Nefuru is marching with her fellow soldier on the dry desert sand. They’re singing and chanting marching songs from ancient Anubian era. Nefuru listens as the whole army sings in unison but he can pick out the deep baritone of a young man who obviously knows more verses of these songs than she’s ever heard.
They’re so close to the enemy lines now and the merriment is gone from their voice as they begin to spot columns of soldiers on a mountain crest with every step they take.
“Is this it?” asks Mayatti a huge woman who doesn’t stop talking about her kids and her farm back at home. Below them, where the desert and the sea meet is a harbor town whose construction and architect look really Olympian in style and design.
Neferu responds “that’s it”. They - the olympians - call it Munos after they won the land from our predecessors at the Battle of the Red Sand. But it’s real name is Mukhnod. A younger soldier Inebni groans loud enough for Nefuru and Mayatti to hear “urgh here comes another history lesson”
Neferu smiles and replies her “I’ll ignore you and make sure I give you a tour of the city after we reclaim it” She continues to speak, this time pointing at ancient monuments that are barely visible from their position “these are our architectural design and monuments, built by our ancestors over a thousand years ago”
“Why didn’t the olympians just destroy it after the battle” Penemun another soldier asks. “I guess it wasn’t worth the effort. The obviously scrapped off our inscriptions but anyone who looks closely will know they belong to us” replied Neferu.
Penemun replies “well, I don’t think the olympians will agree with you”. Neferu gets a firmer grip on her sheathed sword and agreed “no, I don’t think they will”.
It’s battle time and the two armies clash on the plain lands outside the city not so far from where Pharaoh Webensu II and his army lost the battle of the Red Sands and these coasts with it.
Neferu can feel the blood of her ancestors in the sands. She comes from a lineage of soldiers and her ancestors fought with the Pharoah in the battle of the red sand according to family legend. She can at least avenge them today and restore these lost lands of her ancestors.
“For Anubia!” Shouts Neferu
“For Anubia!” The whole army roars
“For the pharaohs”
The frontline of the Olympians usually have their shields locked together and have swords piercing their enemies through them. The Anubian hosts already know this and so they send heavy chariots to break their lines.
Neferu and her squad rage into the broken defense line of the olympians with bronze dusts filling the atmosphere. Neferu gets into the heat of the battle with her long curved khopesh. Blocking off attacks with her shield and slashing muscles with the sharp curves of her khopesh. She keeps moving as though she’s dancing to a rhythm only she can hear, blocking a sword here, disbowelling an enemy and striking there. She seems to be everywhere in the eyes of her fellow soldiers.
In the heat of the battles her armor is ripped off but it’s nothing serious as she keeps moving fast and avoiding real danger and all the while sending olympians to the other world with her deadly khopesh. Her slower companions are not so lucky. Harnakhte the baritone singer was the first to drop down. Neferu in a split second observes the blood pumping out of his slashed throat and wonders if anyone else know all the songs he did.
She quickly gets herself together. This is not time to get distracted, focus or die she says to herself. She looks around and finds they’re facing the elite guards of the Munos now. The elite guards have both the best trainings and weapons.
In shock she realized one of two things could have happened, they were the second line troop, mere auxiliary soldiers hoping to be promoted to higher ranks. It was either they had cut so far into the Olympian troop or the Olympian troop had cut so far into theirs.
Again she tries to get her focus, death could be around the corner. She turns and finds Mayatti struck down with a spear in her shoulder, she doesn’t have enough time to check if she will survive or not, the heat of the battle is so intense now.
Another soldier, Inebni goes down with blood splashing everywhere. Neferu cannot hold her focus anymore at this time. She begins to recall how sweet Inebni was and how she always spoke about her future after the war.
The Olympians surround her now and she finds herself back to back with a soldier. The soldier said “it was a good run” Neferu trying to keep the faith replies “shut up and fight. This is not over”
“I think it is” he replies and this time he falls backward, making Neferu loose her balance. She tried to look at the fallen soldier but all she can see is a bronze sword coming for her head. The last thing she heard was the sound of her skull breaking open. She wakes up and it’s all dark around her. There’s the sun up there but it’s not the kind she’s grown accustomed to. This sun is pale and the heat more scorching and irritating. It illuminates nothing, the darkness is still thick and heavy all around her.
How did she get here?
Where is she?
None of that matters to her though. She realized she has to move in order to find answers.
She’s hearing howls and growls in the darkness with every step she takes. She feels them getting closer and encircling her and if she stops they’ll catch up with her. She breaks into a run and this time they become visible, demons of different shapes and forms. Some having the body of both men and beasts, some others are just bone joined together. They rush out of a citadel trying to attack her.
She doesn’t know how she has such knowledge about them wanting to devour her but she is convinced it is their motive. She looks forward and see silvery glistening water. She figures if she runs fast enough and gets there, these heinous creatures would stop chasing her. She runs as though her life depends on it and it did.
Finally she begins to see the endless sand beneath her feet give way to a pool of water and with her last strength she plunged herself into the pool of crystal clear water. Her feet settle on a rock beneath the water and she heaved a sigh realizing her prediction was right. The creatures and demons had scampered back into the dark.
There’s nothing here though. Not even stars.
And now she begins to fill another creature loom over her. She’s heard tales about it from her childhood. It’s Anhotep, the one who embalm souls. His duty is to judge who is worthy to enter into eternal rest or to be sent back into the darkness. His face is cold and emotionless as he reaches his hand into Neferu’s heart and rips it out. The heart bleeds but it’s all shiny.
Anhotep plucks a feather from a vulture with his other hand and forms a scale with both hands. He gently closes his eyes as if to gauge them supernaturally. He stretches his arms out with the heart on the right and the feather on the left.
He pops his eyes open and two green orbs of light shoot out of them.
Worthy he tells her and suddenly a bright light from its eyes overshadows her. Neferu opens her eyes. She’s lying down on sand and her eyes facing a bright blue sky. Did I survive? Is the battle over?
She quickly checks her face for scars or bruises but she finds none. She takes a deep breath and smells scented flowers. The air is warm in her nostrils. She sits up and prepares her herself for whatever trial is next. She sees beautifully arrayed palm trees and people sitting some distance to far for her voice to reach. She ignores them and continues to observe the beautiful scenery before her. She looks beyond the palm trees and see a river. She sees monuments she’s never seen in her life. What a beauty to behold she thought.
She stands up, trying to look in every direction at the same time. Where am I? Was the big question in her heart. She sees pyramids and obelisks, statutes of both men and beast with different designs and stones surround the plaza.
“The Arch of Amenmose!” She knows all about it. An impossible piece of architecture that was made. She’s so excited at this point and hungry to share her delight with the people in the lounge but the most of them simply ignore her while others are fast asleep. They all have one thing in common though. They looked bored.
A servant wearing a long flowing white robe walks past her as though he didn’t see her carrying a tray of fruits and jars of wine.
Hello there she says trying to grab his arm. But she shrugs off her arm and keeps walking, completely ignoring her.
She follows the servant and he walks towards the person he’s serving, gets on his knees and offers them the tray of fruits and jar of wine.
She’s close to the lounging figures now and finds them beautifully and totally adorned. Some of them looked really familiar but she could barely place the faces.
Nefuru looks at them and asks “what’s this place? What are you all doing here?”
They looked at her surprised and some completely ignored her.
One of them replied “The Blessed Rest”
Another old man chipped in “and that’s why you can see us resting”
Neferu in almost disbelief “The Blessed rest, The afterlife of honored dead men?”
“You are dead” a woman says to her
Wait... I was found worthy? But I’m still so young, I had my whole life ahead of me, I had plans, so much to do.
“Don’t worry” the woman replies her. “You’ll get used to being dead. We all did. And by the way what’s your name and what did you do in life?”
My name is Neferu, I was a soldier in the army. We were fighting the Olympians to take back Mukhnod when I died. Who are you?
I am “Takhat the Forgotten,” the woman replies. She goes ahead to introduce the other people in the lounge to Neferu.
Neferu in shock realizes why some of them looked familiar “they’re all pharaohs!”
“Most of them are” the woman replies.
“That’s Iusenheb IV behind me, and over there ,if I’m not mistaken, is Webensu II, the Hero of Mukhnod himself.”
Some are high priests, warriors, soldiers and now you.
What about the servants, Neferu asks.
They’re not anyone Takhat replies. Only worthy people are allowed in the Blessed rest. And worthy people would not be servants. She calls the servant over, as he rises and turns, Neferu sees his face for the first time and was shocked to see he has no face, just a smooth expanse of brown skin covering what would have been his face”
They begin to get personal and ask about each other times on earth. Takhat reveals she was the first female Pharoah but she wasn’t recognized and hence her title “Takhat the forgotten”.
Takhat takes Neferu for a walk and shows her all the lost monuments of Anubia.
What do you all do here, Neferu asks?
Whatever we want, Takhat replies. When new people come, we throw parties, orgies and indulge in all sorts of fun but it gets boring eventually and everyone just goes back to resting. Some take up hobbies sculpting and painting.
What’s the use of all that Neferu asks.
What the point of anything Takhat replies. We’ve done our bit in the world and now that we are dead we can do whatever we like.
Neferu begins to get angry...
I fought for the freedom of Anubia, I died fighting for history and memories you created and handed over to us.
Takhat replies “that’s the point of everything. You do all you can on earth, fight and all and then you die and come to the blessed rest to do whatever you please”
This is not what I want, a clearly infuriated Neferu breathes out. What I want is to fight for Anubia. To conquer more territories and keep the tradition of our ancestors.
I didn’t fight the Olympians for fun, I fought to take back what was ours. For Anubia, the real Anubia. Not this strange thing you have here.
At this point Neferu decides she’s going to leave The Blessed Rest at all cost.
She asks Takhat to send her back. Takhat assures her that it’s impossible. “At best you’ll end up in the darkness with those beasts.
Anywhere is better than here. If I end up there then so be it.
All the other pharaohs and people lounging watch her walk back towards the darkness. She completely ignores them and keeps walking. She feels the weight of her khopesh again. It wasn’t there a while ago, but now it is.
She sees a gate now and hears a voice behind her.
Wait!
It’s Takhat.
Neferu stops but doesn’t look back. Takhat walks up to her and says “I’ll take you back, this place was getting boring anyway”
There are rules here, we will be breaking them and there’s no forgiveness. If we leave we’ll never be allowed back here. I’ll take you back to your body, not just the underworld. How are you going to do it Neferu inquires.
Just close your eyes .... Neferu draws a ragged breath and opens her eyes. She finds herself lying on rough surface with dust everywhere. She feels a weight on top of her and the whole place smells like death and burning.
She realized Takhat has sent her back to her body or was it just a dream? Did I survive? Did we win the battle? Is the battle over?
She frees one of her hands and rubs through her face to see if the scar is there, wondering if it was all a dream,
She’s surprised, her skin has no scars and her skull is in place. She hears a voice in her head “I fixed it”. It was the unmistakable voice of Takhat.
“I am here with you, we are one now” the voice responds.
Neferu frees herself from all the weight around her and realizes she’s on a pile of Anubian dead bodies waiting to be burned. She sees all her comrades lying there dead, she tries to speak with them and urge them to come back but there’s no response.
“They’re all dead” Takhat tells her. Not everyone will do what you did.
Neferu shouts in pain and Olympian soldiers start marching towards them to investigate the noise.
“Stand up” Neferu and Takhat speaks in unison. Neferu has just used Takhat’s power to summon the dead.
Pale green smoke pops out of her hands and drifts into the nostrils of all the dead Anubian soldiers.
Neferu gets uncomfortable as her face begins to twitch. Takhat tells her “that’s my face, it’s the least I could do. We are one now”.
Hundreds of eyes open and their eyes are all pale green.
The Anubian army rises. Neferu and Takha smile.
This was years ago, now Neferu and Takhat lead an army of Anubians to great conquests. They have an army of both the living and the dead.
Neferu and Takhat are one but Neferu hardly hears Takhat’s voice unless she’s conjuring some of her ancient and dark powers.
She had taken back Mukhnod with her army of the dead and advanced into more territories.
She feels a presence in her tent as she goes in for the night. Then she feels something shift in the shadows. She swiftly moves her hand to her sword.
A voice in the shadows speak up “calm down Neferu, you know who I am”
He lamp in the corner of the room magically lights up with green flames. Neferu can see a woman figure with horns a few meters away from her.
Malisus the goddess of death.
Neferu draws her khopesh. She’d give this a fight even though she realized how powerless she was before the goddess of death. She thought the goddess has come to punish her for escaping from the underworld with Takhat.
“I’ve been wondering when you’d show up”
“Mmm not a lot of souls would do what you did. Fighting your way back to the land of the living. I’ll give you credit for that” says Malisus.
“And now you’re here to take us back? Well, I’m not going back without a fight”
Malisus breaks into an evil laughter and the whole fills up with mourning and death. Neferu’s khopesh falls from her hand. “It wouldn’t be a fight my daughter” Malisus says. But I don’t want to send you back to the underworld.
Trembling, Neferu-Takhat asks “then what do you want?”
The gods have a tournament Malisus explains and I have need or a human champion to represent me and I have chosen you.
Do we really have a choice?
I am offering you two choices. Get sent back to the less glamorous underworld and suffer for all eternity for breaking my rules or be my champion and receive my powers to do both our bidding.
Neferu-Takhat accepts the goddess’ offer.
Malisus stretches out an arm and invites Neferu to hold it.
As their hands meet, Neferu feels a fire surge through her. She felt stronger than she’s ever had her entire life.
“I declare you my champion” Malisus says.
Neferu-Takhat smiles and their face twitch a bit, revealing Takhat’s mummy face.
“I am death” Neferu says!
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