi magic on the condition that he kept it a secret.
As Shoshenq began a military campaign to expand his territory northward, the rivalry between his sons escalated. Zisi, initially acting as a mediator, discovered through his jinn servant that Opote was planning to use and betray him. Zisi warned Osercon about Opote's magic, which had been abandoned by their ancestors. The brothers fought until Shoshenq, recognizing Opote's treachery, gave the throne of Kemet to Osercon.
Three months later, northern Kemet rebelled against Osercon, a revolt orchestrated by Opote. The war lasted a year and ended with Osercon's mysterious disappearance. Shoshenq II succeeded him but later confessed to seeing Zisi, who was forced to flee. He went to Amorre, where he lived a peaceful life, married a woman named Sofia, and had a son. However, when his son was ten years old, Zisi began experiencing nightmares and visions of his jinn servants torturing him, leading to his disappearance for a week.
Before he died, Zisi left his son encrypted engravings and taught him the Kemetic language, instructing him to sell them in Kemet. When my father arrived in northern Kemet, he spent time in Thebes, where the ruler, Shoshenq III, son of Opote, protected him. Whenever Shoshenq III attempted to claim the throne, Opote stopped him. When my father asked why, Shoshenq III eventually revealed the curse. Though skeptical, he eventually gave up the pursuit out of love for his father. A week later, Opote died.
Shoshenq III was skilled in magic but lacked understanding of its true workings. Two years later, while visiting the market, he met my father, Mauro, who was selling the engravings left by his father. Recognizing the value of the engravings, Shoshenq took my father to his palace, treating him lavishly and inquiring about the engravings.
When Shoshenq asked where the engravings came from, my father replied, "From my father. He instructed me to sell them here as his final wish." Shoshenq then asked if his father had ever visited Kemet, to which my father responded, "Yes, he had a Kemetic name, Zisi. He lived here and often spoke of his master, Opote."
Shoshenq embraced Mauro, saying, "You've arrived at the right time." He provided my father with a room in the palace, where he lived a life of luxury, transforming from an ordinary man to a prince within weeks. My father immersed himself in learning ancient Aramaic and eventually decrypted the second riddle: "When the moon sits on his throne, he mustn't spread his light towards the earth." He began teaching magic to others, though most of his good students died, leaving behind only the lazier ones.
Among his students was my mother, Natalia. A year after their marriage, I was born. My father continued his journey, learning the third language and returning to Amorre, where he saw a different life with his mother. The behavior of the Moorish people had changed, and he visited his father's grave, introducing me to my grandmother Sofia for the first time.
After six days, my father ordered the convoy back, and I was raised in eastern Amorre, learning Kemetic and Aramaic by the age of ten. My father spent the rest of his life traveling between northwest Amorre and Thebes. Before he died, he shared with me the wisdom he had gained. He understood the first riddle, realizing that weak people often possess a power they cannot control, and if they manage to control it, their greatest unseen enemy becomes themselves.
He saw his students turn away when he asked them to stop. At that time, Kemet was united under the rule of Takelot, son of Osercon and brother of Shoshenq II. After three years on the throne, Takelot killed Shoshenq III and legalized magic, except for the royal family. My father told me about the jinn prison and the engravings, which had fallen into Takelot's hands, Then he disappeared. And so, my journey began.
Chapter lll: The Forest