"d d" "_ d d" "_" "_" "_" "Paraneffer... reveal who paid for your treachery against Pharaoh Akhenaten." "Refuse, and your soul, like your flesh, will rot for eternity." "You hold their fate." "The gods of our fathers..." "Horus, Osiris, and Amun-Ra..." "Shine upon us." "I will worship them to my death!" "I will worship them all... till your death." "Come closer, my son." "The poison Paraneffer gave me is irreversible." "My last decree is to ensure the bloodline is preserved." "You will wed your sister Ankhesenamun immediately." "The bloodline will be pure, but are you ready to lead your people?" "I am." "Vizier." "All of Paraneffer's blood must be spilt for his treachery." "You will wield the knife yourself." "Show your father you're ready." "You are weak." "Do this." "Do it now!" "No." "It's all right, my boy." "In time." "I will serve you as I did your father," "I will protect you, but you must learn from this." "This is what it means to be Pharaoh." "This is how it will always be." "_" "You cover your flank well, My Lord, nearly as swift as myself, a compliment I don't render lightly." "We're alone, Ka." "Dispense with the formalities." "If I have to remind you again, I'll have your head." "Vizier Ay will have it himself if he learns of these excursions." "He won't have any say in it." "Doesn't he have a say in everything?" "Ay is a trusted and loyal advisor, as he was to my father." "But to what end?" "The priests still take advantage of your people." "The Mitanni steal food and crops from our borderlands." "The people long for a Pharaoh who leads from outside the shadows." "I've yet to see you do anything." "You've never even been out amongst your own people." "I'll not have my grandfather's blood chiseled from history because of my father's mistakes or my own." "So do not think I sit idle." "You still have much to learn of this world." "d d" "Forgive me, Pharaoh... for disrupting your... pleasuring." "You are forgiven, High Priest." "Villages in the Eastern Lands have failed to pay proper tribute." "With your permission, I shall see that such payments are now obligatory, as they are in the cities." "Make it so." "High Priest..." "The East continues to suffer from a terrible drought." "Even here in the capital, crops are hardly edible." "Is this not the reason for their lack of tribute?" "Tributes are the one true way for a man to show his devotion to the gods." "It is precisely their failure to pay that has caused the drought." "Your request has been granted, High Priest." "Thank you, Pharaoh." "General Horemheb." "Go." "Go." "I have heard rumors that the Mitanni continue to maneuver near Amurru." "What is being done to stop this threat?" "Threat?" "I will vanquish the Mitanni from the map as easily as I vanquish a trough of beer." "The Mitanni play games, attempting to draw me out into battle before I'm ready." "There's no threat to Amurru." "You will be advised, as always." "Carry on, Vizier." "d d" "Look." "This is the best you're going to find." "No." "Thank you." " Hey!" " Leave her be." "Go." "Go!" "You all right?" "Hey!" "What is your business here?" "I'm from Koptos." "I'm seeking work." "Well, keep in the light at these hours." "Our patrols are thin." "You seem tired this morning." " Do I?" " Yes." "I was up well into the night." "Where did you get that?" "I'll speak to Ka." "If he's going to train you, he needs to be more careful." "The Vizier will have his skin and yours." "I have enough people watching over me." "What's troubling you?" "I'm not just your queen." "I'm your sister." "I know when your mind is elsewhere." "It's a discussion we've had before." "Then we'll have it again." "We have no rightful heir." "I'm the last of the male bloodline." "This gives others reason to claim their right to the throne." "I have no doubt they maneuver even now." "I pray every morning at Temple to Taweret for fertility." "I know." "But we must have a child if you're going to survive, sister." "We've both sacrificed far too much not to." "The Pharaoh is restless." "There's word he even ventures out alone into Thebes." "He's curious, that's expected." "The boy believes the kingdom is his own." "He is Pharaoh." "He is asking the same questions his father did." "Akhenaten consolidated too much power, at great expense to the kingdom and its people." "Agreed." "The boy has benefitted from your counsel." "Keep him in your sights... and in the palace, where he belongs." "d d" "Could you give a hand, please?" "What are these?" "Seeds." "What else?" "For buying beer?" "The proprietor has goods we can't grow or buy in Amurru." "You act as though you've never made trade before." "I haven't." "Thank you." "You've purchased beer before?" "No." "It's strong?" "A bit, yeah." "Thank you... for the beer." "You're welcome." "Let me go." "I'll take whoever I want." "Choose another." "Commander..." "General Yuya is asking after you." "Now?" "What about my goods?" "I suggest you leave with thanks you're not among his." "Your choice of women seems to be improving." "Hold it." "A man with no work, but still manages to purchase beer, raises suspicions." "The beer wasn't purchased by me." "Then she wasn't a stranger." "Or at least you're hoping she won't remain one, by the look of you." "Thank you, for the, help once again, friend." "I'm not your friend." "There's word of Mitanni spies frequenting beer halls, listening and watching." "I'm no Mitanni." "No, I don't get the impression you are, but we have a report of a small encampment who move towards Thebes..." "An hour's ride..." "And I'm looking for a volunteer." "Well, best of luck to you." "d d" "d d" "Leave me." "It's okay, Sete." "I can't do this." "You know I can't." "And I cannot bear it any longer." "Do you think it has somehow changed now, when it hasn't in ten years?" "It can if you want it to." "What I want doesn't matter." "I'm the Pharaoh's wife." "Our chance of a future ended the day I married Tutankhamun." "He has other women, Ankhe." "And you don't?" "My heart belongs to only one." "I too dream of what might have been." "Those dreams have no purpose anymore." "He is your best friend." "And he is our king." " You're mocking him?" " No, but others do." "They wonder whether he even exists at all." "Then you will assure them he does." "I will not wait for the next life to be with you." "Mitanni like to keep one in the dark." "After sundown, get down there, draw him out." "Draw him out?" "You don't wear the look of a soldier." "It'll give you time to approach." "This only works if he stays alive long enough to give us position." "Good luck, friend." "Hello." "I seem to have lost my way." "Can you spare some meat?" "We don't have enough for us as it is." "But why?" "There's only two of you." "Unless there are more." "That would be the one in the dark." "Mitanni." "Burn all of it." "Curse the Pharaoh." "I should not have spoken like that to a man I don't know." "I am no stranger now, am I?" "What do you know of the Pharaoh?" "The Boy King?" "Cripple, we're told." "Face so scarred that children weep in his presence." "Mitanni know this." "They know he's weak." "They take advantage, as do others." "Others?" "What others?" "You ask a lot of questions." "I've heard that within his own palace, they maneuver against him, even General Horemheb." "There's talk of an illness spreading through the southern regions." "People are sick and dying, with no cure, including some of my army there." "We need to keep a careful eye that it does not reach Thebes." "If there is anything to be said in this room, Vizier," "I will hear it." "I intend no secret or offense, My Lord." "The burden of governance is ours, so you are free of it." "You will address your Pharaoh properly, General Horemheb, and your thousand troops moving to the village of El Hiba will not move or engage without my permission, nor the remainder of your 5,000 men who wait outside Memphis." "I'm sorry, you've been misinformed, My King." "Tell me, who deceived you?" "You, General." "It is no secret that you covet the opportunity to conquer the Mitanni lands and the lands beyond that." "If it were up to you, you would seek an endless war where the Egyptian empire stretched from horizon to horizon." "My Lord, the General has yet to finalize any plans to deal with the Mitanni." "The General does not have the authority to wage war as he pleases." "The Vizier and I agree." "Neither does the Vizier." "With all due respect, we are already..." "At war." "Yes." "Amurru is not peaceful." "The Mitanni have already encroached." "They pillage our villages near the borderlands." "They... they rape our women." "They take our children." "And now they send their spies to the gates of Thebes." "This kingdom is on the verge of being overrun!" "Why wasn't this dealt with sooner?" "The Mitanni are crafty." "No, General, they are not." "And so now... now we have panic." "The people have been made fearful and desperate." "They need a savior." "They crave a hero, and they will worship the man who can bring them to victory, a man who would then have cause to march to the ends of the Earth." "I serve only the greater good of Egypt." "No, General, you serve me." "You have positioned your men well." "The time to attack is now." "But we will expel the Mitanni from our borderlands, nothing more." "A protracted war could draw other nations to their cause." "Continue with your preparations." "It doesn't matter who strikes first, but who strikes last." "You're too predictable." "You don't listen." "Man against man is no different than army against army." "Deception is key." "You're impatient with me today, Ka." "You might as well have accused General Horemheb of treason." "He's the greatest general Egypt has ever known." "Is that how you earn the army's trust?" "No." "I do so on the battlefield with you by my side." "You steal his glory." "I claim what is rightfully mine." "Do you claim what is mine as well?" "You're right." "Deception is key." "Free her from your heart, so the gods will grant me an heir that lives." "You no longer need my lessons." "You've been away." "To Edfu." "Without telling me." "You mean without your permission." "You don't control me." "I'm not the Pharaoh." "It's only because I worry." "You're still young to travel alone." "I'm not a child anymore, Father." "Besides, I brought two guards." "You're sick." "It's just a cough from the desert." "You're the one that looks weary." "From many things." "The Pharaoh?" "Palace is full of quiet whispers saying that he resists your counsel." "He'll learn." "And one day there will be a new dynasty, new blood on the throne." "Except I'm not your blood." "That doesn't matter." "As I promised your mother before she passed from this world, a promise I've kept." "Along with other promises that you haven't." "The gods dictate these things." "They will speak, and we will follow their commands." "Until then, we are loyal servants." "The General is a man of battle." "He has no tolerance for politics, no desire for the throne." "His desire is to conquer the civilized world." "Putting himself on the throne ensures him that opportunity." "He cannot easily be removed." "The army's first allegiance is to him." "To them, you're just a name, a cipher." "You need to be prudent, find ways to earn their trust." "Which I intend to do." "I will not allow it." "The General is indispensable." "I understand that." "But if he's the one to defeat the Mitanni, he'll be worshipped as a god, and then... then he will make his move." "See, I have no choice." "You're not ready to lead these men into battle." "A Pharaoh who does not lead his men into battle is at the mercy of his generals." "A Pharaoh who risks his own blood, who..." "Who inspires by his very presence, cannot be separated from his people." "You sent for me." "I couldn't..." "I couldn't let you leave... without knowing..." "My grandfather Amenhotep III was crowned as a child like myself." "His rule was peaceful, prosperous." "He was not a great warrior, yet... most of these battles are dedicated to him." "Is that how we measure greatness... in the number of dead left in our wake?" "No, My Lord." "It is measured by the number who are allowed to live peacefully and prosper because of it." "Tomorrow." "d d" "Return with the victory you deserve." "d d" "Use discretion, My Queen." "He sees more than you know." "And you, Vizier." "He does." "d d" "d d" "d d" "_" "The Mitanni are less than 5,000 strong." "We'll drive into them from here and overrun them to the flat." "General Yuya." "Chariots will mark the second wave, from here and here." "Bowmen will set position in the hills." "Infantry and macemen at the front." "General." "Thank you, Lagus." "My Lord, this man deserves your praise." "He's the one who eliminated the Mitanni assassins who nearly breached the city gates of Thebes." "That's high praise." "Thank you..." "My Lord?" "General." "Perhaps a new approach." "Instead of driving them away from us in open battle, incurring massive casualties, let me lead them to us." "To us?" "We can use the terrain to our advantage." "Somewhere... somewhere they cannot escape." "Here." "The abandoned village here." "Somewhere they can hide and use to their advantage." "No, General, somewhere we can hide." "I will consider it, My Lord, as I will also ask you to reconsider our objective here." "This is the opportunity to eliminate the Mitanni from history." "Let us march to their palace, remove King Tushratta from power, and achieve lasting peace." "When has there ever been lasting peace?" "General, there is always a new enemy, always more land to be conquered." "Then let it be conquered!" "Empires are measured on treasures taken and the number that bow to their king." "Let us grasp the sand at their feet so that the world may bow at ours!" "This war will not end if it moves within Mitanni borders!" "It will be the opposite." "They will have drawn us into their terrain, into their advantage." "Our objective, General, is to secure this kingdom." "That is all." "I see your mind won't be changed." "_ d d" "Prepare them to march." "Save that for the Mitanni." "Get some rest, both of you." "Tell me... is this a face so hideous that it would make children weep from seeing it?" "Rise." "A word alone." "You held your tongue." "For that, I'm grateful." "Tomorrow I'll have you by my side again." "Thank you, My Lord." "Remember the girl whose aid you came to in the beer hall?" "Vaguely, yes." "She was from here, in Amurru." "Find her and give her these seeds." "Don't tell her who they're from." "Consider it done." "d d" "General, our position holds, but offers only a stalemate." "Casualties are mounting." "Instruct the archers to attack the southern group of the Mitanni... so that Ka, Lagus, and myself can draw them away from the battle." "There's no time to get the men into position." "I've already put the men in position, General." "They are waiting for my command." "Forgive me, My Lord, but you do not need to engage in this battle." "The men fight for you." "I will fight for my people... with my men and with you." "Will you ride with me, Lagus?" "You need not be in the middle of this, My Lord." "That is exactly where I need to be." "Go on." "The men are ready." " Do you have doubts?" " I do." "You said you prefer I speak my mind." "Maybe not so candidly." "It's time to go." "d d" "Now, with me!" "Hold your position." "Lagus, take that way there." "You stay close to Ka." "With me." "Hold." "Hold." "Fire!" "My Lord!" " Thank you." " Go!" "Follow me." "Finish the battle." "Do not waste this opportunity." "I won't leave him." "This victory will be yours." "Stay down, my Lord." "Do not move." "Curse the gods." "Aah!" "d d" "The Mitanni have reassembled within their borders." "Their army lies in wait with more men than we anticipated." "It was a trap." "If we had proceeded with the march, they'd have had the advantage." "As Pharaoh warned." "Mitanni that are broken and bloodied with no more taste for battle." "But our men are no better off." "Word has spread of our victory here." "You thirst for celebration." "Then we will return to Thebes, to your women, your families, as heroes!" "Ride by my side, Ka." "When we ride into Thebes, the glory will be yours." "We cannot return without the Pharaoh's body." "A difficult task when there isn't one." "He is either dragged away by animals or buried with the thousands who fell in his name." "But if somehow he survived?" "If he survived... we will find him." "Speak to no one else." "Scour every grave, every rock." "Send word to the villages we are looking for an Egyptian spy." "If Osiris has somehow risen Tutankhamun from the dead, he must be returned to the afterlife, not to Thebes." "d d" "d d" "Vizier, Nahkt." "My Lady." "Vizier, an urgent message from General Horemheb for you." "What is it?" "Clear the room." "The Pharaoh is dead." "No." "He cannot be dead, Ay." "He's dead." "Hey, come on!" "Move!" "Hey!" "The trap was set, Father, but they did not advance." "Rare caution from General Horemheb." "Egypt has many enemies who are now our willing allies." "The next army to advance will be ours." "The gods shine on the Egyptian people this day." "People who celebrate while their Pharaoh no longer lives." "They're ignorant of the fact, My Queen, but they will soon know." "We need to proceed carefully." "The battle is won, Vizier." "The Mitanni have been driven back beyond the borderlands." "You speak of victory when the Pharaoh is dead?" "It is with regret that Osiris did not grant divinity to Tutankhamun, but it is the will of the gods to raise another through the open wound of our fallen King." "It was Ka's strategy that delivered us from the Mitanni filth." "In this time of great sorrow, the people should celebrate their victor." "Where is the Pharaoh?" " My Queen..." " I take the blame." "When I returned to where he had fallen, the body was gone." "The slaves and men of lower rank who bury the dead did not know their Pharaoh was among them." "They did not know what they had done." "Then we must pray" "Osiris greets him still." "Were you with him?" "No." "Why weren't you by his side, to protect him?" "I was, but battles are not fought without chaos." "He was..." "He wasn't ready!" "You're wrong." "The General did not tell the truth." "It was Tutankhamun who helped lead us to victory." "He is as much the victor as myself or Horemheb." "The General spoke those words only to gain me favor." "So that we will marry." "So we can marry." "I expected you to be pleased." "Pleased?" "Tutankhamun was my friend, but this is our fate." "It always has been." "He was my brother." "As much as he was mine, but other forces will move swiftly." "Tutankhamun once told me... fate is not what you are given, it's what you take." "I won't let this fall from us." "I won't lose you to anyone else." "Come, Cousin." "The Queen must marry... to keep her family's dynasty intact, and she will fall openly for Ka." "His ear will belong to the General, who shows nothing but contempt for the priests." "He's a threat to everyone who now holds power." "He's a threat to all of Egypt." "His military ambitions are no secret." "Your ambitions are no secret either, Vizier." "Only in circumstance." "I'm a servant of Egypt." "As am I, but to the gods." "They control all things." "They speak through me." "They will give blessing to your position if I am to retain mine without interference." "As agreed." "Then proceed cautiously." "Do not overwhelm her." "Tell me... how long have you coveted being Pharaoh?" "I've never wished it." "I am a loyal servant to this palace, nothing more." "You're a man of internal frustration, born of common blood, who's all but ruled the kingdom... yet forced to remain in the shadows while sons are born." "Except now there is no heir." "Instead there's opportunity." "This... opportunity... would secure your position as well before others take it from us both." "I wouldn't claim your heart, my lady." "I know it belongs to another, one you've been denied these many years." "How considerate of you." "I haven't yet buried my first husband, Ay." "Give me time before I decide on my next." "Please." "Here!" "Please." "Please." "This man needs help, please!" "No." "I cannot..." "I cannot be found." "He's no longer breathing." "These dead are Mitanni." "We're looking for an Egyptian soldier." "I've seen no Egyptians here." "You'll be safe here." "It's you." "Rest." "I can't be in your village." "They will be looking for me." "We're not in the village." "No one will find you here." "The crops are weeks from being tilled." "Why do they want you dead?" "You're just a soldier." "Thebes." "I must return to Thebes." "You will leave only after you've healed." "I will do as I intend." "You will do as I say." "Why didn't you bring me these seeds yourself?" "Well, the war is an inconvenience for some things." "What is this?" "It's to soothe your mind, help you heal faster." "Thank you." "What is your name?" "Suhad. that's not an Egyptian name." "It's Mitanni." "But you're not Mitanni." "My grandmother was, and she was raped by an Egyptian invader." "So, in the eyes of the Pharaoh," "I wouldn't be considered a true Egyptian either." "You are an Egyptian as long as you are loyal to the Pharaoh." "My allegiance is to my family and to my people here." "Pharaoh, who sits on a throne far across the desert, is of no more consequence to me than I am to him." "The Pharaoh might have your tongue cut out for that." "From what I've heard of our Pharaoh, he wouldn't know what to do with my tongue if he had it." "I'll get you some water." "You've been at prayer since you and Ka returned." "You've never been a devoted man of the temple, General." "I am pleased." "I'm here to seek clarity." "Clarity?" "Or forgiveness?" "Being unable to find your Pharaoh's body must ravage you with guilt." "I, too, hoped for clarity on your return, but you didn't witness the man whose blade took Pharaoh's breath, did you?" "Such a man would be a fool, High Priest." "To use one's own blade against the Pharaoh would only bring the wrath of Osiris and an eternity of darkness in the afterlife." "Yes." "But even with a clean blade, such a man might still have the stain of Pharaoh's blood on his hands." "I know what you want." "And I know where your heart lies, but we cannot risk so much change." "If Ka is placed in power, it is the General who will rule this country." "When I was a little girl," "I wanted to believe that marriage was more than just an arrangement of convenience." "Survival, My Queen." "Vizier." "Tell me when you saw her differently, the first time you looked on her in a way you hadn't before." "As long as I can remember." "When did you see her differently?" "When did you see her as your last opportunity?" "Your father was a hero to Akhenaten." "He bled and died for him, which is why you were brought into this palace, raised as a brother, as a son." "Which is why you'll be a loyal servant when I'm Pharaoh." "The General is not your friend, Ka." " Neither are you." " No, but I am hers." "She had a brother, Vizier." "She had a friend." "Doesn't she deserve more than that?" "What is this?" "If they're looking for an Egyptian soldier, it's better you don't look like one." "Come on." "Do you need help with the rest?" "Yes, please." "I think you're old enough to dress yourself." "You've gained great strength in such a short time." "The gods have imposed their will." "Was it the gods who dragged you from the riverbed, stopped your bleeding wound, kept you hidden?" "You mock the gods while they're the proof that I still breathe." "I do not mock the gods, but I see how they impose their power over people." "The greatest strength we have is our own will." "That is how I know you are an important man." "You would not let yourself die." "Does your Mitanni grandmother teach you these thoughts?" "I'm free to think for myself." "You're wise to use caution." "Something my father tells me every day." "This is my village." "My father and mother both know that you're here." "They can be trusted." "I cannot trust anyone, Suhad." "The offering is not negotiable." "The Temple of Sobek protects your land." "His Holiness was lenient on my last visit." " He will not be again." " We had a poor yield." " Father!" " Provide me with what I ask..." "Wait." "Suhad, wait." "Or I will take it all." "You have no right to do this." "Suhad!" "Go into the house." "You speak to the Priest of Sobek, the God of Water, with cursed words?" "Please, my daughter doesn't know her place." "Then I will show it to her." "You dare." "Save your strength, Priest." "Take it, please." "Do not set the gods upon us." "Please." "You were once a man of the palace, a man of some importance." "Why do you now hide when a new Pharaoh is soon to be crowned?" "What new Pharaoh?" "Pharaoh Tutankhamun did not return from battle." "His body was never found." "And now they are looking for a spy who betrayed them." "Describe these men." "The General's Guard." "The palace is purging its enemies." "He's not the enemy, Mother." "How can this be?" "Wait!" "Wait." "You're really him?" "Yes." "Yes, I am." "Why didn't you tell me?" "Because I did not want you looking at me the way you do now, the way I've been looked at my whole life." "How couldn't I?" "I'm not even allowed to touch you." "But you already have." "They'll be waiting for you in Thebes." "I cannot return alone." "I know a man that I can trust." "He saved my life, but he was captured by the Mitanni." "Now, you know these lands." "Can you tell me how to find him?" "The King and his army, they're only in one place, so are their prisoners." "I can show you." "No, it is too dangerous for you." "It would be impossible for you to get there on your own." "Only the most privileged Mitanni know how to get there." "What, a secret passage through the high desert?" "It's a myth, and I've heard it before." "It is not a myth." "My grandmother was one of them." "She showed it to me when I was a child." "No army can travel it, nor any man unless they know where to find the water." "No." "I'm going alone." "Fight their entire army yourself and die if you wish, or you can trust me, and we will walk among them without anyone knowing the difference." "d d" "The pyramids have survived for thousands of years." "Nowhere else are they equaled." "See, you were wrong about the gods, Suhad." "They do answer." "d d" "d d" "Leave us, Herit." "You believe in your wisdom that General Horemheb will be unleashed if Ka is made Pharaoh?" "There is no doubt." "And if you were Pharaoh, you would restrain him?" "As I have managed since before you were born." "And Ka would not." "He's a man who follows, not leads." "Thank you for your honesty, Vizier, but I believe that Ka will prove to be a great leader." "I will not tell him you've said these things when he is made Pharaoh." "You will continue your duty as Vizier." "Make all the arrangements." "Through here." "Keep your head down." "If your friend's alive, this is where he'll be." "Move it!" "d d" "Lagus!" "Now!" "Now!" "Move!" "Move!" "Go!" "Where are the rest of your men?" "They did not make it, My Lord." "I'm the only one left." "Let's go." "Follow me." "Shh, shh." " He's ali..." " Shh." "Thank you, Herit." "d d" "It's over, then." "Ka will be Pharaoh." "We remain servants, and we will serve our new Pharaoh." "We are servants." "You will serve the rest of your life." "The gods..." "The gods?" "You let it slip from your hands, not them!" "This was our path." "This was rightfully ours!" "Rightfully ours?" "What do you see?" "What do you see?" "Father!" "Common blood." "Do not preach to me of what is deserved." "We are given nothing." "We deserve nothing." "We are owed nothing." "We are exposed to what all men find for themselves, what they seek out, what they desire, what they anticipate." "Do you know what that one thing is, Son?" "Can you guess what it is?" "No, because you expect it to be served to you." "It is not served." "It presents itself." "Opportunity!" "Opportunity!" "Opportunity!" "The life blood of history!" "We will have opportunity again... to make our own history and defy their history and claim for ourselves what others believe to be rightfully theirs." "d d" "Out of my way!" "d d" "Out of the way!" "d d" "Hiya!" "d d"