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Shabti-1-

Egyptian shabti

Shabti, meaning "answerer", are servants made out of clay or wax. Sometimes they are also called ushabti or shawabti. They are used mainly by magicians and gods.

Description[]

Shabti have multiple functions, one being that its master can use it to perform his or her duties in the afterlife. Other shabti serve as decoys, companions, soldiers, and even librarians or informants. Most shabti are made incomplete in some way; if their bodies are perfect, they will come to life and possibly kill their master out of vengeance. A shabti can report to its master by releasing the information in a magical ball of light. It will send a report upon being destroyed, but may also send a message periodically and automatically. They can also use magic, noted as Zia's shabti used magic.

Magicians that specialize in creating shabti are skilled in statuary magic. Some of the most notable statuaries include Nectanebo, Iskandar, and Thoth. Walt Stone has shown the ability to create shabti and bind sheuts to them. Sadie Kane has learned how to bind a sheut to a shabti as well as create one, but is not as good at it as Walt.

Known Shabti[]

  • Zia Rashid: After Nephthys takes the real Zia as a host, Chief Lector Iskandar hid her and replaced her with a shabti version of herself. This shabti was destroyed in the battle against Set.
  • Doughboy: A shabti in service of the Kane family. He has no legs to prevent him from becoming real and killing the Kane family. He is a small little man. 
  • Philip of Macedonia: A shabti Amos Kane keeps as a pet and protector. It takes the form of an albino crocodile, they keep in their house.
  • Jerrod and Wayne: Two shabti sent by Thoth to test Carter and Sadie in Memphis. Both were destroyed after Sadie defeated them.
  • Brooklyn House shabti: Four shabti act as librarians, retrieving scrolls or artifacts for the Kane family. Others are used to help train the initiates for Carter and Sadie.
  • Thermos shabti: Shabti in the form of a thermos created by Sadie Kane. Has googly eyes and a tendency to fly around yelling "Exterminate!"
  • Flowerpot shabti: Shabti created by Sadie Kane to act as her avatar, do her chores and communicate. Made out of a flowerpot. Sadie named it "Sadie Junior". After using it to communicate with Carter and Walt in the Serpents Shadow, it falls apart.
  • Carter KaneA shabti Jaz created to save Carter Kane from the tjesu heru. This shabti is only a healing connection device and is not animated. It is destroyed after Sadie Kane heals Carter from the tjesu heru venom.
  • Bes: A small shabti in the shape of Bes is created by Walt Stone to hold his sheut before it is returned to him. This shabti just acts as a container and is not animated. It is destroyed when Sadie Kane casts a spell to return the sheut to Bes.
  • Apophis: A small shabti in the shape of Apophis is created by Walt Stone to hold Apophis' sheut in order to execrate it and destroy Apophis. As Walt lacks the strength to do so even after being taken as a host by Anubis, he teaches Sadie Kane the binding spell and she successfully binds Apophis' sheut to the shabti. This shabti is destroyed when the sheut it holds (and Apophis along with it) is destroyed by Sadie and Carter Kane with an execration spell. Another was created earlier by Michel Desjardins to temporarily banish Apophis and it was destroyed as part of that spell. This one is referred to as being "makeshift," presumably due to the lack of time he had to create a proper one. Creating a shabti of Apophis is against the law as it could be used to strengthen or even summon him.
  • Deformed Hippo: Shabti created by Carter Kane during the battle with a petsuchos to distract it. Ends up being deformed because Carter couldn't look at what he was doing and ran out of time when the petsuchos attacked him. The hippo ends up stuck in the petsuchos left nostril until it sneezed so hard the hippo was blasted across Long Island. However, the distraction allowed Carter and Percy Jackson the chance to recover and plan their next move.

Trivia[]

  • Shabti are important parts of execration spells as they are used a representation of the being execrated. If the shabti holds the sheut of a being, the being will be destroyed by the execration.
  • Shabti are among the most common artifacts from Ancient Egypt. They can be seen in every major museum in the world.
  • The largest collection of shabti are held in the Archeological Museum in Zagreb.
  • The shabti were considered as a magical workers, that would serve a pharaoh in his next life.
  • Sadie's thermos shabti may be a reference to the Daleks of the TV series Doctor Who, sporting a similar appearance and the habit of yelling "Exterminate!"

Gallery[]

The Kane Chronicles
Core Series: The Red Pyramid | The Throne of Fire | The Serpent's Shadow
Crossovers: The Son of Sobek | The Staff of Serapis | The Crown of Ptolemy | Demigods & Magicians
Main Characters: Carter Kane | Sadie Kane | Ra | Anubis | Apophis | Bast | Bes | Horus | Isis | Zia Rashid | Set | Walt Stone | Setne
Secondary Characters: Julius Kane | Ruby Kane | Amos Kane | Vladimir Menshikov | Leonid | Sarah Jacobi | Kwai
Minor Characters: Michel Desjardins | Iskandar | Jasmine Anderson | Sean Ryan | Julian | Alyssa | Cleo | Felix Philip | Shelby | Khufu | Muffin | Mr. Faust | Mrs. Faust | Percy Jackson | Annabeth Chase
Egyptian Gods: Ra | Geb | Nut | Shu | Osiris | Horus | Set | Isis | Nephthys | Anubis | Sobek | Bast | Thoth | Serapis | Ptah | Nekhbet | Wadjet | Babi | Tefnut | Tawaret | Khepri | Khnum | Neith | Khonsu | Sekhmet | Hathor | Serqet | Shezmu | Hapi
Demons and Magical Creatures: Ammit the Devourer | Bau | Bloodstained Blade | Criosphinx | Carriers | Face of Horror | Griffin | Uraeus | Serpopard | Switchblade Demons | Tjesu heru | Petsuchos
Other: House of Life | Magic | Magician | Kane Family
Related Content: Rick Riordan | List of Terms | The Kane Chronicles: Survival Guide | Brooklyn House Magician's Manual | Film Series | Mythomagic, Inc | Netflix
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