The rain stopped as abruptly as it had begun. By mid-morning the clouds parted like torn linen, letting Ra's light pour down in thick golden shafts. Steam rose from the mud-brick walls and the soaked fields; the Nile ran high and brown, carrying away the last traces of the storm. Villagers emerged cautiously, checking roofs for leaks, salvaging sodden grain baskets, murmuring thanks to the gods who had spared them worse.
Kael-Ankh walked the riverbank alone, bare feet sinking into warm, sucking mud. His linen kilt clung damply to his thighs; water dripped from his hair in slow rivulets down his back. The fight with Nekht had left no visible wounds—Isis's Veil of Mending had seen to that—but inside his Ka still hummed with the aftershocks of new fragments awakening.
He stopped at a flat stone overlooking the water and sat, legs crossed. The scarab pulsed gently against his sternum; the lotus amulet felt cool and steady. He summoned his inner ledger, letting the golden text unfold behind his eyes.
Current Status – Post-Engagement Assessment
Tier: 1.0 – Awakened Ka (Stabilization Phase complete)
Heka Capacity: 180/200
Mythos Fragments (5 active):
• Scarab of Khepri: 73%
• Anubis's Silent Vigil: 12%
• Taweret's Threshold: Passive
• Thoth's Quill of Insight: 28%
• Sylphera the Skydragon: 7%
• Isis's Veil of Mending: 15% (new) Known Invocations: 5 Harem Resonance (3): Senet 58%, Meret 49%, Nefertari 62% (non-formal) New Passive Unlocked from Victory: Stormbreaker's Echo – +8% resistance to chaotic weather & atmospheric heka for 72 hours
He exhaled slowly. The numbers were climbing, but the threat had only retreated, not vanished. Nekht's last words—"The Red One sees you now"—hung like smoke.
Set.
In the myths Kael had studied back on Earth, Set was complex—never simply "evil." He was the desert storm, the red land beyond the black fertile soil of Kemet, the necessary chaos that tested order. He murdered Osiris out of jealousy and ambition, dismembered the body, scattered the pieces. Yet he also stood at the prow of Ra's sun-barque every night, spearing Apophis so the sun could rise again. He was protector and destroyer, foreigner and native, strength without restraint.
The Red Brotherhood twisted that duality into something uglier. They ignored Set's role as defender against primordial chaos and exalted only his disruptive side—claiming that true power lay in breaking cycles, not preserving them. Nekht carried that philosophy in his dilated eye, his red-dyed hide, his forked staff. He was no mindless fanatic; he was a true believer who had seen (or convinced himself he had seen) Set's face in the desert and heard the god promise freedom from the gods' eternal game.
Kael closed his eyes and reached inward, seeking clarity.
A new presence answered—not cool like Thoth, not maternal like Isis, not playful like Bastet.
This was hot iron, falcon cry, unyielding sky.
A single eye opened in his mind—fierce, gold-rimmed, the Wedjat Eye whole and restored.
System Notification – Mythos Fragment Acquisition
New Fragment Acquired: Horus's Vengeful Gaze
Type: Kingship / Vengeance / Sky Dominion
Grade: Major (offered in direct response to defiance of Set's servant)
Effects (Initial):
• Passive: +18% accuracy with ranged or targeted attacks (physical or heka)
• Passive: +12% resistance to dismemberment / fragmentation curses (symbolic nod to Osiris's fate)
• Active Invocation Unlock: Eye of Horus – Striking
• Cost: 24 Heka
• Effect: Project a piercing beam of solar vengeance (ignores 40% of physical armor, disrupts chaotic entities)
• Duration: Instant (pierce) + 8-second burn DoT
• Flavor Text: The eye that was torn now sees clearly. Vengeance flies on falcon wings. Resonance Level: 11% (grows through acts of rightful retribution, protection of rightful rule, or aerial combat)
Kael felt the fragment settle like a crown of fire on his brow—sharp, righteous, unapologetic.
He stood.
The village needed more than fragments. It needed weapons—real ones—and guardians who could wield them.
He returned to Ptahhotep's shrine.
The elder was cleaning the altar, wiping rain from the small statues with a linen cloth.
"We need more than words and light," Kael said. "The Brotherhood will return stronger. We need guardians—myth-bound weapons, warriors who carry them."
Ptahhotep paused, then nodded slowly.
"The old ways are not forgotten here. Come."
He led Kael to a hidden chamber behind the main sanctuary—a narrow room lit by a single oil lamp. Against the far wall stood a locked cedar chest bound with copper bands.
Ptahhotep spoke a quiet phrase; the lock clicked open.
Inside lay three weapons, each wrapped in faded linen:
1. The Spear of Montu – a short, bronze-headed thrusting spear with a shaft of black acacia inlaid with falcon feathers. Montu, falcon-headed war god of Thebes, was the personification of martial valor. The spear carried a faint red-gold aura—guardian spirit bound within. System Scan (Thoth's Analytical Glance): Bound Guardian – Lesser Montu Echo. Grants wielder +25% melee damage & fear resistance when defending home soil.
2. The Khopesh of Bastet's Wrath – curved sickle-sword, blade etched with cats and sun-disks. Forged for a long-dead temple guardswoman who swore herself to Bastet. System Scan: Bound Guardian – Feline Vengeance Spirit. +30% speed on slashing attacks; inflicts bleeding DoT on chaotic targets.
3. The Bow of Neith – composite recurve bow of horn, wood, and sinew, string of twisted red-gold thread. Neith, warrior goddess of weaving and war, patron of hunters. System Scan: Bound Guardian – Huntress Echo. +35% ranged accuracy; arrows seek weak points automatically.
Ptahhotep lifted each in turn.
"These have slept for generations. They awaken only for those worthy. Choose one for yourself. The others we will offer to trusted hands—Senet's steady aim for the bow, Meret's quick feet for the khopesh, perhaps Nefertari's claws for the spear."
Kael touched the Spear of Montu first. Heat answered—fierce, approving.
He lifted it. The shaft felt alive in his grip.
Weapon Bound – Spear of Montu
Guardian Resonance: 22% (grows through honorable combat)
Bonus: +20 Strength when defending village or allies
He looked at Ptahhotep.
"We train them. We arm them. We hold the line."
The elder smiled—rare, proud.
"Then let the next chapter begin."