The Dagger of Isis (The First Dynasty Book 2)

by Lester Picker

  Still, we pushed on. As Ra’s disk began to rise over the rim of the hills on that third morning, a strange thing happened. We all noted a strong smell of smoke. Within the hour, the men at the front of the marching column spotted the scouts in the distance. As Ra rose over the hills, we were confronted with the most fearful sight any of us had ever witnessed.

  The scouts were running for their lives toward us. Raging fire snapped at their heels, sending huge billowing clouds of smoke into the air. The savannah itself was aflame. But the most incredible sight of all was that beside the men ran lions and antelope and water buffalo and other strange and exotic animals none of us had ever seen, all focused on but one thing, escape.

  The soldiers panicked, broke rank and began to run to safety up the steep hills. Herihor shouted to his captains.

  “Form into your units!” he screamed. “The fire will rage through here quickly. Do not battle the beasts! Make way and allow them to run through.” The captains began barking orders and running to gather their troops.

  “Meti, move your unit to the rear! Help the attendants and the women to safety up into the foothills. Keep a tight reign on our pack donkeys.” With that Herihor turned sharply.

  “King’s Guards, follow me!” and he ran toward me and formed his men around me and Ti-Ameny. “Move them there,” he said, frantically pointing to a swath of boulders midway toward the hills that towered over us. “Pull out all the grasses for fifty cubits around and assume a defensive perimeter. Move fast!”

  In minutes, the smoke engulfed us, a choking, acrid fog mixed with the smell of burning animal flesh and the dung of panicked animals. All around us the donkeys brayed in fear. Then we heard a deafening sound and out of the smoke came a thunderous heard of animals, bleating, roaring, screeching, voiding their bowels, all to be free of their fiery tormentor. Their cries were so pitiful I covered my ears. And in a moment, in what seemed at the time like a lifetime, it was over. The animals passed through the narrow valley and continued on their way.

  Now came the fire itself. By now the other units had also pulled any sign of grasses from their roots and tossed them far away from their positions. Others in the units battled whatever blazes erupted nearby by stomping on them and smothering them with their capes. The smoke, however, rose from the valley floor to our positions and we all sank to the ground to breathe whatever pure air we could. Soldiers from my Guard rushed over to cover Ti-Ameny and me with their capes.

  Soon, the fire also passed, driven hard by the wind that barreled through the valley. With the smoke all around us abating, soldiers stood up, coughing and rubbing their eyes, to survey the damage. Herihor came running over to make sure we were safe. And then a great cry arose from Akori.

  “Battle positions!” he screamed. “We’re being attacked!”

  From atop the hills on both sides of us poured wave after wave of Ta-Sety warriors, as black as the night through which we had just marched. They ran down the hills, screaming loud war cries that made my blood curdle with their ferocity. Amidst the smoke we could only catch glimpses of them as they approached us, wielding their spears and knives. Some wore leopard skin kilts and others wore simple cloth kilts, but every one had his face painted in frightening designs. Emerging out of the dense smoke they presented a fearsome appearance.

  In an instant, Herihor sized up his opponent and called his men to battle formation. “Scorpion defense! Scorpion defense!” he screamed, “Around the King!” Without thinking or hesitating, the men ran around in a manner that made little sense to me. Suddenly, just as the Ta-Setys were upon us, I discerned a pattern and Ti-Ameny and I found ourselves in the midst of a tight formation of King’s Guards, one hundred strong, surrounded by a larger wedge of soldiers in rows of four or five, spears pointed outward, with Herihor at the point of the wedge. Wherever he commanded, the point of the wedge would rotate in that direction. Surrounding the wedge was a huge circle of soldiers, some four thousand strong, wielding spears, swords, maces and daggers.

  In that second, all time stood still. The Ta-Setys struck with the full might of their advance warriors. Where one attacked our line, the chances were even that he would be struck down or else deliver a fatal blow to one of our own men. Where they attacked in groups of four or five at one location, our soldiers were trained to allow a few in to be dispensed with by the spears of the wedge formation. In this initial assault the wedge held tight.

  The din of the battle was horrendous. Men summoned their courage with war screams, but in the blink of the gods’ eyes those screams turned to mournful cries of anguish. Before me men were gored, blood spurted everywhere and the putrid smells of bellies cut open and human feces were overpowering. I gagged and noticed Ti-Ameny on the ground, bent over and retching next to one of soldiers who had fallen. His bloody head was nearly severed and through the smoke and haze his eyes stared up at Ti-Ameny as if begging for help.

  Yet the enemies’ numbers had shrunk and soon we all heard the sound of a ram’s horn blowing loudly again and again. The Ta-Setys fell back. Our soldiers quickly put the finishing blows to those Ta-Sety left behind, before collapsing to their knees in exhaustion. They looked dehydrated and Ahori called back to the supply lines to bring up whatever water could be found.

  From all around me came the moans of fallen warriors crying out for help, for someone to put them out of their misery, for water, or for Horus to unite them with their wives and children in the Afterworld.

  I noticed that Herihor was slightly wounded. Blood dribbled from a cut on his left forearm, but he refused medical attention from the priests who now circulated among the wounded, imploring them instead to treat his fellow soldiers. Now he looked over the battlefield and made a decision.

  “Every man still standing, to the rocks!” he shouted, pointing to a clump of boulders and rocks in the center of the valley. His voice cracked from yelling battlefield commands and from a lack of water. “Cordon defense around the King! Hippo unit on the perimeter! Wati, you are now in charge of the unit. Go! Now!”

  With that, Herihor stormed over to me, took me by the arm and without a word dragged me to the center of the rock formation. Ti-Ameny struggled to keep up. As I passed a fallen Kemian soldier I bent down to retrieve his dagger from his hand.

  “I will not go down without a fight!” I said. Herihor looked at me, but said nothing.

  In minutes, the army units again surrounded me, with my King’s Guard, relatively untouched, circling me. But on the battlefield we just abandoned it was a different story. More than a thousand of our soldiers lay dead or mortally wounded and a lesser number of Ta-Sety’s.

  Suddenly, from the hills above came another series of blasts from the ram’s horn. We all turned our heads to the hills before and behind us. What confronted us lay heavy on our hearts. For there, massed atop the hills, were at least five thousand Ta-Sety warriors. They rushed downhill again and at one point it looked like an anthill that had been disturbed, so steadily did the enemy flow down to kill us.

  The outer defense consisted of five rows of soldiers. The outermost cordon held their spears pointed out and as the first wave of Ta-Setys hit us it was carnage. Once one of our soldiers gored an opponent, another behind him assumed his position and did the same to another enemy warrior. Attendants ran from place to place replacing broken spears and swords.

  Soon, our soldiers began to run out of weapons and it was in those areas of momentary weakness that the Ta-Setys attacked with abandon. Wielding spears and daggers, they pierced our outer perimeter and were soon furiously attacking both the wedge and the perimeter from the inside.

  Our swordsmen inside the cordon began to counter-attack and for a while it seemed to us they might prevail, but the Ta-Sety numbers were simply too great. Finally, Herihor could stand it no longer.

  “Stay and protect the King until your dying breath,” he commanded Akori. “I will return after I patch up the holes in our defense.” He leaped off the rock he used to survey the battle and in a mo
ment was in the thick of the battle, his sword in his right hand, his dagger in the left. Every step he took meant a Ta-Sety succumbed to his sword for he was fearless, even reckless in his resolve. As he fought, he brought a contingent of swordsmen with him, until the major holes were, indeed, reinforced.

  Now the outer cordon fought as one unit and the Ta-Sety could not penetrate. The battle continued this way for an eternity. As each Kemian soldier fell, another took his place, but soon the men were standing on the bodies of their fellow soldiers to take a position. But, for now the line held and many more Ta-Sety bodies were added to the perimeter than Kemian.

  Herihor ran back and forth, checking in with Akori and the King’s Guard, then mustering his troops to fight to the end. Once again, the Kings Guard, which had yet to fight, froze for a second when they heard that dreaded ram’s horn blare an insistent message. Now, from both hills, a line of Ta-Sety warriors came down the hill, but these did not scream and yell. These were the elite warriors, kept in reserve. They brazenly danced coming down, uttering a deep whomp-whomp-whomp sound as they went, accompanied by the ominous sound of drums coming from atop the hills. For a moment, the clanging of swords and the dull thud of mace heads meeting bone subsided and to the day I go to the Afterlife I will remember the chilling sounds of those fearsome warriors.

  As the Ta-Sety closed in on our cordon, we made out their faces, which were hideously scarred. Large welts laid out in patterns were also on their arms and torsos and backs. They made no secret of their intent, laughing and daring our weary soldiers to do battle with them. They intended to charge our perimeter at opposite ends of our circle.

  And charge they did. They had only crude weapons, a small leather shield, a short sword and a dagger. But our poor soldiers in the perimeter never had a chance. The Kings Guard, now with Herihor back, watched in horror as these elite Ta-Sety warriors brushed aside the spears, danced swiftly around and slashed our men. They thrust their swords in front of them and with equally deadly accuracy behind them.

  Herihor knew that when they pierced through the line the other Ta-Sety warriors would pour in behind them. Our only hope was to keep the line from collapsing.

  “Akori, take the Catfish guards, split them in two and fortify those lines. Swords and daggers only. I stay with the King. May Horus strengthen you. Hurry!”

  Without answering, Akori rallied half the Guard and they swept down from our rocky fortress into the fray. Without a word, Herihor pushed Ti-Ameny and me back to the reformed center.

  “Chisel Guards, spread out… give each other a better purchase to fight!” he reminded his men. “If the King is harmed, let it be because none of us is left alive! We fight for Narmer and Horus, for King Meryt-Neith and Kem!” They responded with cheers and drawn swords, eager to finally prove their mettle.

  The perimeter to our right suddenly broke and now dozens of Ta-Sety challenged the inner core. It took only thirty minutes more for them to break the inner core and now and again a lone Ta-Sety would make a run for the King’s Guard, which dispatched the man with ease. But soon the challenges came faster. Akori fought below us to reinforce the gaps in our defense, but there were too many Ta-Setys. Finally, a group of three Ta-Setys broke through the inner core and rushed the Kings Guard. The lead warrior was one of their elite and as he delivered the mortal blows, in each case he laughed.

  Infuriated, Herihor jumped to the boulder directly in front of the warrior. When his opponent saw the gold band on his arm, he smiled broadly and decisively slashed at Herihor with his blade. The swiftness of his stroke magnified its threat. Herihor spun around as he deflected the blow, but the sword caught his leather breastplate and slashed it, drawing blood underneath.

  I screamed and for just a fraction of a moment both the Ta-Sety and Herihor glanced toward me. Then a sign of recognition appeared on the Ta-Sety’s face as he glanced from me to Herihor and I would swear that he actually bowed slightly to me, with a wide smile. He thrust at Herihor with renewed vigor and soon Herihor was stepping backward to avoid the swift and deadly blows.

  The Ta-Sety soon tired and one plunge of his dagger left him off balance just enough for Herihor to land a solid thrust with his dagger. It entered between the man’s ribs, a lightening quick blow that knocked him to the ground. As he turned to get back up, Herihor finished him off with his sword.

  But as they battled, other Ta-Setys had come between the King’s Guard and Herihor’s position. He began to fight his way back to us, but I could see he was tiring. Blood seeped over his breastplate and ran down his tunic, already splattered with Ta-Sety blood and flesh.

  Now another black warrior challenged him and as they battled Herihor clambered over the rocks until he was not more than two cubits in front of me. Another enemy approached from his right and if he saw him, as he later reported to me he did, he was powerless to act for he was precariously balanced on a rock as he delivered a mortal blow to the Ta-Sety before him. Herihor fell forward as he thrust and he toppled onto the enemy’s chest. Just then the Ta-Sety on his right saw his opportunity. He leaped onto the rock before me and as he lifted his sword high to strike my beloved, I lunged, my knife at the ready. The blade easily sunk between the man’s ribs and I could hear the breath whoosh out of him. He turned in disbelief and in that instant Herihor thrust his dagger into the man’s neck and he immediately fell to the ground.

  Herihor rushed to me and hugged me with his free hand before he pushed me behind the boulder. I will never forget the look he gave me in that moment, a mixture of thanks and wonder and all I could think of at that moment was to say a prayer of thanks to Horus for giving me the courage I did not know I possessed to serve my beloved.

  Herihor climbed back atop the boulder and what he saw sank his heart, for the scene of carnage and mayhem below shocked even him. Bodies, contrasts in black and brown, lay next to one another, atop one another, intermingled in the final death throes of battle. Blood and entrails covered the surface of every rock. Disembodied limbs littered the ground. And still the Ta-Setys came. At that moment, Herihor later reported, he understood that all was lost and he accepted his warrior fate. Although he never told me this himself, I know that he pondered how to deal with my death, for he knew even at that terrible moment, that he would kill me himself and spend eternity with Apep, rather than let me fall at the hands of a foreigner.

  Herihor looked skyward and what he saw he could not comprehend at first. For although the valley floor was filled with Ta-Sety and Kemian soldiers, still thousands more Ta-Sety warriors suddenly massed on the crests of the hills. Their leader held his arm high and then dropped it and two thousand warriors descended the hills, screeching in a tongue he had never before heard. I immediately stood up to see what was happening.

  Suddenly, the Ta-Setys in the valley stopped for a moment to look up and it was only then that Herihor realized whom it was who stood atop the hill and commanded these men.

  “By the might of Horus,” he exclaimed. “It is Nekau!”

  No one who stood on that valley floor that day could mistake Nekau’s ancestral brothers, for they towered over our Ta-Sety enemies and our soldiers alike. Nekau himself ran down the hill to help his countrymen, and wherever he wielded a sword, his opponent either ran or perished. In an hour it was over and when Nekau fought his way to the King’s Guard, it was Herihor who greeted him. They both dropped their swords, fell to their knees and embraced.

  From that day forward, the Horus priests named the battlefield The Valley of Horus’ Glory and placed it on the map of Kem’s expeditions. Nearly three thousand of our men fought to their deaths that day or else died in the following days of putrid infections. Five hundred men lost a hand or arm or other limb and survived due to the magic of our priest shamans. But for the fifteen hundred Kemian soldiers who marched out of that valley five days later the name the priests gave it mattered not. To them it was forever known as Nekau’s Valley.

  To the debasing horrors of war I have nothing to add, other than I
felt I made the correct decision in accompanying my troops. The experience changed me in profound ways and for the rest of my days it gave me pause whenever I had to put my troops in harm’s way. But also for the rest of my days our Ta-Sety neighbors did not trouble us again. That same day the Ta-Setys buried more than five thousand men and surrendered one thousand as slaves to the alliance of tribes that Nekau had brought with him.

  Of the five thousand Ta-Setys killed in battle, I was responsible for the death of one. As Horus is my witness, I did it only to protect my beloved and I would do it again whether for Herihor or Zenty. Yet the look on that Ta-Sety warrior’s face as I plunged in my knife will plague me to my own passing, for it was not the look of a hated enemy, but that of a brother, sent on his final journey by my own hand.

  Nekau told me later that the Ta-Sety I killed was a great warrior, made immortal by his valiant battle with Herihor and the King of Kem. Herihor assured me that the poor man’s people would forever whisper his name. And Amka assured me that his bravery would secure him a place in the Afterworld.

  Yet I could not help myself from wondering if a child waited anxiously at home for their father who would never reappear in this world; if a mother would never again gaze upon her son’s grateful face; if a woman would never again feel her lover’s breath upon her neck. Eight thousands fathers, sons and lovers dead in a day. For what? For what?

  With the help of the Abu Island priests we were able to determine that the Ta-Setys were bribed with the lure of gold and land and that none other than Khnum was behind this plot. The Horus priests officially recorded these confessions before the witnesses were tried and executed.

  Nekau also told us that his capturing party included at least a few individuals from the Delta and that he overheard them talking about a spy in our midst. With that information confined to just Nekau, Herihor and myself, we set back to Nekhen and Inabu-hedj determined to ferret out that traitor and his informants.