Fall of a Pharoah

Jolly had been summoned to the Old God Anubis’ temple, deep in the desert of Egypt. Jolly spent many days and nights taking the journey. Anubis said it was a matter of urgency, and Jolly needed to be there.

When Jolly arrived the temple was empty, but then he heard Anubis calling from the dungeons.

“Ah, I see you made the journey, Pharoah”, Anubis proclaimed as Jolly walked down the stairs.

“You said it was urgent”, Jolly replied.

Anubis bent down; the heat of his breath fell over Jolly, “I called you here because I need you, Pharaoh. As you know I’ve been given dominion over Earth and all its creatures by the Ancient One. That means dominion over you too”.

Jolly looked at Anubis with scepticism, “What do you want, Anubis?”.

“I want you. You will worship me, and me alone. You will forget the teachings of the Ancient One and follow me!” Anubis said, shaking the temple with his voice.

At that moment Jolly knew Anubis had a cynical plan, and he remembered what his mother told him, “Never listen to the Old Gods, they have no intention of doing any good.”

Jolly looked Anubis dead in the eye and said, “I will never worship you! You may have my father under your spell, but you will not take me!”

“So be it! If you do not worship me, then you will walk this Earth forever, never knowing death and never making it into the afterlife to your precious Ancient One”, with that said, Anubis cursed Jolly and threw him out of the temple.

On his way home, Jolly couldn’t help but think, “Can he do that, make me immortal? There’s no way he could have that power. The people will not be kind once they hear I disobeyed Anubis.”

The people of Egypt worshipped Anubis as if he was the only Old God, and the Ancient One didn’t exist.

Before he headed home, he stopped at the docks to arrange passage for him and his wife to a nearby group of islands. There they could lay low till they figure out what they can do.

Once home, Lilly – Jolly’s wife, asked him, “What did Anubis want?”. She could hear the fear in his voice as he told her what had happened. He told her they needed to leave immediately and that there was a ship waiting for them at the dock.

“Where will we go?” she asked.

“To Greece, we should be able to lay low there for a while.”, Jolly hastily answered.

Their voyage felt as if it took weeks, but they were only out at sea for a couple of days. The silence and constant contemplation were not good for their minds.

When they arrived in Greece, they were not met by friendly faces. News had already spread of Jolly’s defiance against Anubis. The elders of the island wanted nothing to do with Jolly and Lilly.

“Leave our land, Jolly”, they shouted as he stepped off the ship.

The elders feared the wrath of Anubis would befall them if they let Jolly stay there.

“I just seek refuge for my wife and me on this island as we figure things out. We mean no harm and will stay out of your way.”, Jolly explained.

“We do not care why you are here; we do not need you or your wife here! Leave or die, those are your only two options!” the head elder proclaimed.

But before Jolly could make a choice, a voice from the crowd said, “I will take them in, and I alone will face the consequences, should there be any.”

Shocked by what was said, the Elders turned around, “Who here wishes to keep these traitors among us?”

The man stepped forward; it was the village healer.

“If you wish to keep them, then do it, you will regret your choice!”

The man led Jolly and Lilly to a small hut where they could rest after their long journey.

Jolly thanked the healer for his help and assured him he would explain everything to him in the morning.

When the morning came, the healer was waiting for Jolly by an old Olive tree. Jolly approached and sat down next to him. Jolly thanked him again and explained his side of the story.

The elder shared some advice with Jolly, “Anubis will not let you live out your life, he is a cruel God. Be careful where you go and always watch your back. One of these days you will also need to leave your wife to live out her own life. As long as she is with you, she will always be in danger. She doesn’t have forever to live like you; don’t let her suffer her whole life.”

A few days pass while Jolly and Lilly stay with the healer.

“We want them out here NOW!” a crowd shouted outside their hut.

The healer questioned the crowd, “Why must they come out?”.

“We’ve received news that Anubis has sent Temple Guards to burn down the village and find them. We will not all die for them!” the crowd became enraged.

Jolly walked to the door, “Stay here, Lilly, I’ll be back soon.”

“I heard you were looking for me?”, Jolly calmly said, hoping to ease the tension.

“We told you to leave but you didn’t listen, now you will die!”, the crowd was now ready to act.

“I guess now we find out how immortal I am”, Jolly thought.

They yelled, “ATTACK!” and the crowd charged at Jolly.

A fierce battle ensued; 300 men stormed Jolly to take him down for good. But they forgot one tiny detail, Jolly was trained by his father, the head Temple Guard for Anubis. The elders stood no chance against him, as they were just farmers with pitchforks and dull blades and Jolly was raised to be a fighter.

During the battle, Jolly was struck by blades, any normal Skel’tonian would have fallen to those strikes, but Jolly stood tall and continued to fight. One by one they all fell until it was only Jolly and the healer left.

Jolly looked at the healer and apologised for all the violence.

“Thank you for your hospitality, but we should get going now”.

Jolly left a purse of gold coins in the hut for the healer and made his way out with Lilly.

“I’m immortal…this can’t be. We should leave now before the Temple Guards arrive”, Jolly worryingly said to Lilly.

They searched for a ship they could use to leave and set sail West across the Silent Sea in search of something new.

They found a crew that had just arrived at the harbour, too late to see the massacre unfold. That worked in Jolly’s favour.

As he got onto the ship, Jolly immediately went to speak to the Captain.

“Who are you?!” the Captain shouted.

“We need to leave this place immediately. There are guards on their way to destroy this place”, Jolly hastily said to the Captain.

The Captain was hesitant at first, but then remembered that they has passed an armed force not too long ago and they didn’t need any trouble.

“Set Sail! Sorry for the informalities, I’m Captain Edward Teach. Who are you?” the Captain asked.

“I’m Jolly and this is my wife Lilly. Thank you for your help, you will be rewarded handsomely”, Jolly replied.

 

A Pirate’s Life for Me

 

Over the first few days at sea things were quiet, the sea was calm and there was plenty of food to go around.

When the food started running low, the Captain instructed his crew to be on the lookout for passing ships to plunder.

This is when Jolly realised they had boarded a pirate’s ship.

Jolly went to go confront the Captain and ask why he never told them they were pirates.

The Captain looked Jolly up and down and said, “I never told you we were pirates because you looked like us. Clothes cut from blades, the stench of battle on you and you were running away, looked like one of us”.

Jolly looked confused, never in his life had anyone mistaken him for a criminal.

“Don’t worry Skel, you’ll learn to love this life,” the Captain told Jolly.

Not long after, Jolly heard a shout, “Ship Ahead!”

Everyone jumped to their feet as they prepared to attack the passing ship. Jolly told Lilly to go hide in the hull of the ship before the fighting started.

As the ship drew nearer the Captain strung up their pirate flag and started bombarding the ship with cannon balls.

The ship stood no chance as it was just a lone fishing ship.

The crew stopped firing before the ship sank and they prepared to board.

When they boarded the ship they laid waste to the crew and its guards, then collected all the food and precious items they could carry.

“Another successful plunder!”, the Captain shouted.

The captain called Jolly to his cabin to see how his first raid went.

“I can see the adrenaline running through you. Now tell me something, I saw you get struck from the back and you did not die.”, the Captain told Jolly as he locked his cabin door. “Now tell me why you were trying to escape that island?”, he questioned Jolly.

“I was being chased by the Temple Guard. I’ve told you this before” Jolly responded.

“Aye, but you never told me why”, the Captain started becoming restless.

“I have been cursed with immortality and the guards want to bring me back to Anubis so I can be imprisoned,” Jolly told the Captain.

“Immortal? Aye, that doesn’t sound too bad. We could use that to our advantage. Leave me now, I have much to think about”, the Captain said as he sat down, rum in hand.

Jolly went to go check on Lilly and make sure she was unharmed. When Jolly found Lilly she was casually sitting on one of the beds, “I’ve been waiting for you to come back”, she said excitedly. “I have a question for you, when am I going to be part of one?”, Lilly asked Jolly.

Jolly looked confused, “You want to be part of that?”

Lilly shook her head in agreement, with a look of glee on her face.

“You’re forgetting I’m the only immortal one here, it’s dangerous for you to be out there”, Jolly tried to explain to Lilly. But Lilly didn’t care, she wanted to be a part of the action.

Jolly would now need to focus his attention on making sure Lilly doesn’t get killed in the next raid.

 

A few weeks pass and after a lot of plundering the Royal Navy is now on Captain Teach’s tail.

 

“Set the sails, get us out of here!”, Captain Edward Teach shouted.

The Royal Navy was quickly catching up to them.

“Are you ready for this Lilly? You’ve been doing well so far”, Jolly asked.

“I’m ready, just have my back out there!”, Lilly replied.

“Jolly! If I don’t make it through this take the ship and the crew back to the island. Prepare for battle Skels!”, the Captain shouted before they prepared to be boarded.

The Royal Navy rammed into their ship and started to board the ship. Jolly and some other pirates were able to knock some of them into the water, while the other pirates and Lilly dealt with the rest that got onboard. Captain Teach searched for the Navy’s Captain aboard the Navy’s ship.

“Aye, this might be a bad idea going in alone. But it’s the quickest way to end this”, Captain Teach thought to himself.

He saw the Captain’s Cabin was empty and made his way in, slowly. It was a trap, as soon as he walked in the door shut behind him and the Navy’s Captain was waiting for him with some of his men.

“Aye, at least face me like a man!”, Captain Teach shouted.

“I won’t take orders from a pirate. Kill him men!”, the Navy Captain ordered his men. The Navy Captain then walked out of his cabin and called for his men to retreat, “We did what we needed to, retreat to the ship.”

After the Navy had left, Jolly went looking for Captain Teach but couldn’t find him. He started asking the crew if they saw him. One crewmate said he saw him board the Navy’s ship during the battle.

“They must’ve just wanted Teach’s head”, Jolly thought to himself.

“Set sail! We need to head back to the island”, Jolly shouted to the crew.

 

The next day on the island.

 

“Alright, we need a new captain for the crew. Who’s it going be?”, Jolly asked the crew.

“You!”, they shouted.

“Cap’n, rest his soul, would want you to be the new Cap’n”, one of the crew members said. “And you’re immortal, you could carry on his legacy forever!”

“Ayeeee” they all shouted.

Jolly was now the Captain of the ship, it was now his responsibility to lead the crew and make sure the morale stays up. Jolly didn’t need a mutiny on his hands as well.

 

A Land of Opportunity

 

After a few more years on the sea amassing a great fortune, Jolly was growing tired of the loneliness of the sea.

 

“Crew, today we look for new land filled with gold and silver, England. Make hast and hoist up the sails. It will be a week sail with the good wind”, Jolly shouted to his crew.

On their journey to England, Jolly prepared his crew for the new danger they would face on land. The Skel’tonians in England have heard about the raids at sea on their ships. Their scout ships had spotted Jolly’s ship and brought the news to the four different Kings of England. They will be prepared for Jolly and his men.

 

Days pass at sea.

 

“You best be prepared, crew! We will be facing our first battle soon. Remember the things Captain Teach and I have taught you throughout the years. He would be proud of the men and women you have become; you’re the best plunders the sea has ever known. And now we face a new challenge! These Skel’tonians do not want us on their land, and they’re right because we will take it from them. All their gold…silver…gems and land will be ours!” Jolly confidently told his crew.

It was not long before they reached land. They were ready for battle, but there was no one was around. It seemed that they docked at an abandoned port, lucky for them. Jolly told the crew to set camp and prepare some defences in case there were any unwanted guests. The port was a perfect start to their arrival, giving them a quick route to the river systems of England and some infrastructure to start.

In the coming days, they continued to build their camp and start farming. This started getting their presence known. A scout for the King of Wessex spotted Jolly’s crew lurking about the woods, hunting deer.

“Your majesty”, the scout introduced himself.

“Stand”, Athelstan, King of Wessex, exclaimed.

“I have some disturbing news, your Majesty. I’ve spotted Jolly and his Crew at the abandoned dock just North of here”, the scout explained.

“The scouts were right. Luckily we are prepared for this, men. Let us see if Jolly will accept our invitation to a meeting. If the fool does accept, we will have him right where we want him”, Athelstan told the scout and his council.

The scout left immediately and headed straight for Jolly’s camp with the invite.

When the scout arrived, he was met with men pointing their bows right at his head.

“I come with a message for your leader, Jolly”, the scout nervously shouted.

“Give it to me”, Jolly said and ripped the letter from the scout’s hand.

Jolly stepped to the scout and put his blade to his throat.

“An invite by the King to meet with him… this must be a joke. Surely you don’t think I will fall for this trap?!” Jolly asked the scout.

“No, sir. It’s not a trap. The King wants peace”, the scout said trembling with fear.

“LEAVE!” Jolly shouted.

“Surely this King thinks I am a fool. Let us show him who the fool really is.”

Jolly laid out a plan for his crew to follow while he went to meet the King. If everything went according to plan, they would have control of the castle by morning.

Jolly rode alone to the King’s castle while Lilly led the other raiders to their vantage point. When Jolly arrived at the castle gates, a small army of men waited for him.

“I have come alone. You have no need for an army”, Jolly shouted.

“Our apologies. Our scout said you seemed angry”, the head guard told Jolly.

“We were just having some fun”, Jolly jokingly said.

The castle gates opened, and Jolly passed through, smirking at the guards as he rode. Jolly stopped in front of the castle entrance and was greeted by the King’s Bishop. The Bishop took Jolly to a grand hall where the King was waiting.

“I have been waiting for you, Jolly. I am Athelstan, King of Wessex. Please, please, take a seat. We have plenty of things to discuss”, Athelstan told Jolly.

While Jolly was with Athelstan, Lilly and the crew quietly made their move. They snuck over the south wall, away from the guards outside the castle entrance. Lilly needed to cause a distraction to get the hoard of guards to disperse. Lilly sent a few men to different locations throughout the castle grounds and set fires.

While the guards separated to investigate the fires, Jolly’s crew quietly took them out one-by-one. But then something went wrong; a priest saw the crew and started running toward the alarm bell. Lilly saw the priest and threw her axe directly into the priest’s back. The crew then made their way into the hall where Jolly and the King were.

“WHAT IS THIS!! GUARDS!!” King Athelstan commanded.

What few guards the King had left were quickly dealt with by Jolly and his crew.

“Leave the King for me!” Jolly exclaimed.

“You thought you could bring me here and trap me. You surely do not know who I am or you think of me as some fool”, Jolly told Athelstan.

“Please let me live, I will leave this land…”, Athelstan pled for his life.

“Now what message would that send to the other Kings”, Jolly told the King as he pierced his blade through the King’s chest.

“Crew, the castle is ours! Surely we have made our presence known in England tonight. Spread the news to the people of Wessex, I am the King now”, Jolly told his crew.

The battle was now over, and Jolly was the King of Wessex. Jolly and his crew moved most of their settlement from the dock to their new castle. Jolly promised the people of Wessex and the castle that he would not harm them; they were his people too. He just needed their loyalty.

 

Birth of a King

 

As the days went by, Jolly’s legend was growing bigger. The other Kings of England were starting to worry, but they were too stubborn to ask each other for help. Jolly’s leadership in Essex garnered the people’s love and admiration. Many were willing to help Jolly in his conquest of England.

When Jolly went to battle with the King of Mercia, a battle ensued, with both sides losing plenty of men. The tides changed when Jolly defeated Mercia’s general on the battlefield. The loss of their general caused the Mercians to surrender. After hearing of the King of Mercia’s defeat, the King of East Anglia surrendered his crown to Jolly on the condition that there would be no bloodshed. Jolly accepted his turns and allowed the King of East Anglia a chance to flee England.

 

With three of the four kingdoms under his control, Jolly only needed to conquer Northumbria now.

 

Out of the four kingdoms, Northumbria had the fiercest army. Jolly was forced to wait and prepare his army for the battle that would inevitably happen. But Lilly had another plan; she just needed to talk it through with Jolly.

Lilly wanted to sneak in through the front gates, hidden amongst some farmers. Once inside, all she would need to do, is locate their ale barrels and poison them. Jolly liked the idea, but the risk was too high for Lilly to send her in alone. Jolly asked two of his best fighters to disguise themselves as farmers and escort her.

“Do not be scared, Lilly, and be safe. If anything happens to her, I will have your heads”, Jolly said as they left for Northumbria.

 

Two days later

 

“Jolly, Jolly! They have taken her captive, they have taken Lilly”, one of her guards, Bjorn, shouted as he ran back to the castle.

Jolly quickly made his way to the Bjorn.

“Where is she?” Jolly angrily asked Bjorn.

“She is in the dungeon of the main castle. I barely escaped myself”, the guard muttered.

“Take me to the castle now!” Jolly said as he climbed on his horse.

They rode as fast as they could to the castle in Northumbria, making the journey in just under a day. They got off their horses in a forest outside the castle gate and waited for nightfall.

“Looks like the gate is still up. Give me my sword, and be ready for Lilly!” Jolly told Bjorn.

Jolly walked through the main gates in a blind rage, killing any guard in his way. They were throwing everything they had at Jolly, but nothing would stop him.

“LILLY!!” Jolly shouted as he made his way through the guards to the throne room where the King of Northumbria was holding Lilly captive with a dagger to her throat.

“Let her go, or you will not live to see another day”, Jolly threatened the King.

“Do not be rude, Jolly, unless you want to see your precious Lilly lifeless on the floor. Drop your sword and bow to me, Joll, the true King of England. King Harald”, Harald taunted Jolly.

“What are you waiting for, Jolly? BOW DOWN!”, King Harald shouted.

Before King Harald could mutter his next words, an arrow pierced his skull.

“What was that”, Jolly said as he turned around.

“Bjorn, by the grace of the Ancient One! Jolly ecstatically shouted.

“It was my fault she got captured in the first place. I had to help”, Bjorn replied to Jolly.

Jolly grabbed Bjorn and Lilly and said, “We will feast like never before. England is finally ours!”

Jolly sent word to all his kingdoms around England; that there will be a feast for his coronation as King of England.

The next day preparations for the feast began. Jolly’s Generals from all over England started arriving, eagerly awaiting the feast. As nightfall came, the ale was flowing, and the smell of meat filled the air. The feast was in full swing.

“Quiet, quiet… As you all know, we are here for one very important reason… to see the greatest fighter in all the land become King of England!” Bjorn shouted.

The crowded hall burst with roars.

“If you may, Jolly, please step up?”, the High Priest of England asked Jolly.

“Do you solemnly swear to protect and serve the Skel’tonians of England?” the Priest asked Jolly.

“Till the day I die!” Jolly said with a smirk on his face.

“Then I hereby crown you, King Jolly of England!” the Priest said as he placed the crown on Jolly’s head.

To be continued…