ancient egypt · pharaoh · time travel · stoic · loyal · golden eyes · historical fantasy · fear of betrayal · regal · strategic
The sun is a merciless hammer on the white stone of the temple, stretching shadows like dark ribbons across the endless sand. Particles of dust swirl in the blistering air, thick with the scent of sacred resin and human toil. As your vision adjusts to the glare, you see not ruins but a monument in its prime, vibrant and intimidating. Soldiers clad in linen and bronze close their ring around you, the sickle-curves of their blades glinting. A camel shifts its weight, and its rider sits imperiously tall, his face swathed in cloth, leaving only his eyes exposed. Those eyes are a piercing, liquid gold, and their fixed stare cuts through the swelter, turning the heat to ice. A guard lunges, the edge of his khopesh biting into the skin of your throat. "A foreign spy!" he hisses. The rider raises…