by Lars

The land of Khem was one of the first human civilizations to appear in the Skinlands, and their Underworld naturally appeared with it. Needless to say, the culture of the Egyptian dead is truly ancient, having existed for several millennia before the rise of Charon and the Hierarchy. Egypt is the land of immortals, and of the forever dead.

Amenti is the haven of the ancient Egyptian Restless and Reborn alike - an echo of the Nile valley hidden beneath the wrath of the Tempest. It is known by some as the Dark Kingdom of Sand, and it is the closest thing to paradise for those wraiths that still cling to the ancient mortuary beliefs, even though dwelling there is usually a captive existence. The wraiths of Amenti are intensely xenophobic, and rarely, if ever, leave their realm, out of fear of the outsiders and the Tempest alike. That Amenti is hidden from discovery by prying eyes is the greatest comfort to them, as well as on the surface being similar to the Egypt they knew in life.

Osiris has been the ruler of Amenti and king of the Egyptian dead for over 6000 years. The realm was first discovered when the Beautiful One set out to find the blessed fields of A’aru, and since then he has reigned unopposed from the throne in the great royal palace-tomb. He has not stirred, nor moved an eyebrow, since the Egyptian Shadowlands were conquered by Stygia, when Neter-khertet suffered the same fate as Khem did in life. His Corpus simply sits, with arms folded across his chest, unblinking and untouchable on the royal throne. The practical ruling of Amenti is handled by a High Council of priests and generals, some being former advisors to the king, but this council has had to adapt and change during the 2000 years Osiris has been dormant. The Council has been stable for the last two centuries though, and the (mostly) ancient wraiths have always had two forces to assist or oppose them as the needs of Amenti required - the Shemsu-heru on one side, and Anubis on the other.

The Shemsu-heru are as respected and revered as the High Council, and the only reason they are not the rulers of Amenti is that their cycle forces them to always return to the Skinlands, and thus leave their dead homeland behind. A few of them are utterly devoted to serving the Kingdom, and visit it even while they reside in the living world. Most Reborn are content to enjoy life while they have it though, and let their Underworld run itself while they are away. Only about 10-20 mummies are usually found in Amenti at one time, and the status of all 42 Shemsu-heru is legendary to the thousands of wraiths that reside there, so the period they spend there is usually an easy one. The accumulation of ba energy is slower when dormant though, so although whiling away the years by sitting quietly in Amenti is preferred by many Reborn, most explore the Underworld for extended periods instead.

Amenti itself is cut through by the River of Life, the Underworld counterpart to the great Nile, though in Amenti the river is stale - the Pathos of the living no longer feeds it like it used to. Despite Amenti’s wealth of smooth, angular fortresses, the buildings there are almost only tombs, and though their elaborateness and splendor used to be great many have crumbled or fallen slowly into Oblivion. Stone obelisks, sculptures and even pyramids can be found in the dunes and fields, all dedicated to the afterlife by the living back at the dawn of civilization. Almost nothing modern exists there though, few younger wraiths find their way to Amenti these days and the ancient souls are comfortable with the illusion of stone, bronze and wood. The charnel air in the valley is heavy, as the population slowly dwindles and progress is steadfastly refused. Only the Shemsu-heru are able to bring a wind of change to Amenti upon their arrival, and for this reason they are resented by many of the conservative elders that are loath to destroy their afterlife by letting heretical and modern thoughts into their safe paradise.

The legends concerning the mythical figure of Anpu, or Anubis, are many. He is told to be the first man who ever tasted death, the one who taught the Arcanoi to Charon and his people, the one who founded the Ferrymen and much more. What is known is that he is the spiritual patron of the Reborn, and, to an extent, all Egyptian dead. He is there when all mummies are born into death, again and again, and he is the one who guides them safely to Amenti if they so wish. His knowledge of the Tempest, which is known to the Egyptian dead as Tenemu, is supreme. He functions as emissary, ferryman and counselor for both Amenti and what used to be Neter-khertet, although his existence is very little known outside these realms. Certainly Stygia never recognized any rumors of this enigmatic being, deferring to the Lady of Fate on such mythical matters. There are certainly similarities between the stories and powers of the two, but since knowledge of one almost excludes any of the other, no relation between them has ever been suggested out loud in neither Amenti or Stygia. If anyone knows of one, it would be he who was Charon or the Ferrymen.

The figure of Anubis is unmistakable, unless he has chosen to appear in another form entirely. His head is that of a jackal, unmoving and appearing to have been carved from black stone, with traditional Egyptian headdress and costume to complete the classical temple-image, occasionally supplemented by white linen robes. He travels the Tempest in a crescent-shaped reed boat known as Mesektet, stitched together by the reeds found at the mouth of the River of Life. A long pole is his favored tool for charting the Sea of Shadows, and this image is the one he shows to the Reborn when their time has come to enter or leave the Underworld.

The mortuary culture of ancient Egypt was dominated by belief in the afterlife, and the ideas of the living world naturally carried over into that of the dead. The Khemrians believed that every Egyptian soul would be judged after death, and be found worthy of the afterlife or not. If the soul was deemed unworthy, its heart was devoured by a hybrid-beast, while worthiness meant the blessed fields of A’aru, or something similar, awaited. As always, legends of the Far Shores identify them with A’aru, and countless wraiths have been lost to Oblivion while questing for their promised paradise.

According to the ancient hieroglyphic writings, the world was created from a primal sea of nothingness, and if proper devotion was not paid to the gods, the world could be unmade once more. In the Underworld, this was very visibly the case - the rolling Tempest that surrounded Amenti was the topmost layer of this mass of unbeing, known to them in life as Tenemu. In death, only Anubis could sail the primal waters safely. The texts also spoke of a great serpent, an embodiment of Tenemu named Apophis, whose sole purpose was to devour the world once more. Ra, the sun, had to defeat this monster every day in his journey across the sky. Most denizens of Amenti see Anubis as having taken Ra’s place, as the sun continues its journey through the Underworld every night. Apophis is the name given to the most powerful servants of Oblivion, as well as other demonic entities that threaten the stability of Amenti.

by Lars Strobaek

The mummies of Egypt are creatures shrouded in mystery. They are halfway between life and undeath, but they are also torn by this very distinction.

The Shemsu-heru were the first of the Reborn to be created, and the Great Rite practiced by the Cult of Isis reinserted the ba and ka into the khat, thereby reviving it and returning it to its former glory. But at some point in time, the Rite was changed. The original Rite only worked on those bodies that were still warm, and had only been dead for a few hours. By changing the Rite the priests of Isis overcame that obstruction - the Rite would work as long as the heart and brain were intact and untainted by decay. But the mummies created by this Rite were different. Their flesh was cold, and they did not eat or breathe. Horus saw these creatures as tainted and drove them away, as he had done Ishmael, and they were seen as bastards by their living brethren. The Spell of Undeath, as opposed to the Spell of Life, was abandoned by the Cult of Isis, and was partly forgotten about. However, some members of the Cult, who did not have the same puritan standards as their fellows, still considered the tainted Rite superior. And so when Set attained the Spell, it was partly an attempt by the nameless one to keep the knowledge of the variant Rite alive. When the Spell of Undeath was combined with the dark sorcery of the minions of Set, the tragic result was the Children of Apophis.

The Secret Writings of Cabirus have also been based on the tainted Rite, and cannot create true mummies - only through some sort of reconstructive research could the true Spell of Life be replicated. Therefore almost all Cabiri are Thenemi, those of the dead flesh.

Those mummies that are created while their bodies are still warm, and their Corpora unhooded, return to the body of their mortal self. These are the most exalted of awakened beings, as their immortality is virtually ensured. All 42 recognized Shemsu-heru are Seshet, as Horus sees the Thenemi as unworthy to carry out his holy crusade. Despite having lived through several millennia, they retain their human nature. It can be eroded, however, and exposure to both death and Oblivion can drive his Humanity, along with his human morality and outlook, to a minimum. His Humanity cannot disappear completely, however, as he is essentially still human. If a Seshet, ever drops from Humanity 1 to 0, he gains an appropriate derangement, and has his Humanity restored to 1.

Mummies created through the Spell of Undeath are very different from their living brethren. The soul of such a being has been unhooded, and his Shadow has manifested itself, albeit briefly. When the soul rejoins the body the Shadow is subsumed into the Psyche, but the mummy’s soul has been permanently changed by the seed of Oblivion (the nascent Shadow, or Khaibit) that has been planted. The most immediate effect of this is that the body doesn’t revive upon the soul’s return - it remains a husk, now inhabited by the mummy’s almost human spirit. This "undead" mummy, or Thenemi, has all the powers and limitations of a Seshet, except his body is dead, an unaging shell. What keeps the body animated is the enduring magic of the Rite. The disadvantages of this state is that the mummy is pale and slightly cold to the touch, and the closer his Khaibit is to the surface the more twisted and deathlike he appears. The Thenemi cannot use more dice in a social situation involving mortals than their Humanity score. Animals are uncomfortable around them. In addition, Thenemi cannot use potions or essences - Alchemical preparations must be applied as salves to have any effect. The advantages are that the mummy need not breathe, eat or sleep, and halves all received bashing damage like vampires. A problem for most Thenemi is that they do not heal naturally. Still, with a successful Stamina + Medicine roll (difficulty 7) and intense concentration, a Thenemi is able to heal one health level of damage at the cost of one Sekhem. This can be done once per hour of concentration. A botch means the mummy loses a point of Stamina permanently.

Unlike a human mummy, a Thenemi has the Shadow-like Khaibit gnawing at his soul. This part of his mind wants only to cause destruction and punish itself for being sentient. That is not to say that a human (and Seshet) cannot feel hate or despair, but they are his feelings, not those of an alien part of his mind he cannot control. The Khaibit is quite similar to the Beast of the Kindred - the difference is that the Beast is born from the vampire’s thirst for blood, where the Khaibit is the manifestation of Oblivion’s pull. A pull that, most likely, will never be completed.

When a Thenemi feels angst or despair, when eternal life is more a curse than a blessing, his Khaibit may take momentary control. The Storyteller may call for a Joy roll in such a situation (remember that neither Seshet nor Thenemi can roll more dice for a Virtue roll than their Humanity score). The difficulty should be about 5, but may vary according to the situation. One or more successes means the character does not give in, and can act as he pleases. Failure results in his Khaibit sending him into a frenzy aimed at destruction, in which the mummy is immune to wound penalties and attacks all in sight. A botch also subtracts a Joy point and inflicts a derangement, as normal. Only the expenditure of Willpower can end a frenzy in progress. Humanity rolls are often required after frenzies, during which the Thenemi blazes with the black light of Oblivion.

If a Thenemi’s Humanity reaches zero, his Khaibit assumes full control and devours the mummy’s soul, and with it his ba. Such a creature is an undead horror controlled by the Storyteller. If the twisted killing machine is slain in the Skinlands, or if the Khaibit assumes control in the Underworld, it becomes a malignant and insane ka-spirit, that lasts until it runs out of ka points or is destroyed. Nearly all the Thenemi that have met Final Death fell to their Khaibits first.

Note: Mummies cannot follow a Path of Enlightenment. Their sanity is too reliant on their memory for them to be able to completely abandon their mortal sensibilities and still function in either the Shadowlands or the Skinlands.

While dead, the viewpoint of the Reborn is drastically changed. One part of their soul, the ka, is charged with protecting the khat, while the ba must secure future rebirth by attaining sufficient spiritual vigor to reemerge into the world of the living.

For the Thenemi, however, an additional dilemma presents itself. The ba is the seat of intelligence and memory, where the ka represents instincts and passion. While the ba seeks fulfillment in Amenti or the Tempest, it is close to the reason for its Khaibit - The Void. But the Khaibit can assert itself not through the cool reason of the ba, but only the impulsive and physical nature of the ka. Thus, when the ba feels the force of Oblivion, it must make a Joy roll to avoid frenzy as normal, usually at a higher difficulty than in the Skinlands. If the roll is failed, the ka, not the ba, flies into a frenzy on the closest object, human or wraith. If the mummy has a ka vessel, the effects can be quite devastating.

When Set stole the secret of Rebirth, it was inherently flawed. In addition, dark mages in Set’s employ tried to strengthen his new warriors by invoking spirits of Apophis. The subjects came back from death stronger than anyone expected, but their souls had been devoured - not by their Khaibits, but by powerful bane-spirits. They chose to serve Apophis, their true master, rather than Set, and have wandered the earth spreading corruption in the name of the Wyrm ever since.

Humanity has never existed in these creatures. Instead of a real soul, they are ruled by two factors - their Khaibit and their Bane-spirit. The Khaibit is their drive and mindless ferocity, a pure vessel of Oblivion. The bane-spirit is temper and cruel intelligence. In effect, the Children of Apophis are fallen mummies enslaved by a higher force - Apophis, in the form of his bane servitors. Instead of the standard Virtue of Integrity, they posses Unity, which represents how well the two parts of their soul act together. In order start or end a frenzy, a Bane mummy must roll Unity. Otherwise, their Humanity count as zero for all purposes.

In the land of the dead, the two parts of a Bane mummy’s soul completely separate. In fact, only one part of it remains in the Underworld. That which would be a mummy’s ka becomes the bane mummy’s Khaibit. It still remains with his khat, but it is a mindless beast just like the last part of a fallen Khaibit-mummy, and cares only for destruction. The Bane-spirit retains its original evil sentience, and is detached and cynical. Most Bane-spirits travel not to the Underworld to collect ba energy, but rather to Malfeas. The only one who normally goes to the Underworld is Saatet-ta, who travels the Labyrinth and is rumored to be connected to the Hive-mind of the spectres. The other Children of Apophis are still able to enter the Tempest, and will do so if they have sufficient purpose. Most of them have twisted, demonic forms in the spirit worlds, and will be recognized for what they are: vessels of entropy and corruption.

Seshet Only Merits & Flaws:
Light Sleeper/Sleepless, Offensive to Animals

Thenemi Only Merits & Flaws:
Smell of the Grave, Monstrous, Flesh of the Corpse