Speak of Me and I Shall Live Forever
By TheNakedKing
Ryuji Otogi looked down upon the village of Deir el Medina from afar, no more than low hanging mudbrick borders that were once the walls of houses. It had been a workman's village, much like Kul Elna before it had become a village of tomb robbers. If they had been caught the punishment would have been death, but as it were that had been Kul Elna's fate regardless of the penalty for tomb robbing. Doubtless that was why it had been chosen for slaughter.
In those days tomb robbing had been a grievous offense; now they called it Archeology.
Not that Otogi really had a problem with it. No one lived here anymore - These people and their practices were dead, and disturbing the tombs for the sake of learning more about them was hardly what your average tomb robber had in his mind when he stole through the night to the Valley of the Kings thousands of years ago.
Erica Fitzpatrick was waiting for him as he rode into the nearby encampment on his camel. Foul things, camels, smelly and foul tempered, a bit like his father, if he were being honest. But as soon as the thought came Otogi felt guilty and pushed it from his mind, sure his Father had been a terrible person, but even he'd had his moments, unlike the pack animal beneath him.
He dismounted, meeting the enthusiastic Egyptologist, who stood underneath the tent flap. It provided them some shelter from the sun, which was still hot even though it had long since passed its apex, but Erica's eager face distracted him from the heat for a moment.
He'd have chosen a different Egyptologist, one with more repute, but no one else had believed him when he'd said he knew the location of the Nameless Pharaoh's tomb. Everyone else had thought he'd been lying, and even though it would have been nice to be working with someone with more field experience, Otogi honestly couldn't say he blamed them. To most the Nameless Pharaoh was a myth, something the fellahin had created, nearly as fantastical as the Curse of the Mummy (which had been a British invention). He was lucky to even have Erica, even if the American was a bit overzealous at times.
"I have good news," Erica ushered him inside, to the shade of the tent. "The cave-in isn't as terrible as I'd initially thought. Today we broke through most of the debris and found the door to the burial chamber. The seal is broken … But that's probably because of the cave-in." She grinned at him, placing her hands on her hips, her whole body tipping forward in anticipation. "We were waiting for you to open it."
"So you really found it?" Otogi arched his eyebrows, green eyes never wavering. "You're almost in?"
"Well, assuming that the cave-in didn't disturb anything inside the burial chamber?" She shrugged. "Yes."
When he had first come to Egypt nearly a year ago, he hadn't been sure what he was looking for. Five years after the Other Yuugi's death, and things still didn't feel right. Everything Otogi did had ended in failure and so he had set out to find a new purpose, feeling empty since his Father's goal no longer dominated his life. That quest had lead him here for the second time in his life, to this land of red sand and endless sky, and it was here in this Valley that he'd found his purpose.
"Well what are we waiting for?"
She stared at him a long moment, frozen in place, before a grin broke out on her face. Nodding her head vigorously, she practically bounced from the tent, and Otogi trailed after her, blinking into the sunlight.
The trek to the mouth of the tomb was made long by the oppressive heat of the Sahara desert, but the focus of mind Otogi had made it impossible for anything to impede him. He had set his mind on this, dreamed about it for so long, that not even bloodthirsty oni could have prevented him from reaching his destination.
Before long they were making the descent, flashlights wielded like weapons against the darkness of the tomb. They traveled past disabled traps, over heaps of rubble, until they finally reached the sealed entrance to the tomb, partly cracked during the cave-in.
"Here we are," Erica's voice had lost its robust tone, turned tremulous with anticipation. "It won't take much to bring it down."
He stepped forward, his fingers tracing the shapes on the stone. The power of this place was apparent, even just at a glance, and it raced through his fingertips from where they touched the door. For thousands of years the tomb's depths had remained untouched, and he would be the first to enter since the days when the Pharaoh was laid to rest.
The days when his friend had truly lived.
"Let's take it down," he ordered, stepping back to let the crew work.
They proceeded carefully for it was important for them to preserve what was left. They had no way of knowing what magnificent discoveries awaited them, and it was difficult to contain their nervous anticipation and excitement, but they managed.
That was, until progress came to a screeching halt.
"Just what do you think you're doing?"
Otogi turned, a deep frown creasing the lines of his face. He recognized the voice as that of Marik Ishtar, esteemed tomb keeper, so when he turned around he wasn't surprised. Apparently Ishtar was, though, because when his eyes locked with Otogi's his face momentarily took on this unguarded expression of shock before his eyes narrowed into cold lines once more.
"I have permission to be here," Otogi said simply, turning back around.
"From who, exactly?"
The tone was accusatory, angry, as if its owner were surprised that Otogi would dare go over his head to get permission to excavate here. He understood, this was the tomb of their friend after all, but Otogi didn't think hiding Atem from the world would help anyone.
It's why he had eventually decided to do this, after all, why he had struck out to revive the story of the Nameless Pharaoh. Atem had taught them all something, had planted the seed of change in their hearts, and had shown a lot of people what they had the potential to be. He didn't think it was right to hide something that could do so much for people.
If he had just let sleeping dogs like Otogi would have felt like he wasn't realizing his own potential, and he just wasn't okay with that.
"Your sister, okay?" Otogi finally said. "So just … calm down, or something. We're about to open the tomb."
"What?" the word escaped through Marik's teeth in a hiss, but in the otherwise silent passage, it sounded like it came from next to Otogi's ear.
"Go ask her yourself it you don't believe me," Otogi said with a shrug, not turning to look at Marik. "I'm telling you that she said its okay."
He could still remember their meeting with startling clarity, perhaps because it was the first time he'd felt alive in a great many years. Ishizu inspired something in him, though he couldn't really say for sure what it was, but it made him want to live as he hadn't lived before.
It wasn't that she was wise and it wasn't her incredible beauty, though she had those things in spades. Rather, it was an unknown quality that made her shine from the inside out, something about her specifically that made her words impact him just a bit more, and made her smiles seem just a bit brighter
Maybe it was because she understood him in a way no one else did; understood the obligations of the "family business" and the responsibility of carrying on after things fell down around your ears.
Whatever the reason, his brief meetings with Ishizu Isthar had revealed more to him about himself than almost 22 years of life had thus far.
In the present, Marik's face was furrowed in concern, because though it was no longer technically his job to guard the tomb of Atem, part of him wanted to make sure that the person who had helped save his life would rest in peace. Otogi understood the sentiment, and recognized the expression as the one Ishizu has worn when he'd first told her all about his plans to unearth the Pharaoh's tomb.
He understood.
It was hard to give up the past.
They'd first met up in Cairo while Otogi was tooling around the Museum, looking at the artifacts of Pharaohs past. He remembered somewhere that someone had said something about the 18th Dynasty, so he was looking at some particularly impressive statuary of a guy called Tuthmosis when he was taken off guard by the sound of a soft voice.
"All Pharaohs have such serene faces," the voice was low and sweet, and he turned to find Ishizu beside him, no longer dressed in ceremonial garb but a business suit, navy blue.
It surprised him because he hadn't seen her for so long and he had certainly never seen her like this. She didn't seem to notice his surprise and continued. "It was the way they presented themselves," she explained, turning her head to acknowledge him, "the ideal appearance of gods and kings. Still, there are subtle differences in the faces of each of the kings."
"I've noticed," he said, refusing to miss a beat. "If you ask me, I think they all looked like pretty boring guys." He shrugged, "and between you and me, I can't really imagine Atem wearing a skirt."
She didn't laugh, but amusement lit the depths of her green eyes. "Well, I assure you that most of these men were far from boring. They were warriors and conquerors. Many of the Pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty are known for their military exploits."
They'd spent a long time talking about the Pharaohs just then, and he had to admit that he was surprised at his own interest. He'd only come to Egypt because it was where Pegasus and found a second wind, and he thought he might do the same, so when he actually found the lives of the ancient people interesting he was a bit surprised with himself.
"I'll check with her," Marik's voice was quite clear. "Don't do anything until I get back. It won't take long to get in contact with her."
Otogi didn't watch him go, continuing to study the wall. He could sense Erica's distress, but he ignored it. He knew it would turn out well in the end because Ishizu had given him her permission. They'd agreed together that the best way to honor Atem was for people to remember him.
"So why exactly are you guys still watching his tomb anyway?" Otogi had asked one evening as they walked together through the City. "Isn't your job over?"
It wasn't their first meeting alone, and it wouldn't be their last, but this evening was particularly beautiful, and Ishizu seemed to glow in the light of the sinking sun. The red light was captured in the strands of her dark hair and held there, like a river of cascading fire, and her green eyes seem to glow even more brightly.
"It is," she said, "but we want to honor his rest," was the explanation, and though it might be seen uncouth of her to touch him, the backs of their palms brushed briefly together.
"Yeah, okay, but doesn't someone symbolically die if you stop saying their name or something?" he was never very clear on the details but it had always been interesting to him how important names were. "And I know that's not how it actually works, obviously, but if we're talking about the spirit of what the Ancient Egyptians were saying, I think that … You know, someone can't really die if you keep talking about them."
"All of his friends remember."
It was true that they did. He was held inside the hearts of all his friends … "But they don't talk about him. He's the best kept secret the world has ever had, and nothing that's happened has changed that."
Ishizu stopped and started at him for a long time, making him feel uncomfortable with her searching eyes. "Should it have?" she asked him. "Do you think that Atem should become a name known by others? Do you think that he should rise from obscurity when he has finally done his job and been allowed to rest?"
Otogi thought for a long moment before responding with a sigh. "Listen, Ishizu, I just think that it's wrong to hide something away that could do good for people." He rubbed the back of his head, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. "And maybe it's not even for the sakes of the people around me, you know? Maybe this is selfish." He shook his head. "I just think that Atem wouldn't care if people know about him and I feel like … I feel like we're not honoring his memory by keeping people in the dark."
Though for a moment she drew up and became very tense, her body soon relaxed and she gave a small, sad smile that made him feel guilty. "I guess I had never thought of it that way before," she admitted. "Perhaps you are right; perhaps by keeping him to ourselves we are robbing the world of something truly precious." She closed her eyes. "It's one of the reasons I haven't given up on my current career path," she admitted to him, and he felt as if he had just learned a great secret. "I want people to learn from the past, and Atem … Atem is a great teacher."
He was jarred from his thoughts when a hand fell down on his shoulder and he spun, staring into the eyes of a different Ishtar. "I spoke with her and she said that it was alright." The look on her brother's face amused Otogi, because it was so very confused, like he didn't understand how his sister had agreed to such a thing. "Just one question … How did you convince her to let you do it?"
He thought of all their late night conversations, of their strolls through the market and stolen glances and he smiled. "I told her the truth," he explained. "With my eyes and my mouth I told her the truth."
Just like this tomb would tell everyone else the truth about a lost Pharaoh who had lived and died 3000 years ago, but whose heartbeat echoed through the annals of history even today; echoed so loudly that it resonated in the hearts of a small handful of modern youths.
And though he could sense Marik's dissatisfaction as he once again turned away to do his work, he knew it would be enough, because this work was his and Ishizu's, and as long as they worked together to show the world the truth, their friend would live forever.