Pharaoh: A Splitgate Story
Egypt, they called it. We had entered the human home world through a portal that we ourselves had created. Some of these “humans” witnessed our arrival and word had quickly spread of our coming. This species of life, like many others that we had discovered, was primitive. Since harnessing portal technology, we Firlocks had been sending missions to various parts of the universe to explore, educate and leave our mark.
In the beginning, we were three. Whenever we send an expedition into unknown parts of the universe, we start small as there is a chance that those of us who step through a portal, may never return. Portals themselves are gateways. If we step foot into a hostile world, we may be opening ourselves to invasion if we do not close the portal behind us. Once some type of safety has been established, we open the portal once again. While it has rarely occurred throughout our history, we have stumbled upon races who are more advanced than our own. In the case of “Earth,” this was certainly not the case.
When all was said and done, 170 Firlocks found their way into Egypt. Pharoahs, they called us, in their own tongue. While we were not worshipped as Gods, the Egyptians (as they are known to you) looked to us for guidance. They recognized our superiorly advanced technology and sought to learn from us, as if we were prophets of a sort. We were not there to subjugate them, we were there to learn. We were there to advance this society for the greater good of all and continue to advance Firlock knowledge of the universe.
Egypt was the source of a great amount of resources, labor and enlightenment when compared to other human civilizations that we studied. In light of this, we decided to document our arrival on Earth in Egypt, which also acted as the “capital” and initial landing place of the Firlocks. The Egyptians supported us and we supported them, in return.
We used our portal devices to deliver materials from across the universe. The people of Egypt watched in wonder as we utilized portals to build structures of wonder in their eyes. While these structures were simple to us, and took no real effort to build, the humans witnessed our efforts and considered the structures to be sacred. They became temples of a sort and took on the name, “pyramid.”
In honor of our home world, we erected thousands of statues of a species that we called the “sphinx.” Sphinxes were domesticated companions to the Firlock that we had created through genetic experiment. Since there were none of Earth, these statues which we we again, utilized portals to build, were constructed not for us but to expand the humans mind about what may be in the universe, which they did not yet understand. Surely they understood that we had come from some non-native origin but the humans had not yet begun to understand the scope of life, solar systems and the galaxy at large.
All of this took place within a few orbits of their planet around their sun. We discovered that humans only lived for a fraction of the lifespan of a single Firlock. It was no wonder then, that we were so much more technologically advanced. The knowledge that we were able to share with the Egyptians propelled their society forward. As the Egyptians cooperated with us, we so too cooperated with them. When the Egyptians set out to conquer other territories and societies, we supported them by portaling their armies across the continent, providing them with the opportunity for surprise attacks. While we did not partake in combat ourselves, our portal technology alone enabled the Egyptians to build an empire, spreading the knowledge and methods that we had given to them, hopefully advancing human kind.
After some time, the inevitable happened. Some of us began to fall ill. When the first Firlock fell, the Egyptians held a ceremony and entombed him in one of the very Pyramids that we had created. This new disease, unknown to the Firlocks and seemingly exclusive to this planet, rapidly spread through both the Firlock and human populations in Egypt. Firlocks began to fall by the dozen as we were seemingly vulnerable to the illness which our kind had never encountered. We sent word back to our home world about the disease, seeking a solution. Their response was unexpected.
Shortly after requesting aid from the greater Firlock community, our portals off world suddenly closed and our portal devices stopped working. We were cut off. The threat of one of us returning home with a new disease that could ravage the Firlock as a species was too great a risk. We were sentenced to our deaths. The Egyptian population too, continued to be ravaged.
Many of us “Pharaohs” were buried in pyramids as we fell, but eventually, there were no more pyramids to house us. The Egyptians lost hope as their guides, allies and leaders as they had come to know them fell, one by one. They looked to us for aid as their own civilization was weakened by the plague, but we were powerless to a nature that we did not yet fully understand.
Eventually, all of the remaining Firlocks in Egypt had fallen. The Egyptian empire had become weak, no longer possessing portal technology and thinned by disease. In-fighting among the Egyptians had begun. While some cursed the Firlocks, blaming us for the plague, others felt lost without those that they had turned to for so long. Struggling to find their way in the world, the Egyptian society was eventually conquered by an invading force under the banner of a new religion and language. They called themselves the Romans, as we later discovered.
The Egyptian experiment as it has been called is now part of Firlock history. While our species undoubtedly helped propel mankind forward, we also learned a difficult lesson. It is not always hostility from other species that may threaten us, but the world itself. We understand that the pyramids and sphinxes that we constructed still remain in Egypt while modern human societies continue to discover and research the gifts that we bestowed upon the Egyptians. While they seek to understand how these wonders of their world were constructed, they will find no answers. The Firlock have not returned to Earth in-person since the death of our expedition. We do not wish to expose ourselves to the rapidly evolving atmosphere and bacteria of the planet, nor human kind which has rapidly evolved and become increasingly hostile since our people’s unfortunate demise. Despite this, the Pharaohs, as we have became known, live on as a mysterious yet important part of human history.
Pharaoh: A Splitgate Story is an original piece of fiction set in and inspired by the Splitgate universe. It is not official Splitgate lore and is not officially associated with 1047 Games or endorsed by them in any way.
