Chapter 16

The eldest son of Neferirkare Kakai had died early in life and the younger son ascended the throne of Egypt. He was called Nyuserre Ini. The phenomena of Nyuserre means possessed of Re's power. The descendants of Ham fashioned statues of multiple gods, such as Horus and Rei and priests offered sacrifices in the temples to placate these deities. Thus many of the old pharaoh’s treasures and jewels went to Nyuserre to glorify his name. Like the tower, his palace was constructed of brick and cement and decorated with turquoise and myrrhandd electrum, a gold and silver alloy intended to stand against any storm. Nyuserre Ini had a number of unmarried daughters from his concubines, but only one princess of the queen. Her name was Scota. She was very slender and had the dark olive skin of the Egyptians. When Nel first saw her, she wore a turquoise veil over her face and all that he saw of her was her were long red finger nails as played the chords of a harp. "Her dowry is substantial," the pharaoh said. "What will you pay?" "I have not seen her face," he answered. "Is she not appealing?" The pharaoh asked. "In my country we know the face before the marriage." The pharaoh clapped his hands and summoned the queen. "She is the true daughter of the queen," he said.
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Nel understood. The queen's aging face still retained its beauty. Satisfied, the prince of Scythia cut a deal for half the gold of his kingdom in exchange for the princess and eleven ships of Greek mercenary sailors to transport them into the North Sea where they would colonize one of the islands. The marriage would occur during the festival of Sed at Abu Garab.