They almost blended in with the bright desert sands that glowed in the hot Nehekharan sun. The bone that that made up their bodies was as white as the ground beneath them, the bronze weapons in hands long stripped of flesh and skin reflecting the radiance like tiny mirrors in their polished brightness. In silence they stood under the sun, to some the quiet of their unearthly approach more terrifying than the bloodcurdling roar of a battle-cry, for many had fled before the might of Khemri’s host over the eons to be ground into the dust by its innumerable boots even as they ran. It was an ancient army, and vast, stretching from horizon to horizon, serried ranks of soldiers risen early from their tombs standing at attention, ready to be commanded by the silent will of their lord and general. Tattered banners fluttered in the hot, dry breeze, held aloft by ancient, withered poles, each detailing the triumphs and victories of warriors long dead achieved long ago.
Through the rows of soldiers their commander rode, resplendent on his golden chariot pulled by a team of horses wearing the livery of Khemri upon their fleshless forms. He looked back upon the numberless host as he drove to its head, taking his place before the massive force among the other chariots of the princes and kings that rode with him into battle.
“Those blasphemers who stand before this army will fall and be laid low by its might and its glory, for when the hosts of Khemri march, the world trembles at its footsteps!†Settra bellowed to the wind, his voice echoing over the horde of skeletal warriors, reverberating off of the massive walls of Khemri and echoing many times, as if a host of lesser voices followed it.
“To Numas, where we will crush this infant insurrection in its cradle!â€
Through the rows of soldiers their commander rode, resplendent on his golden chariot pulled by a team of horses wearing the livery of Khemri upon their fleshless forms. He looked back upon the numberless host as he drove to its head, taking his place before the massive force among the other chariots of the princes and kings that rode with him into battle.
“Those blasphemers who stand before this army will fall and be laid low by its might and its glory, for when the hosts of Khemri march, the world trembles at its footsteps!†Settra bellowed to the wind, his voice echoing over the horde of skeletal warriors, reverberating off of the massive walls of Khemri and echoing many times, as if a host of lesser voices followed it.
“To Numas, where we will crush this infant insurrection in its cradle!â€