The title of the story was The Book of the Dead, and it started off like most other Ejyptian legends. Ones life was like the flowing of the Nile River, where the end was the Underworld ruled by Osiris. The god of the dead would sent out a huge crescent-shaped ship to collect the souls of the dead, and when Osiriss servant, the goddess Bastet in the form of a cat, appeared next to the corpse, the soul would be resurrected in the Underworld and be judged by Osiris for all the good and bad deeds they had done in their life.02
However, the story also ntioned the story of Bastet. Bastet was a goddess, but due to the judgent of fate, she beca a cat which guarded the granaries for Ejyptians to atone for her sins. When she gradually regained her divine power, Osiris sealed and took control of her divine power, making her a servant of the Underworld.
So, that was it! Amon had never heard of this story before. It seed that the goddess must have experienced a mishap and turned into a cat. After seeing the existence of the Scorpion King, it was not surprising for a cat to go on the path of practising the power of the gods as well. What was surprising was the cat falling under the control of Osiris and its divine power getting sealed. It was difficult to understand how this had happened.
The content of the book was not that long, but Amon looked at it throughout the night. It was only when the sun rose outside the window did he finally close the book and place it back into the copper box. Schrodinger must have wanted to tell him about the past of the Ennead and why she was trapped in the body of a cat. If Amon wanted to save her, he had to understand the cause and effect of what happened, and this was explained by the contents of the book.
Thinking of this, Amon smiled bitterly. He greatly sympathized with what Schrodinger had encountered and was willing to do everything possible to help her, but he was not even capable of protecting himself right now. Until now, his lost power had no signs of returning. Amon did not even know how to solve his own predicant, not to ntion helping Schrodinger to release her seal.
Idu stayed at Amons place for a few days and read the book as well, but he was unable to make any sense of it.
Amons new territory naturally had to be built well to make it seem like he was going to live there for a long ti. Nurous houses, a base camp for the guards, stables, as well as private gardens were constructed around his manor.
According to the usual customs of Ejypt, a private shrine also had to be built, and most of the ti it would be used to worship Horus. But Amon had his own ideas, and just like his residence in the city of mphis, he wanted the shrine to be used for the worship of Bastet. This obviously would make Schrodinger happy as well.
When Amon gave this order, Idu happened to be beside him. He smiled and said: Soone once ntioned this to privately. When you were holding King Lucier hostage, you let a cat sit on the main seat and eat first while Lucier waited by the side and you roasted the at. The Supre Generals love for his cat is unparalleled, and even the shrine in the manor is dedicated to the goddess Bastet.
Amon asked with a smile: Cant I do that? Does this violate any rules?
Idu replied: Goddess Bastet is important in Ejypt. You certainly can worship Her.
Amon glanced out the window and wondered where Schrodinger was playing right now. Nodding his head, he said: Since High Priest Idu says so, then all the more I should worship the goddess properly.
Idu suddenly rembered sothing and joked: Everyone knows how much you love your cat. The book you borrowed also ntioned the goddess Bastet in the end, no wonder you would be interested. Could it be that your cat was the one who wanted you to read that book?
Amon didnt answer the question and simply smiled. Changing the topic, Amon lowered his voice and said: I have sothing to ask you, High Priest.
Seeing that his expression suddenly beca serious, Idu also lowered his voice. Feel free to ask anything. If you need my help personally, just let know.
You are also aware of my current situation. Being famous and revered, it is inconvenient for to make any move. If I wish to leave my territory to do anything, I need to report to the nearest city and the Ejyptian officials. In order to leave, I need an excuse which nobody will object to and seems logical.
Idu smiled again. Thats easy. The next Hapisidis is within a few months. You were once an honorary warrior in the Shrine of Isis, and you also made ritorious services at the ceremony in the previous year. Going to mphis to participate in the ceremony is naturally logical. All you need to do is to send a greeting to the Adoratrice. Her Highness often ntions you, so it would be right for you to pay her a visit.
Thats right, I nearly forgot about the Hapisidis. Last years ceremony happened during the war when we were still at the frontlines. Counting the days, the date for the next ceremony should be in about half a year. Ill just wait patiently for it then.
Idu asked again: Is there anything else I can help with?
Amon wanted to say sothing, but held back. Instead, he replied: I have nothing else to bother you with, hope you have a safe journey on your way back. When you return and et the Adoratrice, please convey my greetings and gratitude!
Amon wanted to ask Idu whether a seventh-level mage would also lose his power before advancing to the eighth level. If this was a necessary test, how should one pass the test? Amon was well aware that Idu was different from most supre mages as he had also started off as a sorcerer just like CrazyOle.
But just as he wanted to say it, he had second thoughts. No matter how close they were, Idu was the High Priest of the Shrine of Isis after all, and certain secrets were better left unsaid. They had even deliberately avoided ntioning CrazyOle between the two of them. Amons loss of power was an absolute secret that was not known even by tatro and the others.
When Idu left, Amon could not let him go empty-handed, so he gave him several exceptionally valuable gifts. Money was the one thing which Amon did not lack now. Idu accepted his gifts and returned his generosity with another gift. It was the crystal shuttle that he used to drive when the both of them had gone to spy on the enemys camp.
The shuttle resembled a small translucent dish. There was a Ventussalte embedded right in the center and three Aquaticores embedded on the outside. From the outside, they looked as though they had been part of the shuttle all along instead of being embedded in it. It was not as fast as the most common shuttles, but it was able to transform the surrounding space into a blurry translucent state, which made it difficult to be detected.
If one wanted to travel in stealth while minimizing usage of magical power, it could also turn its surroundings into a state resembling gray or white mist. In that way, it would appear like a cloud floating by. Riding this shuttle also allowed one to avoid the perception of detection magic, and if a safe distance was maintained, even supre mages could not discover it. Back then, it was thanks to this amazing tool that allowed Idu and Amon to discover King Luciers location.
This magical tool could only be manipulated by supre mages, but Idu gave it to Amon and said aningfully: With my current status, I have sufficient wealth and power to get whatever I want, but an object like this crystal shuttle is sothing that cannot be easily bought or found. I created it with my own hands, and it symbolizes the hardships that we experienced together, so please accept it. Perhaps it will be more useful to you than it is to .
This gift was truly sothing good. If Amon ever regained his power and wanted to quietly escape from Ejypt, this object was the best tool to accomplish it. Even if Amon did not use it himself, it would also be great to give it to his disciples. Thus, he expressed his thanks to Idu and accepted it imdiately.
Thus Idu left. Hardedef, on the contrary, continued to stay in Amons manor as he did not have the slightest notion of returning to mphis. Every day, he went hunting on horsebacks with Amons guards and hunted crocodiles in the Nile River, enjoying himself very much. When the shrine was being built, Hardedef even took the initiative to supervise the work, moving the materials, mining the stones, and deploying the workers, in the sa manner as he did when he had commanded the soldiers in the legion.
The miners of Duc were the best craftsn in existence, and Amon appointed Hardedef to be in charge of them for the ti being. Hardedef then asked Moses to let one third of his n take turns at building the shrine of Bastet. After Hardedef advanced to a supre warrior and succeeded at integrating the restless power within him into his body and mind, his temper beca much better than before, and he no longer scolded or beat people as he wanted. But no matter where he stood, he would still give off a dangerous aura.
Amon asked Hardedef when he was going back to mphis. Hardedef shook his head and said: I dont want to go back to mphis. Staying here is much better. Just let stay here for now. There are many things that need to be done here, I can help you train your guards while Im still here. I also wish to wait for tatro to co back so that I can spar with him.
Hearing that, Amon could only continue to let Hardedef stay. Not long after that, tatro returned on a shuttle together with Lynk. Before tatro left, Amon had told him to bring Lynk back to see him if it was possible as there were matters to task Lynk with. At the sa ti, he also wanted to see how much progress Lynk had made with his training.
The news brought by Lynk was very good. In a short period of ti, he not only led his tribesn to establish a firm holding, they were also able to gather thousands of people to start building a city. By now, a rough outline of a city had already appeared. Many of these people were other tribes of caven who left the mountains, and much of them were in fact giants.
After the flood gradually receded, the island where Lynks tribe was located got bigger and bigger. Eventually, it beca the largest piece of fertile land in the center of the swamp. Several paths leading to the east and north also appeared, so it was no longer necessary to ride on El Mar and the other Ironbacks when they wanted to leave the island. With the changes in the climate and landscape in this area, many beasts appeared on the Duc Plains. So tribes that left the mountains to hunt on the plains discovered the existence of a large village here, and many of them offered to join Lynks tribe on their own accord.
Coincidentally, the area around the Syah Plateau suffered a flood not long ago. After the climate changed, the volu of rain increased, which had nothing to do with the gods. After a rainstorm which lasted a long ti, flash floods occurred in many parts of the plateau, washing away and destroying many villages of the giants. Much of their prey which they hunted for food also went missing in the process, thus they were forced to leave their hos and go to the plains.
The simple-minded giants initially had several conflicts with the caven in Lynks village, but they were all dealt with by Lynk. Later on, Lynk took in many wandering giants, giving them work to do and a place to live and eat. In a way, he had saved them.
Much of what they had achieved were also thanks to Aesop. Aesop was the one who was in charge of assigning different jobs to everyone and he also drafted plans for reclaiming the wilderness, building houses and village walls efficiently. He also assigned people to keep watch and patrol the surroundings, as well as organized warriors in groups to carry out hunting, making full use of the manpower they had.
On the other hand, Lynk had nothing much to do. When tatro arrived, before he had said anything, Lynk asked tatro to bring him back to see Amon.
Although Lynk was the leader of his tribe and was considered the most able leader among the caven tribes, he had never been to any other places besides the wilderness in the mountains and the plains near Duc. On his way to Amons territory, he was excited by everything he saw, so he begged tatro to bring to the cities to take a look.
tatro made fun of him several tis, but accepted his request eventually and brought him to several cities. There were many interesting and fanciful items in the cities which dazzled Lynk and made him drool in excitent. He ended up buying all sorts of things including many kinds of grain seeds and various farming tools, and they were all packed into the spatial artifact carried by tatro.
After several days delay, they finally made it back to Amons territory. There was also another thing which frustrated tatro. He just beca a seventh-level supre warrior and supre mage, and he thought that he had surely surpassed Lynk this ti. Instead, Lynk had managed to do the sa, putting him on the sa level as tatro.
The two of them had gone to the swamp for a little sparring. When it ca to magical power, they were evenly matched. But when it ca to physical skill, tatro gained the upper hand. After all, he was a warrior who had experienced fighting a war on the battlefield, and he had even fought Enkidu head-on before.
However, just as Lynk was about to lose to tatro, he suddenly blew a whistle, and El Mar appeared from nowhere. With El Mars help. Lynk was able to overwhelm tatro and achieve a complete victory! tatro accused Lynk of cheating, but Lynk only laughed.
Seeing that Lynk also made it to the seventh-level, Amon was very happy and said with a smile: At the beginning, you said that as you built a new ho on fertile soil, every day was a fruitful day where new creations could be witnessed. As long as you maintain such a ntality, life will be full of positive anings.
Amon was not in a hurry to send Lynk back, and he made him work as a steward for the ti being. Lynk was mainly responsible for managing the daily life of Moses and his people, and assigning them their daily work. Amon had done so with good intentions, because if the forr Ducians ever returned to their hotown at the Duc Plains, they had to integrate into the new city built by Lynks people and live in harmony with the other residents.
Amon did not get close to the Ducians and maintained his appearance towards them as a Supre General who was high above. Most of the ti, he did not even have the opportunity to et them, and all the good deeds were left to Lynk to be done. Whatever supplies, tools or food Moses and his people needed, Lynk would provide it. Lynk also maintained a friendly and kind attitude towards them, so Moses and the rest were grateful to him.
There was also another task for Lynk, and that was to secretly supervise the training of Moses and the rest. Although nobody in Amons territory would ddle with what they did, it was still important to be vigilant and ensure that the information was not leaked to the outside world. Now that Lynk has now achieved the seventh-level, it was easy for him to remain undetected by Moses and his people.
Amons arrangents could already be considered to be cautious enough, but one day, while Moses was training in the valley with his twelve kinsn, they were discovered. Talking about this matter, one had to start with Hardedef.
Hardedef was extrely excited to see tatro back as he had been eager to spar with him. As soon as tatro arrived, he was dragged off to drinking by Hardedef, and after that, they would spar at the hunting ground. In the end, they sparred for three days in a row and tatro won all three tis.
Hardedef was very frustrated by the results. They were both seventh-level supre warriors, and Hardedef had the advantage of utilizing the restless power within him for an explosive burst of strength, but he was still unable to win. It was because tatro could use various magical arts to support him during the fight, and he made sure to use them very stealthily so that it would not be revealed.
Hardedef refused to give up despite being defeated repeatedly, and he continued asking tatro to spar with him while training hard. Deciding to play a joke on him, tatro told him secretly that Lynk was also a supre warrior who had received teaching from Amon just like himself, so Hardedef could also look for Lynk to spar with.
If not for tatro, Hardedef really could not tell that Lynk was a supre warrior. This was because Lynk was now working as a steward, and Hardedef had never seen him with a weapon before. After that, Hardedef went to look for Lynk. At that ti, Lynk was supervising the work at the construction site, and he ended up fighting Hardedef in the presence of Moses and the rest. Hardedef was defeated once again!
This ti, Hardedef finally gave up, realizing that there was always soone stronger out there. Seeing that tatro did not continue to serve as the captain of Amons guards, Hardedef pleaded with Amon to let him take the post as he wanted to stay beside the Supre General.
Amon had the right to appoint a noble as captain of his guards, so he agreed to it. Although the captain of the guards did not have much power, he had a high status, and this appointnt was equivalent to promoting Hardedef one rank.
As the captain of the guard, in addition to protecting Amon, Hardedef also managed the security affairs of Amons territory. Hardedef was very diligent and often took the guards to patrol the territory. However, there was not much to deal with. Including Amon, there were four supre warriors as well as thirty six imposing and skilled guards around, who would dare to find trouble in Amons territory?
Amon obviously wasnt keeping so many experts around for no reason. He had been unable to regain his power for a long ti, so subconsciously, anxiety had taken root in his mind. How was he going to accomplish those difficult wishes if he did not even have the ability to protect himself? Even his own situation seed dire, so the more trusted experts he had around himself, the better it was.
Actually, Amon could already send the Ducians to the Duc Plains by letting Lynk escort them, but he did not do so. Besides wanting to continue to train them, his loss of power was another reason. This was his wish and also a promise he had made to Inanna, so he felt that it was best to wait until he had regained his power. In case anything happened, he would also have the capability to deal with it.
Hardedef often patrolled Amons territory with the guards, and sotis they would also go hunting in the hills at the western side. One day, Hardedef detected a fluctuation of magical energy in a well concealed valley near the quarry, as if soone was casting so powerful magic. He was taken aback and told his n to stay put and take a rest. Next, he quietly climbed to the top of a nearby hill and from there, he saw Moses demonstrating supre elental magic to twelve miners in the valley!
Hardedef was surprised, but he said nothing after returning and continued patrolling with his n. Lynk was originally responsible for supervising in secret, but Hardedef was very observant and alert. By the ti Lynk realized it, it was too late. Knowing that Hardedef had discovered the secret about Moses and his people, Lynk reported to Amon about what had happened.
Amon heard that Hardedef did not do anything about it, so he just waited calmly as well, as he knew that Hardedef probably had his own plans.
Ejyptians loved cats, but they did not eat fish. Cats liked to eat fish, but most cats did not catch fish themselves, so interestingly, Ejyptian cats did not get to eat fish. Schrodinger had access to any delicacies she wanted, but she still preferred to eat the at personally grilled by Amon.
One day, when Schrodinger was eating, she suddenly said: Amon, you are so good at grilling at, the fish you grill must be even better!
As soon as Amon heard that, he knew that Schrodinger wanted to eat fish. This was the first ti the cat had taken the initiative to ask him, so how could he not fulfil this simple wish? As Ejyptians did not fish and eating fish was considered an offense to Osiris, it was inconvenient for the servants to catch fish. Thus, Amon headed to the Nile River to catch the fish himself without bringing anyone else along.
Hardedef was patrolling the riverbank with the guards that day, and he saw that Amon was circling around the Nile River in a boat. So he stopped by the riverbank and asked Amon if he needed help with anything. Amon smiled and said: Its nothing, Im just here to see the scenery. Later on, Hardedef found out that the Supre General had done the sa thing for the past few days, and he was even more puzzled by it.
One day, when Hardedef was patrolling the shrine, he detected a tantalising scent mixed with a slight fishy sll and suddenly realized sothing. After that, he went to look for tatro to discuss sothing. At first, tatro was reluctant, but after Hardedef continued to persuade him and said sothing, he finally agreed to it. After several days, Hardedef invited Amon to a banquet for a drink.
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