Valley Of The Dragon Queens

Ancient Kemet

4562 BC

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. At least, that's what my great-grandmother has always told me. She loved to spin these fantastical tales of a time when Giants ruled these lands, and we Nubians were at the mercy of their tyrannical will. Then, one day before recorded history, the mighty Queen Ammut appeared from the underworld. Unraveling her shiny, scaly body like a gentle swan. Captivating all with her beautiful eyes, the color of Lapis Lazuli. Emitting a sound so melodic and beautiful that it put all who heard it in a trance. While the righteous slept, Ammut went to each soul, one by one.

Reading, analyzing, and weighing each soul against her scale. Until she had devoured all dark souls, Giant and Nubian alike, to a soulless existence in the underworld. Leaving only the righteous to live as intended. Freeing Egypt and its people from a merciless rule. Greed. Grandmother made it sound so wonderful, and it was until it wasn't. That's when the dragons came. During the time, it wasn't.

These were Ammut's children. Ammut birthed these souls, using those lost at the hands of the ones she damned to a soulless eternity. She waited a millennium before using her combined divine feminine and masculine powers, birthing them from her belly. The actual number of offspring is unknown, but the quantity is many. Ammut had a task on her hands. Training them in Amun's righteous ways, teaching them love, compassion, and sacrifice. Before sending them on to a life of service to the honorable people of Egypt, protecting them from those who wish them harm. The very best of her children became Dragon Queens. They were Ammut's chosen, worked as one unit when in battle, and if your family possessed one. You were considered the most protected. While at the same time being the most targeted by those who didn't understand the Dragon Lore.

I have such a dragon. My great-grandmother gifted her to me on my 15th birthday, just as her great-grandmother did for her. Only the females in the family line can inherit the dragon but not every female in the family will. Each generation has a chosen one. Selected by the dragon herself. Only she can decide who will take care of her. For she has been deemed the most worthy, and after all, she is thousands of years old. Dragon Queens sees many generations of these chosen families be born and die. Our village elders would never question their judgment. It's too bad I don't feel the same. Our Dragon Queen must be getting old if she thinks I'm worthy.

Egypt

March 2020

"Excuse me, Prof. Selah, I think we found something over here!" One of the group archaeological students, Keisha, yelled over to the beautiful dark-skinned woman crouched over the group's "find" from yesterday, beckoning her to come to take a look. Prof. Nefertiti Selah's newest group of students has spent the past 3 months excavating tombs within Eygpt's "Valley of the Dragon Queens." They had started excavating the last remaining tomb the day before when they found a cachet of what looked to be bound leather shields with some type of iridescent coating.

"Catalog and take pictures of these beauties for me, will you, Yousef?" Prof. Mohammed says to her newest painfully shy intern. He silently nods his golden blonde head before she walks over to Keisha.

"What is it, Keisha?" Prof Selah says to the lovely girl with jet black locs spilling down her back. She smiled because Keisha was her niece. She loved hearing the excitement in any student's voice, but hearing Keisha's swelled her heart with pride. Of course, the professor had a soft spot for the young lady, who was more dear to her than any daughter could be. Still, she always stayed professional and never showed it. Bending down next to the young lady. Prof. Selah peeled back the linen cloth the students placed over the object to protect it from the sun. Revealing the most beautiful death mask the professor had ever seen.

Most masks Prof. Selah had come across in the past have always been from the Greco-Roman era in Egypt. This one seemed to not be of any time that she had ever studied before. The left side of the mask was covered in diamond-shaped dragon scales that reflected the most iridescent light. It was almost like looking into a crystal clear back-lite mirror, and the right side was equally striking. Depicting a beautiful Nubian face that seemed very familiar to her. Both had eyes the color of lapis lazuli and skin made of bronze.

Taking a closer look, Prof. Selah gasped at the shock of recognition. The face looked just like Keisha's. Glancing around at the group of youngsters to see if anyone else noticed, to the professor, it seemed they had not. Most were commenting on the beauty of the scales or the variegated color of the eyes. None seemed to notice the beauty of the face connected to the mask. Not even Keisha. Prof. Selah just shrugged it off as a coincidence and joined in on the commentary.

"We spent last week studying and understanding dragon lore and the importance of their scales but do you see the beauty of those eyes," She says. "I wonder what stone that is?" Promoting one of the students to answer.

"I believe that is Lapis Lazuli, professor." an often overexuberant but lovely young Ethiopian girl answered.

"I believe you are correct, Aida." Prof. Selah answered softly, lowering her hands while speaking, letting the girl know to calm her tone. "Can anyone tell me the significance of this stone within ancient Egyptians culture and dragon lore?"

"It was believed to lead the soul into immortality and open the heart to love. Folklore tells us that it holds the souls of the gods, like Ammut and that her eyes and the eyes of her children are Lapis Lazuli." Answered the most mysterious of all of the professor's students. A local man, at least her age, 45, but still pursuing his academic studies. This man often put her on edge. She definitely wasn't attracted to him, but she was on guard around him. She didn't know why and she didn't want to know why.

Answering him as professionally and cooly as possible, Prof.Selah simply said, "You are correct." Without looking in his direction. "Now the true question is. When was Lapis Lazuli first used in Egyptian culture, and when did the dragon first appear in Egyptian culture? That may help us determine this masks age." She finished scanning the group of students, silently urging someone else to answer. Her luck must have run out yesterday when she hoped for the same thing because the man continued as if he never stopped talking.

"It is believed that Lapis Lazuli made its way from Afghanistan to Egypt through the trade route. Around 4000 BC, and the Dragons about a millennium before that. So this mask could be as old as 6000 years old." The confident middle-aged man says matter of factly.

"Correct, you are again, Moustafa." Prof. Selah says with a curt nod in the man's direction, but he continues before she can ask her next question.

"The ancient Egyptians put almost a godlike importance on this stone. First, the deep blue color was used to represent royalty. Yet, later, artisans began using it in artwork, amulets, and jewelry. They even believed that it possessed health benefits and was widely used in cosmetics. Such as eyeshadow." Mustafa proudly declared with all the clarity and importance of cliff notes.

"Yes, thank you very much, Mustafa, for that bit of information." Prof. Selah says as she stands up, dusting off her hands. "Now, students, since we're in the Valley of the Dragon Queens, we have a mighty task to find out who this young lady was. Who was her Dragon Queen, and do the shields we found yesterday belong to her or an army? Your homework for tonight will be..." She paused when she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. Turning, she sees Yousef holding the Satellite phone at arm's length. He must have used the antenna to the phone to tap her because he was at least 2 arms lengths away. "Yes, who is it, Yousef?" She asks, waiting a long moment for his answer and slowly feeling her patience waning at his reluctance to speak in front of the students. Finally giving up, she leans in close enough to hear him say. "The Egyptian Department of Antiquities."

Gently taking the phone, she hoped it was news about the replacement workers she asked for weeks ago. "This is Prof. Selah. How may I help you?" She asked politely.

"Good afternoon, professor. I am sorry to inform you that as of today. 5pm, to be exact. Your whole operation must be shut down, and all camp inhabitants are sent to their respective home countries within the next 24 hours." The heavily accented man said on the other end of the line.

"Excuse me?" Prof. Selah exclaims with feigned misunderstanding, "Can you repeat that and explain further?" she asks, scanning the crowd of students and workers, looking at her in befuddlement. Prof. Selah hoped harder than she ever did when she wished for Moustafa not to speak that she heard the gentleman wrong and wouldn't have to repeat this news to the crowd.

"I"m sorry, but you heard me correctly the first time." The man says in an exasperated tone. "The world has been plunged into an epidemic. You must close down your camp by five. If you are not, you and your team will be put in jail for the entirety of this quarantine. You have 2 hours." He says before abruptly ending the call.

Standing next to her aunt, Keisha playfully asks, "What's up, Doc?"

"We have to leave." Prof. Selah faintly says, utterly stunned.

"Why?" Keisha asks

"Because the world as we know it has ended."