Ruth: Reimagined

Witchcraft

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Witchcraft
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Three years ago...

King Eglon laid sick on his bed, with terrible migraines, a fever that barely let him breathe, and night sweats that left him restless. Day by day, his servants would bring him, healers, who came from different parts of the world. People of great renown and they would give him concoctions to drink and chant ancient hymns over him, but he only got worse.

As revered as the King was, there was nothing he feared more than his death. He was as sick as he was desperate, offering up the lives of innocent people, to spare his life in the fire of his god.

The problem had to be kept a secret. If people found out that the King of Eglon was dying, then many of his enemies,the Amorites, the Canaanites, and even the Israelites, would take it as their chance to attack the kingdom. He had to get well, under any cost.

It was one fateful evening. His cupbearer ran into his chambers, breathing heavily.

King Eglon turned his head on his bed, his eyes a raw red, his skin heated and slick with the sweat from his ongoing fever.

"Your majesty, live forever." The cupbearer bowed, closing the door behind him. "The high priest, Joel, is here to see you."

King Eglon nodded weakly. "Bring him in."

Joel walked into the King's chambers, taking in the sight of a disheveled, sickly king, the one the people of Moab claimed to be their strong pillar. His expression, ever stoic, irked the King.

"What have you to do with me?" King Eglon asked.

Joel pulled up a chair for himself, taking a seat. "It appears I have a message for you. "

"Good? Bad?"

A silence.

"It's bad, isn't it? When am I dying?" The raw fear in the dark eyes of the King was something Joel never would have thought to see.

"Your condition," Joel began, ignoring the question of the King. "It signifies something. It has been revealed to me, by divination, that your state is the reflection of our country, Moab."

King Eglon's brows furrowed.

"King Eglon, you're dying, but it's not just you that's dying alone. The kingdom of Moab is too."

A drowning silence filled the atmosphere.

King Elgon raised his brows, the shock evident on his face.

"I saw," Joel continued, his tone, morose."that we will reach an end, we will come to nothing. Our land will be taken away, our people will mix with others, and the nation of Moab will be nothing but history."

"Lies!" The King coughed out, his head spinning. He sat up slowly,trying to reign in the little bit of strength he had. "This kingdom is one of the strongest-"

"It won't be for long." Joel cut him off. "But there is a way we can aid the situation. Change the fate of Moab."

"You are sure this is what Chemosh has revealed to you?" King Eglon pressed.

"Certainly. I've been having nightmares for as long as you have been sick. We must save Moab from the flames before it turns into ashes."

"What is it that we should sacrifice now?" King Eglom asked, ready to sacrifice his whole household.