Chapter 2
The meeting of Giza's guards was a huge one. The guards were lined up in squares divided by torches. The squares stretch throughout the courtyard, ending at the back and the sides of the vast courtyard. All the guards were pointed towards the balcony where Pharaoh Kayo usually looks upon Giza. Every guard was curious about what the meeting was about. Was it for another invasion? Was it a new threat to the Egyptian Empire? Then suddenly, a cheer of guards erupted when Kayo shown his presence on his balcony. The cheers echoed throughout Giza and off the dunes. As the Pharaoh walked to the front of the balcony, there were thousands of people cheering and chanting, "Pharaoh! Pharaoh!" Only two faces the Pharaoh noticed. The saver of his life, Puri, and his new found friend and valuable ally, Monok. He raises his hand to stop the cheering to allow him to speak.
"Yester night, two noble guards have seen what is said to be a sighting of a god. At night, two guards were watching the gates until a bright light came. The ball of light glowed the colour of the great Ra. The seven cornered sun revealed a hound-like creature with human-like qualities. He speaks our language. We do not know if he comes in peace or war. All we say is to keep your eyes sharp and look out for any early and suspicious sunrises. Do I have witnesses of this phenomenon? Yes, The Pharaoh does. I call upon the great Puri to recall the events."
Puri breaks rank and walks upon a dead silence of an ordered crowd of soldiers. Puri spoke.
"I witnessed such a thing yester night. I and my comrade have seen a likeness of Ra. The seven-cornered sun reflected off the sand giving its Ra like colour. The porthole was like a pool of wavy water standing vertically. We were amazed by the sight and the vastness. All of the sudden this creature came out. Monok ordered me to inform this to the Pharaoh because I was the closest to him. I informed the Pharaoh. The story will continue with Monok." Puri asked Kayo, "Could you please give permission for my friend to speak, dear Pharaoh?"
"He may." the Pharaoh ordered, "Puri, leave to your position. Monok, I call upon you to speak."
Monok faced the same silence Puri did. "I do not have any words to say about this event. It spoke our language, it said, 'I am Anubis' and went back into the porthole. That's all I have to say." Monok walked to his position soon after speaking to the crowd.
"We shall guard on top where these two witnesses saw this Godly sighting." Kayo ordered. "We must find out if Anubis comes in peace or war."
Minutes later, everybody was on guard at the post that Monok and Puri saw the light. Hours past, then the godly light came back. Everybody was wide awake now when the light came over the wrong horizon. It was Anubis. Two guards went to the wide portal with a horn and orders by the Pharaoh to blow it if Anubis comes in war. They saw the seven cornered sun up close. The sun was a spectacle to see. The godly Anubis was revealed.
One guard got off his horse and attempted to Greet Anubis. "O great Anubis, I am great to be in your presence, sir. Would you like an escort to our Pharaoh?" Anubis walked past them.
The guards were staring at the greyhound-looking god, just to not realize that more of those gods were coming out of the portal. They were marching their way towards Giza. A guard blew the horn, and then the two guards were immediately slain along with their horses. The guards at the post blown the horn to inform the people of Giza to take cover. The thousands of guards went down into the desert and battled the greyhounds. The problem was that more and more greyhounds were joining the battle. Blood was exchanged by the two sides. There were two people in the thick of it, Monok and Puri. The two were slaying greyhounds left and right while greyhounds were slaying their other comrades. And as the sand turned more of a bloody red, more greyhounds were marching out of that portal. The two were aware of the endless march, they evacuated to inform Kayo.
In the palace, Pharaoh Kayo was looking upon his balcony of the carnage the two sides were creating as three dunes turned bloody red. All of the sudden, the two witnesses arrived. "What do you need?" he asked the two.
"We need to inform you of an almost endless march of gods, dear Pharaoh." Puri answered.
"Endless march?"
"Yes, good Pharaoh." Monok responded, "They march in almost endless rows from the portal. It seems that they will outnum..."
Suddenly, the portal got brighter and exploded with a thunderous boom. The seven colourful jewels powering the portal shot into the sky like rainbow stars. One of them, with an aqua colour, fell upon the palace's courtyard.
"Get that jewel, Puri." Kayo commanded. "I bet this will be important for this new war."
"Yes, good Pharaoh." Puri exits the balcony leaving all but Pharaoh Kayo and Monok.
"So you are a friend of my friend." Kayo starts the conversation.
"Yes I am, good Pharaoh." Monok responded. "Why do you ask?"
"I need to know more about you. You seem to be a noble person to know my friend."
"Oh, I remember the time I first met Puri. We were paired up for guarding duties. We warmed up to each other to make ourselves more of a team. As it seems later on in our shift, we both saw a suspicious body hiding behind a dune. We both took arrows against the rat. As it seems, both of our arrows hit the head. The body was a spy for rogue forces. We laughed and talked as we disposed of the body. It made the day seem more like a cool night."
"Ah, great story you presented me with." Kayo was happy for the story. "Tell me, Monok. Do you have a family?"
"Yes, Pharaoh. I have a great wife and three children. I married her for true love that sparkles like the sands of Egypt."
"Pharaoh!" Puri called. "I got the jewel."
"Let me take a glimpse." Puri hands the jewel to Kayo. "Ah. Beautiful jewel this is."
"The jewel glows, Pharaoh!" Monok pointed out.
"This jewel must have unlimited powers of the gods." Puri guessed.
In the view of the Pharaoh's balcony, the three can see the army of greyhounds led by Anubis marching toward the Egyptian city.
"We must find the six other jewels if we can stand a chance against Anubis."
They rid on horseback away from the march. While on horse back, a breeze came from the direction of the three's going. The crown fell upon the courtyard floor where the dead met hours ago. The march of the human hounds stopped at the courtyard, right in front of a shaky guard who attempted to run for his life. Anubis grabbed him.
"Where is your ruler?" Anubis' voice was deep and demanding.
"I do not know the location of the Pharaoh, sir!" Anubis could smell the fear of the guard.
"Tell your Pharaoh that he has lost against our army." The army cheered. Anubis notices the crown.
"What is this?" Anubis points to the crown.
"'That's the Pharaoh's crown!" The guard was choking and coughing on the grasp of Anubis. Anubis put him out of his misery by slicing his claws through the guard's skin, grabbing the guts of the guard, and ripping them out. Then, Anubis picked up the crown, and observed every detail and pattern the crown had. Then he slowly put the crown on his head. The army cheered one loud cheer that can be heard over the sand dunes, where Kayo, Monok, and Puri were riding away from their loved city.
Kayo silently apologizes to his people, "I am sorry our forces let you down. We had thousands of soldiers nobly fighting for our kingdom. And now we have thousands of kinds of blood spreading through the dunes. I apologize for my leave as Pharaoh but we cannot risk the lives of the only hope against this new godly foe. We must take a new quest into the far lengths of Egypt to find the six other jewels. These jewels are the only hope against these hound gods. This will be a long journey, but when we get the jewels, you will be freed once again."