" They came from the sky, declared themselves gods, enslaved us and forced us to build huge palaces, monuments and arks. They performed dark rituals on us. They were not gods, they were monsters! Today their reign will end, together we are strong, together we will drive these monsters from our land. Osiris, lead me and my brothers to victory! "

The only surviving fragment of the ancient papyrus describing the downfall of the mysterious Cult of the Scarab. The rest were burned in the fire of the Great Library of Alexandria.

Usually I don’t do commissioned or collaborative projects that aren’t directly related to the worlds and IPs I’ve created. This time however, I couldn’t say no. First of all, because I very much value our cooperation with Displate, and second, because the ancient Egypt theme felt just way too exciting to pass!

So the project was going to be loosely based on the conspiracy theories that the pyramids were built by an ancient alien civilization, stuff that was hugely popular when I was young – you know, back when The X-Files was the no. 1 show on TV. The ancient Egypt of the pharaohs has always fascinated me with its dark and twisted secrets. And so when the Displate team sent me details I started coming up with stories and images almost right away :))

Just picture all these monumental structures and think just how overwhelming they must have felt back in the day. Even ancient Romans saw Egypt as a cryptic and uncharted civilization. Their dark rituals, forgotten deities, and beliefs. The forbidden scrolls, the riches, and the religious fanatics in power. The pyramids, The Great Library of Alexandria, the mummies! Ancient Egypt is just beyond inspiring. 

I wanted it to loosely tell a story of the rebellious believers of the old gods taking their last stand against the invaders who came from heaven and called themselves New Gods. 

My key inspiration was the scarab and its symbolic and spiritual meaning among ancient Egyptians that reaches back to the Old Kingdom days. And so I designed the alien invaders and their machinery based on the look of a scarab. The rest is just pure imagination and improvisation.

To me, it also holds a personal connection, I met my muse and my beloved wife Alsu in Egypt <3

I hope you like it. Cheers!