Thebes had surrendered its eyelids to sleep under a curtain of darkness that enveloped its temples, obelisks, and palaces, unaware of the weighty events taking place outside its walls. Pepi made his way straight to the royal palace and announced his arrival to the guards. The head chamberlain came quickly, returned his greeting, and asked anxiously, “What news, Commander?”
In accents heavy with sadness, Pepi replied, “You will know everything in due time, Head Chamberlain. Now I seek your permission for an audience with the crown prince.”
The chamberlain left the room ill at ease, returning after a short while to say, “His Highness awaits you in his private wing.” The commander went to the crown prince's wing and entered, finding him in the reception hall. He prostrated himself before the prince, who was astonished at the unexpected visit. When Pepi raised his head and the prince saw his haggard face, tired eyes, and pallid lips, anxiety seized him and he asked, as the chamberlain had done, “What news, Commander Pepi? It must be an important matter that calls you to leave the field at this time.”
The commander replied in a voice heavy with sorrow and gloom, “My lord, the gods — for reasons whose wisdom is hidden from me — are still angry with Egypt and its people!”
The words seized the prince's soul like a stranglehold about his neck and he fathomed what grievous news they indicated. Anxious and fearful, he asked, “Has our army met with a disaster? Is my father asking for aid?”
Pepi hung his head and said in a low voice, “Alas, my lord, Egypt lost its shepherd on the evening of this ill-fated day.”
Prince Kamose leapt up in terror and shouted at him, “Is my father really injured?”
Pepi said in a sad, heavy voice, “Our sovereign Seqenenra fell fighting at the head of his troops like a mighty hero. That noble, undying page in the annals of your mighty family has been turned.”
Raising his head, Kamose said, “Dear God, how could you let your enemy overcome your faithful son? Dear God, what is this catastrophe that falls on Egypt? But what use is it to complain? This is not the time to weep. My father has fallen, so I must take his place. Wait, Commander, till I return to you in my battle dress!”
However, Commander Pepi said quickly, “I did not come here, my lord, to summon you to the fight. That matter, alas, is decided.”
Kamose gave him a sharp hard look and asked, “What do you mean?”
“There is no point in fighting.”
“Has our brave army been destroyed?”
Pepi hung his head and said with extreme sorrow, “We lost the decisive battle by which we had hoped to liberate Egypt, and the main force of our army was destroyed. There is no real advantage to be gained from fighting and we will fight only to provide the family of our martyred sovereign time to escape.”
“You want to fight so that we can flee like cowards, leaving our soldiers and our country prey to the enemy?”
“No. I want you to flee as do the wise who weigh the consequences of their actions and look to the distant future, submitting to defeat should it occur, and withdrawing from the combat for a time, then losing no time in gathering their scattered forces and starting anew. Please, my lord, summon the queens of Egypt and let the matter be decided by counsel.”
Prince Kamose summoned a chamberlain and sent him to look for the queens, while he kept pacing to and fro, alternately seized by sorrow and anger, the commander standing before him uttering not a word. The queens came hurrying, Tetisheri and Ahotep, then Setkimus, and when their eyes fell on Commander Pepi and he had bowed to them in greeting, and they had seen the anguish written on Kamose's face despite his apparent calm, they felt fear and agitation and looked away. Impatiently, Kamose and he asked them to sit and said, “Ladies, I called you to give you sad news.”
He paused a moment so that they would not be taken unawares, but they were alarmed and Tetisheri asked anxiously, “What news, Pepi? How is our lord Seqenenra?”
Kamose replied in a trembling voice, “Grandmother, your heart is perceptive, your intuition speaks true. God strengthen your hearts and help you bear the painful news. My father Seqenenra was killed in the field and we have lost the battle.”
He turned his head from them so that he would not see their grief and said, as though to his own despairing soul, “My father has been killed, our armies defeated, and our people condemned to suffer every woe, from the near south to the distant north.”
Tetisheri, unable to restrain herself, let out a sigh so anguished she seemed to be vomiting up the fragments of her heart, and said, hand on heart, “How sharp a wound for this aged heart to bear!”
Ahotep and Setkimus sat with lowered heads, hot tears oozed from their eyes, and, were it not for the commander's presence, they would have sobbed out loud.
Surrounded by all this sorrow, Pepi stood silent, his heart heavy, every sense shattered. He hated to waste time futilely and, fearing that the opportunity for his lord's family to escape would be lost, he said, “Queens of the family of my lord Kamose, be patient and strong! Though the matter is too grave for composure, yet the moment calls for wisdom and not for a surrender to sorrow. I entreat you, by the memory of my lord Seqenenra, staunch your tears with patience and pack your belongings, for tomorrow Thebes will be no safe refuge.”
Tetisheri asked him, “And Seqenenra's body?”
“Put your mind at rest, my lady. I shall fulfill my duty to it in full.”
Once more she posed a question, “And where do you want us to go?”
“My lady, the kingdom of Thebes will fall into the hands of the invaders for a while but we have another safe home in Nubia. The Herdsmen will never covet Nubia, for life there is a struggle they are too pampered to bear. Take it as a secure refuge. There you have supporters from our own people and followers among our neighbors, and there you will be able to take stock in peace, foster hope for a new future, and work for that with patience and courage, until such time as the Lord grants that glorious light pierce the shadows of this dark night.”
Kamose was listening to him calmly and tranquilly and he said, “Let the family flee to Nubia. For myself, I prefer to be at the head of my army and share its fortunes, in life and in death.”
Seized by anxiety, the commander looked pleadingly at his lord and said, “My lord, I can never turn you aside from something that you have decided, so I entrust the matter to your wisdom. All I ask is that you listen to me a little.
“My lord, to fight today is to waste oneself wantonly and destruction will be the unavoidable outcome. Egypt will not benefit by your death, nor will your death alleviate any of her sufferings. However, there is no doubt that if she lose you, she will lose something that cannot be replaced. All hopes of salvation depend on your life, so do not deny Egypt hope after she has been denied happiness. Make Napata your goal and set off! There you will find space to think and plan and prepare means of defense and struggle. This war will not end as Apophis wants, for a people such as ours that has lived a sovereign nation cannot tolerate humiliation for long. Thebes will be liberated within a short time, my lord. Your determination will never flag and you will pursue the filthy Herdsmen until you have driven them from your country. The glory ofthat wonderful day hovers before my eyes in the darkness of the melancholy present. So do not hesitate, but be resolute in your wisdom. Now that I have shown you the proper path, decide as you see fit.”
Pepi stopped speaking but his eyes continued to plead and hope and Tetisheri turned to Kamose and said in a low voice, “What the commander says is true, so follow his advice.”
The unhappy commander felt a ray of hope and joy sprang again in his heart, but Kamose frowned and said nothing. Lying for the first time in his life, Pepi said, “I myself will join you there in a short while. I have two sacred duties to perform: to take care of my lord's corpse, and to oversee the reinforcement of the walls of Thebes. Perhaps that way, by successful resistance, we will be able to bargain for surrender on the best terms.”