The Emperor and The Man of God

1.

When Johnny awoke, he looked around and quickly realised that he was no longer in his one bedroom apartment in Finchley. He was lying on what looked like a wooden bed in the middle of a small room. There was a huge fireplace at one end of the room and what looked like a kitchen at the other end. Perhaps the bed was not a bed at all - it could have been an altar of some sort...

"Welcome," he heard a voice say from behind him, "how did you sleep?"

He spun round and saw a man in a white robe standing behind him. Then it all started coming back to him - this must be Beza, the man who Abidel referred to as his apprentice. He was in this other world that Abidel had called High and Low Earth. Or he could just be having a very vivid dream.

"I slept OK. Where am I?"

"You're at the Path of the Oracle, the gateway to Low Earth." The man stretched out his hand, "I am Beza. I believe Abidel told you I would be waiting for you?"

"Yes, he did," he replied as a look of concern suddenly washed over his face. "This is the same Oracle who Abidel told me has taken Cynthia's baby?"

"Yes, the one and the same. This is his hut – we must hurry and leave before we are discovered. Even though he is on his way to High Earth now with the Emperor and the baby, he has eyes and ears about this place who will no doubt inform him of our presence here at the earliest opportunity."

"Where are we going?"

"We must follow them back to High Earth, to the Emperor's palace, to petition the return of your child!"

"What if we don't succeed?" Johnny nervously asked as they discreetly crept away from the Oracle's hut.

"We must succeed," Beza replied, "or we may very well be witnessing the abomination that will reek utter desolation to the ends of High and Low Earth!"

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2.
When Beza and Johnny arrived at the gates of the Emperor's Palace, they were taken in chains immediately the guards recognised Beza, the apprentice of the Man of GOD who was banished into the wilderness with his master for making blasphemous comments about the Oracle and doubting the imminence of the Great Prophecy. Even though Abidel was not with him, he was accompanied by a man with very strange clothing. Whatever they were up to, the Emperor would want to know about it immediately.

They were brought into the main hall of the palace and presented before the Emperor. There, seated at his right hand as his chief advisor, sat a small man dressed in long, flowing, black robes. He may have been short in stature but had an air of confidence about him; an assuredness that even the Emperor himself could not boast of. Johnny had never met the man before but the moment their eyes met, the man’s eyes opened wide with surprise, his confidence clearly shaken by Johnny's unlikely presence. He knew then that this must be the Oracle that Abidel had spoken of. The man who had stolen his child and given him to the Emperor. Seated on the Emperor's left was his wife Marah, and cradled in her arms, a baby boy quietly asleep. His baby boy. He felt his pulse quicken as he laid eyes on his son for the first time.

"What manner of intrusion is this?" The Emperor's voice echoed loudly in the hall. He was clearly angered by their presence.

Beza stepped forward and knelt. "Forgive thy servants your Highness, but it was necessary to bring you an urgent message concerning your child..." He hesitated before continuing, "The chosen one."

"Be careful what you say peasant, or I will have your head taken off where you stand! Thou and thy master Abidel persist in spewing this blasphemy, that the child is not the one? Where is Abidel, and who is this fool that has accompanied you here to his death?"

"Your highness, this man beside me is living proof that the child which your wife nurses is not of this world." He pointed at the child in Marah's arms. "That baby is an impostor, is not thy child, and is not the chosen one!"

An outcry of voices emanated from the crowd present – Chieftains, Elders and Holy Scroll scholars from all over High Earth. "Sacrilege! Blasphemy!" were the cries that began to fill the room. "Kill them now!"

The royal guard started to draw their swords but their leader, Ebed-Melek, was already moving across the room towards Beza. His sword stopped at the man's throat, waiting for the slightest order from the Emperor to strike.

"Wait! Let the man speak" The Emperor said, raising his left hand. Then he turned to Beza, "Choose thy words carefully and know that they may be thy last breath!"

Beza breathed in deeply, Ebed-Melek's blade pressed against his neck. "This man with me is also not of this world. He has come from another world called London. He is also the father of this child!"

The ripples of murmuring spread across the room. Beza quickly continued while he had the chance, "Look at his clothes, rough blue trousers and a light red tunic that does not even cover his arms. The likes of which none have ever laid eyes on in High or Low Earth, not until now! And his shoes..."

"Lies!!!" The Oracle hissed interrupting Beza mid-sentence. "Your Highness, do not fall for this deception. This man whom thou rightly banished for his blasphemous speech must not be trusted. He is not even a true man of God. He hath no power as he professes to have and I shall prove it!"

The Oracle stood up, took his staff and threw it to the floor in front of Beza. The moment the stick touched the ground it turned into a snake, poised for attack and hissing at Beza. Startled, Ebed-Melech took a step back, careful to remain an arm's length from Beza, the venomous snake's supposed target. The sword was no longer at Beza's neck and this was when he decided to act. Flexing his chest and raising his arms he snapped the chains that had tightly fastened him as if they were twigs. When they touched the ground, they turned into three snakes which wasted no time in gobbling up the Oracle's snake. They lifted their heads up, posied for the next attack, seemingly waiting for Beza to give them their next orders. Horrified screams filled the room as people started fleeing. Only the bravest remained, eyes transfixed on the unfolding duel before them. The Oracle took a large rock in his right hand, and flung it at the snakes. When it struck the first one, the rock disintegrated and the snakes spontaneously combusted into flames! The Oracle smiled wickedly, enjoying his momentary victory, however fleeting it may be, as the stench of barbecue snake filled the palace.

Beza seemed unconcerned by this, and turned towards the Emperor. "Your highness, we waste time with these petty displays of power. I have come here to expose the truth to thee. We may calleth rain, fire and thunder from the heavens all day and all night to prove whose power really comes from God. Instead, I will let my comrade speak, and if this convinceth thee not, we shall return to the wilderness without the baby. But know that without this child, your child will remain trapped in this other world I speak of."

Silence descended upon the room and after a few moments, the Emperor motioned to Johnny to speak. "Sir...your Highness...," Johnny said stepping forward, "I bring thee a gift from my world. It is the power to light fire with your own hands." He brought out a metallic object from his pocket and when he clicked on it, a small flame emanated from his hand.

The Oracle laughed mockingly. "How does this tiny flame compare to the display of fire I have just shown you?"

"The difference is that anyone can start this fire. The source of its power is not in dispute. It comes from fuel which is inside it. It is called a lighter." Johnny stretched his hand out with the lighter towards the Emperor, at which point Ebed-Melek, who happened to be one of the brave souls who remained, stepped between them to take it from him. He was ready to test it himself and bear the consequences if this was a trap, but the Emperor waved him over and took the lighter from him. After fumbling with it for a few seconds, he lit the flame and stared at it with fascination.

The Oracle tried to speak up to interrupt the moment, but the Emperor had turned to Johnny. "Is it possible to make more of these lighters? They would make a fine tool for all our camps and travelling parties."

"I suppose it is possible."

"Then lighters for all chieftains and generals of the royal guard!" The Emperor said rising up and pumping his fist as he raised his voice excitedly. There was a muted cheer from those that remained, such was their bewilderment at the unexpected turn of events in the Emperor's courtyard.

"Come, tell me what else have you brought from this world. London you called it?"

"Well, we call our world Earth, but I am indeed from a city called London."

"London will do," The Emperor chuckled. "So, Johnny of London, what other gifts have thy brought from thy world?"

Johnny reached into his pocket and brought out another rectangular object, this time thin, white and slightly bigger. A white rope with two leads were attached to it. He stuck the two white leads into either ear, and when he pressed the white object, the Emperor and all present could hear an interesting, somewhat melodious noise coming from his ears. No, from the white leads.

"What manner of sorcery is this?" the Emperor demanded, though the look on his face wore fascination rather than indignation.

"Again, it is not sorcery, it is simply music."

"So it is a musical instrument?"

"Not exactly. It is a device that plays music, you can download music from the internet and play it on this device."

"What is the internet?"

"Never mind. Here you can have this one. It's called an I-pod."

Again, Ebed-Melek took the device from him and handed it to the Emperor. The Emperor stuck the white leads in his ears and tried without luck to play the music.

"You have to press the button in the middle, that's the play button."

The Emperor did so, and after about a minute, pulled the leads out and looked up excitedly. "I have never heard music quite like this before. What is it called? Can we also make these I-pods for all the Chieftains and Elders?"

"It's called garage music. Unfortunately, it might be a bit more difficult to make more of these than the lighters."

"In that case, garbage music for the Emperor and his Court!" The Emperor said, pumping his fist in the air again. "It sounds like dirty music, is it meant to?" The Emperor chuckled. The Oracle looked across and tried to hide his disgust! If this Emperor was his own court jester, he would have beheaded himself a long time ago!

"Your Highness, Sir, please let us not forget the matter at hand. If we have been able to convince you, I have come to take my child and return him to my world and his mother."

Suddenly, the Emperor's countenance changed. A frown spread across his face, and the Oracle stole his moment while he had it. "Your Highness, thou seest now that they use deception to soften you, lower your guard and steal the baby! Remember I told you it would need my protection from untold evils seeking to end its life! End this dialogue with these snakes while you have the chance!"

The Emperor appeared to be ready to have Ebed-Melek and his royal guards take the two men away until Marah, who had not spoken until now, leaned over to him and whispered in his ear, "Melek, my King, I believe this Johnny of London speaketh truth. I have looked upon this child every night since he was given to me, three days after he died, when he was risen again with the Oracle's power, and I have known since then that this is not my child. Let them take him. If our child is out there somewhere, leave them to bring him back. Even if he is not alive, let us find him and give him a burial befitting of royal blood."

"What of the Great Prophecy of the chosen one? How can the child not be alive?"

"What if Abidel was right? What if this is not the time? Let us leave the matter in God's hands, otherwise I fear that history may record that we took part in a great deception and abomination."

Emperor Melek sat back deep in thought. His mind had almost been made up but since he married this young maiden Marah barely a dozen lunar cycles ago, he had always taken her word over all his most trusted advisors, much to their chagrin. Now he would do so once more, much to the Oracle's disgusted annoyance.

"Please, Your Highness," Johnny added as softly as he could, "listen to her Highness, a mother would always know. Right now this child's mother is distraught to the point of death in London, at the apparent loss of her baby. I beg you, please put her out of her misery. Let her have her child back."

But he didn't need to beg. The Emperor had already decided to let them go with the baby. That night, they stayed in the royal stables with the horses, and at the first rising of the sun, they were given two of the finest of the royal horses, enough supplies to last three lunar cycles, and safe passage to return to the Oracle's hut, which they believed was the gateway to the other world. Marah said her goodbyes to the baby which she had raised as her own for three lunar cycles, kissed his cheek and bade farewell to the two men, begging them to find her own baby and bring him back. The Emperor said nothing as he looked on and saw the two men and the baby disappear into the distance.


Does Johnny return to London with he and Cynthia’s baby? Does Abidel escape his jail cell in London and find his way back to High and Low Earth? Find out in the conclusion to this “Man of God” series in ‘The Return of the Man of God!’