by Shawn James
Baptism of Blood
The Origin of E’steem
Copyright 2002, 2011 Shawn James
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Ran out of people to dedicate books to. But I thank God for the opportunity to share my writing with this world.
BAPTISM OF BLOOD
THE ORIGIN OF E’STEEM
One night Idolia, Queen of Katia had a terrifying vision. In her dream she saw the fertile lands of her nation Katia, turned into a dry barren desert. Appalled at the sights she saw, the queen sprang out of her bed and used her magic to summon Nashumba, the spirit of the Oracle.
Nashumba entered the room in a rush of wind. Its body glowed like sunlight and lit up the dark bedroom like it were daytime.
“Spirit of the Oracle I have seen a terrifying vision. Is it true that our nation will fall?”
“THE GREAT NATION OF KATIA WILL BE DESTROYED IN A WHIRLWIND OF FIRE THAT SHALL TURN YOUR PEOPLE AND YOUR WORKS INTO THE DUST OF THE DESERT. ALL WILL BE LOST.” Nashumba answered.
Idolia looked out her window and began to worry. There had been no sunlight over Katia since the day her husband King MastiKatious went into the heavens to wage war against the gods in the sky. In the days that passed, thunder, fire, and lightning flashed and exploded across the pitch black sky.
“My husband wields the Gem of Omnipotence. Surely he can defeat his enemies.”
“MASTIKATIOUS’ GEM IS A CREATION OF SORCERY. IT CANNOT PREVAIL AGAINST THE GODS.”
“But what is to become of my daughter? How will she inherit the throne?”
“SHE IS CONDEMNED BY HER FATHER’S ACTIONS. SHE WILL BE LOST AS WELL.”
Nashumba faded away into the night. Idolia began to cry as she looked in her daughter’s crib. If Nashumba was right, she and E’steem were doomed to die in the coming holocaust. A despondent Idolia fell to her knees and prayed.
“If you gods can hear me, I plead for you to have mercy. Spare my daughter’s life and I will offer you anything, even my soul if you give her a chance to live.”
Upon hearing her request, a tall man dressed in gold armor appeared in a flash of light. He smiled slyly at Idolia as he took off his helmet.
“I am Prince Seth of Heliopolis. I will help you for a price.”
“Can you save my child?”
“All is possible for a god to do.”
“What is your price god?”
“I plan to wage war against the gods of Heliopolis. Sorcery alone cannot defeat them; neither can my own power. But with your magic and my power combined, I can depose these gods who wage war against your people.”
“So you have come to save our people?”
“You have heard the Oracle.” Seth continues. “You and your people are condemned to die. But I will spare this babe if you teach me your magic spells.”
“I will teach you my magic only if you use it to kill the god who will slaughter my people.”
“I make this vow to you. Your people will be avenged.”
Idolia then used her magic to lift a stone out of the floor of the palace. She carved a spell into the marble with her fingers and handed it to Seth.
“Give this to E’steem on her twenty-first birthday. It is her birthright as heir to the Katian throne.”
As soon as Idolia gave Seth the tablet, she quickly began teaching him her magic spells. In a few weeks Seth mastered the black magic and sorcery of the ancients. When his training in black magic was completed, Seth did what he could to comfort the despondent queen in the last few days of her life.
When the last day of Katia came, a giant whirlwind of fire fell out of the sky and crashed into the ground. Within moments, flames sprawled across the landscape and incinerated everything in its path. Seth quickly grabbed the baby and the tablet and flew into the sky. He clutched the child tightly as she cried. Tears streamed from his eyes as he watched the fire approach the royal palace and incinerate Idolia. When he saw Katia turned into a barren desert of ashes, he frowned and flew away. “You have won this day my brother. But I will avenge the nation of Katia. Just as you gods will replace this nation with your own, I will replace your benighted order with a fair and just one.”
One year after the destruction of Katia, Ra and the Elder Gods of Heliopolis Geb, Nut, Shu and Tenefut created a temple near the Nile River. Ra named the temple Heliopolis or “Sun City” because the sun was the most powerful force in the heavens. On top of the pyramid structure was a large golden disk that symbolized the power of the Sun. The temple served as the foundation of a new nation established by the gods called Egypt.
Since there were no mortals wise enough to rule at the time, the gods chose one of their own to lead the new nation of people. Unanimously the elder gods chose Osiris to be first Pharaoh of Egypt. Osiris’ courage in the battle with MastiKatious impressed the elder gods and his gentle nature made him popular with the people. Together he and Thoth, the god of wisdom advised the men who would be Pharaohs on how to build their kingdoms.
Under Osiris’ leadership, other gods began to build their temples close to Heliopolis. There they taught the people of Egypt the skills they would need to live as civilized peoples. To show how grateful they were for the knowledge given to them, the people began to offer tributes of grain and gold to the gods. In a short time the new nation began to grow and prosper.
Seth became irate when he heard the elder gods chose Osiris to be Pharaoh. As general of the Heliopolitan army, he felt he deserved to rule the new kingdom. He thought the destruction of Katia was unjust and that the elder gods proved how corrupt they were when they made Osiris king. Seth began to distance himself from the other gods in Heliopolis. He established an underground secret temple far away from the Egyptian empire. Only the most reprobate Egyptians went deep into the desert to worship him.
Seth demanded his followers sacrifice their firstborn children as a tribute to him. In exchange for their loyalty, he trained his worshipers in the ancient arts of black sorcery he learned from Queen Idolia.
Too busy planning his campaign to conquer Heliopolis, Seth declared the orphaned E’steem to be a “child of the gods” and sent her to be trained as a scribe in Osiris’ temple. Raised by Osiris and Queen Isis, E’steem became very close to the Pharaoh, and was almost like a daughter to him.
E’steem was a gifted student and quickly learned all she was taught. Over the years, E’steem grew into a comely young woman with fair almond colored skin, long black hair and alluring brown eyes. The curves on her voluptuous body often turned heads of many a man. Wherever she went she was called the “fairest woman in Egypt.” Only the goddess Isis was more beautiful than she was. When E’steem came of age, she had many suitors. Often on her trips from the palace to Osiris’ temple, E’steem was followed by bands of men who threw themselves at her.
Loyal to the Pharaoh, E’steem felt it was wrong for men to come to the temple of the gods to court her. To her the temple was a place for the gods to be worshipped, not for her to be courted. One day on the way to the temple, E’steem reprimanded her suitors about their behavior.
“E’steem, give me your hand in marriage. I can give you gold and jewels.” One man proposed.
“This is a house of worship. If you are not here to pay tribute to the gods then be on your way.” E’steem said.
E’steem blushed. “Sir, I am flattered by your kind words. But to put me above the gods is blasphemy. Do you want the wrath of the gods upon you?”
“I can endure any torment with one as beautiful as you at my side.” The man answered.
“I pledge my soul to you E’steem. Make me your husband and I will turn my home into a temple where your beauty will be worshipped for all time.” A third man begged.
“Sir, pledge your soul to the gods, not me. They will bless you with a fine wife.” She replied.
“I’m hoping they’ll bless me with you.” The man said.
“I can give you a fine home and many strapping sons.” A fourth pleaded.
E’steem looked upon the crowd of young men and frowned. “I can have none of you for a husband.”
The men were upset when they heard this. “Why can’t you marry us?” One man asked. “Are we not good enough for you?”
“The gods are the only ones that I love and all who I will ever care for. Nothing you have can give me can give me the satisfaction of serving them.” E’steem replied to the crowd of men.
The dejected suitors sadly looked up at Osiris’ temple then walked away.
“Osiris is a lucky god. The fairest woman in Egypt is his lover.” A man said.
“Bah. She is a foolish woman. She’ll come running back to us when the temple has no grain.” Another angrily growled.
When he saw E’steem enter the main hall, Seth used Idolia’s magic to make himself look like Osiris and confronted her about spurning the suitors.
“Why do you not wish to marry E’steem?” Seth asked.
“No man nor his trinkets nor his goods can give me the joy that I get from serving you my Lord.”
“The gods cannot be your life. Find a man and take him for a husband.”
“I have trained myself in the ancient texts. I hope to be your High Priestess one day my Lord. I cannot do that if I am married with child.”
“You cannot be my High Priestess.” Seth said bluntly.
E’steem’s bright smile quickly turned into a twisted grimace.
“Lord, why do you deny me this title? I am the most faithful of all your followers.”
“True, you are faithful E’steem. But you are not an Egyptian born. You are a Katian and no Katian can be a High Priestess of an Egyptian temple.”
A befuddled E’steem was confused upon hearing the revelation. “Lord, there is no such place in the world.”
“But there was such a place. Yours was the greatest nation in the world, greater than this land is about to be or ever can be. A land of milk and honey overflowing. I slew your people and destroyed all your father’s works because he flew into the heavens and challenged me.”
“I will not hear these lies. I am an Egyptian and proud of it.”
“I felt it would be best for you to learn the truth before you went about striving for an unachievable goal.”
E’steem bowed her head. “Are you testing me Lord?”
“This is no test.” k'12
E’steem’s resolve did not break. “Perhaps I am a Katian. And perhaps I am even queen of this land. But I consider myself Egyptian now and forever.”
“Then you consider yourself dead.”
E’steem was shocked at the coldness shown her by Osiris. “But I’ve been a loyal servant to you since my birth Lord.” She pleaded.
“Foolish girl, your loyalty is chaff to me. In my eyes the child is damned through the father’s actions.”
“Lord, I should be judged by what I have done as a loyal citizen of Egypt not AAAAAHHHHH!-.”
Seth struck E’steem with the back of his hand. The stunned girl crashed to the ground holding her stinging cheek. He pummeled her with his fists until her fair almond skin was blackened and bruised. As her limp body fell to the temple floor, Seth looked down at the weeping girl and laughed. As he reached to grab her dress, E’steem pushed him aside and raced out of the temple as fast as she could.
Learning the truth about her lineage, the despondent E’steem wandered into the desert for days until she found Seth’s temple. When the priests heard what had been done to her, they eagerly took her in and began teaching her black sorcery. In the next four years E’steem changed from an outgoing friendly woman into a bitter hate-filled zealot. She grew to hate Osiris as much as Seth did. Every moment she was awake she thought of ways to kill Osiris and waited for the moment when she could strike.
On E’steem’s twenty-first birthday Seth went to her room and showed her the marble tablet her mother made for her.
“What is this Lord?” She asked.
“Your mother told me to give you this on your twenty-first birthday. It’s your birthright.”
“What good is a birthright to me? Osiris has taken everything from me.”
“Woman stop your moping.” Seth ordered. “Read it because I cannot. It is written in your native language. Only you can read it.”
“You are wasting your time Lord. I only know Egyptian.”
“Your mother placed spells on this tablet. You’ll understand it.”
“Leave me alone.”
“I saw Katia burn with my own eyes. I know what evil Osiris is capable of. Together we can stop him.”
“Why didn’t you do anything to save my people?” E’steem cried.
“If I were to join your father and fight against the gods then you would be dead as well.”
“I wish I was.”
“You are alive by my grace. I spared your life so you could avenge your people.”
“How can I avenge my people with no power?”
“The power you seek is in this tablet your mother left you. Use it.”
“Fine. Just to show you nothing is going to happen I’m going read this foolishness my mother has left me.”
Seth handed E’steem the tablet. When she looked at it, the tablet the illegible Katian words became Egyptian hieroglyphs. It read:
“E’STEEM IF YOU ARE READING THIS YOU ARE OF THE AGE OF ASCENSION. THIS TABLET CONTAINS THE SECRETS OF YOUR KATIAN HERITAGE. POWER WILL BECOME YOURS WHEN YOU PERFORM THE BAPTISM OF BLOOD. USE THE ENCHANTED DAGGER I GIVE YOU AND GO INTO OSIRIS’ TEMPLE AND SLAY ALL WHO ARE THERE. POUR THEIR BLOOD INTO THE FOUNTAIN AND BURN THEIR FLESH ON THE ALTAR. BATHE YOURSELF IN THE BLOOD AND CHANT KHTIS GLSTRA INYHERA OLIMBRAST UJOPNORSAT AND YOU WILL HAVE POWER TO EQUAL ANY GOD.”
E’steem smiled when she read the tablet. When she finished reading it, the tablet transformed itself into a large silver dagger. She walked past Seth and into the main temple hall. “Where are you going?” Seth asked.
“To avenge my people.” She snarled.
E’steem journeyed to Osiris’ temple and locked the doors. When she entered the main the temple hall she slew all the priests, the scribes and the worshipers she saw. Because she was stronger and faster than everyone there, none escaped her methodical onslaught. After she slaughtered them, she stacked their corpses on the altar and their blood flowed into the fountain below it. She took a torch from the wall and threw it on the pile of corpses. Upon being lit the bodies exploded into a pyre of blue flame.
Seth entered the temple in the aftermath of the carnage. He watched in joy as the blue flames lit up the room. E’steem laughed as she rent her white gown off her body and bathed in the murky fountain of blood.
“KHTIS GLSTRA INYHERA OLIMBRAST UJOPNORSAT.” She chanted over and over again. Translated from the Katian this meant:
“GREAT DRAGON I RENOUNCE MY FAITH IN THE GODS AND THE POWER OF MY FATHER. I LIVE ONLY TO WORSHIP YOU. MAKE ME A CREATURE IN YOUR OWN IMAGE. I PLEDGE THIS OFFERING OF SOULS AS A SIGN OF MY LOYALTY.”
Out of the pyre of corpses, a great dragon came forth. His voice was loud and fiery.
“E’STEEM I ACCEPT YOUR OFFERING. WHEN I MAKE YOU IN MY IMAGE I WILL GRANT YOU POWER EQUAL TO THAT OF A GOD. YOUR MISSION FROM THIS DAY FORWARD IS TO BR
ING DEATH AND DESTRUCTION TO THIS WORLD.”
“I have no problem with that. I have nothing to live for.” E’steem replied.
The dragon saw Seth standing in the doorway. “GOD OF HELIOPOLIS COME FORTH.” The dragon demanded. Seth approached the fountain standing behind E’steem.
“FOR YOUR FAITHFUL SERVICE TO ME I GIVE YOU THIS WOMAN THE LAST OF HER PEOPLE AS A HERALD. SHE WILL AID YOU IN THE DESTRUCTION OF EGYPT AND ITS GODS.”
“Thank you great serpent.” Seth replied.
“AFTER I DUNK HER HEAD UNDER THE BLOOD SHE WILL RISE MADE IN MY IMAGE.”
When the dragon dunked E’steem’s head underneath the blood, She did not hold her breath. She rose up out of the murky pool transformed. Long black horns jutted out of her forehead and her eyes became like the eyes of a snake. Her fingernails and toenails became black cloven claws and her teeth became like canine fangs. She grabbed the tattered remains of her gown, dipped it in the blood of the dead priests and then put it on. She stepped out of the fountain and knelt in front of Seth.
“I live to serve you my master.”
“Rise E’steem.” Seth demanded.
E’steem grabbed a bust of Osiris and slammed it into the floor. She smiled as it shattered into pieces “To think I wanted to be a High Priestess for this fool. I will spit on his grave.”
“You cannot walk about Egypt with this appearance. They will denounce you as a demon.”
“True.” E’steem replied gesturing her hands. In a flash of light she reverted to her human form dressed in a white gown.
