Beka

Beka (died 48 BCE) was a local of Yamu, Egypt who, towards the end of his life, trekked all the way to Memphis after his wife, Isesu, died to procure a Book of the Dead for their souls.
In 48 BCE, he was a accosted by bandits based at the Necropolis of Iment Nome who robbed him of the Book. Despairing of his and his wife's fate in the afterlife, he turned to the Medjay Bayek of Siwa for help. Although the old man's daughter was cynical of any success, Bayek managed to recover the Book from the bandits, but not before the old man himself passed away. Fulfilling his duty, Bayek returned the Book to him while his body awaited mummification.
==Biography==
Beka was a resident of the village of Yamu in the 1st century BCE. Along with his wife and daughter, he lived a humble existence until 48 BCE, by which point he was quite elderly. Around the time his wife died that year, he made an arduous journey to the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis to purchase a Book of the Dead. This was a funerary text which, in his native Egyptian religion, was indispensable to ensure a safe journey to the afterlife paradise of the Field of Reeds. Without it, he feared that he and his wife would not meet again in the afterlife.Assassin's Creed: Origins – The Book of the Dead
Much to his despair, when he returned to Yamu, he was assaulted by bandits whose leader seized the book from him upon recognizing how much he valued it. These bandits hoped to ransom it from him later although aside from his meager livelihood, he was convinced that the book was entirely lost, not having yet heard back from the thieves. Before they left, he heard the leader order the others to rendezvous at the nearby Necropolis.
Later, while grieving audibly at Yamu's marketplace, Beka caught the attention of the Medjay of Siwa, Bayek. Beka shared with Bayek the source of his depression, asking if he had happened to chance upon his book in his travels. It was just then that the two were interrupted by the old man's daughter who had been searching the village for him. She urged that it was time for them to return home, believing that it would take a miracle for his Book of the Dead to ever be recovered. Before they parted, Bayek asked the old man for a lead, to which he could only suggest the necropolis.
A short time later, Beka died from natural causes, too weak and heartbroken to linger much longer. He did not even live to hear of Bayek's almost immediate success as the Medjay eliminated the bandits at their hideout in the Necropolis and retrieved his Book of the Dead. Though he passed away with a heavy heart, his ills were rectified posthumously. His daughter directed Bayek to the local temple where Beka's corpse awaited mummification, and the Medjay faithfully laid the Book of the Dead beside his body.
==Personality and traits==
Earnest and pious, Beka harbored a deep faith in the traditional Egyptian religious beliefs, particularly that of the afterlife. It was this conviction that led him to endure a long journey to Memphis in spite of his advanced age—all to secure a Book of the Dead. Far more than mere faith that drove him, however, was his fierce love and devotion to his late wife; in his last days, he was anguished over the possibility of never joining back with her after his own death. He was a mild-mannered man of humble means, and in the perspective of his daughter, his was a "good life".
==Trivia==
*Beka is the subject of the side-quest "The Book of the Dead" in Assassin's Creed: Origins. The name of the old man is confirmed by the item description for the Book of the Dead, but oddly enough, throughout this quest, he is referred to only as the "old man" by Bayek and the quest log, even when Bayek pays Beka his last respects. There is one exception: upon recovering the Book of the Dead, Bayek utters "Beka will be pleased".
==Appearances==
*Assassin's Creed: Origins
==References==
fr:Beka
Category:48 BCE deaths
Category:Individuals
Category:Egyptians
Category:Ethnic Egyptians
Category:Yamuans