CHAPTER ONE...

2002 (c) By Angel Hexe

Thebes, outlying towns of Ancient Egypt's capital

Reign of Pharaoh, King Seti III

"You will be the pupil of a priest and greatest in Pharaoh's entire kingdom," these words, uttered by Ankhnut's father, heralded his son's future. When Sebeket, a mere carpenter and farmer, had heard that his son had great potential and the spirit of Anubis inside of him, he rejoiced until he felt that the very desert winds and rushing waters of the Nile sang with his voice's echo. His son was blessed among the gods, he held the very spirit of Anubis inside of him, and if his potential was as great as the magistrate's soothsayer had thought, then he could even take the place of Pharaoh's own priest, Anukaten. Ankhnut thought his father's dreams were well enough, but he had his own dreams for this power, his own ambitions.

Ankhnut stood in front of the small pond just outside of his father's farmland, the stalks of father's harvest hiding him from the intrusion of others. He stared down at the reflection of himself, the self he was to present to the Pharaoh in two days. He was a tall boy, almost as tall as his father, with skin the color of the sands and features that mirrored neither his mother nor his father. He was a striking youth, with deep-set eyes and strong nose and mouth and a soft jaw. His eyes held the look of conquest, had always held the look of conquest. He was broad shouldered from his work on the farm, but had seemed to retain a soft bodied appearance. His father had told him that he would never have the hard-toned body of his brother, Ammit, of which Ankhnut was glad for. Ammit never seemed to think for himself, and if becoming like Ammit meant loosing his mind, then he'd just forget it. Ankhnut took a handful of dirt and threw it into the pond. A gentle breeze blew by, stirring the waters, and Ankhnut watched as small, flowing currents formed and began to take shape. He watched in fascination as the picture became more distinct. It was the head and hair of a woman, he was sure, but couldn't quite make out her features. And just before he could get a clear view of what she looked like, the picture vanished with the splashing of his brother's feet in the water.

Ankhnut looked up in anger at Ammit as the ox of a man, splashed over to him and grinned. "What is it that you want, Ammit?" Ankhnut asked using the cool tone he knew unnerved his brother. This time Ammit didn't show it, he just grinned wider.

"Seems you're not so blessed after all," his brother replied cryptically. Ankhnut frowned and asked," What do you mean? Ammit? What are you saying?"

"The soothsayer has many dark things to say about your future," he replied. Ankhnut's frown got deeper as he ran around the lake, through the fields and toward the home of his father. Just outside of the house stood the magistrate's guards and his mounts, waiting in silence. Ankhnut went into the house and toward the back room, where his father normally waited on guests, where he heard the voices coming from.

There was a loud and forceful one, his father's. An old voice, the magistrate's, and one that was as soft as the desert winds, that had to be the soothsayer he was sure. He went into the room, his mother at a far corner watching, regarding all with a ferocious, defiant glare. Ankhnut knew she was very protective of her children, and the room had her distinct and rebellious flavor to it. He saw the soothsayer, a man clothed in the traditional garments of a seer. Ankhnut studied him before speaking up. He was a small, shriveled man, weather beaten and old. The years had not been kind to him. Ankhnut could see the ravages of a long past disease all over him in the form of scars. He grinned. This man was weak compared to him. Weak. The soothsayer suddenly turned to him and the fear that was inside of him racked him with a fit of shivers and a convulsion of coughs. Ankhnut bore down on him with his power until a voice, surprisingly, exploded in his mind and cried, "My lord! Please release me!"

But Ankhnut would not.

He almost laughed from this new found power. Instead he replied, "What have you told my father? What have you said of me?"

"That you are a child of darkness," the man cried inside of his head and outside, so that all could hear." Anubis has covered you in his evil and that is what you are destined for!"

"I am destined for greatness!" Ankhnut shouted with conviction. "Even you have preached thus, soothsayer!"

"Yes," the old man lamented. "Yes! You will have your greatness. But at the cost of all of Egypt!"

Ankhnut glared at him in puzzlement, bored with his cryptic messages. Was he destined for greatness or not? And if he understood the man's message correctly, would he destroy all of Egypt to get it? No. He would never go down as Egypt's shame. This man was wrong, gods curse him. He was wrong. Ankhnut fled the house and ran out into the dying light of the sun, as Ra set over the horizon. He watched the sky turn strange colors, and stayed outside even as Nut covered Egypt in her starlit blackness. He would not be the destroyer of Egypt. Ankhnut shuddered at the thought. Such a thing was blasphemous, unheard of. He could not possibly possess that much power to annihilate an entire empire. Ankhnut looked at his hands in the dark. Not these hands. Not the hands of a child. No. He could not destroy Egypt.

The land was his home.

His only home.

Ankhnut looked up at the pinpoints in the darkness of the sky, believing that they were just balls of star fire. His life was not preached in the sky. He stood up suddenly and shouted, "I AM ANKHNUT! DO YOU HEAR ME? CAN YOU UNDERSTAND? I AM DESTINED FOR GREATNESS! I AM POWERFUL AMONG MY PEOPLE! I AM ANKHNUT, DAMN YOU!"

There was a faint shuffling behind him as Ankhnut turned and saw the solemn face of his father, Sebeket. He stared at the old man's open arms strangely before running into them and being drawn into a warm embrace. It was the first time his father had shown him love or affection. He was normally cool and collected, feelings were shown to his wife and only in the night, when children and daylight was gone. Ankhnut burrowed into his father's chest, enjoying the warmth. Sebeket spoke softly," You are my son, Ankhnut. My second child. I knew you were destined for something better than this-"he waved his hand about to encompass the entire farmland-"and I have waited for so long to see you meet that destiny and become part of it."

"So, then I shall become a priest?" Ankhnut asked quietly. His look was hopeful. Sebeket gave a weak laugh.

"Only the journey is written, Ani," he informed him wisely. "Not the destination. When we go to see the Pharaoh's priest, you must outshine the other boys. You must prove your right to be there and make known your skills. Life outside is harder. You will have no family to lean on, just your wits. Which, thank Ra, you have. I send you out, Ankhnut, not only as my son, but as the Priest of all Egypt." Ankhnut grinned as he and his father walked into the house, together, the silence about them comfortable and serene.