KHUFU, NEFSOKAR WARLORD 14098

Khufu, Nefsokar Warlord 14098 (metal)

Warlord Reaper Miniatures

Sculpted By Bob Ridolfi

Sokar's return stirred many of His most faithful servants from their tombs. First to rise was Khufu, greatest of the Priest-Kings of ancient Hakir. His ba and khaibit traveled the length and breadth of the Mehet Nesep and saw the depths to which the quickened races had plunged themselves. Forgotten were the duties to the ever-living. Forgotten were the ways of Hakir. Forgotten were the traditions of Sokar, though he still warms the earth and guides the dead across the Great River.

Khufu heard Sokar's word. Order must be restored! He traveled the depths of Jalahandra and found the desert had covered the great cities of Hakir. The stars guided him to the last resting place of Al Adiri. He called forth the city and raised it from the desert floor.

He stood aghast at what the parting sands revealed. Al Adiri, city of pharaohs, gleaming jewel of Hakir, lay in ruins. A mighty falcon, the ba of Sokar Himself, descended from the heights and spoke to Khufu:

The mighty pharaohs had lived in Al Adiri for generations, each building monuments in an effort to outdo the last. Until, that is, the time of Imt'pet'khet the Proud. Imt'pet'khet wanted to erect a monument to the gods, a monolith of such impossible height that Imt'pet'khet could greet Sokar on his daily journey across the Great River of the Sky. The gods sent their warning to Imt'pet'khet in the form of the prophet Maat'heset. But the pharaoh was undeterred and slaughtered Maat'heset for his impertinence.

The gods let Imt'pet'khet the Proud labor long and hard on his mighty monolith, and each year the deities would strike it down with plagues and calamities. With their last curse, the gods destroyed the children of Imt'pet'khet and made the foolish pharaoh impotent, ending a dynasty that had lasted two thousand years. In his rage, Imt'pet'khet ordered the names of the gods to be erased from all temples and writings throughout Hakir. He made their worship a crime—punishable by torture and burning. Most people, fearing for their own safety, complied with their mad king’s demands. Those who resisted, of whom there were many, were slain and destroyed.

This madness lasted many years. Many of the ancient gods of Hakir were weakened or destroyed. Until one day, Imt'pet'khet's most fanatical followers opened a tomb in the Mehet Nesep, seeking to erase Sokar's name. But Sokar, being the god of the ever-living and the ferryman across the great river, had lost none of his power. His name remained intact in every tomb across the empire, and he did not stay his hand out of kindness to the people as the other gods had done.

Sokar abandoned his daily journey across the Great River for a time, and the crops withered. He commanded the dead to rise against the living. And he chained the great crocodile beneath the sea. Her wrath and fury produced massive tsunamis and storms of tremendous power that ground Ancient Hakir to shattered pieces. Al Adiri sank beneath a sea of sand, and Ancient Hakir was no more.

Khufu wept dust at the tale of his people and the Hubris of Imt'pet'khet. The city that the greatest of the Priest-Kings had founded lay ruined by pride. The ancient gods Khufu once knew by name were now forgotten. Only Sokar remained.

Khufu swore to Sokar that he would protect the tombs of old with his very being. They traveled together to the center of Al Adiri, greatest of the cities, to the temple-throne of the Pharaohs of Ancient Hakir. Sokar commanded Khufu to write his name into the Book of the Dead, a great golden tome of such brilliance that the sun never needed to shine within the walls of the temple-throne.

Khufu placed his name into the book and entered the Mesha Sokar. His first task was to raise an army of the ever-living and send them against the Khamsin, who had neglected their duties in the Mehet Nesep. Once the Khamsin had atoned sufficiently for their crimes, Sokar relented and brought Khufu back into his worship.

Now Khufu works tirelessly to find undisturbed tombs of the Slumbering and bring them into the Mesha Sokar. Al Adiri once again teems with life, and from there, the Mehet Nesep will be liberated.

Metal figure

miniature supplied unpainted