Age of Majesty
Chapter 13
The Nile was living proof the gods blessed the golden land of Egypt. Without it, much of Egypt would be inhospitable. The great river allowed life to flourish and the goods to be passed through the rest of the land. It allowed Egypt to enhance its culture and majesty. So it was important to control the mouth of the river, the origin of that which Egypt's entire economy depended on.
The ships set sail. They were to seize control of the Nile and maintain it. By doing so, they will extend the kingdom far across the continent, ensuring all countries who depend on the Nile will cooperate. But the Nile is a long river.
Seize the Nile and you seize Egypt by the throat. Said the spirit in Gold to Gahiji. Seize Egypt and you seize the world. For, if Egypt was not the world, what is?
Gahiji was not interested in the world. " You have your Egypt, so long as I have my priest."
That will come, in its turn. The spirit said. Right now the High Priest Seto had left enough of his wisdom with Atemu for the fool to attempt to take the Nile. There will be a fight, but you will use the power I bestow upon you now to overcome the little priests. Take great care not to allow the Ethiopians, or anyone else, to win. You alone, must seize the Nile. Your beauty will offer himself up to you to spare his beloved King.
The idea of Seto willingly offering himself was more delicious than taking the boy by force. Gahiji licked his lips and struggled not to salivate at the thought. The spirit in Gold promised him great power along with Seto, and Gahiji was not fool enough to turn it down.
Take a horse. It told him. A fleet-footed Arab. Then to the Shadow Realm you go, run across to the other side.
" What about the Ka?" Gahiji asked. " Surely they would be faster."
They will be detected. The spirit replied patiently. Take a horse, and run to the mouth of the Nile. Wait there, until the ships arrive. Then use what you know to sink them. Sink all, and announce yourself the new God of the Nile. I will tell you more then.
Without hesitation, Gahiji obeyed. He had a horse to steal first.
oO
They gently reminded him of who he was. Adjo was not very receptive at first, until Atemu showed Adjo his room. The sight of the room struck Adjo so strongly he paused at the doorway and could not hide a shudder. There was a mournful feel to his quarters, the years of sickness and depression and resignation filling the air. He looked at all those scrolls he used to study, the cups used to hold his brew, these past reminders that confirmed that he had, indeed, been living a dream.
" You were very ill in the past." Atemu told him gently. " You used to hate this room because you would be confined to it for so long, especially after long duels." He sighed. " There were many times when you were absent from court because you were so ill."
On the table was the Millennium Rod. Atemu had it placed there when Seto was first brought in as Adjo. The Pharaoh wanted to see if Seto recognized it at all.
Adjo did. He was confused. It was definitely familiar, and it had belonged to him, but he cringed at it now. He backed away as Atemu approached the Rod, eyes on him the entire way.
" What is wrong?" Atemu asked. " Do you remember something?"
Seto had been aware of what was causing his illness, or at least, he had an idea. But Shadow Magic was the magic of Egypt, the gift from the gods. To speak any ill of it was blasphemy. And so the High Priest had kept quiet, never confiding in anyone, least of all his cousin, that the Millennium Rod made him worse, that the use of shadow magic felt vile to him, and bore his agony in silence. As years passed Seto knew he would eventually die from the exposure, but mentioned not a word of this to anyone. He could easily be killed for rejecting shadow magic as well, and he would rather die as a priest than die as a traitor to Egypt and her Gods. So he bore it all and prayed for the best, prayed that he could help his cousin become the greatest Pharaoh ever to live before the Pharaoh's items killed him. Though the rod drained Seto's health, Seto kept it at his side, hoping that his current condition would prevent him from using too much shadow magic, and that it alone would be enough to help Seto last however long he should. He was not aware of his Light Magic, but he did know that Shadow Magic felt sickening, and to admit to that was as bad as treachery.
Adjo was not aware of the danger Seto had feared. As the Pharaoh held out the rod, instead of taking it as Seto would have done, Adjo backed away.
" It is yours." Atemu misunderstood, holding it out again. " Do not deny yourself its power. I know it calls to you."
" No." Adjo whispered. " It does not call to me. It makes me sick."
The Pharaoh froze. " What did you say?"
" The same feeling that man gave," Adjo was distracted, " When he made that dark pool form on the floor. Darkness, and death, sucking my life away." He stared at the rod. " This is doing the same."
Atemu stared at Adjo, the implications finally realized in his mind. He dropped his hand, holding the rod loosely in his fingers.
oO
" What did you do?" Atemu roared. " What spell did you use? And when did you use it?"
" What?" Bakura almost wished they would kill him already. Every time someone entered he expected it to be notice of when he would be executed. The constant false alarm was unnerving him as well. " What spell are you talking about? If this is about Seto's lack of magic, I told you I knew nothing!"
" And not just that." Atemu hissed, his red eyes glaring at Bakura. " It sickens him, he said. He is rejecting Shadow Magic. What did you do to him?!"
" Rejecting Shadow Magic?" Now Bakura was completely bewildered. " What?"
" Don't play with me, you thief!" Atemu stretched his hand out and crushed the tomb robber into the wall with a burst of magic. " Tell me or I will rip your throat out!"
Panic racing through his veins, for Bakura honestly had no idea what Atemu was talking about, the thief could only gasp out, " I don't know what to tell you! I swear I never hurt Seto!"
" Not physically," Atemu hissed, crushing Bakura even more, so that even the cuffs were beginning to bend, " But you seek to ruin him, did you not? You hoped I would murder my own cousin because of some trick you pulled!"
" What?" Bakura writhed, starting to thrash as his crushed lungs struggled to expand. Then, realizing what he was doing, Atemu withdrew his hand, and Bakura fell upon the hay, coughing and wheezing. Blood trickled out of his nose.
" Seto is fifteen years old." Atemu gritted his teeth. " For fifteen years, he bled, just as you are doing. He bled, but he toiled and struggled for my great Egypt. He suffered. I watched him suffer. If you hated me so much, do what you will, but to harm him is not just an insult to me, it is an insult to every god that watches over us, and so help me, the wrath of even Set will descend upon you if you do not reverse what you did to him."
Bakura was collecting his breath and his wits. He was beginning to realize a horrible possibility. Voicing it could get him killed right there, but then, it did not seem anything he could say would pacify the Pharaoh.
" Atemu," He gasped, deciding that as he might get killed anyway, he might as well not bother with proper titles, " Have you ever considered that," He gasped again, trying not to cough, " Seto might have always been like that," He coughed then, and panted, waiting for the King's reaction.
Atemu took a moment to absorb what the thief said. As a new terror flooded his heart, he crushed the thief into the wall again. " What are you saying? That is impossible. If he rejected it from the beginning he would not be able to cast spells."
" No." Bakura struggled against the magical hold. " He would, if he were properly terrified of you." He laughed, too out of his wits to realize he was acting inappropriately, " When he was with me, he never bled, and we never used shadow magic."
Atemu considered this for a moment before letting go. Bakura dropped into the hay again, more disoriented than before.
" You never used any spells."
Bakura panted. " No." He managed at last. " You love him so much. Why don't you figure it out."
Anger nearly blinding him, Atemu struck with a dark spell, knocking the thief out, though not killing him. How dearly he longed to crack that rascal's skull open, crush his heart and feed it to the dogs, so that the thief would never rest in peace and his spirit would always be in agony. He turned around and left the dungeon before he could give in to that desire.
oO
When the Pharaoh left the dungeons the servants informed him there was someone requesting audience with him.
" Who is it?" He snapped. " This better be important!"
" It..." The servant was terrified of Atemu's sudden foul mood, " He is former Priest Mahaado, sire."
" Mahaado." His mood darkening even further, Atemu wondered if Mahaado thought he could come back just because Seto did not die. " What does he want?"
" He says he has urgent news, and requested to speak with you alone."
Taking a moment to collect himself, Atemu nodded. " Where is he?"
Mahaado, dressed as any common peasant, with a crude linen cloak covering his shoulders, knelt down when the Pharaoh entered.
" Leave us." Atemu commanded the guards and servants, who obeyed. " What do you want."
" Sire." Mahaado raised his head, " I have important news regarding High Priest Seto."
" I know he is alive. He is here at the palace."
Mahaado paused. " Sire, in addition to that."
Atemu paused. Perhaps Mahaado learned something about Seto's magic?" Tell me. I do not have all day."
" He is part Light Mage."
oO
" My grandfather's bloodline will not sire a Light Mage!"
" It is what the Tauk says, my lord." Isis said quietly.
" This is impossible." Atemu paced in his chambers. " This is impossible. He would have been dead from birth. He would have–this is impossible!"
Isis and Mahaado glanced at each other.
" And you're saying that Seto never knew this?"
" Seto knew he rejected Shadow Magic." Isis told him. " As to him being part Light Mage, that I cannot say."
" One of the most powerful shadow users in Egypt, part light mage! Part that foul, disgusting, blasphemous, damned hellion that from my very first ancestor, we have been trying to extinguish! Born to my uncle, the son of my royal grandfather! My blood cousin, part that–" Unable to speak, the Pharaoh seized the Millennium Rod and threw it angrily into the wall, where it bounced off, denting the wall, and clattered on the marble floor. He whirled on his priests. " This does not go beyond these walls, do you hear? My cousin is no light mage, and any word of it anywhere, I shall have the speaker and both of you beheaded and fed to the jackals!" He paced again. " We will purge the Light Mage–no doubt this was the work of the Light Magicians to begin with. At his birth, they must have cursed him with their bloody spells. We will neutralize it!"
" Your Majesty, as it stands," Isis stepped forward, " If we purge his Light Magic, his Shadow Magic might not come back. I suggest we wait for a while."
" Until what?" Atemu whirled on her. " Until he dies from exposure?"
Isis hesitated. " Until he remembers and can decide for himself, my lord."
The Pharaoh took a deep breath.
" Until he can decide for himself." He closed his eyes. " I suppose we owe that much to him. Use the Tauk to show him images of his past. Try to speed it up."
" My Lord, if he really is a Light Magician, using the Tauk may harm him much more."
Atemu was very quiet and still at this.
" It would." He agreed. " I suppose."
He shut his eyes again. " Ra, did he not suffer enough?" He lamented. He turned to Mahaado. " You did very well to notify me, old friend."
Mahaado bowed.
Atemu released a breath. " Though the news brings me great pain." He left his chamber.
oO
Seto's room was simple and neatly kept. There was a chair that he used to sit in whenever he was tired of lying down all the time. He would greet the Pharaoh from this chair if he could not stand, and they would spend hours talking, Seto wrapped up in blankets, the Pharaoh bare-chested, as if making fun of the situation.
He was beginning to remember these things. They were familiar. But they were not completely happy. There was always an underlying grief and anxiety. He had not been content. Not the way he was with Wati.
Feeling upset that they would not let him see his caretaker, Seto paced around his room in a fit of impatience. The Millennium Rod, which the Pharaoh had slowly placed back on the table before he left, remained where it was; Seto refused to go near it. The thing reeked of darkness and death. It made him wonder how he could ever go near it in the past, let alone carry it with him. He must have had an iron will.
Sitting down on the bed at last, he was struck with various images. Drinking something he disliked greatly, being kissed on the forehead, getting yelled at by that Pharaoh for not taking better care of himself, getting yelled at by the woman, Isis, for not taking care of hif.
Did I really not take care of myself? Seto wondered in confusion.
He began to wonder where was Wati in all of this. So far, he had not recollected anything about the white-haired man.
" Bakura is proud of his Shadow Magic. His bandit followers are not so formidable in shadow magic. In fact, given the situation, I seriously doubt that such is story is anything more than that. It may simply be Bakura's strategy to either pomp himself, or intimidate us. And like any oafish leader, Bakura will not attend to missions himself, which is why there was a distinct lack of any news involving shadow magic during any of the raids."
" You think we need not worry about sending troops?"
" Sending troops is most definitely not a good idea. Unless there is something of great value in the village, Bakura will not see fit to risk his neck, or the neck of his followers. If you send troops there the thieves will relocate."
" Hm." Pharaoh Atemu paused. Seto was coughing. When it calmed, he continued, " What about assassins?"
" The assassins are not people you can employ at ease." Seto shook his head. " Not to mention, even if you could, they can only get rid of the bandit followers. Bakura can just acquire a new band. What you want is to target the leader, not the followers."
" What will target the leader then?"
Seto thought for a while, his lungs spasming, but his concentration unwavering. " Bakura is a proud thief. He is proud of being able to get anything he wants, no matter the obstacle. Because of this he never backs down from a challenge he finds worth facing. He prides in Shadow Magic because given his underprivileged background it was difficult for him to acquire such a skill, let alone master it. He likes to flaunt this in front of noble priests and usually wins. If your Majesty can present him a challenge that he cannot possibly win, but cannot possibly refuse, you can rightfully ensnare him without losing your popularity."
" What do you propose?"
Seto jerked at the memory. What was that? " Bakura?" He blurted out, shocked. Bakura sounded familiar.
He stood rapidly.
I have to get to him. He thought, distraught. I need answers. Fast. Where are they keeping Wati?
He was being arrested when Seto had first woken in this place. That means they took him into some prison, wherever the prisons were.
Seto tightened his jaw. He was going to find him. Surely, somewhere in the back of his mind, he could find his way around here. Even if the palace seemed like a world by itself.