Silver Tongues and Accusations

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Amen stood by the Pyramid's foot, the grander than life construction of Sandstone and Silver, towering so high that one might think it was touching the sky itself. Its construction seemed all but impossible, as if it should have crumbled and fallen to the ground before even half of it could have been built, casting its shadow over his beloved city. He had sneaked out of the city on his own, having invited his beloved Triss to join him, who he was now waiting for. He had not made any mention of this meeting to Izar in fear of what that would mean and entail. As the minutes passed him by he stood unmoving, unblinkingly looking towards the still constructing top of the pyramid, feeling his anxiousness swelling within him.

Triss stared up at the large pyramid that it seemed was much larger than she'd first thought it was after seeing it from the palace as she walked through the unfamiliar but slowly becoming less so streets of the city. Everything in Hetep seemed to be bigger, the people, the buildings, they all seemed to tower over her in a way that the things in her homeland couldn't quite measure up to. She turned her head toward Amen, who hadn't noticed her quite yet, her own inner conflict about the man still boiling inside of her and she wasn't quite sure what to do or how she felt about it. So she opted to ignore it, for the most part. Not having the knowledge or wisdom it might take to understand why he chooses to do what he is doing in opposition to everything she had come to know about him. "Pyramids are supposed to by like graves, right? Why is this one so big? Did someone important die?" She asked innocently enough.

Amen looked to the side, his face warming up to the sight of Triss showing up. "Thank you for accepting my invitation, first and foremost. They are gravesites, yes. Made for the royal and noble houses, along with anyone who has the coin to buy themselves into one. But no, no one has died. I have made this in part for preparation of such a thing though. But above all, it is for my mission. It is a most integral part of my plan. Come."

Amen showed her the way to the entrance of the pyramid, all along the way were tired and hard working men and women who diligently continued the work of the grand pyramid, all of them giving nods of respect to Amen and his guest. As they came to the pyramid's golden entrance, there was a guard who handed him a torch to light the way inside. Nodding his thanks, Amen led Triss into the dark and winding paths. Along the walls stood entrances to many an empty room and onthe walls themselves, numerous runes and inscriptions she could not even begin to understand. "This pyramid is the end game. The final step in my plan. Once it is built, everything will come to an end."

She looked around at the weird and unreadable runes on the walls around her as Amen spoke, not fully understanding what it was that the pyramid was for but getting enough that she knew it was a very important part of whatever he was trying to do. "But what's so important about a big pyramid that its the most important part of your plan? Is it going to do something?" SHe asked before getting an idea in her head, "I read a book once where some crazy scientist wanted to turn a pyramid into a ship that could take them into the stars. Are you trying to do something like that?" She asked, half-joking but partly serious in her questioning.

"More like I am trying to drag the stars down, if we are going with such crazy theories." He replied with a joke as they further and further in. After some time they stood at the center of a grand oval room. Golden pillars in the shapes of animals stood in a circle at the middle of the room, with a throne in the middle of it all. Amen put the torch on one of the torchscones on the wall, which caused the light to be cast over the entire room as other torches came to life. "I know I've been very secretive, and I am not what you probably expected to see. But any questions you now have, I will answer for you."

Triss felt the uncomfortable tension begin to seep in again, feeling like a trap had just been sprung by his question. She instinctively crossed her arms as an unconscious defensive action as she'd been trying her best to ignore the questions that gnawed at her. "I don't know, what if I don't like the answers?" She responded, "I don't want to start an argument or learn something I'd been better off not have knowing. I just wanted to ignore all of it and hoped it would sort itself out. I don't like listening to you and Izar arguing, or hearing that you and Amir are fighting each other." She continued to voice her feelings, clearly upset at everything that had happened since they arrived.

Amen nodded. "About that we can agree on. I do not like the arguments and fights any more than the rest of you. I would have preferred to keep this peacefully to begin with. It is also your right to not ask anything at all. I just want you to know that you may and I will not keep anything hidden." he said as he sat down in a feeling of defeat. "I just want it all to be over. Which is exactly why I invited Amir to come here to discuss the terms for said peace. I just want to finish this pyramid and complete my mission. I don't want much more than that. At least not as far as Hetep is concerned."

Triss walked over to him, hesitating a bit before placing a hand onto his shoulder. "I'm sure it'll all be over with soon. I don't think Amir would pass up a chance to end this without fighting, he's never been the type of person to jump straight into a conflict unless he thought it was the only way. But then again...I don't know how much he's changed, just like I don't know how much you've changed. Two years is a lot longer than I thought it was, you don't seem like the same person you were back then. You still do sometimes but while I'm not really the best at these sorta things I can see that the look in your eyes are different. They're colder now, even if you don't mean for them to be." She did her best to explain her thoughts. "I just wish things could go back to the way they were, before Vrodalfn and before you left. I still see parts of that you show up every now and again so I know he's still in there but there's obviously something else fighting him for control. He's the one with the cold eyes." She again did her best to explain how she'd felt him change.

Tears threatened to force their way out of his eyes. He placed his own shaking hand on hers, trying to feel even more of the comfort she was trying to give him. "I don't? Cold? Have I really changed that much..?" He asked with a quivering voice. "I want that too, Triss. To just return. Let things be as they were." He said while holding onto her hand a bit firmer. "I don't want to do this in earnest. I don't want to be here, but I have to... What should I do then, Triss? What can I do to stop the coldness?" He asked with an almost childish desperation in his voice. "I don't want to drive you all away. I don't want to lose you over this..."

She shook her head, wrapping her free arm around him and letting the side of his head rest against her chest. "I don't know, all of this is confusing to me. All you can do is what you think is right. I trust you, even if I don't understand why you're doing what you're doing or why you've changed. I like you a lot, Amen, and while I am worried about you, this stuff isn't going to change the way I feel. I just wish that there was a better way to get whatever it is you're wanting without losing yourself to do it. You're not a bad person, Amen, even if you're doing bad things. I don't understand how this is making up for all that stuff you talked about back in Ashvattha. Wanting to do better, to sit things right..." She trailed off, feeling helpless to help him in any way other than what she was doing now.

With ragged breaths he tried to recollect himself before answering. Feeling greater comfort from the kind closeness she offered, he began to answer: "I wanted to. I still want to. My efforts were just met with such great hostility no matter what I did. I felt that I had to take some action to stop that hostility, even if it meant that I had to make them afraid of me. But that is not good enough. It should not have come to all this. I just want to help..."

"My King?" Came a voice from the entrance. There by the Archway stood a guardsman, clad in naught but a loincloth and a simple chainmail. "Your guest has arrived." He said, seemingly intrigued and worried about the position of which his king sat in and the tone he had just carried.

Amen simply waved him away. With a final squeeze of her hand he got up from his sitting position. "I'm sorry that I must cut this short. Be sure to remember thought that any questions you have, I will answer if you want. I trust and care for you enough to do so without worry." He said with a forced smile, not for being false, but for the feelings he had just experienced did not really encourage a smile from his part. "Amir is here now. We should go see him."

She nodded, returning his smile with a fake one of her own before moving to follow him.

Amir hopped down from his horse, no worse for wear despite the long weeks of travel to reach Khemriq. "It seems we've finally arrived, I suppose this means we won't be burdened by each other's company for much longer." He said with a sneer as he spoke to Alquam, having grown tired of the thing he'd been forced to travel with for so long. "Though who knows? Perhaps shortly we'll be having to act thick as thieves to keep up appearances? Neither of us would want to disappoint daddy after all." He continued in a mocking tone as he waited for whatever guards or sentries that would be sent to collect him.

"You know, he never specified that I would need to bring you back whole." Alquam spoke with a snide grin. "Now come. We are late as it is." He said as he waved for the guards to let them in. Within the confines of the walls stood a nearly empty street for them to walk on. Barely a soul to tread the city grounds. No guards to escort and no soldiers to take him into custody. It was just the two of them walking through a ghost town. As they neared the city citadel, they became greeted by the only set of guards since they came in, with the only sight from there to here having been the one or two stray citizen and a couple of children playing without supervision. "Just walk up the steps and you will find your father. He is likely waiting for you in there already." Alquam said before parting from Amir, walking away towards the barracks.

Amir did as instructed, though off-put by the lack of people in such a massive city. It filled him with a feeling of unease, but at the knowledge that his father would be awaiting him, he did not want to stay standing around for too long. Walking up the steps of the citadel he entered the large building where indeed his father was waiting for him. He was a sight for sore eyes, something which reminded him of home and of his more innocent days. "Father, you're actually here!" Amir said with joy in his voice.

Izar looked up and saw his son, relief washing over him for a moment before it was replaced by disappointment and anger. However, he took a deep breath, wanting to enjoy his reunion with his child for a least a little bit before he had to berate him for his actions. He walked over to Amir but as he got close he hesitated. Something was off, something he couldn't quite put his finger on was not right about Amir. No it was not the smell of an unwashed desert traveler, nor was it the boy's hair which had become messy and longer than it would normally have been. It was something deeper than that.

However, he didn't have the time to figure it out before Amir embraced him in a tight hug. "Oh, Father, how I've missed you. Amen has not hurt you, has he? What of Triss? Why would you bring her here? Why did you come?" Amir asked many questions in a flash.

Izar placed his hands on the boy's shoulders, "One thing at a time, Amir. Firstly, no I have not been hurt and neither has Triss, have you?"

"No, just a few close calls here and there. A few bumps and scratches, otherwise I'm fine." He responded, letting go of his father and taking a step back.

Izar again let out another sigh of relief but did not acknowledge it, "Triss wanted to come to see Amen, it appears the two have grown close. As for m-"

"What?!" Amir interrupted, taken aback, "What could she possibly see in some warmongering tyrant?! Have you seen beyond this kingdom? The awful things Amen has done. These people's lives are being destroyed all for his own goals!"

Izar was slightly irked by his son's outburst of accusations and word vomit but he kept his cool, smooth tone as he spoke. "I do not know and that is not my business. As for what is going on outside, I have been made aware of some of it and I have given Amen more than a piece of my mind about it. As for why I have come here, it is because you fell out of contact. I could not simply leave you to roam a foreign land without some contact with you. Your mother has been worried to sickness as well has your sisters." He explained, stepping away from Amir and shaking his head. "I have a fair bit to say to you as well but it can wait, Amen will be here soon enough. You will resolve your petty arguments and then we will figure things out from there."

"Petty as they may be, they are still risking the well being of every citizen of Hetep." Came Amen's voice from behind. The tall man walked up the steps with Triss in tow, his eyes still slightly red from the emotional state he had been in just some time earlier. "Welcome to my home, Amir. Unfortunately we don't have much time to show off, so we'd bes get to the matter at hand." Amen said with only half the enthusiasm he ought to. Something was off with Amen, but exactly what was anyone's guess. He waved for them to follow him to his throne room. Once inside he had his guards positioned outside as they all gathered within its walls. "Where would you like to start, Amir? We are here to discuss the terms of peace. Tradition states that the invited be the first to tell his desires. What do you want and what should happen in your mind?" He asked as he sat himself down on his glass throne.

Amir stepped forward, "Firstly before we start anything in the realm of negotiations, I need to know what is going through your head. I need to know what it is that is so worth it to you that you would allow the people you are supposed to be helping, suffer and die under your boot. I want the truth, Amen, to be able to understand things from your perspective. It is only then that we can possibly begin to talk about peace or making things right." He said in a calm and confident voice that didn't quite carry onto his face which looked clearly nervous in the face of the man he'd spent months preparing to meet again.

Amen looked at Amir with a look of disdain and curiosity all at once. After some moments of contemplation, he merely replied: "I cannot do that. I can not give you the specifics. Suffice to be known that I just need to finish this pyramid of mine. I do not want to kill. I do not want to harm my own. But it has become a side effect of its completion and the resistance of the people. It is unfortunate, a tragedy even, but I cannot stop what has been set in motion. It is too important for that. I want to end the Priests control over Hetep, so well as put an end to the greatest lie that has ever been told to our people."

Amir's calm broke all at once, his face twisting in anger, "Then what was the point of even summoning me here?! You claim to want peace but in the face of questions that need to be answered you dare to shy away?! Damn the priests, damn you, damn anyone who would use the trust of their people and the power they wield to make people's lives miserable!" Amir yelled, his voice echoing off the walls of the throne room. "I've traveled across this nation, I've yet to see all of it, but in all that I have seen the most prominent is fear. They're scared of what might happen tomorrow, of what the future holds for them and their families, they're scared of you, you and what you might do to them if they resist. They keep their heads down, stay silent, do as you say, because to them being a slave to someone else's will is at least better than being dead." He continued with the same tone, though it began to crack as tears welled in his eyes.

He wiped away the tears that threatened to spill over before continuing, "You want to do all of these horrid, awful things, and then when someone dares to stand before you and question why, you say you cannot tell me. You say you're doing what is right, what is just, what needs to be done! But no one is allowed to know what that is? What are you afraid of, Amen?! That you're wrong? That they won't see it the way you do? Do you have so little faith in your own people you'd sooner crush their skulls than tell them the truth? Where is the chance for peace in that?"

Amen kept a stoic look as he began to speak once more, though that stoicism did not transfer entirely to his hostile voice. "I have tried, you fool." He said as he summoned forth his relic, the Gold of Galeer. "I received this way before I even left Hetep to begin with. But I never used its miracles until I came back home, and when I did, it claimed all of them to fulfill my wish." He explained before letting it disappear into nothingness once more. "I tried to gather the kings and queens of the continent to discuss my plans. Can you imagine what happened? Actually, let me answer that for you: They wanted me dead." He stated simply.

"I tried to trust. I tried to be honest. They called me a heretic and a monster, seeking to gather their forces to eliminate me before I had barely even begun its construction, and well before I had arrived in their kingdoms. My plan was so foul to them that they thought it better to have me dead before anything. No reason. No talks. Just invasions. So, I deleted their memories of the conversation... So well as the gods' knowledge of the talks. It cost me all the valuable miracles in my weapon to do so. What's more, isn't it mighty rich coming from you to trust and have faith?"

Amir shook his head, "And how am I supposed to view you any differently right now? How am I supposed to see you as anything more than a monster? If your plans are so grave and dastardly that they would want your head before anything else, how am I to see that as anything more than confirmation of everything I am fighting for? If you are unwilling to talk why should I be willing to listen? Now, what is this about me? What of my trust and faith?"

"You asked me to have faith in my people, to have trust in them. And by asking me to share what I know, you ask me to show trust in you to not simply wander off with it and unify a greater force against me with it. And yet, despite all that..." Amen trailed off as he stepped down from his throne and made his way towards Amir. "You didn't even have the courage or honesty to face me in person. You sent an avatar of your being to meet me instead. So pardon me if I don't feel so well at ease knowing that the boy before me could well simply be in the holy city by now, readying a force grander than I can handle, all while coming under the pretenses to wanting peace."

Izar raised an eyebrow at Amen's statement, having noticed something off about his son as well but he'd have never guessed that it wasn't his son at all. He was about to speak up when Amir began to laugh, covering his own mouth as if to hold it in. He continued for another minute before letting out a sigh of relief. "So you could tell? I actually thought I was a rather convincing replica. But I guess that's beside the point, you think this is how I wanted to show up? That I wanted to betray you out of the malice in my heart? Amen, you're wrong. I appeared before you like this because I had no other choice, Isis would never have allowed me to show up here in the flesh without a guard of my own. And whatever that thing is that you sent to fetch me certainly didn't make it seem like you were bringing me here in good faith. Alquam claimed you had my father in custody, knowing very well the double meaning of his statement I would presume." Amir said with a shrug,

"Then, of course, I've seen very well what happens to those who have been a throne in your side, heard the stories. I was fully prepared to come here knowing there was a chance that I would be walking to the gallows, but those who I have come to call allies would have none of it. They would not sacrifice their best hope of being free of your tyranny just for the sake of my father or any peace you might have to offer." He sighed, shaking his head. "Funny how it always seems to come back to that, how scared they are of what you'll do."

He shook his head, "But how was I to pass up this chance? A chance to learn the truth, to see from your perspective, to perhaps even end this conflict before more lives could be lost. But now that I'm here it seems that for the real me this trip would have been a waste of precious time. You refuse to share the truth but expect me to bend to your will. Have you told father? Does he know what it is you're planning? Or is he excluded too? Alquam told me that Father had expressed displeasure with how you were doing things, yet he is still here, does he not still treat you as a friend? Is he too unworthy of your trust?"

"It has naught to do with trust. It is about risk. And Alquam is no, 'thing'. He is as a son, and you will respect him as such." Amen retaliated. "I am not telling you now. Not simply because the risk is too great for my cause, but because this is my burden to carry. If everyone knew what I know, then all of Hetep would shatter. Everything would crumble, worse than they already have." He said before he conjured forth another object from the air. In his hand fell a black book, but the blackness did not seem intentional as much as if someone had tried to burn it, with his chared leather cover. He stared at the book for some time before coming to a decision. He tossed it over for Amir to catch. "You want trust? You want proof? There it is. Your arrogance and hate are likely to already cost me this conflict as it is. Might as well let you know what you are killing me for. That is one of the Black Books of Apophis. An apocrypha to the holy canon of the Hetepian faith. I've already discovered the truth of many a thing within them." He said, anger rising to his voice for the first time since Izar and Triss had arrived. "This is what everyone wanted to kill me for. This is what they called heresy. To question what was right!" He shouted.

"That is just one of the nine volumes. And that is not even the enough. You've met Seraphine by now, have you not? What if I told you that the gods have hidden another Demi-God from us in the Ashen Mountains by the Holy City. Or how the gods have drawn covers over the incident in Ashvattha. Or how they were responsible for the creation of the ghouls that endlessly haunt said city. Or better yet, how about how the gods have deceived us all this time!?" Amen finished, and as he had, he realized just how angry he had become, how much of the frustrations he tried to keep secret was coming back to him and in greater force than he had anticipated. He returned to his throne, and sat down, hands intertwined so he could rest his forehead against them. With ragged breath, he continued to speak. "I want to keep this secret because it would shatter the faith of everyone in Hetep. I cannot let that happen. The gods have wronged us, and I... I will set things right."

"By doing what?! What will your pyramid do, Amen? I know the Gods lie, or at the very least I've suspected it from the start even if I did not know the extent. You call me arrogant yet here you are claiming you are the only one who can save the world, that you must do it alone because it is your burden to bear. I have never heard a thing more arrogant in my life, I don't claim to understand everything nor do I claim to be some hero. I'm simply someone who saw people in trouble and couldn't bear to stand by and do nothing. If I get further than anyone else in my goals it is simply because others have helped me pave the way, without threats or force." Amir said, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"And what is this about killing you? Our first bout in the sands was indeed one for blood and I regret it dearly, I merely saw a chance to end this before it was too late and my own ignorance blinded me. I do not want you dead, Amen, Galeer himself does not want you dead and he has all but made me promise that your head will not roll when this is done. Gone so far as to forbid me from using his miracles to take your life. I told him that it was not my choice and I still stand by that now. Tell me the truth, allow me to call Galeer here and have him explain himself, these lies, why they were told. Let all of this be made clear and if his answers do not satisfy me then I will abandon him."

"You absolute-!" Amen half exclaimed. "Don't you see that it is exactly that which I don't want?! I don't want you to turn from him. No one should turn from the gods. I just want them to fulfill their promises. Nothing less, nothing more. Once everything is said and done, I want to continue the worship of them. There is but one thing I wish for more than that. I don't want your nor anyones faith to be crushed because of this! Not to mention... You can't. The pyramid provides itself, me and the city a protection from the gods, so that my work can continue to go undisturbed. If I let down the barrier... I don't know what he will do."

"Then you have to tell me your plan, Amen. What is it that you intend to do? What was so damning that everyone was willing to turn against you. Here I am, yes, not in the flesh but here nonetheless wanting little more than to understand what it is that is going on and why it is that people must suffer to make it so. What will the pyramid do?" He all but demanded to know, "If you can't tell me, refuse to tell me, then I have no choice but to continue with collecting forces and you will be the one responsible for whatever devastation is brought upon the people of Khemriq and Hetep when the fighting begins."

"I WILL BE!?" Amen cried out in genuine anger. "I am the one offering a peace treaty. I am the one who proposes an end to it all. I am the one who seems to actually be the one who suffers at the idea of this continued conflict, to the point where YOU are the one who would say that I will be the one to be blamed for deaths when it is YOU who would rally an army of men and women who want my blood on the floor! It seems as if you are already preparing to wash your hands clean from all this."

Amen groaned and rubben his temples, trying to recollect himself. He spared a glance at Triss and Izar, and upon noticing the distraught look upon her face, he felt his heart sink. "You want to know what I intend to do?" He asked as he got up from his throne and walked towards the terrace that offered a view of the pyramid. "Once the final stone is in place upon my monument, I am going to... No... I won't tell you. If you find my reason displeasing, you could use a miracle to temporarily bring down the barrier. Then who knows what will happen." Amen turned around and faced Amir. "Mayhaps this was a mistake. To think that you could argue and debate absent hatred, to arrive here with an open mind. Yet so far you have displayed neither. You don't even realize your own arrogance. You don't even realize that no matter what happens, by your words, I am to die. You say that you regret going after me at the harbor? You don't seem to have much regret in amassing an army to kill not only me, but my people if it so takes."

Amir stepped forward, clearly angered by Amen's words, "You misinterpret me and not on accident. I have offered you my hand, even if I would not help you regardless of your reasons. You claim I am arrogant, for demanding answers? For wanting to know what is going on here? You say you're offering up an olive branch? Explain to me what good comes of stopping what I'm doing? Should I stop now and bow before you the people of Hetep would still suffer, live in fear, and I would still be ignorant as to why. You offer peace but you've forgotten that there needs to be a reason for both sides to stand down. Under what you've offered you're the only one who will gain anything. For me, it would be no different than had I not come to Hetep at all. Except now I would have disappointed everyone who believes in me and what they've pledged themselves to. Your claim to offer peace is nothing more than a bouquet of wolfsbane poorly painted to look like roses, poison and you didn't even put in the effort to hide it."

"I ask for neither. I ask for you to stop this madness until the pyramid is complete. What everyone gains? How about everyone lives, you tosser! By rejecting this treaty you doom thousands to their deaths. Thousands who will die for a cause that will doom them if it is not stopped. You don't even see the errors you are committing. As I said, with your current attitude, it matters not what I do or say. If I tell you the truth, you will tell others in an attempt to 'make them see reason', but reason never comes. If I don't tell and ask you to have some confidence, then you will marshall an army to attack me. I CAN'T WIN HERE! NO ONE CAN!" Amen exclaimed, feeling the aggitation rise inside him. "But fine, if you are so set on seeing me dead, why not lay it out! You probably wouldn't even care. You wouldn't even have so much as one sleepless night over it."

Amen pointed towards his pyramid. "Once this thing is complete, I will trap the gods within it. They will be compelled and forced to obey my will. And with their power I will rectify the greatest error in Hetep's history. I will rectify THEIR greatest error. I will make them give us the Afterlife they have promised us!"

Amir's eyes widened, surprised by the announcement of his goal he was about to speak when he was cut off, "You what?!" Izar interrupted, standing up and moving toward Amen with clear and utter disbelief on his face. "You want to trap Gods in a pyramid and force them to obey you? Are you mad?! Do you have any idea of the powers that you're playing with?!" He said, stopping just short of grabbing hold of Amen. "It is bad enough that you've allowed them to play such a significant role in your lives, the formation of your countries and continent as a whole but now you wish to actively play with things far beyond our own comprehension? Even those taken under the wings of Gods actively taught their powers and blessed with magic far more powerful than anything the likes of Dragons can produce couldn't dream of killing a God, much less capturing it." He said, his head shaking side to side as though hoping his hearing had deceived him. "I've told you my story, Amen, the curses the Gods and cast upon us. How easily they can toy with our lives without so much as an effort on their part!"

"Can your pyramid really do something like that?" Amir asked the moment he could get a word in, he was obviously lost in thought as he ran the idea around in his head. "How could that even be possible?" He asked to no one in particular. "All of them? There are so many, and they're probably extremely powerful. Some probably more so than others." He continued.

"The intricacies of the pyramid is a bit too complicated for a single conversation. Suffice to say that it will allow me to trap the whole lot of them. Had to collect numerous materials to accomplish this. Holy items, sacred materials, the river itself. All of it and more went into this monument, and I am not even done yet." Amen said, feeling himself calm down. "I can't let anything stand in the way of this. If I don't complete it, everyone in Hetep will be damned to an endless torment of non-existence." He said as he turned to those behind him. "Izar, Triss, Amir. You need to understand why this must be done. I can't let all this effort go to waste."

Izar shook his head in disbelief, "Amen, Are you that scared of death that you'd do all of this to get...an afterlife? What's wrong with nonexistence? With living your life to the fullest and then going when your time has come? I've lived more lifetimes than I could have ever wanted to and only in the most recent century have they become more than death and torment. When my time comes I don't want to live on in some other realm, I want to rest, to leave life behind knowing I married the love of my life, fathered three beautiful children, did the best I could to make the future better for those who come after me." He said, dumbfounded by Amen's way of thinking.

"If that is what you choose to want and believe then that is on you. No skin off my nose. But Hetep is quite different. They spend daily time doing what is best for them, society and the gods in order to not only better the world for the ones to come, but for their chance to spend so long as they may will to in the afterlife with those their own. I don't want an afterlife for my own fear of death. I do this to save my people from the horros that await. What good is a few centuries of wellfare before an enternity of damnation?" Amen asked. "And it isn't even that they cease to exist. They just simply... Drift. An endless existence in a realm of nothingness. Can you even imagine that? Nothing? No up, now down, no space. No life... The scribes of the books called it the abyss, some others call it the Howling... I just prefer to call it hell."

Izar shut up, thinking for a moment before nodding his head, sure that anything resembling a void would indeed by a fate far worse than anything nonexistence could bring about. 'Yes, That would most certainly fit a word like Hell." He said before turning his head to Amir to see how he might react.

Amir let his feet crumble under him, falling into a cross-legged position on the ground. "Fuck, Man..." He said aloud, resting his forehead in the palm of his hand. "I-I don't know how I feel about any sort of afterlife or anything like that but an endless void? Why would anyone fight against trying to avoid that?" He spoke aloud, not knowing what he should do or how he should go about it. Should he indeed tell Isis? Try to convince her of what was going on? Would she see any sort of reason through her hate of Amen? "How...How do I know you're being honest with me? How do I know this isn't some kind of trick?" He asked, hoping very much so that it was indeed all a lie.

"Amen wouldn't lie about something like that!" Triss finally spoke up even if she did so weakly as though unsure of her own words. "I mean, it doesn't make up for whatever bad things he's done but...I mean, he didn't do them just to be bad or anything..." She stood up for Amen, looking over to him with a small but clear smile, still obviously worried by the information she'd just received.

"I gave you the book, didn't I? Read it yourself. Ever since I came across the chapter that spoke of the scribes having created a tree that gave birth to new life, I knew that there had to be truth to it. Triss can attest to the tree's existence and function in Vroldafn." Amen said with a tone that almost sounded depressed. He then caught the smile of Triss, and he felt a bit better about himself. "As for why they would fight it, it is simple: Indoctrination. They believed that I was a liar. And even if I wasn't, I was still going to imprison their... Our gods. And I can't blame them. I mean, what, would you trust a previous conqueror to imprison gods to make undeniable demands of them? This is what I meant in that I can't trust or risk the idea that someone else will do it. There are too many variables. Will they be able to do it better? Will they just succumb to power and keep the gods power for themselves? Too many uncomfortable questions that I don't want to find out. I do have some plans beyond the Afterlife though. Or, rather one. The abolishment of the Title Pharaoh. Too many risks with that one too."

Amir's leg bounced as he flipped through the book, his ability to read in the Hetepian tongue nowhere near as well developed as his ability to speak it. He was only able to catch a few things as he scanned the pages, skimming through the entire book before closing it in his hands. "I...This is a lot to take in. Even if you force them to do it, what guarantee do you have they won't destroy everything the moment they're released? Do you plan on containing them forever?"

"Absolutely not. I wouldn't be a good son and worshipper if I did. The pyramid will forge a nigh unbreakable pact when I make my commands. They will be near irreversible. My technique for making this happen will remain a secret however, just in case that the Gods themselves find out and try to reverse it. After all is said and done, I will raze the pyramid and return the materials to the respective kingdoms. Just another layer of protection of the inner workings of it... Again, I don't want to break everyones faith. I am sure there must be some reason in their mind that makes them think this is justifiable to keep it from us. Maybe they are afraid of something. Maybe they just can't. But if they can't, at least they aught to be honest with us about it. I want the people to keep their relations. Just as I wanted you to share yours with Galeer, sun-brother. I just want everything to be balanced and fair while we do."

Wiping the sweat from his face with his poncho he stood up and walked toward Amen, "I don't agree with your methods even if I find your goal just. That said, I don't know what to do. What about the others? What about Isis? Surely at least she would understand. Especially if it came from my mouth, she would have to believe me, right?" Amir asked, looking ill as he tried to think about what he could possibly do about everything that had been set in motion. "The real me is on his way to make a new alliance with a rather unfriendly group. He needs to know about all of this before things get worse than they already are. I can't share information with him like this. He won't know about any of this until I'm gone..." He explained.

"Afraid of disappearing? Want a friendly haymaker to help out?" Amen joked. "I don't know for sure. Isis may be so deadset on her own ambitions that she will turn a deaf ear to your words. She might believe that you have been deceived. But hey, atleast she won't think you are a liar. Remember, while I wouldn't call her indoctrinated, she has been taught since her youth about the righteousness of her faith and cause as a templar. Priests, templars, gods, godsends. You name it and they have convinced her of her path. She might be hardpressed to convince. I wouldn't worry too much about her though when there is a bigger threat... If the Priests find out about this, then the word will spread, and everyone and their mother would come for me. The odds are stacked against me, but my fate doesn't matter too much to me. I just want to save my people from hell." Amen spoke, trailing off. "I wish you luck in convincing Isis to lay down her cause. At the very least until the Pyramid is finished. The risk I imagine is that even Amir himself won't trust the information you will share with him."

Amir smirked, looking up at the tall man in front of him. "He has to believe it. I mean, it's coming from himself after all." He then turned toward Triss and his father. "I've caused a lotta trouble, more than I'll ever be able to make up for in a single lifetime. Guess that's what this new afterlife stuff is going to be used for." He chuckled before his face became more serious, "You all don't worry about me, just hang tight and I'll return to you all when things are taken care of. I've gotta go now though," He said as he looked down at his own hand. Holding it out in front of him before shoving it into his own chest. The clone winced as though feeling pain but no blood came from it as it dug deeper into itself. With a quick tug, there was a puff of smoke and a small crystal shard fell onto the ground where he once stood.

Izar watched as this all happened, feeling an immense worry for his son as the clone poofed away. He approached and picked up the small shard, a look of surprise that quickly turned into one of pride showed on his face. "So this is how he did it. I never would have imagined using this for something like fueling a magical clone." He said in awe before turning to Amen, "I'm sorry, I wasn't able to fit the time to tell him off for his foolish actions into our schedule. But he'll have an earful when he returns."

The True Amir rode aback his mule through the deserts on the outskirts of Khemriq as he headed toward the Xybron clan he was supposed to recruit. Suddenly, something felt off for just a moment before his head was overtaken with unbearable pain. Unable to keep hold of his reigns, he fell from the mule and rolled down a sand dune until he hit the bottom. He saw so many things at once, deserts, Alquam, deserts, Khemriq, his father, Triss, Amen. It was like he was having things he'd never experienced before shoved into his head. His senses were overloaded, sight, sound, feeling, it all hit him like being hit in the face with a hammer. Puking into the sand he tried his best to regain his senses, his ears popping, and nose beginning to bleed. And then as quickly as it came it was all gone but for lingering pain in his head and throat.

He shook his head in disbelief, "What, but...Why? How? This- No. I can't, but it's...there isn't... but there is. Amen is wrong, but he's right. Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" He yelled as he punched the sand multiple times before throwing himself back into a seated position. "What the hell..." He said under his breath before jumping back up to his and running up the sand dune. Reaching the top he put two fingers into his mouth, ignoring the taste of vomit and sand as he whistled. "Come! Get back here, Cupcake! We need to go!" He yelled between whistles until the mule turned back and began to run back toward him. Not even letting the beast of burden stop he hopped atop it as it ran by, kicking it in the side as they began heading not toward the Xybron but instead back toward the Holy City. Back toward Isis."