Head Canon for Egypt
Head-Canon Egypt
As we are not given a lot of information about Atem’s past, aside from seeing him already on the throne and a few scarce flashbacks from when he was a child, I’ve provided a history for him.
From very early on in his life, Atem was quite the starry-eyed, joyful and friendly child. He was adventurous and mischievous, often doing things he was deemed “not allowed” to simply because of his royal blood. This did not deter or stop him, however, and he often went out to play with his friends Mahaad or Mana whenever he could.
For all that he learned from his father, it is his mother we see least of in the series. There are a lot of qualities that are easily distinguishable that he would have picked up from someone not bred in their lands. As the Egyptian hierarchy usually married from other countries (as to continue to royal blood line), his mother was most likely royalty from a different land. It was from her that Atem has an instilled notion of right and wrong as well as the notion of no man being better or less than another.
As his father would have taught him pride, nobility, and started to teach him logic and smarts, his mother would have taught him the kindness, love, and devotion we see in the young child. She also may have been attributed to his wily spirit. I’ve often painted the picture that because Egypt is so sweltering underneath the light of Ra, she had a garden imported and it was her and Atem’s favorite place to be together. His love of earth comes from this, as well as not being afraid to get his hands dirty.
At the time when his father started to realize the wrongs he’d caused by allowing the destruction of Kul Elna, he started to pull away from Atem. This made Atem wary, upset, perhaps feeling a little abandoned. The King took his life in repentance, not before begging the Gods to let his son be, though. This would mark the first time Atem had seen his father cry, and it made him do so as well- not only scared, but confused and knowing something was wrong. The palace would never tell the young prince that the King had in fact killed himself, this is a fact Atem still does not know to this day. He believes his father passed away in grief.
It was after that that he had to take the throne, too young and not quite ready. He was anxious, and even though his people loved and respected him, they were unsure of his ability. This only spurred on feelings of inadequacy in the young Pharaoh. It should also be noted at this time that his mother would have had to remarry to the Pharaoh, to keep the bloodline going. Though this was something that Egyptians would not bat an eyelash to, she knew it might have ruined her son. So the night of the coronation, she took her life to spare her son from having to take his own mother in marriage. This has damaged Atem to this day, losing one parent and then the next and being put in a position of power all too soon.
It was here that he really started to rely on his chosen Sacred Court for help, mostly the Priest, Mahaad, Isis, and his best friend Mana. These people really believed in Atem’s strength and tried his hardest not to let the young King fall to the wayside.
He tried to keep his father’s reign of peace, even if the Court pushed for war or violent actions, he would deny, saying there was always an alternate route. Though when pushed hard enough and enough people suffering, he would lead his people into war. It was here that he caused the most trouble for his Court, as instead of sitting back and instructing his warriors to go put their lives on the line; he would march valiantly into battle with them. He has skill on horseback (as that was primary travel back then) and is even seen having the ability to wield a sword to protect himself.
As we are not given a lot of information about Atem’s past, aside from seeing him already on the throne and a few scarce flashbacks from when he was a child, I’ve provided a history for him.
From very early on in his life, Atem was quite the starry-eyed, joyful and friendly child. He was adventurous and mischievous, often doing things he was deemed “not allowed” to simply because of his royal blood. This did not deter or stop him, however, and he often went out to play with his friends Mahaad or Mana whenever he could.
For all that he learned from his father, it is his mother we see least of in the series. There are a lot of qualities that are easily distinguishable that he would have picked up from someone not bred in their lands. As the Egyptian hierarchy usually married from other countries (as to continue to royal blood line), his mother was most likely royalty from a different land. It was from her that Atem has an instilled notion of right and wrong as well as the notion of no man being better or less than another.
As his father would have taught him pride, nobility, and started to teach him logic and smarts, his mother would have taught him the kindness, love, and devotion we see in the young child. She also may have been attributed to his wily spirit. I’ve often painted the picture that because Egypt is so sweltering underneath the light of Ra, she had a garden imported and it was her and Atem’s favorite place to be together. His love of earth comes from this, as well as not being afraid to get his hands dirty.
At the time when his father started to realize the wrongs he’d caused by allowing the destruction of Kul Elna, he started to pull away from Atem. This made Atem wary, upset, perhaps feeling a little abandoned. The King took his life in repentance, not before begging the Gods to let his son be, though. This would mark the first time Atem had seen his father cry, and it made him do so as well- not only scared, but confused and knowing something was wrong. The palace would never tell the young prince that the King had in fact killed himself, this is a fact Atem still does not know to this day. He believes his father passed away in grief.
It was after that that he had to take the throne, too young and not quite ready. He was anxious, and even though his people loved and respected him, they were unsure of his ability. This only spurred on feelings of inadequacy in the young Pharaoh. It should also be noted at this time that his mother would have had to remarry to the Pharaoh, to keep the bloodline going. Though this was something that Egyptians would not bat an eyelash to, she knew it might have ruined her son. So the night of the coronation, she took her life to spare her son from having to take his own mother in marriage. This has damaged Atem to this day, losing one parent and then the next and being put in a position of power all too soon.
It was here that he really started to rely on his chosen Sacred Court for help, mostly the Priest, Mahaad, Isis, and his best friend Mana. These people really believed in Atem’s strength and tried his hardest not to let the young King fall to the wayside.
He tried to keep his father’s reign of peace, even if the Court pushed for war or violent actions, he would deny, saying there was always an alternate route. Though when pushed hard enough and enough people suffering, he would lead his people into war. It was here that he caused the most trouble for his Court, as instead of sitting back and instructing his warriors to go put their lives on the line; he would march valiantly into battle with them. He has skill on horseback (as that was primary travel back then) and is even seen having the ability to wield a sword to protect himself.