Author's notes:
This is the continuation of 'A Long Time from Home' and if you haven't read that, I advise you to do so.
The series is self-edited, so any mistakes are mine, though I now have a proofreader, that can catch missing words ect. Thanks to Jessejames932006 for doing that.
Some of the chapters will take place in the ancient past and while I have done a lot of research for that, there might be small errors here and there. If you think you found such an error in the story, please double check to be sure that you're correct and then PM me about it, so I can fix it. :)
Due to its length, I placed ALTFH under the 'Novels and Novellas' section, but as you can see, ALTFH II is placed in the 'Sci-fi and Fantasy' section, which fits it better due to the elements of magic that's in it. At least in my opinion :)
Have fun and while you're at it, please rate the chapter and leave a comment :)
I have stated that I would upload chapters of 'Into the Chaos' (my Star Wars: The Old Republic story) every other time and that is still the case.
About the notation:
Mental communication is denoted by a < and ends with a >, so a mental communication will look like this: "< Who are you? >"
Some warnings
:
This is erotic action adventure, meaning that there will be both sex and violence, but I don't mix the two.
This story is posted on the Literotica website and the author does not give permission for it to be reposted or reprinted anywhere else without consent.
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Chapter 2 -- Flashback: Trouble in Kemet
Men-nefer, Kemet (Egypt)
Despite the disappearance of human magic, caused by Baylon's return to its home dimension, life in Kemet was the same as ever. At least here in Men-nefer, where I was currently living. Originally, I had planned on living in my dad's house in Pi-Ramesses, but there were too many memories there to make it comfortable, so I had emptied it of everything from Baylon before I had sold it and moved to the smaller townhouse in Men-nefer.
Another reason for the sale was that after Ramesses II had died from old age, his successor Pharaoh Merneptah, had decided to use Men-nefer as his capital. Consequently, Pi-Ramesses had become less popular and when a rich merchant had given me an offer, I had immediately accepted, since I suspected that in a few years, the house would be worth a lot less.
The sale of the house also gave me money to live on, while I pondered my future here in the human world. Fortunately, Vis and self-affecting Ars Mentalis was still working, while ranged use of Power, be it Ars Mentalis or Ars Magica, either failed or went horribly wrong, while ranged Vis Vitae had become unstable and rarely yielded the same result two times in a row.
Since I used mostly self-affecting powers, it wasn't too bad for me, but after almost frying myself a few times, I had inserted an Ars Mentalis condition in my mind, that prevented me from using ranged powers without consciously overriding the condition.
All in all, the change caused by The Return was mostly an inconvenience to me, but it was an outright catastrophe for the human power users, such as mages, priests, shamans, and warlocks.
According to stories I had heard from the merchants in Men-nefer, many of the human power users across this part of the world had suffered horrible casualties as their, mostly ranged, magic backfired on them. The same went for potion creators, as any distance from the power user to the target could create catastrophic results and potions creators rarely touched the boiling liquids they were trying to enchant.
For most countries, the loss of their power users was a disaster, as it affected how well their armies defended the homeland and its people. It was something that had become extremely important, as war was brewing all over the area.
Judging from what I've heard from the traders, there was no doubt in my mind that most of it was due to the disappearance of Baylon, the resettlement of the former slaves and the cursed swords of the Pulcher family. The Securitas Externa had done their best to locate and destroy or remove the cursed swords, but Baylon had returned to its home dimension before all of them could be found and as a result, kings and warlords had gathered armies as they took their people to war, promising new land, and riches.
As many of the warring tribes travelled by ship, it was especially the coastal areas and nations that suffered, as the raiders fell upon them.
In that respect, Kemet was fortunate. It might have a long coastline up towards the Hittite Empire, but Kemet itself was well protected against attacks from the Middle Sea area, with the desert on two sides and half the upper part occupied by the Nile Delta, which was not ideal terrain for any approaching army.
All in all, that meant that the only 'easy' way into Kemet was from Tjehenu, the area located to the west of Lower Kemet, and home of the Libu-tribes.
It was also the reason why I was walking through the streets of Men-Nefer going to the palace, responding to a summons from Pharaoh Merneptah. The summons hadn't come with an explanation, but when the living embodiment of Ra asked you to come, you dropped whatever you were doing and went to see him. Everything else would be insulting. However, the courier that brought the summons had told me that it was about an invasion from Tjehenu and to make matters worse, only half the army stationed in Kemet itself was in Lower Kemet. The other half was in upper Kemet, fending off a Nubian raid.
On the bright side, Merneptah was one of the better persons to have on the throne during an invasion as he had been Overseer of the Army for a couple of decades before he was promoted to Crown Prince, and thus knew warfare.
The biggest question in my mind was why he had summoned me, but my best guess was that it was in my capacity as a Royal Healer. A title that had been bestowed on me by Merneptah's father, Ramesses the Great, after I had healed his stiff and inflamed joints, giving him at least five more years to live.
Traditionally the Pharaoh led the army personally whenever he could and as far as I remembered, Merneptah had to be around seventy by now, which was very old for most humans, and unless I missed my guess, I was supposed to go along as his personal healer, since the Kemetian healers had been severely handicapped by the loss of their potion magic.
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The palace at Pi-Ramesses was as impressive as always, but I didn't see much of it as I was ushered into a beautifully decorated audience chamber, where Pharaoh Merneptah was sitting, attended only by a couple of extremely good-looking women.
Looking somewhat like his father, Mernepath was tall and though old, it was clear to see that he had once been a powerful warrior. The biggest difference was that where Ramesses had red hair, Mernepath was almost completely bald.
Unfortunately, it seemed like he suffered the same stiffening of the joints as his father, and as he drank from a golden cup, the small movement alone looked like it caused him pain.
The courier ignored them and walked towards the throne, going to one knee as he came nearer.
"My king, Embodiment of Ra, I present to you Ivah the Healer, Grandson of Horemheb. By the grace of Ra, Ptah, and Sekhmet, he is here to heal your physical body that holds the immortal glory of Ra."
It was almost word for word the same introduction Tia had given, when I had been introduced to Ramesses II, proving that while the world around us was changing, court etiquette remained the same.
Merneptah looked at me in disbelief. "You look too young to be the one that healed my father more than a decade ago. Tell me, who else was present that day and where it happened?"
"Yes, your Majesty. The healing took place at Prince Khaemweset house, and he was present most of the time." I took off the signet ring Ramesses had given me and handed it to the courier. "This is the signet ring I was given as a reward."
The courier studied the ring carefully, before handing it back to me. "It is the ring, your Majesty."
Merneptah looked intensely at me, causing me to meet his gaze openly. It was a gamble, as some rulers would feel threatened by it, but I trusted my instincts. Mernepath had been at the court of Ramesses the Great for most of his life and Ramesses had valued the truth.
A little smile crept onto the Pharoah's face. "My father left me a note, stating that if I ever wanted serious aid, medical or otherwise, the family and offspring of Horemheb were the ones to ask as they were blessed by Bastet: Skilled in both healing and combat, but with as all cats, one should not expect humility." The smile widened. "It seems like he was right."
There wasn't much I could say to that, so I nodded politely without saying anything, causing him to continue. "Anyway, the Libyans are invading us and according to our scouts, they are not alone. Several Sea People tribes have joined them and so far, they have already taken the Field of Threes oasis and are moving towards the Nile Delta. Thus, I will go out and defeat them, but this mortal body is frail and any healing you can do, will help."
I bowed deeply. "It shall be as you wish, my King."
