Jinxer

En'jer: Pharaohs of Egypt

I'm entertaining guests the next couple of days but I'll still try and get a post up every day/when required so as not to hold things up.

En'jer: Pharaohs of Egypt

Qar

Qar sighed as Amen walked past him, revealing the unfortunate truth. He had suspected as much. Indeed, it was probable that all the Viziers had detected Amen's reluctance to take up the position of Pharaoh and the fighting between the Viziers, the politicking, had only served to drive him further away from the throne. It was something that Qar himself could understand. If he were ever any Amen's position he too would rather not have that responsibility, that constant expectation of him with hundreds if not thousands of people hanging onto his every word day in and day out.

"Truth be told, Amen," Qar used the Pharaoh's name as requested, out here in the world with no guards it would be unwise to use his title, "I would rather not be a Vizier. My calling is that of healing and being involved in these councils, this constant debating that eventually comes to little or no action, takes time away from the good I can do." He looked up at the sky, wondering why he felt the need to explain himself to the young man. Yes, he was the Pharaoh whether he wanted the position or not but if anything that would mean Qar would not want to bother him with the trivial matter of a Vizier's past life. Nevertheless, he felt his words could perhaps reach Amen if they could relate to one another's situation.

"My family are farmers, they live quite some way out of Thebes. Out there lawlessness is rife. We were a big family with a strong community around us so by and large we got by safely. In the end, there were too many of us and I went to study at Temple of Thoth when they realise I had a certain aptitude for research. In the years I was gone the banditry got worse and eventually my family arrived at the Temple far fewer in number. I'm still not sure how many are dead or enslaved. In the days after I lost more to the wounds they had sustained in their flight and so I resolved to become a healer and travelled a great deal, learning what I could." He turned to look at Amen, perhaps presumptuously staring the young man right in the eyes to hold his gaze.

"I am no politician, Amen. I am farmer who has learned to heal maladies and fix broken bodies and being here takes me away from that. But I was entrusted with this position and, even without your support, I can use my position to make things better. To educate other healers properly, bring up issues that otherwise might be ignored by the court. If I did not think that I could do more here then I would leave and set up a healing house."

They were interrupted by the coarse shout and the sound of a whip cracking. Qar winced as he heard the responding cry of pain and looked over the heads of the crowd to see a band of slavers pushing a straggling group of bound slaves along. Although he did not wish to announce it, especially in public, another of Qar's hopes was to better the lives of those in slavery. He knew that abolishing it completely would could chaos and possibly pull down their kingdom but reforming it was something that he saw as both possible and reasonable.

Amen, however, was less reticent about how abolishing slavery would affect the kingdom and before Qar could react, he had drawn the ire of the slavers. Along with it came the attention of all those in the street, cries of surprise and panic as people struggled to get out of the way of the conflict. They did not, however, go too far. It was not everyday that one saw a battle feature a magician and the danger would be worth a story to tell later.

"Qar, don't you dare say anything about who I am. I don't want anything stopping me from beating these slavers down."

Qar looked down at the young man, the fierceness in his eyes and the barely contained rage threatening to spill out of his body. The situation was too far gone to resolve with words, that much was clear. Besides, the slavers running towards them did not seem the type to accept an apology meekly before moving on; in the end the slaves would probably get a beating for something they had no part in. Instead, the physician nodded to the Pharaoh.

"Of course, Amen. However," he stepped forwards and shrugged off the top half of his robe so that it hung behind him, still held partly in place by the sash around his waist but no longer restricting his movement. Perhaps surprisingly the action had revealed a well toned and finely muscled body, not the wall of muscle of a warrior but certainly not the thin and scrawny frame one would expected from a scribe or a scholar such as Qar, with several long since healed scars dotted across his torso. "Allow me to join you. I may not be a warrior like your friend Zamonth but I will do my best to keep up with you. Oh, and before we begin..." He stopped as the first of the slavers reached them, wielding some kind of cudgel.

Qar neatly side-stepped the first attack, his movements not quite polished but were most definitely more so than those of the slaver whose brawny frame was that of one who became fit and muscled from his lifestyle, not through effort. During his numerous days at the palace waiting for Amen to arrive, Qar had joined with the Guards in their daily sparring. At first they had been surprised by his request but had found out that he was not a complete novice and was a quick learner. As such, Qar knew where to hit and how to hit and he did so with the first unfortunate slaver who was presumably only skilled in beating those unable to fight back. He tripped the man deftly before slamming the backhand of his fist into the rear of the man's skull, near the top of his neck. With barely a sound the slaver dropped to the ground, unmoving.

"I would prefer it if we did not maim or kill them. As a healer, it goes against my wishes to inflict serious harm upon others. When we are finished and the Guard come, please allow me to manage the situation. Please, in this at least trust in me."

En'jer: Pharaohs of Egypt

@Blu

It would be historically accurate! I'll just drop a meteor or something on dem bandits.

En'jer: Pharaohs of Egypt

@Blu

I forget sarcasm doesn't come across in text very well! No worries, we'll crack some heads then, fun times. Then Qar can fix them.

Vizier Apple appears to be rather unpopular.

En'jer: Pharaohs of Egypt

Maybe I'll just edit in Qar's staff. Staff of Power +1. And some health potions.

En'jer: Pharaohs of Egypt

@Blu

What? Did I just inadvertently put our healer right onto the frontline of a fight? Well that was a good move.

En'jer: Pharaohs of Egypt

Posted!

Qar is suspicious of Aperel but only because he's disappointed in the old man's attitude. He had such high hopes *sigh*

En'jer: Pharaohs of Egypt

Qar

This council of Viziers was going to be a handful. That was all Qar could think of as he watched the conflicting interactions. Of course, he had expected some disagreements and that could only be healthy; if all members agreed on one course of action all the time then they would inevitably walk straight into making a poor decision sooner or later. Proper debate, different points of view and experience would allow them to work effectively in advising the new Pharaoh.

In theory, at least. It seemed less like they could work together and more that they all wished to work independently without sacrificing their own, usual methods. Qar would have much rather been working in a healing house than sitting in the opulent study, crafting a speech for a young Pharaoh who either had no desire to be involved or was escaping from the sudden trappings of power he found himself cast into. However, Qar bore his responsibility heavily and would not act on whims. For all Satiah's casual and rough speech, she was at least right in pointing out that they all wanted what was best for the Pharaoh and they were perhaps losing sight of the key matters at hand.

Again, the physician felt that Priestess Nebet was pulling apart his inexperienced suggestions deliberately but the scholar within him appreciated the skill with which she rearranged his thoughts. She discarded the naive ideas but retained the core premise he had suggested, arranging a narrative around which he could see the structure for a speech that might reflect what they were wishing to convey. Satiah's input was less balanced and more crudely put but her blunt approach cut straight to the point of the matter. While he didn't agree with how simply she approached the matter, her insight would still be useful and she was perhaps more in line with the Pharaoh's thoughts than he or the Priestess were.

"I thank you for your thoughts, Priestess. Truth be told, I have read a great deal of speeches by previous Pharaoh's and I feel that none of them are precisely relevant to our current situation. Those times when the Pharaoh has been young, the impact of the speech has been to mark him as a puppet through whom the most powerful faction at court speaks and that is something we should look to avoid. I did not neglect to mention how we should deal with the nobility because I was not aware, my area of expertise is amongst the general populace and I did not want to speak out of turn in an area I hold little appreciable experience or knowledge."

They continued to speak in the Pharaoh's absence, Qar glancing towards the empty throne often with deepening concern. He had not believed the Pharaoh at all when he had announced nature calling but had assumed Amen knew the importance of the matter at hand. After a good long time Aperel interrupted to point out the obvious regarding Amen's absence. Something about his attitude had at first disappointed Qar, he had hoped to find a respectable man in one who held such a high title, but now he felt nothing but irritation.

"Aperel, I feel the need to bring up your conduct up until this point. For someone who has such experience I had thought you would know the best practices in dealing with your fellows and have respect for your position. Instead you have systematically insulted a member of this council, the Pharaoh's only known friend and companion as well as drawing the ire of Pharaoh Amen himself. Now you have contributed nothing to this matter other than to write down what little progress we have made." He knew he was on the brink of overstepping his bounds and that speaking further would only enhance the friction amongst the Viziers but now that his irritation had risen to the surface he was unable to properly control it. "If you see yourself as merely a scribe to the Pharaoh I would suggest you maintain silence, lest you say anything else crude or offensive to the Pharaoh or one of his other Viziers. If you mean to retain your position perhaps you could contribute something useful, with your many years of experience that is something we could well use. There are plenty of scribes in the court who could fulfil your role thus far better than you have, ignoring the fact that I myself am an accomplished scribe and I am sure the same can be said for the Priestess."

Qar had stood without realising and found the energy building within him had made him restless. He was distracted by the need to finish the speech, a pressing matter to be sure, but he also felt the need to refresh his mood and also find the Pharaoh. Although they could craft a speech without the Pharaoh present it would set a bad precedent and Qar felt it would not be right, more simply.

"I will do as you have suggested and search for Pharaoh Amen. As we have mentioned, I fear that there will be those who work against him and will take his isolation as a chance to act. It will also give me time to think on this matter, some fresh air and distance may bring inspiration. Perhaps you could consider your position and what you should be doing, to be useful to the Pharaoh." He was once again speaking to Aperel, turning to bow to the Priestess and Zamonth in turn before leaving the room.

It was rare for him to feel so restless, off-balance and irritable. From when he had been summoned to the palace long before Amen had arrived to this first meeting of the Viziers everything had fallen short of his expectations. He had hoped, perhaps naively, that the Viziers would put aside their conflicting differences to work in the Pharaoh's best interest but instead they had openly allowed cracks to rupture the council's cohesion before they had even begun their first task. Qar was beginning to suspect that Aperel did not have the Pharaoh's best interests at heart, or that he did not respect the Pharaoh because of his youth. Either way, it presented an issue and he did not know how to remedy it.

The confines of the palace were constricting, he could already see that the slaves and officials recognised his position and several bowed as he strode past. He needed to get out into the city, where he felt more at home amongst the bustle of the ordinary people, to give himself time to relax and think. News of the Pharaoh's arrival had, of course, spread and there was a new excitement in the way the people moved. There was hope in their eyes that change was coming, that the troubles they faced could be taken to task by their new ruler. Qar spoke with a few, trying to gauge their desires and how best to address them.

Satiah had been right, it was going to be impossible to please everyone and so they had to choose who to please and how not to anger or lose the loyalty of others. Nebet had also been right in focusing on the court and its factions; addressing the concerns of the people could wait until Amen was more secure in his position, many of the issues facing them had been plaguing them for a long time but small promises could easily sate them.

It was in his directionless wandering that he came upon the young Pharaoh, by sheer chance. His blue hair was distinctive and Qar spotted it, along with the jewellery he wore, across the crowd easily. Immediately he was concerned with how brazenly the young man walked around but then reminded himself that very few in the city, outside of the palace, would know what the Pharaoh looked like and so he was relatively safe. Instead, Qar took a seat on a bench nearby and watched the Pharaoh interacting with the stallholder. His simple clothing allowed him to blend in easily and the relative shade of the awning would hide his face, to some extent. From his seat he could hear parts of conversation, enough to understand the general gist.

Eventually Amen waved, taking a pair of apples after handing the woman one of his expensive pieces of jewellery. Qar weighed up his options and in the end decided not to follow and watch the Pharaoh; their time was short and he would learn more about the young man in time and in a less prying manner. He stood and walked out of the shadow of the awning the bench had been in, crossing the street quickly to intercept the Pharaoh.

"Master Amen," he spoke, addressing the Pharaoh. He did not wish to use Amen's title in such a crowded place, lest it endanger them both and so instead attempted to present himself as some kind of aid to an older noble tracking down a wayward son, "it might be time to return. We were beginning to get concerned at your absence." He didn't bring up the fact that Amen had so clearly lied to escape their meeting, there was no use in admonishing a Pharaoh after all, especially a young one. He glanced at the apples in Amen's hand and then back at the stall, the woman still marvelling at the expensive item she had been given. "Have you perhaps found something you can do for these people? Something that you wish to do?"

En'jer: Pharaohs of Egypt

I think we're all now very (un)healthily suspicious of Iaret and she's hardly done anything to deserve it!

En'jer: Pharaohs of Egypt

@Rune_Alchemist

While I look forward to it, Qar will be distraught and will attend to their wounds. A good combination, no?

I'm currently awaiting a train home, I plan to post tonight but it'll be in a few hours at least.