Under the Egyptian Moon

Written by Silver Sage

(Romance - Pairings at bottom)
(Action/Adventure)

Summery: Thousands of years ago, during a dynasty long forgotten, there lived eight souls different from those of the human race. In a world where people were all part of some sort of union, these eight individuals lived apart from everyone else in a class all their own. Each had a gift given to them from the gods themselves and they were very different from the other, but this one thread of magic was slowly bringing them together.

They had been pulled to the center of one of the most powerful contries of the world, Egypt. Some mysterious force had slowly guided them across desert and water alike to end up in a city at the center of a great circle of magic. Eight different hearts and minds were drawn there and were all unknowingly about to collide, clash and, if the gods had it their way, bond with one another. Evil was forming somewhere in the world and these eight had been chosen to stop it.
-,-'-,-'-,-'--

The city was quiet that night. Torches had been put out long ago, diminishing all light on the streets, city walls, and Pharaoh's palace. Even the moon, it seemed, had been snuffed like a candle and all was still, dark, and silent except for the faint whistle of wind that bounced around the dark alleys and slipped under the cracks of doors.

Not a thing moved that night making it seem as if the entire desert itself was holding its breath waiting for some unknown phenomena to take place.

The wind continued to make its way lazily through the streets like a small child exploring his surroundings with innocent curiosity. It snuck through windows and whispered unheard words to the residences. Then it plunged into the night again to resume its journey.

It floated carelessly forward, seeing nothing of interest until two disfigured lumps hidden in the dark corner of a narrow alley crossed its path (Though it wasn't their fault since everywhere is the wind's path.)

One of the lumps moved slightly, a sudden jerk as if it'd just been woken up. The other shadow merely stirred restlessly but the first sat straight up. Blond hair stood out broadly in the dark, amber eyes glinted with non-existing light as they darted from side to side, searching for something.

The other person finally sat up, huge violet eyes opening a crack to look up through golden hair that turned to black then crimson. He shivered unconsciously and pulled the few rags he wore closer around himself.

"Jouno, what's wrong," He whispered," do you feel something?"

The other nodded silently and slowly stood, pulling his companion up with him.

"When I say run," he instructed with a quiet whisper as if he were trying to hide their conversation from the wind itself, "We'll go left out of the alley." The blond became more urgent as he held the other who seemed to be nothing but a child.

The boy talking had a fierce aura that floated around him. He had a wild spirit, not to be tamed by anyone, the heart of a lion and the bravery and pride to match. But though his first impressions were as fierce as they could get, this teenager also had a different, milder side. He had the loyalty and playfulness of a dog and, sadly, the life of one as well.

The other that he hovered around protectively was very different. Sweet, caring, thoughtful, shy, and, at the moment, terrified. He had a child like innocence positively radiating off of him like body heat. Mostly soft-spoken, almost never raising his voice, he could easily be compared to child and easily mistaken as one as well.

The boy's name was Yuugi and, even at fifteen years of age, he was still below the five-foot mark and if that wasn't unusual enough, his hair was even more strange. Golden bangs and black locks that spiked on their own accord and then turned to a sharp crimson or violet colour (no one could actually tell whether it was red, purple or a mix of both.)

But the boy's most striking feature was not his height or his hair or his innocence, but the large amethyst eyes that adorned his face and shone like stars on the velvety night sky. One could get lost within their infinite depths and some actually have. Yuugi's eyes were his gift given to him by the gods; one look into his deep violet orbs and he could control anyone's mind.

Of course, Yuugi was still inexperienced with his gift, unable to control anything more advance than a child of five floods and even then he could only hold onto their mind for an hour at most before collapsing completely. Not that he ever used his gift much; perhaps helping calm a distressed mother's baby but that was it.

The second was known as Jouno who had eyes hair and skin like gold and a fire in his soul fiercer than any other. He was tall, due mostly to long legs and his hair always seemed to be out of place. He had a gift too, not uncommon to many priests and priestesses of the temples of the gods. But his power was stronger than theirs, though he himself was not a priest. He was born with the power to sense.

He could feel magic when it was near. It was a natural sense to him like smelling or tasting so he was a virtual metal detector when it came to the unworldly science of magic, being able to identify each and every power, how strong it was and how evil or good it was. This gift was handy to him seeing as every human's soul had magic no matter how dim it may be, but the furthest he could reach using most of his energy was only a mile at most (This was still far seeing as how others with this power can only reach within 100 feet of where they're standing.)

A slight noise was heard, nothing more than a pebble rolling across the ground but Jono knew instantly it was nothing so innocent. He let go of Yuugi and braced himself, and then with a deep shaky breath, he whispered one word: "Run!"

And they both took off like a shot, forward then left heading straight for the city walls. A curse was heard and then dogs started to bark, startled, as the silence was broken abruptly. The sounds of running steps could be heard clearly now, not just Yuugi and Jouno's but two other pairs as well.

Torches flickered to life and faces appeared in the windows of many of the stone buildings to peek what was happening in their usually peaceful city. It was clear to both boys, as they ran trying to conceal themselves in shadows, that they were being perused. Both were terribly frightened of being caught though Jouno tried to hide it for the sake of Yuugi as he ran a step behind his friend keeping his eyes on him at all times lest he lost him somehow. There was no way he would allow Yuugi to be separated from him. Jouno swore to protect his small friend and he would keep his promise even if it killed him. Yuugi was the only thing he had, the person who had helped him through years of still unhealed pain that his master had inflicted to him both physically and mentally. Yuugi was his savior, his oasis, and if he were to go, so would Jouno

Yuugi on the other hand didn't bother to hide his fear. Hot tears streamed down his face as he tore down the street, rocks and sand stinging at his bare feet and legs. Jouno meant the world to him having saved him from a group of bandits who had slaughtered his entire village before his eyes. The young blond had rescued him but it was too late to save his family who were turned to ashes along with his home in a fire caused by the bandits.

They had traveled together after that, up the Nile to the great city of the Pharaoh of lower and Upper Egypt hoping to become apprentices in a small business and live their lives in peace. No such luck yet and there they were now being chased by anything from palace guards to the same bandits that had attacked their village.

There were two that followed them swiftly, gaining fast. The first was a sinister soul with skin and hair of the whitest ivory. Very foreign to the blistering Egyptian sun. It's as if he'd lived his entire life in a dark cold place. His eyes were bitter and brown, slanted in a deadly gaze. Everyone said he had the eyes of a murderer and every person was correct. He was long legged, much like Jouno, with deadly movements like a snake.

He wore a cloak to conceal these traits and it flapped behind him as the wind was swept up and whirled around him madly. His breath came steadily and sparingly; he was talented when it came to a chase even in his heavy clothing.

This teenager, who couldn't have been older than eighteen, was known far and wide as Death's Angel; stealer of life, the night's child, and a merciless murderer.

He had been a tomb robber previously, the best around at that. It was rumored that he had stolen from every tomb on the Nile and then some. His hands killed thousands of men, hundreds of tombs were raided and never had he been caught. Not until he tried to take the ultimate prize, the final brush stroke on his masterpiece. To rob the most heavily guarded tomb in all of Egypt. King Akunamukanon; the Pharaoh's father.

He attempted this deathly feet with much confidence, very sure of the kind of things guarding the tomb. Men, animals such as tigers or something as fierce perhaps, but that was certainly not what he found.

Instead, monsters attacked him, creatures of the shadows from a realm no man should have known of. He was, of course, over powered but instead of being killed he was brought to the Pharaoh himself. He knew the price of his crimes was death, but the Pharaoh had other ideas. He was not going to let such talent go to waste.

The Pharaoh struck a deal. He spared his life if the thief served him. His cat like nature and grace could be useful. Head guard of the city, commander of every guard in the palace. His own fleet to do only good with. He had taken the job grudgingly but swore as well that he WOULD get his revenge on the young ruler.

But as years passed, the teen, though his bitterness never diminished, slowly redeemed his soul and both him and the Pharaoh developed a mutual respect towards one another. But though this teenager, Bakura, didn't exactly want to KILL the Pharaoh anymore, he still craved to spite the young man in any way he could.

Bakura's gift was very unique in most temples of the Nile. He had the strange and wonderful talent of silencing. With enough concentrated energy he could silence each breath, every heartbeat, every sound within a ten-mile radius. His gift had always been faithful to him; never had anyone heard him as he slit their throat, no one had heard him as he robbed the largest tombs of Egypt. Not until that Pharaoh and his monsters came along. But his power was useless in this case now; the prey had heard the predator, now all that was left was the kill.

The person behind him was different. While Bakura was, most of the time, very calm and collected, confident in every step he took, this teenager, also of eighteen, had the energy of ten children, plus a dagger (a very lethal combination indeed.) He had hair the colour of the sand they lived on and skin that would shame cocoa beans. He was well muscled, his chest was bare but his legs covered with baggy black linen and a purple cloak chased after him.

And then there were his eyes, a lilac colour and very narrow like Bakura's but different. If one were to look into them they wouldn't think of innocence like Yuugi's eyes or murderer like Bakura's but instead they would instantly think insanity.

This teenager was, in fact, as crazy as he looked, but still incredibly skilled. His recklessness and joy for seeing blood on his hands plus his speed and talent made him the perfect candidate for his line of work in which he had to expect the unexpected. He was a tomb keeper, a descendant of a clan that kept watch over the Pharaoh's tombs. He'd met many people in his line of work, including Bakura as the white haired thief fled from the site of a queen's final resting place.

Marik and a few of his clan had cornered Bakura in a nearby temple and they had fought all through the night. The blood was thick on the ground the next morning and the only left alive, still fighting dagger to dagger, were Bakura and the tomb keeper, Marik. But Bakura eventually won, doing so by breaking Marik's leg and making a run for it. Marik had been confused as to why Bakura hadn't killed him while he was vulnerable but he had no way to find out.

Five months after they had met, Marik witnessed Bakura's capture. He had laughed when he realized he'd be working for the thief that had mangled him leaving him useless for two weeks as healing magic wove his wounds and bones together again.

It had been a good move though; Bakura keeping Marik alive. The two were a virtually unstoppable team. Whenever Marik was on a break from tomb keeping, him and Bakura would prowl the streets, killing the occasional bandit and keeping "peace". Lately, about a month since Marik went on another break, the two had been collecting anyone on the streets after dark. The homeless teenagers and younger adults were going to be given as gifts to the entire royal court in honor of the Nile floods that had produced the best harvest in many years. Villagers had been forced to give themselves as tributes and the dungeons had been filled with more than enough slaves by now.

But these two were perfect for the job. The blond seemed as if he had the perfect amount of muscle- he'd be perfect for working on the current Pharaoh's tomb. But not just that, he had such beauty as well! Who knew, he might be chosen for breeding instead. And the other was beautiful as well. Delicate as a rose so small and innocent, there was no doubt he'd be chosen for the most feared position known. To fulfill the lust of greedy nobles and council members. Many shuddered at the thought of living there life in that way, but it was better than being put to death for rebelling, right?

Jouno skidded to a halt at the end of the alley, nearly crashing into the stone wall. He looked to his side then up but it was no use. They were trapped. Yuugi tripped as he joined his friend's side and squeaked as he flew forward, landing in a heap by the wall. The taller bent down, his messy blond hair falling in his face and lifted his friend up while pondering his choices.

There was a pile of unstable looking pots stacked up in a corner and a window carved into the side of the building some ten feet up and three feet from the pots. He could scramble up the pots and make the jump for the window of course, but would Yuugi make it? No. There had to be another idea, SOMETHING had to help them escape . . . Nothing came to him.

The footsteps came closer, thumping against the dirt covered ground, the sound indistinguishable from their hearts. Yuugi clung to Jouno's arm tightly and he could feel the tremors running through his little friend's body, as they stood there completely helpless. Jouno realized now that the only way he was going to protect Yuugi was to fight whoever was trying to reach them.

So, as the two shadow pressers turned the corner, Jouno shoved Yuugi behind him who gave a startled yelp, and then he whirled and faced his enemy. Daggers glinted orange with torchlight that now lit some of the sandstone buildings. A few people watched cautiously from some nearby windows and doors but none dare venture outside lest these men decided to kill them instead of their prisoners.

Jouno grit his teeth and glared a thousand knives at the hooded figures as they approached. He was unarmed, untrained, hurt, exhausted and there were two of them and only one of him. He didn't know what to do, he needed help, but Yuugi had no idea how to fight- they were both helpless.

Nothing happened for a moment and an odd tenseness hung around them. Bakura relaxed his muscles and tightened the grip on his dagger, preparing for the final step in this chase and Jouno squeezed his hands into fists, growling threateningly. But Marik was first to make a move. He rushed forward like water being released from a dam and jumped just before he reached Jouno, disappearing over his head. Jouno looked up quickly, trying to see where he went, a big mistake. Bakura followed suit, the same force being released and the same speed, but he didn't jump. Instead he grabbed Jouno's arm and twisted it painfully behind his back locking him in a vulnerable position Jouno didn't see coming at all.

The blond's mouth twisted in a silent scream and he tried to claw at Bakura with nonexistent nails bit to the bone from a nervous habit, but it was in vain. In the span of a few seconds he had been defeated. He'd failed. Yuugi was completely unprotected now and on top of that, his arm was starting to go numb with pain. One well placed hit in the head with the hilt of an unseen dagger and he was on the ground, barely registering a bone shattering crash of clay and a scream of panic . . .

-,-'-,-'-,-'--

. . The wind lost interest in the capture, the likes of which it had witnessed numerous times before, so it decided to cut through the brittle sandstone buildings until it reached the north point of the city where entirely different events were occurring. This street was unlit, unaware of the commotion happening but a few minutes away and all was relatively peaceful.

The wind hit the wall gently, stirring locks of white hair, its purity tainted slightly by something red and thick; blood. It paused slowly then ran over the body of a sleeping boy, touching small white scars and bigger red and pink puckered scars then blowing the small amount of blood that had gathered around the boy across the dirt. The teen shivered very slightly as the sudden breeze and curled up a little more. As he did this, the wind finished its quiet inspection and finally it went on, diving over the wall and disappearing into the desert night.

A small pale hand twitched and then clenched. A ragged cough escaped a raw throat. Bloodshot eyes opened to the velvet black sky; the teen was awake. He sat up slowly, wincing as pain shot through his body, ending in a sharp ache in his head. Memories flashed before his eyes quickly as blood ran down the back of his neck; a large faceless man standing before him, the distant crack of a whip, pain and a scream. A strangled gurgle and blood. So much blood.

And then he was back to reality, sitting on his knees and shaking, staring at his blood drenched hands. Tears welled in his eyes and he dragged his swollen red arm across his face to wipe them away. He spent a moment slumped near the wall, trying to banish the horrible memories from his head to no avail when a whispering hiss sounded somewhere near. He looked up quickly, his hair falling into his face, but made no effort to move it as he listened carefully for the sound again.

Another whisper and thoughts started to fly into his head. A ghost. . .that man he had- had- he couldn't think about it anymore. A sob escaped his lips and he stood up shakily, keeping his body pressed to the wall to steady himself.

Two figures slid from the shadows of a small building and the boy started to tremble, one of his ankles creaking slightly from stiff bones. He gave a gasp as they approached, too quickly for his liking, and sunk back to the ground.

"Interesting one don't you think," One of them said in a strange voice that sounded more camel than human. The other didn't answer, just continued to come nearer. The teen swallowed hard and wondered whom these people were and how he was going to get away. They scared him and he had had enough terror to last him a lifetime by now. His eyes strayed down to their strange clothing but snapped back to their faces just as quickly. His curiosity would get him killed someday but he had to admit, their appearances were strange. They were dressed in faded brown ripped pants and oddly shaped black sandals. Their shirts seemed more like sheets draped in odd ways across their chests and then flowing out behind them. They wore some kind of black kohl around their eyes and small bones stood out broadly tied in long ebony hair and clanking softly with each step.

One of these people, the shorter of them, stepped in front of the boy who gave a strangled cry and scooted away. Though it was hard to see the persons face in the dark, he could tell that an eyebrow had been raised at his strange behavior.

"What's your name?" The question was even and said in a silky smooth voice that revealed nothing to the boy but the fact that this person was not a man but a woman. The white-haired teen said nothing for a while as he contemplated whether he would rather die right then and there or run first then die. He bit his lip and decided it would cause too much pain to excerpt himself to such extent and allowed a soft dry, "Ryou," to escape his parched throat.

She stood still, whispering the foreign sounding name a couple of times to herself until she decided she knew it and narrowed her eyes at Ryou. The boy rose to shaky legs by now and gripped the wall until his knuckles were white as she looked him up and down. Ryou couldn't tell whether he was taller or shorter than her giving the fact he was only half standing and couldn't see her very well anyway but it didn't matter. Ryou whimpered and the camel-man grunted, startling the white-haired teen that had forgotten his presence. The man stepped forth and uncurled a rope from around his waist, smirking sadistically at the child before him.

The woman held a muscled arm before the man's belly, preventing him from taking another step closer, which Ryou thanked her for in the back of his mind but remained tense in case she just wanted to capture him herself.

The woman pushed a tendril of hair behind her ear and placed her hands on her hips, "Who is your master, boy?" She hissed. Ryou flinched at the sudden harshness that interrupted the strange silence and pulled himself up some more shaking bloody hair from his eyes.

"I-I don't have a master," He said uncertainly keeping his eyes on the rope swinging from the man's large hands, "I've been living off the streets and-"

"Liar!" She hissed, cutting Ryou off who snapped his mouth shut and slid a couple of inches. The woman took a long calming breath and raked her eyes over the teen that had tears brimming in his eyes. After a few minutes of the quiet inspection, she straightened herself and cleared her throat.

"You shouldn't lie little boy, I can read you like a book." She paused to let the words sink in to the terrified boy's head before continuing. "You're a slave in a large, rich dwelling though one of the only that work there. You reside in the kitchen and. . .in the bedroom and your master is very reckless. Possibly the effects of excessive amounts of wine. You ran away one, maybe two, nights ago from a village not incredibly far away but still far enough to be safe. . .for now."

Ryou slid again, this time staying on the ground as he looked up at the woman with wide eyes. It was true, every last word. But how had she known? Who was she? Had she been spying on him? A hundred questions whirled through his head and he opened his mouth to ask how she knew only to be cut off again by a sharp growl.

"It's obvious little boy," She sneered snatching the rope from the camel-man who gave a disappointed grunt and folded his arms across his chest, "Your thin and your legs are moderately muscled so I assume you did a lot of walking, most likely up and down stairs. In a small home you wouldn't need to walk as far from one room to the other. Your hands are blistered and burned from a stove or hot water but you have more burns than average kitchen slaves so you must have done more work."

Ryou was wide eyed staring at the woman. She was brilliant! She knew exactly what he did and what he was and he'd only just met her. It wasn't possible. The woman took a step forward and her smile broadened as Ryou tried to stand up again to no avail.

"There are bruises on your legs in one general area so I suppose a rather large person sat about there more than once and, of course, there's blood on your pants along your inner thigh," She was taunting him now, smiling at his pain, teasing him for the torture she knew all about. Tears welled up in Ryou's chocolate eyes along with memories of endless nights and unbearable pain. He looked down wishing she'd stop and kill him now. He didn't want to live with it anymore.

But she continued anyway, "You're hurt and bear a lot of old scars; your master beat you on a regular basis. None are hidden or cleaned up which another slave would have been ordered to do or he would do himself in case he ever needed you to be pretty to sell," Laughter flashed in her eyes and the camel-man was grinning sadistically again, "Your bleeding feet and exhausted appearance tell me you've been running none stop for quite a while. I'm right, aren't I?"

She ended her evaluation with a note of triumph in her voice and Ryou realized she was standing right in front of him now, but he didn't care. Tears fell freely down his face and he was starting to taste the bile rising in his throat. He didn't say anything as his wrists were grabbed and tied with the rope she had been fingering. A gag was shoved into his mouth and he coughed around it and started to completely sob as the past night's events finally hit him with such force he thought he would be crushed. The woman said nothing, only pulled the rope and, with a pained muffled cry, Ryou flew forward and landed at their feet.

"That was easy," the woman mocked, "All he needed was to hear of his life own and he's as broken as he can get." The camel-man nodded silently, looking down at the pitiful shaking boy at his feet. Annoyance settled on his rough features and he turned away from them. "Let's just get him to the palace before the guards find us."

-,-'-,-'-,-'--

Author's Note: First chapter finished. I know, someone whack me over the head right now. Silly me to be starting another fic when I haven't updated FPCL . Oh well! This chapter is sort of too long to be a prologue..definatly actually. I just wanted to set the scene and introduce a few of the characters. I'm sorry to say I don't think some of them are quite developed yet. I mean, just last night I redesigned one charcter's appearence(to be introduced in the next chapter). I know I'm going against all of my beliefs by putting this chapter out before everything is developed enough but it's has been sitting around for so long I just HAD to post it. I think I'll be about set with the entire storyline(in which some details are still foggy) by the fourth chapter at the least.

Please be gentle if you notice things about the characters that aren't correct in the canon. This story is rather AU even for an ancient Egyptian fic so more than a few things have been altered (not in a bad way mind you. Most of the alterations are very insignificant.)

Speaking of alterations:

Five floods - Basically, five years. The Nile floods every spring. Egyptian marked year this way (and by the apperence of the star Sirius? Just before it happens)

Jouno - This, if you haven't already guessed is Jounouchi. I changed his name slightly.

Bakura's description - Again, this is a very AU ancient Egyptian fic.

An extra note - Pairings include: Seth/Jouno, Atemu/Yugi, Bakura/Ryou, Malik/Marik, and Katsu/Kaia(REBD/BEWD. . .This will make sense later)

R&R please!