Makan al-Ramal al-Hamrah, meaning The Place of Red Sands in English and also known as simply just Red Sands, was an Egyptian village and the birthplace of Zia Rashid.
History[]
Until a young age, Zia Rashid grew up in Makan al-Ramal al-Hamrah. However, Zia's father, while helping archeologists, found a pit of broken statues with a single statue intact. Unaware that magicians would often bind Chaos monsters in such a statute, he brought it home and the monster was unleashed. Apparently aware of Zia's importance to his possible defeat, Apophis possessed the monster and used it to destroy the village. Zia is left as the only survivor, hidden in some reeds in a fire pit by her mother.
Eventually, Chief Lector Iskandar and magicians from the House of Life arrive and destroy the monster, rescuing Zia who loses all of her memories of her life before being found. Iskandar takes Zia in and informs her what happened to her village, leaving Zia with some mementos from her village.
After its destruction, the village is left abandoned and comes to be considered an evil place that is very badly cursed.
The Kane Chronicles []
The Red Pyramid[]
After Carter Kane follows her to her secret sanctuary, Zia shows him her mementos from her village and explains what happened to it.
The Throne of Fire[]
Zia Rashid, a former inhabitant of the village.
Having learned that Iskandar had replaced the real Zia with a shabti, Carter desperately searches for her with one of the things he does looking at the picture of the young Zia in her sanctuary using a scrying bowl. Through a bau, Apophis taunts Carter that Zia sleeps in the Place of Red Sands, but Carter is unable to discover what he means. Later, Set reveals to Sadie that the name of Zia's village is Makan al-Ramal al-Hamrah which Carter realizes means the Place of Red Sands. As a result, Carter is insistent upon finding the village and rescuing Zia.
Carter and Bes travel with a group of Bedouins through the Nile Valley, attempting to find someone who knows where Makan al-Ramal al-Hamrah was located. Carter realizes that Apophis was telling the truth if only because it would rattle him and that the Chaos serpent was responsible for the village's destruction, not a random Chaos monster, although Carter is confused as to why Apophis hasn't just killed Zia yet if he already knows where she is. Finally, around six in the evening, Carter and Bes meet an old fellahin, a peasant farmer, who recognizes the name. The old man's first reaction to hearing the name Makan al-Ramal al-Hamrah is to make a protective sign against the Evil Eye, but he tells them what he knows since Bes is the one asking. The old man reveals that the village, located ten kilometers south at a bend in the Nile where the sand turns bright red, is an evil place and very badly cursed that no one visits anymore.
Borrowing the Bedouins' truck, Carter and Bes are able to reach the former location of the village, but Carter can find no sign of the ruins until Bes points out that they are now covered by the Nile, stating that the village was swallowed up and the Nile is trying to wash away the evil that happened here. Wading through the shallows, Carter and Bes search the ruins for over an hour before Carter finally finds a set of stairs leading into what appears to be a tomb. With something stalking them in the Nile, Bes orders Carter to part the river, but he doesn't know how to. As the two argue, they are attacked by three water demons with Bes managing to evaporate one as they struggle. Finally, channeling the power of Horus, Carter manages to release a massive telekinetic blast, destroying the demons and parting the river, revealing the ruins of the village and the tomb.
Inside the tomb, find Zia in a water sarcophagus holding Ra's Crook and Flail and Carter releases her after realizing that she is still partially awake but trapped in a series of nightmares. Carter awakens Zia and as her body rejects Nephthys' spirit, carries her to the Nile, releasing the goddess into the water. Carter argues with Zia, revealing what had happened since she was trapped and how it was Apophis who had destroyed Makan al-Ramal al-Hamrah. Before they can reach a conclusion, Michel Desjardins and Vladimir Menshikov arrive and imprison Bes. After futilely arguing with the two magicians, Carter battles Menshikov and is nearly killed, but Sadie and Walt Stone suddenly arrive through a portal opened for them by Thoth, freeing Bes who banishes the two magicians. After Zia passes out, the four magicians and the god leave Makan al-Ramal al-Hamrah.
Trivia[]
- The name presumably comes from the bright red sands that surrounds the village. Bes states that the village was built in a badly chosen place because red is the color of evil, the desert, destruction and Chaos.