The Ekurim Archives

The Maahes

STAGE XV · TODAY

The modern world

Rail, air and container routes make every port a hub, and the old roads fall away.

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?DubaiMumbaiVladivostokLagosDakarJohannesburgTokyoSão PauloLos AngelesAccra
New places: , , , , , , , , and 4 more
Moves: The Gulf hub, Across the Arabian Sea, The Trans-Siberian railway, Along the West African coast, To the Atlantic and 8 more
The Maahes: Accra, Lagos, Dakar

Dashed routes are rumoured, dash-dot routes are disputed. Routes follow trade and human migration and are approximate.

ZOOM TO

The Maahes

A mantle passed to the worthy, from the first gate to the present day.

One mantle, one bearer at a time, never passed by blood. 126 holders across about 5,000 years, from ancient Egypt to the modern Long Pride.

The map

Chapter IX · c. 1912 to the present

Resistance and Reunion

Independence, the return of the groves, and the Pride that stood back up. The last chapter of the Roll is the one still being written.

New seats: Accra, Lagos, Dakar

Moves: Home to Accra · Along the coast · To the Atlantic · To London and Paris

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MemphisNubian frontierThebesNapataMeroëAksumAdulisDongolaGaoTimbuktuSwahili coastGreat ZimbabweGold CoastLuandaAccraLagosDakarLondon and Paris

Routes are approximate.

  1. Chapter I: The Dawn of the Lion

    c. 3000 to 2200 BCE

    A gate, a song and a handful of tears. The first eight centuries of the mantle, from a border village to the fall of the Old Kingdom.

  2. Chapter II: The Fracture

    c. 2200 to 1550 BCE

    The Pride loses its capital, its roads and its resin, and survives by learning to be invisible.

  3. Chapter III: The Imperial Temptation

    c. 1550 to 1070 BCE

    An empire offers the Pride everything it has ever wanted. One Maahes says yes.

  4. Chapter IV: The Southward Road

    c. 1070 to 335 BCE

    The old homeland falls to invaders, and the Pride learns that the mantle belongs to the whole continent.

  5. Chapter V: Meroë and the End of the Ancient Age

    c. 335 BCE to 95 CE

    Greek kings, Roman legions and a golden city on the Nile. The Pride learns to live between empires.

  6. Chapter VI: The Highlands and the Red Sea

    c. 95 to 780 CE

    The mantle leaves the Nile for the first time. The Pride learns to live on mountains, harbours and two shores.

  7. Chapter VII: Gold and Ink

    c. 785 to 1490 CE

    The Pride crosses the desert, learns the language of gold, and for the first time in its history writes itself down.

  8. Chapter VIII: The Scattering

    c. 1492 to 1910 CE

    The hunger finds a road across the sea. The Pride is broken apart, and carried to every shore the ships can reach.

  9. Chapter IX: Resistance and Reunion

    c. 1912 to the present

    Independence, the return of the groves, and the Pride that stood back up. The last chapter of the Roll is the one still being written.