Mummy Boyfriend: Teremun (rough draft)

Ages ago, violent sandstorms had plagued the once great Neith kingdom. What had once been a sprawling metropolis of the Rakshasa, Lizardfolk, and Jackal peoples, was instantly destroyed and buried under sand, separating the three for generations across the continent. The great kingdom now lays buried under the desert and I’ve been given the great duty to help find it.

Not much is left from those days, only stories, rotting books, and the vague memories that people had written down. The location is unknown, but many rumors circulate of its whereabouts. The Rakshasa claim it is further north, while the Lizardfolk believe it is closer to their borders in the west. The Jackals speculate that the kingdom lies in the direct center of the continent where it serves like a compass to the rest of the world.

Using old texts, I’ve been able to narrow down my search. Surprisingly, I believe the Jackals may have a better understanding of the location. Considering that the Oasis of Bastat is close to the purported center, which was described as having lush vegetation and vast gardens to support the populace. 

I decide to start my search north west of Bastat, taking into account all stories from each kingdom. The excavation is harsh to say the least, what with the horrible heat and blazing sun. The residents of Bastat have taken pity on us and taught us their ways of coping with the desert. Their origin comes from Neith as well, and their curiosity is evident. 

Sand is not kind to work with, but he finally manage to get through it. At first, it seems all we will find is bedrock. That was, until one of the local Bastat children told us about the Dragon’s Cave just a little further north of the oasis. 

I thought it was just all names, but to my shock, there was an actual dragon living there. From him, we learned that cave went further back and down, narrowing to where he couldn’t go, but said there was a strange archway that looked manmade. 

Going deep down into the cave, my team and I found the archway. In inscriptions upon it were in the old scribe, a language once used in Neith which, when the three tribes split due to the storms, formed the basis of each of their languages. It was a victory, an inkling into the whereabouts of Neith. I decided I would go in first and see what lay beyond the archway. If anything should happen, better that I suffer it than any of my team.

It was a narrow corridor I was led into. It felt like any regular cave, but soon, I found myself standing before a forked path. One passageway had a grander arch, the other had an old door. Both bore the same Neithian old scribe. 

I rushed back to tell my team and we celebrate at the discovery. We make plans with the citizens of Bastat and the dragon Abbor to explore the cave. Once we have the clear to continue our research, my first goal is to translate the Neithian old scribe so we can understand what lies beyond the arches and the door.

While my team prepares to dig and explore, setting up a new and much more permanent campsite, I get to work translating. I’ve studied Neithian old scribe since I was young, but it is still so hard to work with. I’ve had to learn the languages of the Rakshasa, Lizardfolk, and Jackals in order to better understand the old scribe. 

Eventually, I find the first archway reads; “beyond me there is life, between me there is agony.” I’m not sure what it means, so I keep on working to figure out the messages on the second arch and door.

The second arch reads: “I am but passage. Neither end of beginning. What happens now is but a journey.”

“It sounds like the Jackal's funeral poems,” one of my teammates remark, a Jackal herself. “They call death a journey as well back home. Perhaps this is where it comes from.”

“This could be a crypt or catacomb,” I add. “We may have just discovered the burial sight for the Neithian kingdom.”

I go on to work on the door, but I find it’s language much more difficult to piece together. Some of words I am not sure of, some I never even heard. Back after a long while of stressing over them, I’ve come to the conclusion it is either a poem or song. 

“What lies here may be eternal, what passes by may be fleeting. What once was great now is resting. The resting will wake in all due time. Blood of kind and soul combined, will treat the great as tea sublime. Morning breath and drop of dew, will greet the great with life anew.”

I sigh heavily. “I have no idea what that could mean. Are they storming breakfast back there?” I’m frustrated at m lack of progress, and this verse is the best I can come up with, everything else sounds like infant babbling and I know that’s not what the Neithians were doing. 

I sit before the door, staring at it, hoping for a miracle that I would instantly be able to read it. I set my work aside and stiffen my back, rubbing my knees before I rise. Ever since I was a young boy I had dreams about a Neithian priest. He was handsome and kind, and would show me the stars in the sky. Even though he was just a dream, I had fallen in love with him. Those dreams led me to becoming an archeologist. I sometimes still see him, and he guides me through the stars, pointing me to a constellation before kissing me on the forehead.

As I got older, the dreams changed. He became something of a fantasy for me, as such, in my dreams he would touch me more and hold my hand. He was a calming presence to me, one I felt I could relax and breathe deep around.

“We follow stars in order to find our way home. They are there for us as guides, each light is another being who wishes us well in this world. Though they are distant and numerous, they take comfort in our lives,” he tells me. “They guide us towards happiness, they show us where we belong. They give us a wealth of directions, but they will always point us home.” His voice is rich and deep, it soothes me to my core. He kisses me again, this time upon the lips. A surge of virile energy courses through my blood as I taste cardamom upon my tongue. I cling to his body, feeling his strength bleed into me. Our bodies are naked, bare before one another, skin pressed against skin. I always wake up feeling a bit lost and very aroused.

As I go to stand my hand hits a sharp stone and the side is gashed. I cup my hand, but blood has already begun to spill along the ground. The sharp object that gouged me, I find, is a chiseled stone. It’s an artifact, so I know I need to clean it. I hate blood though, always have, so even the sight of my own makes me feel nauseous and woozy. I start to swoon and I fall back, hitting my shoulder against the door which pops open and I go tumbling beyond it. 

I feel cold stone against my back, and as I stand I become aware of the thick scent of spices in the air. As I rise from the ground the dark starts to dissipate, it pulls back, fading into the recesses until I see that, all around me, there are images glowing upon the walls. They’re like stained glass that has bubbled, forming mosaics of a man. Each one presents the same man, doing various tasks and services. I look further down, seeing there is a great altar where the ground is illuminated with a giant mosaic. In the center there is a massive glass coffin. 

From the looks of things, the man was a king, or possibly a high priest. Whoever he was, he was highly honored and respected by the people. Offerings litter the corridor down to the coffin. Urns filled with wine and oils, piles of coins and gemstones, even stacks of old books.

I creep up to the altar where the glass coffin is suspended upon statues of old gods. Inside there is a body and I become breathless at the thought. The body is huge, possibly almost eight feet tall. It’s covered in ceremonial garb and wears the mask of a priest.

There is no lid, so when I peer inside a drop of my blood splashes on the mask. In horror I recoil. I’ve sullied this place with my curiosity! I try to wrap my hand up with part of my head covering to keep it from bleeding but as I do, I hear breathing.

I freeze in place, utterly terrified, lifting my head I see the chest of the body inside rising and falling gently. The hands stir, rising from the chest slowly to grasp the mask. I don’t stay to watch anymore, I run from the crypt, struck silent by the horror of it. As I came running out of the cave, my teammates had already begun looking for me so I flung myself into their arms. I’m babbling and panicking.

“There was a mummy! In a crypt!” I shouted in clipped sentences. “It was alive! I saw it!” I needed to calm down, so they took me away while some went back into the cave.

Later, they tell me when they went beyond the door all they found was that a rockslide had occurred and no one could get through. But I was certain to my core of what I had seen, the altar, the coffin, the giant body inside that was coming alive. That evening I do not sleep, instead I sit outside my tent looking towards the entrance to the cave. 

I feel as though the mummy I had seen in that crypt was coming for me. It had sampled my blood and now I was the only thing tying him to this world. Eventually, I see a glow from the mouth of the cave. I jump to attention but what I see is a host of fireflies. I furrow my brow at the sight, but as I go to step forward I feel a tap upon my shoulder.

I sigh, thinking it is a member of my team. “I’ll go to bed, I know I’m being ridiculous. But I know what I-” I stop dead in my tracks once I glance behind me.

Standing there, almost eight feet tall, is the mummy. He quickly places his hand over my mouth and bows his head down. 

“I’ve been waiting to see you,” he whispers. His voice is dark and rich, and were I not so frightened I would find it soothing. “Please, don’t be afraid.” His wrapped hand pulls away from me. “Not of me at least. You can be afraid of many things in this world, but I ask you do not find fear in me.”

“You-you’re-” I stammer to find the proper words to voice my fear and confusion.

His eyes glow golden, and what skin peeks through is a dark plum, almost black but not quite. He’s wearing white burial robes with a red sash around his waist, and a golden circlet around his head. 

“I have been waiting so long to meet you in person,” he sighs in relief. “Our souls have been joined, even before your birth. When I was alive, I had visions of you.”

“I was-” I shake my head. “You are-” I can’t quite get a thought out to save my life.

“I understand,” he lays his hand upon his chest. “I am not the handsome visage that has come to your dreams. I’ve not done my beauty regiment in some years.”

“The star priest,” I finally gas out. “That’s you?”

“I am,” he says softly. “You may call me Teremun,” he bows his head down. “It would honor me to hear you finally say it.”

I furrow my brow as I look at him, pulse still raging with fear of the unknown. “How is this possible? Am I still dreaming?”

He takes my hand and places it over his chest. Certainly enough, behind the robes and bone I felt his pulse thriving. 

“How is this possible?” I gasp.

“I used to have visions,” Teremun replies. “From when I was young and even to the moments of my death, I could see the feature. I was told by my mentor that the stars were speaking through me, and I took it as my mission to help guide people as the stars would. But visions of my future came to me, showing me your face, and a world I was not part of.”

I glance around, half expecting others to come from their tents, but it is very late and I know everyone is exhausted from the long days of work we put in. I feel Teremun’s eyes upon me, making me nervous yet excited all at the same time. He had been my literal ‘dream man’ for so long, I wasn’t sure how to react. 

“Your hand,” Teremun says quietly. “The one that’s hurt, let me see it.”

I cautiously lift my hand to him and he takes it between his palms. He runs his fingers over the wrapping and then gently down my wrist. I am aware of my blood flowing through my arm and hand, it’s warm and strong, pulsing through me while growing hotter where it touches. It burns for a moment then fades into a dull heat. 

Teremun removes the wrappings and all that’s there is a faint pink scar. “Oh wow,” I gasp in awe.

“You helped to awaken me, it is the least I can do.” Teremun glances up towards the sky. “How about we go for a walk?”

“Sure.” I’m breathless, almost uncertain as to whether I am dreaming or if this is reality. I follow along beside him, walking through the sands until there is nothing around us by sky. 

Teremun stands with his hands folded before him, watching the sky as his eyes glow behind his wrappings. “It’s been so long, so much as changed.” He then looks down at the ground. “I remember how the market stretched from here to all the way in the horizon.”

“Neith was here?” I jump in excitement. 

He lifts his long arm and points into the distance. “The palace was just over there, I’m surprised none of it’s peaks are visible. I suppose time buried it more than the sands did.” He sighs and folds his hand together again. “Neith was too big, it was bound to fall eventually.”

“Can you tell me about it?” I step closer to him. “All my life I have wanted to find it and know what it was like. You were there, can you tell me?”

Teremun touches my robes. “We didn’t have much color like this.” He rubs the fabric between his fingers. “Such lovely patterns and bright colors, they only existed in the richest of homes, and even then they did not match this beauty.”

I know it might be a bit small for him, but I take out my outer most robe and hand it to him. “Here, you can have this if you like.”

Teremun lets out a small excited laugh. “How wonderful! You do not need to give me anything. You’ve already given me so much.” He takes the robe and rubs his palm over the fabric. “Everything had a white glow to it,” he whispers. “From the buildings to the sands, it was all so bright like the stars above us.” He slips on the robe, and while it is a bit short he doesn’t seem to mind. “I always saw a world full of color, like a rainbow laid itself upon the earth.” He touches his fingertips to his chest. “I was excited for that moment.”

I ask the next question very carefully. “Did you place yourself in the crypt so you could see it?”

“Of course not,” he says with a chuckle. “I caught an illness and passed away. It was my students who placed me in the crypt, although I did not want the grand display that they gave me.”

I bow my head and look at my hands. “From the looks of the place, it appears they loved you very much.”

“Neith replied on me to speak to the stars for them,” his voice is quite sad. “I did not want to leave them.”

“You-” I start off unsurely. “You can help the people now.”

He sighs heavily and places his palm on my shoulder. “There are new guides now, it is there time to shine.” He points into the distance. “Beyond the desert there is a queen who will give birth to a dynasty of guides. Through her, a new dawn will rise over the entire world.”

I gaze upon him in awe. “Then why come back at all?” 

His hand on my shoulder moves up my neck and cups my cheek. “Because I was made to love you.”

My heart sputters and kicks in my chest. I can barely catch a deep breath. “That doesn’t seem worth it,” I balk. “Look at me.”

“I have, many times,” Teremun whispers. “But you and I have been bound by the stars since the beginning of time.”

I swallow my heart down from my throat. “That’s a bit overwhelming.”

“I understand, it was a lot for me to take in at first, but standing beside you now, I feel at peace.” His fingers smooth back my hair from my forehead. “I don’t expect anything now, but in the future, I see your smile bright as the moon.”

I took Teremun back to my tent and before the sun rose I removed his wrappings. He had dark scales all over his body and spines down his back, but he had no tail. I didn’t ask questions, I felt too nervous. 

Using Teremun’s knowledge, we began excavating where he said the kingdom of Neith was. For weeks, he worked alongside us, helping guide where to dig or where to go. Soon, we unearthed our first ruins.

I was so excited that I jumped up and kissed Teremun without thinking. After a moment of shocked silence, I kissed him again and continued to celebrate. All the hard work my team and I had put in was finally paying off, and I had no one but Teremun to thank.

That evening I took Teremun to the spring near Bastat. The waters were cool, and at the moment, no one was there as the team was celebrating the discovery.

“Don’t you want to be with the rest of the team?” Teremun asks. “Rather than be alone with me?”

I come up to Teremun and place my hands upon his bare chest. I slowly move my hands down until I’m grasping his waist until the cool waters. “I owe you a lot. Without you I don’t know if we ever would have found Neith again.” I tilt my chin up to look at him. “Finding you though is still my greatest discovery.”

Teremun chuckles. “Thats awfully romantic.” He places his hands on my shoulders. “Are you trying to tell me something?”

I nod nervously. “It’s a lot of pressure knowing that fate has put us together, but lately, that hasn’t mattered.”

“Fate shouldn’t feel heavy like a burden. It should be held as a gift.” Teremun dips his head down and nuzzles my cheek. I turn my head, meeting his kiss. I moan softly as our bodies press close together. It’s like my dream, only it’s real.

I move my hands down, feeling his thighs and then gripping his rear. The kiss grows deeper until Teremun suddenly pulls away. His hands are shaking and he has the sweetest look upon his face. 

“I’ve been waiting so long,” he whispers. “I can’t hide any longer how much I want this, nor how nervous I am to do it right.”

I nod. “It’s okay. It doesn’t have to be perfect.” We go back up to the bank and sit on the blanket I had laid out. I sit down and Teremun places himself in my lap. His legs straddle my thighs and he places himself down gently. I kiss his chest and shoulders, smoothing my hands over his dark scales. There is that fragrant scent of warm, rich spices on his skin. He smells delicious so I run my tongue down his chest.

“It’s warm,” Teremun moans.

“Lay down,” I coax him. “I’ll warm you up even more.”

Teremun lays down on the blanket, posing in such a way it makes my head spin. I move between his legs, dipping down to kiss and lick his body. I kiss his thighs, reaching the mound on his groin. It’s starting to split open and from inside his cocks emerge. There’s two of them, both rather thick at the bottom while tapering into ridges all the way up to the spear-like tip.

I kiss the base, listening to Teremun moan and whimper. He struggles to keep himself still, but his hips still buck and sway. I take one tip into my mouth, sucking gently while I stroke the other. His voice comes out as a guttural cry followed by raspy panting.

I take him deeper into my mouth, tasting spicy cinnamon and aromatic cardamom. I moan against him, slowly pulling my head up and moving to the other shaft.

“I’ll come,” Teremun sputters. “I’ll come with much more.”

I lift up and crawl on top of him. I kiss him, grinding my cock into his stomach. I suck his tongue while he writhes on the ground. He pulls me up, placing me over his face so my shaft slides into his mouth. His tongue coils around the shaft, stroking it while he sucks and moans. I thrust my hips, pushing against his face a little. His sharp fingers dig into my hips and thighs, scraping harshly against the skin.

I move away and sit down beside him throbbing and aching for release. “I’ll come too,” I pant.

We lay together for a moment, breathing deeply, kissing and touching one another. I grind myself against his leg and Teremun reaches down to stroke me.

“I want you,” he whispers. “Please.” He rolls over onto his belly and lifts his hips. Reach back, he gently tugs the fleshy meat of his thigh. “Here,” he moans.

I sit up, taking from my gear the oil I use to protect my hands during digs. I pour between the cheeks then gently massage it in. Using my fingers I prode and poke at the tight bud, easing it open so my fingers slide inside easily. Teremun growls, rutting himself backwards.

Once he starts moaning I sit up and guide myself into place. I watch while he opens for me, taking my tip and shaft inside. He snarls hungrily, burying his face against the blanket. Once I’m all inside I relish in it. All I can smell and taste is Teremun, all I have ever wanted was this, was him.

I move slowly at first, taking my time to savor this delicious moment. I push all the way inside before pulling out, watching as Teremun writhes beneath me. I take deep breaths, trying to keep my head from spinning. I run my hands down his back, touching the protruding spines and then caressing back to his thighs. 

I’ve never felt such a passion for anyone before, never such a need. The night wears on, and soon, as the stars begin to fade into the purple and pink sky, I melt into Teremun. My release is all consuming, stealing my breath and senses. I come to with Teremun laying on top of me, his scales looking like amethyst in the morning sun. He kisses me and I wrap my arms tight around him.

“My star,” I whisper to him. “Tell me, is this the beginning of forever?”

“No,” he say softly. “We are merely in the middle of it. But this is the beginning of us.”