Ayesha: She Who Must Be Obeyed

Henry Rider Haggard

okt. 2012 · Assembled Stories · Lest av Peter Joyce

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Twenty years since their first adventure in Africa Leo assures Holly that Ayesha is alive and implores him to find her. They search through Asia and eventually arrive in the city of Kaloon, ruled by the mad Khan Rassen and his devious wife, the Khania Atene. They live under an uneasy truce with the Priestess of Hes, who dwells on the Mountain, a huge volcano that dominates the region. Atene declares her love for Leo and threatens to kill him, rather than lose him, but with the help of Rassen, they escape the city. Finally they reach the mountain and find that the Hesea is truly the reincarnation of Ayesha, and that Atene is the reincarnation of Ayeshas ancient rival, Amenartas. To the horror of Leo and Holly, Ayesha reveals she now inhabits the body of a wizened old maid with no trace of her former beauty. Atene challenges Ayesha, but Leo declares his love for her, regardless of the form in which she now appears. The mysterious life-force within the volcano reaches out and transforms her – and she is restored. Ayesha vows that they will both bathe in the Flame of Life, become immortal, and rule the world together. But Leo isn’t impressed with immortality and world domination and there is still the problem of Atene to overcome...