Everything was fine around him, he was sitting in the main room of his palace, he was looking at some texts that had been sent to him, there was a quartet of musicians in his room, a happy and soft music was being sung, he could smell the perfume of an incense covered in burning oil, it perfumed his entire room, and that made him happy, from his room there was a huge balcony, and from there, he could see a large part of the city, the mountains in the distance, a little of the valleys, from this balcony, he he watches everything, trying to imagine how things are going farther east, towards the Red Sea.

He had the appearance of an ancient sultan, very heavyset, with a large full beard, long hair, a rounded face and dimples in his cheeks, he wore the clothes of a sheikh, or something close to it, they were pale and fine as silk. 

The balcony doors were open, soft daylight streaming in and illuminating everything, when in a brief moment, a stronger wind entered. He didn't notice it at once, but everything had changed, the music that the musicians were singing on their old instruments had completely changed the melody, a more sublime song was being played, of a beauty that no one in that region could reproduce, the incense was burning stronger, the smoke becomes more visible, and his scent, now carries more odors, the lights in his room increased, everything looked golden, and warm.

Without even realizing that everything around him had changed, he dropped the texts he was analyzing, and began to appreciate and contemplate the melody, the perfume, his room looked like a paradise of colors, his breathing had changed, his concentration on his office, dissipated.

He was still sitting in his chair, the texts were still in front of him, but his senses were attentive to everything around him.

As he reveled in his chair with the music and the scent of the incense, a hand touched his shoulder, and said something that drew his attention out of the song, "I need to show you something" was all he heard.

And these sayings completely caught his attention, he didn't recognize the voice, and he didn't even see the face, because at the moment he was about to turn around, the hand pointed in the opposite direction, and he followed the direction with his gaze, and saw something out of the ordinary, a huge gate in the wall of his room, and normally there was nothing like that there, it was an aged wooden gate, unrecognizable, it was already falling apart, its bolts were rusty and about to break , and there were handprints with some kind of oil soaked into this gate.

He just thought that the voice was from one of his advisers, and went to the gate, the music was still being sung, and the aroma of incense with oil and herbs was still in the air, as soon as he got close to the gate, the gate opened. , just enough for him to get through, and he was so immersed in the emotions of the music and the rising smoke that he walked through the gate without any problem.

As soon as he went through the gate, he saw something that completely surprised him, he seemed to be inside a cave, everything was damp, he still smelled a little of the incenses and herbs, he still heard the music as if it was a distant festival, so, started to hear voices entering the cave, without even thinking about what he was doing, he kept walking, and the sound of the voices got louder, the smell of herbs changed to a smell of moss and oil that he had never felt before, the his clothes were already dirty, covered in dark dust and what looked like ash, the music had completely disappeared, but he could only think of those voices saying something.

He was even deeper in this cave, when he saw something completely frightening, it was a child's body, it appeared to be around 4 years old, she was covered in burns, her whole body was covered in blood and wounds, her eyes were closed, and her mouth moved as if she wanted to scream, but the voice did not come out, this child took a few steps towards the man who was entering that cave, but after a few steps, she fell to the ground, without strength.

The man came closer to the child, but there was nothing he could do, she was completely covered in wounds, blood, and it looked like her skin had already been ripped off by the heat.

He then ran towards where the voices were coming from, to see if he could find someone to help him, and after running a little, he came to what appeared to be a large hall inside the cave, there were some people in the distance, talking something in a voice. high, and there was a huge fire in the middle of the hall, and the voices he heard were coming from the fire, no one seemed to see him in that hall, he then approached the fire, and saw something that made him let out an anguished cry, there were dozens of children inside that fire.

Their faces were transfigured, their eyes were already completely burned, their voices seemed to be the grunts of animals, the pain was so much that they were ripping off their own skins, the scream of these children was deafening, the smell of their burning flesh was everywhere, that man could smell it completely, because his senses were already awake, after what he experienced in his room, that smell was in his whole being, the image of children burning and ripping their skins off, stuck in his eyes, he felt everything, as he had never felt anything before, it felt like he was the fire, he was the children, he was the people around saying something aloud to themselves, he was the hall, the cave, he felt like he was all of that, and everything was getting more intense, he felt his skin peeling off, the heat of the embers, everything was choking him, and when it felt like the world would fall under this man's head, he cried out.

He was now waking up, he was lying in his bed, with one of his wives by his side, but the panic he felt during the dream was still present in him, his breathing was failing, and this made the wife who was next to him wake up. 

"What's up? Are you having a problem?" She showed concern

"I had a horrible dream, I need to meet with my advisors, to know the meaning of this dream" He was the King of that region, so he had advisors, astrologers, and all kinds of sorcerers at his service.

He soon asked the guards to gather all the counselors, as he was going to talk about his dream.

After waking up, he saw the difference between the room in his dreams, and the room in real life, after waking up, everything felt colder, darker, the smell was different, everything looked bad.

"King Khalid, all the counselors are already gathered, they are waiting for your presence for them to do the readings of their dreams" Khalid had already taken a bath, applied oil on his body, special oil on his beard and on his long hair, he had never left the room looking the best possible.

His advisors were gathered, about 20 people from the most varied cultures, and from different tribes, astrologers, temple chiefs, magicians, doctors, all gathered according to their own knowledge base, looked carefully at the king's entrance, as they all had admiration and fear for the king.

Some of the king's children were also present, the king had 8 wives, and 25 children, they lived a time of extreme prosperity, as they were being successful in all wars, and had conquered several territories and tribes, since the beginning of his current reign.

The king's perfume filled the room, a hallmark of his, small amounts of perfume were spilled into the room before he entered, he detested filth and dirty things, all councilors should at least wear clean clothes to be in the king's presence.

The king always kept a happy face with him, and a good mood, he told jokes and even in crises, he filled the room with joy, but everyone was surprised when they saw him with a more serious face, a different face, he seemed to have a bitter taste. in his mouth, which refused to come out, and this worried everyone, and his eldest son was the first to speak.

"My father, my king, I don't understand, can a dream have had such an impact on you? You who are always happy, you can tell what you saw in that dream, now even I was worried."

"My son, this dream moved me because I felt everything in my body, and when I woke up I continued to feel it for a few moments after waking up, and it left my whole body turned over, as if things lost their luster" Even the king's voice sounded different, as if something was out, left behind, before he left his quarters.

After the king told everything he saw and lived in his dream, everyone was perplexed, and soon began to whisper among themselves to define the best thing to say to the king.

After some time in debate, Adegueb-manak, the leader of the astrologers and one of the king's main advisers, went to give the king the floor "My king, sovereign, we are completely impelled to think that your dream comes from a warning from your over the coming battle, the troops are far advanced to the east, not even the Egyptian army is successful in those regions, there are still many strong tribes and Ethiopia has also been advancing its troops on this side of the Red Sea, so they can even try to attack our eastern cities and tribes, it is an area of little control, we fear the worst will come to our army"

"As I feared, that dream is a bad omen, but I don't think it has anything to do with our army, we have never done such harm to the territory we conquered, and not even anything that reminds me of battle or war I saw in my dream, I believe it is something different from war, I also know how to advise, but I will let you think more about my dream and bring me a new answer" The king looked more serious than usual

"I will send a messenger to our army so that they avoid unnecessary barbarism, so that no evil fall among our people" The king after saying these words seems to have felt something, he looked at the flames that were lighting up around his room, and his gaze deceived him, when looking at the flames, he saw children inside them, like if they desperately asked for help.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Seeing the scene, the king stood up, and this brought everyone's attention to him, he took a few steps towards the flames, saw something that astonished him, but knew he couldn't tell anyone about it, so he spoke in a calm "I will ask the messenger to tell General Hanna Wannous, not to use fire to kill, too, to spare all death at the edge of the sword and at the point of the arrow"

Everyone was surprised by that decision, it was the most assertive thing to do at such a crucial moment, the king noticed everyone's astonishment, and soon after, he dismissed everyone and asked that only his eldest son remained.

Everyone left the royal room a little disappointed, and kept silent until they had some distance, and as soon as they resumed talking, Sennir, one of the king's sons, called one of the astrologers to talk.

Sennir was too young to go to many occasions involving the king, but when it came to talking about dreams, he was allowed among the other sons. Sennir was very slight, had a very short stature, he was one of the smallest among his brothers, but still, many had bad feelings and envy against him, for Sennir's mother died on the day of his birth, and the king was very attached to him, and as Sennir's mother was a dancer and singer, the king always encouraged Sennir to study the arts, and he showed a supernatural talent for music and singing, having been praised by the king several times in front of everyone.

Some of Sennir's brothers commented on the friendship he had with the councilors, but at the end of the day, Sennir was the only one who showed an interest in the arts of the realm, all the others were seen as great soldiers, and had a lot of interest in war and battles, the older brother had already been successful in some battles as a commander, and the others were seen as excellent fighters.

Sennir looked fondly at his friend "Sahir, I wrote a new hymn last night, I felt completely inspired, I worked on this hymn all night, I even lost sleep"

Sahir greeted Sennir happily, he was much older than Sennir, he was around 35 years old, he wore a shorter beard, and left his long hair tied up, he liked to wear dark blue robes, he felt great affection for Sennir, as his eldest son was born in the same period as Sennir, and he saw how difficult it was for Sennir to grow up, being raised by concubines and surrounded by envy.

Sahir soon said goodbye to everyone, they would meet later, after consulting the spirits, stars, and whatever else appeared.

Sennir went with Sahir to the music room, he had his lyre in his hands, he asked three young musicians to accompany with drums and tambourines, and another, using a flute, the music was of a beauty that Sahir had never seen before, a melody that was not common to his country, everything seemed harmonious and different to Sahir's ears, he felt deeply moved listening to that hymn, and he managed to convey this emotion by accompanying Sennir's singing.

After Sennir performed that song and a few others he had written in the last few days, he asked the musicians to come out, to discuss with Sahir his father's dream and its meanings.

"It was the first time my father presented such a dream, not even me, I had never dreamed of anything like this, what exactly did the counselors discuss?" Sennir was thoughtful about the dream

 Sahir showed his concern. "This dream took everyone by surprise, dreams of death are very difficult to get a meaning for, and with so much death and pain involved, we can only think it's a great loss in our kingdom"

Sahir was sincere in his sayings, all they could do was tell the king about it, to bring peace to the king's conscience, and get back to other outstanding issues.

"Then I'm afraid to say, Sahir, but I have different opinions, I think my father really saw something that is happening, and for some reason, he is not noticing" Sennir spoke without causing much fuss so as not to have any confusion for either of them.

"Something going on? What do you mean anyway?" Sahir asked

"I think somewhere near us they built a temple just like the one my father saw, and they're burning these children" Sennir looked serious about this.

"I don't think it's possible, this kind of thing hasn't happened for generations, and it's usually tribes of savages that do it, there are only a few desert myths and legends about such things, don't even think that's true" Sahir stopped to think. a bit about it, and continued "It could be that the soldiers are fighting people of some evil plot right now, the spirits of this desert, like to confuse people, maybe it's some sand spirit playing tricks on your father"

Now it was Sennir who thought a little more about the matter.

"No need to worry, the stars are in a favorable position for our kingdom, things will go well in the end" Sahir was always calm and thought of the best ways out of any problem, and that's what made him one of the royal advisors, and Sennir, on hearing these words, was completely reassured.

Sennir still had a lot to think about and develop on the matter, but he thought it would be better to go out and unwind a bit "Come on, you need to go meet the other councilors soon, I'll walk around town for a bit to think about it, and have inspiration for new music" Sennir spoke with conviction, they hugged and soon said goodbye.

Sennir walked through the city without wanting to attract too much attention, he wore the old clothes of palace servants, he covered his head with tied cloths, and whenever he saw someone he knew, he turned away, to some other street, and he was used to doing that, and often went unnoticed, a few times, recognized.

Even though he could be welcomed anywhere, he preferred to walk around the city like that, that way, he would get to know more of the city, and in the best way possible.

He knew some merchants, but he always used another name when he would talk to these people "Fahit", and none of those who knew him by that name recognized him later as the king's son.

The day was much hotter than usual, everyone seemed more overwhelmed by the heat, the bathrooms and wells were full of people, many covered themselves with water in the street itself, to ward off the heat, and in this relaxed atmosphere, Sennir also went to refresh himself, and took a pitcher of water, and poured it over his head, he was immensely happy and joyful, for despite the heat, those people around the well were also filled with joy.

While "Fahit" was talking to a small group of people, a group of singers, and musicians, and some people who were accompanying them arrived at the well, they also took water by the well and washed among so many people, and they sang and danced while they washed and everyone was even more happy with that concentration, Sennir looked attentively at that group, everyone seemed to know the domains of music well, and that enchanted him, everyone was talking and singing in the same way he always did.

Soon Sennir joined the group, listening to the intonations, he was also part of the happy songs, marked with tambourines and lyres.

After a time of joy, everyone came to talk in a more friendly way, a traveling group, they knew many nations, they have even been to Asia, with their rhymes. So the young Sennir came to ask, to hide names and persons, said that a friend dreamed of something, beyond what he could imagine, and narrated to them the dream, which came to his father, to talk.

The look showed astonishment, the smile of the mouth still seemed to retain a little joy, but the images came to mind, caves, children, fire and screams, were things that people normally wanted to avoid having in their heads, it was something even hard to imagine, but they didn't know anything, they didn't hear anything, there was nothing left to talk about.

Sennir tired after all, he walked slowly back to the palace, where he would try to rest, and thinking that it was all just another dream that the wind brought, on his way home, he saw one of the messengers of the kingdom pass him, but the messenger didn't recognize Sennir, with dirty clothes and rags, passed without noticing him, and went ahead, towards the mission that the king gave him.

Sennir entered through a different entrance to the palace, the guards already knew that he was the one to come, they looked happy that he had returned safely, because if something happened, they might have to pay the price, for the death of one of the princes, and the price was too high.

Sennir managed to get calmly to his room, then changed his robes, for finer robes, and he was surprised that he didn't find anyone on the way to his rooms, and he went out to look for company, and at first he didn't see anyone, until he decided to go to the garden and there, in the garden at the back of the palace, found almost everyone gathered, talking something seriously, and when they saw Sennir arrive, one of the king's wives came to talk to Sennir.

"Where have you been? We were all worried here" She said in a tone like she was about to cry.

Sennir found that strange, he would walk in the city several times, and they never showed so much concern, in fact, they never showed any concern.

"It's not that, it's about the king, your father" Sennir's expression changed the moment he heard those words.

"After the counselors left, he changed completely, he didn't want to deal with any issues, he asked and burn a lot of incense, and after a while, he started screaming loudly, yelling and swearing something to himself, scared all the servants, so he returned to his room" Her despair was apparent, she was shaking completely, as if she feared the worst, stories of kings who had gone mad and acted foolishly were common, so even Sennir thought about that possibility.

"And not only that, as soon as the meal was ready, a servant went to call the king, and he soon went out to eat, but as soon as he began to chew, he gave a roar and stood up, everyone at the table was startled, so he spat the food back onto his plate, and tried to clean his tongue with his bare hands, he downed a huge glass of wine, but it only made him worse, and he threw it all up, in front of everyone, and then ran to your room, and is there even now" Sennir's face paled, his body shuddered a little, nervousness made his stomach tighten but he needed to do something, take action, but in his own mind he feared that his father was going crazy, that's when he remembered the song he showed to Sahir, and decided he would show it to his father.

Everyone watched the Senir return to the palace, and whispered among themselves about what he was likely to do.

Sennir decided to just take his lyre and go to his father's room, the guards spoke to the king, and after some time, he let Sennir in.

As soon as Sennir entered the room, he saw his father sitting on the bed, his father's face, looked serious and with some illness.

In a soft voice, Sennir said "My father, you should call the doctor to come see what's going on"

The king, sitting on his bed, just raised his face towards Sennir and said tiredly "Don't worry, I'll just try to get some sleep and rest, soon I'll be better"

Sennir just looked into his father's eyes and smiled, because he saw that the king still kept that joviality in his gaze that was his trademark, and even sick, it sounded like himself speaking, the king in his health, that's what Sennir saw after a few words.

Then Sennir took the lyre in his hands, and said happily "My father, I have something to show you, I made this song last night, tell me what you think"

The king was without a doubt the biggest lover of Sennir's music, he always asked him to play something, and encouraged him to always do something new, and he kept an eye out for the music that Sennir would play.

The melody began to fill the room, the sound of the lyre grew and grew, taking all the space for itself, and the king was attentive to everything that happened. And Senir began to sing, and the melody grew and rose like the smoke of incense.

Sennir had his eyes closed, softly playing his lyre, and when suddenly everything changed, the king surrounded him with a hug and began to cry on his shoulders.