A family-appropriate educational novel for ages eleven and up and with appeal for adults that is loosely inspired by the legendary origins of the Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) community in East Africa, as well as other local traditions, folklore, history, and relevant Tanakh (Biblical) accounts.
Nearly three thousand years ago, the Sabaean empire stretched from the western Arabian Peninsula to the farthest corners of East Africa. According to legend and Biblical records, the Queen of Sheba (Saba) met King Solomon of Israel in Jerusalem, and their empires were linked. Trade routes flourished, transporting spices and even gold and diamonds throughout the world. Traditionally associated with the Israelite tribe of Dan, the Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jewish) community, was created. Experiencing both the heights of imperial success as well as the depths of malicious persecution over the millennia, the Jews of East Africa staunchly maintained their unique Jewish identity and culture, and most of them now live in the land of Israel.
The year is 950 B.C.E. Princess Nikaulis II, affectionately known as “Nikki,” is the daughter of Queen Makeda of Sheba (Saba) and King Solomon of Israel. As a growing teenager in the palace of Marib, she fills her spare time with a schedule of archery practice, horse racing, spa treatments, and the training of her pet leopard raised from a cub. Along with her best friend, Hoshea, the son of a Israelite warrior from the tribe of Dan assigned by Solomon to protect his diamond mines and spice routes in East Africa, she struggles to find her place amidst the ruling royals of Sheba and the Sabaean Empire.
When Nikki is eighteen years old, her entire life and world changes in a moment when an Amalekite warlord named Bek Agagi and better known as “The Red Ram” viciously strikes the Israelite and Sabaean trade infrastructure in East Africa. Although strictly ordered by the Queen of Sheba to stay at home in the palace, Nikki and Hoshea — the latter now being a new officer-in-training in the Israelite military — find it impossible to remain idle while The Red Ram inflicts unspeakable tragedy upon the vulnerable population of the Sabaean Empire in East Africa.
Thus, the Princess of Sheba and the Warrior of Israel embark on a journey from Marib in the southwestern Arabian Peninsula across the Red Sea and deep into the volcanic wastelands and mystical forested mountains of East Africa. Together they must use their wits and their resources to rally a defense of the decimated Sabaean Africa communities against the continued onslaught of the Amalekite “Red Ram” and his band of murderous Egyptian mercenaries. The lives of thousands of people — and even their own — hang in the balance as Nikki and Hoshea take a stand to do what is right and to protect the innocent and defenseless from cruelty and evil.
