Heretic

HERETIC is the tale of a flawed leader, political and personal intrigue, betrayal, failure, and heartbreak-- but ultimately, of love. Akhenaten’s last living child, Queen Ankhesenamun, flees the palace under disguise to meet with a representative of Egypt’s sworn enemy, the Hittites, in order to protect herself and her country from a power-hungry traitor. Hidden by her loyal servants, she narrates her father’s story to the Hittite chamberlain, explaining the jeopardy Egypt faces as a result of it. Her story comes alive as she tells of Prince Amenhotep IV, the unloved second son of Egypt's dynamic king, who reluctantly rises to power and eventually becomes the controversial pharaoh, Akhenaten, upon the death of his father and older brother. He marries his beloved Nefertiti and together they obsessively prohibit worship of any god but the sun disc god, Aten. Akhenaten and Nefertiti build their own utopian city in the desert, dedicating it to Aten. From their new city, they explore poetry, art, and music, rewarding those who are loyal to them. Unfortunately, Akhenaten neglects his allies and vassal states. At first, all is well, but it isn’t long before the Egyptians begin to feel that the pharaoh’s god isn’t protecting or providing for them and they begin to undermine Akhenaten's authority, finding ways to worship the old gods. When Akhenaten’s lackluster policies have weakened Egypt’s borders and the country is nearly bankrupt, he is assassinated by his own trusted vizier, Aye, who has been scheming behind his back. Akhenaten’s death leaves his young son, Tutankhamun, to replace him as pharaoh and the vizier weds the boy to his sister, the princess, Ankhesenamun, and installs him as a puppet king. Through the boy king, Aye restores Egypt to her former glory. As Tutankhamun becomes a man, Aye finds that merely being a shadow ruler is not enough—he wants to be pharaoh himself. Once again, he kills the pharaoh—this time Tutankhamun, and threatens to marry the young Queen Ankhesenamun himself so that he can assume what he sees as his rightful role as king. Desperate to prevent Aye from taking power, Ankhesenamun contacts the traditional enemies of Egypt, the Hittites, and begs their king to send a prince that she can marry and make pharaoh, saving herself and her country from a worse fate under the vizier. She escapes the palace compound long enough to meet with the Hittite king’s representative and tells him the story of her father and his fate, as well as how she and her country are now in jeopardy due to the power-hungry vizier. Believing her, the man returns to his country and appeals to his king to send a prince to save her. Unfortunately, Aye learns of Ankhesenamun’s betrayal. When the Hittite prince arrives, the vizier sends the army to kill him. The vizier forces Ankhesenamun to marry him and becomes pharaoh, locking her away. As Aye drunkenly celebrates his new role as king of Egypt, a colossal sandstorm is forming across the desert and the Hittite king's army is about to seek vengeance for the death of his son. As Aye is meeting his demise, he's unaware that Ankhesenamun, despondent at this turn of events, is hovering over her windowsill, preparing to jump to her death. Just as she’s about to leap, the Hittite king’s representative returns, riding his horse to her window. Ankhesenamun climbs down to the Hittite, only to be wrapped in his arms and protected from the stinging sand as they ride off into the desert, the rest of their story lost to time as their tale comes to its conclusion…