Jeffrey was walking down Turk Blvd, on his way back from the College University of City, unaware of his impending demise.
'Lalalalala, can't wait to get home and watch some Netflix!'
Suddenly! A car with tinted windows swerves into the street and rams our protagonist Jeffrey into a new adventure.
'Ouch! What's up with drivers nowadays? Do they just give everyone a license?'
Looking around Jeffrey is bewildered by his surroundings. What he sees are painted stone walls, carved with intricate designs, lavish silks, and linens with gold and Tyrian purple hues, and not to mention, he's surrounded by giant stone columns!
Jeffrey, moments away from questioning his existence, receives a flood of information. Apparently, he's been reincarnated as Xerxes' youngest son! Artaxerxes the Achaemenid!
Taking a moment to register everything, Jeffrey, now Artaxerxes rolls around in his crib with joy.
'Hell yeah! I'm a royal prince in the most powerful empire in the world!'
But his thoughts quickly shift, 'Wait, isn't the empire in decline? With the Greeks on the rise? Am I in danger?'
Suddenly faced with dangerous thoughts, Artaxerxes decides to do the smart thing as a previous 18-year-old, procrastinate!
'Out of sight out of mind!'
Returning to his happy place and reveling in his new situation, Artaxerxes soon falls asleep, exhausted from his thoughts and baby stamina running dry.
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Feeling movement, Artaxerxes wakes up, hoping it was all a dream while wondering who's interrupting his beauty sleep. Opening his eyes he sees a beautiful woman, with sun-tanned skin and onyx eyes, however, instead of lust, he feels a strong instinct of warmth toward this woman.
Without much thought, Artaxerxes immediately knew this woman was his mother. Being lifted out of his gilded crib, the woman looks into his eyes. "You have the eyes of your father, Arta, and one day you'll be as strong and handsome as him." She says with a warm smile.
A man dressed in courtly robes, a King's attendant, strode into the open palace hall "Pardon me, Lady Amestris, The King wishes for your presence." The man said after a polite courtesy of bowing forward slightly and raising his hand to his lips.
Frowning slightly at the interruption, the Queen quickly erases the creases on her brow, fully understanding that a wish from the King of Kings is no request, and responds " Very well Parnakka, let him know ill be there shortly." The man, now identifiable to Artaxerxes as Parnakka, courtesies again and quickly left the hall.
Speaking of the hall, during his mother's and Parnakka's interaction, Artaxerxes had been getting a better look at his surrounding now that he was out of his crib. And to say the least, he was very impressed. What he saw must have been a gargantuan effort of human craftsmanship, Where my crib lay, oddly out of place, was an immense square hall with 36 columns supporting an enormous roof of cedar wood. Just above him, the intricately carved pillars seemed to stretch outward into an abyss, reaching staggering 20 meters in height. There were three porticoes each with twelve columns on the north, west, and east side. Four four-story corner towers, and a series of storage and guardrooms to the south. To the north and east beyond the rows of columns was an open courtyard teeming with fauna and wildlife. There seemed to be enough room to hold 10,000 people.
On the columns were stone-carved creatures with hybrid features, such as bulls with wings, and lions with human features. Stupefied by the majesty of his surrounding, Artaxerxes, was slow to react when his mother began to stroll out of the massive hall, leaving behind a few servants to move his crib into the inner palace.
Noticing her son's eyes shining at his surroundings, Amestris let out a soft chuckle, " Does the Apadana of Persepolis shock you little one?" She said not expecting him to understand a thing she said. "It was built by your grandfather, the Great King Darius." Saying not so much to Artaxerxes but to herself reminding her of her duties and responsibilities.
Artaxerxes, having gone through too much these past few hours to register that he could now understand old Persian, just wobbled his head and decided to not give things too much thought, for now, lest he goes insane.
After all, he was about to meet his father, King of Kings, Xerxes I.