A people in jeopardy

Seeing the command structure of the Quraysh in disarray, the capital forces surrounded the enemy army.

"Zaffer! Zaffer! Zaffer!"

A part of the enemy army has switched sides. It's a shitshow for the Quraishi side. The people who were brought together by the religion got ripped apart by the religion. Eventually, they had to lay down their arms and get taken prisoner.

My brothers in arms are looking at me in shock. I single handedly won this skirmish for us.

"Nazhotep! Nazhotep! Nazhotep!"

Commander Kahir is looking at me with a proud face. He will probably get a raise for the cheap war he has waged. The subjugation of the Quraysh has cost almost nothing to accomplish. The Quraysh men here have expressed their intent to be violent against Pharoh and his subjects. They will be slaughtered at worst and enslaved at best. Among the women and non-combatants among the Quraysh tribe, those who are willing to denounce Manat will be spared.

They are a danger that needs to be nipped in the bud. The death of the Quraishi's would accomplish that. To spare them, we would risk this dangerous religion resurfacing with a vengeance.

It's out of my hands now. It's up to Commander Kahir to decide what happens to them. I can only tell him the probable consequences of his actions. He wanted to kill all the combatants. He didn't want to waste food on the people who declared themselves our eternal enemies. They have been stealing and killing people in the desert for a while. That crime normally has a punishment. That punishment is death, unless there are some circumstances diverting blame, like madness, starvation, etc.

The Quraysh have been molesting these lands for far too long. The humanity I want to retain in me so desperately wasn't even a consideration in the Quraysh raids. I'm not trying to save them for them. I want to have my heart lighter than a feather when I die.

We learned about the location of their camp first. There were a lot of women in the camp. They have been kidnapping women and children for years. The Quraysh also died in war a lot. That skewed their numbers toward having more females than males. Then we took over their riches. They have looted a lot.

The soldiers of Pharaoh re-appropriated those ill-gotten gains to put them to good use.

I've walked into the commander's tent.

"Do you have time, commander?"

He lifted his head from his glyphmancy kit.

"Yes, you can talk to me while I'm working on my glyphs."

I smiled.

"This frontier needs the law. The reason those Manat worshippers got these bad is because the guards in these towns accepted bribes to look the other way."

Commander Kahir's face twisted with disgust.

"Noted."

I leaned in a bit.

"There is also the issue relating to prisoners of war. What's your plan on that?"

For those who were the prisoners of the Quraysh tribe, we searched for their next of kin. Their lands or such. For those who were original Quraysh yet relented, we will have them serve in the temples until they can stand on their own. This doesn't include the fighters. The fighters are rotten; there can be no redemption for them. They already did the crime. We will tattoo glyphs on them and use them as slaves.

If the Qurayshi women and children are caught trying to spread Manat worship, they will be arrested and put into the slave camp like all the others."

That surprised me. Commander Kahir was surprisingly mild. I thought he would want to slaughter them all.

" Well, that's unexpectedly calm of you, sir. I thought you would be more strong handed about this."

He looked up at me and put his kit to the side.

"First of all, I don't appreciate your tone. Yes, I was mistakenly thinking that this was a problem that could be solved with bombardment. That's why the doctrine of listening to those who know about the local situation exists in the Pharoh's military code. I listened to you, and I learned. As a result, I accomplished our goals here at a fraction of the cost that it would take to accomplish them."

He put his hand on my shoulder with kind eyes.

"I can learn, and I did learn, boy. I know why you are talking to me about this. You are deadly terrified of the Anubis's scale. I can see it in your eyes. Every time you have to do harm to others, you get this look in your eyes. You look worried, boy. That worry might be your undoing in the future, but right now, it's beautiful. Don't worry, even if I do evil to people, you will have no part of it."

He picked up his kit once more.

"I heard that you were really popular among the Quraysh women. It will take quite a while for us to get back. Why don't you answer their adoring eyes? Once you embrace some women, that might take the edge off."

I sighed.

"That's a problem too. Their adoration has little to do with me. They think I will carry them to paradise. Imagine I constructed a false narrative around a person just to fuck them. That's a deeply malicious thing to do. It's similarly malicious to take advantage of a narrative that has already been constructed by someone else."

The commander rolled his eyes. He has never seen anyone so adverse to getting laid as me.

"Well, among the women who adore you, there are those who were tormented by their captors. You can embrace them."

I was still a bit worried.

"I already have three women at home. If any of these women would become mothers, I would have neither the time nor the funds to take care of them."

A deep laugh welled up from inside the commander. He failed to hold his glyphmacy tools still.

"Did you just say you had three women at home? How did your broke ass manage to ensnare three ladies at once?"

I averted my gaze. He looks like he is ready to viciously mock me to the ground.

"I saved the two of them. The other one is a worshipper of Hathor, and she needed my seed. "

He leaned back on his chair, biting his fist.

"Oh man, you even got your own exclusive Hathor priestess. Man, I'm in a high position in the army, yet I'm not as alluring to women as you! Boy, what's your secret?"

He paused and looked at my embarrassed face.

"It's because you are like this that women love you. You care, and you have enough power and wit to care effectively. Being a man among men is hard to replace with the man-made status of commander."

He smiled,

"Dismissed, soldier. Leave me with my thoughts, please. Don't worry. The things you were afraid of will not happen. We will just try to undo Manat worship and eradicate it. It can't be allowed to exist in its current form."

I nodded in response. It was indeed so.

I could've never guessed his dastardly plans for the future.

He had announced to the refugee camp that I have advocated on their behalf and that they will have certain rights from now on. In fact, the commander is allowed a flexible array of decisions. Commander Kahir used me as a personality cult to hurt Manat worship. When I visited the refugee camp due to popular demand, I was greeted with chants.

"It's the true worshipper that will carry us to paradise!"

That took me by surprise. They were swarming to touch me. They were rubbing their hands on me, then kissing their hands. They have been overtaken with a religious fervor.

I looked down to discover where a queer sensation was coming from. There is a Manat worshipper cupping my testicles in her palm. She is making a goofy face that is in between lust and devotion.

I bellowed from the top of my lungs.

"Step back!"

They obliged in humility.

I don't know what Commander Kahir told them. I don't know how much nonsense he included in his words about me. I don't know how much of a deep shithole I'm in.

"I'm going to sit here; you will talk to me one by one. I can't be molested by you all again."

They scrambled to get in line. They look like they would rip each other apart just for a chance to get close to me.

It's the first woman in line. She is looking at me expectantly.

"What do you want from me?"

She smiled. Her caramel skin looks fairly unhealthy. She didn't get much sun under those covering clothes she was wearing when she was in the Quraysh tribe. The sun is good for you. If you avoid the sun like manat worshippers forced their women to do, it doesn't bode well for the women. Understandably.