Two Horizons

Great Pyramid, rival priests, romance with a harem (perhaps royal) woman, and jealous Queen prey on God-king Khufu. In parallel to Khufu’s labors, Mehi labors to absolve his family’s crime by self-sacrifice as a pyramid worker. The crime also burdens his love for An-khi, a governor’s daughter who aspires to be governor herself. Will Mehi save Khufu from his enemies, including Mehi’s own brother?Great Pyramid, jealous Queen, rival priests, ambitious princes and drought all prey on God-king Khufu. Frightfully, his most potent protector is a mere commoner, Mehi, the son of a tomb-robber.Khufu’s external trials are the nomad invasions and regicide attempts conspired by the priests, his gold treasury’s depletion he requires to perfect his pyramid, and his Queen’s sterility that extends into Khufu’s romance with Theormi, a harem woman. As a result, Theormi embarks on her own path to prove her royalty.Yet Khufu’s inner and ultimate battle is with his own kingship. While his desire for Theormi proves his humanity, Egypt’s people require his divinity. The God-king’s divine magic raises the annual Nile inundation, irrigates the ribbon of Egypt’s farmland, and feeds his people who would otherwise starve in the desert that creeps in on all sides. But when the Nile doesn’t rise in this year of the novel’s setting, Khufu searches for the magic in his body, apparently abandoned like love has abandoned him. Do the Gods disfavor him against protecting his people as they have in, or perhaps because of, his quest for human love? In parallel to Khufu’s labors, Mehi labors to absolve his family of its crime by self-sacrifice, physically and mentally, on the pyramid. The crime also burdens his love for An-khi, a governor’s daughter. In the course of the year, propelled by the Nile’s seasons of inundation, harvest and drought, Mehi’s brother enters as a rival for An-khi’s love. Meanwhile, she aspires to be governor herself. By year’s end, will Mehi save Khufu from his enemies, including Mehi’s brother?