Lesson 11: Assault on the Sun

Montgomery “Gummy” Vance sighed as the house elf tied his shoes, which was something she hadn’t done since he had turned six years old. “Sorry about this, Floppy. Fingers and toes – you know how they are, always the last things to grow back.” He reached up and gingerly touched his ear. It had already grown back, but somehow it didn’t feel the same. Still, an ear was an ear and he was glad to have two again.

Floppy just shook her head. It wasn’t the first time her master had returned a bit damaged from fighting the A’nen, but it was rather bad. I do hope he’s not getting too old for this sort of thing, she thought to herself as she patted him reassuringly on the knee.

Twenty minutes or so later, Gummy entered his classroom. It was already filled with students freshly returned from winter break. The lively chit chat about their holidays subsided as he limped toward the front of the room and sat down gratefully on the empty top of his desk. “So,” he said with a broad smile, “it looks as if everyone has made it back in one piece. I hope you all had a nice, relaxing break and are ready to once again explore the history of the magical world into which you were born.” With a swish of his wand and a flash of chalky-white light, words suddenly filled the blackboard.

Syllabus – 2nd Sem. – History's Mysteries Explained
Lesson 11 -- Assault on the Sun (535 -536 AD)
Lesson 12 -- Collapse of the Maya (800 - 900 AD)
Lesson 13 -- The Dancing Plague (1374 AD)
Lesson 14 -- Roanoke, The Lost Colony (1585 AD)
Lesson 15 -- Quiz
Lesson 16 -- Tunguska (1908 AD)
Lesson 17 -- The Roswell Fiasco (1947 AD)
Lesson 18 -- The Edmund Fitzgerald (1975 AD)
Lesson 19 -- Siberian Craters (2013 AD)
Lesson 20 -- Final Exam

”This semester we are going to be looking into some historical events that are considered mysterious. What most people don’t know -- Muggles and wizards alike – is that each one of the events we will be discussing is the result of magical intervention. In some cases it was deliberate, as in the case we will be discussing today. Others were the result of miscalculations or magic gone afoul. Did you know, for example, that a particularly powerful Hate Potion took down the entire Minoan civilization in just under a month?” The professor watched as his students’ faces reflected shock and surprise at that little-known fact of magical history.

”Today, however, we are not talking about the Minoans. Today we are talking about the entire world.” Gummy shifted a bit on the desk and straightened his robes. How much do I tell them? he wondered briefly before launching into an account of the strange events that occurred over 1400 years ago.

Professor Vance removed an eight-inch bronze statue from a pocket inside his robes and set it on the desk next to him. The statue depicted Thoth, his head transfigured into that of an ibis and his hands holding a tablet and stylus. The wizard known as the scribe of the Egyptian gods appeared to be taking notes. Gummy touched his wand to the top of the statue and a clear, baritone voice filled the room.”The sun became dark and its darkness lasted for 18 months. Each day, it shone for about four hours, and still this light was only a feeble shadow. Everyone declared that the sun would never recover its full [strength] again.”

”Those were the words of the historian John of Ephesus. He lived from about 507 to 588 AD. At the time he wrote that he was living in Constantinople, but the events he described happened all around the world between the years 535 and 536 AD. Writers and historians from all across Europe, Japan, China, and Peru all report the same thing. Listen to this. It was written by Zacharias of Mytilene, a contemporary of John of Ephesus.” Once again, Gummy touched his wand to the top of the statue and the voice began to speak.

”The sun began to be darkened by day and the moon by night, while the ocean was tumultuous with spray from the 24th of March in this year till the 24th of June in the following year... And, as the winter was a severe one, so much so that from the large and unwonted quantity of snow the birds perished... there was distress... among men... from the evil things.”

”All over the world, it was as if a veil had been put between the earth and the sky. Little sunlight brought unusually cold temperatures. Drought and terrible famine were the result in many areas. Imagine losing up to 80% of the population and the remainder resorting to cannibalism to survive.” Gummy shuddered and looked around at the horrified expressions on his students’ faces.

”I know,” he said, ”It’s so awful that you’re all wishing I would say it isn’t true. But it really happened. Muggle historians and scientists have trouble explaining it. The popular Muggle theory is that the strange weather events of 535 – 536 were due to the eruption of a volcano named Krakatoa. I’m not sure how they fit 13 months of ocean disturbances into their Krakatoa theory, but you know Muggles; they do their best to explain everything.” The Professor gazed out the window for a moment, thinking about all the terrible things he’d read about those years -- such despair, so much anguish.

A student raised her hand and asked, ”If it wasn’t a volcano, then what did cause the weather and the oceans to act that way?”

”The damned A’nen,” Gummy blurted out. And then, immediately repentant, he added, ”Sorry. That was a bit harsh, wasn’t it? But the entire thing was intentional. It was all planned out.” He raised his wand and made a complicated twist-and-drag motion. A symbol appeared in the air next to him. “This is the symbol of the A’nen. If it looks a little familiar, that’s because it is the stylized head of Seth in his partially transfigured state. The A’nen are an organization that dates back to shortly after the fall of Seth.

"As I am sure you recall from last semester, Horus and Seth went to war over the role of wizards in the Egyptian world. Seth wanted wizards to be seen as gods and to rule over Muggles. Horus led an army against Seth and Seth was defeated. Horus’ army spent years ferreting out the remaining scattered troops of their enemy who had become little more than angry militant hate groups.

”What we did not discuss last semester was that Horus was never able to completely eradicate Seth’s supporters. The worst of them, in fact, joined together and became the A’nen. A’nen is the Egyptian word for ‘return’ or ‘bring back’ and their stated desire is to return to a state where wizards are considered gods and rule over Muggle worshipers. The events of 535 – 536 AD were a carefully coordinated effort by the A’nen to bring Muggles to the edge if annihilation. Then, obviously, the plan was to rise up all around the world, reveal themselves to Muggles as gods and offer salvation. Nasty plan, was it not?” Gummy waited until the murmurs of outrage subsided.

”No one at the time realized the A’nen had managed to grow so large or spread so far. Now, don’t go thinking it was a single spell they used to make so much happen. No, it was a number of spells and a very large, coordinated effort. The worst of the spells and curses have been preserved, along with their counter-curses, in the highly-secretive and extraordinarily well guarded vaults of this organization.” The Professor’s wand made a smooth arcing swirl and the image of an ibis floated in the air above the windows.

”That ibis is the symbol of the Sheta Sesh. The Egyptian wizard Thoth was the first to recognize the threat of the A’nen. He rounded up the best and brightest wizards from Horus’ army and created the Sheta Sesh. It means ‘secret scribes’ and they are charged with putting an end to the A’nen and finishing the battle of Horus and Seth. But the A’nen are…” Gummy paused, groping for the right word. ”…resilient.”

BBBRRIIINNNGGGG!

The sudden ringing of the bell that ended class made everyone jump, students and teacher alike. ”Right. Well. I suppose that’s it then. Homework parchments are in a stack on the table next to the door. Please pick one up on the way out. Owl me if you have any questions.”

Quotes courtesy of http://www.ancient-origins.net/unexplained-phenomena/why-global-climatic-cataclysm-sixth-century-virtually-unheard-001360#ixzz3y6obOfot