The Temple Cats and the Magi’s Ring- a Desert Tale
Deep in the desert lay the Temple of Sand, a sacred enclave where the Magi came to meditate and seek the hidden truths of the desert. They came from all directions- north and south, east and west, gathering in the Temple’s great library and stone halls.
Like all good Temples, the Temple of Sand had its caretakers. It had its priests, its acolytes, its servants who cleaned the floors and prepared the meals served within.
It also had its cats. It had two cats, Sugieh and Solomus, who were stocky, amber-eyed creatures with silken fur the color of the sand around their Temple, except for their dark ears. They had lived there since they were kittens, and were greatly loved by the Magi who came to visit and study.
One day, a great Magi named Jadus came to visit the Temple. He was renowned far and wide as one of the greatest Magi in the world, among the ranks of such masters as the mysterious Thane. Jadus owned a ring, which he wore upon his right hand. This ring was made of electrum and set with a deep violet stone. It was said that the ring carried a great power, that it could alter the flow of time in mysterious ways.
The Temple cats, Sugieh and Solomus, quickly made themselves great favorites of Jadus, who loved animals. Only for them would he take off his ring, set it aside, and leave his work in order to play with them, using his power to make balls of light for them to chase. Sugieh and Solomus loved this game, and would spend hours at a time dancing and pouncing and leaping after their friend’s toys.
Then the day came that Jadus had to leave, to return to the great University he hailed from. He stopped on his way to see the cats one last time, and as usual he slipped off his ring and made the light-balls for them. They played for an hour or more, until Jadus realized that it was growing late in the day, and if he were not careful he would miss his caravan. So he left, leaving Sugieh and Solomus behind.
It was not until much later when Sugieh found Jadus’s ring, fallen off the table it had been laying on and in a corner.
“Oh no!†Sugieh exclaimed, looking at her mate with wide amber eyes. “Jadus left his ring behind!â€Â
“We must return it to him,†Solomus replied. “You stay here, and I will run to find Jadus.â€Â
Solomus gave his mate a reassuring lick on her silky cheek, then bounded off into the night, his soft paws making no noise on the cooling sand.
Sugieh watched him go, then looked at the ring. She knew she had to keep it safe somehow. What if one of the sweeps came by and swept it away with the sand that always crept into the Temple? She couldn’t let that happen, so she threaded the tip of her tail through the ring and crooked it around the metal band. The power of the ring scorched her tail, and Sugieh mewed in pain, but she crouched and vowed not to let it go. Jadus needed to get his ring back, no matter what the cost.
Because a cat cannot run as fast as a horse, it took several days for Solomus to catch up to Jadus and his caravan. When he finally did, he was tired to the bone, and no longer as plump as he had been at the temple. With an exhausted meow, he leapt tiredly up onto Jadus’s saddle and pawed at the Magi’s tunic. Jadus turned, and saw his little friend Solomus perching there, thin with exertion. Immediately he knew something was wrong, and he turned his horse away from the caravan and galloped back to the Temple of Sand at top speed, the cat cradled in his lap.
Jadus carried Solomus back into the temple, to find Sugieh. She had not left her post in all the time they had been gone, still crouched with her tail crooked around the ring that caused her such pain, her watchful eye upon it. When Jadus touched her, she jumped and looked at him with eyes that had turned a beautiful violet from the power of the ring. The purple stone in the ring, Jadus saw in shock, had become crystal clear. He took his ring off of Sugieh’s tail, and received another surprise. The tip of her tail had been scorched a deep brown on either side of where the ring had been.
Jadus picked both brave cats up in his arms and hugged them tightly. “My friends,†he said softly. “My brave, wonderful friends. My greatest thanks to you. I wish for you to come with me and live with me at the University always.â€Â
Sugieh and Solomus looked at one another. They loved Jadus, but the Temple of Sand was their home, always had been. To their sorrow, they could not go with him.
The Magi, a man as noble as he was wise and powerful, smiled in understanding. “You have done me a great service,†he told them. “Always will the cats of the Temple of Sand be remembered and revered for what you have done for me.â€Â
It wasn’t until Sugieh had a litter of fine kittens that the two cats understood what their friend had meant. Like their father, they were thin and sleek and graceful, with lean, delicate builds. Like their mother, they had large violet eyes and two dark brown stripes at the end of their tails. Like both of their parents, they had big dark ears.
And so all of the Temple Cats born from Sugieh and Solomus and their children through time were, in memory of two brave, gallant cats and the Magi’s ring.
Thank You for the Christmas Presents 
