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deadcellmate · 7 months

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The Blood Queen & Her King

Summary: A mysterious stranger changes the course of a nomarch's life forever. Word Count: 3,536 Rating: Mature Pairing: Gaius Augustine x Kamilah Sayeed Content Notes: Canon typical violence. Read it on AO3 It was as though he wanted it to hurt, wanted her to earn whatever it was he claimed he was going to give her.

Kamilah feared Gaius when she first met him, hated the arrogant glimmer in his eyes, wanted nothing more than to plunge a dagger deep into his chest. She had plunged a dagger deep into his chest, relishing in the way the crimson liquid spilled at his feet, into the sand, onto her dress, staining it.

Pity it hadn’t been enough. It didn’t stop him from grabbing her by the wrists, sharp, elongated teeth tearing into her neck. She hadn’t remembered screaming—though she was certain she had. But it didn’t matter. His hand clasped over her mouth, and he drank. It was pain unlike anything she’d ever experienced before, hot knives sinking into tender flesh. It didn’t subside. It was as though he wanted it to hurt, wanted her to earn whatever it was he claimed he was going to give her.

I don’t want it, she wanted to yell. There is nothing you could give me that will help me reach what I truly want.

What she truly wanted was for her brother to come back. Deep in her bones, with every Roman army she took down, every fleet she attacked, that was what she was working towards. She cognitively understood that was impossible, illogical, so she was willing to try to settle for thousands of dead Romans at her feet. She meant it when she said she would not stop until she no longer drew breath; most likely, Marc Antony would whisper into her cousin’s ear to have her executed as a traitor in order to stop her. If he hadn’t come along, that was how it was going to end.

She’d been told the story of Helen of Troy a few times when she was a child. She didn’t care for it, but as she began to lose consciousness, either from the pain or the blood loss, as she heard the sound of soldier’s feet thundering against the sand, she thought of it again. How many ships would they launch to avenge her? How many ships would he launch if she tried to escape from his grasp?

Gaius brought Kamilah a gift when she woke up. He presented it to her after the worst of the shock had worn off, when she was no longer focused on the tangy, sweet, metallic taste lingering in the back of her throat, the newfound length of her canines, the hunger boiling inside of her.

She was too weak to fight him when he helped her out of the hole he’d dug for her in the desert sand, too weak to struggle against his grasp as he carried her back to her tent and set her on her feet. And worst of all, she was too hungry to react when she saw the Roman soldier chained to the chair, his mouth gagged, hatred and fury in his eyes, struggling against his bonds.

“As I promised,” Gaius said. “A gift for you.”

“One of your own men?”

“Octavian won’t miss him.” Gaius said. “And who am I to deny you such a simple pleasure?”

He didn’t have to tell her what she needed to do, what the soldier was for. She already understood, from the way the hunger turned into an ache, a demand, the way she felt her canines elongate again. She was upon the soldier before she even understood what she was doing, her fangs ripping into his throat. He must have screamed, but she didn't hear it. The taste of his blood in her mouth was better than the sweetest fruits, the finest wines. Nothing could compare to it.

But then, when the soldier slumped forward in the chair, dead and depleted, reality hit her. She’d killed plenty of roman soldiers, but never in such a grotesque way. She’d never enjoyed it the way she enjoyed this. She was scared, not because of what she had done, but because what she knew she was going to do: she would kill like this again. She would enjoy it immensely. And may the gods help whoever tried to stop her.

Kamilah tackled Gaius, hands wrapped around his throat, squeezing as hard as she could. “What did you do to me?” She demanded. She was startled by how desperate and ragged and scared her voice sounded. “What did you do to me?!”

She wished she could kill him. She tried to, squeezing down on his windpipe, hoping brute force would finally get the job done. Despite the sound of bones breaking, despite the fact that she was choking him harder than she’d ever choked anybody in her life, it didn’t matter. Because all he did was laugh.

“I made you better. Stronger.”

“You made me into a demon. Like you!”

His eyes glowed a deep, bloody red. “I made you into a god.” He grabbed her by the shoulders, easily pushing her off of him. He got back onto his feet, cracking his neck back into place.

“A god of blood.”

“Look me in the eye and tell me you didn’t enjoy draining the life out of that soldier.” Gaius said. He looked down at her, knowing full well she couldn’t. When she didn’t answer, he smiled. “You’re scared. Angry. Confused. I understand.”

He knelt down in front of her. “But I chose you for a reason. I need someone like you.” He ran his thumb along her jaw. She jerked away from him.

“Don’t touch me.”

“Apologies, my queen.”

“And don’t call me that.”

Gaius laughed. “I like you already.”

Centuries later, when people asked her about it, Kamilah framed it as a sort of amusing story. The story of two perfectly matched people who had no idea what they’d come across yet. Centuries after that, long after Gaius was gone, she’d be at a business dinner or something of the sort attended by humans where there was always at least one happily married couple. Inevitably, the story of how the two of them got together would come up. It always made her heart thaw and ache, not because she was particularly prone to get emotional over that sort of thing, but because of how much it reminded her of the way she used to talk about him, which deeply alarmed her.

The story of their love began with a deal. Kamilah didn’t want to be anywhere near Gaius. She wanted to run as far away as she could. She’d take her chances out in the desert. No, she’d feast upon the Romans, making her way all the way to their capitol, making the streets run red with blood. Gaius had other plans for her, of course.

She tried to point out the obvious to get him to let her go: she was a nomarch. Her men were all dead. People would go looking for her. Not to mention, she had no desire to go anywhere with Gaius. So, what do you intend to do? She demanded. Force me by your side until you break me?

“You reject what I have to offer before you you’ve experienced it.” Gaius replied.

“I don’t want what you have to offer.”

“You don’t want power? You don’t want to be respected?”

“I am respected.”

“You’d be a vizier if not for your sex.” Gaius said. “Egypt still wouldn’t have been able to defeat the Romans under your counsel, but you wouldn’t be part of such a humiliating loss.”

“How dare you.”

“You don’t hold a deep love for your nation. You seek vengeance.” Gaius continued. “And I can give that to you.”

“Not when you fight for the Romans, you can’t.”

Gaius shook his head. “I don’t fight in human conflicts because I believe in their causes. I fight for my security. And as it stands, the Roman empire has offered me comforts that the Egyptians refused. But I’ve no true loyalty to their soldiers.”

Gaius let out a breath, moving away from Kamilah. “I know how it feels to lose somebody who means the world to you. Somebody who you can’t live without. And I take it that is what’s happened to you.”

“You don’t know the first thing about me.”

“Sorrow sings in your blood.” Gaius replied. “You seek to destroy those who destroyed whoever you lost.” He turned back to Kamilah. “I will give you what you want if you will give me what I want.”

“And what is it that you want?”

“As I’ve said. A queen. Somebody by my side. Somebody who can fight alongside me. Somebody who can help me enact my vision of the world.”

“I’ve no interest in sharing a bed with you.”

“I never said that.” Gaius said. “But I’m not finished. I can give you what you want if you stand beside me. We can look for whoever took the person you love. You can do whatever it is you wish with him.”

“You’re trying to trick me.”

“And what makes you so sure of that?”

“It’s an empty promise.” Kamilah said. “It’s a promise of searching, not of finding.”

“I don’t intend to trick you.”

“And why should I believe that?” Kamilah said.

“You don’t have a choice.”

“I always do.”

“Then what will satisfy you?”

“A month.” Kamilah said, surprised by her certainty. “I will be by your side for a month. You will find me the man who killed my brother. If you can’t, I will leave, and you won’t stop me.”

“And if I do?”

Kamilah let out a breath. “Then I will be your queen.”

“Then you have a deal.”

It only took two weeks to find the man who killed Lysimachus. Perhaps Gaius was motivated to prove a point. Perhaps he only made the initial proposal because he knew it was a promise he could easily deliver.

Lysimachus had been a general, which meant that his death was news amongst the Romans. It was a victory that a cunning and strategic man had been disposed of. The man that killed him boasted about it, which meant that he had a name, a face, a location. They expected he’d be in Alexandria, which would have complicated things, but no, he was stationed in an outpost several miles outside of the city, among a fleet of men holding off on as many Egyptian soldiers as they could.

They dragged him out of his bed, deeper into the desert. He fought the entire way there, screaming and begging, tears running down his face, all whyareyoudoingthisimaninnocentmanimjustoneofoctavianssoldiersletmego.

Kamilah didn’t dignify it with a response. She always thought if she ever had the chance to kill the man who killed Lysimachus, she would tell him about the person whose life he snuffed out, how she grieved, how everything she’d done since then was building up to this moment.

But this man no longer seemed like a being who changed her life. He was pathetic, ordinary. His entire life had been building up to this moment, the moment that she would kill him, and he was too stupid to realize it.

She tore into his neck, blood splattering, making no attempt to preserve his life for any longer than necessary. She drank eagerly, hungrily as he thrashed against her. She bit harder into his flesh, tearing out his throat with her teeth, not caring that he would bleed out in less than a minute because of what she’d done. She didn’t want to give him a quick death, but she’d given him a painful death. And that was enough.

When she was finished, she looked over at Gaius, who sat atop a dune, a smile on his face. Kamilah noticed that he smiled a lot in the last two weeks, but there were seemingly infinite reasons as to why he smiled. Sometimes, it was out of arrogance, of knowing he’d bested someone. Other times, it was out of thinly veiled annoyance. Other times, it was out of amusement.

But this was out of pride. Proud of the creature he’d created. Proud of being right about Kamilah. Proud of what they’d pulled off in two weeks.

Proud that he’d won.

For the first three decades they shared together, they were partners, not lovers. He was her king, she was his queen, but what that really meant was that she was his second in command. His other progenies turned to her authority in Gaius’s absence. His other progenies bowed to both of them.

They grew close. Of course they did. As time passed, she began to develop a fondness for Gaius she hadn’t expected. He was quick witted and sharp-tongued, charming when he needed to be.

It was odd, the things he did that she found endearing. The way he’d always let her make the first kill, the way he began to select people to feed on based on what he discerned to be her taste, the way he was almost loving towards his victims, the way he told stories of battle, the way it changed depending on who he was talking to. He was braggadocios with most of his progeny. With her, he was detailed, once he figured out that she was more interested in strategy than glory.

In the beginning, he was vague about his past, about who he was before he became what he was. But slowly, he began to reveal more and more about himself. Gaius told her the story of the one before him, the Goddess and Mother of All Vampires, Rheya. She’d been taken from him just as Lysimachus had been taken from Kamilah. He never wanted to discuss how it happened. He preferred to focus on her life, on who she was.

“She was a force of nature.” Gaius told her once. “Not unlike you.”

“Is that why you chose me? Because I remind you of her?”

“In a way.” Gaius said. “But it’s different. I stand beside you. I bowed before her.”

She knew it was something she couldn’t possibly understand, and she didn’t try to. From the way he described Rheya, she wasn’t his goddess the way Kamilah was his queen. Rheya was quite literally a goddess. Kamilah was never going to compete with that, and there was no reason to try. Though, part of her wondered why that had been her instinct, why the more he spoke of Rheya, the more she felt twinges of jealousy rearing their head.

She wasn’t expecting the fondness she had for him to grow into something else entirely. It crept up on her in the right at the very end of their first thirty years together.

They were back in the Roman empire. What began as a brief stint in Pompeii that ended in a hundred people dead and countless others whispering stories about demons cloaked in beauty who only came out at night festered into owing Tiberius several favors, which included assisting him in his conquest of Bohemia.

Thirty years ago, Kamilah would have refused. She would have run, deal with Gaius be damned. But things had changed. She viewed human conflicts similarly to Gaius now; it wasn't about what was right. It was about what would guarantee their survival. An allegiance with the Roman Empire meant they could do whatever they pleased on most of the continent.

Besides, Kamilah missed it. She was a skilled tactician as a human. With Gaius’s charisma and strength and her strategy, Bohemia would be Tiberius’s in no time.

In the beginning, it was victory after victory. This was where she truly learned how to fight. Gaius gifted her with a set of daggers and taught her how to use them. They fought back to back on the battlefield, covered in the blood of their enemies. She often found herself taken with his visage in the moonlight, the glimmer in his eyes as he played with his prey. There was a strange part of her that almost wished he’d look at her like that—

It was a distraction, and she began to consciously pay as little attention to Gaius as possible when they fought alongside each other, save for the occasional glance in his direction to make sure he didn’t need backup. He never did. It was an excuse, really. Kamilah knew that.

Their only drawback was a group of Bohemians that kept slipping out of Gaius and Kamilah’s grasp. Their strategy was similar to that of Kamilah’s when she fought the Romans thirty years before. When they struck Roman fleets, they took no prisoners. They attacked supply drops, taking whatever they could for themselves. They moved constantly. They had an advantage that Kamilah didn’t all of those years ago: they were used to being outside, used to the elements. Unlike the Roman soldiers, they could endure the worst of nature’s ills, which was just as well, because it was the middle of winter.

But she would destroy them, if only to prove that even they couldn’t best the roman empire.

The idea came to Kamilah after she’d attempted to Turn a Roman soldier who was a particularly skilled fighter, an asset to their conquest. He’d been run through with a spear and was already dead by the time Kamilah found him. The Turning didn’t take. She had to stake him as soon as he emerged from the ground, his skin grey and cracked, his teeth long and jagged, his eyes glowing a sickly red.

Gaius told her it happened sometimes. It wasn’t her fault.

“But what happened to him?”

“Turning a dead person is risky.” Gaius said. “Wait too long, they’ll emerge broken and hungry, shells of what they once were. All they’ll want to do is drink blood—any blood. Vampire or human.”

“But you could…” Kamilah trailed off. “You could do it intentionally. Couldn’t you?”

“What are you getting at?”

“That one fleet…they’re tricky, slippery. We’ve spent weeks trying to get rid of them. But maybe we’ve been going about it all wrong.”

“Have we?”

“They’re trying to tire us out. Don’t you think? But if we…”

“A surprise attack is a redundant suggestion, my queen.”

Kamilah rolled her eyes. “Not quite. We have to keep them in one place. Contained. Which means we need to create the illusion that we’ve given up. They’re going to overpower the other soldiers if we strike. But if we…if we made more of those things, set them lose on wherever they’ve settled…”

“We’ll get rid of them.” Gaius finished.

“And sunlight will take care of the rest.”

He took her hand.

“I love the way you think. Have I ever told you that, my queen?”

Kamilah smirked. “Plenty of times, my king.”

“Then I apologize for the redundancy. But I love the way you think.”

The Romans didn’t ask questions when Gaius gave the order to gather as many of their dead as possible after a battle in which they’d nearly been overpowered. They hauled the bodies around in a caravan for a week, all the while trying to lull their target into a false sense of security. Kamilah and Gaius tracked them down to a village deep into Bohemia, far from where the Bohemians and the Romans waged most of their battles.

“It’s perfect.” Gaius said. “We’ll strike tomorrow night.”

And so, they returned to the bodies they gathered, doing the disgusting work of Turning fifty dead men. They buried them in the woods by the village in the cover of darkness. They waited, exhuming them and getting out of their way, watching as these feral vampires headed straight in the direction of fresh, human blood.

It was a beautiful sight to behold, the chaos of it all. They sat atop a hill, Kamilah’s head resting against Gaius’s shoulder, watching as the ferals tore the village apart, watching as a fire broke out in the chaos, watching as not a single human was left away, watching as Rome’s victory over Bohemia was secured right before their very eyes.

Gaius took Kamilah’s hand. “I never had any doubts about you.” He said. “But now, I’m certain. We were always meant to cross paths. I was always supposed to find you.”

Kamilah rolled her eyes, mostly out of habit. “Are you going to tell me we were written in the stars?”

“You mock me, but you know I’m right.” He gestured at the burning village below him. “You’re cunning in a way that I am not. We need each other. Or rather, I need you.” He laughed. “At this point, I’d be concerned if you switched allegiances. You might actually be able to beat me at my own game.”

“You needn’t concern yourself with that.” Kamilah said.

“I shouldn’t?”

“I find myself growing more and more devoted to you with each breath I draw.”

“Do you, now?”

Before she could stop herself, she closed off the space between them, pressing her lips against his. He responded in kind, pulling her closer. He smiled against her mouth.

“Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to do that?” He murmured.

“I think I can guess.”

As the village below them burned, they were wrapped up in their own world, enveloped in one another. And just as much as he was hers, Kamilah realized, she was his.

#bloodbound #playchoices #choices stories you play #kamilah sayeed #gaius augustine #gaius augustine x kamilah sayeed #gaius x kamilah #bloodbound fan fiction #choices fanfiction

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magistralucis · 9 months

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Okay, your turn! Unhinged Character Bingo for… Zultanekh

Is Zultanekh an oddball? He is. Has he charmed his way into my heart? He has. Could I resist infecting him with all the angst in The Twice-Dead King and scores more? Certainly, I could not.

While one of the more reasonable characters in the duology by far, I do think Zultanekh has a spot in this bingo, since he is very weird. The things which motivated him to stick with Oltyx's voyage have almost nothing to do with necron ways of thought. He himself is quite well-adjusted, and narrowly avoids a full bingo on all fronts - but by canonically managing to collect both parental issues, from the same person no less, he merits a honorable mention. 😂

Also this made me scribble. Read more for Z/D angst. TDK spoilers.

-----------------------

Truthfully, he was close to giving up on the idea Djoseras could be entertained, at least in a way they could both share. Zultanekh is, therefore, astonished when the fair kynazh expresses an interest in the art of metallurgy - and even more so when he requests a presentation of Ogdobekh alloys, promptly if at all possible.

"At Vorronezh," is the core of Djoseras's short explanation, the prince retaining a stiffness of tone despite his curiosity. "The foundries - the metals you had in store. There was fine work being done there. Suffice to say my brother now bears the best of it in his hand, and good for him, as good as anything can ever be."

He's referring to an Ithakan victory back in the war. It makes Zultanekh smile. Despite the ages past, and of his brother's bitter exile, he can't resist tilting his chin proudly at the thought; that's all Djoseras, graceful, soft-spoken, and carrying a very big stick (metaphorically or otherwise) ready to strike out at any second. "This one will certainly attest to that glaive's quality, Djoseras, and may it serve the nomarch well. But what purpose would a scion of Ithakas seek in our alloys? The keenest blades? The sturdiest bastions?"

Djoseras defies expectations once more. "Precious metals. One tires of the fighting and the flux."

"So the kynazh appreciates his bright impermanent things!" Zultanekh laughs. Djoseras tenses, reflexively, though just shy of a bristle. Seeing this, the Crown Prince spares him further discomfort, resting a warm and powerful hand upon his shoulder. "Well, have you come to the right place? Yes, you have. For who has the right to the coffers of the Ogdobekh, the finest of our gold and the wealth of ages past? Anathrosis, of course, of the Black Star! … And, yes, well, Zultanekh too, by virtue of heirship to his matriarch. Come, and I will show you."

-----

Nothing about metal is permanent. Many have forgotten this truth, but the Ogdobekh live it still. Living or non-living, a metal is a thing with memory: it is fated to be shaped, and to perhaps hold that form for a long time, but eventually it must be made new again. The concept of memory implies survival. Through countless softenings and forgings it carries on slivers of what it used to be, no one fold nor join identical to one that came before it. A metal's past directly informs its future behaviour. Zultanekh would not call this trait heka - no form of silver can defy the laws of silverbeing to become a gold, nor can copper become silver, no matter how much one alters their proportions - but he and his metallurgists consider it the metal's will, and they have never been let down by observing it wherever they could.

Precious metals have it the strongest. By virtue of their utility they live closest to their wearer, and whatever they go through the metals also go through: a careful polish, the violence of the theft, excoriated shavings. The wisps of gold woven into Djoseras's necrodermis are a soft and holy thing, whereas the gold that covers his sire is most foul, the shell as ugly and tortured as the being encased within it. No jeweler worth his deben in buillons would ever go near it, unless Unnas were to endure the star gods' furnaces a second time - and since no one has nor should have to do that, the history of Unnas's gold might as well stop there altogether. Zultanekh is careful to say absolutely none of this as he takes Djoseras through the display.

"Electrum - spangold - the greatest deposit of metagold currently known outside of the solar cults," he says as he takes up two alloys, comparing them side by side. "Experiments with strangesteel. Yet so far nothing short of pure metagold seems to recreate living light, or so we call the insidious tricks of the Nephrekh." He puts them down again, though not before glancing meaningfully at the other. "I'd heard your metagold was sacrificed to Antikef's star, all those millions of years ago. I dare say it's a shame, Djoseras; I would have liked to call upon you for assistance."

Djoseras considers this information silently. Sadly the experiments will have to wait, for it is not gold which has captivated the kynazh's oculars tonight; no, it's silver he wants to see, his lithe body glittering like it as he contemplates its pure form. "Such a fussy thing." He comments, and Zultanekh catches not a small hint of self-deprecation. Djoseras tends to be so careful with his speech (the blandness of it drives the Ogdobekh prince mad sometimes), and he had not thought his vocal acutators were capable of such bitterness. "Ever since the flames of biotransference I have been loyal only to this vermeil. It is a mirror no one could bear. So clear, and yet so easily damaged, and the marks will never come out."

He looks up then, right into Zultanekh's oculars. "Have you an alloy for that?"

All of a sudden Zultanekh desires, painfully, to catch his breath.

"All the ones you'd already know."

In truth, silver is not favoured among the Ogdobekh. They like it fine, it's just that it's best off used as it is. The traits that make silver desirable are quickly lost in alloys - gold drowns it out entirely, lesser metals cut its value, whilst strangesteel lends it a sharp iridescent hue that has nothing to do with silver at all - it is a metal that dies, in other words, if it is anything other than itself. And the Ogdobekh so hate to murder. So does Zultanekh, standing beside the finest silver in all of Ithakas, privy to the cracks that lie underneath. For the silver is Ithakas and Ithakas is the silver. And Djoseras is silver. He mirrors equally all the things that surround him, and when Zultanekh stands close he holds all of Zultanekh upon his surface. But he is not visible unless Zultanekh steps away, the ruddy hue vanishing from his calmwater features, alone and exquisite in the ruins of his city. A lake he can never explore, droplets he can never hold.

He could bring the whole galaxy to its knees and Djoseras will never be his.

"You are right, of course. True silver is soft, too delicate to do much with."

But Zultanekh knows better than to bring any of this up, and when he finally finds the words for his vocal emitter, he keeps them objective and measured. Leaning down beside Djoseras, he chooses an alloy sample that looks the least like an alloy, tracing around the orb with a fingertip. "There are limits to what we can mix it with, but it does need a trace of something else to endure. And our ancestors knew, as you and I do, that the strongest silvers are braced with copper." (Was that a twitch from the kynazh? Zultanekh hopes it was. It is so much more interesting than his daytime stillness.) "Look at this: nine parts silver, one part copper, the best our jewelers will work with. But where you could avoid the physical damage, tarnish would follow, and some take that poorly. Fussy, as you say."

Djoseras buzzes quietly in irritation. For the millionth time he considers the other's copperclad attire. "You are so changeable."

"But present." Zultanekh counters. Djoseras might be bothered by the effort the Ogdobekh must put into preening themselves, but he does not feel it to be wasteful, nor would he apologize for what is natural. "Stains are a part of life, Djoseras."

Djoseras's interstitial link slides shut. It will not open again until they leave this chamber, or else the kynazh this planet, and Zultanekh tries to accept it for what it is. Zultanekh is the Crown Prince. Zultanekh is not a petulant child, he reminds himself, noting for the millionth time that it's nothing personal. It's just Djoseras is fragile, iron-brittle beneath his nobility, and he will break if made to bend too far. Zultanekh need not be the hammer. Anyone could do it, the kynazh's own brother has done it, and it will happen again. He could be welded back together, but since metals have a memory, he will never be the same - and there is nothing Zultanekh fears more than to lose Djoseras as he is now, beautiful and so proud, dying like his dynasty around him. Zultanekh is not a victim of melancholy, nor an indecisive wreck.

What Zultanekh is, however, is sorry. Slowly his hand reaches for the other's, pauses halfway, makes do with a comforting touch on the shoulder. Their oculars still fixed upon the sample alloy.

"This one would brace you well," he whispers, "if you'd like."

Probably for the best, he thinks, that neither of them are versed in linguistical ambiguities.

#warhammer 40k #the twice dead king #necron #necrons #zultanekh #djoseras #oltyx #drabble #we live on archipelagos #fanfiction #unhinged character bingo #i am throwing my vote in for 'zultanekh and djoseras evolved into star crossed lovers and they left many many things unsaid'#and it is the pursuit of that memory that moves zultanekh as much as his loyalty #ugh i am headcanoning and i am INSANE

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spiritsdancinginthenight · 1 month

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A caravan of men, women, children, cattle and donkey's visit Egypt in this scene from the tomb of the 12th dynasty official Khnumhotep II at Beni Hasan.

The "Aamu of Shu" (West Asia/Eastern Mediterranean/Semites) were being led by "Abisha the Hyksos", visiting the nomarch, Khnumhotep II for trade.

Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty, reign of Amenemhat II - Senwosret II, c.1878-1837 B.C. Tomb of Khnumhotep II at Beni Hasan, Egypt.

#ancient egypt

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rudjedet · 2 years

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A previous asker has reminded me of a question I've been working on for a while. Do you know, or can you point me towards, resources describing the political and administrative styles of Egypt for your preferred time period?

I'm planning to use the information to inform short stories and ttrpg games and I'd like to know more about government to add more verisimilitude to the work. Taxes, land use patterns, how armies or large labor groups were levied, how authority is divided between the state/royalty and large landowners, etc. If I was setting the stories in standard pseudo-midieval fantasy land I could look at the Wikipedia articles for feudalism and manorialism, for example, and that would get me on my way, but I haven't found anything like that for New Kingdom Egypt. (That's about my skill level, by the way, I'm just a hobbyist so some academic articles' language is unfortunately beyond me.)

Anything you can point me towards would be helpful. (And I'll be sure to check out a couple of those overview texts you suggested to the writer a couple asks back.) Thank you for your time!

Oh boy I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is that there is a book that is exactly what you need, which is called Ancient Egyptian Administration, and it covers every period of ancient Egypt from the earliest to the Late one.

The bad news is that it costs several hundred euros.

The brill website I linked gives an overview of the contents, which you can use to google the chapters as I believe some of them were available to read for free on Academia. At least that's where I think I got Harco Willems' Nomarchs and Local Potentates: The Provincial Administration in the Middle Kingdom from. I also see that one on Researchgate, from a quick scan, so I’m assuming a bunch of others are also accessible!

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nowoolallowed · 3 months

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Seated Statue of the Nomarch Idu II of Dendera - Met Museum Collection

Inventory Number: 98.4.9 Old Kingdom, Dynasty 6, ca. 2246–2152 B.C. Location Information: From Egypt, Northern Upper Egypt, Dendera, Tomb of Idu II, Pit, Egypt Exploration Fund excavations, 1898

Description:

Discovered in his mastaba tomb at Dendera, this statue represents the nomarch (governor) of a province of Upper Egypt during the late Old Kingdom. This man, Idu II, wielded considerable power during the long reign of Pepi II, the last king of Dynasty 6. Created by a provincial artist, the figure has very large eyes and somewhat unconventional proportions, and is seated on a high-backed chair instead of the more common block seat. He wears a shoulder-length curled wig and a short kilt adorned by a beaded apron, indicated by a triangle on the front of the skirt. Traces of the original color — black for the wig and chair, red for the skin, and white for the kilt, are still visible.

#Seated Statue of the Nomarch Idu II of Dendera #old kingdom #dynasty 6 #upper egypt #northern upper egypt #dendera #tomb of idu II #met museum #98.4.9 #mens hair and wigs #OKMHW

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feydfuckernation · 7 months

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would you believe me if i told you my ADD ass has read #cleopatra liberation instead of #coleoptera libation all this time and i was like "yeah... i guess that makes sense in context"

me and my fellow nomarchs celebrating the cleopatra liberation together circa 42 BC

#this is an unnecessarily elaborate joke but i promise it's actually very funny #answered #dreaming-of-hope #I KNOW THE SONG IS ABOUT KING TUT. let me have this.

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ghostinthegallery · 7 months

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Trick or treat!

Here, some of the quick fic I’m working on of Oltyx and Yenekh’s first meeting (in which Mentep gets sick of their bs and gives everyone a shove):

Oltyx threw open the antechamber doors, prepared to order his translation, and froze.

The antechamber was not empty.

There were two immortals at the door, still as the statues that adorned the rest of the place. Oltyx barely registered them. He was more concerned with the figure in the center.

He was tall, the silver of his necrodermis reflecting Sedh’s meager sunlight as it bled through the windows. His limbs were long and graceful as the twin khopesh blades hanging at his hips. The dynastic cartouche on his chest glimmered as if in mockery of Oltyx’s own scarred carapace.

“I thought you said his ship was five minutes away,” Oltyx growled at Analytical. When he did not get a response he was almost taken by another rage before remembering that he had not removed the silencing order.

Once it was gone, the submind said. “The ship was five minutes and twenty seven seconds away, master. Not the admiral. Oh, the ship is now three minutes and—“

Oltyx silenced it again, and stared at High Admiral Yenekh who gave a fluid, courtly bow.

“Greetings, nomarch,” he said, his tenor echoing and filling the room. “I believe your message wanted to spar?”

Szarekh’s teeth. Oltyx was going to kill Mentep.

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warrenwoodhouse · 4 days

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Cemeteries & Graves in Video Games Databank (Databanks)

Databank by @warrenwoodhouse

Last Updated: 24th May 2024

GTA (franchise)

Grand Theft Auto

Little Bogota Graveyard

Grand Theft Auto: London 1969

None

Grand Theft Auto: London 1961

None

Grand Theft Auto 2

None

Grand Theft Auto III

None

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Romero’s Funeral Service

> Graves (Easter Egg)

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Vinewood Cemetery

Opposition Memorial

Las Barrancas Church Cemetery

Las Brujas Cemetery

Mass Grave (Easter Egg)

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

Liberty City Cathedral Cemetery

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

Romero’s Funeral Service

> Graves (Easter Egg)

Grand Theft Auto IV

Dukes Cemetery

Suffolk Church Graveyard

Colony Island Cemetery

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned DLC

Dukes Cemetery

Suffolk Church Graveyard

Colony Island Cemetery

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony DLC

Dukes Cemetery

Suffolk Church Graveyard

Colony Island Cemetery

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Dukes Cemetery

Suffolk Church Graveyard

Colony Island Cemetery

Grand Theft Auto V

Hill Valley Church Cemetery: Route 68 & Mt. Vinewood Drive, Harmony, Blaine County

Ludendorff Church Cemetery

Grand Theft Auto V: Grand Theft Auto Online: Cayo Perico DLC

Cayo Perico Graveyard

Grand Theft Auto VI

Add

Grand Theft Auto VI: Grand Theft Auto Online DLC

Add

Assassins Creed (franchise)

Assassin’s Creed

Add

Assassin’s Creed II

Add

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

Add

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

Add

Assassin’s Creed III

Trinity Church Cemetery: Wall Street & Broadway, Lower Manhattan, New York

Assassin’s Creed: Liberation

Saint Peter’s Cemetery

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

Add

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag: Freedom Cry

Add

Assassin’s Creed: Rogue

Trinity Church Cemetery: Wall Street & Broadway, Lower Manhattan, New York

Assassin’s Creed: Unity

Holy Innocents’ Cemetery

Assassin’s Creed: Unity: Dead Kings DLC

Add

Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate

Add

Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate: Jack the Ripper DLC

Add

Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate: The Last Maharaja DLC

Add

Assassin’s Creed: Origins

Eastern Cemetery Mastaba

Hemon Mastaba

Tomb of Khufu (Great Pyramid of Giza)

Golden Tomb

Desecrated Tomb

Fai-Jon Lamentu Crypt

Sunken Crypt

Tomb of Djoser

Tomb of Sneferu

Bent Pyramid of Siwa

Bent Pyramid of Sneferu

Tomb of Smenkhkare

Tomb of Amenemhat III

Tomb of the Cynic

Seth-Anat Tomb

Nomarch’s Tomb

Mountain of the Dead Tomb

Tomb of Khafre

Tomb of Menkaure

Lost Crypt

Tomb of Alexander the Great

Tomb of Battos

Hotep Cavern (Tomb of Bayek of Siwa)

Tomb of the Nomads

Adorer of Thoth Tomb

Assassin’s Creed: Origins: Secrets of the First Pyramids DLC

Tomb of Menkaure

Assassin’s Creed: Origins: The Hidden Ones DLC

Taharqa’s Grave (unmarked)

Assassin’s Creed: Origins: The Curse of the Pharaohs DLC

Add

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey

Athens Cemetery

Naxos Cemetery

Grave of Sisyphos

Grave of Tereus

Grave of Laios

Aipeia Graveyard

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey: Legacy of the First Blade DLC

Add

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey: The Fate of Atlantis DLC

Add

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey: Crossover Stories DLC

Add

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla

Saint Merri Cemetery

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla: The Wrath of the Druids DLC

Add

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla: The Siege of Paris DLC

Add

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök DLC

Add

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla: Forgotten Saga DLC

Add

Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla: River Raids DLC

Add

Assassin’s Creed: Mirage

Add

Assassin’s Creed: Shadows

Add

Red Dead (franchise)

Red Dead Revolver

Add

Red Dead Redemption

Coot’s Chapel Cemetery

> A Cowboy Without a Name’s Grave (Easter Egg)

Old Fellow’s Rest Cemetery

The Blackwater Church of Holy Ascension Cemetery

Tumbleweed Cemetery

Sepulcro Cemetery

Red Dead Redemption: Red Dead Online DLC

Coot’s Chapel Cemetery

> A Cowboy Without a Name’s Grave (Easter Egg)

Old Fellow’s Rest Cemetery

The Blackwater Church of Holy Ascension Cemetery

Tumbleweed Cemetery

Sepulcro Cemetery

Red Dead Redemption II

Coot’s Chapel Cemetery

> A Cowboy Without a Name’s Grave (Easter Egg)

Old Fellow’s Rest Cemetery

The Blackwater Church of Holy Ascension Cemetery

Tumbleweed Cemetery

Red Dead Redemption II: Red Dead Online DLC

Coot’s Chapel Cemetery

> A Cowboy Without a Name’s Grave (Easter Egg)

Old Fellow’s Rest Cemetery

The Blackwater Church of Holy Ascension Cemetery

Tumbleweed Cemetery

Marvels Spider-Man (franchise)

Marvel’s Spider-Man

Church of Intercession Cemetery

> Ben Parker’s Grave

> May Parker’s Grave (during Epilogue)

> Jefferson Davis’ Grave (after Act 4)

Trinity Church Cemetery: Wall Street & Broadway, Financial District

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Church of Intercession Cemetery

> Ben Parker’s Grave

> May Parker’s Grave

> Jefferson Davis’ Grave

Trinity Church Cemetery: Wall Street & Broadway, Financial District

City Hall Bombing Memorial

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Church of Intercession Cemetery

> Ben Parker’s Grave

> May Parker’s Grave

> Jefferson Davis’ Grave

Trinity Church Cemetery: Wall Street & Broadway, Financial District

City Hall Bombing Memorial

The Elder Scrolls (franchise)

The Elder Scrolls Arena

Add

The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall

Add

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind

Add

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Add

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Hall of the Dead Cemetery, Markarth

Hall of the Dead Cemetery, Solitude

Hall of the Dead Cemetery, Falkreath

Hall of the Dead Cemetery, Whiterun

Hall of the Dead Cemetery, Windhelm

Hall of the Dead Cemetery, Riften

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: Dragonborn DLC

Add

The Elder Scrolls Online

Add

Kona (franchise)

Kona

The Cemetery

Kona II: Brume

Add

Wizarding World (franchise)

Hogwarts Legacy

Hogsmeade Graveyard

Fallout (franchise)

Fallout

Add

Fallout 2

Add

Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel

Add

Fallout 3

Add

Fallout 3: Broken Steel DLC

Add

Fallout 3: Operation: Anchorage DLC

None

Fallout 3: The Pitt DLC

Add

Fallout 3: Point Lookout DLC

Add

Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta DLC

None

Fallout: New Vegas

Chance’s Grave

Fallout 4

Wildwood Cemetery

Union’s Hope Cathedral Cemetery

Old Granary Burying Ground

Copp’s Hill Burying Ground

Vault 111 (post-war graveyard)

Fallout 4: Automatron DLC

Add

Fallout 4: Wasteland Workshop DLC

None

Fallout 4: Far Harbor DLC

Atom’s Spring

Fallout 4: Contraptions Workshop DLC

None

Fallout 4: Vault-Tec Workshop DLC

None

Fallout 4: Nuka-World DLC

Add

Fallout Shelter

None

Fallout 76

Kanawha Cemetery

Philippi Battlefield Cemetery

Pleasant Hills Cemetery

Huntersville Cemetery

Fallout 5

Add

#warrenwoodhouse #gaming #2024 #databank #databanks #database #databases #.db #list #lists #.list #cemetery #cemeteries #graveyards #graveyard #grave #graves

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