On a certain day, Nimrod beheld his father measuring a stretch of land with a rod of reckoning. They stood upon the plain of Shinar; and perceiving that he intended to raise some great structure, the youth approached him and said:
"My father!"
And Cush answered:
"Here am I, my son."
Then the young man spoke:
"Is not this a portion of land which El-Shaddai has given as inheritance unto the sons of Shem?"
To this the worthy son of Ham replied:
"Thou shouldst not believe all that is told thee, my son. For ere my father descended from heaven upon the mountains of Ararat, when the great deluge that swept the world had come to its end, our forefathers had already possessed this land. Therefore do not suggest that it shall belong unto the sons of thy uncle."
The youth would have given voice to further questions, but his father allowed him no space to speak, and continued:
"In this land our ancestors dwelt before the destroying flood. In those days there stood here the City of the Sun—proud and mighty, as its name demands. The gods, knowing that the days of men upon the earth were drawing to their close, gave warning unto Ham, thy grandfather; and he made haste to gather all the sacred knowledge of that age, committing it unto books. These were sealed within vessels of clay, coated with pitch, and buried beneath this ground. For he purposed to reclaim them once the waters of the inundation had returned to the abysses whence they sprang, and the earth might again be trodden by men.
"As thou canst now behold, the ground is being opened, and our servants recover the treasures that the ancients hid therein."
He paused for a moment, gazing into the distance; and when he spoke again, his eyes were kindled with a radiant fire:
"Here shall I raise once more the Golden City! And upon this very place I shall build a tower that shall stand as a memorial and a center for the pilgrimage of mankind. I shall erect an altar unto Cronos, that men may serve him. Our kingdom shall be prosperous and enduring."
At last Nimrod found his moment to inquire:
"And what wilt thou give unto men, that they may serve thee with willing loyalty?"
"Unity and peace," replied his father. "What more could they desire?"
The boy ventured further:
"I am thinking of something greater."
And his father answered:
"Fortunately, there is nothing greater or more needful to men than unity and peace."
"Not even the fevered hope of immortality?" the youth proposed, unafraid of his boldness.
But Cush's stern gaze rebuked him.
"And why should men desire that which is impossible?"
"It need not be possible," said the boy. "It suffices that they believe it may be attained."
Again his father cast upon him a look of reproof.
"The weak thou mayest exploit in many ways," said he, "but false hopes thou shalt not sow among them. For even ignorance, when it gathers strength and hardens into stubbornness, becomes an enemy at thy gate."
"Indeed, my father," Nimrod replied. "And yet men shall never rise against him who becomes the object of their hope."
Cush regarded him now with a mingling of curiosity and admiration.
"What wouldst thou say by this?"
"That no city nor tower can bring true unity to men unless it be cemented by a common desire."
To which his father replied:
"Political and religious unity are such a desire."
"I do not deny it," said Nimrod. "Yet why should we cleave unto these, if there be something greater still? Unity and peace may be but opinions—useful, perhaps, yet no more enduring than any other. But if we can lead men to believe in something vast, something within reach of all, then surely they shall desire it—even if it may never be attained."
Cush furrowed his brow deeply.
"And what is it thou art conceiving now?"
Without yielding, Nimrod answered:
"A savior for the whole race of men."
Cush sighed.
"Come, do not trouble me with such foolishness! There has never been, nor shall there ever be, a savior of mankind. From what, indeed, should men be saved?"
Firmly the boy replied:
"I have heard tell of certain prophecies spoken in the land of Egypt…"
"Falsehoods!" cried Cush. "The prophecy of a redeemer is but a fable of the ancients. Not even Ham, our forefather—who knew the world before the flood—gave heed unto such madness."
"Perhaps he stood above such a redeemer," said the boy.
"The prophecy is a lie!" insisted Cush.
Feigning retreat, the youth answered:
"Yes, my father. Yet why not make use of it—to grant men a hope that may bind them together?"
"Because hope breeds ideals," said Cush, "and ideals may become strong opinions that divide men, or unite them toward ends that weaken the state. Hope is that which we must not awaken in men. If we would rise above the world, we must hold it beneath some form of fear that binds the peoples together.
"El-Shaddai commanded men to scatter across the earth and fill it. But I propose that we build a city and a tower, and thus gather the nations into one place. The kingdom that shall arise here shall be great and enduring."
"And why dost thou believe men will obey thee?" asked Nimrod.
The eyes of Cush flashed at the question.
"They shall obey me because I am the son of Cronos, who descended from heaven to people the world. They shall submit, for they will recognize their leader. As for thee—hadst thou wisdom, thou wouldst not question the purposes of him who begot thee.
"I had greatly desired to take thee with me in my campaigns across the world; but I see thou hast filled thy heart with vain imaginings. Therefore, this day I command thee: return unto thy homeland, and depart not from it until thou hast become a perfect man."
Nimrod's countenance hardened.
"And if I refuse?"
Cold as the winds upon the summit of Hermon was Cush's reply:
"Dare to disobey me, and I shall disinherit thee—and lay upon thee a curse, that thou shalt be a servant unto thy brethren! Now go—return without delay unto thy mother's house. Thou shalt not look upon my face again until thou art worthy of me."
Nimrod did indeed return to Ethiopia—but not in obedience. Rather, he knew he must come of age; and in that time he devoted himself to the art of war.
With patience and discipline he trained for many years, yet never abandoning his passion for the hunt. Wild beasts he pursued with relentless endurance, often under great hardship, capturing them alive when he could—save in the case of bears, lions, and leopards. These he faced in single combat, slaying them with his mighty spear.
He grew in stature and in strength, his form becoming both elegant and formidable. Among his people he stood apart, and some whispered that the blood of giants flowed in his veins. His skin was darkened by the sun, and his lips bore the fullness of a true Ethiopian.
No warrior could withstand him in battle. Ambidextrous, he wielded all manner of weapons with equal mastery, and had hardened his body against the harshest trials. In combat he could fight with unbroken fury for an entire day, nor would he yield even before vast and well-armed hosts. His strength was such that he could tear apart bronze shields with his bare hands; and iron spears he would shatter upon his thigh.
Once, a pride of lions descended upon his village, and many were devoured. Hearing of this, Nimrod took up his weapons and went forth alone to meet them. With his bow he slew the younger beasts one by one; but their leader—a great lion with a mane of fiery red—he spared, that they might contend before the eyes of all.
Armed with spear and sword, he faced the creature. Without mercy, and with dreadful patience, he harried it with the point of his spear until it was weakened. Then he drew his sword and, with precise blows, severed the sinews of its limbs, so that the beast fell prostrate before him. At last he struck the final blow, piercing its throat as one cleaves a honeycomb with a blade.
All who witnessed the struggle exulted in the victory of the son of Cush. From that day forth, he was hailed as a hero among his people.
He was revered by all, and thus, without contest, became their leader. His fame spread swiftly across neighboring lands, adorned ever by the embellishments of legend, until he was spoken of as a being almost divine. He gathered young men unto himself from every tribe and village, and with stern discipline trained them in the arts of war. He subjected them to hunger and thirst, made them walk barefoot across stony ground, and endure both scorching heat and bitter cold—thus forging in them the endurance required of warriors.
So it was that the prince of the Ethiopians formed an army of youths who feared no hardship, for they were as bold and valiant as he who had shaped them. His phalanxes were invincible, and soon he set them upon the path of conquest.
While yet in Ethiopia, he began to subdue lesser kingdoms; and as his power grew, so too did his ambition, until at last he deemed himself ready for the final step. Then Nimrod turned his assault upon Egypt, and with his host of fierce warriors he seized the mightiest kingdom of the world.
Thus were fulfilled the words once spoken by the blind seeress in the marketplace, and he became not merely a citizen, but the rightful lord of great Thebes—gaining thereby the right to enter the sacred games of that land. His ambition was to triumph in the contest and become the first of heroes, and the husband of the priestess born of the foam of the sea.
Now in those days Cush, his father, was engaged in campaigns beyond the farthest seas, and knew nothing of his son's deeds until Nimrod had grown mighty upon the earth.
And so it came to pass: after Nimrod had become absolute lord of Egypt, he entered his name among the youths of Thebes who would compete in the sacred games that year. In that age, the land of Egypt was called Misor, after its founder, a son of Ham. This Misor it was who built Thebes—the first city raised in the world after the Flood—for the name Thebes is ancient, signifying "Ark," given in memory of the vessel of salvation wherein their fathers were preserved.
In the days of Nimrod, all the people of Egypt were fair of skin, and none but he—the son of Cush—was permitted, as a foreigner, to enter the sacred games. He alone among the competitors knew that they would be made to drink wine mingled with the venom of the basilisk, administered by the high priest during the feast of initiation.
Thus, when morning came, all the competitors were blindfolded and borne in chariots for many hours unto a place wholly unknown to them. There they armed themselves each according to his own choosing, taking whatever weapons and provisions they deemed necessary.
The command given unto them was this alone: to march ever toward the setting sun, until they should find the bridge that led unto the Temple of the Light of Ra.
Beyond that, it would suffice—if they could remain alive.
He who first reached the end would be proclaimed the Chosen—and would take the great priestess as his bride.