| “ | In this time period, Signs just provide directions. Advertisements will thankfully not come for many more years. I suppose we could take this opportunity to advertise the next installment in the "Age of" series, or display the cheat codes if we knew what they were yet, or reveal that Amanra has a flying ship or that her commander, Mnevis, rides a hippo. | ” |
| —Excerpt from Sign history | ||
Mnevis was a character that was meant to appear in the Fall of the Trident campaign in Age of Mythology.
Background
Mnevis role isn't entirely known. He was intended to appear in the Egyptian section of Fall of the Trident as a fellow ally. According to his design, he was most likely a Vizier to the Pharaoh (likely Ramesses The Great, judging by the presence of Setna in the campaign).
According to developer comments, and the Sign's history text, Mnevis rode a hippo, suggesting he was intended to be a cavalry hero. Also the Sign's history text mentions that this unit is the captain for a flying ship, which suggest that this unit could potencially have a naval unit form.
Ultimately, Mnevis was dropped from Fall of the Trident, likely due to the story's scripts being shortened to 101 pages. Mnevis was apparently considered to appear in The New Atlantis, but ultimately did not appear.
Trivia
- Mnevis is the Hellenized name of the Ancient Egyptian bull-god Mer-wer ("Great Black")
- Historically, the cult of Mer-Wer was one of the few permitted during the Amarna Heresy. Mnevis being Amanra's commander is most likely a reference to this.
- Mnevis' concept art bears a heavy resemblance to Ian Fischer, one of the designers at Ensemble Studios.
- Mnevis and Stuart Black bear heavy similarities, such as the presence of a goatee, being obese, being based on the likeness of Ian Fischer, and generally being regarded as being incompetent.
Template:Heroes List (Age of Mythology)