Hetepi

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Hetepi (c. 90s BCE – 48 BCE), also known as The Lizard, was a priest of Anubis who served under the High Priest Pasherenptah in Memphis, and who was a also secretly a member of the Order of the Ancients during the reign of the Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII. Through his clandestine mechanations, Hetepi plunged Egypt's historical capital into a seemingly paranormal miasma of tragedy and despair, with the citizens of Memphis, including the High Priest Pasherenptah himself, believing that the unexplainable occurrences were the result of a curse. In reality however, the afflictions which plagued the city were nothing more than practical illusions Hetepi devised and carried out by means of bribery, torture and intimidation, all in pursuit of befouling Pasherenptah's reputation.

Biography

Hetepi was born sometime around 90s BCE. At some point in his life, Hetepi became a priest of Anubis in Memphis as well as a member of the Order of the Ancients. He orchestrated for a series of accidents, ill omens, and a general aura of foulness and sorrow to befall on the city, and the citizens of Memphis became quickly convinced that these calamitous circumstances were the work of a divine maladiction.

Cursing Memphis

In 48 BCE, Hetepi attempted to sabotage the reputation of Pasherenptah, eager to usurp the position of High Priest and take it for himself. To this end, he orchestrated a massive fraudulent operation to mimic 'curses', in order to manipulate the minds of the people in the city.

Hetepi contracted Tjuyu and Tjanefer to spread death and chaos in the vicinity of the Palace of Apries by dumping bodies in the river, luring crocodiles to attack the living much more frequently and aggressively than normal.

Next, he forced mummification temple's head priest to mix sand with natron, which was used to dry out the bodies of the deceased before mummification. The mummies were later brought to a tomb beside the palace, where they would decompose due to the spoiled natron used, producing a foul smell of rotting flesh which spread throughout the city. To make sure the priest would follow his orders, Hetepi cut off his nose and threatened to do the same to his daughter.

Sometime later, Hetepi ordered his followers to kidnap Panchrates, the brother of priestesses Taous and Tawe who served in the Temple of Ptah, forcing them to poison the Apis bull with peach seeds to further disrupt Pasherenptah's reputation. To make sure the priestesses followed his orders, he cut off Panchrates' finger and sent it to them as a warning.

Hetepi even poisoned the cakes delivered to the Memphis Temple with flesh of the festering mummies, so as to cause pestilence among the population, especially in Pasherenptah's wife, who suffered three miscarriages because of this. All of these events convinced the denizens of Memphis, the High Priest included, that a mysterious being called "the Lizard" had cast a powerful curse upon the city and its inhabitants using dark magic. It also also engendered doubt in the minds of the people in Pasherenptah's ability to serve as the High Priest, doubts which Pasherenptah himself came to share.

Discovery and death

Hetepi's efforts were later thwarted by the arrival and the investigations of the Medjay Bayek of Siwa, who discovered the truths about his 'curses', ranging from discovering how he caused miscarriages, why the city's air had a foul odor, why the crocodiles were attacking the civilians more frequently, and even how he poisoned the Apis Bull. After rescuing Panchrates, the Medjay Bayek discovered The Lizard's true identity. Due to the fact that Priests of Anubis all wore similar regalia (including jackal-headed ceremonial masks which obscured their faces), Hetepi was nigh-indiscernable amongst his fellows within the Great Temple of Ptah, yet still Bayek was able to identify Hetepi by the blue scarf he wore, as well as by his persistent coughing, killing him and saving Memphis from his iniquitous schemes.

Personality and characteristics

Unlike his incredulous sacerdotal contemporary Medunamun, Hetepi was a genuine religious fanatic who considered the masses "cattle of the gods", fit only to be driven by the herdsman's whip. In spite of his zealous piety (or perhaps because of it) he was also incredibly corrupt and cruel; willing not only to pollute the entire city of Memphis with festering corpses and to lure crocodiles into residential areas so they might attack innocent people, but also to purposely poison his colleague's wife so that she miscarried, all to see his and the Order's plans succeed.

Hetepi was evidently adept at concealing his true feelings and intentions, as Pasherenptah was shocked to learn of the Lizard's true identity, claiming that Hetepi was among his closest and most trusted advisors.

Trivia

• Hetepi's mask is the representation of the Egyptian god Anubis, who is often associated with mummification and the afterlife.
• Hetepi's name, transliterated as htp.j, means "He who is satisfied/at peace", quite ironic considering he was neither satisfied with Pasherenptah's tenure as the High Priest of Ptah, nor was Hetepi peaceful by any stretch of the imagination.

Gallery

• 
  Concept art of Hetepi unmasked
• 
  Promotional image of Hetepi
• 
  Hetepi's Order symbol
• 
  Hetepi in the Memory Corridor

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Origins

References

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