Hey everyone! it's been a while, but since it's summer, here's a new story! It'll be multichapter and there won't be beyfights, but most characters will be able to do a limited version of their special moves. The idea is to put as much of the cast as possible in a medieval setting. i'm not going to pay any attention at all to time periods, so there might be some srious time mixups here. if you're studying for some sort of history exam, this is the least reliable source you're liable to find. I own just the plot. Happy reading!

thisismostlikelyalinebutpleaseignoreitbecauseitsjustbeingusedtoseparatetheanfromthestory.

The desert heat seemed to roll in waves, uncaring of the breeze that brought the tang of salty air from the open sea. It pressed against everything, drawing sweat and baking the ground. For one who had been living in the deserts of Egypt and Nubia their whole lives, however, it was actually a pleasantly warm day. Even so, as Nile could testify, a spot of shade was always welcome. Currently he was hiding amongst large amphorae of fermented wheat beer, leaning against the cool clay as he waited for his victim to show up. While he waited he would look at his khopesh from time to time and try to avoid reflecting on how he'd ended up doing a simple mercenary job, and yet the topic was unavoidable. Shouldn't the sons of the Med-jai tribes join the Egyptian military to protect the Valley of the Kings at his age? But really, Nile knew why he'd been looked over; he was physically unfit. All his life he'd been shorter than his peers, and so it didn't matter that he was above-average in speed, cunning and fighting ability, he'd always been seen as weak. The Med-jai were supposed to be tall and robust warriors, and he was short and scrawny, a runt in their eyes.

Once the officials had finished choosing their future warriors, he was the only male of fifteen harvest floods left in the tribe. And so, when an Egyptian priest had come looking for a mercenary that could be cheaply hired, he'd immediately been cast out with the clothes on his back, a water skin, all his personal belongings in a reed satchel, the oldest spear they could find, and the khopesh that was now in his hands. The message in the Tribe Chief's eyes was obvious; 'try not to come back'. Hopefully, he would be killed during his mission. As he'd strapped on his sandals and left his family tent for the last time, not even his mother had bid him goodbye. The priest had led him through several stretches of desert, past oases where cattle grazed and tribes lived together, until they were at the banks of his namesake river, The Nile. The priest had told him that he was to kill a certain man who had stolen one of the Pharaoh's precious golden beetles that represented the god Osiris and then bring back the sacred beetle. That evening he'd disguised himself as a priest's apprentice and they had attended a party in honor of the visiting diplomats from the Far East, of whom the supposed robber was a member. The priest had shown him exactly who his target was, and they'd even spoken for a bit, which had allowed him to memorize the man's manner of speech and how he carried himself. The next day he began to trail the man across deserts and grasslands until him and his group of dignitaries were in the very same port city of Suez in which Nile was reflecting, booking passage on a boat that would take them to their home country.

Nile's plan was to wait for the man to walk out to the docks at mid-morn when he would bring his heavier luggage and then slay him and retrieve the Scarab Beetle before he even got on the boat. He knew the man would be alone because he was the only one with a wooden chest. The others either carried their possessions in strange clothed bags or had their servants carry their things.

The squall of a seagull brought him out of his reverie and he quickly looked around. Damn! The noon sun was already making its way to the center of the sky and the fleet of boats that would leave Egypt to go to the East was being boarded. Nile quickly realized he'd lost his chance to kill the man. No wonder he hadn't been picked, apparently he was also air-headed. If the boats were already being boarded, then the dignitaries had already gone aboard at least fifteen minutes ago. And since he didn't have any currency to pay passage with, he'd have to find a way to smuggle himself into the fleet without being discovered. Darn! Why was he always so idiotic! He'd just gone and complicated his own mission even further! And it was his entire fault too.

Nile looked around and nearly panicked until he realized he was leaning on the perfect opportunity. When the harbor men came to load the amphorae, he helped shoulder one, holding onto its heavy handles until he was inside one of the cargo boats. He hadn't counted on the fact that the water would make the boat sway, having never been on a boat except for that time two weeks ago when he crossed the Nile River. The azure water looked murky as it pushed and pulled with the ocean's currents, small waves lapping against the wooden stilts of the dock. The sand that was everywhere made the wooden plank even more difficult to navigate, but at last the beer container was inside. Then, Nile discreetly made his way to the back of the hold and hid, praying to Horuseus that the man who had shouldered the other two handles wouldn't notice he wasn't there.

The heat seemed almost gone now in the dark, gloomy hold, where the only light came in through cracks in the floorboards above his head. Nile was curled up, seeing as the cargo ship wasn't designed for anything taller than a clay barrel. With his ears pressed against the wood, he could feel the rush of the water as it crashed against the sides of the boat, and the swooshing sound it made as it swept back, only to surge forth once more. The sound was actually rather soothing. Nile analyzed his situation once more. Since he was now in a cargo ship on the same fleet that his target was in, he would, at some point, need to leave his current hiding place and go from boat to boat until he found the person he needed. And even after that, he would need to wait until his client disembarked, seeing as how it was rather difficult not to notice a dead person on a small boat. Nile bashed his forehead against the wall of the hold and let out a harsh sigh. No wonder they didn't think he was fit to be a Med-jai warrior! Sometimes he could really mess things up. He didn't even know where this dammed floating contraption was going! Who knew if he'd ever see his home again? Oh, wait. The tribe might actually be happy about that last one. Nile sighed again and resolved to wait until midnight. Under cover of darkness people would be less likely to see him, and he could search in peace.

Damned Pharaohs and Priests and their jewelry; Ra would probably cast him in eternal damnation for that comment but at this point he was beyond caring. As shouts filled the air and the fleet began moving down the Red Sea, Nile closed his eyes and let the sea lull him to sleep.

thisisalsoalinebecausethere'sgonnabeanotheranherepleasereadcuzitsimportant!

So... did you like it? If you did, let me know and i'll continue. the idea is to introduce characters chapter by chapter, and the first person to guess where the fleet's going gets to pick a character to introduce in an upcoming chapter (note that I mean a canon character, not an OC). Remember to review!