Cloud Weavers (Part 1)
This post is part of an archive. To read the current version, we recommend “Cloud Weavers (*)”
In the land of sand and palms, was a kingdom named after the sun. Its capital was Jinta a city carved from a series of rocky outcroppings where it rested as the desert’s crown jewel in a sea of golden sand. The city’s terraces and gardens were fed from a single river provided by the mountainous regions to the north.
A family of sheiks ruled the kingdom and had overseen the endless miles of desert for almost a thousand years. Other nations were forged and later undone but the kingdom of the sun remained protected by a scorching desert no invading army could traverse.
The kingdom’s stability attracted skilled craftsmen who in turn brought merchants and traders. Business filled Jinta’s streets and they flowed with money. The wealth created wide, open air markets and topped domes over the royal palace with solid gold.
All of this wealth was brought in along one trade route. It meandered through the narrowest part of the desert into the city. It was a journey made many times by a merchant named Ephraim.
All the men in Ephraim’s family had joined his father’s caravan. They managed their own wagons and servants. Each man bought and sold independently so there was no argument over who owned each shilling or camel.
Each of his brothers and uncles had shown a great propensity for trading except for Ephraim. He was the remarkable failure amongst his family. They had an intuition for buying goods at low prices and finding the right buyers when the caravan reached its destination. Ephraim would make purchases when the price was too high. When the goods were to be sold Ephraim often had trouble finding anyone to purchase his wares.
Ephraim’s wealth decreased as the years passed. His brothers and father allowed him to continue with the caravan but only out of family courtesy. Ephraim had no servants only one packed camel and three sheep. His goals are modest. In the capital city, he hoped to find a buyer for the perfume he had purchased on a whim.
Almost half way through the desert, Ephraim’s camel becomes ill and refused to continue. The camel represented almost half of Ephraim’s remaining wealth and he could not carry his perfume without the animal. Ephraim let the rest of the caravan pass to care for the sick camel.
Instead of helping, his brothers mocked him as they passed. “Ephraim! I’ll give you twenty shekels for your perfume and another ten for all three sheep. That’s much more than you would have received anyway!”
Another says to anyone listening, “You know, I have servants who have accumulated more money than Ephraim. The man has been given every opportunity and cannot gather anything but sand.”
Ephraim’s face hardened and he refused to be baited by his brother’s harsh words. “I will stay with my animal. When it has recovered, I will catch the end of the caravan. Proceed without me.”
The brothers shook their heads in resignation and turned back to their own matters. They knew Ephraim had traveled the route many times before and were not concerned about his well being.
It took almost all of the merchant’s patience but he knew that there was nothing as hard to bend as the will of a stubborn camel. The sun was merciful and the temperatures did not reach too high. It took almost a full day for the camel to recover enough to travel.
When the camel was finally ready, much of Ephraim’s water was gone. He would need to catch the caravan to replenish his supply but he was unable to make his camel travel fast enough. The merchant feared he would perish if he did not find his father’s caravan soon.
Ephraim’s fortunes deteriorated further as the western sky began to darken and the wind grew strong.
“A sand storm is coming.” Ephraim told his animals. “We will not survive without shelter.”
He hurried his camel and sheep toward a thick cluster of boulders a little less than a mile from the route he was traveling. With a small smile from the gods, he would reach them before the storm gathered too much intensity.
As Ephraim reached the boulders, he discovered they were the footings to a short sandstone hill. He found a shallow cave. Thanking the gods for such good fortune, he herded this sheep in followed by the reclining camel and himself.
Ephraim had never seen such a thick draping of wind and sand. For another full day, the sands raced outside and sent swirling bits of sand and rock into the mouth of the cave. Several times, he tried to peer into the raging maelstrom but was unable to see anything. It took almost another full day for the winds to subside.
When they did, Ephraim exited the cave with his animals and into a world that made no sense. The sun was arching though the sky on a north to south pattern. Ephraim stared in all directions sure he had made a mistake and equally sure he was correct. The wind seemed to change its mind every minute. At once blowing into the trader’s face, then a moment later it came from behind him. Clouds crossed each other’s path. The landscape had changed noticeably as patches of hard packed earth spilt the shallow dunes.
“Where…where am I?” He looked around again. “I don’t have time or water for further delays. I can make it another day maybe until tomorrow night on the water I have. After that I am sacrificed to the sun.”
A strong and somewhat high-toned voice came from above Ephraim. “That doesn’t need to be.”
Ephraim and the camel jerked their heads up and found a man perched on the rocks above them. Bushy eyebrows and a wide beard masked the man’s sun-browned features making it difficult to place an age on the stranger.
The true surprise was the man’s clothing. The very threads of his turban and robe seemed to be in constant movement. They shimmered and swirled with a beautiful restlessness. Colors as vibrant as the green of new growth, blood red, and white so pure it seemed to glow marked the robe.
September 2nd, 2008 at 7:16 am
Nice Site layout for your blog. I am looking forward to reading more from you.
Tom Humes
September 2nd, 2008 at 12:05 pm
where are the ninjas?