Absolute Chaos
Chapter 5.

The King of Otamia came three sunrises early, he had only been gone one night. Raijen was furious, he was relying on his father coming back to Otamia in three days time, not today, he needed more time to figure out what to do with the Goddess.

Standing outside his caves doors, Raijen watched as Maia disappeared down the long hillside, squinting his eyes towards the horizon, sighting hundreds of horses walking near the shores of the Niles delta, they looked like tiny black scarabs crawling over the red sands.

Raijen watched them make their way through the fields of barley and wheat, weaving their way through the miles of fig trees that lined the base of Otamia’s mountainside and the dark Nile. The figs trunks were covered in bean and pea vines, they had been planted below them for shade and to act as a trellis for the legumes to climb. Pomegranate bushes and melons also grew amongst the figs, taking advantage of the giant fig trees impressive shade.

Taking a deep breath, Raijen made his way down the hillside to meet his father. He had explained to Amaunet earlier of Araphel’s cruelty and how he ruled Otamia, he told her how he enslaved other tribes further down the Nile, torturing and raping as he went, stealing their treasures.

Raijen was ashamed and disgusted in his father, he had always tried to do the right thing, however when he was barely a man, merely still a boy, his father had gotten under his skin. For a short time he was far from innocent, however the guilt chewed rapidly into his soul and etched its sharp claws inside him. He soon realised of the misery and sorrow he was causing and refused to stand by his fathers side.

An inconsolable sadness tiptoed upon his heart as he watched Amaunet’s face pale as he had told her, she was sickened and disgusted by the words he spoke, yet they needed to be said. She listened without comment, seeming to consider each word that came from his mouth, weighing it heavily before moving on to the next.

Raijen told her how his fathers class system worked. The lesser people, such as the farmers, cooks and pottery makers, lived down the bottom of the hillside in very small mud brick huts. As you wove your way up the hill, the huts became larger, these housed the craftsmen, the artists, stonecutters, the mead brewers and various other skilled workers. Nearer to the top of Otamia, small caves littered the vast rocks, these were the homes of Araphel’s army and other important people inside of the city. There were various sized wooden huts near to these smaller caves, they were also used for Araphel’s men.

Above these homes was Merkha and Sabaf’s caves, these were Araphel’s two main men. Araphel trusted his most important tasks to them both. They were as sick as Araphel, their lust for blood and torture just as intense as their King.

Raijen lived slightly above Merkha and Sabaf, his fathers sprawling caves and structures sat atop the hill just above Raijen, looking down over all of Otamia.

Horror had crept all over Amaunet’s ashen flesh when Raijen spoke these words, she voiced how she did not understand how any creature could be so cruel, not wanting to believe how many of Otamia’s people were starved, even though they had an abundance of food. She had seen the vast farm lands along side the Nile, the cattle and gazelle grazing freely under Otamia’s mountains. She knew the Nile was full of fish, the fruit trees were plentiful and full of ripe juicy fruit.

***

Raijen made his way down the paved walkway, passing the small mud huts as he neared the bottom of Otamia. Walking out onto the large dirt road that led through the middle of the fig trees and headed towards the city’s imposing main gates.

The King of Otamia sat high upon his big bay mare, leading his weary army and his newly acquired slaves. Raijen could tell the poor horse carried his master with sufferance, his father could be just as cruel to his horses as he was to his people, he was only kind to a select few pets.

Behind Araphel rode Merkha and Sabaf, followed by ten others on horse back. One of these ten riders Raijen noticed was a woman,

she sat slumped on her steed, he could not see her face well as it was covered with a veil, her dark eyes hooded beneath it.

His father had never had a woman in his higher ranks before, he was a little puzzled, however brushed it aside.

There would have been about eighty new slaves tied behind their horses, some looked as young as eight or nine whilst others were large men and women of child baring age, with a few older men and women scattered amongst them. The rest of Araphel’s army were on both horse and on foot, hundreds of men and women from inside Otamia followed the new additions to the city, laughing and talking with excitement behind them.

Hot acid pooled inside Raijen’s gut, retching at the sight of his father. Blood was splattered over his grey beard and chest, he squirmed as Araphel halted his mare and all the people behind him.

Raijen stood in the middle of the road that led to the mighty Nile, facing his father and his entire army.

Grinning from ear to ear, Araphel put on his usual fake show of love for his son, just when the people of Otamia were present. Only showing his true feelings towards Raijen in front of a select few, mainly Merkha and Sabaf.

Araphel was still an extraordinary looking man for his age, if you did not know him well, he would charm any woman to his bed. Raijen looks were similar to his fathers, they shared the same strong straight nose and full lips, however Raijen was a little taller and his skin was a few shades lighter than his fathers dark olive. He did not share his fathers small dark eyes, he had his dead mother’s eyes, they were shaped like large almonds and the shade of the lightest brown.

“Ah my son...it is good to see you!.” Araphel sung out heartily, dismounting his tired thirsty mare. Raijen could see the lathers of white foamy sweat smeared over the poor horses neck and back, her eyes and coat were dull, he could see too much rib pushing through her girth.

Araphel threw his arms around Raijen and pat him heartily on the back, whispering into his ear as he did, “Walk with me son.” Sliding his strong arm around his shoulder, leading him back through the gates of Otamia.

The King spoke quietly to his son as they walked. “So Raijen, how did you fare while I was gone?.”

Raijen immediately felt there was something amiss, he would always greet him the same each time he returned from a raid, but his father would never walk with him as he did right now.

Swallowing hard, he cautiously replied, “Everything was in order father.”

They walked further down the road, through the huge fig and date palms and came to the base of Otamia’s hillside. Araphel didn’t speak again until they moved up the paved path between the mud brick huts and climbed towards their caves.

“Well.......good, good.” Araphel squeezed his son to him, a little too tightly and again patted him on the back.

“So... it was quite dull in my city while I was gone?.” His father was fishing for something, he just prayed to their sun God Temu, that it wasn’t about Amaunet.

“Yes father, it was pretty quiet. One of the slaves had her baby and just the usual few fights between the men.” He tried to sound his normal self, however Raijen’s heart was desperately attempting its escape from within his chest.

They reached Raijen’s door. Araphel walked him right to it, this was also unusual, he couldn’t let him into the cave, Amaunet was waiting inside. Raijen wriggled from his fathers arm and turned with his back against his door.

“Was your trip pleasant father?, you have returned earlier than planned.” The sarcasm oozed from his lips.

Araphel’s eyes narrowed in reply. “Yes, thank you my son, it was a very pleasant trip, we can discuss the details later.”

Raijen could tell his father had had enough, he had little patience with most things in life, including his son. Araphel strode away, climbing higher up the sandstone to his own sprawling caves.

Raijen stood in front of his door, arms folded, his fury more than evident in his stance. He watched Merkha and Sabaf follow their King towards his cave and into the dry summers heat.

***

Closing the door swiftly behind him, striding to his bedroom, Raijen greeted Amaunet, whom was sitting on his bed propped up with furs, staring down at the soft feathers and reeds beneath her.

“My father is acting strange, I do not know if he knows about you.” Panic escaping from Raijen’s lips.

Tilting her face slowly up to him, worry and confusion emerged from Amaunet’s stunning sapphire eyes, he could see the deep blue of her irises swirling like an enraged ancient ocean.

Amaunet searched his startled stare, the softly spoke. “Raijen.....I remember.”