We Ride Into the Sea

Lovecraftian Bible Story

(Apologies for any mistakes, this is just one solid take done on voice memos)

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VIII: Peret IV, Pharmuthi 25

News has stolen across the kingdom of two unknown wanderers in our midst. The hushed whispers in the dark alleys and hidden corners breathe word of an uprising in the slave ranks. I know not what to make of the strange talk coming from Pharaoh's guard… staffs and snakes, threats and rebellion… it is all unsettling and does not bode well… And what a mystery it is that on the day of their appearance, a large black pillar of cloud had come to rest on the horizon...

VIII: Peret IV, Pharmuthi 26

Certain I would be, that my eyes betrayed me this morning, were it not for others that confessed to having saw the same horrors. The unknown men reappeared early at the Nile, when Pharaoh was out on the water. I was gathering water from the banks, unable to hear their speech. Here I beheld with my own eyes, the quiet one held a staff as the rumor had foretold - a shepherd perhaps? - while the other entreated Pharaoh. Then came what I thought a trick of the eye. The quiet one lifted his staff and struck the surface of the Nile, causing a slow moving ripple to permeate the water. But no… it wasn’t a ripple, for it was a different color. Before I understood what had happened, shrieks and yells pierced my ears, emanating from the others gathering water. Unbelievable claims burst from their lips, “the water is blood!” “Hapi is punishing us!” I turned my gaze down toward my own water and saw it to be true. Blood filled my basin where water once was. Disgusted, I recoiled, knocking it over into the sand. As I rose in shock, so did the multitudes of fish rise from the depths of the Nile. All had died. 

The smell of death has swept through the land. Though the fish have been carried away down stream, the blood flows freely without end. Who are these men, that they held such power to rival the likes of Pharaoh? 

IX Shemu I, Pachons 3

Water to blood was but the first it would seem, as a new horror has befallen us. I fear we have angered the gods… now Heket has struck us with plague. Amphibious creatures have surged from the depths of Hapi’s Nile. They are frogs, but of unnatural size and boldness. They fear no Egyptian, and have stormed the city with such a vehement force that, if they were people, we would be overthrown. They are so prevalent that it has become impossible to walk, yet I wonder if they portend things still worse to come… Are those mysterious men behind this, the ones from the edge of the Nile? It can’t be so, no one possesses such power. Perhaps one day we will tell our grandchildren of this event with laughter and cheers. The madness of the gods must have an end...

IX Shemu I, Pachons 4

Innumerable frogs, fat and covered in mucous have flopped onto land, only to be squished and tred under foot. The stench of the blood, the fish, and the frogs, has melded into a reprehensible brew of death and decay, dripping with rot. There are hundreds of thousands of frogs everywhere, inescapable, though they have finally ceased crawling up the banks of the Nile. I think Heket’s anger against us has quelled. There is a rumor afoot in regards to the two mysterious men. The quiet whispers of the street suggest one of them was once an Egyptian, forced to flee the city walls after taking the life of a slave driver. What good can come from such a murderous brute roaming the city… Other rumors suggest they are former slaves - Israelites as they call themselves - but would the gods listen to slaves? I think not. Yet… the pillar of cloud remains on the horizon, as the strangers remain in our city. Have we truly angered the gods, or is something else to blame?...

IX Shemu I, Pachons 6

It has been but two days since the amphibians began dying in mass quantities, and the stench cannot be tolerated any longer. What sort of devilish magic cursed these beasts into the afterlife, I know not, but I am glad to be rid of their writhing movements. Mass vomiting and regurgitation occurs whenever a person dares to step outside, as the stench is well-nigh a physical liquid in the air. There are mountains of dead on every street, and in every alley. The smell of wet death permeates everything, it cannot be escaped. We tried burning the carcasses, but the smoke and stench became utterly unbearable. I have a festering feeling that death will cling to Egypt a long while after the dead creatures are gone.

IX Shemu I, Pachons 10

Just when a glimmer of hope has stolen into our hearts, a new evil has befallen us. I cannot describe exactly what they are, as they are so small and resemble several different insects. What can be said is that they have swarmed the entire city of Egypt and nothing is free of their terror. Possibly drawn in by the prospect of dead flesh, they fly like a mosquito, yet in one solid undulating mass in the air, like the very dust of Geb. But they crawl over the body like lice - I shudder even as I write this - and they bite as if they were fleas. I have even experienced a few landing on my skin, only to burrow down into my skin and worm agonizing tunnels through my flesh!

 The strange habits of the unknown men are becoming much more suspicious, as they appear to visit our Pharaoh often. Whispered accounts have reached my ears that the insects were brought by them. If such a thing were possible, would that mean the gods have abandoned us for these men? Do the gods no longer listen to our prayers? Or worse… do they follow a more powerful god? No, it isn’t possible… Yet, I cannot push the thought from my mind. I shudder to think… Who are these strangers that even Pharaoh grants them audience? 

IX Shemu I, Pachons 11

The mass of insects have multiplied to a near infinite flying horde. Thousands upon thousands of flies have joined the black storm cloud of insects. If we can manage a breath through the liquid stench, it is all we can do to breathe without inhaling the horrid things. One can hardly open their eyes without a dozen tiny insects deliberately lodging themselves inside. There is no escape from the dark mass of buzzing insects - indoors or outdoors, they are everywhere. They cover the ground, the walls, the very air is thick with them. The sound of their wings is so prevalent it reverberates through my bones, as though a thousand locusts flew inside my chest. I swear to you, Uatchit, if you are listening to me, that if your insects are removed, I will bring you my largest cattle for sacrifice. I fear that… no, I mustn't speak it. This will end soon.

IX Shemu I, Pachons 12

While the tiny gnat-like creatures remain, the numbers have thinned. The flies are gone at least, and the ground is no longer a black ocean of insects. I thank you, Uatchit, as I prepare the fattened cattle for sacrifice. Respite at last, even if not entire, is something to be grateful for. I don’t know how much longer I could have survived in the dense mass of buzzing air. The reek of death is still mortifyingly strong, but the flies are gone. The gods have not abandoned  us.

IX Shemu I, Pachons 15

The mood of Egypt has shifted, something isn’t right… These are no normal plagues. Perhaps my worst fears were right, could this be a war of the gods that we are caught in the middle of? It was realized by some that the plagues thus far have not touched the slaves - could that be true? What does this mean… does it mean our gods are losing the war? Surely Pharaoh will petition for us and stop this madness, this nightmare of plague. If it be truth that there is an invisible war between powers unknown, then what ancient god do these slaves call master that it can command ours? Truly it must be an Old God, a long forgotten deity of the world… but I cannot submit to it, I know Egypt’s gods will prevail over it.

I beseech you gods, hear our cries and save us! All of our livestock, gone… Pestilence of the foulest kind. And what’s more, it’s true: the heathen slaves in Goshen have not been touched! I cannot even sacrifice to you, Uatchit, now that I have lost all my cattle to the pestilence and plague. Save us and we will serve you! I can no longer make the journey for water by cart, as I have no beast to pull it. All labor has ceased, almost all transportation is impossible, except for the Pharaoh’s horses. I thought it impossible that the utter stench of Egypt could get any worse, but it has. It has become so unbearable, with dead creatures littering the streets and fields and blood flowing through the banks of the Nile, that a face covering is required. A light fabric face covering, filled with any sort of sweet smelling object money can buy. Egypt is a living nightmare that no man should have to survive. The entire land has come under such a terrible burden that none move about any more. All are forcibly confined to their homes, made to live off of whatever they had before the terror began. Some have fallen so low, so far into the depths of despair, that they have dared to eat the rotting putrid carcasses of the cattle and even the frogs. They, like the cattle, have all met deaths most excruciating.

IX Shemu I, Pachons 18

It has been but three days since my last entry, yet so much terror has fallen onto us. Where is relief, what is peace? I know not these things any longer. I have forgotten them, or perhaps I never knew them. Either the gods have deemed us damned, or they are not strong enough to save us. This new horror is a plague of the very skin on our backs. It is as if a red hot iron has struck me a thousand times over, leaving hot blistering boils all over my frail body. I cannot manage a single movement without searing pain seizing my body. I feel as though my very insides were boiling, only to bubble up to the surface of my flesh and burst. A single brush against any object tears the meat off the bone, so I dare not move more than necessary. I move so carefully as I write these very words, that it has taken me half of a day. I have never been in such pain all my life, I wish to die rather than endure anymore, but I cannot bring myself to move… I am forced to sit as motionless as possible, and await the deliverance of Imhotep from whatever Ancient One assails Egypt. How long will the gods wait to deliver us… How many of the gods will fail us first? My mind wanders to the strangers in our midst and their Old God… perhaps this means the Old One has cast all these plagues in our heads. If so, then why do you not save us from this terrible Ancient Diety, oh gods? Save us! Hear our cries! Even the very house of Pharaoh has been wrecked with catastrophe - you must intervene on our behalf! The magicians and the priests suffer from the skin boils, and cannot operate the temple. We are spiritually lost, but we have not forgotten you, oh gods. Step into the light and show Egypt your true power!  Save us!

IX Shemu I, Pachons 21

Rivers of blood. Mountains of bodies. Stench thicker than oil. Pain unbearable and ceaseless nightmares. Add to this witches-brew, fire falling from the sky, the likes of which have never been seen before. Solid rocks doused in liquid fire rain down even now. I fear our gods have lost the fight to the Old One of the slaves… they are powerless to defend us. I cannot write more, the hail has pierc

IX Shemu I, Pachons 22

I see I was unable to finish my last entry, allow me to recount what has occurred. The hail - the flaming rocks from above - pierced my weak clay roof and lit fires in my house. I made a mad dash to put out the ensuing flames, using the only thing within my grasp. The blood in the basins. The smell of boiling blood on ash and flame is beyond description, but I wouldn’t wish the scent on my enemies. I imagine hell itself stinks of it. I have all but lost hope in our gods, as a fear assails my mind: have they lost to this Old God? It cannot be so… Yet nearly all our crops were destroyed in the storm and despair grabs hold of our hearts. 

IX Shemu I, Pachons 26

As I worked alongside my neighbors to clear the debris left by the hail-storm, we felt a strong easterly wind. I looked the direction of the wind and saw the two strangers off in the distance. As I saw one drop his raised arms, the wind picked up and I heard a distant droning sound. This sound soon swelled to a roaring like many horns, when suddenly a black cloud like the pillar on the horizon made itself visible and poured over Egypt. Locusts, hundreds of thousands of locusts. They swarmed upon the fields and the crops like a all-consuming fire. Seconds after arriving, the remainder of crops were devoured entirely. The horde still hungered, and took to any other food source available. The most prevelant were the dead bodies of people and animals strewn through the streets, but they were quickly devoured and mere bones left behind. This left only one source of sustenance for the swarm… human flesh. 

Never before have my eyes seen locusts attack a grown man, only to devour every inch of his body. It was a nightmare beyond nightmares. An insatiable swarm of massive locusts covering every surface and occupying every inch of air over Egypt. The sun could not be seen when horde flew. I have lost my last shred of faith in our gods… What can they do in the face of such power as this Old God possesses? What terrible being lies behind the curtain of the world? The water, the sky, the animals, all obey and bow. What am I to do?

IX Shemu I, Pachons 30

Another eastern wind has finally driven the locust horde from us, but it is of little relief. My spirit is broken, my faith is lost. The Ancient Entity of the slaves holds all of Egypt. I only pray to it for mercy… please, oh Old One, do not destroy us! You, the unknown voice in the night, the bringer of pestilence and plague, I beg of you - have mercy!

X Shemu II, Payni 1

It has been a calm night, all things considered. Perhaps the Old One heard my pleas and had mercy, or perhaps the worst is yet to come. I cannot fathom wh

X Shemu II, Payni 4

I was wrong, there was no mercy from the Unknown God of the slaves. At the moment of my writing the last entry, all of Egypt was struck with blindness. It was as if a black darkness thicker than tar fell over all of the city. None could see, so none would move. We sat wailing for three days. Others cried to the gods of Egypt, but I knew better. There is a monster behind the curtain of the world, and it is angry. It toys with us even now. There is nothing to be done. This diety, this all powerful demon, this Old God will have it’s way. I only hope to live. 

I heard talk of the slaves that suggested they were unaffected by this horror, so I went in search of their mercy hoping it would appease their Old God. I wandered into their village and behold a sight so horrifying and terrible, I froze in place unable to move my weak legs. The slaves were smearing unknown blood across their doors and windows, in a disgusting and heathenish act. If this is the way their Monster-of-a-God hears prayer, I will not have any part in it! What kind of diety requires so much blood! When my legs found me again, I ran home to shut the door and pray. But not to that blood-thirsty demon they worship, no. To something else - anything else - that could save us. 

X Shemu II, Payni 5

Nightmares cannot be the appropriate term any longer… when the Beast behind the veil unleashes it’s wrath as it has here, only Hell is the appropriate term. You can wake from a nightmare, but Hell… Hell is eternal. Egypt has become a living Hell. In the night, all the elder children… all the firstborn… all are dead. The wrath of the Old One has not even spared the few remaining animals… What a wretched cacophony I awoke to, with moaning and wailing arising from every house. I feared I I was in a nightmare, but it is worse than that. I am in Hell. Egypt has been condemned and damned by an Ancient force beyond our comprehension. 

X Shemu II, Payni 13 

It has been almost a decan since the wrathful plagues of the slave-God ceased. The slaves left, taking with them such items as a heathen tribe would be expected to carry off: a coffin of someone long dead, all the gold they could pilfer from us Egyptians, their animals, and their possessions. The ominous pillar of black cloud led them away from Egypt. I care not where they go, so long as it is far from here. I weary of writing accounts filled with horrors and hell. 

X Shemu II, Payni 15

A royal decree has been issued by Pharoah. 

“All able-bodied men are to report to the royal army of Pharoah. The heathan slaves must be recaptured and subdued. The army will ride forth on horseback and chariot at sunset to over take the slaves on foot. This is a royal decree from the hand of Pharoah. Any man caught in the city will be executed.”

I was thankful to be rid of the accursed slaves and their vengeful God, but our Pharoah seems to regret their removal. We ride after them at sunset, and we ride back into hell, I am sure.

X Shemu II, Payni 16

We cornered the slaves against the Green Sea, only to have hellfire and fury block our attack. A pillar of fire descended from above and cut us off from the horde of slaves. But this was not the most unimaginable thing that happened. After the pillar of fire descended, we saw above the flames two walls of water rise and take form. They rose high into the air and cleaved the entire sea in two, causing a swathe of dry ground to appear for the slaves’ escape. The Ancient God knows no limit, it would seem, and I fear I may never return to Egypt if we pursue this tribe of demo worshipping slaves any further… But Pharaoh's fury against them is unquenched. When the fire subsides, we ride into the sea. I may never return. This is my last entry, as I leave behind this journal. If you discover it, learn from our mistakes. The receding waters of the sea whisper of an ancient name, unknown to mortal man: “Yog Sathoth”. Fear this God of the slaves.

Fear the Old One.