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  Scepter of Flint

  Copyright © 2020 by N. L. Holmes

  The Lord Hani MysteriesTM2020

  All rights reserved.

  Quotes from “The Instructions of Any” and “The Book of the Dead” from Ancient Egyptian Literature by Miriam Lichtheim, University of California Press (1976).

  Cover art and map© by Streetlight Graphics.

  Author photo© by Kipp Baker.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.

  To Deb, who wanted more

  Historical Notes

  THIS STORY TAKES PLACE during the period of Egypt’s history known as the New Kingdom, when the country had become an empire with holdings in Nubia to the south and throughout the Levant to the north. It begins around 1343 BCE, the approximate date of the so-called Great Jubilee of the Aten held by Akhenaten in his twelfth regnal year. Although authorities are divided about this, the author has accepted a five-year coregency between Akhenaten and his father, during which his regnal years would have begun to be counted.

  The reign of Akhenaten marked a nearly unimaginable overturning of values and customs millennia old, a testimony to the absolute power of the king. But judging by the speed with which his “reforms” were reversed after his death, we must assume that relatively few people really bought into them. We may imagine that those whose livelihood was interrupted by the reforms would have bided their time impatiently and maybe hastened along the fall of Akhenaten’s support.

  Many scholars accept that the mysterious “Greatly Beloved Wife” Kiya was the Mitannian princess Taduhepa, originally sent to Akhenaten’s father Amenhotep III. Her name suddenly ceases to be seen at a certain point, and all her monuments had her name chiseled out and that of one of the king’s daughters put in its place. Baket-aten is thought by some to have been her child; others make her a late daughter of Tiyi. Less controversial is the fact that a plague did indeed sweep through Egypt, brought to the capital by northern vassals at the time of the Great Jubilee. Since many of the royal family died at that time, some think they may have been victims of the epidemic. Although the tomb robberies described in this book are fictitious, the exchange of hostages with Naharin—Mane for Pirissi and Tulubri—is real.

  The Egyptian concept of the soul involved five parts, which were thought to reunite in the afterworld to form a single perfected being, the akh.

  While we know the names of many Egyptian sculptors, the names of painters are unknown— probably because wall painting was done in teams, with many people being responsible for the final product. Among painters, as elsewhere in society, those who were literate enjoyed more prestige than those who were not.

  And finally, a note about Egyptian time-keeping: they had a ten-day week with a two-day “weekend” embedded. In addition, there were so many festivals that a third of the year was non-work time!

  Characters

  (Persons marked with an * are purely fictitious)

  Hani’s Family

  A’A*: the doorkeeper of Hani’s family.

  Amen-em-hut: Nub-nefer’s brother, Third Prophet of Amen.

  Amen-em-ope known as Pa-kiki* (The Monkey): Hani and Nub-nefer’s second son.

  Amen-hotep known as Hani: a diplomat.

  Amen-hotep known as Aha*: Hani and Nub-nefer’s eldest son. Later takes the name Hesy-en-aten.

  Amen-hotep known as Anuia: wife of Amen-em-hut, a chantress of Amen.

  Amen-mes known as Maya*: Hani’s dwarf secretary and son-in-law, married to Sat-hut-haru.

  Baket-iset*: their eldest daughter.

  Bener-ib*: Neferet’s friend and fellow student.

  In-hapy*: royal goldsmith and mother of Maya.

  Iuty*: a gardener of Hani’s family.

  Khentet-ka*: Aha’s wife.

  Meryet-amen*: Mery-ra’s lady friend.

  Mery-ra: Hani’s father.

  Mut-nodjmet*: Pipi’s eldest daughter, wife of Pa-kiki.

  Nedjem-ib*: Pipi’s wife.

  Pa-kiki*: Hani’s younger son.

  Pa-ra-em-heb known as Pipi*: Hani’s brother.

  Pen-amen*: son of Amen-em-hut, Hani’s nephew.

  Neferet*: Hani and Nub-nefer’s youngest daughter.

  Nub-nefer*: Hani’s wife, a chantress of Amen.

  Sat-hut-haru*: Hani and Nub-nefer’s second daughter.

  Other Characters

  Ah-mes: chief of the Hall of Justice under Amenhotep III and Akhenaten.

  Akh-en-aten (Amen-hotep IV): known by his throne name Nefer-khepru-ra Wa-en-ra.

  Ankh-reshet*: overseer of the right hand corps of workmen on the Theban tombs.

  Apeny: wife of Ptah-mes and, in this story, weret khener of Amen-Ra.

  Aper-el: vizier of Lower Egypt.

  Ay: father-in-law and probably uncle of Akhenaten, who held considerable power under Akhenaten’s reign and that of his successors, eventually becoming king.

  Bebi-ankh*: “black-line man” on the Theban tombs.

  Djau*: chief draftsman on the Theban tombs.

  Djefat-nebty*: woman physician in attendance on the royal harem.

  Heqa-nakht*: stonecutter on the Theban Tombs.

  Keliya: Mitannian diplomat.

  Khawy*: nephew of Djau.

  Kiya: Mitannian princess originally named Taduhepa, married first to Amenhotep III then to his son, who made her his Greatly Beloved Wife.

  Mahu: chief of police under Akhenaten.

  Mane: diplomat assigned to Naharin (Mitanni).

  Menna*: An infantry officer, whose life Hani had saved.

  Nefert-iti Nefer-nefru-aten: queen and later possible coregent of Akhenaten. She was probably his cousin on the maternal side. Her name means “the beautiful one has come.”

  Pa-aten-em-heb (Har-em-heb): An infantry officer who becomes Pa-kiki’s employer. Historically, it is unclear whether these two names belonged to the same person.

  Pa-ren-nefer: Steward of Akhenaten.

  Pentju: Chief physician of Akh-en-aten, priest of the Aten.

  Pirissi and Tulubri: Mitannian diplomats.

  Ptah-mes: former vizier of Upper Egypt, First Prophet of Amen-Ra, and mayor of Thebes, current high commissioner of northern vassals (this last office fictitiously ascribed to him).

  Sa-tau: Keeper of the Double House of Silver and Gold (treasurer) under Akhenaten.

  Talpu-sharri*: Mitannian chamberlain of Lady Kiya.

  Glossary of Gods

  Amen-Ra: Amen, the Hidden One, was a local god of Thebes. When a Theban dynasty came to power in Egypt, Amen became the high god of the entire country and was merged with the all- important sun god Ra.

  Ammit: “The Devourer”, a monster who consumed the souls that proved unworthy in the judgment that followed death.

  Aten: The Aten was originally just the visible disk of the sun in the sky. Amen-hotep III claimed to be himself the Aten, that is, the manifestation of the sun god. His son took it a step further and worshiped his father as a kind of purely spiritual high god, not to be depicted or approached except through Akh-en-aten himself, the sole mediator.

  Bes: An ugly, lion-like dwarf god, protector of children.

  Djehuty: Thoth, the god of scribes and j
udge of souls, often associated with ibises or baboons.

  Hapy: God/goddess of the Nile inundation. Because he/she represented the totality of fertility, Hapy was thought of as hermaphroditic.

  Haru: The solar hawk god Horus, the One on High. The king, while alive, was considered to be his avatar, except under Akh-en-aten.

  Hut-haru: Hathor, a multi-purpose feminine deity—goddess of beauty, joy, music, and sex, welcomer of the dead, and personification of the gentler aspects of the sun. Her name means “mansion of Horus.”

  Inpu: Anubis, the god of embalming.

  Khonsu: God of the moon, a son of Amen-Ra, seen as the protector of travelers.

  Ma’at: Both the goddess and the concept (with a lower-case m) of truth, cosmic order, and right.

  Meret-seger: “The lover of silence”, goddess of the desert where the dead are buried on the west bank of the Nile.

  Mut: The consort of the god Amen-Ra, considered a motherly protector.

  Ptah: The creator god of Memphis.

  Sekhmet: The Powerful One, lion-headed goddess of plague and hence of healing. She also represented the murderous power of the sun, a kind of malicious alter-ego of Hut-haru.

  Serqet: The scorpion goddess who protected from poisonous stings and from illness generally.

  Seshat: The goddess who personified writing.

  Shu and Tefnut: The male and female principles, twins and spouses, first of all the gods to split off from the primal All. They represented Air or Light and Moisture.

  Ta-weret: “The Great One,” the hippopotamus goddess who protected women and children.

  Glossary of Terms and Places

  A’amu: Called Amurru by its inhabitants, this was a kingdom on the Mediterranean coast north of Byblos and south of Ugarit.

  Akhet-aten: Horizon of the Aten, the new capital city built by Akhenaten.

  Book of Going Forth by Day: the so-called Book of the Dead, a collection of spells, prayers, and protestations of virtue that guided the soul successfully through the judgment and into the Field of Reeds. In earlier times, many of these were written on the coffin itself, but by the New Kingdom, a real book (scroll) was buried with the deceased.

  bulti: Tilapia.

  deben: A unit of weight, equal to 91 grams.

  dja: A unit of volume, equal to about 1/3 liter.

  djed pillar: A pillar erected in a summer festival and also during the heb-sed, thought to represent the spine of Osiris. It symbolized stability.

  Djahy: The southern part of the Levant, more or less Roman Palestina.

  Double House of Silver and Gold: The royal treasury, although much of the wealth of the kingdom was not in the form of precious metals but of commodities.

  doum palm: A type of palm tree bearing large edible fruit.

  electrum: A naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver much prized by the Egyptians as white gold.

  Field of Reeds: The pleasant land of the blessed dead.

  Great Green: The Mediterranean Sea.

  heb-sed: Festival of the Bull’s Tail, celebrated as a jubilee in the king’s thirtieth regnal year in the hopes of rejuvenating his vitality. It was often celebrated at shorter intervals thereafter.

  Hut-nen-nesut: The city of Herakleopolis, at the mouth of the Fayyum oasis. It was sacred to Horus.

  Ipet: “Shrine,” a Theban festival held yearly at Luxor which renewed the divine soul of the king and reaffirmed his affiliation to Amen.

  Ipet-isut: The great temple of Amen-Ra at Thebes (Karnak).

  iteru: A unit of distance, equal to about a mile.

  Iunu: Heliopolis, a city in Lower Egypt sacred to Ra.

  ka: One of the elements of the soul, which survived death. It seemed to be the vital essence and determined the nature of the person, human or divine. The king was thought to have a divine ka, renewed annually in the Ipet Festival.

  Kebni: The Egyptian name for Byblos, a large city on the Mediterranean coast. The natives called it Gubla.

  Kemet: What the Egyptians called their country. It meant the Black Land, because of the rich black alluvial soil of the Nile Valley. They also referred to Egypt as the Two Lands.

  kha: a unit of area equaling approximately 276 square meters.

  Kharu: The area represented today by Syria. The name refers to the Hurrian (Mitannian) population, but most people of Kharu were Semitic speaking.

  khat: the physical body of the person, which was needed in the afterlife, hence the custom of mummification.

  Kheta: Hatti Land, the kingdom of the Hittites, an increasingly powerful empire in Asia Minor.

  medjay: Originally a Nubian tribe used as policemen, it came to indicate the police in general.

  Men-nefer: The city of Memphis, capital of Lower (Northern) Egypt.

  moringa: A tree bearing beans that were pressed for oil.

  Naharin: An empire in inland Syria and northern Mesopotamia which had been very powerful but was falling apart at the time of our story. Also known as Mitanni.

  nebet per: mistress of the house, a title used for any married woman, regardless of class.

  Ta-nehesy: Nubia, today’s Sudan.

  Nekhen: A town sacred to Horus in Upper Egypt.

  pehrer: an auxiliary soldier, usually of a lesser class, who ran alongside a chariot in battle to clear a path.

  Per-ankh: The House of Life, scribal school run by the priests of Amen-Ra at Thebes.

  Peret: The four-month winter season, or season of “growth.”

  Per-hay: The House of Rejoicing, one of Akhenaten’s palaces in Akhet-aten, named after his father’s palace at Thebes.

  The River: The Nile, which had no name nor any personification as a god.

  Sangar: Babylonia.

  Sau: Saïs, a town in the Nile Delta sacred to Sekhmet.

  senet: A board game for two people similar to checkers.

  shebyu necklace: A special gold necklace granted to favored servants of the king which marked an elevation of their social status.

  shenu: a ring or cartridge shape tangent to a crossbar. It symbolized a loop of rope and meant “eternity.” Kings’ names were written in shen rings.

  Simurru: Tsumur, a city in Kharu that became the capital of the new kingdom of Amurru.

  Speech of the Gods: Writing; in our story, used to distinguish hieroglyphics from script.

  sycomore: Not the sycamore or plane tree, but a species of very large fig with edible fruit.

  sunu (m.), sunet (f.): A physician of a scientific sort, as opposed to priestly or magical practitioners of medicine.

  Ta-abet: second month of the season of Peret.

  Tunip: A city on the Orontes River, vassal first of Egypt, then of Hatti.

  Tushratta: King of Naharin.

  Wag Festival: An annual feast of Osiris, during which the dead of the family were honored.

  Waset: “City of the Scepter,” the city of Thebes, the capital of Upper (Southern) Egypt and seat of Amen-Ra’s worship.

  weru: “great ones”; high aristocrats.

  CHAPTER 1

  HEMMED IN BY AN ENORMOUS crowd, Hani stood between the lion-bodied images of the king that flanked the main street of Akhet-aten. He was waiting—as it seemed he had so often in the last seven years—for the king and his family to make their appearance. This occasion was the opening ceremony of the Great Jubilee of the Aten. More splendid than even the two previous jubilees Nefer-khepru-ra had held since he’d come to the throne alone, this one had been two years in the making. All the ambassadors of foreign lands, all the mayors of Kemet’s vassal states to the north, and all the princes of Ta-nehesy to the south were there to render homage—because Nefer-khepru-ra was the Aten. Officially, he was the son and the only priest of the Shining Sun Disk, but Hani had realized long ago that, in fact, the king in his person was intended to be the revelation of the Aten.

  One god, one priest, one revelation: him.

  Hani ground his teeth at the very thought of Nefer-khepru-ra’s theology. Had the king no idea of
the havoc his decrees had wrought? The Ipet-isut, the Greatest of Shrines, consecrated to Amen-ra, had been closed, the cult statues desecrated, the priests expelled. The Hidden One’s estates had been confiscated, and tens of thousands of priests and workers had found themselves without jobs. Had the king held his celebration in the old capital, Waset, this crowd would have been dangerously hostile.

  But the inhabitants of Akhet-aten were handpicked. They were the bureaucrats and tradespeople for whom the king’s continued favor had been more important than conscience, and they would applaud him as he demanded.

  Yet here I am too, Hani thought with a twinge of cynicism. And here is my father, and here are my sons and daughter and son-in-law. Nub-nefer, his wife, had been obdurate enough in her faith to refuse to attend. Sat-hut-haru, Hani’s middle girl, had yielded to her mother’s stern orders and declined to participate as well.

  Hani mopped his forehead. The temperature wasn’t extreme in this second month of the winter season. Still, packed in with a dense crowd of perspiring bodies, he was none too comfortable as sweat dampened his armpits and then chilled. The men around him were, like him, scribes and emissaries in the king’s foreign office. His friend Mane was at his side, bouncing on his tiptoes, trying to see over the taller heads around him.

  “I should be like a crocodile,” Mane shouted over the rumble of the crowd. “They keep growing as long as they live. I’d be taller than Keliya by now.” Keliya was their mutual friend, the ambassador from Naharin.

  Hani laughed. He was of average height and still could see nothing more than the white-clad backs of his colleagues, the linen shirts growing transparent with perspiration. Everyone’s big court wigs blocked even more of his view. He wondered if Maya, his son-in-law and secretary, could see anything at all.

  Hani eyed the bright, clear sky overhead, blue as turquoise, soft and smooth as the breast of a heron. Great Ra, he prayed silently, put an end to this madness. A hawk sailed overhead far, far into the cloudless azure distance, and Hani followed it admiringly with squinted eyes. Perhaps it was a magnificent bird... or perhaps it was the god Haru, watching the Two Lands with an all-seeing and protective gaze. Lord Haru, show us the way of truth. Hani sighed.