Future prospects

Every refugee who was under my protection found themselves somewhere they could be. Some decided to work for places, and some decided to be with men. In any case, they are out of my hands.

Salma and Asenath were looking at me like they had fallen in love with me once more.

"Why are you two looking at me like that?"

The two looked at each other. Asenath answered my inquiry.

"You aren't a guy who lets his thing rule him, do you?"

I smiled.

"No, I'm not." They are telling me this because the women I've been taking care of practically threw themselves into my arms, and I wouldn't recuperate their feelings.

To waste time with a man whom they will end up separating is especially painful for women. Love is an investment, and going bankrupt is in the realm of possibilities. Finding a decent man to invest their affection in is one of the best things a woman can do. I can kind of guess how many women I can handle at once, and two is more than enough for me.

I decided to change the subject. I felt awkward with the two faces looking at me all the time.

"Let's test you for an arcane heart, Asenath. Maybe you have what it takes to be a priestess. Afterward, we can enjoy our time in town."

Salma laughed.

"Sounds like a plan."

The priest tested Asenath without making a fuss. It turns out that Asenath has an arcane heart too. Of what quality, I don't know. We will not know until we arrive at the capital and get educated on utilizing our power.

She is looking at the token in her palm. Her life changed just like that.

"So, you're saying I could be an eternal, powerful priest?"

I nodded. She is still dumbfounded. She is a person who didn't grow up believing in Anubis's afterlife. She has been terrified of death all her life. In her palm, the key to staving off slowly marching death was there.

Salma doesn't have an arcane heart. Using the constant blessing of a priest, she can live up to one hundred and twenty years, but that's about it. The fact that she lacks an arcane heart doesn't seem to bother Salma.

We made our way next to the river. We had bought ourselves some nets to catch some of those shallow-water fish. Salma gathered some dry wood and some leaves to ignite them. Asenath and I pulled our clothes up and got into the water knee-deep. We kept throwing the nets and got ourselves six fish of good size. We cut them open and cleaned their innards. Then we impaled them on sticks to put them near the fire.

The sun went down, and the moon came up as fire started smoldering. Our bellies are full of the blessings of the river. At times like this, I'm reminded of the good things in life. I'm reminded that in the great picture that is life, dark and bad come together with the good and illuminated to create a complete picture. It's the masterpiece of the gods. That's what a human being is. An artwork.

Salma has a great singing voice. She sang a song about a fish escaping from a fisherman. Her voice is smooth like silk.

"Swim, little fishie, escape from my net. If you won't, then I'll put you on my plate!"

She has some fish on her cheeks. Our bellies are full, and our lives are good. We erected our tent and fed our camels. We could've stayed in town, but we decided against it.

People don't properly get their scum disposed of. So, the whole town stinks. It's mostly camels and horses that cause most of the offending malodor. Besides, there is a charm in lying down with two beautiful girls under the light of the crescent moon.

We added some more to the fire because we wanted to stay warm throughout the night. The fish net is a good investment. From now on, we will travel parallel to the river. That means, with these nets, our meals are just half an hour of work away. There is no meal better than the meal the gods bestow upon their believers. The Nylle is all-giving. The road that runs along Nylle is safe. Most of the commerce moves up and down the river, creating the great cities of our country along the way. It's hypnotic how the sun reflects upon subtle waves on the surface. Every subject of the pharaoh has great respect for Nylle. The crops grow thanks to Nylle. Nylle gives us fish; it helps carry things in our canoes. Hard is made easy thanks to Nylle. How can anyone turn their backs on these blessings and follow an evil god, like they do with El-Manat? It truly breaks my heart. Our gods give us nothing but kindness. Their god gives them suffering and death. It is truly unfortunate that those ignorant people spooked themselves with a false god and started a savage campaign. We, once again, hit the road.

Asenath is riding her camel in front of me. She would never be able to do that within the Quraysh tribe. She would ride behind me in a burqa. Our camels got tired, and we rode away from the river a bit to have them rest. They have drunk from the river and are properly hydrated. Taking this opportunity, Salma decided to teach us how to use spears.

"The spear is the weapon of infantrymen. It's versatile and requires very little training. That, however, doesn't mean it is inferior to any other weapon."

She held the spear from the front.

"If you have clearance behind you, it's a sword."

She put her other hand on the spear.

"With the flip of your grip, it's a staff."

She lifted it over her head and made a throwing motion.

"It's a javelin if you need a javelin. But more importantly, it's a spear."

She shifted into a proper spear stance. She did a couple of quick jabs.

"The first thing you have to learn with the spear is not to signal your attacks."

She placed her spear on the ground and walked up to me.

"Hey, which one is your fastest hand? Hold your palm up, please."

I lifted my right hand.

"Don't let me punch it, move it out of the way."

With the first two punches, I was able to move it out of the way. She stopped and smiled. The next moment, I felt a fist on my palm. Then I felt a fist on my palm again.

"I will punch even slower. Are you ready?"

Another fist in my palm. Then I managed to avoid one. After that, another fist on my palm.

"Can you see now? It's not about the power behind the thrusts. We all learn to punch from our hips. We, to use our whole body when impaling our spears, signal the hell out of where we are striking."

She picked up the spear from the ground.

"A weak strike like this is often more devastating than full-force impalement based on its landing. War is deception at its core. You must learn to use false signals or no signals at all."

Asenath was listening intently. She is absorbing the teachings like a sponge. She recognizes when she is given a chance in life. Knowing how to use a spear is also a chance in life. If the whole "Priestess" endeavor fails and I die for some reason, she could earn a living by the spear. She could hunt or become a bodyguard for some important woman. Asenath is a smart woman. She is also brave enough to take initiative. How lovely. She might be someone who has nothing as of now. But she is rich with potential. Every ingredient is there to craft a great woman. All she needs is a spark. Salma's spear strikes are elegant and powerful. Even the ghost jabs that don't involve the whole body are sturdy and, quite frankly, look effective. I wouldn't want to be on the sharp end of that stick. We picked up our spears and moved as Salma instructed. The stance of our legs, as it turns out, decides the stance of our hips, which decides our back muscles, and eventually, it decides the tip of our spear. Each of these steps has to be perfect to effectively use the spear. It's the difference between life and death. Salma said: "The more we practice the right way, the more the related muscles will develop, the more spearmanship-related muscles develop, the more effective the spear strikes become. Diligence is the key."

We brought out our fruits and bit into them. I gave some to the camels, too. The creatures became so happy that they did a little dance with their heads. So cute, yet so ugly. Why do camels have to be like this? I caressed my camel. It yelped a pleased "GNAAR!"