Horus

Horus
Antagonist
Gender	Male
Life Stage	Young adult
Encountered By	Sphinx Tutankhamen (seen only)
Encountered In	Outskirts of the Castle of Uruk Cursed Palace Area Castle of Uruk
Relations	Imhotep (Former Master) Set (Master)
Gallery	Horus Gallery

"I don't understand why the Master insisted on having you accompany me. You're just holding me back!"

―Horus to Sphinx

Horus is an ally who turns into an antagonist in Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy.

Biography

Early life

Horus served as an apprentice for Imhotep, alongside Sphinx. During his time working with him, Horus seems to have developed a rivalry with Sphinx.

Retrieving the Blade of Osiris

Horus gets angry at Sphinx while on the mission.

The first known mission for Sphinx and Horus was to retrieve the Blade of Osiris from the Outskirts of the Castle of Uruk, which was ordered by Imhotep. Once the mission began though, Horus grew increasingly more impatient with Sphinx, often running ahead of him.

Eventually, they saw the Blade, leading Horus to run down a bridge to retrieve it without Sphinx. However, he was quickly gunned down by the Castle of Uruk's Eye of Ra. He fell onto a rock passing through a lava canal, only to fall down, and was assumed to be dead.

Reunion and Betrayal

Upon returning to the Great Wall Entrance I, Sphinx encountered Horus, whom he assumed to be dead. Horus tells a tale of how he "heroically" survived, and that Sphinx wouldn't have found the blade without his help. He also mocks him that he couldn't even enter the tower. As part of a ploy to get Sphinx to trust him, he apologizes, claiming he was wrong and that he admired his bravery. In order to prove himself, he gifts his former partner the Dark Stone of Invisibility, and asks for forgiveness for his arrogant past. Once more, he runs off.

Imhotep arrives to warn Sphinx that the Dark Stone of Invisibility causes instant death, and that Horus has betrayed him.

Allegiance to Set

Through spying, Tutankhamen later revealed that there was a meeting between Horus, Set, and Menes within the Castle of Uruk. He discovered that giving Sphinx the Dark Stone of Invisibility was a deliberate attempt to kill him. Horus was last seen being congratulated by Set as the trio walk off. His fate beyond this scene is unknown.

Traits and Appearance

Horus is a demigod bird that resembles a gray-feathered falcon, though he has arms in place of wings. However, he can jump to extreme heights, most likely aided by hollow bones and feathers like regular birds.

His attire consists of a blue top and pants, a red headpiece with a gem on the forehead, gold gauntlets on his forearms, and gold shin guards. Like Sphinx, he prefers to go barefoot. His eyes are oddly colored, as his sclera is pink and his irises are gold.

Personality

Horus is easily described as competitive, confrontational, brash, arrogant, deceitful and insecure. He is very vocal about his dislike for Sphinx and never misses an opportunity to point out any flaws in his character or abilities that he could find. Imhotep saw great potential in them both, but he did not want to be seen as Sphinx's equal and he sought to outdo him in every way. His failure to retrieve the Blade of Osiris pushed him to the edge, turning his petty grudge into malice. Realizing that he could not match Sphinx's skills in battle, he found more underhanded ways to emerge the victor in his one-sided rivalry.

While Sphinx possessed superhuman strength, strong morals and was quick-witted, Horus relied on his incredible agility and, above all, his cunning. He had no qualms about betraying his longtime allies and endangering the lives of others for his own benefit. He was a master of deception, playing with Sphinx's emotions in order to trick him into forgiving him and accepting a death sentence disguised as a gift.

Connection with Ancient Egypt

Horus was an Ancient Egyptian god that had the appearance of both a human and a falcon. The name "Horus" was owned by at least two gods: Horus the Elder, and Horus the Younger.

It is interesting that Horus is allied with Set in the game, as in the mythology, Horus was frequently pitted against Set.

Trivia

• Horus is one of the major antagonistic characters in the game whose fate was left undetermined by the end of the game, possibly to be used in a potential sequel.
• In the instruction booklet for the game, Horus is stated as being friends with Nefertiti, despite them never interacting in-game. This is possibly an aspect of the game that was changed or removed before final release, though there are many inaccuracies in the manual.