In the second year of the reign of Pharaoh Rahmen Tah, there was a vizier who was said to consort with demons and to tamper with the powers of oblivion. He lived in a majestic tower that stood on a little island near the harbor. It was a marvel to behold, made of black glass and gold. Everyone who looked at it was filled with an eerie sense of foreboding. The vizier was rumored to be so powerful that no one dared to bring him to justice. Even Rahmen Tah himself feared the power of the vizier -- he did not dare to dispatch his forces to remove the despot. Finally, Ramen Tah called for the advice of his chief astrologer and mathematician, the wise Athem. Athem listened quietly to the words of his Pharaoh. After the Pharaoh had finished, Athem asked for some time to think and ponder a solution. Reluctantly the Pharaoh agreed.
After a week had passed the mathematician returned. His advice was this: The Pharaoh should order a huge celebration to be held, and all of the buildings in town should be adorned with flowers and flags. The Pharaoh, who trusted in the wisdom of his advisor, ordered his people to prepare for the celebration. While the people did as their Pharaoh had ordered them to do, Athem began to build a huge wooden machine on top of the royal palace. No one took particular notice of it because of the city-wide preparations that were also going on. On the fourth day, when the celebration was scheduled to start, the Pharaoh sent an invitation to the vizier to join in the festivity. As Athem had foreseen, the vizier was suspicious of a trap and declined the invitation. Instead of appearing at the celebrations, he sat in the observatory at the top of his tower and watched the city from afar hoping to find out what the Pharaoh was up to. Too late did he understand that the construct on top of the pyramid was in fact an enormous catapult. Suddenly a huge boulder was hurled in his direction. The trajectory of the boulder had been perfectly calculated and hit its mark with remarkable precision. The top of the dark tower shattered and the evil vizier was crushed amongst tons of basalt fragments. With his death, the dark magic surrounding his tower dissipated and the remnants of his structure sank into the ocean forever.