>>5860233The Pharaoh attends a great tournament on the outskirts of Wepta, where the Kefi lords compete against one another, each with an entourage of mighty warriors. Duels see swords clash so hard that they shatter, Throwing sees javelins embed themselves in solid stone, and then comes the Melees, spectacular massed combat that despite the blunt weapons, see several deaths. Why do they compete so vigorously? Because the victors get to accompany the Pharaoh, late and current, on the sacred expedition to the ancestral northern deserts.
>Action 1: Development of Shadow Contracts. A ritual where a contract is signed with bound Daemons set upon the signing party, who will torment them should the contract be broken.While the Cult of Zenmetjenu mainly caters to the Kefis, there are a surprising number of Penews who worship the Great Leveller. The Penews are physically inferior, but as long as they do their duties, they are treated well. High status Penews even get to help in the libraries, their small hands handle the quill better than the large Kefi paws do. This grants the Penews insights into Kefi Dream Magic, the arcana of Zenmetjenu. Dream Magic isn't an immediate counter to the might of the Kefi, but after the priests show the Penews the power of cursed objects, the Penews think of using Dream Magic to enforce contracts, rather than threat of force. The Kefi priests find out, confronting the Penews about their use of Dream Magic, but instead of punishing the Penews, they reward them for their ingenuity, and use them in making a deal with a Miew noble, signing a cursed contract, and upon him are set a dozen mighty Daemons, shackled until the moment he breaks the contract. But, the breaking is not in context to the exact wording of the contract, but the feelings of the Miew. If the Miew thinks he is breaking the contract, even if he has avoided by technicality, then the Daemons are let loose. As the Kefis expect Miews to be shrewd in technicalities.
>Action 2: The Northern Expedition. The army of Ta-Kefi marches northward, exploring and securing the ancestral lands.With great warriors at his command, the Pharaoh hosts tournaments to pick the best of the best for his army, and with them, march northwards. In the times before Ta-Kefi, the Kefis lived in the desert, this place forged them into mighty beings, though they left it behind after conquering Ta-Miew. But perhaps the Kefis have grown soft, maybe that is why the late Pharaoh asked to be buried in the ancestral lands, to learn what the Kefis left behind. The expedition will bring along the embalmed remains of the late Pharaoh, along with a wealth of treasures and tools, to aid the late Pharaoh in the afterlife.
