And so it was upon the sixth day of the month of Anubis the jackal-headed, during the hour of the temple criers, that the odd-prowed vessel sailed into the land of the pharaohs upon the blue waters of the holy nile.  After hearing of such a profane and sacrilegious occurrence, the sacred pharaoh, ka-hotep, ordered his own guards to detain the invading vessel, while he offered many powerful prayers to the ancient ones who watched over the lands of aegyptus.

     However, as Ka-Hotep waited in the royal chambers of amon-ra, he heard nothing, until the hour passed into darkness and the moon arose over the hills of the jackals.  It was then that the priests came to the pharaoh and told him of the disappearance of his guards.  The high priests of Ibis told ka-hotep how the strange vessel had made his guards vanish from sight by enveloping them in a mysterious vapour which poured forth from the quiet vessel.

     Upon hearing this tale, the royal pharaoh ka-hotep was both fearful and angered, for he was of the opinion that the ancient gods of aegyptus were testing him to make sure that he was indeed the one to be the ruler of the land of the nile.  Therefore, the pharaoh took it upon himself to meet the vessel, and after many long and powerful prayers, ka-hotep set out in a procession for the river nile.  As he passed beneath the night skies, he saw that many stars were much brighter than was their wont, and the sacred ruler of the desert lands was certain that this was an omen of the powers of the old gods.

     Consequently, it was with a sense of proud arrogance that he neared the vessel which floated so silently upon the quiet waters of the Nile, river of life.  Ka-hotep raised his golden ankh and spoke out to the vessel, telling it of the great powers bestowed upon him by the ancient gods of aegyptus, by which he ruled the desert lands, both fairly and justly.

     The odd-shaped prow of the vessel began to glow with an unnatural blue light.  Overhead, ka-hotep saw that the rising moon had become enveloped by a deep red radiance, and the stars began to burn even brighter, then burst and vanished.

     Again the Pharaoh of the ancient cities lifted his golden ankh and spoke of his powers to the strangely quiet vessel, which seemed to mock him with its eerie blue light.  Then, from the interior of the silent craft, there came a sudden burst of noise—music of a sort—horns, flutes, and strings sang to the sun and moon and sang of the  beauties of the Nile, river of aegyptus.

     Intrigued, ka-hotep boarded his enigmatic vessel, telling those in his procession that the powers of the ancient ones would protect him and keep him as the ruler of the sacred lands.  Once he entered the interior of the craft, however, the blue glow died slowly and the vessel began to sail down the waters of the holy nile.

     Then, as it approached the temples of karnak and the oasis of the dark jewels, the unworldly vessel left the dark waters of the river of life and rose through the air like the falcons of the royal court.  As it disappeared over the hills of the seven pharaohs, the stars once again shone u[pon the land and the moon glowed upon the waters of the nile.

     In this fashion did the pharaoh ka-hotep pass from the land of man to meet the destiny which awaited him in the realm of the ancient gods of aegyptus.

Contents