Background elements :

• Son of Iounis and Maâkhérourè. His father began his life as a farmer, but eventually found himself enlisted in the army. After many years of service, he finally distinguished himself and obtained the position of lieutenant. Taking advantage of the Cleruchy system, Maâkhérourè received a minimal piece of land as a reward for his devotion to the army. With his wife Iounis, he conceived three children - all boys: Amennekht, Qed and Bunasankh. Maâkhérourè was killed during a patrol in 269 B.C. at the age of 43.

  • Born in 232 B.C., Iounis is an Egyptian from the same social class as Maâkhérourè. Rather ugly, she nevertheless manages to please her husband thanks to her devoted character. Today, at the age of 38, Iounis cares deeply for her living children, who are the most important thing she holds dear to her.
  • Born in 251 B.C., Qed, the second, was a daring and cunning young man who ended up being beaten to death by a band of drunken Greeks in Alexandria. He must have been drunk himself. This event took place shortly after the death of Maâkhérourè, plunging Iounis into deep despair.
  • Born in 252 B.C., Bunasankh, the youngest, is of weak constitution. He would have preferred a career as a scribe or a priest to that of a farmer, but he has struggled to make the family land prosper and support his mother since the sudden departure of Maâkhérourè, Qed and Ammenekht.

• Following the death of his father, Amennekht in turn had to take up arms to preserve the family land. Receiving rapid military training, he was awarded the same military rank as the late Maâkhérourè and showed satisfactory leadership skills. Serving under Commander Eukres, a Greek of good family background, Amennekht's main duty was to protect merchant convoys.

• Most recently, Amennekht was ordered to eliminate a band of looters who had settled near the merchant city of Naucratis. They had been disrupting the trade traffic in the area for some time, so the army had to intervene in a brutal manner. Receiving command of 40 men, Amennekht should normally have had no problem sweeping away the threat. However, when he arrived on the scene, his group was quickly decimated by the looters, who were clearly more numerous and better equipped than expected. There is every indication that someone had warned them as well. Amennekht's unit was obliterated in no time. Amennekht himself was left for dead, but with the prodigious power he was known for, he still managed to survive his wounds and return to Naucratis as best he could.

• These events occurred two weeks before the first scenario. Amennekht was taken in by Nyptah, a friend of the family who is a medical doctor in Naucratis, and finished recovering from his injuries. At present, not knowing whom to trust, our good Egyptian soldier is very reluctant to go back to his superiors, partly because he fears punishment for his failure, but also because he thinks that the informer of the looters might be from the army. The direct repercussions of Amennekht's disappearance could, however, be terrible, as Ounasânkh would probably have to take up arms in turn to keep the family land, otherwise the government might try to take it back. Yunis would then find himself desperately alone, and everything suggests that Ounasânkh would not be able to bear the life of a soldier for long…