Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Cries of an Ancient Heart ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

This is my very first fic ever so be as harsh as you want to be, you don't have to sugar-coat anything.

Disclaimers and Credit: I do not, in any way, shape or form own Yu-gi-oh or any of the characters mentioned hereafter, except for, Siamun, Netikerty, Pamiu, Seti and Nachash. All of the other characters (though not their names) came from Yu-gi-oh or Forbidden Memories the video game.

For more information on sources and a little more info on the fic check out my details.

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Chapter1

Memphis, Egypt 3000 years ago.

"AMUN!"

The half open passage-way was littered with the sound of small sandals slapping against the polished limestone floor, as the young prince sprinted towards his destination.

Normally, as a child of high birth, the child would have been tended to mostly by nurses and tutors, and would have lived a relatively carefree life thus far. However, it was not so with this one. From a young age it was very obvious that the child was different; special. He had sharp, scarlet eyes. His tanned skin, though pale compared to that of the normal Egyptian's, was beautiful none the less. His hair was of a dark maroon hue; so dark, in fact, that it was almost black and its true colour could only be determined when the light reflected of at its edges. Finally, golden bangs and streaks outlined his small face and complemented each of his burgundy spikes. He truly was a unique child, but not only in his looks; in his intelligence and abilities as well.

He was very observant and wasn't easy to fool. He saw through all of the magic tricks that the so called magicians were supposed to entertain him with. He was an exceptional strategist and had very good judgement for one of his age. He was a hard opponent to beat at many games. He easily understood most of the discussions that his father had with his councilmen, and he liked to sit in on their meetings from time to time; only from time to time, though, as they did tend to get rather boring. Most children his age had yet o start attending school[1], but he already excelled in all of his lessons.

If these weren't enough reasons to fear the child, he also possessed exceptionally strong dark abilities, even more so for one of his age, even if he was of royal lineage. You see everyone possesses these abilities, though it is stronger in some than in others. It tended to be especially strong in those who were members of the royal family. Some believed him to be even more powerful than his father, and this included his father himself, though he would never admit to it publicly. This was why he had is son start training at such a young age. From the moment he had met his first and only surviving child he sensed that there was something important that his son was meant to do. He didn't know what it was, but he made it his personal mission to see that the boy would be prepared for all of the challenges he knew would come his way.

To the average person, who had only heard stories of the child he would certainly have appeared to have been a very frightening being, indeed. However, his parents and the other residents of the palace, where the child grew, knew that he was actually very kind and quite compassionate and would never even hurt a fly.

"Late again little Amun?" questioned a soft female voice.

"Yes Mother," the five year old admitted as he ran past a tan-skinned woman with long, dark hair, and her group of attendants who all giggled as he passed. Netikerty[2] watched with loving light brown eyes and a smile on her face as her only child hurried frantically down the sun-light corridor.

'Oh, why does Yarah[3] always give me so much work?' the boy thought. 'He knows that I have to take my lessons from Pamiu[4] after his, and he still gives me so much to do that I'm always late and I hardly ever have time for lunch.' He let out a frustrated sigh and quickened his pace.

"AMUN!" yelled the deep male voice once again.

"I'm here," Amun panted, as he burst through the heavy double doors of his training hall, trying to catch his breath.

"You are late!" stated a small old man; his voice sounding much harsher than one would have imagined it could have by looking at his gentle old face. Although he was a very kind-looking, old man, it was obvious from his dark purple and gold headdress and matching attire that he was none other than the High Priest of Egypt himself and the main tutor to the prince of said Kingdom. Though his abilities paled in comparison to that of the Pharaoh, and even the prince, he was still very powerful and commanded great respect.

"Sorry, Pamiu."

"Yes, you are always sorry, my prince, and still never on time." He sighed. "I just don't know how you can expect to become a good ruler some day if you can't even be on time for your appointments. I must say that I am very disappointed-"

"But it isn't my fault!" Amun was rather peeved at being blamed by now and having a hard time controlling his temper. "If Yarah would just stop giving me more work than he knows could possibly be done within our assigned time, maybe I could get here on time. I tell you so every day, but you don't seem to hear me. So, maybe if you would JUST CLEAN OUT YOUR EARS AN-"

"SIAMUN-PA-SHERI[5]!" a rather deep voice yelled angrily, cutting him off.

'Uh-oh,' was the only thought that came to the young prince's mind as he turned to his left to stare into angry blood red eyes, very similar to his own. The man he was now facing was of average height with dark skin. His head was adorned with short, unruly, black hair restricted only by a heavy golden crown with a rather basic Horus eye in the center, signifying his position.

"F-Father?" Amun managed to choke out. "W-What are you doing here?"

"Don't play innocent with me Amun," warned the Pharaoh. "How dare you speak to Pamiu in such a manner?" Amun suddenly found that his feet were very interesting. "Not only is he your teacher, he is also a very good friend of mine. I may have expected such horrid behaviour from another child, but certainly not my own. I must say that you're behaviour right now has made me absolutely ashamed to call myself your father." That one hurt. Amun struggled to find words as he bit back the tears that were trying to escape from the corners of his eyes. Nothing hurt him more than to know that he had let his father down. Pamiu knew this and took pity on him.

"Siamun-"

"No," Amun interrupted his mentor, "my father is right. Prince or not, you are still my elder and therefore deserve my utmost respect. I had no right to speak to you like that. It was wrong of me and you've taught me better. Please, accept my apology," he stated, his gaze never leaving the floor. Pamiu studied his pupil tenderly, and then answered.

"It was very responsible of you to own up to your mistake. I accept, but next time, please try to control your temper and explain yourself calmly and rationally. Understood?" asked Pamiu.

"Yes, sir," Amun answered, still not daring to look up. Noticing this Pamiu sent a pleading look over to the child's father, who understood and went over to his son. Siamun placed a hand on the small child's shoulder, and when he looked up, gave him a forgiving smile.

"Come now. We should begin," he stated simply, walking to the center of the large, open hall.

"Begin?" the child questioned, following behind his father, "I don't understand and you never answered my question. What are you doing here father? Are you taking my lesson today?"

"Yes," he answered coming to a halt, "It is time to start the next stage of your training, and Pamiu and I have both agreed that it is best that I teach you as much as I can." He turned to his friend, who nodded in agreement.

"Next stage? I still don't understand what you mean." Siamun turned around so that his back was no longer to his son.

"Pamiu informs me that you have fully mastered your abilities, correct?" Amun nodded. "Show me." Obligingly, Amun outstretched his arm, palm face-up, and as if it were nothing conjured up a small sphere of dark energy, which gave off an eerie violet light. As quickly as he had done this he closed his palm and the ball of energy dissipated. "Very good," the pharaoh responded, eyes shining with pride his voice had hidden. "Now, you know of the Dark Games, you've seen me play them before?" Amun gave another nod. "Well it is time that you know how to play the most important one of all. Pamiu will teach you the rest, but this is the most difficult and dangerous of them all. It involves summoning various kinds of creatures from the Shadow Realm, though a friendly game can be played without summoning, and using them in combination with other magics and traps in order to defeat your opponent. Are you following me?"

"Yes for the most part, but what do you mean by summoning?"

"Here, let me show you," he replied and walked to one of the ends of the hall. It had ten blank stone panels on the floor lined up in two rows of five. On the wall behind the panels their appeared to be some sort of counters. The opposite side of the hall was basically a mirror image of this side. "Do you see these counters on the wall behind me?" Another positive response. "Each player is given a certain number of points at the beginning of the game and these counters keep track of the points. The first player to reach zero loses. Now as for the summoning there are two ways to do this. The first is through a ceremony, in which many people channel their magic to give the creatures life. With the second, one must use one's own magical energies to do this and in doing so your life is directly connected with that of your creature. Now, watch and see." With that Siamun closed his eyes and concentrated. Suddenly, the ground began to tremble slightly. Amun could only watch in amazement as one of the stone panels raised itself and then slowly turned around to reveal a man in an armoured suit holding a long staff. Just as the boy thought that things couldn't possibly get more exciting, the panel began to glow and the shape distort until it formed the creature that had bean depicted in stone only moments before. Amun stared with eyes and mouth both wide. His father stifled a chuckle as the curious child walked over to the creature and poked him to make sure that he was real, and he was.

"Wow! Father this is amazing!"

"Thank you," he replied moving over to his son and the creature. "Amun, this is the Black Magician," he said gesturing to the man kneeling before him. "He has been a faithful servant of mine for many years. He has served me very well and now he will do the same for you."

"M-Me?"

"Master?" came the obviously surprised voice of the Black Magician, but he was quickly silenced by his master's raised hand.

"My decision is final," stated the pharaoh. "Me son will need good allies and I know of no other creature I would trust more with that responsibility." The Black Magician looked at his former master and understood. He was actually quite honoured. He stood, gave a small smile, bowed and with a flash of light returned to the same stone panel from whence he came. "Well, Amun, do you understand everything that I have just told you?" Amun nodded excitedly, but then quickly started to frown.

"Father, I don't… I want to know… why? If the games are so dangerous, why do you play them?" the child asked, his voice obviously laced with concern. Noting this, Siamun crouched down to his son's level and pulled him into an embrace.

"I play them because I must," he whispered softly, "And, unfortunately, someday you must as well. It is the way of the world, but maybe it will not always be." He held his son for a moment longer and then stood. It was a tender moment that most people would not be allowed to see, but the pharaoh had known Pamiu since he was a child himself, and he knew that he could trust him with anything. Unfortunately, the warm atmosphere was suddenly interrupted by a loud growl.

"What was that?" wondered the old man, as his eyes searched the room for the source of the noise. Siamun was also looking around frantically trying to find the answer until he heard the sound again, and looked down.

"Sorry," the child stated, his face rose coloured, "I was so busy doing Yarah's work that I didn't have any time to eat lunch today." The pharaoh and the priest exchanged blank looks, just before bursting out into a fit of laughter. Amun gave his father and his mentor an indignant pout which only seemed to cause them to laugh even more hysterically. After the two regained their composure, they all left the room in search of an early dinner.

To be continued…

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Authoress' Notes:

I know a bit dull but this is just the beginning there's a lot more action in the next chapter. Also Seto comes in for all of you fans out there. Bakura will be in the chapter after that.

I did a bit of research when I wrote this to make it slightly tangible (Note: SLIGHTLY). I don't claim to really know anything about Egypt except a few things that I've learned here and there. Anyways…

[1]Yes, Egyptian children, whose family could afford it, went to school.

[2]"Netikerty" means "She who is excellent"

[3]I needed a name and "Yarah" is Hebrew for "teacher," apparently.

[4]"Pamiu," just means "Old Tom Cat." (It sounded cool… what!? ^_^')

[5]"Siamun" means "Son of Amun," so "Siamun-pa-sheri" means "little son of Amun," or a bit more simply "Siamun Jr." (I think). It's his full name and for those who want/need to know Amun is one of the forms of Ra/Re.

For more detailed information check out the references that I used.

Oh yeah I really need some help for the next chapter PLEASE! Check out my details for more info.