While reading: I recommend listening to "Arwen's Song – The House of Healing (Complete Version) – Lyrics and Translations" on YouTube. This is not my channel/movie nor do I have any rights to song but I love this work and I think it adds a great atmosphere while reading.
Warning: Violence in the chapter
The Heart of the Nile: A Message on the Wind
As Sesshomaru and his men arrived at the Southern Kingdom they could see that it too had suffered under the curse of the Wishing Stone. The city's stonewalls were stained with black soot from fires, dead animal carcasses were scattered about the barren landscape making the air smell thick with death and decay. The people fled away from them on the way were covered in festering wounds and there was trampled bugs, frogs, and locust all over the ground. As they came to a field out in front of the city an army of about 30 thousand men greeted them. They were outmatched by 20 thousand but they would try their damndest to get Kagome back and try to reverse this damage. Just then singing was heard on the wind. As they listened they could hear it being carried from out of the palace.
(*** Arwen's Song – LOTR (Liv Tyler Singing) ***)
It was a sad and beautiful song as it blew through the wind. As it carried on Sesshomaru and his men began to make their way towards the frontlines of the battlefield. He kept listening to the song enjoying the sound. He could hear soft chanting and he felt uplifted as it unknowingly carried elements of magic into the air.
[Chanting voices on the wind from spirit magic]
Immen dúath caeda (Shadow lies between us)
Sui tollech gwanna thach ommen (As you came, so you shall leave from us)
Boe naid bain gwannathar (All things must pass away)
Boe cuil ban firitha (All life is doomed to fade)
It was then her voice graced his ears against the magic and his heart lifted with renewed hope. She was alive! When its magic touched Sesshomaru he could feel her spirit with him. Her voice was clear and rang sweetly like a songbird.
[Kagome's Poem]
With a sigh, you turn away
With a deepening heart,
No more words to say
You will find that the world
has changed forever.
[Whispered] I amar prestar aen (The world has changed)
And the trees are now
Turning from green to gold
And the sun is now fading
I wish I could hold you closer.
Then like a ghost on the wind he heard a message only he could hear:
"Sesshomaru, I don't know if you can hear me but I am hurt and dying... I don't have much time left, my love. I grow cold…"
Sesshomaru's heart stopped a moment out of fear. She was hurt…. and dying?!
"No! I must get to her!" he said moving his men into formation with his brother at his side.
She then finished by singing:
Time and tide will sweep all away
[Chanting voices on the wind as the fading magic faded away]
Boe naid bain gwannathar (All things must pass away)
Boe cuil ban firitha (All life is doomed to fade)
(xxx finish song xxx)
(Warning: battle violence)
Once they were arranged the southern army began to move towards them in a steady march. Their armor jangled and clanked as they walked. Their armor was a dark metal in color. They wore braces over their laced sandals and wrists. A metal and leather pleated skirt was over their black loincloths. They wore sold black nemes headdress as helmets. The frontline held spears, large square shields and a hooked-shaped blade. Behind them were their swordsmen. Followed by their cavalry and chariots. Along the city walls, archers lay back in waiting. Sesshomaru's men where in the same formation except their archers would remained on the hillside behind them. Their armor was of the same fashion only with the frontline in white, swords men in blue, the chariots in gold and archers in red marking their stations. As they continued to slowly move towards his men Sesshomaru turned around to face his soldiers. Riding on Entie with his sword drawn, adorned in his armor fit for a king he said,
"Sons of Egypt, our brothers! Hold your ground! This Sesshomaru sees fear in your eyes and it has hardened your hearts like these withered lands we stand upon. Stand firm and hold true to your brother in arms next to you. Don't let him fall for if he falls so too does our people. For our enemy they too fight for the deaths of their people. We have all suffered greatly under this curse. Be strong men! Don't let the city of the Kings fall! For this day we fight for not just you and me but for all Egypt! By everything you hold dear bring it into your hearts and stand firm! For we are the men of the Nile and we will not bend to their will but our own. Now stand men of the North, this day we fight!"
As he finished speaking Entie bucked in the air and the men cheered loudly. They then began to charge towards the enemy's front line at full speed. The enemy saw them pick up the pace so they too began to run. Soon there was nothing left to separate them. As the lines crashed together a loud booming sound of crashing metal, wooden shields hitting together and cries of men filled the air. Narakututmote was standing alongside his son on a podium at the back of the battlefield watching the fight. Kogatutmote wanted to be fighting alongside his men but Narakututmote held him back waiting for the right moment to fight. It went well into the night under the bright light of the moon. The ground was slippery from the rains and lack of vegetation due to the drought. The excessive trampling of men from fighting and added blood made the ground soupy and difficult to move around in. The battle went on and on until more then half of the Sesshomaru's men were down. Then Narakututmote moved in for the kill. Kogatutmote joined his men and he sent word for Kagome to be brought out from the dungeons.
Sesshomaru was loosing men quick. Five of the Band of Seven members were moving around the field together as a unite. No one could bring them down. The other two, the healer and the magician, he assumed they were attending to the wounded. Inuyasha was continuing to fight alongside him. He too was dressed in his battle armor of the kings. It had the same features as his men but instead of brown leather their bodies were blue and gold and they wore blue helmets upon their heads. The only differences between his helmet and Inuyasha's was that his had a gold snake on the front and his brother's had a dog carved from ivory. Inuyasha and Pharaoh were making there way towards the five band members when a horn was sounded causing the battle to halt. The enemy lines fell back leaving a gap between them and a bloody gory mess. Blood, entrails, and body parts lay everywhere. There were broken shields, arrows and spears sticking up out of the ground at odd angles. It was then Sesshomaru saw Narakututmote standing on a platform behind his men by the city wall. There kneeling before him hunched over was a small figure. It had a bag over its head, was dressed in a burlap sack and had their hands bound together in front of them.
"Kagome…" Sesshomaru whispered into the wind causing Inuyasha to gasp and look towards the podium.
"I thought you said this servant girl wasn't special to you… Nephew?" Narakututmote taunted over the battle field.
"If you remember... Uncle… this one never answered you!" Sesshomaru retorted back.
"Ah... but she must be of some significance to you. Surely you wouldn't have brought half of your guard to fight for her," Narkututmote called back with a sneer. He then reached down and yanked the bag off of her head revealing her battered body to their eyes.
"Look at her Nephew! Isn't she just lovely? I made the improvements myself. I do hope you like them..." he chucked evily.
"Narakututmote you bastard!" Inuyasha screamed. "What the hell did you do to her?"
Sesshomaru was sick to his stomach. She was deathly pale in complexion, had bruises, scrapes, and deep cuts all over her once perfect body. She had dried blood and dirt caked all over. Her hair was matted and had blood laced in it. What really broke his heart was her once angelic face. Now her jaw was sitting slightly crooked, her eyes were swollen shut and had black bruises around them. He could tell she was having a hard time breathing as her chest was raising up and down erratically and she was struggling to keep conscious with her head sloshing from side to side.
"She wouldn't give me her power or grant my wish so I took them from her!" he said as he finished with a billowing laugh.
Sesshomaru and his men began to make their way towards them again but Narakututmote pulled a dagger from his side and held it against her throat. Sesshomaru quickly held up his hand halting his men from moving any closer.
"Ah, Ah, Ah Nephew! Unless you wish for me to finish her off, I suggest we take this nice and slow," he said as he pulled the dagger away causing it to cut the side of her cheek. A thin trickle of blood went all the way down her neck into her dress.
(Kagome's view)
Kagome was barley able to see out of her eyes. When they pulled the bag off of the top of her head she was nauseous from vertigo. She was having a hard time focusing on the things around her until she heard Narakutumote speaking to Sesshomaru. Her heart fluttered as she heard his strong baritone voice somewhere a ways off ahead of her. She tried keeping her vision towards the direction of her master's voice when a knife was held at her throat. She held still until it cut her cheek. She felt the blood trickle down and into her burlap dress. Kagome then felt colder as she realized her life energy was beginning to leaving her. She had a decision to make.
"Sacrifices must be made…" she whispered to herself.
Looking back towards the sky she could tell the sun wasn't too far off. She had a chance to stop Narakututmote and finish this so no one else had to die. Seeing she was close to a soldier she quickly turns around with her bound hands, grabs hold of his dagger and stabs it into Narakututmotes belly. She then sends as much of her remaining magic into the dagger as she can and burns his insides. Narakututmote screams in agony as he takes the dagger he had cut her cheek with and stabs her in the chest. This forces her to stop the flow of magic into him and them both collapsing onto the podium. Then all hell breaks loose.
(Sesshomaru's view)
Sesshomaru sees the blood trickle down her face as he listens to his uncle laughing. He then sees her look towards the sky, back to him for a moment and then looking around her.
"What is she…." he said in his head with squinting eyes. Then everything happened so fast.
He sees her grab hold of the dagger from the soldier standing next to her. She then quickly whips around and stabs his uncle in the stomach as a bright light pours into him. He hears his uncle screaming before he sees Narakututmote take his dagger in his hand stabbing Kagome in the chest before they fall to the podium unmoving.
"NOOOO!" Sesshomaru cried as he ran toward the podium and the battle reconvened around him.