Forever 21
7-Keibtra
Or what was left of my tomb that was. It was destroyed not only from the sands of time but by the royal priests in an attempt to conceal and maintain order in the land.
It was a foolish mistake on my part, seeking them out 150 years after Nehesis death. And attempting to challenge Nehesi even 150 years after his rule expired was even more foolish, but I had hope still at that point that perhaps there was something in the book of the dead that would release me from my curse. And the royal priests were the only ones privy to it.
I remember the look they gave me. After a brief hushed discussion amongst themselves it was decided. They wouldn’t help. Instead they declared me a blasphemer, and condemned me to death, and as was the custom, I was lead to the desert -my throat slit.
Three hours later it had healed and I gathered myself up and regressed back into obscurity, my lesson learned and never spoke of it again.
It was only after Nehesis’ tomb was raided by thieves fifty years later in 1312BC, when they discovered that the gold and silver and jewels he had been buried with no longer lingered by his side, nor did I -that they realized what had happened, that I was telling the truth and a cover up quickly ensued. The tomb was virtually destroyed, markings altered, history erased and then rewritten. The story of Nehesi’s immortal bride was nothing more then a legend then.
I don’t blame them for it, after all the kings of Egypt, Nehesi included, were considered to be a combination of the divine and mortal, supposed incarnations of the falcon god Horus. Their reign was passed through the bloodlines of their generations and if they had no heirs, the royal priests were given the task as so many before them had done, to select one, and based on Nehesi’s lies he was chosen.
Upon death of the Pharaoh, his successor would methodically follow the ancient traditions laid out by Horus under the close directions of the royal priests. Successfully doing so not only proved they were the chosen heir, but secured their right to rule.
With out this there would be no harmony in the universe, no order, and chaos would ensue..
Staring down at the grainy photograph the memories came flooding back to me. Even though I was in still in Seans apartment my senses returned me to Egypt.
Forty feet above me while preparations were made by Nehesis son Keibtra to bury him and ascend into power himself, I was struggling to wake up. Twenty five years of an immortal slumber was not that easily shaken. Slowly my consciousness came into focus but I was too weak to move.
At first the confusion was overwhelming. I was suppose to be on a boat with King Nehesi and the great sun god Ra, sailing across the sky towards the afterlife, not laid out on a slab deep underground in the dark surrounded by scarabs.
I could hear the workers all around me day after day as they filled the tomb with Nehesi’s worldly possessions. Gold, silver, statues and jewels were laid all around the room as a tribute to the fallen king. It was not until they brought in the sarcophagus of Nehesi’s faithful priestess, the one who had sent me into my slumber, did I realize how long I was actually asleep for, yet I still could not move.
Finally the workers left and only the guards remained for the next few nights as the ceremonies continued on over head. And as the future Pharaoh King Keibtra raised the serpent headed blade above the sarcophagus of the fallen Nehesi during the opening of the mouth ceremony I felt my own lips parting slightly. They were attempting to restore the dead Pharaohs senses for the afterlife but instead it was my own senses that were coming back alive.
I was growing stronger and stronger each second. I could feel my chest slowly starting to rise and fall softly, and my eyes blinked for the first time in twenty-five years but the guards did not notice.
It was only after I had taken a deeper breath in; one so forceful that it caused my bosom to rise up so sharply that the green jeweled glass scarab that they had laid over my heart to absorb my secrets and prepare me for the afterlife, fell to the floor shattering that chaos immediately ensued.
I could hear them all around me in a flurry of panic as I lifted my hand slightly off the slab but it was all still too much. I was still too weak. Suddenly the voices of the royal priests filled the air as they scoured the book of the dead seeking answers, arguing amongst themselves…
And in the fashion of a true coward, a mortal man given a small taste of power, and reluctant to let it go, the soon to be King Keibtra ordered the tomb sealed. Condemning the guards, the workers, and the one priest who dared to challenge him inside.
The horrors that occurred over the next few days as they grew weaker as I grew stronger played through my mind in such vividness that it caused my hand shake slightly and whatever papers I was attempting to hand to Sean just fell to the floor. More scattered images of hieroglyphics flooded my field of vision.
It took me months to make my way through the maze of tunnels and secret doorways, and many of the marks I left along the way now stared back at me from the photographs scattered on the floor. Finally finding a weak spot I was able to claw my way through the earth to my freedom…
Keibtra buried the secret and now Sean was trying to unbury it…
It was a foolish mistake on my part, seeking them out 150 years after Nehesis death. And attempting to challenge Nehesi even 150 years after his rule expired was even more foolish, but I had hope still at that point that perhaps there was something in the book of the dead that would release me from my curse. And the royal priests were the only ones privy to it.
I remember the look they gave me. After a brief hushed discussion amongst themselves it was decided. They wouldn’t help. Instead they declared me a blasphemer, and condemned me to death, and as was the custom, I was lead to the desert -my throat slit.
Three hours later it had healed and I gathered myself up and regressed back into obscurity, my lesson learned and never spoke of it again.
It was only after Nehesis’ tomb was raided by thieves fifty years later in 1312BC, when they discovered that the gold and silver and jewels he had been buried with no longer lingered by his side, nor did I -that they realized what had happened, that I was telling the truth and a cover up quickly ensued. The tomb was virtually destroyed, markings altered, history erased and then rewritten. The story of Nehesi’s immortal bride was nothing more then a legend then.
I don’t blame them for it, after all the kings of Egypt, Nehesi included, were considered to be a combination of the divine and mortal, supposed incarnations of the falcon god Horus. Their reign was passed through the bloodlines of their generations and if they had no heirs, the royal priests were given the task as so many before them had done, to select one, and based on Nehesi’s lies he was chosen.
Upon death of the Pharaoh, his successor would methodically follow the ancient traditions laid out by Horus under the close directions of the royal priests. Successfully doing so not only proved they were the chosen heir, but secured their right to rule.
With out this there would be no harmony in the universe, no order, and chaos would ensue..
Staring down at the grainy photograph the memories came flooding back to me. Even though I was in still in Seans apartment my senses returned me to Egypt.
Forty feet above me while preparations were made by Nehesis son Keibtra to bury him and ascend into power himself, I was struggling to wake up. Twenty five years of an immortal slumber was not that easily shaken. Slowly my consciousness came into focus but I was too weak to move.
At first the confusion was overwhelming. I was suppose to be on a boat with King Nehesi and the great sun god Ra, sailing across the sky towards the afterlife, not laid out on a slab deep underground in the dark surrounded by scarabs.
I could hear the workers all around me day after day as they filled the tomb with Nehesi’s worldly possessions. Gold, silver, statues and jewels were laid all around the room as a tribute to the fallen king. It was not until they brought in the sarcophagus of Nehesi’s faithful priestess, the one who had sent me into my slumber, did I realize how long I was actually asleep for, yet I still could not move.
Finally the workers left and only the guards remained for the next few nights as the ceremonies continued on over head. And as the future Pharaoh King Keibtra raised the serpent headed blade above the sarcophagus of the fallen Nehesi during the opening of the mouth ceremony I felt my own lips parting slightly. They were attempting to restore the dead Pharaohs senses for the afterlife but instead it was my own senses that were coming back alive.
I was growing stronger and stronger each second. I could feel my chest slowly starting to rise and fall softly, and my eyes blinked for the first time in twenty-five years but the guards did not notice.
It was only after I had taken a deeper breath in; one so forceful that it caused my bosom to rise up so sharply that the green jeweled glass scarab that they had laid over my heart to absorb my secrets and prepare me for the afterlife, fell to the floor shattering that chaos immediately ensued.
I could hear them all around me in a flurry of panic as I lifted my hand slightly off the slab but it was all still too much. I was still too weak. Suddenly the voices of the royal priests filled the air as they scoured the book of the dead seeking answers, arguing amongst themselves…
And in the fashion of a true coward, a mortal man given a small taste of power, and reluctant to let it go, the soon to be King Keibtra ordered the tomb sealed. Condemning the guards, the workers, and the one priest who dared to challenge him inside.
The horrors that occurred over the next few days as they grew weaker as I grew stronger played through my mind in such vividness that it caused my hand shake slightly and whatever papers I was attempting to hand to Sean just fell to the floor. More scattered images of hieroglyphics flooded my field of vision.
It took me months to make my way through the maze of tunnels and secret doorways, and many of the marks I left along the way now stared back at me from the photographs scattered on the floor. Finally finding a weak spot I was able to claw my way through the earth to my freedom…
Keibtra buried the secret and now Sean was trying to unbury it…