So, this is the second chapter of 'In the Land of the Shifting Sands' and I am so proud to publish this! I don't know but I am trying to not lose my motivation by writing the story out. Since I spent a good 3 days nonstop writing the outline, I bet my freaking laptop that I will not drop this story as much as possible.
The only reason this came out so quickly was because when I had posted chapter 1, I had already completed this chapter. However, chapter 3 is in progress (it is 3 pages in already) and will take a while. Appreciate the amount of time it takes to write, these two chapters alone took several hours to finish and they are not betaed either so the next chapter will take a while and I apologize for that.
Also, from this chapter onwards, the point of view will be from Eshe unless it switches with the … signs. I won't tell you who's POV's it is, but it will be very obvious so don't worry about that too much.
I also do not own the picture cover used for this story
Disclaimer: I do not own anything but my OC's and credit to some scenes to Merry Sioux in later chapters.
Eshe clung onto Manu's cloak as she buried her face into his back. The ride back to the capital was long and arduous and she was not used to riding on horseback so her back was starting to hurt.
But what hurt more was not the physical aches but the emotional ones.
After saying her goodbyes to big sister Aziza and grandpa Akil, an emptiness filled her heart. The young child knew that she had no other friends or acquaintances in the village, due to the fact that she had no background and her unusual eye coloring. Many of the adults and children avoided her and while that had hurt at first, the pain had been numbed by the kindness of the two.
However, the moment the village was no longer in sight, that pain came back in throes and she felt the urge to cry but held back her tears. She did not want to worry her new caretaker.
She also recalled back her two summons back to where they came from.
As much as she wanted them to be near her at the current moment and although Manu said it was not necessary to recall them, she could feel the wariness of his guards and the rest of the soldiers. So after reassuring the two that she would be fine, she told them to go back and she would call them when she needed to.
So with great reluctance the two summons left and then she was left alone in this situation.
She clenched at the cloak tighter and her tears welled up in her eyes but she did not let them fall. She would not let them fall. For if she cried so early on in her new journey, she would be so very weak.
However, she nearly jolted out of her position when she felt comfortable rubbing motions running along her back. She blinked and turned to her new guardian.
Manu had a unusual expression that Eshe could not place and his movements were a little awkward and she could not help but giggle.
He was just too awkward and it seemed from how stilted his movements were that perhaps he had no experience in how to handle young insecure girls.
It was adorable and that thought somewhat soothe the ache inside of her.
So it was with that warmth that the day's activities finally caught up to the young child and slowly and surely, she was lulled to sleep. The rhythmic thumping of the horse hooves and her new caretakers rubbing her back being her lullaby.
…
The next time Eshe woke up, it was to someone nudging her awake.
"We are here, little one." The voice, Manu, murmured comfortingly and Eshe groaned being awoken from her peaceful dreams to the strong rays of the sun.
Eshe had to rub her eyes to rid of the blur in her vision. However, once she blinked severe times and took a look at the view, her eyes widened in awe.
For in front of her lay the vision of the capital of Khemet, Cairo.
It was nothing like the small village that she lived in before, Cairo was a wonder with its beauty and with the number of people in it. They were bustling with activity and there was an energy to them that she never saw in her sleepy village.
And the most beautiful part of Cairo would be the palace. It stood there in its proud glory and even from a distance Eshe could not help but be in awe of the sheer majesty of the building.
Manu and the soldiers chuckled at the reaction of the young child. It was much more refreshing than home she was acting before, all sullen and lost. This wide eyed wonder painting her expression was much more fitting to a child her age.
They slowly trotted back to palace, Eshe turning and twisting her head to get a look at everything she saw. People tried to bow down to High Priest as he was passing by but he ushered them not to do so and continue on with their day.
Perhaps it was a good thing that Eshe was so preoccupied with the new sights, for she would have withdrawn back into her sullen mood if she had payed attention to what was occurring in her surroundings. However, Manu did not want to go faster, he wanted to give his new charge some time to assimilate her new surroundings and lighten her mood.
It was a much better change compared to what she was like before.
So he went back to the palace slowly and before they knew it, they were in front of the Palace gates and soon they were ushered in and the gates began to close.
Eshe pouted when she could no longer see the city anymore but her awe did not recede when she took a look at her new surroundings.
The palace was well kept and clean. It was also very large, much larger than her village and the girl thought it was bigger than at least half the city. It was such a surreal sight to see a place get this much space to the young child.
Manu then noticed that someone has been waiting for him patiently and quickly dismounted from his stead while he nudged Eshe out of her awe and helped her get off the animal. It was only after the amber eyed child touch the ground did she notice the new presence and hid behind Manu's legs and clutched his cloak.
The rest of the group was ushered towards the stables were the horses were left to rest from the long journey while the soldiers were given refreshments to relieve their fatigue. The left Manu and Eshe with their guest at the entrance of the gate.
"Merket! Did you foresee us coming back today?" Manu greeted her. It was then Eshe noticed that around her neck was a necklace with the same eye design of the Ring hanging around her guardian's neck and she wondered if that symbol held any meaning.
"Yes I did and I wanted to greet your new student." Nailah nodded as her gaze moved from her fellow High Priest to the child before her.
When Eshe noticed that she caught the women's attention, she jerked away to hide, before peeking out from behind Manu's leg. Nailah decided that made quite the adorable sight.
She kneeled down to the child's height and reached out to the child assuringly, "Hello child, my name is Nailah. Welcome to the palace."
She peeked her head out more as she blinked before she hesitantly accepted the hand. "Thank you very much. My name is Eshe."
Once Merket caught sight of the young girl's eyes, she felt her breath leave her. Manu wondered if this was how everyone who met the child reacted. He could not blame them though, for he had reacted in the same manner as Nailah is right now.
After introducing herself in soft tones, the child quickly hid herself in the cloak of her guardian and that served to amuse the two adults. Nails stood up before addressing Manu.
"She is so young…" Nailah murmured under her breath.
Manu raised a brow, "You could not tell in your vision?"
The woman shook her head, "I could only tell that the person who could summon a Ka was a youth, not a young child barely five summers old."
Nailah let out a soft breath, "She has such stunning eyes and she has such unique hair coloring. I believe that only the prince has similar coloring as this child. The Pharaoh will be amazed."
Manu could only nod, so he was not the only one who noticed the similarities.
They spoke in soft tones so as to not let Eshe overhear their conversation. But the child did not hear the conversation as she was still hiding away from the lady and was much more interested looking around her new environment.
"Does the Pharaoh wish to see our newest pupil?" Manu question.
Nailah nodded. "He has requested that you bring the young one as soon as you have arrived. I believe the others have gathered and now are waiting for your presences."
Manu nodded sharply before his eyes softened and he nudged his new ward. Eshe nearly jumped before she looked up at Manu with wide eyes. Manu chuckled and ruffled her hair before addressing her.
"We are going to meet an important person. Stay close to me and follow my lead okay?" He murmured to the child and she nodded and clutched at his cloak.
Nailah wanted to coo at the sight. The awkward Manu, who could not deal with any child except his prodigious son, was gently handling a four summer old girl. It was too cute for words.
Slowly they made their way to the throne room and Eshe kept close to Manu and constantly looked down. Not daring to look up and accidentally insulting this important person.
Their footsteps stopped at an enormous door Eshe wondered why they were waiting in front of this large door for when suddenly it creaked open. It made a large noise and she heard someone's voice reverberate and command them to come in.
And so this was Eshe's first time stepping into the Throne room.
…
Pharaoh Aknamkanon waited for one of his most trusted to return to stand before him, lead by Nailah. HIs mission was to bring back the person who Nailah had witnessed in a prophecy to be of great potential. He was to bring the youth to his court, where they will judge them before to see if they are of good heart and willing to learn and serve.
It seemed that he had succeeded by his expression and body language. However, he could not clearly see the youth that was supposed to be brought back.
However, he could see a small body hiding behind his best magician. Perhaps the youth was nervous to stand before him. Then again, He supposed any normal citizen would be fearful to stand before him. But he must continue on with the court.
He nodded towards Manu. "You have returned, Manu."
Manu bowed in respect, "Yes my Pharaoh."
"And were you successful?"
Manu raised his head and nodded. "Yes, I had witnessed the youth of great potential in the village far west to our capital. I was amazed by what I had witnessed and I am glad to bring her to you my Pharaoh."
Her? So the youth was a young female. That was interesting, since there were very few females that had the affinity for magic. One was his High Priest Nailah, the second was her daughter Isis and third would be the young toddler, almost three summers old who showed signs of having strong magic in her blood.
This youth would make the total number of female magicians total to four.
Aknadin, his brother, scowled. "Well then? Where is this promising youth?"
The Pharaoh nodded. He wondered why he could not see her. Perhaps she was too shy?
Manu winced, "My Pharaoh, while I do say that this person is of great potential, she is also… very young."
He was hesitating, it was unusual to see his most confident mage act in such a manner. How young could this youth be?
Asim, his scale bearer frowned before he exclaimed, "Enough of this farce Manu! It is unlike you to be like this. Hurry and show the youth to the Pharaoh!"
Manu grimaced before he turned slightly and nudged the the small figure behind him and slowly the figure emerged and his court gasped.
He would have reacted the same way.
The youth was a child! No older than five summers old and had such odd hair colorings, it faintly reminded him of his own son and he could not help it that his breath stilled.
This was the promising youth?!
Aknadin's scowl deepened, "Are you jesting Manu! This cannot be the youth that Nailah saw in her vision!"
Manu's expression grew cold, "Are you doubting me?"
Aknadin growled, "Unless you can say how this child holds potential then I must."
"Because my eyes did not deceive me when my Ring reacted to her when she had summoned not one, but two Ka in order to protect her village from jeopardy." Manu shot back.
There was a stunned silence and Aknamkanon almost felt his eyes pop out in shock.
Heru, his Rod bearer, stammered, "S-Summon a Ka! And not just one but two! Surely you jest!"
Manu shook his head and Aknamkanon could feel a migraine grow.
"When I arrived, one of her Ka had activated its special ability in order to defend her and the villagers. It multiplied and exploded upon enemy contact." Manu elaborated and then he went one to explain what had occurred in the village. How when the smaller Ka was slashed, it did not have a backlash on her and protected her from harm. He also explained how the girl used her larger Ka to multiply and take out nearly all of the bandits.
At the end of his explanation he could hear someone choke.
He wanted to act the same.
Not only did this child summon two Ka but they had a special abilities. One with the ability to multiply and explode and another to protect from injury. The one with an ability to prevent damage to her Ba was especially unusual, that would mean that her Ka's injury would not injure her. It was rare to acquire a Ka with such an ability as many Ka's were from criminals and those with special properties only had damaging abilities.
The fact that she has summon two Ka's with social abilities meant that she bypassed several levels of difficulty that many of his court had trained arduously to reach, for to summon a Ka who had a special ability was several times harder than a normal Ka. Not to mention most of them used the DiaDhank to aid their summoning.
And if Manu's story was true then this child, who had no formal training and no tools to help her, had just bypassed and achieved an ability that very few of Khemet's history ever reached.
It was astonishing to believe.
Asim shook his head in disbelief, "Manu, you are my dearest friend but I cannot believe your claim unless I see for myself this ability you witnessed."
Manu shot his friend a look of hurt, "Then you would force this child to summon when it has not been a day since her first summoning? You yourself understand how taxing it is to body to summon consecutively."
Asim let out a deep sigh before he nodded. "I must, for I know you will not lie my dear friend but you must understand that it is very hard to believe you claim that a child no older than five summers old is able to do what took us many years of training to accomplish."
Manu opened his mouth ready to retort back when the young child tugged on his cloak. Manu blinked before he looked down on the young child and his court turned their attention to the young girl as she finally raised her head.
His breath held when he caught sight of her eyes. Her eyes held a shade of color he had never seen before and it felt as though those eyes would judge all who gazed into them. It reminded him of the God Ra, who he had once gazed at in a dream alone time ago.
He could hear the rest of his court gasp and choke in surprise and he could not blame them. However, his attention was to what she wanted to tell Manu.
The child was gazing worryingly at Manu and licked her lips before she opened her mouth and spoke in soft tones.
"I can call them here if you want me to." She said softly to Manu.
Manu almost looked like he wanted to reject that notion but the child continued.
"If they cannot believe you, I have to show them right? I can do it if I have to." The child mumbled.
Manu looked like he swallowed a sour fruit before he sighed wearily and nodded the child for the go ahead.
The child swallowed before she closed her eyes and breathed. Suddenly, he could feel it in the air. The gathering of magic and shadows all under tight but smooth control. It was such a refined control hat he could not believe the source of it was this young girl.
But he could feel it. How the magic resonated with his puzzle and he could tell the rest of his court could feel it too through their opened mouth expressions.
And suddenly, there was a short burst of light before he could here soft coos.
"Kuri!"
"Kuri Kuri!"
And then he saw two puffballs, one smaller but with wings and one larger but without extra appendages, floating in mid air and there was an awkward silence.
While he was expecting two Ka's from the girl and it was unbelievable in itself that she had achieved it, he was expecting her Ka's to be a little more… fearsome.
Not cute and cuddly. But then again perhaps that was too much expectation from a young child.
He heard a snort and his eyes flicked over to Nailah who seemed the most calm of his court but he could see that her lips were twitching and he had to remind herself that not only Nailah was the most feminine of his court, she was also the most mischievous.
He would know. He grew up with her after all.
Heru was the first to snap out of the stupor and reached out the larger puffball. "These are her Ka? While it is astonishing to see her successfully summon, I had expected a Ka that was able save her from jeopardy to be more… deadly."
Manu snorted, "The same one you are reaching out to is the one that drove away the bandits. The very same one that multiplied and exploded."
Heru jerked his hands away with wides eyes as his mouth snapped shut.
Finally, he heard a laugh reverberate in the throne room and it was from his side.
Shimon, his most trusted advisor and Ankh bearer could not help it. "Such a cute thing is it not. adorable and powerful, just like the child!"
The child just blinked at the announcement and tilted her head in confusion, just as her Ka's did the same.
Asim snapped out of his stupor before he approached the child. Her Ka's snapped their gazes towards him and he flinched but did not back away, instead he used his scale to weigh the young child's heart.
He hummed in satisfaction, "She is of pure heart. There is some confusion and fear in her heart but she is still young so perhaps she is afraid of her new environment."
Aknadin concentrated his Millennium Eye to gaze into the young one's heart before he frowned. "This is unusual, her Ba is perfectly split between light and dark. Perhaps that is why one of her Ka is of the light and one is of the dark."
"However, her Ka's are harmless unless you attack her. They are more defensive rather than offensive Ka's, more akin to guards to the young child." His brother commented and something peaked in his mind.
Guards?
An idea started to brew in his mind. "So she passes judgement?"
His Priests nodded in satisfaction and Manu's lips twitched into a small smile.
But then a different topic was brought up as Heru frowned. "But what are we to do with her now? She is much too young for any of the tasks we were to assign a youth. Despite her great talent, she has no experience."
That brought about understandable hums.
Manu spoke up, "I wanted to take her on as an apprentice. She would become a powerful mage given the right guidance."
There were nods, they could agree to that. But what else is she to do other than a student? A child this young needed more care than just education.
"Perhaps send her back and ask her to return when she is older?" Simon suggested.
Manu shook his head, "She would have been struck down by a bandit that had survived the explosion had I not arrived on time. It is much too dangerous to send her back and lose such potential."
There were agreeing mutters and his court debated as he gazed at the young child. The idea started to take form and Aknamkanon believed that this would be a good answer.
"Child," his voice rang clearly in the throne room, silencing all other voices as he addressed the little girl. The girl perked up at being addressed and her Ka's floated closer to her.
"Come before me." The pharaoh ordered and the child blinked before she nodded and released her hold of Manu's cloak. With slow hesitant steps, she walked towards him with her Ka's trailing behind her before she stopped before him.
His expression softened, "What is your name?"
The child gulped before she answered, though her gaze never left his. The child has courage.
"It is Eshe, Pharaoh."
"And how old are you?"
"I am four summers old, Pharaoh." Eshe answered slowly.
Four summers old. Perfect.
"Eshe, I must ask of a favor from you young child." He said gently.
She blinked in surprise. "A favor Pharaoh?"
He nodded gently, "Yes, you see I have a son the same age as you and I want you to be his friend."
The amber eyed girl's brow furrow in confusion.
"You see," Aknamkanon elaborated. "Since he lives in the palace, there are not many of his age for him to befriend. So I was wondering if you could do that for me."
Many of his court members were confused with this suggestion but he could see understanding flash through the eyes of Manu, Nailah and Shimon. It is always his closest that can read his thoughts.
The child blinked before her eyes dropped and she looked down on the floor. Her hand grips on the edge of her dress before she mutters something so soft, almost inaudible to hear.
"But my eyes…" Eshe mutters and her Ka's floated closer to her and nuzzled into her as they cooed softly.
Understanding flashed through Aknamkanon's. Her eyes, stunning they may be, were not of the norm. Many would be intimidated by such unnatural color, much less young children.
The Pharaoh briefly wonders if this child ever had anyone offer her friendship. It seems that the young child had something in common with his son.
"I ask you to at least try to befriend him." He answers gently and the amber eyed girl looked at him again before biting her lip before slowly nodding.
He believed in his son. That he would see past those orbs and see this child for who she is. They would become close friends, like how he became friends with Nailah and Manu.
He could see the fatigue wearing down on the child as she tried to stifle a yawn. He chuckled and the young girl blushed before muttering an apology. It was adorable and commendable how long this child has stayed up for after a long journey and summoning her Ka's for the second time so soon after her first.
"Manu." He addressed his friend and his friend waited for his orders. "Take this young one to her room to rest. She has had a long day."
The young child blinked and her Ka's cooed approvingly before nuzzling her cheeks one more time and disappearing back to where they came from.
"Yes my Pharaoh." Manu bowed before ushering the child out of the throne room. They left the room, their footsteps echoing down the hallway and slowly disappearing until the doors slammed shut
It was silent before Heru spoke.
"My Pharaoh, I wish to ask of you a question." He asked.
Aknamkanon turned his attention to Heru and nodded. "Speak."
"Why did you ask the young child to befriend the prince? While it may be a plight to give a prince a companion near his age, I do not believe that is the only reason you asked of the child to seek friendship towards the prince." Here questioned.
Aknamkanon chuckled, "You are right, that is not the only reason why I asked the young child to befriend my son."
Asim's brow furrowed, "So why?"
"It was to give my son a guard." Aknamkanon elaborated.
Asim and Heru blinked in confusion. "A guard?"
Comprehension flashed through his brothers eyes as he hummed. "I see, that would make sense."
"What would?" Asim questioned.
"The prince is still young and he would need a guard to protect him from danger." Aknadin explained.
Aknadin continued, "However, he would feel uncomfortable with the older guards looking after him. However, that young child is the same age as the prince and she is able to summon two Ka's."
Realization flashed through Heru's and Asim's gaze.
"I see, since they are the only two children in the palace and if the child befriends the prince, she would be around him constantly. She would also naturally protect the prince just as she would protect those who are close to her." Asim muttered as he held his chin in thought as he was reminded of what Manu had said in court earlier on.
"And added that the girl can already fend off bandits using her Ka's mean she would be able to fend of any assignations or felons of the prince easily. She would not stand out unlike any older guard would and will be able to guard the prince inconspicuously." Heru hummed.
Aknamkanon nodded firmly, "Yes. She will also train under Manu to become a powerful mage. She will become a powerful asset to my son in the future."
"Once she has proven herself, I will assign her to be my son's personal guard in the future." Aknamkanon announced and his court nodded with him. They could understand the logic of that train of thought.
The court discussed other topic such as how to train the child and what to train her in. In the end, it was decided that she was to learn magic and combat under Manu as well as how to treat injuries and ailments which will be taught by Nailah. She will also learn language and diplomacy in order to stand by his son's side when he is Pharaoh and that will be taught by Shimon.
Any other topics that she would be taught was decided upon and he dismissed his court for the day. Aknamkanon stood up from his throne and walked off to his room when he was stopped by someone.
"Shimon, is there something amiss?" He asked his old friend.
Shimon smiled as he walked in step with his Pharaoh. "Nothing much old friend, perhaps indulge me in my question."
"Then ask, you do not need to ask old friend." The pharaoh chuckled.
"Asking that girl to befriend the prince to be her guard, that was not the only reason was it not?" Shimon asked.
Aknamkanon had to chuckle, his friend always saw through him.
"You are correct that it is not just for that reason that I asked the child to befriend my son." Aknamkanon admitted to Shimon.
Aknamkanon stopped walking as he gazed at the garden of the palace.
"I am afraid." He started, "My son has not have any close companions and he has grown to be very lonely."
Shimon turned as he listened to his old friend speak. "I do not wish for him to have that sort of childhood and I feared had he no companions that he would have grown used to being isolated in the future."
Aknamkanon sighed as he gazed at the garden. He thought about the little girl, who looked like she has not experienced friendship with anyone. It was a sad thought for someone so young. The child was so very similar to her son.
"That child too. She has the same look as my son does." Aknamkanon muttered as he remembered that amber eyed gaze, that constantly looked down. Not daring to look up so as to not frighten anyone with her unique sight.
"I hope that with this companionship, their loneliness will ease, even just a little." He explained to his old friend.
"That will only work if your son does not shy away from that child's gaze. Stunning they may be, they can be intimidating to even adults, much less children." Shimon pointed out.
Aknamkanon chuckled, "I believe in my son to see beyond just her eyes my friend."
Shimon chuckled, "So you do, and I as well believe the young prince will see that child for more than her gaze."
Aknamkanon smiled, "Good."
And That is the end of this chapter! Atem will finally make his appearance next chapter! I am so excited!
Akanamkanon High priests are as so:
Manu- Ring
Nailah- Necklace
Heru- Rod
Asim- Scales
Shimon- Ankh
Aknadin-Eye
Aknamkanon- Puzzle
Also, I forgot to mention but for those of you who are not familiar with the terms, here it is:
Ba- life energy which is used to summon monster
Ka-Egyptian Spirit monsters, in other words duel monsters. These beings are essentially a reflection of the persons soul
And are any of the characters OOC? Tell me and if you think Eshe is Mary Sueish, she is not. You won't see it for a while though. She has ton's of weaknesses and one of her flaws is that she does not really look into people's eyes because she is scared that she will scare them away. It has happened for the year she stayed in the village and for a four year old, it is a legitimate fear.
Also her summoning, it may seem as if she is really powerful and great but she will have problems in the future, do not worry. She is not all powerful. Also have you noticed, her Ka's are Kuriboh and Winged Kuriboh. They are special ability Ka's but have low offensive abilities. I believe that Atem would not really summon Kuriboh by himself because I read somewhere his actual Ka beside the three gods is maybe the black luster soldier, though that is unconfirmed. I believe he would not learn of Kuriboh's existence unless someone else introduced them to him and thus Eshe!
So how did you feel about this chapter? Please review and tell me :)
Thank you very much!
