Thousands of years ago, during the long-forgotten period of Ancient Egypt known as the Seventh Dynasty, there was a priestess of Bastet during Ancient Egypt, Meresankh of Thebes. Priestesses were rare in such a patriarchal society, but she had attained that position through her devotion and her charisma. She used her position within the small yet dedicated clergy of Bastet to be generous, compassionate, and willing to stand up for the lower classes, earning her a devoted following. But while she loved so many, her heart secretly belonged to the Prince, the sole heir of the Pharaoh, though she could never fully explore such a relationship due to her own vows and his duties. However, they were still good friends, and she visited the palace in the evenings to tell him of what is going on in the kingdom that his father might not know, slowly making him more and more sympathetic to the plight of the common folk of his empire.

But fate took a horrible turn one night, when Meresankh arrived to discover her love and his father murdered, and the palace guards stepped out of the shadows to surround her. The High Priest of Ra declared that he had foreseen this very moment, of her standing over the bodies of the Prince and the Pharaoh, and knew that she was the culprit. As their dynasty had ended, the High Priest, himself a cousin of the Pharaoh, declared his own dynasty, the Eighth Dynasty, and would ensure that the previous Pharaoh’s murder would not go unavenged. During her imprisonment and show trial, Meresankh realized that she had been framed by the High Priest for this power grab, but he had turned all of her allies against her.

Meresankh was sentenced to become subject to the most heinous of ancient ailment from a long-lost Book of Curses, as she could not be permitted to simply die and pass on to the afterlife. The new Pharaoh figured that she would be found innocent of her crime and allowed to tell the gods that it was the usurper who had really committed such a vile crime. So, through a dark rite, powerful magics were used to bind her sa, ba, and ka to her khet, so that her own soul would fuel the curse that would keep her spirit shackled to her physical form, unable to depart the mortal world. She was then mummified alive in a carefully-concealed tomb full of traps and curses, and given by a fellow devotee of Bastet the mercy of a dreamless slumber inside of her sarcophagus, which would only be broken if the lid were removed. There, she was sealed away for four thousand years, her body withering away as she remained in a sort of stasis.

Only a few years prior, archaeologists stumbled across the tomb of Meresankh, and though several of them and the excavators they hired died in the process, some of them managed to shove the lid off of her sarcophagus before they succumbed. She was awakened and allowed to stumble out into the modern world, a desiccated abomination forced to hide herself behind a mask she had worn in life. She made her way to the Egyptian capital of Cairo, masquerading herself as one more homeless beggar using a black hooded cloak to hide her bandages and her monstrous visage, looking like one more woman in a burqa. It took her some time to learn Arabic, and from there, English, which allowed her to discover that the Seventh and Eighth Dynasties had been so chaotic that much of their records had been lost and most historians considered the period to be myth. But she was not interested in correcting such misconceptions, or becoming studied by Egyptologists for her wealth of knowledge, as she wanted to find a way to break her curse and hopefully end her suffering.

Nowadays, Meresankh appears as a fairly petite feminine figure wrapped in linen strips and wearing jewelry of gold, silver, and lapis lazuli, embracing her appearance as what modern people recognize as a Egyptian mummy. She wears a mask to hide her sunken, skull-like face, preferring to add a headdress, a wig, and/or a shawl to further conceal her mummified form. She adds on a black cloak around herself, and sometimes heavy gloves and boots if she knows she is going to have outside contact with people or the world for extended periods of time. Interestingly, she does not smell of decay, but of incense and perfume with oaky, saccharine, and even spicy notes.

Meresankh is now best defined by her intense faith, being one of the few living practitioners of the Ancient Egyptian religions, specifically focused on Bastet, though she does make prayers to other gods if she feels a specific blessing is required. While she is not one to force her faith onto others, she does find comfort in the rituals and practices, as a sort of meditation. She is very focused and driven, striving towards a specific goal, yet quite curious, especially when it comes to the thousands of years’ worth of information she has missed. Add on the patience of someone who does not need to eat, breathe, or sleep, and she is an excellent researcher.

Due to being a mummy animated by an ancient curse, Meresankh has no need for sustenance, and has virtually unlimited stamina, though she only has to draw in breath to be able to talk, albeit with a raspy voice. While unmorphed, her body is quite frail and easy to damage, and each movement she makes is cautious and deliberate to prevent any injury, making her look very mechanical. However, it is just as easy to repair her body, for example, she can stick a detached limb back in place and bandage it up to get it working. Any body part removed from her is still functional, and she has a sort of remote awareness of its location and any sensory input from it, even letting her go headless if needed. Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of having very muted tactile senses, poor eyesight, and virtually no taste or smell.

As for her outlook on life, being dead has given her a new appreciation for the little things. She considers herself an anti-nihilist, that time is precious for everyone, and that every moment should be enjoyed to its fullest, whether pursuing a good book to read or taking a few seconds to love the natural beauty around her. This, combined with the strong moral grounding her faith provides her, is why she fights as a Ranger, to ensure that everyone can be free to live their lives for as long as they can.

Thanks to  faust1173 for designing my newest OC for a Power Rangers tabletop game, where we all play as variations on classic movie monsters, fighting against the evil Hellsing Institute!