Prologue
Taken from the Book of Thebes.
It came to pass that the darkness was sealed up. Life was being repaired. The title of Pharaoh was bestowed upon the son of the one who banished the Dark Wizard Rakumata. Zakar II became the first King of the Dahtre Dynasty, which endures to this day. Egypt was slowly repaired and rebuilt, with help of Zakar II, III, IV, V, and VI. In just five generation, the nation was in a respectable standing once more. The war that tore the nation apart was soon forgotten and those who did know of it felt it best to let such a bloody part of their history be left behind.
The problem was, the past refused to be forgotten.
Chapter 1 The Train
Egypt, 2074
"You will do as I say." The Queen told her son. They were walking along the train platform, her telling him what to do, and him refusing to do whatever it was.
"Mother, I am not a child, and I do not like being treated as such." The young prince replied bitterly.
"You will do as I say." Alana repeated, not caring about the objections. She was the parent, not Imhosepto XXXXXXXVIII. He was quite large for a ten year old boy, 5'9, and 72kg. He was very handsome, but at the moment he was frowning. He didn't like being told what to do.
"Your Majesty," a deep voice behind them said. Imhosepto turned and looked up at Margrave Viko, Head Alana's Secret Police and Intelligence Agency. "I need to speak to you, privately." He glanced at Imhosepto as he spoke; he had something to say that involved him. He was a little taller than Imhosepto, thin, and very smart. His black hair was beginning to turn platinum at the sides, while his beard was as dark as ever. He had Purple eyes, a result of terrible to-do when he was a child.
"We can talk later, Uncle Viko." Alana replied, not turning.
"The rest of the Tri-Force just arrived." To Imhosepto, that seemed like an odd thing to say, but his mother quickly stopped and turned. Her expression was serious, and she was talking with her fingers moving in the Secret Language. Imhosepto had been learning the Secret Language in secret without his mother knowing, so he eavesdropped on them.
-Are you sure? - His mother asked quickly, her fingers flashing.
-They have a long way to go before they become what they are going to be someday, but it is definitely them. The girl is a Thought-Watcher, and she is very advanced. She might be Category 5 material. The boy is her cousin, an American. He shows some of the traits that the Prophecy mentions, so that is a sign that the time is nearing.- Viko replied, his fingers moving just as fast.
-Where are they?- Queen Alana looked around slowly, scanning the crowd.
-Compartment K4. I don't know if this is important, but it appears that the Queen has a twin.- Imhosepto didn't think he should repeat what his mother said after that. She turned to look at him, so he had to turn away, lest she see that he had been watching. His mother was a Thought-Watcher, Category 5. He never got away with anything, of course. Viko slowly withdrew, obviously realizing Imhosepto was about to be chided.
"When did you learn the Secret Language, Imhosepto?" she asked him in English. It was no use trying to hide anything from her.
"Kylara taught me. She said it was time for me to learn it." He answered, his voice showing his objections to being treated as a child.
"Don't take that tone with me, young man. I would've liked if Kylara had told me what she was teaching you. Was there anything else she taught you without my permission?" Queen Alana had a very enchanting voice; once she started talking, it was hard not to listen.
"Yes." Imhosepto said, kicking a stone on the ground. It rolled away, dropping off the platform. He hadn't realized how far they had walked; they were just passing Compartment L1.
Imhosepto looked up at his mother. She was very beautiful. Tall, thin, tan, she was a very nice woman, no matter how firm she was with Imhosepto.
Her dark hair was braided into tiny strands, and her grey eyes were scanning the platform, as if looking for someone. She looked around for a moment before smiling.
"Imhosepto, I want you to meet someone. Come, hurry up." She said, walking faster toward the K Compartments. They stopped near a tall young man with wavy brown hair, blue eyes, who was talking to a woman whose eyes and complexion he shared.
Standing next to him was a boy just as tall, with hair a bit darker and the strangest eyes he had ever seen; one was a perfect shade of blue, while the other was blood red. They were almost twins, it seemed.
"Hello, Matthew." Imhosepto's mother greeted the older of the two boys. He turned in a complete circle, pretending not to have seen her. For some reason, Imhosepto found that funny and had to conceal a grin.
"Your Majesty, I thought you may have forgotten about our date." He said jokingly. His accent told Imhosepto that he was British.
"You were hoping I had forgotten, you mean," She corrected, inconspicuously pushing Imhosepto forward. "This is my son, Prince Imhosepto XXXXXXXVIII." Now that they were closer, Imhosepto saw just how tall the two young men were. They had to be at least six foot six, easily!
"Hello, your Highness. Your mother has asked me to guide you." He said, looking down at Imhosepto, his hand out. Imhosepto put his hand forward.
Matthew shook hands with him, and they tried to crush each others fingers, until the other young man spoke up.
"I think that is enough, Matt. You don't want him failing because he can't hold his wand, do you?" Though he was obviously younger, he had a deeper voice than his brother.
"I think you may be right, Jason. He was giving as good as he got, though. This is my brother Jason, and our mother, Lana." He introduced them.
The five of them stood there talking for several moments, until the whistle blew, signally that the train would be leaving in the next ten minutes; the platform began emptying of students as they boarded the train quickly.
"Imhosepto, I want you to give me your word you will study hard and listen to Matthew." She said as they stood near the steps leading up into the train. The train was surprisingly spotless for something so big, painted white. He could see hundreds of students looking out the windows, their faces pressed against the glass, giving them a comical appearance.
"I will, mother." He promised, wanting to get on the train with the other students before he missed it.
She hugged him, kissed him and pushed him up the steps after Matthew, who had just boarded.
"Goodbye, Imhosepto! Listen to your professors! Study hard! I love you!" she yelled over the screaming engine of the starting train. She slammed the door, stepped back and smiled up at him once more before Apparating away. He stood there, looking out the window at the spot in which she had stood.
Finally, he thought to himself.
"Are you going to just stand there for the whole ride?" Matthew said, tapping him lightly on the shoulder. Imhosepto turned and followed him to a compartment that was already nearly full. He looked up and saw that it was Compartment K4. There was a delighted uproar when Matthew opened the door.
"Matt! Where in the name of Merlin have you been?" one of a set twins in the compartment yelled. She was a tall, buxom, brunette with green eyes. She was wearing a white t-shirt over a clearly visible black bra, a short black miniskirt that ended just above her knees and black stockings with black high heels; her twin was wearing the same thing, with the colors reversed, of course.
"I had a royal date, Michelle," He answered jokingly. Everyone laughed at that.
"This is Prince Imhosepto XXXXXXXVIII." The statement was not enforced by the presence of a crown. For a moment, there was silence as everyone looked at him and Imhosepto. Then everyone in the compartment burst out laughing.
"Good one, Matt!", "Oh yeah, right!", and "Of course he is!" was about all Imhosepto heard for several moments.
Finally, Imhosepto had had enough. He raised his hand, palm up. His mother had taught him the secret of the Dahtre Family Crest. He thought the words, and in his hand, a ball of fire floated, heating the compartment to near suffocation. Matthew opened the window to let in some air. The laughter had stopped and everyone was staring at the fire in Imhosepto's hand. Imhosepto clapped his hands together, making a ringing sound. When he moved them apart, a small crest of gold fell to the floor, smoking. Imhosepto shot Matthew a sidelong glance and saw that he wasn't the least bit surprised; in fact, he looked as if he had been waiting for it. He confirmed it when he spoke.
"The Real McCoy. Only a member of the Dahtre Family can do that," he said, picking up the burning gold. "This crest is the ancestral coat of arms of the first Pharaoh of the Dahtre Dynasty, Zakar II." Matthew enlarged the crest and hung it on the wall of the compartment for everyone to see. Then he began introducing everyone in the compartment.
"This is Jeff, my younger brother, and Jason's older brother." Matthew said, pointing to a blonde-haired young man who just as tall as him. Terel Jr. and Jack were twins and had snow white hair, which they had apparently dyed for losing a bet with a few friends at school the previous year. Candice and Michelle, the oldest of them all were in their final year at EISOM, had red-tinged brown hair, and were tall, buxom and very nice.
They invited Imhosepto to sit between them, an offer he declined; girls giggled too much, he thought. Matthew introduced him to yet another set of twins when. They were the youngest, but were, as Matthew put it, a generation above the rest of them, not including a tall boy in the corner, who was their cousin. Draco Lotes was part of a family of Championship Racing Broomstick Makers, who boasted that they had better Braking Charms, more comfortable seats, and faster brooms.
Indeed, the Lotes Broomstick Company had better models than the Nimbus' Nimbus 2049, or the Hell Broom, which was deemed illegal, because its extreme speed was uncontrollable. About the only challengers they had were the makers of the Firebolt line, who had just released a prototype of the F15XS, Firebolt 15 X Series.
"Aunt Victoria and Virginya Roryn are going to be starting their first year at EISOM, along with Uncle Draco." Matthew said, pushing the prince into the seat beside Virginya, who was reading a book.
Imhosepto couldn't see the title, but it must've been quite an amusing read, since she kept laughing quietly. Prince Imhosepto was immediately taken with Virginya Roryn; her hair was like a never-ending wave of brown; her blue eyes were looking at him, as if trying to read his thoughts.
"It is called Demon Lord of Karanda," she said, showing him the cover. "David Eddings is a very amusing author. He's all I read." Her voice was light and sweet, impossible to ignore. He completely ignored the strangeness of the fact that she had answered his unasked question.
"I've got the entire Malloreon series at the palace in my Library," Imhosepto said. He did have all five, but he had only read the first two. "I wanted to read the Belgariad first, but I set it on fire, by mistake of course." Now that they had something to talk about that interested them both, they soon lost track of time.
They debated important points in the series, what they thought could be interesting if it were real, and even went so far as to draw sketches of what they though everyone looked like. More than once, Imhosepto caught Matthew watching him and Virginya with a knowing smile. Imhosepto was willing to admit he liked her, as long as nobody asked.
It was dark outside the confines of the speeding train, but inside, it was well lit thanks to the scores of wall lamps that provided a curiously white light that occasionally turned blue whenever someone passed. A few hours before, a few witches had pushed a few trays up and down the train, offering everyone sweets and snacks. The corridors were now littered with wrappers and half eaten snacks. Every ten feet, there was a sign hanging from the wall saying not to toss trash on the floors, but of course, children often ignore rules like that, thinking it was pointless since someone was being paid to clean the train anyway.
As Draco looked through the glass door into the hallway, he noticed a few students wrestling around, fighting. He was about to get up and see if he could find an adult to break it up, but someone had already come. He glanced at the boy whom Matthew called 'Prince Imhosepto'. He and Virginya were sitting side by side, reading a few of the Muggle books she had brought. He could tell by the way he talked to her that Imhosepto liked Virginya. Whenever the family would get together and go somewhere, boys were always hitting on Virginya and Victoria.
Virginya didn't appreciate that type of attention, and often knew what they were going to say and do even before they did, with her being a Thought-Watcher. Draco knew she was very powerful at Thought-Watching, so she must know what Imhosepto thought of her, but she either also liked him or didn't care. In either case, there was no harm, so Draco stopped spying on them and decided to pick a fight with Victoria.
"Hey, Vicky, is this yours?" he said loudly, holding up one of her shoes, which she had kicked off. She looked up and glared at him.
"Give it here, right now." She said it with an even voice, but it chilled Draco's spine, all the same.
"No. I think I'll keep it." He said, waving it around, opening the compartment door and sprinting down the corridor. Victoria chased after him, shoeless, her socks making it hard to keep up with him and keep her balance. Draco looked back, grinning, to see her catching up before he turned and ran past her, back towards their compartment.
He turned just in time to see her slip and fall. He laughed and walked back to help her up, keeping the shoe out of her reach. As soon as she was standing, she went for her shoe. Because Draco towered over her by about eight inches, and her arms were shorter, she couldn't reach it.
"I'm keeping it, remember? I'll give you a chance to get it back, if you do something for me." He said with mischievous grin. She made another grab for the shoe, but he was ready. He moved it up higher into the air; she kicked him in the knee, but he kept it out of her reach.
"You are mean, Draco. Give me the damn shoe." She said loud enough to make a few doors open as nosy students looked to see what was going on.
"No." he said, teasing her by tossing it into the air, catching it before she had a chance to grab it.
"Fine, what must I do?" she asked, sounding as if she might attack him.
"Make Candice slap Jason. That should be funny." He said, grinning. She drew her hand back so quickly, he didn't have time to move or block her. Her hand crashed against his face with such force, for a moment he thought he had Apparated in front of the train. He dropped the shoe, both hands going to his stinging face.
"Ouch!" he screamed, not even caring that she had retaken possession of her shoe. He chased her all the way back to the compartment, where Victoria sat next to Matthew. Jason doubled over, laughing at the red handprint on the side of his face. Draco sat down in the corner, staring out the window wondering how much farther the school was. He heard Candice when she said it was time to put their robes on, but didn't do so right away.
Matthew looked over at Virginya and Imhosepto, making sure they were still getting along. Queen Alana had said to keep them together, that way they were familiar with each. Though she didn't come right out and say it, Matt gathered that somewhere down the line, Imhosepto and Virginya were going to be married, in the next several years. They were getting along very well, he saw.
They were now having a whispered argument about the books they were reading. He smiled to himself, seeing the beginnings of a long, special relationship. A knock on the door made him look up. A second year he remembered from the previous term was standing there, holding five scrolls.
He passed one to Matt, Jason, Jeff, Candice, and Terel. They were, of course the annual reminder of the meeting for the Prefects and Headboy and Headgirl. Candice had been elected Headgirl at the last meeting last year, and had been endorsed by the teachers.
The five of them got up to leave, but waited just long enough to made sure the others were getting along, and clipped on their badges before leaving. Matthew read Imhosepto's thoughts before leaving, and was satisfied that they were getting along better than it appeared.
He walked along behind the others, thinking to himself. Matt looked at his watch; it was about 9 o'clock, and that was pretty late to be beginning a meeting, since they would be at the train station in Thebia in an hour.
He sat in the back at the meeting, his mind heavy. From the way things were looking, he was going to have a very full year. But, he had accepted this responsibility at birth. He knew it, his mother knew it, his father was proud of it, and now it was time to fulfill his duty. No matter what, a Tendonin always accepts his responsibilities and honors his duties and promises.
He hadn't realized he had fallen asleep until Candice woke him up with a sharp kick, aimed for the groin; luckily, her aim was off and she only nailed him in the hamstring. It still hurt like hell. Why in the hell do women wear pointed shoes, he asked himself.
"Why did you flippin' do that?" he yelled, rubbing his leg. When he got up to leave, Candice stomped on his foot before running off to escort her wards. Matt had been put in charge of K1-K5, mostly First and Second Years, to be assisted by Karen Lovell, his
Prefect Counterpart, and girlfriend. He quickly emptied each of them, marching them out in single file. After checking that they were all out, he was going to have them group into five rows, but when he came back off the train, but Karen had already showed up and had them in line. She had her back turned, so he tried to sneak up behind her, happy to see her.
Of course, it didn't work. She seemed to always know when someone was behind her. She turned around quickly, and they bumped heads. She whined about not wanting a bruise, while he tried to laugh his off. She stood on her toes to kiss him before leading the students away.
Matt brought up the rear, making sure none of the students went astray. He looked back and saw Jason come off the train, leading his wards, K6-K10. He was arguing with a fellow Fifth Year about why Jason had been made Prefect and he hadn't.
"Because, your mama didn't sit on enough laps, now shut the fuck up and walk." Jason had a gift for telling people off. The kid whipped out his wand, but froze, looking ahead and seeing Matt. Nobody bothered his brothers while he was around, Matt knew. They seemed to think he was one of those Jinx-Happy idiots, just because he won more duels, thrice over, than he lost. Not to mention that Jason already had his wand out. The boy stuffed it back into his pocket and spat on the ground in front of Jason. That didn't sit well with Jason, and he expressed it in the only way he could think of.
"Scourgify," Jason said, pointing his wand into the kid's mouth. But that was just the beginning. "Locomotor Mortis! Furnunculus! Densaugeo!" he finished by spitting in his face and pushing him to the ground. The boy's teeth were about four inches already; he was covered in boils, and seemed to be drowning, due to the soap and water in his mouth that was being forced down his throat.
"Jason Tendonin!" Someone screeched from above. Matt looked up, along with everyone else. Suddenly, nobody moved or made a sound. Above them hovered the form of a hawk, but the older students knew better; above them, as always, was Professor Ellington, Potions Master. She spiraled down and changed form. The scowl on her face cowed everyone, including Jason, who was usually brazen as a bull. Matt decided he didn't want to stick around, so he motioned for Karen to keep moving.