Mummy.io Demo Ch. 1 — The Battle of Ankahur the Fallen | The Gate of Loss
After the Clash, the ancient lands have undergone a series of upheavals that forever changed both the landscape and the people that used to consider it home. In Chapter 1, the Warrior finds themselves in a desolate mountainous landscape where once stood the city of Nefr’Akhet. Not long after the city was destroyed by Set, the general Ankahur and his army reached the mountains during their attempt to conquer Egypt. Their fate you’ll find out in the story below.
The Gate of Loss
Everything has changed after the Clash. The Pharaoh was tricked and subdued by Set who plunged the realm into corruption, chaos, and uncertainty.
Many of the enemies of Egypt rejoiced during those days. They didn’t believe in the gods of old and thought the stories that had spread far and wide were rooted in superstition and the rich imaginations of singers hoping for an audience filled with fear and awe.
In those dark times, a general emerged from the East, from the lands beyond Phiom Enhah, the Sea of Hah. He amassed a great army and rose up against Egypt hoping to claim it as his own. They named him Ankahur, as it was certain to anyone who had seen his prowess in wielding the axe and the cruelty shown to his enemies that he was the war god made flesh. His army spared no one in its path and the waters of Phiom Enhah turned their brownish hues bright red.
The army started worshipping him as their god, brought him offerings and sacrifices, and Ankahur’s sight became clouded by greed and an unflinching belief in his own unlimited powers. The gods of chaos took notice and were angry at his defiance. Ankahur felt as if he was being watched, felt pursued as if by a dark shadow, and grew more cruel and fierce in battles.
One day, as the army was making camp among the sand dunes of the deshret, the sky was shadowed by the flight of a mighty creature with wings of molten obsidian and piercing eyes. The army shuddered at the griffin’s sight, but Ankahur remained poised and commanded his archers to slay it and bring him its feathers. The griffin soared above the highest clouds and remained unharmed, but a thunderous voice was heard from the earth itself.
‘Take notice and return whence you came from! Show deference to the Lord of Masr, Set, he who rules over the endless sands, and you might be spared.’
‘A mummer’s trick to scare us, shadows and ash fit for a temple performance or a fools’ prank in a tavern.’ Ankahur laughed, a boastful roaring sound that reverberated throughout the camp, the soldiers joining in unison for fear to be named cowards and executed.
The army resumed their advance that day, but their spirits were heavy, the heat something solid and hostile they had to slowly make their way through. Ankahur could barely glimpse some mountain peaks pale blue in the distance. He paid no mind to his advisors that assured him it was only a trick of the eye moving across the horizon. Still, Ankahur was determined to reach them and punished those who had been falling behind. The days folded one after the other and soon they were left without water. There was only desert stretching infinitely, shimmering heat all around as far as the eyes could see, and the soldiers felt sure to perish under the unyielding sun.
They heard again that growl that seemed to come from the depths of the earth.
‘Surrender now to the Lord of Masr, Set, the Leash of Storms, or you will witness his rage.’
Ankahur felt new strength rush through him, the words seemed to fill him with new life.
‘It’s a teasing fiend, no more. We shall find shelter soon. The weeks ahead will see us crowned with glory.’, he assured his followers.
As they were marching towards the faded mountains, silhouettes seemed to appear out of the air, hardened warriors armoured and ready for battle set upon Ankahur’s army. They were lithe, agile and masterful with their weapons, but their limbs seemed made of limestone and hard sand, their eyes hollow and unfocused. As Ankahur charged towards them, as the clangour of clashing weapons reached a deafening pitch, the assailants seemed to dissipate and become a dense rushing storm of sand that was impossible to see through. Ankahur’s soldiers, maddened by fear, blind from the searing sand, slashed and speared wildly, trying to make their way to safety.
Hours passed and when the fighting and the storm finally ceased, Ankahur found himself splattered with blood, alone in the middle of the carnage. There was no sign of the enemy army. His soldiers had slaughtered one another or had fallen smothered by the sand. When he tried to move, Ankahur saw thin almost invisible strands that shackled him in place. Nearby there was an enigmatic man with the head and look of a beast smiling mischievously at him, thoroughly amused. Although he had never laid eyes on him before, Ankahur recognised him as the God Set.
‘What has become of you? Once so aggressive and vain, now you grovel at my feet.’ again that sly laughter sent a chill through Ankahur despite the heat.
‘You say nothing… I see. Perhaps you’re the wiser for it. Your foolish troops shall join my undying army.’ Set waved his arm and the bodies were swallowed by a whirlpool of sand as if a gate had opened among the dunes.
‘As for you… From now on you shall shield Masr in my name from any future threat from the East. A suitable place I found you as well, high in the mountains. From there you can see all the way to Phiom Enhah. A place you’ll never leave.’
Dictionary
Aaru — the afterlife paradise ruled by Osiris, also known as the Field of Reeds
Ankahur — the life force or spiritual double of the god Anhur. From Anhur — god of war, one of his titles was Slayer of Enemies, and ka — one of the aspects of the soul, the life force of a person, also symbolising a pharaoh’s right to rule.
Chantress — high priestess who chanted and performed rituals before the statues of gods
Deshret — the Red Land, the deserts and foreign lands surrounding Egypt over which Set ruled
Khet — the physical body, one of the nine Ancient Egyptian concepts that together formed a person’s soul
Masr — Misr is the modern official romanized Arabic name for Egypt, Masr is the local pronunciation in Egyptian Arabic. The oldest attestation of this name is from the Akkadian mi-is-ru (‘misru’) which means border or frontier. The name Egypt was derived from ‘Aigyptos’, the Ancient Greek name for the lands
Phiom Enhah — the Sea of Hah, the Red Sea in Coptic, a language family of closely related dialects that originated from the Ancient Egyptian language
Sea of Hah — Phiom Enhah, the Red Sea. From the Ancient Egyptian root ḥ-ḥ which refers to water and sea.
Stela, plural Stelae — a monument that commemorates people or events through text, images, and other decorative elements
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Mummy is a next-gen open-world MMORPG set in Ancient Egypt with a robust play-and-earn model powered by Unreal Engine 5. Unlike most Gamefi play-to-earn games, Mummy is free-to-play and offers an enjoyable gaming experience to the players. The game is created by a team of seasoned game developers from Ubisoft, Square Enix, Sea of Thieves, and IBM.
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