[Master Thread] The Oncoming Storm: A Battle with Destiny

[Cormac]

The Oncoming Storm: A Battle with Destiny

Chapter I

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Cormac Sethos stood at the entrance to his tent, a pensive expression on his face. In the distance he could see the glowing lights of Alexandria. Those lights, which had filled him with such excitement in his youth, now inspired only a sense of dread and regret. He was no longer a young man and it was time to put away childish hopes and dreams. The fate of the entire empire rested on his shoulders. He was, despite his misgivings, Pharaoh of Osiris. He had a duty to his people and the kings who had come before him to do what was necessary to save the empire, even if that meant by the next nightfall the only light anyone would see emanating from Alexandria would be caused by the flames of war.

"Your Majesty?"

Cormac turned, realizing that his servant, Eridanus, seated at the table behind him, had been asking him a question. "I'm sorry, Eridanus, I was lost in thought."

"It's all right, my lord," Eridanus said, concern written on his face. "It's just... it is nearly midnight and you haven't made a decision. It's not my place to ask, but..."

"Of course it's your place," the Pharaoh said. "You're not just my servant, you're my friend. We grew up together. Say what's on your mind. Your Pharaoh commands it." Cormac grinned at this last remark. How his brother would laugh to hear him say it.

"You have to give the order soon, Your Majesty," Eridanus pressed. "Will we attack at dawn?"

Will we attack at dawn? It was the question that had consumed him all day. He had hoped, beyond hope, that it would not reach this point. He had tried, through weeks of negotiation, to reach a peaceful settlement with the Nomarch of Alexandria, Joshua Ravenclaw. But the false claimant to the throne of Osiris would not bend. He and all of Alexandria were in thrall to a new religion that had crossed the Mediterranean Sea, the cult of the whale god Cetacea. The Cetaceans regarded the gods of Osiris as an oligarchy of demons, dedicated to destruction of the world in a great flood, and the Pharaoh as their instrument on earth. They believed that the whale god annually sacrificed himself to be devoured by the gods of Osiris, his bones cast into the sea. According to their heresy, Cetacea was destined to rise again from the waters of the sea triumphant over the Osiran gods, thwarting their planned deluge. The priests of Cetacea had demanded fealty only to their foreign whale god, and Alexandria had fallen prey to their evangelism. Now the priests had crowned Nomarch Ravenclaw the Archon-Basileus of Osiris, a foreign title in the name of their foreign god, claiming that he and only he had the right to rule the empire as the ruler anointed by Cetacea.

Cormac and his brother, Timothy, had not taken the threat seriously enough. They had disregarded the influx of Cetacean devotees from across the sea, pouring into Alexandria, summoned by the High Priest Ikania. They had accepted Nomarch Ravenclaw's assurances that the build-up of Alexandria's army and its exercises with the forces of neighboring lands were for training purposes. By the time Alexandria's army was marching on Giza, it was far too late. Weakened by peacetime complacency and the absence of its warrior Nomarch, Giza fell quickly. Then Abydos fell to the allies of the Cetaceans, attacking from across the Red Sea. Finally, overwhelmed by Alexandrian forces to the north and Alexandria's allies to the south, Memphis fell. The capital belonged to the Cetaceans. Enraged, Cormac's brother, one of the greatest warriors in the history of Osiris, had abdicated the throne to fight for Memphis. Memphis had been reclaimed, but had been reduced to ashes by the Alexandrians, and his brother had pressed onward to retake Abydos. Cormac was left to succeed him as Pharaoh and to rule from the new capital in Thebes.

Cormac had done everything in his power to end the war. He had offered concession after concession to the Alexandrians, everything short of abdicating the throne. The Cetaceans would not accept. They would have only war. And so war had raged throughout the empire, until the Pharaoh's Legion found itself here, outside Alexandria, with the other Nomarchs and their citizens at his side or joining his brother for the campaign to retake Abydos. And now, with all attempts at peace exhausted, it was left for Cormac to give the order to lay siege to Alexandria and drive the Cetacean heresy from the land, or die trying. The only alternative was surrender to the chaos and tyranny the Cetaceans promised. He knew what his brother would tell him to do. He knew what the spirits of the great kings who had come before him demanded. The gods must be honored. The empire must stand. The Pharaoh had been fighting a battle with destiny, but destiny had won. War had come to Osiris and now he would fight or all would be lost.

And so he would fight.

"Take word to the generals in their tents," Cormac said, his tone even and commanding, no longer any trace of doubt or hesitation. "For weeks my brother has fought to retake Abydos and with the gods by his side, he is on the verge of victory. Today we join his fight. We will take Alexandria at dawn. The first rays of Amun-Ra will be the first spears in the heart of Cetacea, and may the false god's blood cleanse the city of its iniquities, lest it be cleansed by fire instead. So let it be written. So let it be done."

[Applebania]

This was strange. Very strange. Applebane Stark-Montresor, one of the most notoriously lazy Osiran aristocrats there was, was unable to fall asleep. This was perhaps because of the anticipation of the inevitable assault on Alexandria. Applebane knew that there would be no conciliation between Thebes and Alexandria: not as long as the Pharaoh still held the throne.

He would have much preferred to stay out of the war, and remained in his home in Karnak, but the Pharaoh said otherwise. Well, to put it more accurately, the Pharaoh's guards physically dragged him into his entourage. Still, he did have his crossbow, his bolts soaked in lamp oil, and his mask, covering the top half of his face.

There was no use in trying to get any sleep in now: if he hadn't slept at all before now, he sure as hell wasn't going to get any now. He sighed, got up, and put on his battle attire. He didn't wear any plate armour on his body: it slowed him down to unacceptable levels. Instead, he wore leather armour, carefully dyed red. He did, however, wear a helmet over his mask. Satisfied with his preparations, he left his tent, and awaited the inevitable command.

EDIT: Corrected typos.

[Gradea]

(Before the events of the OP)

Captain Gradea Sanguine groaned as he woke up. Twenty years of early starts may have made his body used to them, but he sure did as hell didn't like them.

He scanned his eyes around his quarters. It was spartanly furnished but clean. By choice of course. It's not like the Captain of the Pharaoh's Guard is poorly paid.

"What do I have today?" he muttered to himself as he splashed himself with water from his stone basin. He recounted from the mental to-do list in his mind.

1. Overseeing the training of the new recruits.

This was always good fun, he smirked. Watching the new recruits for the Pharaoh's Guard swagger in, thinking they're the best in the Sekhmet Legion (well, they are actually) then watching most of them in tears at the end of a day of brutal training.

He was going to move onto the second item on his list when his thought train was derailed by a knock on his door.

"Enter," he barked.

A timid private entered. "Captain, the Pharaoh has ordered the Pharaoh's Guard to march out with the regular army".

It was news that Captain Sanguine had been expecting. He turned to the private "Inform Lieutenant Sarr to mobilize the Pharaoh's Guard. 1st, 7th and 14th companies are to remain in Thebes"

[Thoth]

As Arius approached the encampment of the Pharaoh's Guard, he made sure to be as silent as the wind on this moonless night. He'd never been in a battle before; in fact, he'd never even served in the army. But, this fateful night, Arius felt an urge to support his Pharaoh in his battle to take back Alexandria. So, Arius did what he was best at; snuck into the encampment of the Pharaoh's Guard, stole an outfit from one of the sleeping officers, put it on, and blended right into the rest of the company.

...

"Attention!" Yelled the commanding officer,
"March!" He yelled, and simultaneously the entire company started to march forward. Arius wasn't sure where they were going, but he was hoping this would finally lead him to were the action was!

[Applebania]

(OOC: Why is this dead?)