The Lady of the Lions

By Richard Abbott

This short story takes place about 150 years before the start of the full length novel In a Milk and Honeyed Land. The setting of Kephrath itself in the Canaanite hill country will be familiar from the novel, but of course none of the characters overlap. A small glossary at the end will help readers who are not familiar with the novel to orient themselves in this world.

"Belita-Labiy found it difficult to concentrate, though, with the news rippling around the hill country. So far the raids had not been too close, but from all that she had heard, these groups of men were swift to move, and swift to strike, wherever they pleased. Who could say which town they might visit next?

So she knew that her dancing, while apparently as fluent and potent as ever, lacked the whole-hearted commitment that she preferred. It could not be helped, but the distraction nagged at her. So all the while that she danced like Taliy in the earliest garden, and later as her body thrilled and her voice cried out in lovemaking, part of her soul was anxiously flitting around the uplands, trying to guess what would happen next."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Abbott
• Release date: Jul 12, 2013
• ISBN: 9780954553555

Richard Abbott

Richard Abbott lives in London, England and works in IT on professional technical contract quality assurance. He also develops mobile/tablet apps with a focus on the ancient world. His first book, 'In a Milk and Honeyed Land', explores events in the Egyptian province of Canaan at the end of the Bronze Age, around 1200BC. It follows the life, loves, and struggles of a priest in the small hill town of Kephrath. A follow-up, 'Scenes from a Life' is in progress. The short story 'The Man in the Cistern' is set in the same location but around ten years later. The short story 'The Lady of the Lions' is set in the same location but around one hundred and fifty years earlier. 'Triumphal Accounts in Hebrew and Egyptian' is the ebook version of his PhD thesis which, for those who want the technical details, supplies academic underpinning for some of the ideas and plot themes followed up in fiction. See the website http://www.kephrath.com for more details and background information. When not writing words or computer code, he enjoys spending time with family, walking, and wildlife, ideally combining all three pursuits in the English Lake District.

Book preview

The Lady of the Lions

Divider

Richard Abbott

Copyright

© Copyright 2015 Richard Abbott.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

Publication details

ISBN numbers

ISBN: 978-0-9545535-3-1 (Kindle mobi)

ISBN: 978-0-9545535-5-5 (general epub)

Matteh Publications

mattehpublications.datascenesdev.com/

www.kephrath.com

Matteh Publications logo

Dedication

For Roselyn, for family

The Lady of the Lions

Belita-Labiy found it difficult to concentrate, though, with the news rippling around the hill country. So far the raids had not been too close, but from all that she had heard, these groups of men were swift to move, and swift to strike, wherever they pleased. Who could say which town they might visit next? So when the festival came she knew that her dancing, while apparently as fluent and potent as ever, lacked the whole-hearted commitment that she preferred. It could not be helped, but the distraction nagged at her. All the while that she danced like Taliy in the earliest garden, and later as her body thrilled and her voice cried out in lovemaking, part of her soul was anxiously flitting around the uplands, trying to guess what would happen next.

Also by the Author

Historical Fiction set in the ancient near east

Novels:

In a Milk and Honeyed Land

Scenes from a Life

The Flame Before Us

Short stories:

The Man in the Cistern

Science Fiction

Novels:

Far from the Spaceports (November 2015)

Cover information

Cover artwork © Copyright Richard Abbott

Original Matteh Publications logo drawn by Jackie Morgan.

Original photographs taken in Israel and elsewhere.

Preface

This short story takes place about 150 years before the start of the full length novel In a Milk and Honeyed Land. The setting of Kephrath itself in the Canaanite hill country will be familiar from the novel, but of course none of the characters overlap. A small glossary at the end will help readers who are not familiar with the novel to orient themselves in this world.

Briefly, Kephrath is one of four towns linked by custom, tradition, and a common religious and cultural leadership. The towns are grouped together in the hill country, close to one of the main routes down into the lowlands. The occupants have lived in the region for only a few generations at the time of this story, after migrating from further north. Leadership is in the hands of the town seers and priests. The role of chief, so important in In a Milk and Honeyed Land, is more of a token position. There is no real expectation of particular duties placed on the current holder of the title.

Maps

The region

The Region

Kephrath in the time of In a Milk and Honeyed Land

Kephrath

Contents

Title

Copyright

Dedication

Preface

Maps

The Lady of the Lions

The first letter

The second letter

Jarrar’s plan

The battle at Kephrath

Afterwards

About the author

About Matteh Publications

Background and Glossary

Specific glossary for this story

The background

Short glossary of words and customs

Poetry

Later history of the Gibeonites

The Lady of the Lions

I will lift my eyes up to the hills

where will I find my help?

The first letter

The lady Belita-Labiy, seer and priest of Kephrath, moved a little closer to her window to get more light. She had practiced what she needed to write twice over, and softened the clay one last time.

A message for my lord the king, my god, who is my Sun:

This is a message from Belita-Labiy your maid-servant, who is like the dirt on which you tread. I prostrate myself at the feet of my lord the king, seven times twice over.

May my lord the king save all the land which is his from the power of lawless men, or else it will be lost. The town