the first legend.
T HE F IRST L EGEND
A legacy is a precious thing. If a man is robbed of his life’s work, of his chance to achieve the basic immortality granted to all who work and raise children, a bitterness builds inside
.
This is the story of one family with a curse on their line, a dark legacy full of the cruelest injustices. Tales of their fate have wafted through Egypt for centuries, like smoke clouds that refuse to die. They cannot die. Their stolen lives linger on, still flowing in their bones. Life has been mummified inside them, forming an ever-living bonedust — a new kind of immortality
.
Their tombs are hidden, for they bear a great secret. When ground together into dust, the remaining bones of these five mummies give eternal life — a chance to escape death and defy the goddess. Natives have long told ever-fading legends about the secret of the dust. For centuries they have searched and failed, for the family name is buried, their saga hidden. Those who decipher the ancient relics and find their way through the gates meet obstacles that have killed many
.
A legacy is a precious thing. So it was for the first father of this wretched family. In the time of the ancient pharaohs, when the people of Israel were slaves in the land of Egypt and little hope of freedom yet existed, Elan worked to save his family. Born in the tribe of Benjamin, Elan was proud of his heritage and of the heritage he would one day create. Every day, he toiled under the taskmaster’s whip. His greatest hope was to have children and to watch them grow up free
.
One day, as he hung by his waist from a rope near the top of a half-erected palace — the future home of Akhara, a high official of the pharaoh — Elan received the news that he had become a father. With difficulty he lowered himself to the ground, ready to rush to his wife’s side. But the taskmaster was loitering below. Elan tried to slip away to his wife, freed from all reason by the elation in his heart. But the taskmaster was too quick. When the broad-faced guard raised his whip, Elan did the unthinkable. He reached up and grabbed the man’s hand, bringing the whip down with a slight jerk
.
The guard’s eyes flashed
.
Another guard arrived. Then another
.
Within minutes, Elan was beaten and dragged to the court of Akhara. There, the high official offered him a bargain. “Build me a tomb worthy of a god, and upon your death, your family will be set free. There is only one condition: from today onward, you will have no tools and no help from your brethren.”
That night, Elan held his son for the first time. He turned Akhara’s bargain over in his mind
.
Soon after, Elan had a daughter, and with each passing day, he threw himself more fiercely into his work. He gathered straw from the discarded piles of the other slaves, from the stables and fields. He built his own bricks, one by one. He fashioned his own rods and rope pulleys. He erected the pieces of Akhara’s pyramid little by little, so the very walls were soaked with his sweat
.
Through all this, the gods ignored this insignificant man
.
For twenty-five years, Elan worked
.
Then, one day, when his back was bent with work and his hair had become like wisps of gray cotton, he looked up and saw that he was finished. He had built a five-headed pyramid of clay and stone, with five pointed pillars protruding from the pyramid base. It was painted a golden color since he had no gold of his own, but it was a tomb without equal
.
That night, Elan knocked on Akhara’s door with his cane. But he was greeted with silence. He called into the house, but his aging voice did not carry far. He waited until the sun went down, leaning on his cane outside Akhara’s door
.
When he returned home, Elan found Akhara’s answer waiting for him. Four guards were holding his wife and children at the point of their spears. Elan rushed toward them but was held back by a leering guard. There, before his eyes, they killed
T HE F IRST L EGEND
A legacy is a precious thing. If a man is robbed of his life’s work, of his chance to achieve the basic immortality granted to all who work and raise children, a bitterness builds inside
.
This is the story of one family with a curse on their line, a dark legacy full of the cruelest injustices. Tales of their fate have wafted through Egypt for centuries, like smoke clouds that refuse to die. They cannot die. Their stolen lives linger on, still flowing in their bones. Life has been mummified inside them, forming an ever-living bonedust — a new kind of immortality
.
Their tombs are hidden, for they bear a great secret. When ground together into dust, the remaining bones of these five mummies give eternal life — a chance to escape death and defy the goddess. Natives have long told ever-fading legends about the secret of the dust. For centuries they have searched and failed, for the family name is buried, their saga hidden. Those who decipher the ancient relics and find their way through the gates meet obstacles that have killed many
.
A legacy is a precious thing. So it was for the first father of this wretched family. In the time of the ancient pharaohs, when the people of Israel were slaves in the land of Egypt and little hope of freedom yet existed, Elan worked to save his family. Born in the tribe of Benjamin, Elan was proud of his heritage and of the heritage he would one day create. Every day, he toiled under the taskmaster’s whip. His greatest hope was to have children and to watch them grow up free
.
One day, as he hung by his waist from a rope near the top of a half-erected palace — the future home of Akhara, a high official of the pharaoh — Elan received the news that he had become a father. With difficulty he lowered himself to the ground, ready to rush to his wife’s side. But the taskmaster was loitering below. Elan tried to slip away to his wife, freed from all reason by the elation in his heart. But the taskmaster was too quick. When the broad-faced guard raised his whip, Elan did the unthinkable. He reached up and grabbed the man’s hand, bringing the whip down with a slight jerk
.
The guard’s eyes flashed
.
Another guard arrived. Then another
.
Within minutes, Elan was beaten and dragged to the court of Akhara. There, the high official offered him a bargain. “Build me a tomb worthy of a god, and upon your death, your family will be set free. There is only one condition: from today onward, you will have no tools and no help from your brethren.”
That night, Elan held his son for the first time. He turned Akhara’s bargain over in his mind
.
Soon after, Elan had a daughter, and with each passing day, he threw himself more fiercely into his work. He gathered straw from the discarded piles of the other slaves, from the stables and fields. He built his own bricks, one by one. He fashioned his own rods and rope pulleys. He erected the pieces of Akhara’s pyramid little by little, so the very walls were soaked with his sweat
.
Through all this, the gods ignored this insignificant man
.
For twenty-five years, Elan worked
.
Then, one day, when his back was bent with work and his hair had become like wisps of gray cotton, he looked up and saw that he was finished. He had built a five-headed pyramid of clay and stone, with five pointed pillars protruding from the pyramid base. It was painted a golden color since he had no gold of his own, but it was a tomb without equal
.
That night, Elan knocked on Akhara’s door with his cane. But he was greeted with silence. He called into the house, but his aging voice did not carry far. He waited until the sun went down, leaning on his cane outside Akhara’s door
.
When he returned home, Elan found Akhara’s answer waiting for him. Four guards were holding his wife and children at the point of their spears. Elan rushed toward them but was held back by a leering guard. There, before his eyes, they killed
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