"I have imported the finest wine from Greece, to attempt this. It was given to me as a gift by Theoclea. I am told that it is over one hundred years old and has been kept in a cellar in the Temple of Delphi just for an occasion such as this! He smacked his lips, and held up a large bottle in a unique Greek design, the crowd roared. He quieted them. “ I do this to honor a woman who made a prediction to my parents before I was born. Theoclea said to my parents that- “The flame of this child’s passion for his art, will be known all over the world,” and Theoclea’s prophecy has come true!”
There were tears in his eyes, he brought out a handkerchief, dried his eyes, and then took on an uncharacteristically serious expression. A heartbeat started on a drum.He saw the two jugglers standing on either side of two adjacent sides of the Pyramid. He asked the crowd for quiet. The drummer’s heartbeat was very quiet.“Please be patient, this is very dangerous.”He raised his right arm, and pointed to the very top of the Pyramid. The Giza Pyramid-The Great Pyramid of Khufu-the tallest building on earth-four hundred and eighty feet high. No higher building would be built for another twenty three hundred years. It would be called the ‘Eiffel Tower’. He held the Greek wine bottle up and took a swig that seemed to last forever, then he held the torch to his mouth and blew the fire-the flame rose- up to one hundred feet- then to two hundred- he kept blowing- he had beaten his own world record- then to three hundred- he kept blowing- then, without losing force to four hundred. His breath seemed to be limitless. Climbing steadily the flame started to stall at four hundred and fifty, but then gained momentum- four hundred sixty-seventy-and finally four hundred and eighty feet, and still climbing. When it hit five hundred feet, it rose higher, and then, the flame burst into a white incandescent cloud that continued to rise. ‘Skyfire’ held the bottle, tears in his eyes, he placed it on the ground, and then he turned and looked at the jugglers.
Each one held one large burning torch. He had asked Theoclea’s entourage to bring the torches from Greece, and had told the head of the Greek Heralds where to get them. The Egyptian Priests had then blessed the torches in a proscribed manner. The jugglers had been personally chosen by him. The crowd, of course, was cheering wildly and the heartbeat drumming was louder. He turned and motioned to the crowd, “It’s not over yet,” he said, trying to quiet them down. A respectful hush came over the crowd.
Both jugglers had been chosen because they had won medals in the discus throw and similar events at the Greek Olympic Games. He had met them in Greece, and asked them to join his troupe. He had personally trained them, and motioned to both of them. They started to whirl around faster and faster- the signature whoosh of the fire could still be heard above the crowd noise due to the Herald’s magic. They whirled the torches round and round, gaining energy with each revolution. ‘Skyfire’ saw that they were close to letting go, but he was listening to the ‘whoosh of the fire’. The sound had to be just right. When the moment was right, he looked up at the incandescent cloud, and then pointed simultaneously at both of them. They hurled their torches high into the air. The torches sailed up to one hundred, two hundred, three hundred, four hundred feet, and seemingly without losing momentum, they sailed over the four hundred and eighty foot mark of the point of the Pyramid- then beyond to five hundred, and higher until they crossed under the cloud, and then continued down. As they descended they burned out, and each one was then caught by the juggler on the other side of the Pyramid.
Loudly, ‘Skyfire’ said, “The Sign of the Delphic Oracle, our homage to the great woman who will speak to us his evening.”
