"The Living Dams" defense of the Canals of Ptah
Si Panek crested the last sand dune before he reached the canal where the Priest had advised him the Eaters of the Dead were blocking the waterway. Before him the Canals of Ptah lay fouled & corrupted by the Eater. From his vantage point Si-panek could see three points where the canal was blocked by great black living clouds of corruption. Before the canal stood a huge horde of Eaters forming up for battle.
picture
Si-Panek knew the Eaters outnumbered his Warband as well as that of Mufasa's to his right. He felt his heart sink, knowing there was no hope of the two Warbands prevailing against this evil. Si-Panek began to contemplate what to do looking to his right towards Mufasa. The Heru Harbinger was easy to spot with his lion frame gifted to him by one of the old false gods. As he looked far past Mufasa he saw two other Warbands cresting the dunes, as if from nowhere they had appeared. In spite of the banners showing their faith for the old gods, Si-Panek felt a bit of joy at there appearance, tiny as it might have been. No matter, with the help of these others lacking in faith, their combined forces should be able to clear the canals. After the canals were clear & the Eater dead, then Aten's might will help cleanse Aegyptus of these heretics!
picture
… the following account was recorded by an unnamed Scribe of Thoth. A faithful servant to Thoth himself, the account is a death sentence under the laws of Akhenaten should his identity ever be discovered.
picture
The day was darker than most in Aegyptus, for the horde that stood arrayed & blocking the canals brought with it a cloudy darkness that Ra, nor this fable god aten can pierce. The waterways had been blocked for weeks now & the line of undead & fanatical cultist would do all in their power to keep things as they were.
picture
Pharos was in need of rescue & akhenaten had sent two of his most capable Harbingers to its' defense. Yet they were not the only two that came to defend Aegyptus' greatest port city. Two Warbands faithful to the True Gods had come to help defend the land they loved as well. Without a word spoken it was known an uneasy truce had been decided on. Both sides knew it would be their only chance for victory. So they marched forward, many for the last time…
picture
As the two sides advanced on each other a Nekharu witch, Nusen-sha-sta, began to cackle in his disgusting tones. He held in his hand a heart, brought it down to his mouth & began to gorge on the organ, pointing toward the oncoming abomination as he did. No doubt to somehow hex the horrible creature. Undaunted the monster drove itself faster towards its' enemies, picking up two Typhon chariot runners as it did. Without breaking stride it smashed their bodies together & dropped the lifeless heaps into the sand. In the center of the battlefield, Bayenemwast, an Assassin appeared. He eyed the advancing warrior mummies with their halberds in hand.
picture
picture
Just as it seemed the abomination might reach its' target a massive hand came charging into melee with the monster. Though the hand was easily smashed by the creature, it had done its' job as the Abomination was slowed by the melee. The distraction was exactly what Si-Panek hoped for, he took his "glory of aten" swordsmen & charged into the foul beast. Somehow the heretic Harbinger was able to harm the Abomination! Not far from Nusen-sha-sta, a Crypt Lord smashed his chariot into a unit of Nekharu Archers. Untrained & cowardly in melee, three of them were slaughtered, causing them to flee for their lives. Expected, but most unexpected was their about face. A priest of that heretic god aten called to them & somehow inspired the ugly vultures. That same priest walked with another & they carried what looked like an ark with them. The item was foreign in its' making for the histories of Aegyptus have no record of it. Heavy & cumbersome, they are careful with the item & seem to almost be praying to it. Rightly so as from that same rocky outcrop now appeared a crypt lord. From the look of the bent blades he carries in each hand it is easy to tell he once served as an assassin himself when his lungs required air to breath.
picture
Though Si-Panek may follow a false god his skills must be recorded & lauded. Try as the abomination might it swung, & struck, & clawed, but found only the void of air to hit. Each time it did Si-Panek stepped out from under its' swing, blocked its' strikes, & wounded the monster. Finally with a massive swing at the monster's neck, the hideous creature's head was lopped off & rolled onto the sand lifeless.
picture
A great roar of cheers erupted from the swordsmen involved in the melee. No doubt, their cheers would have been subdued had they known that their assassin had fallen to the dulled rusty blades of mummies… Though the assassin was skilled enough to kill their crypt lord, he was no match for the numerous mummies that remained.
picture
Still hard at work, Nusen-sha-sta, summoned a group of vultures not far off to protect the Harbinger & his men while they recovered. By now the Eater's Harbinger had crashed into an aten unit of Asar. They fought best they could, but were no match for the ebon fire that followed the Harbinger. Its' black sphere seemed to comsume the Asar, body & soul. A fate so terrible even a heretic should be spared such torture. What was left of the poor Asar ran for their lives, but they too were consumed. Not finished with their souls the Dark Harbinger than rose six of them to do his bidding & slow the advance of Amenehat the "Wretched". Amenehat was not to be denied & with a swing of his blade felled three of the walking dead. Another Nekharu witch, Odji Skekso, a memeber of one of the True Gods warbands raised his hand high in the air. It contained what looked like a small black cloud, seconds later it was lit afire! The whole time the witch chanted & glared at the black cloud that sat in the canal. As if hurt the cloud moved & pulled back within itself, slightly shrinking.
picture
Si-Panek's Typhon Champion, Tjanemi, did all he could to fend off the surrounding horde mummies.
picture
Though his skill was unparalleled by any other champion on the field, there was nothing he could as his chariot was destroyed out from under him, followed closely by the death of his trusted driver. His death, now inevitable mattered not to him. He fought on slaying mummy after mummy with a tenacity that had helped his people survive in the desert for ages. Nearby a unit of Nekharu cultist fired a deadly volley of stones at the oncoming unit of Heru Spearmen. Even with their shields at the ready a few of them fell. Just enough for the Heru to uncharacteristically rout towards the rear of their Warband. It seems Heru faithful to aten are not as stout as those faithful to the True Gods. On the extreme right flank of the living, Akori the "Shadow's Howl" maneuvered his chariot past the guarding unit of mummies & charged into one of the black clouds that occupied the canal.
picture
He & his chariot were immediately consumed by the black void. A hush fell over his men nearby & their Typhon allies, then with a clap of thunder the void mass collapsed in on itself & disappeared. Where it once stood was Akori his battle scythe, the "Scale of Anubis", raised high in victory over the smoky evil that once stood there.
picture
Not to be outdone, Mufasa the "Majestic", charged into the cloud occupying the canal at the center. Though wounded from the melee Mufasa too emerged triumphant as the cloud dissipated around him. Realizing the situation was becoming desperate, the Dark Harbinger turned his attention on Amenehat & the Nekharu slingers nearby. He realized Amenehat would be done with the last of the raised undead Asar & began to make his way towards the opposing Harbinger, hoping to catch him off guard. Consumed by his thirst for death as he charged, he let fly a terrible storm of scarabs towards the Nekharu so they could not support the Typhon Harbinger. Though terrified at the sight of many in their unit being eaten alive by hundreds of tiny insects, the Nekharu held. Their strength in numbers now almost gone. An educated Aegyptian would say they held not because of their bravery, but because they were scared straight by the sound numbing crackle of thunder coming down from the sky as provocation ensued between Amenehat & the Dark Harbinger. A blue azure glow shone all across the battlefield as the two slammed into each other!
picture
Before one could get their bearings another clap of thunder bellowed across the battlefield as that ark, that the heretics priests handled so gingerly, shot bolts of lightning from the two open winged eagle idols that adorned it. The bolts shot clear across the battlefield into the final cloud, its' size slightly shrinking from the overpowering attack.
picture
In the provocation the Dark Harbinger was sliced open only once, but the wound was deep, for Amenehat had been gifted with strength by Set. In his attempt to assist the Anubi swords in melee with a unit of mummies, Pepi the Assessor charged his unit of Typhon headlong into the rusty spears.
picture
With but the blink of an eye the Assessor would realize why fighting these wretched creatures is best left to the Anubi! The spears of the mummies struck true & in no time the Assessor & his Typhon ran for their lives. Far to the left, as the last of Nusen-sha-sta's summoned vultures fell, the witch found a new target, his fellow Nekharu archers to his right. The witch reached into his pouch & pulled out a bundle of sticks with what looked like a tiny skull adorned to their top. He threw them at the fellow archers. The Archers pulled back on their bows & let loose towards the final black target. Their shafts passed harmlessly through the last of the clouds that stopped the flow of water through the canal. Some of the shafts stuck deep into the sand, some did not… Those that lay their soon transformed into mystical vipers, the magical creatures struck out the darkness. Moments later the vipers had disappeared & with them so too had the the cloud! The usual clap of thunder followed by the disappearance of one of the clouds was muted by the onrushing flood of water as the canal abruptly flowed freely once again! With no time to spare & attempting to create a border of water between them & their enemies, the cultists routed across the canal trying to make it to the other side before the water filled the area. Most did not make the sprint & were drowned, washed away by the cleansing waters of the Nile… Without a second to spare the aten heretics turned their malice on the warbands of the True Gods. The first act of aggression committed by a unit of Khemru, felling what was left of a unit of Nekharu slingers with their stones.
picture
The heretics continue their assault from afar & turned the power of the ark on unit of Cynopolis City Dwellers. The strike shook the unit, but to their surprise, none were killed or even injured. Provocation continued. The Dark Harbinger blocked a strike from Amenehat's spear, then hoping to exploit the Harbinger's attack, lifted his blade high to smash down upon the Typhon's skull! It would be his last mistake… Amenehat had intentionally planted his spear into the Dark Harbingers shield to slow the undead creature. Following, in one fluid motion with a speed near god-like, he unsheathed his sword swinging upright & spinning to his right as he did. The swing sliced clean through the Dark Harbinger's sword hand at the wrist. Having brought his now dismembered hand up to strike, the Dark Harbinger left himself open to attack. He brought his eyes down to bear on Amenehat, trying fast as he could to bring his now heavier, spear-stuck shield to close the opening to his front… his shield was too late. His eyes, far ahead of his shield hand, caught the "Wretched" at the end of his spin planting his left foot & thrusting into the Dark Harbinger's opening. Amenehat's blade went clean through bursting out the back of the Dark Harbinger as it severed the living corpe's spine. The Dark Harbinger's eyes went dim, no longer emitting their red glow. Amenehat removed his sword & reached up above him, from clouds now breaking apart above the battlefield a massive spark of light struck down on him as he received the evil one's Ka!
picture
With the end of provocation came the end of the battle. The two remaining sides fought a slight rearguard action as they removed themselves from the field of battle. Their losses too numerous to continue open fighting.
Days later the corrupted Priests of Pharos would con Amatoth, its' Nomarch, into declaring for aten & his heretics. Days of rioting followed as the city's people believed the decision nothing more than a bribe. Aten & his followers eventually quelled the rioting weeks later… Though the city of Pharos may have declared for aten, followers of the True Gods know the battle had the desired affect on the people of Aegytpus. The people now knew there was hope & that Harbingers faithful to the True Gods were plenty, their number were growing, & they would give their lives to bring Aegyptus back from the brink this akhenaten, & his false sun god, had led it to!
Your faithful servant,
…Scribe Unknown
Hope you enjoyed this Battle Report brought to you by Crocodile Games. For more bonus photos check the "Fantasy Gallery" Board.
Thanks,
Akori
speculates about post-Innsmouth gaming.
