SANCTUARY

3- THE RETURN

The Great Hiteru River continued its eternal movement towards the sea, indifferent to human passions on its banks. Several years had passed since the last great conflict, since then; peace reigned in the vast territory between the falls and the delta.

The village ruled by Hor and Nungal had prospered on the left bank of the Great River, and had later been rebuilt on the right bank, where it now extended with its white rectangular huts surrounded by a high protective wall. It now housed a population of more than 500 people. The old land on the left bank was reserved exclusively for a magnificent temple dedicated to the statues of the Scorpion and Beetle gods, protectors of the Hor and Nungal clans, the founders of the village. The temple was a large rectangular hut, with adobe walls and thatched roofs, reeds and wide intertwined leaves, a wide door gave access to an interior stripped of furniture, barely long benches of stone and wood along each wall. On the wall opposite the entrance stood a small altar, behind which were the two protective statues of the community. The set was completed by a series of torches and an altar for offerings. On the outside of the temple, facing the river stood the Altar of the Navigators, where all the travelers of the river paid homage to the divinity. At some distance, on the edge of the western desert, a large area had been transformed into a cemetery, and was considered sacred by the inhabitants. Two docks, one on each bank of the river, received daily the intense trade with the riverside towns. A little further north, the ancient village of the Snail Eaters, now called Tamewew, extended its influence to the entire Delta, which was called Kemet, the country of the Black Land, to differentiate it from the rest of the territory to the falls, known as Tashemeaw, the country of the Juncia, an aromatic plant very abundant in the region.

The village of Hor and Nungal had adopted the name of the territory, Kemet, the city where everyone is welcome. The old circular huts still existed in the surroundings, usually inhabited by newly arrived groups, although in most of the village the constructions were rectangular, many of them with several rooms and interior space for bonfires, with white adobe walls, although there were also wooden constructions, reflecting the cultural diversity of its inhabitants. In the centre of the village, an open esplanade served as a place for meetings and celebrations. In front of the square, an enormous rectangular construction was the government centre, where the two kings met and the Council of Elders, formed by the most prestigious villagers. The influence of Queen Ela's ancient city with its magnificent constructions could be seen in everything. But that influence was limited to architecture, because that village was peaceful and opens to all visitors, unlike the city of the queen.

That morning there was a rare agitation at the meeting of kings and advisors. Sitting around a large stone table, all showed great interest in the report of two warriors standing in front of them. Their spears and other weapons had been placed on the outside of the hut, where a man stood guard. King Hor and his colleague Nungal had urgently summoned the counselors that morning, after receiving the warriors returning from a routine exploration of the eastern desert. Hor, sitting at the head of the table, checking that all the advisers were present, turned to the warriors:

-Repeat for the Council everything you have told me.

The man cleared his throat discreetly before starting his story:

-Zuqaqip and I were doing our routine patrol on the eastern edge, when near the salt lakes the smoke of a bonfire caught our attention. As we approached, we were greeted by a man with red hair.

-He went on- urged the anxious King Nungal, sitting next to his colleague Hor.

-The man declared that he was on his way to our city, where he claimed to have old acquaintances.

-Come on, man, tell them the names of those old acquaintances," Hor grew impatient.

-He mentioned Hor, Nungal, Mumny, Queen Menuttaui; he even said he knew old Kutum.