The Battle of Mark and Agni

"The smoky haze filled the room and the earthy scent of smoldering wood wafted its way into the nostrils of the entranced listener. Great scrolls were lying unfurled on the floor in front of the whispering fire. Large and beautiful pictures were painted on to the papyrus with great care and detail. One strange creature drew Mara closer to the illustration. A creature with wings of an extraordinary size, talons as large as sword blades, scales bearing the resemblance of great shields of battle, and flames erupting from the open mouth. Without her knowing, Mara’s eyes were dancing with excitement and almost hope at the thought of seeing one of these creatures. A spark popped out and flew to the floor next to Mara giving her a fright. She jumped back with a shout, muted by her hand quickly thrown to her face. Mara shot a glance up at Grandmother Nefertari; she could see the sly gleam that penetrated through the small slits she made with her eyes. Nefertarie always seemed to grow strange at times like these. Her words would grow into a rhythmical pattern, and her stories would form pictures in the minds of her listeners. She seemed to be filled with so much knowledge, and she always had something to say about almost everything. Elioneai had always thought warily about her, knowing that she had visions and dreams, ones that actually came to pass. Mara had heard her Father speak in whispers to his wife about allowing the children to listen to the stories. Asenath always passed it off as fiction tales… but Mara wondered if her Mother truly knew that the tales were actual history, or even future."

This is an excerpt from my book "Bondage," from the "Chosen Light" series (ch. 4, pg. 22). Mara's Grandmother, Nefertari, describes this young 16 year-old girl as such: "Mara was the outgoing girl, eager to learn, and ready to imagine; yet she desired to be alone at times, thirsty for thought and words on a page." In this chapter Nefertari is explaining "Dream Scrying" to Mara, and the battle between Agni the dragon and Mark, a man of God, who later turned to worshipping the Egyptian idols. Mara and her Grandmother where very close, yet the girl's Father, Elioneai, was not so sure about the lenghty time his daughter spent listening to the old woman's stories.

"But something about Mara had drawn her particularly close to her Grandmother. Mara desired to learn about history… not just any history, but the enchanting stories from her Grandmother. They were both fascinated with animals, the odd behavior of the Egyptians, the strange gods the Pharaoh worshipped, and they enjoyed studying the word together, building their faith stronger, and learning about the one and only God so as to stand before the Pharaoh if need be and speak the truth that they had learned."