Voyager Of Ages

Morning arrived not as a gentle kiss of sunlight but as a slap of reality. The air was already thick with heat when Ethan stepped out of the tent. Sahure stood near a small fire, murmuring chants over a bowl of smoking herbs. Hemiunu sat cross-legged, chewing on dried dates and watching Ethan with unblinking curiosity.

Sahure turned as Ethan approached. "You rested?"

Ethan nodded. "Enough."

The scribe gestured toward a woven mat. "Sit. Eat."

Dates, barley bread, and a hard-boiled quail egg. It wasn't much, but Ethan hadn't realized how famished he was until he bit into the bread.

"I want to ask you something," Ethan said between mouthfuls. "You called me 'star-born.' Why?"

Sahure looked up, his eyes reflecting a knowledge far older than his face. "Because the last man who appeared without past or family also came during a sky omen. The priests said he was a harbinger."

Ethan paused. "What happened to him?"

Sahure was silent for a moment. "He vanished. As quickly as he came. But he left behind stories. Warnings."

Ethan's fingers clenched around the clay cup. "What kind of warnings?"

"That the gods are jealous of those who tamper with the time of men."

It wasn't the answer he wanted. But it was the answer he needed.

"I'm not a god," Ethan said.

"No. But you carry something the gods despise—change."

The word hung in the air like a curse.

Later that day, Sahure led Ethan through the village. The pyramid dominated every horizon, casting its long shadow over the people who built it stone by stone. Workers hauled limestone blocks along greased wooden tracks while supervisors shouted over the cacophony.

Hemiunu ran ahead, pointing excitedly at everything. "That is where I help mix mortar!" he called over his shoulder.

Ethan couldn't help but smile. The boy's enthusiasm was infectious. Still, his mind remained knotted with the past—his own, and the one he now walked through.

"Why do they trust you?" Ethan asked Sahure quietly.

"I am a scribe. I record the will of the gods, and of the Pharaoh. Knowledge brings respect."

Ethan nodded. Knowledge. That was his currency too.

As they neared the pyramid's base, a group of guards intercepted them. One wore a golden sash across his chest—a symbol of high rank. He eyed Ethan warily.

Sahure bowed. "This is the one I spoke of."

The guard's gaze narrowed. "You brought an outsider to the sacred project?"

"He is... a visitor from afar," Sahure said carefully.

The guard stepped forward. "If he interferes, he will be buried beneath the stones he dares to question."

Ethan met the man's gaze. "I don't seek to interfere. Only to learn."

The guard studied him another moment, then turned away. "Be gone before the sun reaches its peak."

They returned to the tent in silence.

That night, Ethan recorded again. His voice was lower, edged with doubt.

"Day two. The past is beautiful... and guarded. I've been warned. More than once. But there's something here—something tied to why the machine chose this time."

He paused.

"Whatever it is, I need to find it before I become another story these sands bury."