Solar calendar year 775, the fifteenth day after the death of King Haddad.
I watched the sky bloom in twilight colors when I knocked on the door of the Queen Bilqis suite to inform her that our preparations had been complete since the morning, there was a hidden rumor among the soldiers of the guards that something great would happen tonight, but I, Shamis with the beam, the first guardian of the sun, I was the only one with four other elite guards who know the truth of the matter. We will leave the capital on a mysterious journey to the heart of the desert, in search of a temple that no one believes exists except in legends.
I stood behind the door, waiting for her response with an eye on her and an eye on the corridor inside, I heard the sound of low whispers, as soon as I approached the threshold, the door opened gently and for a moment, my sight met the Queen's eyes, in her gaze there was a deep tension mixed with an unwavering design I took quiet steps towards the hallway, wrapped in a dark cloak that concealed her royal features, and then she signaled me with a silent gesture to follow her, knowing that the hour had come.
At the back exit of the palace, we waited for Zuhair al-Nourani, Lian the golden guard, majestic heavenly shield, and Nouran, the glare-bearer, their gazes eager and anxious, as the night began to fall on the capital, I told them as I lowered my voice.
"Is everyone ready?" Zuhair Al-Nourani nodded with a sigh akin to encouragement.
"We are ready, Shamis, and if we were to devour the mirage until we find this so-called temple"
Queen Bilqis looked at them all, and said with a calm tinge:
"Know that we are walking in darkness of speculation, no one believes that Awam is real, and I myself may be in doubt about its place, but I refuse to remain trapped in hesitation, I will go down this path even alone."
The majestic shield blinked at her with confident eyes, and he replied:
"You are not alone, my queen, we took it upon ourselves to protect you when they put the crown of Sheba on your head, we will not let you venture alone, even if the waves are sand soaked in darkness"
There was a solid sincerity in his voice, which gave me reassurance, and then the queen turned to test our awareness of the dangers, and I uttered to summarize the situation:
"If the temple of Awam is your way to protect the throne from the storms of conspiracies, we will be your shield in the sand and tribulations"
Followed by a moment of silence in which the eyes drowned in the eyes of the Queen, after which the Queen led us outside the walls with secrecy and tranquility that we had never seen in royal processions, we went through the back alleys and small gates supervised by a number of trusted guards of our covenant, and as soon as we crossed the last wall in the capital, we were freed from the shackles of the stone, but we entered the desert world in which no one chooses to be lost voluntarily.
At first, we rode camels heading towards the northeast, where some of the worn maps left by the Haddad indicate that there is a road that may lead us to the outskirts of legend. I was going next to Bilqis, while Zuhair Al-Nourani took care of lighting our road with a large torch illuminated by the night breezes from time to time, we could hear the footsteps of Layan, the golden guard, as he struggled to carry some supplies and water that would suffice us for a few days, while Nouran, the glow bearer, watched the camel market, while the majestic heavenly shield examined the horizon lines. Looking for any surprise that lurks us, whether bandits or a sudden sandstorm.
During the walk, I decided to explore the Queen's thoughts in the midst of this lonely night, and I said in a low voice:
"My Majesty... Do you really think this adventure will give you the support you need? I know you want proof, shut up in the capital...She answered me in a tone in which nostalgia mixed with sadness:
"I only wish to find this temple and to be sure of the truth of what my father al-Malik al-Haddad said about a covenant dating back to a time that Sheba no longer remembers. I don't know how to return with disappointment as I have occupied the capital with my memory of my hardness."
I realized then the depth of pressure that this woman carries on her shoulders, I tried to reassure her with a faint talk
"The first disappointer if we don't find Awam will be me, I have sworn to protect you and I will fight the deserts if necessary."
She didn't respond directly, but I saw in her eyes a gratitude mixed with deep anxiety.
Part of the first night passed without anything to fear We sat in a small loop when we stopped to rest, Nouran, the glow bearer, prepared a small pot of hot water and some stored herbs to give us a dose of warmth in the night Lyan, the golden guard, approached us, pulling on my shoulder with friendly movements.
"Shamis, why are you always so careful? Don't you see that we are five against every danger?"
Asariri parted a little:
"Excuse me, Lian, since I became the first sun guard and I am unable to dispel my fear of the unknown... Especially when the Queen walks with us in a land where no one knows her paths."
Lian nodded silently as if to agree, then looked at the rest of the comrades with a friendly smile that reassured them.
Gradually, we talked about the details of the journey. Zuhair al-Nourani told us stories he heard from merchants who claimed to have died in a desert when they searched for Awam, one of whom said he saw a gate stripped of his soul, and another claimed that sand swallowed his entire caravan.
"If we believed every myth, we wouldn't move one iota outside the walls of the sun shield, but... May we do the impossible to witness the truth."
Queen Bilqis was silent in the corner of the small camp, enveloped in an aura of reverence and sorrow that realized that we were all afraid to start joking or light conversations without taking into account the weight of what she was going through.
With the dawn of the second day, we began to enter a more difficult stage, the heat of the sun seemed harsher, and the wind became more stinging despite wearing light cloaks and insulators that we put on our faces, we did not escape the whips of sand that slaps us from time to time Those moments were harsh, camels sometimes falter, and our tongues stiffened thirst Zuhair Al-Nourani tried to infer the locations of water caches, but the desert changed its features, as if it cheated us with endless pranks The discomfort emerged in the voice of Layan, the golden guard.
"Where are we? Is there anything to tell us?"
And the majestic heavenly shield answered him, posing calmly:
"Layan, don't doubt yourself so quickly, the desert is harsh on everyone, prove and you will see"
As for the queen, she would advance our knees, from time to time asking us to follow a careful path in a path indicated by an old map left to her by the Haddad, but we doubted a lot, as some of the drawings do not match what we see on the ground
On the third or fourth day, we lost our sense of time, the water began to be near half of it, hope shook in our hearts, and I saw it reflected in everyone's faces, said Nouran, the holder of the glow once.
"My sire... I feel like we're in a vicious circle."
She replied with a determination hidden by long fatigue:
"Nothing is lost if his faith gives him time, Nouran, I feel something... It's like a second sun driving me."
Nouran didn't answer, but Mohib approached him and patted him on the shoulder She realized that Bilqis's strength was not only in her political mind, but in her ability to spread spiritual reassurance. With all the dry lips and cracked hands, we kept going.
Other days passed... Layan's golden guard was on my side, like a ghost moving sadly, while Zuhair Al Nourani struggled with the sandy waves that buried our footprints in seconds, everyone began to wonder, "Are we going into the unknown?" I remember midnight when we were still panting from the fatigue of a merciless day, Queen Bilqis raised her eyes to a sky filled with thousands of stars, and said in a voice colored with sacred hymns.
"O father of Haddad, if you hear me, give us a sign that we will see that we are on the right track"
She felt as if her heart was uttering a prayer that the universe does not reject, and at that moment, a light cold wind blew, as if it had refreshed the atmosphere compared to the desert flame in the daytime. I took a look at the horizon and glimpsed a distant dark mass, which seemed to me to be a large rock hill, or something with a different feature from the monotonous sand that surrounds us.
We were determined to move towards that mass, and each of us beats with half the conviction that it will be our salvation or a new guide towards Awam The surprise was when the ophthalmia cleared from our eyes after hours of walking, and we saw what looked like the structure of a giant towering gate, as if it were a majestic gate made of black stones studded with unread symbols I stood stunned by the magnitude of the scene, and I saw Bilqis approaching with hesitant steps, but inside she longed to touch the truth Zuhair Al-Nourani stared at him as if he had been stigmatized, but Lian so he mumbled
"No way... This is really a gate!"
His voice almost choked from the impact of dread
I moved myself slowly to examine the inscriptions, and I understood nothing: drawings of creatures intertwined in mythical battles, strange solar circles, and ancient writings wrapped in curved lines, the wall emitted subtle flames touching our skins as we got closer, as if this edifice wanted us to know the size of His majesty before permission to enter.
I tried to go back to my comrades to hear their opinions, but my breath began to weigh down as if my body was resisting an invisible attraction. I saw Zuhair al-Nourani holding his head silently, and the majestic of the heavenly shield turning in shock, as if it had turned into a rigid statue. I turned to Queen Bilqis to find her leaning towards the inscription in the middle of the gate, trying to touch the majestic solar symbol. I felt something pull me from inside to knock me to the ground. The air was trapped in my chest and I could no longer see anything but darkness that began to take over my sight. I heard a voice as soon as it came from afar." The gate will open... or you won't open..." I didn't know where it came from.
Before I collapsed into darkness, a flash of lightning saw Balqees put her hand on the stone, as if a flash of light had popped out there, I thought she was calling me by my name, "Shamis!" But perhaps it was an illusion, for then I felt my limbs abandon me, I heard only the echo of my trembling heartbeat, and then a subtle voice came out of the bowels of the rocks and said, "Do not enter unless you are chosen...".
I knelt down resisting my spiral of unconsciousness, but the brain failed me I felt my soul fly away, as if I continued to fall to the bottom without a decision The last thing I saw was the queen's cheek mixed with a dim light as if her eyes were full of determination, and her lips trembled with a strange pronunciation whose words I did not recognize Oh my misery... Are we here or dead halfway? Maybe I see it after my breath comes back... If she comes back at all.