The Khonsu War

The Khonsu War is the third book in The Bronze Horus series, self-published on Amazon.com and all its regional sites by Julius Janeliūnas. It was released on January 20th, 2023. It continues the story of The March of Deshret, however, The Khonsu War is not a novel. Instead it is a compilation of short stories (both fiction and ones written in a non-fiction style) which explore the more overlooked parts of the world, both in terms of geography and in the characters and topics it follows.

## Back cover

While the war between the Organization of Free Kingdoms and the Eastern Coalition officially ended with the Treaty of Euphrates, the conflict between the two factions still continues. A new phase begins, one of a cold war between the power blocks led by the Kingdom of Elam and the Commonwealth of Kemet, Kush, and Retjenu.

Working to expand their territory, deal with domestic threats, and acquire new allies, both great powers compete for supremacy in the known world, though now not only through their armies and navies, but also their newly established intelligence agencies.

The Khonsu War, taking place shortly after the March of Deshret, is a collection of short stories about the missions of the Kemet Intelligence Agency and the Eastern Coalition Secret Service, as well as the lives of regular citizens living in this greatly changed world. It also includes in universe reports to the pharaoh, where prominent officials from the Commonwealth inform their overlord about the economics, schools of philosophy, new inventions created over the previous few decades, and other important matters in this alternate universe, where the Late Bronze Age collapse was averted at the last moment.

## Contents of the book

The book consists of 12 entries in total: 5 fiction short stories and 7 reports written in the non-fiction style. All these stories have previously been published on the site Royal Road.

### **Short stories**

1. **Operation Kingmaker** (78 - 79 AEE): KIA operatives Sutenhi, Neberzer, Neitheret, and Harsiamon are sent to the Mycenaean Confederation to help Tirynthius become the new wanax and prevent his brother Hecataeus from taking the throne. They manage to convince all the kings of the Confederation to support Tirynthius with the exception of Cilix, who agrees to support whichever brother proves himself better on the battlefield. Hecataeus begins campaigning in Illyria and Tirynthius in Thracia, with the latter making much more gains, in big part due to the KIA delivering guns to him and his officers - weapons never before seen in public. Cilix is convinced, and the assembly of the kings accepts Tirynthius as the new wanax, though Hecataeus protests and tries to kill his brother. This attempt is unsuccessful and Hecataeus is shot and crippled in the process.

2. **Annunitum's Wrath** (79 AEE): ECSS operatives Uktannu Kuttimu, Timgiratee Kalumitu, Nidintu Ishpartu, and Ahati Ninevina are tasked with investigating the Assyrian Liberation Army and is ties to foreign states. They uncover important evidence after the ALA commits a terrorist attack in Mari, which leads the agents to Harran. There, the agents catch an ALA member dealing with an OFK representative, who is captured and interrogated. The EC leadership learns of the OFK supporting the ALA and doubles down on hunting members of the ALA, while also giving an ultimatum to the OFK. The OFK agrees to the demands, not wanting another war to break out over this, and, as part of the deal, lures out the remaining ALA members and executes all of them, including their leader, thus putting an end to the organization.

3. **A Day in the Life of a Babylonian** (80 AEE): Follows a day in life of a Babylonian banker Neriglissar Shamashegertu, from waking up, to travelling to work in the regional office of the Grand Euphrates Banking Corporation, working there, and returning home. In the middle of the day, the bank is robbed by members of the Mesopotamian Freedom Front, though the attempt is unsuccessful, as the MFF members are apprehended and executed by the Babylonian police.

4. **Operation Ouroboros** (80 - 81 AEE): Muwatalli III, king of Hatti, defeats the remaining holdouts in Anatolia, before heading north to fight the Cimmerians, both for resources and for revenge, as they had been allied with Hakkarpili and took over Hattusa during the Hittite Civil War. KIA operatives Neitheret Amtensat, Harsiamon Serachsa, Mehi Sebeksat, Arqam Shoshan, and Ithobaal Arwadal are sent to observe Muwatalli without being told much else. As the Cimmerian campaign continues and Muwatalli reaches the Donbas, the KIA agents learn that they have been sent there to intercept an ECSS agent carrying damning documents to Muwatalli. The KIA fails in this task, as the ECSS agent, disguised as a Cimmerian woman given to the Hittite king as a surrender gift by one of the local warlords, delivers Commonwealth's plans to invade Hatti, if it was deemed necessary, to Muwatalli, though the king does not mind that as much as expected, so the ECSS agent tries to assassinate the king. The ECSS agent is prevented from doing that and killed by the KIA. Later, after the mission officially ends, the KIA agents learn that the true purpose of the mission was to make sure that Muwatalli received those plans - due to them actually being fake and so hiding the true potential invasion plans - but that he was not hurt in the process, and so they had completed their mission perfectly.

5. **Indra's Curse** (82 - 83 AEE): ECSS operatives Uktannu Kuttimu, Nidintu Ishpartu, Anshar Idadu, Warad-Sin Hakkamun, and Murdus of Rhages are sent to India to help the Kingdom of Kuru defeat the Kingdom of Pancala and push the former to join the EC. However, upon arrival in Kuru's capital Asandivat, it turns out that the king of Kuru Pratipa disappeared, and that the Resheph's Blades mercenary company, which had been hired by Kuru, turned on its former employers because they believed it was now about to lose. The ECSS agents calm the Blades down by offering to pay them themselves and send them back to fighting Pancala, along with Kuru's regular troops. Later, the ECSS agents and the Blades organize an ambush of one of Pancala's kings, Sranjaya, whom the ECSS interrogate and kill, but not before learning that Pratipa was kidnapped, deducing that it was the KIA who kidnapped him. At around the same time, KIA agents, having formerly kidnapped Pratipa and convinced him that it was the ECSS who captured him, stage a rescue of the king, so that he would now be more aligned with the OFK rather than the EC. Pratipa is then transported back to India, but the KIA ship carrying him is intercepted by the ECSS agents, who, after a short skirmish, kill everyone on the KIA ship and take Pratipa. However, upon realizing that Pratipa was brainwashed by the KIA and believes that the ECSS had kidnapped him, threatening to tell this to the inhabitants of his kingdom, the ECSS decide to kill the king so that he could not sabotage Kuru's accession to the EC. Afterwards, the war is soon finished, as Pancala surrenders, while Pratipa's son Shantanu officially becomes Kuru's new king, with his mother and the kingdom's high priest as regents, who begin official talks of joining the EC.

### **Reports to the Pharaoh**

All these reports are set in 82 AEE, though they deal with events which happened as early as 0 AEE. The order they are in here is not the same as in the actual book, as there the reports are placed between the short stories, so that the reports would not contain spoilers for the stories before they could be read.

1. **On the Economic Schools of Thought** (by the Royal Treasurer Intefiqer Rehusa): Discusses the two major economic systems of the world - the free market based Phoenician school of economics and the government led Ur school of economics - and what system each current civilization adheres to.

2. **On the Military Capabilities of the Two Alliances** (by the Supreme Commander of the OFK Forces Nechtarhebi Anhurwaw): Gives an overview of the OFK and the EC forces, both land armies and navies, compares them, lists their strengths and weaknesses.

3. **On the Major Schools of Philosophy** (by the philosopher Sephoris Mered): Discusses the major schools of philosophy and their branches, namely the knowledge-seeking Thotherites, the reactionary Djedists, the law-adhering Hammurabites, the pleasure-seeking Ishtareans, the destitute Siwans, the advancement-driven Technomancers, and the self-interested Sidonians.

4. **On the Doctrines of International Relations** (by the Royal Envoy Amenemheb Nemtyhotep): Discusses the main four international relations doctrines, namely isolationism, colonialism, multilateralism, and realism, as well as explaining which countries adhere to which doctrines.

5. **On the Western Continents of Khonsmia** (by the captain Khonsmes Kanefer): Gives an overview of the Khonsmias (the Americas) and what is known about them (their geography, history, animals, resources, and people) by that point, including talking about North Khonsmia, Central Khonsmia (and the Olmec civilization there), and South Khonsmia.

6. **On the Great Architectural Wonders of the World** (by the Overseer of the Works Ankhhapi Iqedew): Lists the architectural works which are internationally considered to be wonders of the world, those being Khufu's Horizon Pyramid, the Hanging Gardens of Susa, Hattusa's Hill Fortress, the Ziggurat of Ur, the Ramesseum at Waset, the Marduk Gate of Babylon, the Labyrinth of Knossos, and the Library of Nineveh.

7. **On the Golden Age of Inventions** (by the engineer Zephon Botrys): Discusses the major inventions which have been introduced over the previous eight decades, after the near civilizational collapse during Ramesses III's reign, and specifically talks about the spheres of agriculture, medicine, city infrastructure, textiles and other industry, transportation, and military.