Horus-Re

Lord of the Sun, Master of Vengeance, Ruler of Mulhorand, Protector of the Priador, Overseer of Thesk, Guardian of Semphar, Pharaoh of the Gods, Son of the Sky.

Horus-Re is the fusion of Horus and the dead god Ra. He is the King (Pharaoh) of the gods of Mulhorand, and has in the past been the Pharaoh of Mulhorand as well. Like the other gods of Mulhorand, Horus-Re has long since abandoned public life and departed his mortal form.

Horus-Re is depicted as an eternal and unchanging god of the sun, and his church actively try to prevent change within Mulhorand, this depiction has been prevalent since Horus-Re claimed Ra’s mantle and power and his personality gradually changed into the more somber, serious, and unyielding ruler of Mulhorand.

Before the Orcgate Wars Horus was known as an energetic advocate of reform and a fierce combatant of enemies of Mulhorand; although the majority of his battles were won through clever negotiation and outsmarting his opponents rather than through strength of arms.

The drastic change of personality in Horus-Re since becoming King of the Gods is a great secret at the heart of Mulhorand, as is the civil war to claim the throne which saw the nation and the gods torn apart.

 

Mythology

Horus Calliant was born to rule Mulhorand; or so the Church of Horus-Re would have the Mulhorandi believe, he was trained from an early age to succeed Ra as King of the Gods, and fought valiantly against all the evils and foes of Mulhorand and Ra, which brought him into frequent contention with Set.

Horus led the attack against the Imaskari and personally slew Lord Artificer Yuvaraj, he also led the charge against the orcs during the Orcgate Wars. He is the greatest of war-leaders, and the greatest of peace-time rulers, masterminding all the successes of the Mulhorandi Empire through the ages.

His greatest battles have been fought against Set and his evil minions, who constantly threaten the wonder of Mulhorand. Upon merging with the dying Ra and becoming Horus-Re the Great, his first act was to exile the evil Set and his allies from Mulhorand forever for poisoning Ra and Osiris, and attempting to seize the Sun Throne for himself.

Horus-Re has ruled Mulhorand ever since merging with Ra. In his infinite wisdom and benevolence he foresaw the Mulan’s need to rule themselves and so gradually relinquished power to his mortal kin until such time as the Pharaoh of Mulhorand was one of the Oblaran; a mortal infused with the power of the gods, and was ready to rule in Horus-Re’s stead. Horus-Re along with the other gods of Mulhorand have since ascended to a higher plane of existence and now rule over the world from their realm of Heliopolis.

 

History

The truth of Horus-Re’s history is somewhat different from the mythology that has sprung up around him. His arrival on Toril was barely mentioned in the unedited annals of Mulhorandi history except for his achievement of killing Lord Artificer Yuvaraj in the skies above Inupras. The Scrolls of Raurin (a brief history of the Mulan liberation) show that Horus was to remain in reserve in charge of the Sun Galley Matet, however, Horus was headstrong and impetuous and instead flew the Sun Galley into the fray once the battle was committed, seeking out the enemy general.

Horus’ gamble worked, Lord Artificer Yuvarah was slain, the morale of the defenders was broken and the forces of the Mulan were victorious. The price was the Sun Galley Matet, which was seriously damaged beyond repair.

Horus was often overlooked as a minor member of the Mulhorandi pantheon, appointed the Divine Precept of Semphar, which was a largely autonomous region over which he had limited control. He is little mentioned in the Scrolls of the 1st Empire, having taken part in the various wars of conquest and later in the Orcgate Wars; where he again proved to be too impetuous to lead an army (often engaging the enemy in battle against orders).

Ra’s death during the Orcgate Wars threw the entire Mulhorandi Empire into disarray. The Divine Precept’s quickly claimed sole rulership over their regions and ignored the commands of their neighbours and former superiors. Soon the Divine Precepts were fighting amongst themselves to claim the throne, until Osiris and Set (two of Mulhorand’s strongest Divine Precepts, with powerful lands under their control) allied together and made it known that Osiris would claim the title of Pharaoh.

It is not exactly known what happened, but when Osiris sat upon the Sun Throne and was anointed with the Rod and Circlet of the Kings, as he issued his first command he clutched at his throat and fell to the floor dead. The Divine Precepts in attendance fought amongst themselves each blaming the other and declaring their desire to be the next Pharaoh.

Over the next year the Divine Precepts launched their armies against each other in full force in the most bloody civil war known in the region. Alliances and pacts were made and broken with increasing frequency and tens of thousands of Mulan were slain. Horus kept himself and his forces out of the fighting for many months, he then declared Set to be the true enemy, Set having slain Osiris and poisoned the wounds of Ra, his proof was the Rod and Circlet of the Kings which Set had procured and gifted to Osiris just before their alliance was first declared.

With Set revealed as the enemy, more and more of the Divine Precepts rallied to Horus’ banner until the majority of Mulhorand was allied against Set and his remaining allies (Sebek and Bast). Horus and Anhur soundly defeated the armies of Set and the war was ended. Horus revealed he had entered the sealed tower of Ra and claimed Ra’s divine power before sitting in the Sun Throne and declaring himself Horus-Re, Pharaoh of Mulhorand and the Gods.

Since that time Horus-Re has been the unchanging, eternal, ruler of the gods, remaining steadfast and true to the ideals of honesty, bravery, and integrity (a concept known as ma’at). His servants have done their best to preserve Mulhorand as it has been since it was founded. Over time more and more power has been devolved to the Mulan kin of Horus-Re and the other Laren until they fully assumed governance of Mulhorand with the first sole, human Pharaoh of Mulhorand declared in -147 DR and the Laren retreated from public life altogether.

Many now believe that the Gods of Mulhorand have shed their material forms becoming something far more powerful that watches over the Mulhorandi people from their divine realm of Heliopolis.