Shadows of the Scarab

Shadows of the Scarab was a virtual representation of one of Bayek's genetic memories, relived by Layla Hassan through the Portable Animus HR-8.
==Description==
Bayek learned that two bounty hunters known as the Shadows of the Scarab were looking for him. Fearing a deeper motivation behind their actions, he decided to investigate further.
==Dialogue==
As soon as a child saw Bayek from afar, he started shouting aloud.
*Child: There he is! The Man with the Eagle! I must tell the Scarab's Shadows! I want the bounty!
Surprised, Bayek approached the boy.
*Child: Oh no, leave me alone! I didn't do anything!
*Bayek: Quiet down boy, be calm. Why are you saying such things?
*Child: There are bounty hunters looking for a man with an eagle. I will receive gold if I tell them.
*Bayek: What bounty hunters?
*Child: They call themselves the Shadows of the Scarab.
*Bayek: The Scarab? Nek (Shit). Little boy: I am not the man you are looking for. That is no eagle. It is a pigeon.
*Child: It is a very brave pigeon. Wait, are you lying? I'm telling the bounty hunters!
Bayek thought to himself as he parted company with the child.
*Bayek: I should find these Shadows of the Scarab.
Bayek embarked on a trip to find the Shadows of the Scarab. He found the Shadow of the North and engaged him in battle.
*Egyptian Soldier: There's the old medjay! Come here!
*Bayek: They know a lot about me.
*Egyptian Soldier: Is that really Bayek? The old medjay? I'll put his heart on a platter.(laughs) You still dress the part, medjay scum!
*Bayek: Who do you hunt for? Tell me or face your final breath!
Bayek took his chance and killed the Shadow. He continued his quest and found the Shadow of the South.
*Egyptian Soldier: See there! The medjay of old.It's Bayek! I will draw and quarter him.
Bayek thought to himself as the Shadow approached.
*Bayek: How do they know me? What brings these men after me?
*Egyptian Soldier: I will bring your head to my master!
Despite his boast, the Shadow of the South was also killed. With both Shadows defeated, Bayek confirmed the kill and found a scroll.
*Bayek: A scroll. Their leader is camped in the southern desert of the Sinai. Signed, the Shadows of the Scarab. Who are these desert hunters?
Bayek traveled to the southern desert of the Sinai to confront the leader of the bounty hunters. When he arrived, the bloodied remains of a camel stood out amidst the desert dunes.
*Bayek: Blood, hm. A bloody battle took place here.
He followed the blood trails. On the other side of the dunes, he found distinctive tracks leading towards a familiar ritual in the sands.
*Bayek: Bandits buried in the shimmering sands. Hm. Just like the Scarab.
He examined a body close to him.
*Bayek: These bodies buried in the desert remind me of Taharqa. His influence still lingers?
He followed the trail to a bandit camp established inside of a cave. He entered the camp and took stock of it.
*Bayek: This is not a typical bandit camp.
Bayek inspected the camp, finding interesting objects. First, he examined a statue of Sekhmet.
*Bayek: A statue of Sekhmet? Goddess of Vengeance?
*Bayek: So this is where the Shadows nest? Show yourself!
Bayek kept silence, waiting for an answer. But no one replied to him.
*Bayek: Hmm. There is no one here.
He inspected the scrolls.
*Bayek: A scroll dedicated to the Shadows of the Scarab... They were hunting me?
His inspection led him to a dead end, but he then saw a crack in the wall. He passed through the other side and saw what seemed to be an exit.
*Bayek: The trail is fresh.
Bayek exited the camp and followed the trail.
*Bayek: Footprints. What is that further in the desert?
When Bayek reached the ending of the trail, he found a memorial decorated with flowers, candles, a portrait of Taharqa and a wooden toy horse. After examining all of these, he understood the identity of the leader of the Shadows of the Scarab.
*Bayek: Kawab.
He turned around and saw Kawab, Taharqa's son.
*Bayek: I am not your enemy, Kawab. We do not need to do this.
*Kawab: For the great Taharqa! Forever the ruler of Letopolis!
With no other choice besides killing the youth outright, Bayek chose to fight Kawab in honorable hand-to-hand combat.
*Bayek: Taharqa's little boy has grown up.
*Kawab: And you, medjay, have aged poorly.
*Bayek: You have come to defend Taharqa's honor but you forget, he never had any!
*Kawab: My father was the great steward of Letopolis.
*Bayek: This is foolish! You are not the same as your father!
*Kawab: For his honor.
The fight continued for a little longer. Bayek's stamina endured while Kawab's faded.
*Kawab: No! No!!! Cursed, my family is cursed to die at your hands, Bayek.
*Bayek: Your father did, but you don't have to. You are innocent.
*Kawab: There is only darkness.
*Bayek: You fight well, you have bred a fine group of warriors with your Shadows of the Scarab.
Finally, Bayek defeated Kawab. Tired, the Hidden One approached the young man, who was lying on the sand, defeated.
*Bayek: Still winning?
*Kawab: Just kill me.
*Bayek: Kawab, do not make the same mistakes your father did.
*Kawab: What other option do I have?
Without hesitation, Bayek held out his hand to help Kawab to stand. Confused, he accepted it.
*Kawab: I've tracked you as soon I could ride a horse and kill someone with a blade. Don't try to use your ideas to change my mind.
*Bayek: I can tell you that killing me will bring you no redemption.
*Kawab: Be done with me. Vanish me. My existence was a mistake anyways.
*Bayek: I want to show you something. Come with me, Kawab.
Bayek walked with Kawab a while and headed southwest.
*Kawab: Where? Just allow me to join my father.
*Bayek: Your father cut your grandfather's tongue out, he oppressed your people. Family is not always our chosen and true brotherhood.
*Kawab: He was revered as a hero as well, and a leader.
*Bayek: Do not be swayed by people's gossip.
*Kawab: It is true that I never wanted to kill. I was driven to.
*Bayek: I was driven that way once also, without sense though, doing misdeeds against the gods, yet Ma'at taught me a lesson.
*Kawab: I am nothing if I do not honor my father!
*Bayek: Then ask him why he supported child-killers? You ask him why he betrayed you!
*Kawab: What am I suppose to do? I have nothing else.
*Bayek: You could join us. The Hidden Ones.
*Kawab: Your gang of killers in the shadows?
*Bayek: We are more than this. We have a code. I had a family before I had this group. I gave it all up because I did not have a choice.
*Kawab: And if I do not join?
*Bayek: There is only one other option.
*Kawab: This desert is my graveyard.
*Bayek: Or your redemption.
After finishing the walk, Bayek tried to reason with Kawab.
*Bayek: This is what I wanted to show you. Endless deserts and mountains. Do you hear the wind on the sands? The desert calls us at times. Now, will you answer back or be taken by it?
*Kawab: All my life has been revenge and killing. But I believe what you are saying. Give me strength Ma'at to transcend who I am, to become a shadow of power and cause.
*Bayek: Abandon yourself, and you become one of us.
*Kawab: Then it is so. I will renounce my name, my family. I will find a new one, as a liberator, along side you Bayek.
*Bayek: Now you are a Hidden One.
After shaking hands, Kawab sat on the sands to watch the horizon. Bayek joined him for a time, before they took separate paths back to the Hidden Ones' local bureau in the Klysma Quarry, with Bayek arriving long after Kawab. Before he entered the cave, Bayek spoke to Kawab as he sat in thought on a ledge overlooking the village.
*Kawab: This brotherhood is strong, Bayek. Thank you for giving me a chance. Soon I will be headed to . King Herod is causing problems for the people.
==Outcome==
Bayek killed his persecutors and managed to appease Kawab's thirst for revenge, convincing him to join the Hidden Ones.
==Gallery==
ACO Shadows of the Scarab 1.png|Bayek learning about the Shadows of the Scarab
ShadowsOfTheScarab4 TheHorizon.jpg|Bayek and Kawab watching the horizon.
ShadowsOfTheScarab5 HappyFriends.jpg|The two Hidden Ones smiling at their future.
==References==
*Assassin's Creed: Origins – The Hidden Ones
Category:Memories of Bayek
Category:Memories relived using the Animus HR-8