Chapter Text
Like any great story, this one begins during ancient times. To be more precise, in Thebes: City of the Living. It was the crown jewel of Pharaoh Seti I, who led his kingdom into prosperity and wealth. Yet, there was one man, who although possessed the pharaoh’s approval, was not content. This man was called Imhotep and he was the pharaoh's high priest. As High Priest, it was his duty to be the Keeper of the Dead and the pharaoh’s right hand. But Imhotep had done what no High Priest could do.
He fell in love.
The woman was Anck-Su-Namun and she was the Pharaoh's mistress. As such, no other man was allowed to touch her. But for their love, they were willing to risk life itself. And, in the midst of their love, they were discovered by the Pharaoh, who immediately realized that it was his right hand, Imhotep, who had touched Anck-Su-Namun.
This would mean death for both Imhotep and Anck-Su-Namun.
Hence, in desperation, both killed Pharaoh Seti, hoping that they would have enough time to escape the city with the help of Imhotep’s priests.
What they didn’t count on were the Medjay, the pharaoh’s loyal warriors, who quickly arrived to the scene of the crime, not allowing Imhotep and Anck-Su-Namun to escape together. Instead, what they planned was for Imhotep to escape and for Anck-Su-Namun to sacrifice herself, that way giving Imhotep and his priests enough time to flee.
But Imhotep refused to accept this.
He refused to let the gods decide his fate.
And to challenge this, Imhotep used the Book of the Dead, an ancient text that had the power to brings souls from the Underworld back to the land of the living. The practice was of course, forbidden to do, as it was a direct defiance of Anubis’ laws. But, to Imhotep, none of this mattered.
To resurrect Anck-Su-Namun, Imhotep and his priests broke into her crypt and stole her body, quickly racing deep into the desert. Taking Anck-Su-Namun's corpse to Hamunaptra; City of the Dead. Ancient burial sight for the sons of Pharaohs. And resting place for the wealth of Egypt.
In Hamunaptra, Imhotep started performing the ritual to resurrect Anck-Su-Namun, chanting and singing the words necessary to bring his beloved back. But, before he was able to finish, the Medjay discovered the group, having followed them all the way from the city into the desert.
And, once the ritual was interrupted, it was Imhotep the one who was captured and sentenced. While his priests were mummified and then buried alive, Imhotep was sentenced to endure the Curse of the Hom Dai, one so obscure and dangerous that it had never been performed until that day. The ritual involved cutting out his tongue, mummifying him alive, and sealing him in a sarcophagus filled with carnivorous scarab beetles so that he would never be able to rest or reincarnate. Because the curse transforms Imhotep into an undead fiend kept in a state of living death, it was feared that if revived, he would gain control over sand and other elements, bringing death and despair to the whole world.
To prevent that, the Medjay, the pharaoh’s warriors, have been keeping watch of Imhotep’s tomb, making sure that no one discovered and released his anger back into the world.