Setius, Noreus, Doriel, Maestem, Ramiel, Novelin, and Amadeo disappeared behind the desert. This is even better. She needs only loyal warriors. The monsters left with her have proven they can be loyal. So theyre the ones to bet on.
The chariots trail of blood
There was more and more gold in the desert. Youd think it was the sunlight that was breeding it. In fact, Alais was playing a game. She picked up handfuls full of sand and let it slip through her fingers. Eventually everything around her turned golden.
Where do you go with so much sand and so much gold? Alais looked around at the vast expanse, gleaming with magical gilding.
Remy understood her question in his own way. He immediately dispatched a company of builders from her demons. Soon a huge palace was erected in the desert. It was made entirely of golden blocks. There was so much gold in the desert that it could be used as building material.
Alais glanced indifferently at the golden piles, columns, and arches. This palace was a faint parody of heavenly mansions. But since heaven was far away, that should be enough.
One could wander the golden halls for days, but eventually Alais grew bored with such a pastime. Sitting under a desert starry sky was far more pleasant than living in a golden palace, as if in a crypt. Black-winged demons nested among the golden pillars. Alais told them to draw signs in the sand around the building to keep travelers from seeing the palace. Gold was too much of a temptation for humans.
Remys gift went unappreciated, but his diligence awakened the builder in Alais. She ordered a cohort of demons to build a huge palace out of sand. The entire structure was supported only by spells. The ceiling and walls crumbled as soon as the magic wore off.
A traveler stopped by the sand palace one day. Alais watched him, lying on the flat roof. The wayfarer couldnt see her, but she saw him. Its so convenient to watch people from above, as if they were insects. Its a good thing people cant fly, or they would know that angels live in the heights.
This is the kings messenger, Remy determined at a glance.
So what is of it? You think I give a damn about peoples ranks and titles?
He comes from the United Realm, Remy said, his eyes tensing. For a moment there was the thought that he was going to run down and tear the ambassador apart.
Yes, I remember, the Upper Kingdom and the Lower Kingdom united, Alais broke off an ornament from the sand pediment, crumbled it into the sand, and sprinkled the grains of sand down. The sand fell beneath the messengers feet, but he didnt even realize it was a joke of the celestials. He boldly walked into the sand palace.
The country is now called Egypt, Remy reported. He flew everywhere and learned about everything.
What business is it of ours?
If it had not been for your efforts, the Upper Kingdom and the Lower Kingdom would not have joined together, and Egypt simply would not exist.
If it hadnt been for the efforts of Menes,Alais corrected.
But it was you, Madam, who gave him the power.
It was Menes who fell at the deitys feet and began begging for mercy for his state. The merit of uniting the Upper and Lower Kingdoms rests with him. If he had not succeeded in invoking my leniency, I would not have let him win. By the way, how are his lively troops doing?
They have the bodies of men and the minds of your former legionnaires. The combination turned out to be a bad one. Human flesh rots, and the higher mind planted in it is forced to live in decaying remains. The warriors of Menes draw angelic symbols with their blood. These symbols became known as hieroglyphs. They made them into an entire alphabet for humans.
So, even weve taught the humans something, Alais said with a chuckle. Seti, on the other hand, told me about some unknowing angel who harms us by teaching crafts and speech to mankind. Have you seen one?
No, maam, Remy scratched the back of his head with his claw. There is none in Egypt, thats for sure. But the warriors of Pharaoh Menes, in whose dead heads you breathed the minds of your dead legionaries, are trying to recreate all the comforts of angelic life on earth. They do it for themselves, but Menes thinks it is your gift to him and his people.
Let him count it! Alais graciously allowed it. I liked him. I do want to give him a gift.
Perhaps you should go and see him.
Not now!
The Pharaoh has become dependent on his dead armies, but that has not broken him. Menes thinks like you now and waits for you. But his people, on the other hand, live in terror of the warriors rotting alive.
The people must be kept in fear, Alaïs leaned over the parapet of the roof and looked down. Get me the head of the kings messenger. I dont want him wandering around here.
Remy wanted to dive down, but it wasnt necessary. The sand walls crumbled, burying beneath them the man who dared to enter a palace made of sand. It was meant to be. This palace was built for the angelic race. Man is not welcome inside.
Alais flew down, shoveled the sand, and looked over the corpse. The kings messenger had already managed to suffocate. Sand had clogged his nose, mouth, and ears. A strange bundle was found on the envoys chest. Alais turned it in her hands and unfolded it, the royal seal glittering underneath.
This is called papyrus. Or is it parchment? Remy scratched the back of his head with a black claw. I think people call it something like that.
Dont give a damn about people! Do you even know a subject other than them?
Humans breed faster than fleas. But angels dont know how to breed.
Ill think of a way, Alais thought of the dead armies of Meneses, who had managed to inhabit the bodies of the dead warriors of her angelic legion. Using human flesh could give the dead angels temporary shelter. Even though a dead human body decays, it can be lived in.
On the messengers scroll was written, For the desert deity.
It must be for you, Remy suggested.
The Egyptian hieroglyphics were indeed like angelic secret writing. Alais read it without difficulty:
I have won! Thanks to you! Let me offer you praises and build a temple for you. Appear to my kingdom. Gardens and lotus ponds are spread out for you alone. My palace is prepared for you.
Alais pulled the ends of the message too hard and accidentally tore the scroll.
Pharaoh must have thought my interest in him too personal.
And it wasnt? Remy looked at the scraps puzzled. You helped him, after all. And other people you just killed. Kings and peasants alike all are equal to angels.
How can I tell you? Alais didnt know whether to speak or whether admitting it would undermine her reputation in the eyes of her subordinates. Menes was like me the day I rebelled in heaven. Of the two of us, at least he made it to the final destination. Thanks to me! It felt so good to meet my twin in the desert and help him. It was as if I had helped myself. But I didnt need Meness gratitude.
The desert was full of gold, jewels, and magic. Why did she need gardens and lotus ponds? All it took was a pinch of magic to turn the desert into an oasis. Alais could plant such flowers here that the king himself would envy her gardens. But she didnt need to. The golden desert is more beautiful than all the gardens of the universe.