Trial of the Ancients
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Era 01

Ancient Egypt

Where the trial began. Where the priest-king still waits.

The setting

Long before the trial was given a name, there was a temple in the desert south of Memphis. A priest-king named Akheb built it to test the soul of every traveler who claimed they were worthy to pass. The trial was simple. Stand at the centre of the arena, draw a bow, and outlast whatever the gods sent. Most travelers did not.

Centuries passed. The temple was buried. Akheb refused to die — and the trial refused to end. Now, in a moment that does not belong to any year, the bow has found your hand. The sand at your feet remembers everyone who failed before you. The disc of Aten burns overhead, indifferent.

What you’ll face

The Egyptian era teaches the language of the trial. Dust wraiths arrive first — a scrap of unburied desert, fast and fragile and never alone, designed to push you off-rhythm. Then the jackal sentinels, bronze-collared, raising small shields that punish lazy frontal shots. Then the scarab swarms, the mummified archons that return fire from range, the sun-maddened clerics with their expanding rings of solar flame. And at the end of the run — if you’ve earned the right to see him — Akheb himself.

He is no longer pleased with you.

Era objectives

  1. Survive the waves — five rounds of escalating enemies, then a chosen reward.
  2. Defend the obelisk — protect a single objective from converging enemies, with no stamina cost to standing still.
  3. Escort the brazier — keep the sun-disc lit across moving phases of the arena.
  4. The Trial of Akheb — boss encounter against the priest-king. Three phases, no second chances.

Enemies of this era

  • Dust Wraith

    lesser

    A scrap of unburied desert. Fast, fragile, never alone.

    Behavior — Charges in straight lines from the arena edge. No projectiles. Dies to a single solid hit.

    Threat — Swarm pressure. Lone wraiths are nothing. Six at once and you start missing shots.

  • Jackal Sentinel

    common

    Bronze-collared, ritually starved, sworn to the priest-king's gate.

    Behavior — Advances in a slow crouched walk, raises a small bronze shield to block frontal shots. Side-shot or wait for the swing.

    Threat — Punishes lazy aiming. Teaches the bestiary's first real lesson — angle matters.

  • Scarab Swarm

    common

    A glittering ball of beetles. It scatters when shot. The pieces find you.

    Behavior — Floats above head-height, splits into three smaller swarms when destroyed. Each smaller swarm seeks you for 5 seconds before dispersing.

    Threat — AoE arrows are mandatory. Single-arrow runs hit a wall here.

  • Mummified Archon

    elite

    A priest who refused to die. Linen-wrapped, holding a long bronze bow.

    Behavior — Stationary. Returns fire on a long cooldown with a slow, heavy arrow. Heavily armored — body shots glance.

    Threat — First true threat to your face. Voidpierce or precise headshots only.

  • Sun-Maddened Cleric

    elite

    Spent too long staring at the disk. Now chants AoE waves of solar damage.

    Behavior — Stops, raises arms, releases a slow expanding ring of fire. The ring is dodgeable — but you can't aim well while moving.

    Threat — Disrupts your rhythm. Kill on sight or eat the ring.

  • Priest-King Akheb

    boss

    The hand that set the trial in motion. He is no longer pleased with you.

    Behavior — Three phases. Phase 1: summons two archons. Phase 2: closes the arena ring inward, forcing your stance. Phase 3: voids his own body for 8 seconds at a time, undamageable except to Voidpierce.

    Threat — Run finale. If you don't have at least one void-aligned tool by the time he appears, you're farming the run for nothing.

See the full bestiary →

Next

The Forgotten Steppes

Mounted horns, cold winds, a sky that does not pause.

Sealed until the closed beta.

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