Shifting Sands of the Arena

“Sixty lashes, and he didn’t even survive. Does anyone else out there think they are wise like this folly of a man?” The crowd lay silent, and as the Emperor projected his deep voice, it bounced over the red clay canyon walls. With the sun cascading over him, like nature's spotlight, he continued, “May his life serve as an ever-present reminder!” As swift as fire catching, the sky turned from sunlit to a cast shadow. An eclipse had fallen over the arena floor, with only a golden ring showcasing the sun from the shape blocking its radiance.

“What magic is this?” The Emperor said, perplexed, as he pointed at various edges of the circle, commanding his unit to check it out. Dust flew in from the clay tunnels, and the people began to cough and splatter, utterly unprepared for the extreme weather change. Before the Emperor could command any action for his people, a figure appeared within the golden circle. Ragged clothes pulled in the wind; it was the body of a woman. A toned arm raised with hand extended as two of the lower fingers tucked in, she said, “Boom.” And it was the only sound echoing over the rocky cliff faces. Once again, the crowd fell silent. All coughing and noisemaking ceased. Some stood while others perched on the edge of their stone-slated seats. In the same moments the dust cleared, and the eclipse vanished, the woman lowered her arm. Once the commanders saw the Emperor lying upon the ground, face drenched in the previous man’s blood, they dashed over to the woman with swords extended.

The woman clicked her fingers at just the right moment, for the swords threatened to slice her neck. Instead, the metal of the weapons clashed and screeched across what sounded like glass. Again and again, the Commanders would slice and attempt to hack at the woman, yet only hollowed clunks and scrapes would result.

“I wouldn’t much bother with that,” She spoke with a calm yet strong voice. “There is no way to hurt me, your swords are no match.”

The Commanders threw their swords and raised their fists towards her as she began to walk slowly towards the Emperor. One of the Commander's fists fired towards the woman, yet when it connected to the glass-like prism, he was electrocuted. His body flinched and twitched while it was thrown in an arch over her left side towards the floor. The other commanding officers yielded, as one outstretched his hands in a position that said to stop, he said, “Okay, we mean no harm to you. What is it you want?”

“I want to raise your people into a mighty army,” She replied.

“You think you can just waltz in here, kill our Emperor and take it?” Another commanding officer retorted.

“Oh, your Emperor is not dead.”

The Commanding unit looked at each other with shock on their faces, until one said,

“Okay, if he lives, show us how.”

The woman extended her hand once again and charged what only appeared as an invisible shock of wind toward the befallen Emperor’s body. Immediately, he rose alongside the man who’d received the lashes and passed. They both stared at each other, with the lashed man trembling in fear, lowering himself to the dusty red ground.

“Stand firm, Bedouin, your Emperor owes you an apology.” The woman said.

Instead, with a puzzling look, the Emperor looked at the woman and cried out, “Witchcraft, seize her, Commanders!” Yet not a foot slipped forward. Their swords remained on the ground. And the Emperor lowered his pointed finger. “What is this? Treason? Remove her from my sight now before I make you all into a mocking piece!”

“Your threats scare no one. Your strength isn’t measurable in these places. I have come to ignite your people into a mighty army and force, and to show them what a true leader is like. Through mercy and love, I will permit you to join our ranks, or you can scurry to the town in the East and prepare them for what is to come. Choose now.” The woman said, as the winds ceased, and her clothes fell over her figure. She looked almost pirate-like, with leather-strapped boots to her knees and a creamy long-sleeved tunic, held in place with a thick leather belt that contained no weapons. It was hard to believe she had trekked through the desert in this attire.

“You cannot speak to me in this manner!” He continued to demand.

“I have shown you grace and mercy at every turn,” she retorted.

“There is only one that I serve. There is nothing you can do with your feeble mind to destroy me. Your words and your tone are futile.”

The Emperor laughed and side-stepped, “You think these cowardly people can form any army? Trust me, I’ve tried, they are nothing.”

“You were created from these shifting sands, and to these sands you will return. Yet if you follow in the ways I teach, you will all be free from yourself and stronger than ever before.” With a brief flick from her hand, the fallen swords burnt up in flames, as some of the people gasped from their seats.

“And you speak in riddles!” The Emperor was enraged as the final fibers of the swords were gobbled by the flame that appeared from nothingness.

“Then let your people decide.” The woman said, as she pointed to the right, “Those who wish to follow my ways, please come to this side. And those who wish to follow this old leader, stand around him.”

An emergent uproar came over the people as they dashed toward the right of the woman, even the Commanding officers sprawled away from the clutches of their former leader, leaving him to fend for himself.

“I am not a cruel leader; in fact, all that you have seen today has been granted to me in this moment. None of it is my own. It is not magic or willpower, it is not witchcraft or any other form imaginable to you. I will grant you full pardon,” she said, extending an arm towards the Emperor in an act of kindness and mercy he didn’t deserve, “but you will need to fully commit to these ways. Alternatively, if you decide these ways are not for you, leave now and warn your clans in the East as I’ve already claimed.”

The Emperor stepped back and demanded, “Who are you!”

“It does not matter who I am; rather, it all matters on who sent me.”

“Ah, I see, you are but a messenger and nothing more!”

“Do not be so quick to judge. After all, if I were but a mere messenger, would that not make you scared of the actual sender?”

“Now I see, you are indeed not a witch or any magician, you are one of those crazed freaks who go from land to land claiming to educate on deities and gods?” The Emperor laughed as he waved his hands around him, trying to depict a higher being.

“Absolutely not,” the woman took a step closer to the Emperor, as she continued, “If your mind is that clouded that you can only think to believe in deities and gods, then you lack much. The one who sent me is the creator and inhabitant of love itself. Only once you join in the creator’s ways will you understand what true love is. And I can see that you lack this ability in every aspect. Would you like to feel the depth of true love? Do you want to show your people what that would truly be like?”

A furrowed brow gently lifted as the Emperor extended a hand, saying, “Okay, show me.”

With his confession to everyone, the woman extended her hand to clasp the Emperor’s. Together they stood united, as the sun once again shone like a spotlight in the floors of the arena. Within moments, the Emperor unclasped his hand, as one of the commanding officers dashed over to ask how he felt.

“I feel… light, different. I can see every wrong choice and action I’ve taken and..” he fell to his knees weeping before looking up to the crowds behind the woman, “Bedouin, please come forth, Bedouin?” Scuffing from loose-fitted sandals came closer, as the frail man stood before the fallen Emperor.

“Bedouin, I am so very sorry! You were a wonderful servant to my service, and I was a greedy leader. You did not deserve those lashings, for it was in my anger that I broke the crystal set and was upset at myself. How ever will you forgive me?” Tears continued to flow across the tanned skin of the Emperor, as he continued, “I do not deserve to be an emperor, please forevermore call me Elior, for I have seen what true power in love and togetherness and have turned from my dark and wicked ways. Please teach me more of this power.” He scuffed in the sand towards the woman.

“Arise, for I am the same as you, and together we are brothers and sisters of the same creator. We now can see the light for what it truly grants, and we can be led by Guidance to greater clans. Join us, Elior, and for everyone else, join us!”