While Odin was elected democratically to what became the Scandinavian League, and most of the Greek gods trapped on Earth have kept quiet, the Egyptian god Anubis was not content to live as equals with the denizens of Earth.
While a relatively benign god of death in the Egyptian pantheon, the Anubis of post-Cataclysm Earth has been anything but peaceful.
Immediately after the Vortex opened, Anubis found himself in the nation of Egypt. Without a care for learning Earth’s customs, he summoned forth a horde of demonic Anubites to serve in his army. These demons were lesser copies of himself. Jackal headed warriors that ruthlessly carved into humans, devouring their flesh.
This army tore across Egypt, ravaging the countryside and securing old ruins and sites of ancient religions across the Nile, that scholars soon came to realise was a weyline itself. A river of intense magical energy that sustained Anubis and his horde.
Anubis’ conquest was halted, however, by the modern Egyptian military. While Anubites were strong, they were not well-armed and could do nothing against modern soldiers. After his failed siege of Cairo, where this horde was routed, Anubis turned into a bandit leader, using his enigmatic horde of lesser clones to prey on civilians in the rural parts of Egypt.
Even if unable to compete with modern military hardware, the Cataclysm had decimated the Egyptian government and army. They were only able to defend the major cities, leaving the rest of the country to the mercies of monsters.
The Anubite marauding continued until 1996, when a coalition of Ethiopia, Israel and Arabia aided Egypt against Anubis, crushing his forces.
The god disappeared into obscurity, where he pondered his failure. Weak and dismayed, he searched for meaning in this new world. His journeys took him to the place of one of his original temples, long forgotten by mortals. But not by a new type of human.
He met a cabal of necromancers, neo-pagans and dark magic hobbyists, who wished to help his ascension. They spoke a language he could understand, and for the first time since his arrival, he decided to use diplomacy rather than force. He agreed to listen to the cult and became their leader.
Anubis formalised his cult into the Anubite Syndicate. With the help of his human followers, he began a campaign of subterfuge, infiltrating the government and army. When his support in the shadows reached critical mass, he organised a coup among unknowing military and political leaders.
This coup weakened the Egyptian army and government, allowing Anubis to come out of hiding. Desperate for leadership, many civilians flocked to Anubis’ banner, where his fanatical troops and demonic Anubites were able to seize major cities. Empowered by his divine will, Anubite mages became stronger than their secular counterparts.
By 2004, the whole of Egypt was conquered by the Anubite Syndicate. Coalitions of neighbouring nations attempted to fight the threat but were unable to fully occupy Egyptian cities for long, as Anubis followers maintained an intense guerrilla war to oust infidels.
By 2010, none of the coalition nations continued making an effort. Anubis became de facto leader of Egypt.
At the time, the world shuddered at the prospect of Anubis conquering the world. Some of the Chinese states looked to Wu Kong to be their divine answer in case the Death God reached their borders. But it seemed that Anubis’ power had its limits.
His power was contained by the Nile itself. Outside of its radius, his demonic forces and the magic he leant his followers withered and died. He was confined to Egypt, where he now rules as overlord.
Life for a living human under the Anubite Syndicate is hard, even for his fanatical followers.
Only a select elite are granted any sort of privileges but are still underneath Anubites on the national hierarchy.
True believers see this as only right, as the demons of Anubis are deemed gods in their religion. For the common peasant, a life of servitude is better than being consumed by monstrous, crocodile headed beasts from the Nile, or collapsing into chaos again.
One monstrous species that has found a new home in Anubite Egypt, however, are wights – sentient undead, created by a soul clinging to a reanimated corpse. While unwelcome in most modern nations, wights are seen as a natural elite in the Anubite Syndicate and given positions of power, as Anubis seeks to construct an underworld of the dead on Earth.
This has lent credence to the international claim that modern magical Egypt is a necrocracy. An accusation from the Egyptian government in exile that Anubis ignores completely.
Anubis continues to rule the Anubite Syndicate with an iron clawed fist and has never stopped his lusting for more territory. One day, he may build an army that can trek far past his own borders. And when that day comes, will the world be ready to face him?
