Epic Fantasy Rooted in Egyptian Myth: Wicked Ink Publishing Signs Secrets In The Hieroglyphs
Wicked Ink Publishing is proud to announce the signing of Kareem El-Baradie for his debut epic Egyptian fantasy novel, Children Of The Wind, the first book in the Secrets In The Hieroglyphs.
Set in a world where destiny is the wind, carrying most and answering to few, Children Of The Wind follows Heqaib, the last orphaned lion cub, five years after his brother’s betrayal slaughtered their pride and left him for dead. Once longing only to become a Hunter like his brother, Heqaib now survives by carrying the burdens of others, serving as a humble porter to the chiefess of his province. As war tightens its grip on Misraya, he is drawn into a perilous journey across a fractured realm, tasked with escorting the chiefess to Pharaoh Merikara’s summit, where the fate of the Two Lands may be decided.
As civil war threatens to tear the kingdom apart, the Temple of Ra grows desperate. To end a century-long conflict against the pretender Montuhotep and his brutal bull army, they are willing to trade their most guarded secrets for the chiefess’s Hunters, the deadliest force in Misraya. With ancient powers unraveling and chaos seeping from the Duat, Heqaib is forced to confront the past he has spent years running from. To survive what is coming, he must choose whether to remain bound to a purpose chosen for him, or abandon everything in a desperate search for the brother who destroyed his life, and uncover why betrayal was chosen over love.
Rooted deeply in ancient Egyptian mythology, Children Of The Wind blends divine politics, looming warfare, and the lingering presence of the dead with an intimate, character-driven exploration of grief, identity, and destiny. It is a story where gods walk close, magic moves like the wind, and every choice is weighed on the scale of Maat.
Kareem El-Baradie brings a rare blend of passion and precision to his debut series. His lifelong fascination with ancient Egyptian history and mythology, once set aside while completing a degree in chemical engineering, eventually resurfaced with clarity and purpose. Seeking to unite creativity with structure, Kareem built a career in the video game industry, earning a master’s degree in industrial engineering before joining Ubisoft Toronto. Over seven years, he rose from coordinator to manager, contributing to major titles such as Far Cry 6 and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, where he honed his skills in large-scale worldbuilding, narrative cohesion, and collaborative storytelling.
Those experiences now fuel Secrets In The Hieroglyphs, a series born from a singular vision: to reimagine ancient Egypt as a living, breathing fantasy world shaped by myth, memory, and consequence. With Children Of The Wind, Kareem invites readers into an epic where survival is not enough, destiny is never simple, and finding one’s true path may cost everything.
We are thrilled to welcome Kareem El-Baradie to Wicked Ink Publishing and look forward to sharing this bold, immersive epic fantasy with readers who crave fearless storytelling inspired by legend, history, and heart.
Destiny is the wind. Most are carried. Few command it.
Deep Breath, In and Out.
Five years after his brother’s betrayal slaughtered their pride and left him for dead, Heqaib, the last orphaned lion cub survives by carrying the burdens of others.
Only ever wishing to be a Hunter like his brother, he now aimlessly serves as a porter to the chiefess of his province, drifting through life on the whims of the wind. But when war tightens its grip on Misraya, Heqaib is drawn into a perilous journey across a fractured realm, tasked with escorting the chiefess to Pharaoh Merikara’s summit, where the fate of the Two Lands may be decided.
The Temple of Ra is desperate. To end a century-long civil war against the pretender Montuhotep and his brutal bull army, they are willing to trade their most guarded secrets for the chiefess’s Hunters, the deadliest force in Misraya.
As ancient powers unravel and chaos seeps from the Duat, Heqaib is forced to confront the past he has spent years running from. To survive what’s coming, he must choose: remain bound to a purpose chosen for him, or abandon everything in a desperate search for the brother who destroyed his life, and uncover why Setep chose betrayal over love.
“When you’ve truly found Sekhmet’s wind, only then will you be more than a grain of sand on the scale of Maat. Then come and find me.”
