"Queen of the Dawn: A love tale of Old Egypt"
Memphis, Tanis, and the Nile delta, and all the north of ancient Egypt is held by the Semitic or Bedouin dynasty known as the Shepherds, or Aati ('plague-bearers'). The south, centred on Thebes, is held by the old dynasty, represented by Pharaoh Kheperra and Queen Rima (daughter of Ditanah, King of Babylon). They have one child, Princess Nefra, princess of Upper Egypt, and heiress to the whole of the kingdom. Unfortunately the Shepherds are stronger, and their Pharaaoh, Apepi, became de facto Pharaoh of Upper and Lower Egypt when he kills Kheperra in battle.
At Nefra's birth, Kemmah, a priestess of Hathor who had been nurse to Kheperra and was to become nurse to Nefra, saw the goddesses Isis and Hathor speak to Rima, though she (Rima) was a believer in the gods - or demons - of Babylon. Thry foretold that Nefra would unite Egypt.
Apepi, fearing more resistence in the name of the infant Nefra, called upon her to come north to Tanis. But Rima, fearing to do so, refused. Kemmah advised fleeing north anyway, and seeking sanctuary among her great uncle Roy's people, the secretive brotherhood known as the Order of the Dawn. Though a king's son, Roy is prophet of this order, which took as its abode the tombs about the pyramids near Memphis. This area, known as the Holy Ground, was forbidden to the Shepherds by ancient treaty. Tau, a messenger from Roy, guided the party north, just avoiding capture by disloyal Theban noblemen, through the strength of the Nubian bodyguard Ru, who accompanied them and became the constant attendant upon Nefra.
In the relative safety of the temples by the great sphinx, Queen Rima dreampt that her late husband, the good god (as dead pharaoh's were styled) called her to come to him. Roy confirmed this, and sure enough she was dead of a fever in four days. But first she made the Order take an oath that they would take her embalmed body to Babylon and demand vengeance from Ditanah, her father.
Meanwhile Nefra was instructed by Tau and occasionally by Roy, and grew to be both learned and advanturous. She learnt the Babylonian language from Tau, as well as astronomy and religion. As a growing girl she also learnt to climb the pyramids, from the Sheik of the Pyramids and his sons, the only people permitted to scale them because of the aweful danger.
As a young woman, one day climbing the pyramid as was her habit at dawn and sunset, she was set upon by four men. Ru came up and killed three of them, but the fourth escaped, though mortally wounded. From their clothes and weapons it was clear that they came from the court of Pharaoh. Indeed, the fourth reported to Apepi of the beauty of Nefra, who he know knew for certain still lived. He resolved to marry her himself, and so unite the kingdom. The vizier Anath, and the Pharaoh, determined that the Prince Khian, heir to the throne, should go south to convey the good news to Nefra. But he would go, not as the Prince of Egypt, but as the humble scribe Rasa, for only a single messenger might enter the Holy Ground.
'Rasa' was met by Nefra disguised as a young man - though Rasa saw through the disguise immediately. Rasa was welcomed by the community. More, he was invited to watch Nefra being enthroned as Queen of Egypt (though Roy knew full well the real rank of the messenger). Rasa managed to fall down the pyramid, which he attempted to climb to emulate Nefra, and was injured. When recovering he was thrown even more into the company of Nefra - all part of Roy's plan, for he wished to see Egypt united in the persons of Nefra and Khian. All went according to his plan, and the couple fell in love. More, Khian fell under the influence of the Order's benign religion, as Roy foresaw. Both were sworn as members of the Order of the Dawn by Tau, the second prophet, and Roy, the first prophet.
All this was very ackward for Khian, who had been charged with negotiating a marriage between Nefra and his father, or warn that Apepi would take her by force. A messenger came from Apepi asking for an answer, and inquiring why Rasa hadn't sent a reply. It is none other than Apepi himself, in disguise. He is livid that his son has apparently defied him, and sought Nefra for himself.
Khian returned to Tanis with the rejection of the offer. He is cast into prison by his furious father. Temmu, a priest of the Order of the Dawn, is sent to join him in prison. They are released by the warder - apparently on the orders of an exalted person (the vizier Anath, who has an eye for the future when the bad-tempered Apepi is 'justified in Osiris'). Khian, accompanied by Temmu, returns to the Holy Ground, and finds that - as predicted by Roy - the Order has left, heading for Babylon. But Roy himself is head of old age, seated on his patriarchal throne in the hall of their main temple. Pharaoh's guard, pursuing the fugitives, almost catch them, but they take refuge in a secret chamber half way up one of the pyramids.
Tau, now first prophet of the Order of the Dawn, leads them to Babylon. There he is revealed to be none other than the favourite son and heir of King Dinatah, the High Prince Abeshu, who had quarrelled with his father and relinquished his claim to the empire and gone abroad.
Back in Egypt Khian is lead from the pyramids by four Arab brothers, members of the Order, who were detailed this task by Tau and Nefra. Fire, Earth, Air, and Water, as they call themselves, died one after another in holding back the pursuing soldiers, allowing Khian to escape into Babylonia. Khian would stay and fight with the last surviving brother, but as Fire asked, would he have them shamed? It was their duty to save Khian - who they called Rasa but knew his real naame and rank. Khian and Temmu alone survived - the former wounded in the knee. They sought refuge in a Babylon border fort, where they were surrounded by Egyptians.
Meanwhile Tau, or rather Abeshu, took command of the Babylonian army, a host 200,000 strong, and fell upon Egypt in accordance with Rima's wishes (Ditanah wouldn't risk defying her, and anyway war was coming). Ru taught Nefra to fight. They learn that Khian is safe but invested, so Tau sends 5,000 men to rescue him. However, they fall in with the 25,000 strong Egyptian army, which is trying to attack the rear of the Babylonian army - the only hope of success. Khian, having given his word to do so, gives himself up to the Egyptian general, on condition that the survivors of the 5,000 are released. Apepi withdrew to Tanis with the remains of his force.
Apepi executes the general for having mistaken a mere 5,000 men for the main enemy host, and threatened to torture Khian - his own son - to persuade Nefra and the Babylonians to leave Egypt. Having quarelled with Anath, the Vizier then stabbed Apepi, who fell into the moat where Ru broke him in two. Anath proclaimed Khian Pharaoh.
Tau married Nefra and Khian by the pyramids.
This is a typical Haggard story. The setting is familiar - one might say over-familiar since he was so keen on ancient Egypt. But it was a period and a country he great sympathised with and this helps to bring the story to life. Unusally the supernatural elements are slight. There is the appearance of the goddesses at the beginning of the story, but although their predictions were proven correct they may have been figments of the imagination of Kemmah (and of Rima). Roy, and to a lesser extent Tau, have remarkable powers of prophecy, but this might partly be explained by an excellent espionage system. Haggard however never shies away from magic, supernatural manifestations and so on, so we shouldn't question the reality of these.
The characters are less well developed than in many of his stories. Khian is perhaps the most interesting, but he is carried along by the tide of events, never really influencing them. Roy is quite different, but then we are never allowed to see him closely, and he always remains something of an enigma. Nefra is a slight personality. Strong-willed - like most Haggard heroines - yet without depth of character, she is content to fall in love with the first strange gentleman who comes her way. At least Apepi is a flawed character, variously weak, indecisive, and cruel, yet the father of the much gentler Khian.
This is not the strongest of Haggard's ancient stories, but it does have its moments, such as the depiction of the ascent of the pyramids