Now we have the greater of two evils in my Inverted Horizons, as well as the threat to the world that Sammy locked herself away to research to defeat, a force so old and powerful, it took the Gods of Egypt united as one to seal it away and pray it never awoke.
Mona, Queen of Sands.
Mona is indeed a queen, in fact at one point she was a pharaoh. As expected as one wit such a rank, she had all of Egypt under her thumb. Her every desire was but a moment away upon request, nothing was off limits, and none could say no. For only woe befell those who were foolish enough to try, as she would have them dragged into the middle of the desert, buried up to their neck in the sand, and left to the desert's mercy as night fell. None survived this execution for denying her. Under her notice, however, a revolt was planned, built and made to see her removed from power. Under the veil of night, her kingdom revolted, and dragged her from her throne, aided by the Gods themselves for her abuse of her station. She was even subjected to her own cruel methods as a fitting means of irony to end her.
If only the poor fools just took her head from her shoulders...
Even if the Gods and the people had striped away her status as a pharaoh, they had failed to do so in her mind and spirit. She cursed her people, she cursed the Gods, she even cursed the desert itself as she was swallowed by a sand storm. Unfortunately for the world, her curse was so passionate, so deep, so filled with hate, it empowered the very sands meant to be her end, and as she vanished under it... One morning, the day her replacement was to be crowned, she entered the throne room, sand pouring from her fur, hair and garments. Gone was the deep red of her eyes while she ruled, replaced by the polished blue of Lapis Lazuli that only sand could create. With a wave of her paw, the sand fell upon the new pharaoh, throwing him from his throne and sending his head dress to her feet.
She picked it up, placed it upon her head, and in seconds, headpiece and skull were as one. A sandstorm swallowed the kingdom, and when it faded, she was queen once more, everyone in her kingdom bound to her as their wills crumbled like sand. Years passed, and her power grew, until she was known far and wide of being able to grant any wish, any desire, from the sand. What never spread, however, was that in her granting this wish, your will becomes sand and you become her slave, so you don't even get a second with your fulfilled wish.
With the Gods of Egypt scattered and broken, she has only grown stronger, and has begun to spread her influence. Sammy, hearing what she was doing, and motivated by a desire to be a hero and loved by thousands, started researching ways to stop her. She has yet to find an answer to stop a force that only grows more powerful each time the sun rises.
So come to Mona, dear seeker of wishes. Beseech the Queen of Sands to grant your desire. And fulfill her own in doing so.
