fuzzyspork: (fuzzy spork)
fuzzyspork ([personal profile] fuzzyspork) wrote2013-10-05 03:21 pm

Myshuno! prompt 6: "What do you mean?"

Prompt: "What do you mean he's not dead?!" (from [livejournal.com profile] grilledfortune)
Rating: Everyone
Word Count: 571
Notes: Oh look! Something for CHAPTER ONE of my legacy! :D So yes, this is very much a spoiler. Though it might appear a little differently in it's final form.
My Card


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It had been two months since news arrived at King Djer’s palace that the rebel leader from Upper Egypt, the savage warrior that Djer’s generals called The Scorpion, had been killed. This man had claimed he was Horus reborn and that he would reunite Upper and Lower Egypt into one land, because the gods wished it to be. But this Scorpion King was as vulnerable to a spear in his heart as any other man. Not a god after all.

The Scorpion’s army held together for a short while, but news soon came that his troops appeared to be disbanding. Though small groups of soldiers, seemingly determined to follow their dead king’s last wishes, were wandering across Lower Egypt, creating havoc where they went by pillaging and disrupting trade. So King Djer ordered the whole of his army to hunt them down, and eradicate the annoyance for good. Only just yesterday they received a note from High General Lod claiming the rest of the Scorpion’s diminished troops - a surprisingly small number, at that, were being pushed into the western desert and would soon succumb to either his arrows or starvation.

“My lord, that’s all well and good,” Djer’s vizier spoke while wringing his bony hands together, “But how does that help us here? When there is a band of rebel soldiers approaching our western gate as we speak! You have sent away the whole army and we are defenseless!”

King Djer swirled the wine in his cup and sipped at it before responding, “They number barely a hundred, Yumin. The city guard is three times that and will have the threat removed by nightfall. The guard should be arriving at the west gate now,” He leaned forward, “And they are led by my son Sefu, who will crush the insurgents like beetles under his sandal!” This was punctuated by Djer slamming his cup onto the table.

Yumin sniffed indignantly but kept his mouth shut from voicing any more of his concerns. This was not a king that one wanted to anger. Yumin was his third vizier in as many years, after all.

Djer sneered. “Since that is settled, I think I would like some music. Bring musicians - those young ones, the girls. Also, tell the cooks I want goose tonight. Victory gives a man many appetites and -“

“MY LORD!” Djer was interrupted by a young scribe bursting into the room. “The river!”

Djer had pure rage on his face, “What is this, boy?! How dare-“

“They are here! Hundreds upon hundreds!” the boy was panting, “On the river!”

There was a scream from somewhere in the palace and a sick realization gripped Djer. He vaulted himself off the couch and ran to the eastern balcony which overlooked the Nile.

Coming from the south on white swells was a fleet of sleek ships that numbered so many they appeared to be a single immense beast with hundreds of white feathers standing up on its back. Those taut sails were adding speed to the river’s current which brought the beast even faster towards them.

Before Djer could fully comprehend what he was seeing, the first of those ships was already unloading a dozen soldiers onto the city’s waterfront. If each of those ships - hundreds of them! also carried a dozen soldiers. . .

“The Scorpion!” Yumin screeched.

“No,” Djer felt faint, “No. He’s dead. He’s supposed to be dead.”

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(This gives me Myshuno! If I count the center "free" space, but since I wrote two extra prompts before this one I don't feel so much like I took the easy road.) :P

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