The Prophecy (Hohlbein)

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The Prophecy is a horror novel by Wolfgang and Heike Hohlbein from 1993 . The authors incorporate numerous elements of ancient Egyptian mythology into the plot .

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In the 14th century BC . AD gets Pharaoh Akhenaten with his bodyguard in an ambush : the enemies of the proclaimed by the ruler monotheistic religion he want out of the way at any cost. Shortly before his death, Akhenaten discovered that his closest confidante, Eje, had betrayed him. Before he murders him, he curses him to live forever and find no rest until "until the dead rise from their graves".

The present, in the small German town of Crailsfelden: The young Aton, son of two parents who are enthusiastic about Egypt, has to suffer from the ridicule of his classmates at the singing boarding school, not only because of his unusual name. However, when he and his class go on a trip to the museum , the influence of the ancient Egyptian gods on his life reaches a new dimension: a mummy comes to life in its showcase and attacks him. A little later he is picked up from the boarding school by the Egyptian Petach , a friend of his father's, and brought home.

Arriving at his parents' house, Aton is amazed to find that they have acquired a Doberman named Anubis . He also has to find out that they cannot spend Christmas with him because his father is needed for a dam project on the Nile . The next morning, however, the routine got even more out of hand: the news reported a devastating explosion in Crailsfelden that left many dead and injured, including Aton's classmates. He quickly realizes that Petach knew what was going to happen and saved his life. After the arrival of a little gray cat named Bastet , which was accompanied by some chaos , Aton finally learns the truth from the Egyptian: The gods of all mythologies, old and new, are real, they exist as long as people believe in their existence. Only with the death of the last believer does a god really die. Before he can finish his explanations, they are attacked by the warrior mummy from the museum that has followed Aton this far. She mortally wounds Petach and also wants to kill Aton, but he is protected by spells and can finally set fire to the undead and destroy him. The police arrive, alerted by the alarm system, and question Aton and the astonishingly uninjured Petach. This appeases both the suspicious officer Sascha and Aton's worried parents.

After saying goodbye to the latter at the airport the next day , Aton is supposed to be driving with Petach to his grandmother's when he has an oppressive experience on the escalator of the parking garage. Suddenly there is no end to the staircase, it leads you deeper and deeper and finally becomes an ancient wall that brings you to the inside of a huge pyramid . There he is not only attacked by a mysterious stranger, he also finds a pharaoh's grave guarded by a skeleton ferryman. He can only escape with difficulty and suddenly runs into Sascha again at the airport. The policewoman is now all the more suspicious and can hardly be reassured by Petach either; As she walks, she points out an ankh to Aton that has fallen out of his pocket.

Next they go to the house of an Arab dervish named Sufi, who at first appears friendly, but then gives Aton an anesthetic . He and Petach take the boy to a remote clinic where they want to treat him. However, the Ankh prevents them from doing so and protects Aton so that he can escape. Soon he is chased again by the mummy from the museum, this time with an antique chariot . Sascha and a mysterious group of cats are able to save him at the last minute. The young policewoman takes him home and investigates. She finds out that there is no man named Petach, and that "Petach" is the pronunciation of the Egyptian god Ptah .

The next day, the two want to investigate further, but are attacked and driven away by a murderous sphinx . Aton and Sascha are separated and Aton runs into Petach. He asks him to trust him and explains that he has a splinter in his shoulder that got there when he was buried as a little boy in the Valley of the Kings . The splinter is in truth the centerpiece of the magical udja eye that is necessary to raise the dead. If it is returned to its place in the tomb of Akhenaten and Nefertiti , the magic cannot be carried out and Eje cannot be redeemed, and thus the curse cannot be fulfilled. This could prevent the evil gods Osiris and Horus from seizing power over the people of Egypt. Because it is these, so Petach explains, who fear Eje's death so much, because he is the last one who really believes in the ancient Egyptian gods. If he dies, they too will perish.

They decide to go to Egypt to see Aton's parents. When they arrive in Giza , they soon meet Sascha, who has followed them. When the mysterious mummy attacks again, Sascha and Aton are rescued by Petach, who stays behind and instructs them to visit a man named Yassir. He turns out to be a local guide who leads them to a secret chamber where the map of Akhenaten's grave is hidden. Arrived there after some difficulties - and now accompanied by the goddess Bastet and his father - Aton wants to put his eye back, but Yassir, who is none other than Eje, the traitor, finally wants to be allowed to die and snatches it from the boy. So the prophecy comes true, but Aton is able to stop the campaign of the dead by using his father's dam to flood the valley in which the warriors of Akhenaten awaken: the water and the power of the god Aton - the sun - destroy the undead army . However, the prophecy was fulfilled, which is why Eje is finally allowed to die. When he is dead, the gods who are now present also pass in a short time - including Petach, who was actually none other than the god Ptah.

Finally, Sascha has to go, too, who first gave Aton a brief glimpse of her true self: she is an angel that he himself wished for his protection and thus brought to life.

background

The fictional small town Crailsfelden is also mentioned in Hohlbein's series of novels Nemesis . The boarding school in Crailsfelden, which burns down in the course of the plot, is the main setting for his novels Katzenwinter and Magog .

Mentioned gods

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