Ezrae & The Rat Pack: “All About the Boys, Part Two!”

The third boy in their group went by the name Amon, and was an Egyptian noble. He was the son of the 2nd cousin, of the nephew of Pharaoh Seti I. Amon's father's name was Omar, and he served as one of the judges in the Royal Court.

Amon's mother was named Beni-Auset, and was the Personal Hand-Maiden to Pharaoh Seti I's wife, Empress Tuya. Because of her proximity to the Pharaoh, she was able to get many things along to him that she wanted done in Egypt.

Amon was an incredibly active young teenager, and was in training to become a Royal Guard to the Pharaoh. This was the cause of a small bit of dissension in their family, as Amon's Father, Omar, wanted him to study and become a Royal Court Judge, like him.

Amon refused, his strong point was NOT his brain and he was aware of it… After all, he could barely read, and he wasn't going to pretend to be something he wasn't.

But what he WAS, was strong; he was fast, and he was really smart when it came to fighting. He could read his opponent better than 99% of his training-mates.

In addition, he enjoyed running his younger friends through the drills he did in training, which is exactly what they were doing now.

Taza was an Egyptian peasant; a cousin of a brother-in-law to a nephew of Amon's; and a boy who would MUCH rather be inside reading a book, than outside in the sun and sand.

His bloodline is far enough away from the Pharaoh's that he isn't considered a noble; however, his father was a rather successful pottery-maker named Ahmed, and his mother was the first of his father's three wives.

She was an Egyptian wet-nurse whose name was Maata, and she absolutely despised her husband, Ahmed. She hated that he was constantly traveling and "left her in their house with his concubines."

Because of the money his father made, and the determination of his mother to get away from her huaband, Taza was very well taken care of, slightly spoiled, and well educated. His mother Maata hoped against hope, that one day he would do great things and free her from Ahmed.

Ahmed's other two wives also acted as secondary and tertiary mothers to Taza. Their names are Azah & Nailah; Azah is a gardener, and grows crops for the family, and her and Ahmed had 2 children of their own; Aziz & Meridah.

Finally, Nailah worked alongside her husband; but instead of making pottery, she made jewelry and trinkets. Ahmed would then take them with him to shows, bazaars, and on his travels, to sell for her. A very seldom known fact about Nailah is that she was half Egyptian & Half Israelite. She and Ahmed never bore any children together.

Taza and Amon have always been close friends, and were raised basically as brothers, because their fathers were good friends. In addition, they have been friends with Caleb and Ezrae for about 5 years at this point. They had all met at a celebration of harvest at The Nile River, and had become fast friends.

These Four boys did everything together, and were considered nigh inseparable. They trained together, read together, learned together, explored together, told each other stories, and spent all their free time together.

Amon swiftly reached his arm around Taza's shoulders and pulled him into a headlock, ruffling his hair and saying "C'mon Taza! You gotta do better than that! Those books aren't going to help you run any faster!"

Taza got out of Amon's grasp and fixed his hair in a huff. "At least I can read, you brute!" He stared at Amon angrily, and in response, Amon just chuckled, slugged him in the shoulder, and turned to Ezrae.

"And you! When did you get so fast?! You really need to consider becoming a Guard. You know, I bet if the Pharaoh could see how fast you were, he might even let you be the first Israelite to be a ROYAL Guard!"

Amon beamed excitedly as he spilled his words out upon deaf ears… Ezrae's mind was elsewhere… In fact, it was about 200 feet away; focused entirely on his crush… Shelomith.