- "I have not seen my husband since yesterday. Help me find him!"
- ―the bandit lying to locals, 48 BCE[src]
Ebio
Ebio was an Egyptian bandit woman who masqueraded as the wife of Klaudios in 48 BCE as part of a scheme to extort a "virginity tax" from the Greek man. This plot was enacted one night around the time of the annual Festival of Sekhmet in Yamu when she got Klaudios drunk then forced him into marriage, causing him to flee across Lake Mareotis. Without the means to pursue him, Ebio turned to begging for help from the locals to find her "lost husband". Only the Medjay Bayek responded to her pleas, but when he returned with Klaudios, the ruse was immediately exposed, ending with Bayek's slaying of her brothers.
Biography
- "My brothers! You have slain my brothers! You were supposed to help me, not him!"
- ―the bandit to Bayek, 48 BCE[src]
Ebio, who would claim to be the wife of Klaudios, a virgin Alexandrian, had turned to banditry with her two brothers by 48 BCE. That year, she and her brothers lurked around the town of Yamu on the coast of Lake Mareotis in the hopes of robbing unsuspecting individuals. It was around the time of the annual Festival of Sekhmet in the town that she chanced upon Klaudios, who had come alone for the festival.[1]
Learning that the middle-aged Greek was a virgin, she and her brothers concocted a scheme whereby they would get Klaudios drunk and force him into marriage before finally coercing money from him. The initial stages of their plan succeeded—Klaudios was unable to resist their offer of free beer all throughout the night and the marriage was swiftly finalized. Despite being drunk, the Alexandrian was still conscious enough to comprehend the predicament he was in upon being pressured to pay a "virginity tax". He made his escape across the lake to the island of the Lost Crypt and lost the criminals.[1]
The following day, Ebio took to pleading locals at the docks to launch a search party for her "lost husband", masquerading as his anxious wife. Nevertheless, none heeded her calls until the Medjay of Siwa, Bayek, arrived. Without a second thought, he embarked on a boat across the lake to rescue Klaudios. Sure enough, Bayek returned with the hungover Alexandrian not long afterwards, but Klaudios instantly recognized her, revealed the truth of the whole affair to Medjay, and begged him to protect him from the bandit brothers. Though the unarmed bandits were confident of their victory, they were little match for the professionally-trained Medjay. At the sight of her slain brothers, Ebio broke into hysteria and fled into the desert, no longer to harass Klaudios ever again.[1]
She later returned to Yamu and was chanced by Bayek again. Bayek seized upon this encounter to respond to her earlier outcry, asserting that he had no desire to kill her brothers, but that the three of them had effected the outcome through their crimes. To this, Ebio walked away in silence with no more reply.[2]
Personality and characteristics
- "Forget him! He's just an idiot Greek. They have taken enough from our land!"
- ―the bandit to Bayek, 48 BCE[src]
Little more than a petty bandit when she tried to rob Klaudios, Ebio wasn't motivated simply by greed, but contempt as well. As an Egyptian, she bore a prejudice against Greeks for their domination of Egypt. Through her crime, she exhibited not only a penchant for deceit, but an underlying viciousness as well, rooting venomously for her brothers to bloody Klaudios and Bayek. While sadistic towards her victims, she grieved bitterly at the demise of her brothers. Even so, she blamed Bayek for their deaths in spite of the fact he was defending against their assault, exposing a selfishness that failed to acknowledge the consequences of her deeds. Aside from this, she and her brothers lacked the common sense to gauge their unarmed strength against a fully armed, professional warrior.[1]