“Didn’t Amun-Ra try to stop it?”
“No. He thought battling Seth would be a good opportunity for Horus to prove that he was worthy of the great god’s attention. Three tests were arranged—a test of strength, a test of skill, and a test of power. To show strength, they fought for three months as hippopotamuses, but they were evenly matched. Next, they were both to build ships of stone and race them down the Nile, but Horus cheated and painted a wooden ship to look like stone. While Seth’s boat sank, Horus won the race, but his trick was discovered and once again there was no winner.
“Finally, a hunt was organized. Whichever man could find Nebu, the golden stallion that roamed the desert, tame him, and bring him to Amun-Ra would be declared the winner.
“Seth had heard the rumor that Horus had very powerful eyes and he worried that Horus would likely be the first to find Nebu, so in an act of desperation, he stole upon Horus while he slept and ripped his eyes from their sockets. He hurled the orbs across the dunes and left a blind Horus to die while he went in search of the famous horse.
“Without his eyes, Horus was stripped of immortality. For months, he wandered the desert alone but for a falcon he befriended. The bird brought him meat, which he ate raw, and it became his faithful companion. Horus realized that his ambition and power had made him arrogant. Every day he turned his face to the desert sun and promised his new father, Amun-Ra, that he would change his ways and become the kind of leader the people needed.
“Weeks passed and Amun-Ra decided that Horus had been punished enough. Disguised as an old woman, he approached Horus and cried out for help. Horus sent his falcon to find the woman and followed the call of the bird until he came upon her. He offered what assistance he could and, to his surprise, the woman changed form. Feeling the warmth of the sun god, Horus knelt at Amun-Ra’s feet and begged for forgiveness. He asked not to be instated but to be taken to his mother so he could be comforted by her love before he died. Amun-Ra took pity on Horus and exclaimed that not only would he see his mother with his own eyes, but his power would be restored as well.
“This time one eye, his left eye, retained the power of the moon, but in his right eye, Amun-Ra bestowed the power of the sun and made Horus his heir in truth. The Wadjet, or Eye of Horus, can be seen in art and carvings all over Egypt. It is said that an amulet made with the Eye of Horus can ward off evil, shielding its bearer from harm. The symbol is a sign of the protection of the god Amun-Ra and is a reminder that when we are stripped of all we hold dear, we can finally see the truth.”
“So, in a way, you are under the protection of Amun-Ra and you can see the truth when you look at people?” I asked.
“There are other powers associated with it as well. I can draw energy from the sun, see in the darkness, and seek out things that are hidden.”
“Is that how you found me in New York?”
“Yes, that and my connection to you. I probably could have found you without our connection, but it would have taken a long time. Your city is the largest I have ever laid eyes upon.”
I grunted. “It’s one of the biggest in the world, but I think there are a few in China that are bigger.”
“It is hard to conceive of.”
“It’s hard for a lot of people, even for many who have been born in this time. So did Seth ever find the golden horse?”
“He did, but he could not capture it. After Amun-Ra healed Horus, he banished Seth, who was enveloped by a desert storm, never to appear again until my own time. Nebu the golden stallion became a legend. Many men died seeking him in the desert. Amun-Ra’s challenge has never fulfilled, and there were many who thought they could become the heir of the sun god if they captured and tamed the famous horse.”
“Will you tell me about that, too?”
“Perhaps later, Young Lily.”