Meet the Characters: Kenda Ptah, Atlantean Captain
- jennifermckeithen
- Dec 2, 2014
- 3 min read
Hello again, everyone!
Well, I only updated once in November. You can thank NaNoWriMo and Thanksgiving for that. But for those of you who haven't yet heard, I won NaNo and finished book 2! Thank you, readers, for all of your patience and support!
And now comes a character who wasn't introduced in the summary. Most of his background will remain a mystery in this first book. He'll move to center stage as a main character in the second and third installments. Not entirely sure how things will go yet, but he might even have his own spin off story.
Inspirations for Kenda Ptah include Virgil Tibbs, from In the Heat of the Night by John Dudley Ball, and Benjamin Sisko from Star Trek DS9.
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Marcus Duilius regained consciousness to find himself chained to a wooden bench with a crowd of other bare-backed men. The floor beneath him seesawed. He was in the bowels of a ship—a galley. He was a galley slave rower!
“Good morning, Marcus,” said the dark-skinned man next to him, in Greek. “Fancy meeting you this side of hell.”
He knew that voice! It belonged to a man who had once saved his life. In fact, were they not on opposing sides of the lengthy cold war between Rome and Atlantis, they might have been the best of friends.
“Kenda Ptah! How did you end up here?”
“Same as you. Our ship was captured.”
Marcus blinked in surprise. “Captured? An Atlantean ship?”
He stroked the stubble growing on his chin. “Atlantis has never before encountered this enemy. They're from an ancient city in the Far East. Their ancestors were among the peoples conquered by the Greek, Alexander. Some claim it was they who poisoned him. They've been rebuilding ever since.”
“You learned all of this as a slave rower?” Marcus asked.
Ptah's expression hardened into an unreadable mask. “No,” he answered quietly, “I encountered them on a previous occasion.”
Like most citizens of the melting pot that was Atlantis, Ptah wasn't originally from the island continent. He had told Marcus at their first meeting that he hailed from Nubian pharaohs. The Roman was about to inquire further when he recognized the third man on their oar. A nasty taste filled his mouth.
There sat Finn Stigandr, underling of his family's political rival, and turncoat to both Atlantis and Rome. It came as no surprise the man hadn't amounted to anything in either navies. No one trusted him, and neither did Marcus.
Though Ptah was also Atlantean, his case was another matter. Marcus understood Ptah, and agreeing to disagree on the subject of politics remained acceptable to both men. Whatever else he was, Ptah was loyal to his own people, and didn't waffle in his patriotism.
The double-crosser leaned on the oar with his eyes closed, apparently ignoring the conversation.
Ptah straightened. “You two know each other?”
Marcus narrowed his eyes. “We are old...acquaintances.”
Stigandr turned away and leaned against the wall. “I'm going to sleep now. You'd be wise to do the same.”
“Let him sleep,” sneered Ptah, “We'll escape without him.”
“I loathe agreeing with Stigandr,” sighed Marcus, “but he's right. My mind is little better than pressed olives at the moment.”
“Sleep will bring us new ideas,” Ptah assented, reluctantly. Then he smiled, “It's good to see you again, Marcus.”
©Copyright 2014, Jennifer McKeithen, All Rights Reserved.
Picture source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Egypt,_Nubian.jpg
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