Naktamun

Naktamun
Information
Plane	Amonkhet
Part of	Shefet
Scryfall Statistics
	artworks

Naktamun is once the central city of Amonkhet and home to its gods. It was ravaged after the Hour of Devastation, but its former inhabitants have rebuilt the city to some extent.^[1]

Description

Naktamun is located at the banks of the river Luxa and protected from the horrors of the surrounding deserts by the Hekma, a magical barrier maintained by the god Kefnet. During Nicol Bolas's initial attack on Amonkhet, Naktamun was the last city that stood against him and was to serve as the nucleus of the re-emerging civilization centered around him.

Officially, the city was ruled by the five gods, who acted as stewards of the God-Pharaoh. The living population was rigidly divided into three groups:

Acolytes, children who were focused on honing their skills and prepared for the coming trials
Viziers, servants of the gods who underwent the Glorified Death when they finished their service.
Initiates, warriors organized in Crops that underwent the Trials of the Five Gods.

Mummified dead did most of the manual labor of the city, building monuments and harvesting foodstock.

History

After the Hour of Devastation had come, the city was destroyed by the Eternal army of Nicol Bolas, and most of its gods were slain. The survivors, led by Hazoret, fled the city, whose ruins were reclaimed by the local fauna. After the Eternals were summoned to Ravnica for Bolas's invasion, Hazoret and the other survivors reclaimed the city, raised the Hekma, and began to rebuild.^[2]

Amonkhet was a target in the New Phyrexian Invasion.^[3] Warned of the incoming invasion, the survivors of Amonkhet went into hiding, hoping to evade Phyrexian notice, but it turned out to be futile.^[4] To their surprise, when they arrived at Naktamun, they found the Scarab God and Locust God already there, engaged with the invaders. With the insect gods' undead hordes distracting the Phyrexians, Hazoret used her flaming spear to ignite the glistening oil within the Phyrexians' veins. As they writhed in agony, Djeru led a crop of elite fighters to dismember them, making sure they were out of the picture for good. In the aftermath, the inscrutable insect gods departed for the deep desert without a word.

With the Phyrexians defeated, the Amonkheti could declare victory. The Scarab God and the Locust God retreated to the Broken Lands. Hazoret, alongside the living and loyal undead of Naktamun, chose not to pursue. Instead, she worked alongside the survivors in rebuilding the city. This was a colossal effort, one that employed both the living and the dead, and broadly fell into two major tasks: defending the city from the wandering, lost undead of the Broken Lands and beginning the great undertaking that was reconstruction. A hopeful sign followed the end of the invasion: the Luxa fouled for so long, and began to flow clear.^[5]

Naktamun's undead faced a critical decision. The Phyrexian invasion saw the death of tens of thousands of Amonkheti. Newly risen under the Walking Curse, these fresh undead were not eager to submit to the old order of servile mummification. They recognized that their liberation was only possible at the beginning of reconstruction when the living needed them the most. As a group, the loyal undead in Naktamun approached the living defenders of the city with a plea and a promise: "Free us, and we will see Naktamun preserved." The living agreed, and together, the living and loyal undead came once more to the mutual defense of the city, holding back the tide of the wandering dead.^[5]

Naktamun started rebuilding from years of ruin, with both the living and the dead banding together to clear the streets, shore up the buildings that could be repaired, and remove structures that were too ruined to be salvageable. The core of the city was cleared, but the work continues in outlying districts.^[5]

In the aftermath of the Invasion, the former planeswalker Samut now serves as vizier of Naktamun. After the emergence of the Omenpaths, spices from Naktamun were being peddled in Thunder Junction.

Locations

The Children's Quarters - a dormitory-like area where young disciples live and train, marked by a looming, somewhat ominous building bathed in the red light of the second sun. It serves as both a place of rest and a backdrop for the close camaraderie among the children before their formal training begins.^[6]
The forgotten district - an abandoned quarter of the city, where crumbling barracks and sunworn ruins hide old murals and cryptic glyphs that hint at a past long obscured by the gleaming monuments of the present. Once part of the city's lifeblood, it now stands as a quiet echo of what was lost—or deliberately left behind.^[6]
The Gauntlet - a training ground where initiates are pushed to practice more destructive techniques.^[7]
The Hekma - a vital magical barrier that protects Naktamun, keeping back the desert sands and the cursed undead of Shefet, and allowing the people to live and train under the watchful promise of their God-Pharaoh.^[8]
Imtara - the grand ceremonial plaza at the center of Naktamun, considered sacred ground by its people. It was the site of countless rituals and trials, all carried out beneath the gaze of the empty throne. Former site of the Eternal Temple.^[8]
- Throne of the God-Pharaoh - served as a visible symbol of Nicol Bolas's rule and the promise of his return to judge the worthy. Its imposing design and placement reminded every citizen of the power and authority of their unseen master.^[8]
Oashra Valley - a lush, fertile valley through which the Luxa runs.^[8]
- Desert of the Fervent
  - Arena of Glory
  - Hazoret's Monument - a massive three-tiered pyramid crowned with a jackal head carved in Hazoret's likeness. It stands closest to the Gate to the Afterlife, symbolizing her readiness to lead the worthy beyond.^[8]
    - The Family Temple - the heart of the monument, where Hazoret lounges among her glorified children, offering comfort and kinship instead of distant worship. Here, initiates rest, share stories, and prepare for their final trial under her watchful care.^[8]
    - The Proving Grounds - a shifting arena of linked platforms, beasts, and obstacles shaped by Hazoret's will. Here, the worthy climb the Steps of Battle to prove their devotion through relentless combat in the Trial of Zeal.^[8]
    - The Threshold of Glory - a simple door marked with Hazoret's heart symbol. It leads initiates from the warmth of the Family Temple into the Proving Grounds to face the Trial of Zeal.^[8]
- Desert of the Glorified
  - Bontu's Monument - looms like a gleaming beacon of cold ambition, its crocodile-headed facade promising glory only to those who betray without hesitation. Within its shifting halls, sacrifice and treachery are not sins but the highest forms of devotion to Bontu’s ruthless creed.^[8]
- Desert of the Indomitable
  - The Fertile Holding - a wild training ground along the Luxa where Rhonas tests initiates' strength, instincts, and survival skills. Part garden and part untamed preserve, it mirrors the Trial of Strength and forces initiates to prove they can outlast the beasts of Amonkhet.^[8]
  - Rhonas's Monument - a towering sanctuary of lush jungle and stone where initiates taking the Trial of Strength test their physical might and survival instincts under the watchful eye of the god of strength. Its echoing halls and perilous vines stand as both proving ground and testament to Rhonas's enduring power.^[8]
- Desert of the Mindful
  - Kefnet's Monument - a towering stone structure crowned with the god's vigilant likeness, housing a shifting labyrinth of illusions that tests the mind's limits. Within its maze, initiates confront their deepest fears and unravel hidden truths to prove their worth through the perilous Trial of Knowledge.^[8]
- Desert of the True
  - Oketra's Monument - a massive pyramid dedicated to the vigilant god Oketra, serving as both shrine and the site of the Trial of Solidarity. Overlooking the Luxa River, it symbolizes Oketra's protective watch and the unity she demands of her people.^[8]
- Gate to the Afterlife - a monumental river gate that served as the sacred passage for the worthy dead, carrying them onward to the paradise promised by the God-Pharaoh. Through this gate, those who completed the God Trials would pass on funerary barges, awaiting rebirth as immortal Eternals.^[8]
- The Luxa River - Turned to blood by Razaketh after the Hour of Revelation, but now clear again.
  - Cascading Cataracts
- Luxa River Shrine
Nitin district - gleaned from Vizier Eknet's mind by Jace Beleren's mind reading skills as the Gatewatch entered Naktamun through the Hekma.^[9]
The Obelisk Path - a street through the city lined with the obelisks of those crops who succeeded in passing the Trial of Ambition and becoming glorified.^[8]
Sef district - gleaned from Vizier Eknet's mind by Jace Beleren's mind reading skills as the Gatewatch entered Naktamun through the Hekma.^[9]
Valleys of Renewal - open grassy courts before Rhonas's temples where initiates hone their combat skills through ritual sparring and martial forms. These spaces also serve as sanctuaries for rest and healing, where wounded initiates perform the Shedding to cast off pain and doubt.^[8]