Waxy ebon hands heft a chunk of carved stone, on which sit gold-embossed glyphs. The shafts of harsh desert sunlight in the distant mouth of the tomb barely illuminate his finger, as he traces up and down the columns of hieroglyphs.
On this, the first day of the twentieth year since his glorious victory in the War of Crowns, under the majesty of the King of Upper and Lower Nehekhara, I, King Tseti II, Son of Ptra, who is given life, like Ptra, forever, make the following Decree to those whole hold my Royal Seal;
Behold, there is brought to you this Decree, to bid you go: in haste, take a dozen men, to the tomb of Amunassar, the cursed, the wretch, who defies Ptra. Make sure of them that they are good men and true, not cut-throats and tomb-robbers; make sure of them that there is among them craft to enter tombs, and to despoil, and to sack and to pillage; make sure of them that all are sons of the Vitae and no blood of Qush or of Khubia is in them. Tell them in secrecy:
"An evil thing is about to happen. For twenty years ago Amunassar, who the King once called brother, held his khopesh aloft and defied Ptra. Now, he is laid to rest, and Ptra judges all Nehekhara for his evils, and a curse goes out on to the land and to the people. To save the people from this curse, King Tseti, true son of Minhotep and King of Upper and Lower Nehekara, commands you.
Go into the tomb of Amunassar, and lay waste to all that is inside. Cause his objects to be despoiled; cause his amulets and trinkets to be defiled and the gems cut out. Let no words of praise for the Gods be left written upon the walls. Destroy his tablets, his writings, his precious things; take not these things with you, for they are damned, and Ptra’s curse will sit heavy on he who disobeys my royal decree, for his blood shall be as dust, and his children devoured by vultures. Go into the sarcophagus of Amunassar, and strike the head from his remains; shatter the skull beneath a rock. Go into the canopic jars of Amunassar, and cleave his heart in two. Similarly destroy also the bodies of his servants, slaves, wives, and concubines."
If any one of these men among the dozen protests that this Decree is blasphemy, behead him and find another.
Take those dozen men, when they have done their work, and cut off their heads. Take also their hearts, and these cast to the crocodiles, so that their spirits cannot speak of this in the dreams of the people.
When this is all done, gather the collectors of taxes, and the authors of monuments; gather the masons and bronzeworkers, and the scribes and reed-gatherers, and proclaim to them thus.
"Amunassar’s old treachery has angered the gods and will bring a curse on the land unless his memory is erased forever. Your king commands that by year’s end, the name Amunassar must never be heard or seen in Nehekhara again. Cause his name to be struck from every place it is found; beat those who speak it in error, and behead those who speak it in faith. Cause him to be cast out of the memory of the world, from son to son, and heir to heir, destroy his name in the mind and heart of every true son of Nehekhara, so that his soul is destroyed within the afterlife. Upon the earth, take up the chisel and carve his name from every stone, take up the reed and scratch his name from every papyrus. His name shall not be remembered in any temple, according as it is done toward one like him, who is hostile toward his rightful king. His entries shall be cast out from the histories and genealogies of the temples, from his treasury, and on every book likewise.
If anyone speaks of a treaty, or says that the War of Crowns ended in an accord, or disputes the mighty victory of Tseti II, or speaks of a battle at Charnel Valley; behead him and feed his body to the crocodiles of the river. If forgeries of a treaty are found in stone or on papyrus, destroy these utterly. Cast any defaced stones into the shafts of copper mines; burn any papyrus and turn not the ash into ink. Melt down any bronze plate or inscription that speaks of an accord between Tseti II and Amunassar, and cast not the bronze into another form.
As for any nomarch or any official who shall refer to the time, or works, or offices, or deeds of Amunassar, his goods and his fields shall be forfeit to the king.
As for any child of my loins, even they must abide my law. Whoever of my blood shall speak his name in future, or shall refer to the time, or works, or offices, or deeds of Amunassar, he shall be stricken from my bloodline; he shall not receive the White Crown, he shall not wear the Red Crown, he shall not sit upon the Ptra-throne of the living, the pantheon shall not be gracious to him as their beloved."
When the year is done, and his name is never to be heard or seen in Nehekhara again, return to the tomb of Amunassar, the cursed, the wretch, who defies Ptra. Cast this Decree into the mouth of the tomb. Let these be the only words left untouched within; let none read these words from that day forth.
Let he who seeks to make any copy of this Decree be beheaded, and feed his body to the crocodiles of the river.
