(AN: I have so many documents in my Doc Manager, it's ridiculous! And most of them are for stories I've lost interest in or have got writer's block for, they're just waiting there for me to become interested in them again. As it is, I can't post more chapters because I've been floating at thirteen and can't post more than fifteen [unless an update has changed that and I don't know about it])

(Lol, as I write, I find that I, who once considered myself a historical Renaissance man [in that I knew almost everything about western history, including something of the Middle East], know less about Kemet [Egypt] than I had originally thought. Truly am humbled by it, just as Ivy is in this chapter, as you shall soon see.)

Maze of the Blade

After long days of traveling through inhospitable deserts, I finally caught my first glimpse of the Wadi al-Muluk. Atop great cliffs of sand that shot upwards out of the desert floor so straight that they reminded me of the white cliffs of Dover, I saw the whole valley stretched out before me, dozens of golden-white hills of rock and sand. I could tell from my veil that I had stopped breathing: what a majestic sight!

As fortune would have it, there was a hill nearby the cliffs which offered my camel a path down into the valley. I shifted my camel's direction thither, and we passed down the hillside into the valley. I came alone, for the Bedouins would not go this way. The one who spoke Italian told me that this land was cursed, especially the tombs of the ancient Pharaohs. I asked him about translators, but he said that none could speak the lost language of Egypt, nor were there any this far south who had that knowledge. Not for any amount of money or by subtle threats could I have persuaded him, and he left, committing me and my quest to the keeping of Allah.

The 'Book of Z', as I frequently had called it during the sea voyage, mentioned that the vault was on the banks of the Nile River. While, from a glance, this seemed as folly - the land was so barren that the fertile ground about the river's edge would be saved for crops, rather than used for building sites - the book stated something about keeping the vault flooded in case Z had somehow broken his bonds. I would have to make my way to the River to find what I sought, and even then, who knew precisely how many tombs were in this land? The Arabs knew not and Z was silent on the subject as well.

With so much going against me, it seemed quite the stroke of fortune that I found the place at all. As I rode my camel among these ancient ruins, little more than holes in the ground, I racked my mind over and over, trying desperately to remember as much as I could from Z's book. There had to be something, something that would give me a clue to where the vault might be located. Seven times nine cubits inward, then left into a long corridor of darkness...no, that wasn't it. Cross the vault of Shu, wary the brink of the gulf, but that couldn't be it, could it? Tefnut lurks beyond the darkest chamber, maybe...

Then, like lightning, I remembered what it was: Imprisoned was I in the vault where Aten can be seen both at his return and his entry to the Underworld. It made absolutely no sense. One of Z's books, left at home, had inscribed ancient Greek translations of the people of Egypt and spoke of the gods: Aten, apparently, was the name for Apollos. But none of these tombs had those exact qualities. They were one-way, I guessed, since they were meant to house the dead, not serve as passage-ways for the living. They might be able to see the rising of the sun from the east, but none of them could have seen the setting of the sun as well.

As I was about to turn my camel out of the way, having seemingly come upon an impossibility, I saw the reddish-gold arch of an opened tomb. It's edges had been eroded by sand and wind, and the colors of gold, crimson and lapis lazuli which Z said adorned their entrances, had long since been stolen or rotted away. Nevertheless, there was something upon the door that struck me as interesting. Upon the arch, carved so indelibly into the rock that not even time could erase it, was a curious sign, one that had appeared in Z's book in the passages regarding the tomb.

An eye with four points, and two suns on either side.

I had no wood, save for a branch I had found at the river's bank. Using a fire-spell long practiced, I made myself a torch and descended into the yawning maw of the tomb. This was my only hope, though it seemed rather bleak and ridiculous. The mark on the door did not mean that this was the tomb of the two suns, the place of Z's incarceration, but I had no other choice. It was either this, or make my way in defeat down the Nile and find a ship back to England. As I prepared to enter the tomb, I took one look back at the sun, raising my hand to cover my eyes from its direct glare. It was making its way down into the horizon for the sunset, and its golden rays were shining the path into the tomb for a good many cubits.

Seven times nine cubits inward, then left into a long corridor of darkness...

Without a moment's hesitation, I plunged into the darkness of the cave, dressed as I was, in the garb of the desert. For the most part, the tunnel was bare and earthen. Evidence of stone-masonry was upon the walls, the deep cuts they made. For a moment, some of the cuts appeared to be in symbols. But these were too eroded to make out anything. So I continued inward, my light barely illuminating the floor before my feet by a step or two. If there were something out there in the darkness, waiting for me, I would not know until it struck.

Trying to measure out the cubits by strides was difficult, but thankfully, the passage soon came to an end and I was faced with three tunnels: one branched forward, sloping gently downward, another climbed to the right and the one on the left maintained a steady passage into unfathomable depths. The fire of my torch was magical, so no gust of wind would quench it, and it would light until I commanded it to do otherwise.

The farther and farther I went, the hotter and more stifling it became. I shed my desert raiment, placing it in a neat pile on the floor of the passageway. As no one else was present, I would not have to fear for theft, nor of anyone viewing my body in my leather harness. I pressed onward, halting for a moment as I heard a hiss, like an intake of air behind me. I turned about, but my torch met only darkness. Though I was certain that I had heard something or someone hiss behind me. Snakes were common in this land, and so were bandits and tomb-raiders. I pressed on carefully, knowing that my path was possibly being dogged.

Suddenly, I heard the hiss again, only it was louder and much closer at hand. Then, to my fear, I felt the ground beneath my feet give way. For a moment, I feared that my journey had come to an untimely end. But then I hit something that felt like shifting sand. I was still alive, but as I pushed myself up, I found that my feet were stuck, as if in thick mud. With great effort, I plucked my feet out one by one and made huge steps forward, in the same direction I had begun. I had fallen into a pit, this much I knew, but I knew not if there were a way back out. Heaving my torch upward at an angle, I saw that there was indeed a way back up, but it led over a sheer, featureless wall of stone. I drew out Valentine and aimed it where the torch had been thrown.

"Seek!" I shouted, my voice roaring as it echoed off every surface.

The clattering of the blades of my sword came next, then I was pulled forward and upward. I gave out a cry of pain as I struck a stone wall front first, leading with my breasts. But my sword knew what it was doing, and it was dragging me out of the pit. At last, my groping hand found the edge of the wall and I pulled myself up, over and back onto my feet. I sheathed Valentine, then picked up the torch again and continued on my way through the tunnels, wary of anymore pitfalls.

As I continued on, I soon found myself enclosed all about in darkness so thick that I could reach out and feel it. Verily the Ninth Plague had come to life in the darkness vault of the tomb. It was then that I remembered what Z had said, and held up my torch. It had a high ceiling, but no shafts leading anywhere. In fact, there was only one way further, that led onward, deeper into the heart of the valley. All about, however, the walls were covered with beautiful carvings and symbols, pictures and icons I had never seen before. It would take a lifetime to unlock just what these symbols meant! I had no pen and paper with me, else I would have copied them out and written them here. But I remember yet the most significant of them, and these are they.

While I could not read the mysterious symbols, I could see the pictures. Most of them depicted humans with skin the color of dates, while some were obviously gods, creatures with heads of various beasts and birds. However, there was also something that I had seen on the door that piqued my interest: the eye with the four points. The other figures had no such eyes: the eyes of the humans were usually almond-shaped with only two points. The eye with the four points had each point protruding from the center, where sat the eye, like rays of the sun. But it was not the sun, for the sun was depicted with hands, not points. Each point for the eye, however, was fashioned like the blade of a straight sword, another curiosity, for the swords of the pictures upon the walls were curved.

I stood there, gazing upon the images, breathing heavily from my exertion in the pitfall of quicksand, and suddenly I heard moaning behind me. I turned about and, to my horror, saw the dead rising up from niches in the walls. They were not bones, for the desert kept their deceased flesh blackened and dried but intact. One, two, three...at least twelve rose up and made a circle about me.

"Get away!" I shouted, drawing forth Valentine. In my mind, I commanded my sword, and it did thus. As a whip of many sharp blades my sword became, and I lashed the walking dead into pieces, ere they could assault me. It was hardly worth it, as I picked up my torch and set light to their remains. They were so dry that they burned quickly and crackled loudly. Any pursuant would know where I was, but I was wary as well. This Z was skilled in the magical arts, and I felt certain that it was his cunning that had made this particular trap.

Why, thought I, would he try to keep others out of his prison? What lies hidden in the darkness?

I was prepared for the next trap, and I had not long to go ere I found it. But a good three bowshots from where I faced the dead, the tunnel opened upon a wide room, freezing cold and roaring with the sound of great wind. I slowly stepped into the room and was almost knocked onto my ass with the fury of the wind. I cursed myself again for choosing to wear heeled boots with my harness. True, if I brought an enemy to his knees, I could use my heels to cause him sharp, profound pain wherever I stepped, but it made walking and running damnable hard. But I could not spend time to remove them, or I would likely be swept away in the wind. With slow, strong and forced steps, I pushed against the wind, striving to make for the wall of the room farthest from where the tunnel had ended. In the dim light of my torch, which flickered and sputtered in the wind, I could see that there was indeed another tunnel at the end of this room.

The strong winds pushed me the rest of the way, and I slid down the coarse, sand-ridden floor, burning my thighs. When at last I got up, ruing the fact that I had thrown away my desert clothing, I lit my magical fire again and continued onward. The halls were dark, darker than anything I had ever known: but I went onward, refusing to give up now. After many long hours, I saw light up ahead of me. With Valentine drawn, I went towards the light, wondering what it could be. Could it indeed be true that here the sun could be seen at all hours of the day?

At last, I found myself in the middle of a wide chamber, whose roof had narrow shafts leading up into the night sky. All around, however, were great fissures from which flashes of fire burst forth, as from the horns of Mount Sinai when the LORD descended upon it. The floor also was very hot and my feet were scorched in my boots. This was the final room, for I could see no way but back. The walls, illuminated by fire, showed many wonders upon them. Most of them, however, were in the language of Egypt which I did not know. But I could read the images aright, and I saw many things which I did not understand, and yet felt were very important. There was a bald, swarthy-skinned figure clad in white, who a sword in his hand. Above his head, in all of the carvings, the eye with four points was depicted as well. He seemed to be one who defied the animal-headed creatures: the gods of ancient Egypt? I saw that he then defied one with a tall crown, and was then buried beneath the earth. I wondered who this person could be: was it Z, or at least one of the people in ancient times who had called themselves Z?

Suddenly, during a point where the fissures were at rest, I heard the sound of footsteps behind me. I would not be hoodwinked this time. I spun about, drawing my sword and commanding it to become a whip, with which I lashed at the darkness. For a while there was no sound, then suddenly an answer came in the form of a thrown dagger. Without my command, my sword moved in its path, deflecting the dagger from harming me.

"Show yourself!" I shouted into the dark.

At once, there appeared from out of the darkness a figure clad in the garb of the desert. Loose-fitting pants and light shoes were on his feet, and his upper half was wrapped in black. He wore a scarf over his face, hiding all but his eyes, which were gazing at me with ill intent.

"Zayin wants you dead," the assassin replied in broken English.

"Who is Zayin?" I replied. "Answer me!"

But the assassin did not reply with words. He ran at me, drawing out his sword and swung at me. It was with surprise that I saw my sword moving of its own to defend me against the assassin's blade. It moved as fast as he did, all I had to do was hold on for dear life and watch as it moved of its own accord. The assassin also was caught back by my apparently flawless defense. For someone not even clad in armor or wearing proper gear for a fight, I was holding my own against him.

But I had reason to fear, even though it seemed that I would be the victor of this fight. My greatest fear was how my sword had begun acting of its own will. Knowing its origin, I feared that, if it indeed started acting of its own will, I could no longer control it and it would lead me back to him as it had done years ago. Another fear was that I was losing ground, getting pushed farther and farther away from the exit. The heat on my back was growing with every step I took backwards, and I feared that I was heading for something awful.

The assassin jumped at me, and I rolled aside. Well, I had intended to roll aside. His momentum and my damnable heeled boots sent me tumbling rather than rolling. But it was enough, for my foe fell too far over one of the fissures and was caught on fire. But if I thought this would deter him, I was mistaken. He fell to the floor and began rolling about, and the fire was subsided. But I had not been idle. While he was thus distracted, I ran back towards the door as fast as my feet would carry me. There would be no second chances, which meant that I had to move now or else spend the rest of my life trapped in this tomb, as Z had been.

(AN: Yay!)

(As with all of my epics, there's bound to be a point where I'm listening to music during the writing process. Well, I've already got "Maze of the Blade" from the Soul Calibur soundtrack, but also "Curse of the Pharaohs" and Om's album "Advaitic Songs" as well. Starts out very Middle Eastern, which worked for the moments when Ivy is approaching the tombs. Obviously, the Maze of the Blade doesn't really exist in the Valley of the Kings, so I had to fudge a few facts here and there. Hope all is well, though.)

(In case you were wondering, that is indeed Assassin from SCII. In my "canon", Hwang is in SCII and SCIII and has no need to travel in disguise. However, this assassin is important, especially if you were paying attention to what Ivy saw on the walls of the last room.)