I always think of how I got here. I didn't have any relatives to speak of before I did. All I remember before the following years unfolded was standing before a village set ablaze by a tribe of thieves. It was my village. I am told that my village housed an ancient order of priests and priestesses who guarded the sacred flames of the gods. And I am the last surviving member of that long lineage. From there I was immediately taken in by the Pharaoh Aknamkanon and raised by the high priests. According to them, I was a different type of priestess all together and was thereby difficult to train. You see, my village used the act of prayer through sacred instruments in order to appease the gods and have them lend their power to keep Egypt safe. From this knowledge, it was I alone who had to craft my instrument, a lyre. Only by being crafted by me would it hold any sacred ability. So, I carved my lyre from the blessed wood of the persea tree and created the fibers from stringing together the fibers of the blue lotus stem until it was strong enough to carrying a tune.
Now, in any normal circumstance, this would've been foolhardy, as the strings of a lyre are not made from a plant fiber. But, as the blue lotus is sacred to this land, divine powers made it so that they would carrying ethereal sounds which no other instrument could contend with. My sole duty in the Pharaoh's court is to provide music that appeases both the Pharaoh and the gods. That is all. Ever since the destruction of my village, the location of the sacred flames has been lost and therefore I cannot resume the duties of my predecessors. I'm not that important…or so I thought.
It was the day of great celebration in the kingdom of Egypt. Our prince Atem was to be crowned Pharaoh, succeeding his father, Pharaoh Aknamkanon. Everyone was overjoyed. And why wouldn't they be? Prince Atem was a kind, strong, and just man. Exactly like his father was. No one was more fit for the title of Pharaoh than he was. The main celebration was to take place in the palace throne room, and only the elite and nobles of the kingdom were invited. I was to take my place with the other priests, which included the High Priests as well as another lower priestess named Suki. She was originally a young girl who was kidnapped from a foreign country. She escaped her captors and made her way here, where she became a priestess to the goddess Isis. At Pharaoh Atem's side was his advisor, Shimon, and his sister, Princess Emana. While she shared the same royal bloodline as the Pharaoh, she was much more than just a princess. She was a fully trained assailant. She was a master at stealth and was an expert marksman ((If you're having trouble, think Mai from Avatar the Last Airbender)). She was also my benefactor. My closest friend since I was brought here, she helped me at every moment she could. And of course, I returned the favor in full. I would be loyal to her to the very end and protect her no matter what.
Midway through the festivities, Priest Seto spoke to me. "Alea, you should give a performance in honor of our new Pharaoh," he said. "Your reputation precedes you of course. So anything less than what you are known for would be…a disrespect."
"I…yes, of course," I replied.
"Then proceed," he said.
I disliked being put on the spot like that, but there was not much I could do. Seto was Pharaoh Atem's right-hand priest and his word was only a step less powerful. I unstrapped my lyre from my back and took my place in the center of the throne room.
"In honor of our new Pharaoh, our youngest priestess will grace our hall with her music," Seto announced.
All eyes were on me. This made me extra nervous. But nevertheless, I kept my eyes on my lyre and played an upbeat tune with a strong and fast past that lowered into a calmer beat midway through. Everyone seemed to be enjoying it, which gave me more confidence. I continued playing, more vigorously than before. Not to be prideful, but I on my own was indeed capable of lighting up an entire room.
However, in the midst of my performance, I was interrupted by sudden gasps of shock. I immediately stopped playing and looked up to see what had happened. It had all occurred so fast that all I was able to witness at that point was Priest Mahad guarding the Pharaoh and what looked like some sort of dart lying on the floor in front of them. Had…Had someone attempted to assassinate Pharaoh Atem?
"Guards! Stop the intruder!" Seto ordered. After mere moments of struggle, the guards brought forth what looked like a criminal. He must have been the assassin.
"Assaulting the King of Egypt is an inexcusable crime," Priestess Isis said.
"We're in the midst of a sacred ceremony," Mahad said. "Cast this criminal into the dungeon."
"Wait," Seto interjected. "I have a better idea. Why don't we use this rogue to demonstrate the extent of our power for our new Pharaoh? Wouldn't you agree, Master Aknadin? Master Shimon?"
Shimon nodded, "So let it be written, so let it be done."
"Then let us commence a Millennium Trial of this man's soul!" Seto announced.
I myself had never bore witness to a Millennium Trial, as I was merely a regular priestess. Nor did I know the full purpose of the 7 Millennium Items held by the High Priests and the Pharaoh. This would indeed be an interesting sight.
"You will now be judged by the dark magic of the seven Millennium Items," Seto said. "Shada will start."
He stepped forward. "With the power of the Millennium Key, I'll read this prisoner's mind," he said. He held out the Millennium Key and it began to glow. "The shadow of an evil creature lurks inside this man's heart," he deduced. He moved away and Aknadin took his place.
"I will now invoke the energies of the Millennium Eye, revealing and extracting the being that dwells within," he said. The Eye glowed, and then a dark shadow flowed from the prisoner's mouth. It was a most horrific site indeed. I had never seen anything like it except in my nightmares.
"What's happening?" Pharaoh Atem asked. It was a question I too was wondering.
"The Millennium Items have detected a shadow creature, or ka, dwelling in the heart of this criminal," Shimon explained. "Little is known about these beings of darkness, only that they feed on the hatred of humans. Once a ka is born, it forces its host to commit acts of evil, creating even more darkness to feast upon."
I looked back at the scene. The dark shadow formed into a many-armed creature, all fangs and claws. "The guardians of the sacred court use the Millennium Items to seal these monsters within stone tablets." Two men raised a stone tablet behind Seto.
"Seto," Aknadin said. "use the power of the Millennium Rod to seal the shadow beast."
He raised the Rod. "Relinquish this beast!" he commanded. A bright light surrounded the beast and pulled it into the stone tablet, sealing it away. A carved image of it appeared on the surface.
"Well done, Seto," Aknadin praised.
"Now that we're done with this fool, banish him to the dungeon," Seto ordered.
"But Seto, we've expelled the darkness from his heart," Karim, holder of the Scales, said. "Therefore, it is the duty of the sacred court to set him free."
"Karim is right," Shada said. "Release this man."
"Store the tablet in the tablet sanctuary," Seto ordered. "Mahad, the palace security is your responsibility. How did the intruder make it past the royal guard?"
"You're right," Mahad sighed. He knelt down before Atem. "Pharaoh, please accept my apologies," he said. "The Millennium Ring has been behaving strangely lately, making it difficult to detect criminal activity. May I have your permission to increase security forces to fortify the city?"
"Yes," Pharaoh Atem said.
Mahad rose, his expression slightly ashamed. I felt for him. It wasn't his fault the Millennium Ring was acting up. I would've said something, but it wasn't my place to do so. And at the same time I knew very little about the Millennium Items. So, I said nothing and stayed where I was. But wow…that was an experience I would not soon forget.
"Let the festival of the Pharaoh continue," Aknadin ordered. However, things were far from over.
"Wait!" Isis said, her Millennium Necklace glowing. "My Millennium Necklace senses an evil force approaching the kingdom. It lurks just outside the palace walls, and bears a great power."
Everyone was in shock. A man just tried to assassinate the Pharaoh, so what more could there possibly be? What I didn't know was that my brief encounter with this person would forever change my purpose in the events that were soon to unfold….