“Atlasi was a strange man, but a good man. He wanted to bring peace to this desert and he realized the biggest problem was the gods themselves.” - Nuru, Mother of Hanif

  ~*~

  “The Sultan?” Bayek spat. “He trapped the gods?”

  “Atlasi is the Sultan?” Bomani said in disbelief.

  Even Athia was shocked at first, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. It explained why Nef wanted the Sultan’s Jewel. It must be an instrument in a god’s containment, or perhaps, all the gods' containment. The Sultan would carry it with him always, just to be safe.

  “Nef must have known,” Athia thought. “But why didn’t she tell me?”

  Athia looked at Bayek from the corner of her eye. If the Sultan stripped the gods of their powers, making them mortals, then Nef would have a vendetta against the Sultan. With her power, why didn’t Nef smite the Sultan before they even reached the city?

  “The gods must not be so powerful,” Athia thought. “Or perhaps…the Sultan isn’t her enemy.”

  “He contained the gods? What was Atlasi?” Bayek thought angrily. “It’s like a sick joke. After years of waiting, I finally have my revenge, and...who did I kill? A good man?”

  “No, I refuse to believe that for a second,” Bayek said aloud in frustration. “The Sultan came to our land with his father, killed our people, and took many slaves. I saw as much.”

  “Don’t forget, Bayek, tribes can change and form strange alliances,” Nuru said. “Even the bad ones, you’re old enough to have seen it. People change, make mistakes, abandon those they called family for the greater good. When we met Atlasi thirteen years ago-”

  “It’s been over fifteen, Bibi,” Bomani interrupted.

  “Right, fifteen...years...ago…”

  Nuru’s eyes focused on the fire, her face becoming more serious. Athia watched her closely, eager to hear her next words. Bayek feared what she would say.

  “I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten,” Nuru creaked, scratching her gray hair.

  Bayek fell backward, groaning.

  "The traveler with the funny hat," Bomani reminded Nuru.

  "That's right, now I got it, I got it!" Nuru said triumphantly. "He came here, with that woman..."

  ~*~

  Atlasi stepped into the porcelain city and breathed in the cool air. His eyes were sharp, watchful. His hair was just starting to turn white, but plenty of black still remained.

  A robed woman stood beside him, silent.

  "This place feels wrong," Atlasi said simply. "It is a miracle, to be sure, but not like Red Rock. It's cold, unnatural…I can feel his curse behind the facade."

  Atlasi looked at the robed woman for confirmation, and she simply nodded. Her golden eyes seemed to stare into the middle-distance. Atlasi could tell that her mind was distracted and he couldn’t blame her.

  “It will be a perfect place to hide it,” the woman said suddenly. “The people here can watch over the orb.”

  “The people?”

  The woman gestured down the main road and not too far down the path they could see movement. Atlasi was unsure of what he saw, the perspective didn’t make any sense, but indeed, there were figures moving slowly in the distance.

  “Can’t you free them of this curse?” Atlasi asked.

  “The power to do that is within that orb,” she told him. “And I refuse to take it…limit your time in the city.”

  Atlasi sighed and left to meet the people, whatever shape they may be. The robed woman stayed behind in the desert. She wanted to accompany him further, but could not bring herself to step into the city. She turned her back on it and took comfort in the familiar sands ahead of her while she waited.

  “My time here should be limited,” Atlasi thought. “She forgot to mention how limited.”

  Despite these thoughts, Atlasti did not stop walking. His eyes quickly understood the figures ahead of him to be giants, but he was barely surprised. If anything, it made sense. It was the kind of ironic twist the gods tended to employ in their ‘miracles’ when they were in a malicious mood.

  A giant approached him, its movements slow and steady, but the porcelain ground still shattering, painfully, beneath its feet.

  “It’s despicable,” Atlasi thought. “I hope wherever Vel is now he is suffering.”

  “Hello,” Atlasi said when the giant was close. The giant cringed in pain and covered his ears. Atlasi was yelling so his voice could reach the giant’s ears, but it clearly wasn’t necessary.

  “Please, quiet…” the giant whispered through gritted teeth.

  “My apologies,” Atlasi said as quietly as he could. “My name is Atlasi, I have come to help if I can.”

  “To help? How can you help us?”

  “By giving you peace of mind first of all,” Atlasi began. “Vel, the god who brought this curse upon you, has been dealt with. You have nothing to fear from him, or the other gods soon.”

  “If only those words could bring me peace of mind,” the giant muttered. “My thoughts harbor no ill will against Vel, but they might if this curse was broken. Leave now, before the curse takes you too.”

  Atasi’s eyes widened at the thought. It was a city that corrupted the mind as well as altered the body. How long before he too was a giant, or abandoning his quest to rid the desert of the gods? No wonder they couldn’t bring themselves to leave.

  “I still wish for their downfall, so the curse has not taken me yet,” Atlasi thought. “Still, I best be quick.”

  The giant had raised his foot, which was barely covered with several robes patched together. From his foot, he plucked shards of porcelain. It was painful to watch and Atlasi could only imagine how much pain the giant would feel had his feet been uncovered.

  “Can you lay down?” Atlasi asked. “It may make it easier for you.”

  “And what then?”

  “Then try crawling, manage your weight, like so,” Atlasi placed the chest he carried on the porcelain path and got on all fours. “You see, my feet before left marks on the path, but now I can move without leaving a mark. If properly balanced, it should be easier for you to move without breaking the porcelain.”

  It was a sight that would have shocked the many inhabitants of the Everlasting Desert who knew of the Sultan. To see a great warrior, scramble on the ground like an insect. Yet, Atlasi felt no shame in it. He quickly figured out how to manage his weight until he moved across the ground with ease.

  The giant, either desperate or curious, did as Atlasi demonstrated. With advice and pointers on how to shift weight between hands and feet, the giant could move without breaking the path too much. Yet, it was clear that with practice he would be able to move and barely crack the porcelain.

  The giant’s mood was already lifting the more he crawled, the better he got. Atlasi was happy to see the pained movement pass, but inside, his fury grew.

  “Great people brought so low just so they can live without pain,” Atlasi thought. “Had I the power of a god...oh, if I were a god...no, I cannot think such thoughts. I must hold my pity and show respect.”

  “My name is Bomani, please, come see my people,” the young giant said, leading Atlasi toward the distant figures.

  ~*~

  “Like all travelers, we surprised him. Yet, his wonder faded when he heard our story. It was replaced with sad understanding,” Nuru murmured. “He could not lift this curse, but he helped in small ways. And before leaving, he gave me a small, wooden chest. It was simple but strong.”

  “It doesn’t matter how strong the structure is, Bibi,” Bomani replied in his soft voice. “He told us to protect the chest and we make for a better defense.”

  Athia looked in Bayek’s direction. The chest could only contain what they were looking for - the powers of a god. It sounded a lot like the chest that the prince in White Tree had an army working day and night to open. Yet, how could they take it from the giants?

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  “Is there some way we can convince you to give us the chest?” Athia asked hopefully.

  “Now, I know what you are thinking,” Bomani said before Nuru could make a sound. “And, having heard your story, we can understand the situation you are in. However, we made a promise to Atlasi that we would not let anyone take the chest. Our people keep our promises, we would die to keep them.”

  “That much is true,” Bayek thought to himself. “Although, our promises are usually vows to destroy a tribe that wronged us...or a single man.”

  “You heard my story, you see yourself in the decisions I made,” Athia began. “We are victims of the gods and our foolishness. You may not desire to leave this city, because the curse has changed your mind, but beyond Vel’s magic, you do wish to leave. Would you not want someone else to have the same chance to escape?”

  “Well said,” Bayek thought. “But in their eyes, I can see they are unchanged.”

  Bomani shook his head.

  “Atlasi was a good man with a noble cause,” Bomani began. “He saved the desert from the impulsive wills of the gods. We cannot break that promise, even if he wronged our people in the past, even for one in the same situation as us...trust me, if there was another way, we would gladly help you.”

  Bomani was steadfast. Athia found herself stumped.

  “Can I see the chest?” Bayek asked suddenly.

  “We will not part with it, Bayek,” Nuru said firmly, backing up Bomani’s words. “You should know our ways.”

  “You promised to protect the chest, I know, but Atlasi said nothing about letting us see the chest,” Bayek said slyly. “You said you would help us and we wish to see the chest.”

  “Is he planning to fight the giants? Or steal the chest?” Athia asked in silence.

  Bomani and Nuru looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

  “That does not break the promise, so you can,” Nuru murmured. “Now, let’s see…”

  Nuru’s hands reached beneath her shawl and plucked item after item from the folds. Eventually, her hands clasped something other than bone trinkets and lumpy, cloth pouches. She withdrew a chest, small in her hands, but Athia would need both her hands to carry it.

  Nuru placed it in front of her, for Bayek and Athia to see, but not so close that they may be tempted. It was wood, bound in metal clasps, and the perfect size to contain the grapefruit-sized orb like the one Athia had found atop the prince’s scorpion staff.

  Athia’s eyes, like Bayek’s, scanned the chest for weakness. Plots swam in circles around their minds like the small, dark fish in the murky wells of the Porcelain City. Each idea lacked in some way.

  Bayek knew he could not fight so many giants. Talking them out of keeping their promise seemed impossible. Even taking the chest and fleeing was out of the question, because he knew they could move much faster if they wanted to.

  “I hope you have an idea of what to do, Athia,” Bayek thought.

  “There’s nothing we can do,” Athia thought.

  Athia was a thief and stealing it was the first thing to come to mind. She could steal the chest from the hands of a drunken soldier, but these giants were something else entirely. Their hearing was astounding, which was made clear when they could hear them enter the city from so far away. Even if their sense of touch was less, Athia was not confident. If she somehow got close enough to Nuru while she slept, Athia was afraid that the slightest touch might provoke the giantess, causing her to slap at Athia as if she were a bothersome mosquito.

  Athia tried not to imagine the result.

  Yet, one thought continued to swim, waiting for her acknowledgement.

  “That lock’s shape seems familiar,” the thought told her. “Wait…the Sultan’s Jewel.”

  The jewel would fit perfectly. It was the key to the chest that had no familiar keyhole. That was the significance of the jewel, and it would certainly save them time trying to break the chest open. Yet, even with this information, it was a matter of getting close to the chest.

  “What did you promise Atlasi, exactly?” Athia asked.

  “Exactly? We promised to protect the chest from anyone that wasn’t him,” Nuru told Athia firmly.

  “Word-for-word?”

  “He did not utter another to this request and we shall follow it to the letter.”

  “Then, Nuru, I think you can help us and keep your promise to Atlasi,” Athia said, keeping excitement from her voice. She didn’t know how loose their promises could be, so she would not smile. “You can continue to protect the chest for Atlasi, keeping your promise, but let us have the contents.”

  “We cannot...do...that…” Bomani said, his words getting slower with more thought. He looked at Nuru. “Can we?”

  At this, Athia smiled.

  “Well, I suppose he never clarified that we should not part with the contents,” Nuru mumbled. “But...we…”

  “But surely, that means we should protect the contents as well?”

  “Whether or not it does, that is not what you promised Atlasi,” Athia said, slight nervousness building. “You said, word-for-word, that you promised to protect the chest from anyone that wasn’t him. Not the contents of the chest. Those are different promises...entirely.”

  Bayek smiled.

  “Different promises entirely,” he nodded.

  “Well, it is out of the question anyway, because the chest cannot be opened,” Bomani said, shrugging.

  “Cannot be opened,” Nuru repeated, mimicking Bomani’s gesture.

  “Try this.”

  Athia withdrew the Sultan’s emerald from her blue sash. Even the low light from the fire was enough to make the jewel glow brighter than any other emerald would. Athia handed it easily to the giant, eager to see if it opened the chest.

  Bomani was not so eager to take it, because he recognized it.

  “That belonged to Atlasi,” Bomani said, staring at the emerald with an unreadable expression. It was hard to tell if he was angry, surprised or confused.

  When Bomani and Nuru exchanged looks, Bayek knew.

  Bayek was on his feet in a second, he grabbed Athia by her shoulder and brought her to her feet. Bayek did not draw his sword, but his hands hovered near it. Athia understood what was happening. Suspicion crossed their faces, their glares and Bayek’s anger towards Atlasi gave them enough cause to lose trust. The giants rose the same time Bayek did, their aggression building.

  “You must have met him, where is he?” Nuru asked, her kindly voice replaced with one that was filled with venom. “Don’t answer, I know already.”

  “He had to be punished,” Bayek said sternly, his hand now wrapped around the hilt of his sword. “For what he did to our tribe, our people. They were yours once.”

  “You killed him...an old man not too far from death,” Nuru grumbled as she stood up. The other giants had surrounded Athia and Bayek, who were frantically looking for an opening. “Atlasi was a good man to us, a great man, who unwillingly followed his father. Whatever he did in the past does not compare to the amount of torture he saved all the people in the desert from!”

  Nuru’s voice raised above a whisper, but the giants did not cringe. It seemed they were all too ready to attack at any moment. Athia could understand then how Bayek’s people were often fighting. It was easier for them to fight, to destroy, than to forgive and create.

  “Yet, they have learned how to live without destroying this city,” Athia thought. “And if they can forgive Atlasi…maybe then Bayek as well. It beats being squashed like bugs.”

  Athia turned to Bayek quickly and with a flash of her blade, she had cut the strip that bound the sword to his waist, his hand narrowly avoiding the blade. The sword fell with a klump and Athia’s dagger followed with a clatter. With the weapons discarded, she then faced the angered giants.

  “I was the one who helped Bayek into Atlasi’s palace,” Athia told the giants, trying to keep the panic in her voice down. “I kept him from being captured, I was the one who saw him murder the Sultan. I was the one who heard Atlasi’s last words and saw his life fade.”

  “Athia!” Bayek hissed, but her hand bid him to be quiet.

  “Foolishly, I thought I could prevent Bayek from killing Atlasi, but I failed,” Athia continued. “Had I known from the start that helping Bayek would be the Sultan’s downfall, I would have tried harder to stop him. I would have called the guards, I would even have fought him, like you all would to protect your friend. Like Atlasi could have stopped his father sooner…but he didn’t.”

  Athia could see the anger in their eyes, but they were listening all the same.

  “But I can tell you that if Bayek right now were to stand before his past self, he would be trying to stop his past self just like me,” Athia told them firmly. “Even when the Sultan was breathing his last breath, Bayek knew he did something wrong.”

  “Don’t lie, we heard what he said!” Bomani said bitterly, but Nuru placed a hand on his shoulder, letting Athia continue.

  “Even now…he lies to himself to save himself the pain,” Athia said slowly, taking the heat of Bayek’s glare. Her mind was racing to find the right words - their lives depended on it. “He is like a blind man who can see again, yet fears what he sees and tries to blind himself again for an easy escape. I beg you, please forgive him, forgive me.”

  Athia finished her speech, but it took a moment to ripple through the giants. The fact that none of the giants chose that moment to strike, to take revenge, was a good sign. All had their eyes on Nuru, as she was the eldest. It was up to her to decide the fate of the travelers.

  “What drama these two have brought upon us,” Nuru thought. “Almost makes me wish for the days when we would just solve our problems by driving a spear through it. Still, I can’t find it in myself to spear them, not even Bayek. It’s not what Atlasi would do, even if Bayek killed him. So, why should I?”

  “It’s not so easy to forgive, Athia, that takes time,” Nuru began in a harsh tone, but it gradually softened. “This is news that hurts us all deeply and to hear it from their killers only makes it worse. Bayek, you will be escorted out of the city. Even if it is a curse, it is still our home and we banish you from it.”

  Nuru gestured for two giants to take Bayek away and there was nothing he could do to combat their efforts. All he could do was look at Athia as they led him from the fire into the darkness and towards the city's edge. Athia watched him go and once he was out of sight, she looked at Nuru.

  “Athia, I don’t know if it is a good thing that you throw yourself in with a man like that,” Nuru grumbled. “Yet, if he is your friend, I can understand why you defend him. You did not kill Atlasi, but you did help Bayek. That is easier to forgive.”

  The tension was lowered dramatically, Athia could feel it all around. Perhaps it was because everyone was several times larger than her.

  “What did Atlasi say to you?” Bomani asked. “Before…”

  “He knew why I was there,” Athia replied. “He told me to take the jewel, that the gods would not ignore what happened...he said death will follow me.”

  “He threatened you then.”

  “He warned me,” Athia corrected. “I believe he knew that day would come…that Nef would want revenge on him. Yet, neither he nor Nef could have predicted how. He was not angry in his last moments, he could even understand why Bayek killed him. He was...worried about me. His face was kind.”

  Several days passed since that night, but Athia could still see him as if she had only just spoken to him moments ago. Again, a small sadness built within her, but it didn’t take hold.

  “That sounds like him,” Nuru murmured. “He could see troubles in everyone and these troubles weighed on him as if he shared the burden. That’s how we will remember him. Give me the jewel, Athia, let’s see if I can get the chest open.”

  Athia once more held out the emerald and Nuru took it carefully between her thumb and forefinger. She walked back to the chest and placed the jewel into the metal indent. When nothing happened, she tapped it and a soft click could be heard.

  “Does that mean it’s unlocked?” Bomani asked.

  “Let me see,” Nuru murmured.

  “What a remarkable lock,” Athia thought. “No doubt it was created by the best smiths the Sultan could employ. A chest, strong in its make and he had the only key.”

  Nuru picked up the chest and tried opening the lid. Unfortunately, she opened it the wrong way and broke the lid right off its hinges. The metal pieces fell to the ground as everyone stared at the stunned face of Nuru.

  “Oops.”