Incest/Taboo Pharaoh’s Curse

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The Rise of the Pharaoh​

Andrew McCain, the Pharaoh of Egypt, not that the world knows the pharaonic line, had reemerged into the world. Andrew had a suspicion the Gods would see to that no matter how much he wanted to remain in the dark. Now, as he stood at the large bay window, looking out on the city of Cairo (Memphis) or what the ancient Egyptians called it Khere-Ohe, his eyes scanned the city's lights as his mind replayed the events that led him, his mother, Carla, and Anta to this point in his journey. His mind recounted their train trip through The Channel Tunnel after they had finished the tour at the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology and where The Louvre Museum would put on the next leg of the tour. However, when they were at the Egyptian Gregorian Museum in Rome, Italy, Andrew suspected he was being watched, namely when they were attending the opening night. All throughout the night, he felt eyes on him.

Not in the way he was experiencing or had experienced up to that point in time. No, this felt like they were studying him. What for? He couldn't say. Although he did wish the weirdness would stop for good, he had a hunch that wouldn't be the case, at least not in his lifetime. His thumbs brushed lightly along the denim of his jeans as his blue-green eyes stared at the lit Pyramids and Sphinx off in the distance. His eyes moved over the dark skyline, seeing the spotlights moving in their programed pattern, knowing they were sitting in front of the museum where his mother works. He had watched them set them up when they arrived in Cairo earlier that day. His mother, Alexandra (she preferred to go by Alex), had to catalog all the pieces along with the ones he had found in that lockbox back in New York. The museum staff, along with some of the professors and their students, helped ensure the task was completed on time so they could be shown off during the last, albeit spectacular, event.

His sock covered toes drummed on the floor of the hotel room penthouse actually, that the museum and the Egyptian government had rented for his stay to show how much they valued his contributions to the find and to uncovering of their lost history. Glancing down, the waters of the Nile caught his attention. Memories of his past, spanning countless millennia, flashed so fast before his eyes that it made his head spin. Showing him the life he had lived and would do so again once he brought the kingdom of Egypt back under his control. To do that, he needed an army, something he wasn't all that eager to lead. Andrew knew he was going to upset a great many people, yet it had to be done if Egypt was going to rise once again from the stagnation it had endured since the fall of the Old Kingdom. All that now stood before him seemed so small compared to what he had encountered in Punt. He knew a confrontation between him and God or whatever Ira called him was inevitable. Something he didn't know if he was going to be able to survive or not. Yet he had to restore the balance, and in doing so, he would have to steal into the Heavens and retake what God had stolen in the first place. If that could be done, Andrew wasn't all that sure he could pull it off.

"Don't trouble yourself, my Pharaoh," Bast purred into Andrew's right ear as she draped herself against his back. Her 32DD breasts pressed against his, pancaking out as her hands rested on his chest, pressing Andrew tighter against her. "We have not abandoned you, and we will not when the time comes, trust in us, and you will not fall to the thief's hands."

"Easy for you to say; you're immortal," Andrew grumbled, feeling his divinity burning just beneath his skin. Ever since his fight with Ba'al and their return from Atlantis, Bast had been training him in what free time he had and as well in his dreams to handle his divinity so he would not become so burnt out as he was when he faced down Ba'al. Feeling his body heating when Bast's furred-lined lips nuzzled his neck, knowing she was trying to take his mind off of things he couldn't change, no matter how much he wanted to, he doubted the Gods would allow him to alter their plans. The glint in Bast's golden eyes told him that much. "So, how's the village coming along?" he asked, changing the subject to something he did have control over.

"All goes well; Ptah has taken it upon himself to become your foreman. All in the disguise of an Egyptian man, of course," Bast informed him. "After all, my Pharaoh, when reconnecting the land, the people, and the Gods, it must be spectacular." Her hot breath ruffled Andrew's dark red hair, which had returned to its normal color since his lack of time out beneath the Egyptian sun. "I know you won't forget about me, my Pharaoh, when you build your first temple, will you?" she asked in a husky voice as her fingertips danced lightly across Andrew's chest while her thin linen garment did little to hide how round and firm her breasts were as they brushed along his body.

"I don't have a death wish Bast," Andrew spoke as he peered over at her, only to have his attention diverted by a knock on the penthouse door. He's grown used to Bast's disappearing act, so he thought nothing of it as he felt the lack of her weight on his body as he went to answer the door. Arching an eyebrow when nothing but darkness greeted him when he looked through the peephole to see who had come to his room since he wasn't expecting anyone to show up given how Carla and Anta had run off to their dorm apartments the moment they were free to do so. His mother had returned to her apartment to see how it faired in her long absence. The chain swung and brushed along the wood of the door once Andrew began unlocking the door. He didn't need the headache of some random mortal walking into his room while conversing with one of the Gods, namely Bast. He didn't need that blasted all over the internet. He doubted mankind was ready to learn that the Gods and God were real, noting how many of those on Twitter refer to him as 'Sky Daddy' even though he found it offensive. As the door inched open, Andrew was assaulted by a familiar scent which caused the corners of his lips to lift as the door further opened. "Well, isn't this a surprise," Andrew said in a warm tone as Carla and Anta stood there in their best dresses, ones they couldn't take due to the lack of room in their suitcases.

"My Pharaoh," Anta and Carla spoke in ancient Egyptian as they bowed to him, hiding their mirth at the groan that got out of him.

"Do you like Andrew?" Anta asked, showing off her backside and how it clung to her derriere as she shook her hips to and fro.

"Umm... yeah, you knew I would," Andrew muttered low, unable to take his eyes off Anta's ass. Only to have his chin turned to the left of him by Carla's soft touch on the bottom of it, drawing his gaze to the lustrous blue dress she had donned that evening. Her naked lips curved into a pleased smile as her thumb brushed along Andrew's lower lip.

"I do hope you think the same way about my dress, too, husband," Carla said, drawing out the last word.

"Mmmhmm," Andrew hummed, noting how it showed off all the right curves. Hearing the pouting huff of Anta when Carla leaned in and passionately kissed him. His eyes fluttered as the tip of her tongue left his mouth when she pulled away. A hungry light appeared in Carla's eyes when Anta maneuvered into the spot between the two of them and laid her own passionate kiss upon his lips.

"Mmmhmm, that's what you're meant to do," Anta mumbled from around Andrew's lips as his hands took hold of her ass and pulled her closer to him.

"So, Andrew, aren't you going to invite your wives into your room? You wouldn't want something to happen to us standing out here, now, would you?" Carla asked in a sensuous voice, watching how his mind had grown befuddled by the kiss he and Anta shared. Something she knew pleased her friend greatly. Biting softly on her lower lip as Andrew cleared his throat and looked bashfully away.

"Come on in. Isn't much to look at," Andrew said, stepping to the side and gesturing for them to enter. Hearing their purses bumping against their hips since his eyes were very centered on their backsides. How could he not?! He's had them in his hands quite often over the past few weeks. So Andrew knew how enticing they were.

Carla and Anta shared a knowing look and a matching smirk when they noted where Andrew's eyes were lingering as they continued into the heart of the penthouse. They both scurried over to the bay window where Andrew had just stood. They each pointed out sights to the other before turning back to Andrew, who was slowly walking towards them.

"Come on," Carla said, her wrist moving in a small circle urging him to join them by the window.

"Yes, our King needs to view his kingdom in all its old and new glory," Anta said sweetly as her left hand ran along his back as she and Carla sandwiched him in at his sides. Wrapping her arms around his right, resting her cheek against his shoulder as she stared out onto the lights of the city.

"Andrew, I know you've been down ever since Paris," Carla said softly as she snuggled up to Andrew's left side. "I know you were looking forward to spending the holiday with your father and stepmother. I'm sorry they couldn't make it due to Wilma's pregnancy. I like to think Anta and I have filled in nicely in their stead," she whispered as her chin rested on Andrew's shoulder. Her smile grew wider as Andrew nodded that they had. "I know you want to see them, I miss my folks too, but you know you have so much to do."

"I know," Andrew sighed tiredly.

"I promise you, Andrew, you will get to see them soon; I'll make sure of it," Anta said in determination, striking the pose of a future Queen. "You know, not far up the Nile is where my parents and siblings live," she stated, pointing in its direction. "I would really like for you to meet them," Anta said with dreamy eyes.

"Do we have the time for that?" Andrew asked, knowing the event at the Cairo museum was tomorrow night; then, the following day, they would be packing up to head back out to the Amkhakha temple site to do a more thorough search of the site. So he didn't know if they would have time to go off on side trips. Although, he did need to visit NeoHierakonpolis, his new capital, just to see how the people he had helped save from Punt were fairing. Not that he didn't trust Bast to tell him the truth, yet he wanted to see it for himself.

"We can make time, can't we?" Anta asked, batting her eyelashes at him as she pressed his arm into the cleavage of her 32A breasts. "Please, Andrew, it really means a lot to me."

"Okay, if you feel that strongly, sure, let's go meet the folks," Andrew answered, unsure how they would take to their relationship.

"I hope you feel the same way about mine; I know for certain Mom will be chomping at the bit to meet the man that swooped her daughter off her feet," Carla said, sighing in longing as she rubbed her hand up and down Andrew's arm.

"As long as I don't have to go traversing across different realms," Andrew stated, getting a light slap on his chest from Carla.

"I know the trip from Rome was hectic, but do you feel like coming with us for a walk on the town?" Anta asked in a loving voice, eager to spend as much time as they could together. There was no telling when Andrew would be sucked into some other craziness.

"Sure, I could go for a walk; seen too much of hotel rooms for my liking; just let me put my shoes on," Andrew said, detaching himself and heading off to the penthouse bedroom.

"Andrew?" Carla called out as she was looking around for something.

"Hmm?"

"Where's Bast? I thought she's normally with you?" Anta inquired, peeking her head into the doorway of the bedroom. Her eyes ran over the king-size bed, hoping to put it to use before they were out in the dessert for months.

"She's where she always is when the sun goes down," Andrew said in a monotone voice as he slipped his left sneaker on.

"But I swear I smelt her when we came in," Carla stated, joining Anta's side.

"Yeah, she's a god, you know, they can do nifty things, like be in two places at once," Andrew responded as his right heel slipped into his shoe. "Why are you asking about her?" he asked, peering over at them as he rose from the bed and grabbed the key card from off the night stand. "Oh," Andrew muttered when he noted their cheeks heating when his gaze fell upon them. "Taken a liking to her, hmm?" he mused.

"Is that bad?" Carla asked shyly.

"No, I don't think it is; I'll let her know you two were thinking about her," Andrew said, even though he knew Bast would already know. "So, ladies, where are you thinking of taking me?" he asked, resting his hands on their lower back as he guided them to the door.

"We thought you might be up for some sightseeing, and there's something we'd like for you to see," Carla spoke as the door closed behind them.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Andrew asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"You remember when you said you needed to build a temple?" Anta inquired, looping her arm around his lower back, where Carla's own rested on top of hers as they walked down the hall towards the elevator.

"Yeah?"

"Well... remember when I told you about my friend who was taking an architecture class back at my university?" Carla asked to which Andrew nodded along. "It seems word got out about it, and since we've been gone, a few of them have come up with their own mockups. If you'd like, we can swing by there and see what they've got," she said as the metal doors of the elevator rolled closed.

An hour later saw the three of them strolling onto the campus of Cairo University. Andrew's head was turning each and every way as Anta and Carla pointed out things and places they enjoyed on campus, telling him of all the good things they'd experienced while attending the college. Then leading him to the student rec room where those who wished to win the ten thousand dollars Andrew was offering to the winner had quickly gathered when Carla had sent word to them. They had waited for the hour to pass to give them the much-needed time to set up their presentations.

"This way, Andy," Anta said sweetly as she opened the door to the building. Ignoring the fact that ever since they returned to Egypt, Andrew seemed to have more vigor in his step than when he was away from it.

"I'm sure you're just going to love what they have for you," Carla stated, resting her hand on his back as she entered after him, with Anta bringing up the rear.

Their shoes echoed lightly off the walls as the three of them ambled down the hall. The sounds of the other students goofing off, having parties, or just being simply drunk could be heard even in the interior of the building. Glancing at the two of them, Andrew wondered how they could even study with all the noise on campus. Not that Andrew had to worry about such things, given the life the Gods had set out before him. He wondered how his father and Wilma would take the news when word got out that he was the Pharaoh of Egypt. Pushing through the doors, feeling Anta and Carla at his back, his eyes moved around the room, noting the ten people there waiting for them. Most were men; however, there were some women in attendance. His eyes darted to his left when Carla quickly walked past him with her arms open to greet her friend. Hearing their chatter playing on the air, looking down then up to Anta's face when she took hold of his hand, who flashed him a warm smile.

"Mal, I'd like you to meet Andrew; he's the one I told you about," Carla said, turning and gesturing to Andrew with a wave of her hand.

"You sure he has ten thousand dollars? He looks like he just got out of high school," Mal whispered low to Carla.

"Oh, he has the money; the question is, will you win or not," Carla said with a sneaky grin.

Anta blew him a kiss as the tips of his fingers skimmed along hers as he stepped forward. "Hello, everyone, my name is Menes II," giving out his official name, "or some of you have seen me on the television as of late; you may call me Andrew if you want. Now, as Carla has stated, I am seeking designs for a temple; what this temple is for shouldn't matter to you; the end goal is what you should be concerned with; with that said, how about you show me what you have?" Andrew spoke, gesturing for those gathered there to present their designs to him.

"And you sure you can live up to the prize?" asked one skeptical woman with an arched eyebrow.

"Andrew, here, sit," Carla said, carrying a chair for her and Andrew over to him as Anta got her own.

"See this?" Andrew asked, pulling out a debit card that he had set up when they were in Paris to a bank he knew operated out of Cairo. "And this?" Holding up a folded piece of paper that had the four-digit pin on it in his left hand. "This card holds the reward money for whomever wins this challenge, and this paper holds the pin you'll need to access the account. Now, the moment you first access it, you will only have two days to transfer the money to whichever account you want before the account is closed," he said, seeing how that got their immediate attention when they knew the cash prize was real. "So, why don't the ten of you show me what you have for me," Andrew said with a wave of his hand.

"While those were excellent designs you all have submitted. Yet I'm afraid eight of you failed to adhere to the parameters I had set forth when I put out this contest. Now, don't take that too badly; you weren't looked down on because your designs were flawed; they were well done, just that one thing kept you all from moving on like those two are," Andrew said after listening to their pitches for the past hour and a half. "I can tell after this, you eight will have a bright future ahead of you; maybe we'll work together again," he offered, being kind and letting the eight that had failed down easily. Not seeing the wide smile Carla was giving her friend Mal. Andrew stood by the door, shaking the eight who failed hands as they left the room with their designs in hand.

"So, Andrew, what now?" Anta asked, turning in her seat to peer at him as he walked back over to them.

"Now, the two of you are going to dazzle me in awarding the prize to either one of you," Andrew stated, retaking his seat. "I'm sure you two have thought that far ahead in case you did make it this far, didn't you?" Smirking at the two of them when they made a dash to their satchels; knowing college students in debt up to their eyeballs in loans and whatnot, they wouldn't pass up the chance for some tax-free money. As he watched Mal's presentation, he put on a 3D computer-generated model. Andrew was stroking his chin; he just couldn't put his finger on it; it just didn't speak to him like the physical model Mal had made did. That didn't take away the fantastic job the man put into the physical model and the 3D one. Nevertheless, he would have to wait and see what the woman who had introduced herself as Halima stepped forward and hurriedly set about hooking her own computer up, which seemed to have seen better days in his opinion. Taking a closer look at the woman's attire, as sly as he could be without drawing attention to himself and eyeing Mal's attire. He could tell the woman came from a more humble means than Mal did. Not that he would hold that against her; it just told him she had worked very hard to get to this point.

"Good evening, and thank you for giving me and my peer," waving to Mal, "this opportunity to present our work to you," Halima spoke in a warm, kind tone beside her ten-year-old laptop. Feeling her heart racing, knowing she could really use that ten thousand dollars. While it wouldn't take all of the burdens off her parent's shoulders in funding her schooling, it would, however, ease some of the strain she knew they were under. "When word got around about what you were wanting, and given how I am Egyptian going back countless centuries," casting Mal a look of forgiveness if she sounded rude, "I thought who better than an Egyptian to design this," she said, waving to the mockup she had painstakingly made. "While this only gave you a general sense of what it would look like when it's complete.

I thought I'd show you, at least, the way I see an Egyptian temple looking like with the help of modern technology," Halima stated; her heart was in her throat when Andrew gave her the nod to continue as she turned towards her laptop. Praying that her computer didn't fritz out on her and crash the program she would need to run the model she had made. She hadn't come this far just for her laptop to act up on her. Blowing out a breath in her mind when it had no trouble linking up with the projector in the rear of the room. Biting her tongue as she brought up the program to run the model. Turning her head when she heard the gasps across from her, only to see Anta's and Carla's hands covering their mouths, and noted how wide Andrew's eyes were.

"The new Karnak." The words left Andrew's lips before they even registered in his mind. Not only that, the words left his lips in ancient Egyptian, something Carla and Anta didn't miss as they looked at him. However, the two who were new to the strange language, which hadn't been heard since 30 B.C., looked at him hoping to understand what he'd said. Andrew's eyes couldn't look away from the reds, yellows, whites, blacks, greens, and most importantly, Egyptian blue. His body moved on its own as if the Gods themselves had control of it as it raised off his seat. He barely felt the tips of Carla's and Anta's fingers leaving his back as he did. With every step he took toward the projector screen, he felt the eyes of one god after another on him or, should he say, looking through him as if they, too, were mesmerized by the sight before them.

"I've never heard that variant of Coptic before," Halima said, bringing Andrew out of his daze.

"Huh?" Andrew muttered, having no earthly idea what that word meant.

"Surely you know what Coptic is, given how you're speaking it?" Halima stated, rather confused when she saw Andrew's own confusion on his face, given how no Pharaoh had ever spoken that language.

"Have no clue what you're talking about," Andrew admitted, his eyes glancing down to the nape of Halima's neck only to see the flash of gold of her Uraeus. His mind flashed back to the time when Menes first donned that symbol, only for his mind to move rapidly forward in time to when the Pharaoh's Guard took up using that symbol to identify one another. Shaking it off, he wasn't about to divulge his weirdness to this woman he didn't even know, turning his attention back to the screen. "Can you show me what the inside would look like?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the front of the temple.

"I can," Halima stated, eyeing Andrew very suspiciously. She knew what he had spoken; she had only thrown out Coptic to see how he would react. She had always thought the myth that ran through her order, which you had to be born into, who operated in secret due to the Muslim's and Christian's intolerance of other religions or sects that didn't follow their way was untrue and impossible to foretell. Still, she did not once believe what her father, her grandfather, or her great-grandfather believed would happen was actually happening right before her. "Are you the newly risen Pharaoh?" she asked in a low whisper in ancient Egyptian, only to gasp in her mind when she saw his right eye glancing over to her knowing full well Andrew understood what she had just said. "I must tell the council of this," Halima said to herself, watching Andrew intently as he studied how the interior of the temple complex would look once it was built if it was going to be built. Something she had a very high suspicion that it was.

"The design is nice, yet I'd like to do a little modification to it," Andrew said, his finger lightly tapping his chin as he contemplated what was going through his head. His eyes glanced to the left when he noted how Mal's shoulders sagged, knowing he had lost. "Your design was nice as well; just hers had something yours lacked. Stick around; I think we can work out something," he offered, holding out the debit card and slip of paper to Halima, seeing Mal nod in understanding as he began to pack up his belongings.

"Certainly, I'll be happy to change it any way you want," Halima said, happily taking her prize from Andrew. Quickly hurrying over to where her bag lay, digging through it for her notebook so she could take detailed notes of what he wanted to be modified from her original design, "Now, what actually are you looking for?" she asked, stepping up to him.

"Seven alcoves running along the walls, in the rear... how tall will this thing be?" Andrew inquired, looking over at her.

"As big as you want it," Halima stated. "This is all in the drawing board stage, so nothing is set in stone." Trying not to crack a smile at her own pun, knowing what it would actually be made out of if Andrew was adhering to the old ways.

"Then let's make the roof twenty feet high, and make the alcoves concave in stretching from floor to ceiling and make them ten feet wide, yet on the rear wall, do the same thing, just double the size," Andrew instructed, pointing out on the screen how he wanted it to look.

"I only count fifteen," Halima said, knowing why he was doing such a thing. It was to symbolize the sixteen main Egyptian Gods.

"Oh, already got a plan for that," Andrew replied offhandedly, feeling Bast's amusement washing over him when the image of her statue in the center of the temple appeared in his mind. Also, since he was Pharaoh, it was only fitting that the 'Protector of the Pharaoh' guard his tomb for eternity, seeing how her statue would sit over the entrance to it when the time came to lay his body to rest.

"I'll get right on it; I'll contact Carla when I have the revised design finished for you," Halima said, seeing Andrew nod before hurrying to pack up her things. She just didn't want him to change his mind, at least not while she was still in the room.

"Give me the room, will you?" Andrew asked politely as he peered over at Anta and Carla, who had remained silent throughout the whole thing. Although he knew they would pepper him with questions to no end once they were off campus. "Now that we're alone, let's talk, you and I," he said warmly, gesturing for Mal to take a seat so they could discuss the design of his Palace; after all, he was the King of Egypt, and what King didn't have a Palace?

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Egypt

Deep within the tunnels that were cut from the very bedrock of that ancient civilization, the chorus of voices was faint as they twisted through the maze of turns that ran beneath Giza. The very heart of the order that had waited patiently for the return of their Lord, their Pharaoh, since the days when Khnemibre ruled and fell to the Persians. Torchlight led the way as a lone figure moved through those chiseled walls lined with gessum, the ancient plaster their forebears passed down through the generations since time immemorial. Her ears twitched at the bickering sounds that played along her eardrums as she approached one of the main chambers that their order operated in to keep from being found out if someone were to manage to find the ancient tunnels that have been in use since the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom.

"This boy isn't even Egyptian!" Cried out a voice, a voice she knew all too well. Normally she wouldn't fault him; his paranoia had saved them many times. Yet she knew, in this instance, he was wrong; after all, she had just met the man. She couldn't put her finger on it, yet there was just something about him that screamed, "I am your Pharaoh!' She knew it was silly to think like that in this day and age. Nevertheless, that was her impression of the man, and she wondered how this would affect her order and Egypt. She prayed this would not lead to unnecessary strife among the masses. She had no wish to see her country torn asunder in civil war.

"The signs are there, Karin; we have the evidence to say he has returned in this boy no less," came the voice of their leader who has held the title for thirty long years. "He has shown the world things that even we, Medjay, have forgotten. And unearthed the heretics from their sealed prison where they should have stayed in their eternal damnation of the Gods!"

"Karin has a point, Mido; how do we even know if the signs are real and not some ploy from Apophis to sow more chaos into this world?" Breathing in deeply of the incense that laced the air in its flavorful smoke, taking her back to her childhood as she neared the exit to the great chamber. Her mind flashed back to the first time she remembered when her father and mother first took her to her first gathering. Reminiscing the feeling of her father's hands on her shins when she sat on his shoulders to see over the heads of the gathered crowd. The stalwart tapestries hung ffrom the upper walls from ages long past. Of a time when Egypt was a power few would trifle with. Wondering where this turn of events would lead her country in the coming days.

"I don't know about that," Halima stated, causing the chamber to grow quiet as all turned to peer at her as she stood on the landing of the stairs that were cut out of the stone thousands of years ago. "Sorry for speaking out of turn," she said, in reverence to Mido.

"Halima, what do you mean, have you met this man?" asked her mother while pointing at the screen that was hanging by the council table with a still image of Andrew upon it.

"Well... long story, Mom," Halima answered as she carefully walked down the steps.

"Acolyte, come up here so we can all hear," Mido commanded just so he could read her body language better than halfway across the chamber. Watching how the crowd parted, allowing her to be unmolested as she ambled towards the front of the chamber where the council has governed since its exile into hiding.

"Yes, Potiphar," Halima replied; she knew she would always be an acolyte. The lowest rank within their order. Not that she cared, really; she had seen how those that coveted the council's positions had gone mad with power. She wondered if that was why they were so eager to denounce the risen Pharaoh so they could keep their hold on their power. Feeling everyone's eyes on her as she climbed up the few wooden steps of the stage and moved to stand where Mido had waved for her to stand.

"Now, please, tell us all here how did you meet this man," Mido ordered, gesturing for her to start.

"Well, it all started when a friend from my college received this strange request; I don't think he was all too concerned about it, given the prize money involved."

"And what was this request?" Mido asked curiously.

"To design a temple," Halima said factually, hearing the gasps rolling over the crowd. Also, seeing the council members sitting straighter in their seats when she said those words.

"This temple, what kind of temple was this man asking you or whomever to design for him?" Mido asked, knowing if the boy was a servant of the Great Serpent, then he and the others would have to use all their skills to take Andrew out.

"He liked the exterior of it, given how he said it was the new Karnak in ancient Egyptian," Halima stated, seeing a few people fainting in the crowd, including her own mother, who was caught by her younger brother. "Although he did request a modification to the interior," she said offhandedly.

"And what was his request?" asked the woman to the left of Mido.

"That I put fifteen alcoves into the side and rear walls," Halima stated, letting the gravity of what she had just said sink in.

"Fifteen?!" asked the same woman, yet confused as to why only fifteen when they all knew there were sixteen major Gods in their religion.

"He said he already had something planned for the sixteenth one; what that is, I can't say," Halima said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"What was the name this man introduced himself as?" Mido asked, giving Karin a very pointed look that said, 'I told you the signs were real.'

"Menes II," Halima noted how all those sitting at the table's eyebrows rose at that name.

"Thank you, Acolyte; you may step down; you've given us much to think about," Mido said with a smile as Halima nodded her head. "Everyone, return to your homes; keep this news to yourselves for now while we convene on what to do about this new Pharaoh," he spoke, rising from his seat.

Early the next morning...

"Andrew, honey, can you come in here for a minute?" Alex called out to her son, who was using her bathroom at the moment. Her hands fidgeted with the pens she sat beside the notebooks, rechecking to see if the audio recorder was functioning correctly. She would have used a video camera, yet she doubted her son would have gone for that. She just hoped Andrew would indulge her. She could only do this since she had no classes to teach, given how her classes were taken over by another professor while she went on tour with the items Andrew had found.

"Yeah," Andrew stated as he walked through his mother's bedroom and into the living room, seeing his mother's dark red hair held up by a hair clip as she turned towards the sounds of his footsteps. "What are you playing at Alexandria?" he asked, watching his mother's cheeks heat at the sound of her given name.

"Nothing?!" Alex answered innocently, seeing her son arching his eyebrow, not believing a word of it. "I thought since we have some time before the party tonight, and we won't have all that much time for such things when we're out at Amkhakha. That you can regale me with some information about the Frist Dynasty and the Second since we have so little information on the Second one," she said, giving her son the best puppy dog eyes she could.

"Only if you do it topless," Andrew countered, walking around his mother's couch.

"Andy?!" Alex gasped in mock shock, laying her hand over her heart as she looked away from her son. "Whatever signal did I give you that I would even contemplate that notion?" she asked in a flirty voice. "But... seeing as this is to advance our understanding of six thousand years ago... only this once," Alex said in a cute, little voice as she slyly glanced over to her son as he stood across from her.

"Oh, so you'll get topless for science not because your Pharaoh asked it of you?" Andrew teased, watching his mother's face going through shades of red.

"My goodness, what's gotten into you," Alex said breathlessly as she fanned her face with her left hand. Feeling her nipples starting to harden as Andrew stood with his arms crossed on the other side of her coffee table.

"Well?" Andrew mused, lifting his right hand and giving it a little roll.

Alex stared into those blue-green eyes of her son, noting the blue light of his divinity burning within his pupils. Biting the inside of her cheek as she noted the regal stance her son had taken, something she doubted Andrew knew he did as he gazed down at her. "Yes, my Pharaoh, your Queen hears your command," Alex said in a husky ancient Egyptian voice, feeling her body heat as her son's eyes ran over her midriff as she lifted her shirt off her shoulders. Her nostrils flared when her eyes caught movement within the shorts her son was wearing at the moment as she reached forward and undid the front clasp of her bra. A taunting smile formed on her face when Andrew's eyes were glued to her 32C breasts as she casually dropped her bra onto her sofa. "Well, Andy, you have what you wanted, my breasts for your viewing pleasure," she purred, cradling her orbs just to tease her son. "Now, will you help with our understanding of that time period?" Her eyes glinted as her son sat down on her floor, and her body trembled slightly as she pinched her nipples.

"Okay, what do you want to know?" Andrew asked, watching the sway of his mother's breasts as she reached for a pen and notebook.

"Let's start off with the beginning since I didn't record it the last time," Alex said, reaching forward and hitting the record button on the device. "Can you tell me what it was like when Menes, or Narmer as some call him, unified Egypt?" Nodding along, quickly writing down what she deemed important and left the rest for the tape to capture. Circling back to some things that she thought required more clarification. It was thirty minutes later, she found herself with three pages filled with important information on the founder of the First Dynasty. "That was very insightful, Andrew; thank you for sharing it with me. Let's move along to Hor-Aha..."

"Teti," Andrew interjected.

"Excuse me?" Alex asked, confused.

"That's his name, Teti," Andrew informed her.

"Oh? Is it?" Alex mused, even though she already knew that most of the people in her field of work knew too.

"Mmmhmm," Andrew hummed as he nodded. "He preferred Teti instead of Hor-Aha."

"I see, so tell me, what was it like for him to take the throne from his father after Menes died?"

"Well, trade with Egypt's neighbors was largely cut off during his reign. He tended to exploit the land instead of living in balance with Ma'at," Andrew said factually. "The principle, not the goddess," he corrected. "Djer corrected that when he came to the throne."

"Let's talk about Djer for a minute since you brought him up," Alex said in a teacherly voice.

"Okay, what about?" Andrew asked, leaning on his elbow on the coffee table, waiting for his mother to gather her thoughts.

"If what the records say is true, why aren't their more structures dedicated to Djer?"

"One: it was still the Chalcolithic age," seeing how his mother's eyes grew wide at that term, "thought I didn't know that term, did you?" Andrew asked, getting a nod from his mother. "Well, the first Dynasty wasn't built on structures, except their tombs; of course, they were mainly content with maintaining the status quo. Plus, what structures they did build they were made out of wood and not stone. Egypt back then was very different than it is now."

"How so?" Alex asked, intrigued.

"Back when Menes took the throne of the two lands, Egypt was just as green as Kentucky is today. The Blue Nile and the White Nile flowed in different paths than they do now. There used to be many channels that the two rivers would flow into, bringing life to this arid place. Yet, with the fall of Pepi II and the connection to the Gods severed Egypt entered into a decline. Sure, many of the other Pharaohs might have brought prosperity to the land, yet they were only pretending to be true Pharaohs. Ra didn't see those from the Seventh and onward as kin to him. With it, Egypt began to dry out, and the once rich and bountiful waterways quickly dried up and were filled in with sand."

"But what about the flood we saw in that shop in London?" Alex asked, eager to know what the Gods had in store for her son and what Andrew had in store for Egypt.​