Follower or Leader

Follower or Leader was a visual representation of one of Bayek's genetic memories, relived by Layla Hassan through the Portable Animus HR-8.

Description

Following in his father's footsteps is no mean feat for Setna. Especially when the boy poet lives by the adage that the stylus is mightier than the sword.

Dialogue

Near the Valley of the Scorpions in Heb Sed, Bayek came across a young man standing near the edge of a cliff.

• Setna: Only my oblivion will please him! Can I ever be a man in his great eyes?

Bayek approached the young man.

• Setna: How can I hope to best those beasts? Father can command all he wants, but I'm no warrior.
• Bayek: Your father has you hunting scorpions, boy?
• Setna: Boy? Another come to patronize me.
  Forgive me, I am tired of trying to make him understand. Him and his damned trails. I do not want to walk his path, neb.
• Bayek: Bayek. You wish to choose for yourself.
  Tell me of this ceremony you risk your life for.
• Setna: He thinks it will make me a man, accept my responsibilities. Recover the symbols, strength, protection, power. Folklore and fallacies.

Bayek speaking with Setna.

• Bayek: But you don't want to defy him. Even if that means oblivion.
  Perhaps I could be your champion.
• Setna: And what would that make me? A coward? A failure...
• Bayek: Smart. Such trials are not the only thing that makes a man. I would teach my son this.
• Setna: By Ra's light you are right, Bayek. I will wait for you north of here.

Bayek descended the cliff to the valley where the scorpions were located. After killing one of them, he approached and took a sample of blood from it's body.

• Bayek: A scorpion's blood. A vigorous symbol of strength.

He made his way back to Setna.

• Bayek: Setna will want to know he does not have to face Serqet's child.

Bayek fighting the scorpion.

He returned to Setna, giving the blood to him.

• Setna: You did it? You got the blood? Was it terrifying? Pitted against a fearsome foe, not knowing if you would live or die?
• Bayek: You have a way with words.
• Setna: Do you think? My dearest wish is to be a scribe.
• Bayek: Does your father know this?
• Setna: The mighty warrior? It would shame him to have a writer for an heir?
• Bayek: He will want his legacy to be a good son.
  What is our next trial?
• Setna: The symbol of protection. We must steal an Ankh from the Caverns of the Valiant. Can it be desecration, in the realm of the dead?
• Bayek: I will return to you when I have it.
• Setna: For the final trial... Come find me at the end to the caverns.

Bayek retrieving an Ankh.

Bayek made his way to the Caverns of the Valiant, a heavily guarded location. After defeating the warriors of Anubis who protected the place, he recovered the ankh in a chamber.

• Bayek: An ancient token of life and protection.

Bayek departed the tomb.

• Bayek: Setna's father means to show him a tenet of manhood. Protect those in your care.

He returned to Setna near the entrance to the cavern.

• Setna: Such a small thing, was it very hard to get? Did the spirits of the fallen scream and shriek? Wrap their icy fingers around your throat?

Bayek laughed.

• Bayek: You have a vivid imagination.
• Setna: It is both a blessing and a curse.
• Bayek: What happens when the trials are done?
• Setna: I will confront my father. Do you think he will hear me?
• BayeK: Stand strong and proud. He will hear you.

Bayek fighting for the postiche.

• Setna: The last trial is to take the Pharaoh's postiche from the great sand sea. It will be spewed forth from the desert.
• Bayek: The symbol of power is the beard?
• Setna: A boy is a boy no longer with hair on his chin. I will meet you at the Sanctum of Har-si-ese.

Bayek headed near the Battlefield of Kadesh, where he spotted a number of warrior of Anubis. He eliminated them.

• Bayek: Can the Jackal's guardian have the postiche?

He recovered the postiche from one of the bodies.

• Bayek: They say a man's strength lies in his beard, and yet I let Aya shave mine off.

With the postiche in hand, Bayek made his way to the sanctum.

• Bayek: What will Setna's father do with such a trinket?

Bayek and Setna at the Sanctum of Har-si-ese.

Bayek reunited with Setna at the sanctum, handing over the third item.

• Setna: (Setna) Great Ramesses, keeper of harmony and balance. My father, your trials are completed, your will done. But I will not follow you.

Setna turned the items over in his hand, spilling them to the ground.

• Setna: My path is my own to walk.

An apparition of Ramesses II on his throne appeared. The pharaoh stood up and approached Setna, speaking to him with Bayek's voice.

• Bayek: Then go with Ra, my son.

Setna faded away as the apparation took on Bayek's appearance.

• Bayek: You are not the lion leading an army of sheep, Bayek. But their destinies are forged in the flames you lit. Let that bring you peace.

Bayek facing his own apparition.

Following his adventure Bayek found several scrolls in the sanctum and commented on them. Upon reading The Eagle Soaring:

• Bayek: Ha! The story of our quest, he has cast me as the conquering hero. I almost blush.

Upon reading Father:

• Bayel: Would Khemu have followed my footsteps? Or carved his own path?

Upon reading The Instruction of Amen-em-apt:

• Bayek: The Instruction of Amenemope, a father's advice to his son on living a pious life.

Outcome

Bayek helped Setna with his trials in order to pursue his path with his father's approval.

References

• Assassin's Creed: Origins – The Curse of the Pharaohs