The Destruction
SET HAD BEEN paying attention. Because that's what he did best.
Throughout the whole episode with his sister Isis and Ra, he listened closely to every conversation anyone within earshot had, and knew pretty much about everything that was going on.
But he didn't let anyone know that he knew.
That was the way Set was. Though most of the time he was quite silent, his mind was always active. He had an extremely keen memory and a calculating nature. Indeed, "blind attack" was almost always his last plan if nothing else worked. And though he had a vicious temper he usually kept it under control, hidden behind composure so cool it could freeze fire. Now, as the last piece of the puzzle--Ra returning to his boat after Isis visited him--fell into place, a mysterious smile crept up his face. It was Judgement, and he sat on the floor next to his brother Osiris's throne, half-listening to the kau's testimonies as they were judged. He was also good at doing--or seemingly doing--several things at once, and when Osiris cast a quick glance at him he merely thought Set was gloating that four unfortunate kau had been devoured by the monstrous amemit already. [Note--you'll see in the original Horus and Osiris that long ago, I thought "amemit" was a generic name for the Devourer of Souls and any other beasts like it. It turns out that "Amemit" is in fact this singular creature's NAME, and it's supposed to be a she (as indicated by the ending, "-it"). In my old writing, Set was the one who kept "the amemit" under control.] After the trials Set repaired to his chambers, which were always dimmed--he was, after all, the god of darkness. He had his own "palace," if that's what you would call it, some miles away, but usually went there only when living in the palace compound got to him. He had a wife, his other sister Nephthys, but rarely ever slept with her in his original chambers; somehow the thought of sleeping next to a female, even his wife, repulsed him. [Note--no, I was NOT indicating that I thought Set was gay. In my intermediate writing, he just wasn't interested. In my newer writing, in particular the adult stuff, you can see that I view him as very much straight...no matter how that myth with him and Horus and the lettuce goes...] Of course Nephthys was disappointed when he didn't, but when he was in an unusually good mood--which meant he wasn't up to anything, or well into something going his way--he would visit her briefly early in the morning and give her a quick kiss on the cheek, then leave before she woke up completely. Nephthys, who knew her husband well, could tell that night that he was planning something, and retired to her bedchambers alone.
Nephthys knew she should tell Osiris and Isis of what was going on but she also knew that if she did she risked paying the price when Set found out. Usually the closest she got to touching was a hard slap. Not only that, but she was trying to help him; she believed there was goodness in him somewhere and she wanted to bring it out; thus she wanted not to anger or displease him, but to keep him satisfied, and this was the only way she could do it. Maybe this time it will come to good, she thought. Maybe this time.
It took the priest Kha several days to return to the city which would one day be called Heliopolis, the City of the Sun. [Note--in later writings I call this city by its proper name, Iunu.] He was one of Ra's followers. As he tethered his donkey to its usual post just inside the gates of the holy city and turned to report back to the temple, he stopped and gave an unhappy sigh. The priest Tu was coming towards him. Tu was not a kind person, and was especially malign when those under his supervision left without his permission. He stopped before Kha, glaring down his nose at the young priest.
"And where have you been?" he asked.
"In Hermopolis," (that was not its name back then, but it must be understood that this is its best-known name) Kha replied. [Note--more like, it must be understood that back then I didn't know that the city's Egyptian name was Khemennu!] "I was at the Oracle of Thoth."
"I'll suppose you were," Tu said. "While all the rest of us were back here panicking, you were out there cavorting about at your own pleasure."
"I told you I was at the Oracle," Kha said defensively. Then he dared to add, "At least I was worried about the welfare of the country and not just my own."
Tu's eyes flashed with anger. "How dare you talk back to me!" he hissed.
By now it was too late to avoid getting into trouble, so Kha said, "You have no right being a priest in this holy temple. On the Day of Judgement you should be brought before all the great gods and have that stone in your chest which you call a heart torn out and thrown to the serpents."
Tu's hands were clenched at his sides in humiliated fury. He could think of nothing to say.
"Your double should burn in the fiery pits of the Duat, and your soul should be devoured by the amemit," Kha went on. "Then the demons of Amenti should throw what's left of your wretched excuse for a body to Apophis, Sebau, and Nak."
That was more than Tu could stand. He lunged at Kha and they fell to the ground. The other priests of Ra nearby stopped dead in their tracks with stunned looks upon their faces. What a spectacle the two struggling priests created! Kha was trying merely to get loose, words being his only weapons, but Tu struck him across the face with his fist so hard that he was momentarily dazed. Before Tu could do more damage the watching throng of priests moved aside--the high priest of Ra was coming. He entered the clearing and roughly pulled Tu from Kha, who was bleeding from the nose. He glared at them both, then said, "Follow me and look straight ahead!"
The two subordinate priests did as they were told, Tu scowling and Kha accepting a cloth from one of the servants to daub his nose with. They followed the high priest into the far end of the temple, which was now empty. There the High Priest turned and glared at them again. [Note--there is a margin note indicating that I should change all instances of "High Priest" to "high priest." It looks like I edited a few, then left the rest.]
"I cannot believe this," he began, his voice low, but he raised it more and more with each word. "Rolling around in the dirt like a couple of wild animals! This is the last thing I expected you to do, Kha."
Kha kept his head bowed, but Tu stared directly into the High Priest's eyes. The High Priest turned to him.
"And you," he said. "You do nothing but bring shame to us. You shame the people. You shame me. But most of all you shame the Great Sun God Ra!"
"Fine. Let me shame him." Tu tore the golden falcon amulet from around his neck and threw it to the floor, then gave it a defiant kick. The eyes of the other two priests widened with horror.
"I cannot allow you to commit such a sacrilege within this sacred temple," the High Priest growled while Kha bent over and very carefully picked up the amulet, holding it as if it were a real life bird. He noticed the scuff from the priest's sandal on the surface of the soft gold.
"Such things are not done," he said softly. "Such things are unheard of."
"I don't care," Tu said, his eyes burning. "You say I shame Ra? Alright [sic], I'll shame him. Great Lord of the Sun! I see nothing great about him. You say he's all-powerful. I say he's nothing."
"Out of my presence!" the High Priest shouted. "You'll say no such things in the god Ra's holy temple."
"I'll say whatever I want!" Tu shot back, turning and leaving. Before he exited, though, he stopped and spat upon the feet of a statue of Ra, then disappeared from sight.
The High Priest turned back to Kha. "I'm willing to forgive," he said, "if you're willing to apologize."
Kha bowed his head again. "I know I have brought shame to the holy priesthood of Ra, and I can only pray that His Greatness Lord Ra will forgive me."
The High Priest gave a weak smile. At least he could forgive him, but whether or not Ra did was up to fate.
"I hope nothing comes to the worst," he sighed. "With what Tu said and did it's a wonder God Ra doesn't cut out his tongue."
Kha nodded silently. The High Priest put out his hand and Kha handed him the scuffed amulet. He said, sighing again, "What God Ra does is up to God Ra. He has strange whims. Indeed I think it was a strange whim that he had Tu created. That is, if he did. You may leave now, and may the gods be with you."
Kha bowed and murmured a response, then departed.
As Kha remained faithful to Ra, so did the treacherous Tu quickly change his allegiance. It wasn't what he planned to do, and he didn't even really know what he had done, but on his journey to wherever he was going he discovered one of the few temples of Set, which had an oracle. Mildly curious, he went in. The several priests who were there welcomed him in, that is, after he told them of what he'd done, and brought him to the oracle. A small statue of a donkey-headed bird stood in a little box-like shrine, a jet black stone in front of it. The priest present with the highest rank told him how to use the oracle, then swiftly seemed to disappear into the thick, hazy darkness surrounding the shrine. Tu picked up the stone, debated with himself on whether he should continue or not, and finally held up the stone to the weird statue. He waved it over the bird's head while chanting some strange-sounding words, then lightly touched the bird's forehead with it, and at last placed the stone into the hole that was carved thereupon just for that purpose. The stone flared red, as did the bird's donkey eyes, then dimmed until the glow could barely be seen. A voice asked, "Who art thou?"
"I am Tu, a priest from the temple at Heliopolis," Tu replied.
"A priest of Heliopolis? Thou art a priest of the god Ra? Then what doest thou in this temple?"
"I was a priest of Ra," Tu corrected the oracle. "I have insulted the Lord of the Sun, and wish to know what should become of me by way of him so that I might avert it."
The eyes glowed. "It is impossible to avert the will of the Great Sun God, thou Tu. His wrath will indeed cometh down upon thee. But I know of something thou canst do to perhaps defeat him before he defeateth thee."
"What would that be?" Tu asked, putting one hand on the edge of the shrine.
The bird shrieked, "Put thine hand away from my shrine!"
Tu's anger was aroused again. "I'll take orders from no one!"
The red eyes glowed again, and a sardonic smile seemed to come onto the donkey face. "Thou hast a sharp tongue!" the oracle commented.
"Just shut up about my tongue and tell me what to do," Tu said, his voice low.
"Thou now hast made many enemies, Tu," the oracle said. "But thou hast perhaps many more allies. Thou art quite intelligent, and bold too to talk back to two gods. They are not. Use this to thine advantage. Speak against the sun god, tell how weak he is! Tell how he hideth behind his great sunboat while mortals gaineth the power! Then thou shalt have two great weapons at thy disposal."
"What weapons would these be?" Tu asked.
The single little candle flared up suddenly, and now Tu was certain he saw the oracle smile. "These weapons are known as doubt and pride!"
Tu obeyed. He immediately went to the nearest city and there used his words against the sun god as Set's oracle had told him to, and soon the city's residents were all doubtful as to the supremacy of Ra. Thus Tu's first weapon was used. Then they began to whisper about it, then talk, then shout, feeling that since this was their world, they lived on it, they should rule it, not some weak, cowardly god. This was not good enough for them! Thus Tu's second weapon was used.
The people of the next city Tu visited reacted in the same way, and those of the next, and the next. Imagine the shock Kha and the other priests of Ra expressed when a crowd of thousands gathered outside the gates of Heliopolis, shouting blasphemies and pelting the god's statues and those few who dared to peer out with stones and trash. Kha was even more startled when he saw Tu, a former comrade of his, climb atop the wall and silence the crowd below. What he said to them made Kha sick with fear.
"People of Egypt, of Kemet, the Red and Black Land!" he shouted so the masses could hear. His cry carried over the crowd gathered outside, and to those locked safely behind the gates. "Listen to me when I tell you of what folly we have been living under! Here is the great city, the City of the Sun, the seat of the priesthood of the sun god Ra! I myself used to be one of them, until I discovered the truth--Maat as you would call it!" he addressed to the High Priest and his followers. "There is no glory to the sun god Ra! All of what you see and hear is false. Ra is not the powerful god many used to think he was! He is nothing but a coward, a weakly one at that, who according to our stories could not live with disgrace. [Note--I believe this may be a reference to the story "Sovereignty," which later appeared in City Of The Sun.] Then let us rebel against he whose daughter is Truth, who rules over us with such lies! Down with the sun god Ra!"
His cry was taken up by the angry mob, which forced open the gates and stormed into the holy city. The priests could do nothing to stop them, as some of the Heliopolitans were now pierced by Tu's doubt and did not stand up against them. The two magnificent statues of Ra were not to stand long and were totally wrecked. A small group attacked the High Priest, throwing him into a fountain, and Kha had to help him out. The Heliopolitan children were either frightened or fanatic, and cried and hid or joined in the desecrations. Kha and the High Priest stood to the side and watched helplessly as the people ran into the temple of Ra. By the time they were forced out most of the holy City of the Sun was in ruins and the mob left to wreak its destruction elsewhere.
"Look at what they have done," the High Priest said despairingly, gazing at the wreckage which had been Ra's statues. "They're crazy. Tu has made them insane. He's poisoned their minds with his falsehoods!"
"They held the arrows of hatred in their own hands," Kha said. He hung his head with regret, finally understanding what Thoth's oracle had meant. "They chose to poison themselves."
"I know it was inconvenient to many of you that I called you here," Ra said, addressing the gods and goddesses who were gathered before him around a long table. Only the most important and powerful ones were there, among them Isis, Osiris, Horus, Hathor, Sokar, Nunu, and Neith. Now they were all looking up at him--since he sat on a throne higher than their seats--and waiting to hear his announcement.
"Someone stirring up trouble, I hear?" Sokar said, his head resting against his hand and a faintly amused look on his face, as usual.
"A priest named Tu," Thoth replied.
"Former priest," Set corrected with a smirk.
"You speak as if you know him personally," the scorpion goddess Selket, who sat at Sokar's right, commented.
There was a slight murmur at this, during which several shot warning glances at each other. Ra waited for them to quiet, then continued.
"Sokar is, unfortunately, correct," he said. "There have been unkind words spread amongst the mortals. Already they have stormed Heliopolis and ruined the temples. As of now they are organizing a rebellion, after which they even plan to come here and challenge our supremacy. They are almost finished with their plans and their armies are almost organized, which means their raid will not be too far away." He closed his eyes and momentarily let show his weaker side, looking very tired. "I don't know what to do." He looked up again, in an almost imploring way, and the others knew he wanted suggestions.
Silence. No one spoke. Ra turned to look at Thoth, who was normally so brilliant with ideas, and Thoth in turn slightly shook his head, though in a reverent way, and looked to Nunu, Ra's father. After a brief pause, Nunu finally stood and spoke, as Thoth knew he had been intended to do.
"My son Ra," he said, "you are great, indeed even greater than he who created you, and so shall I be under your rule. I do not oppose any solution of yours. Whatever you decide to do is the right thing that is to be done. We will not go against what you say." [Note--the beginning of Nunu's speech here is paraphrased almost directly from Nunu's speech in the actual myth itself.]
There was again a silence, this one much longer than before. Ra sat in deep thought, while all of the others kept their mouths closed and their ears open, not wanting to disturb him in his concentration, and wanting to hear his solution. Finally, reaching it, Ra again raised his head.
"We must destroy them," he said sadly.
Hathor stood. "I will be the one to do it." [Note--the myth of the Destruction of Mankind is a complex one, because the Egyptian gods were very multifaceted, each bearing a multitude of names and attributes. Hathor and Sakhmet, both daughters of Ra, were thus sisters, but at times were taken to be the same goddess, in much the same way that the sister goddesses Sakhmet and Bastet were often taken to be different sides of the same being (Bastet the cat--gentle, graceful, domestic; Sakhmet the lioness--enraged, brutal, wild). In the Destruction myth, it is Sakhmet who is almost always named as the goddess who sets out to destroy mankind; however, in the first version that I stumbled across (thus the version that most influenced me), the destroying goddess was Hathor. There is no contradiction here, as Sakhmet was merely regarded as Hathor's violent side--in essence, the peaceful Hathor turned into the raging Sakhmet during the destruction, and then when she was done, reverted back to the peaceful Hathor. Sort of a multiple personality thing, if you will. However, seeing as in my own writing I treat these goddesses as if they are all SEPARATE beings, I thus chose Hathor, the goddess whom I was first introduced to in this myth, to be the destroyer. Anyone familiar with my writings can see that I easily picture the goddess of love as being rather bitchy and destructive when she wants to be--she is, after all, Ra's daughter. Thus--in my version of this myth--Hathor is the avenging goddess.]
The next day was very dark and cloudy, with thunder rumbling in the distance. Kha set out on his donkey early, going to the homes of several of his old companions, asking if anything odd had happened to them, and if yes then what.
The reason he did this was because, the previous night, he'd had a dream. In it he saw a fire, and people running, and the sun hitting the earth. In the midst of the turmoil was a giant horned lion, and he was afraid. But then the fire dimmed and he saw, just barely, a pale glowing eight superimposed over the frightening scene. Then he'd woken up.
No one he talked to had experienced anything, but as he rode along a lithe figure moved about in the bushes alongside the road. He stopped. Could it be a highway robber? Or someone just as scared as he? Before he could wonder much longer, the person came out and stood in the road before him. He was dressed as a traveler but had an uncannily crafty look about him, with gleaming wolfish eyes. He seemed fit to be a highway robber, the priest thought, and his hands began to shake.
But the strange person merely made a dramatic bow at the waist while saying, "The priest Kha from Heliopolis, I presume."
"How--how did you know that?" Kha stuttered. Robbers usually didn't take the time to discover their victims' names and addresses.
"Oh, I know a lot more than you'd take me to." He looked to his right, then his left, and took a step or two forward. "I'm really not supposed to tell you this, but I don't suppose it could hurt too much for you to know who I am."
"Who are you?" Kha asked.
The oddly-clad personage winked and grinned and said, "I'm Khenti Amenti."
Kha's jaw dropped, then he stuttered, trying to speak.
Khenti Amenti waved his hands, shaking his head with annoyance. "No, no, don't say anything. My companions--" Kha took that to mean the other gods "--they don't pay me much respect so neither should you. But I'm not down here for smalltalk. You had a dream, or nightmare, last night and yes, as you almost certainly know, it was a prophecy. Ra has turned his back on you and your people for the time being, but if you listen to me you and those who believe in you can escape the destruction."
"Destruction!" Kha cried.
Khenti nodded. "You're going to be destroyed. That is, unless you listen to me. And not just you, either, but everybo--"
"What do I have to do!" Kha asked.
"Go to your people and tell them what I've said and what you know. Take only those who really still believe and flee with them to the Delta swamps. Stay there until the dawning of the eighth day when the slaughter will be over, and if you can survive, you will be safe. There will be several of us who will be watching over you, I among them. I'll help your people on the journey there. Now go."
Kha gratefully bowed as much as he could since he was still on donkeyback, and turned and galloped away. Khenti, left behind, sighed and shook his head.
"Poor man," he said to himself. "I hope you're one of the lucky ones."
Kha decided to go to Hermopolis first of all, since he knew that the glowing eight in his dream had signified not only the dawning of the eighty day but also the Lord of the Eight, Thoth. If anybody would believe him it would be these people. Plus he knew that Tu's malicious rumors had not reached there yet. He was let through the gates immediately since the high priest of Thoth had heard him shouting about a dream he'd had, and a prophecy, and something he'd heard at the Oracle. As soon as he dismounted Kha grabbed the priest by the shoulders, a most disrespectful gesture, but it was important that he be listened to.
"I had a dream!" he exclaimed, a huge crowd of Hermopolitans gathering around to listen. "There's going to be a great slaughter. I heard it at your oracle as well, and from the mouth of a god too!"
The crowd murmured slightly with awe. They didn't know whether to believe him or scoff at him.
"You say this is a prophecy?" the priest of Thoth asked. "Then what has this to do with us?"
"You have to believe what I say and flee to the Delta swamps," Kha said. "That's the only way you can be safe."
"Through the Delta!" the priest exclaimed. "You can't be serious about that! The swamps are full of crocodiles and all sorts of wild animals!"
"You must go!" Kha hissed. "The gods will be protecting you. I've gotten the assurance myself. I'm not crazy. Please believe me and go!"
Utter silence. The High Priest stared at Kha for a long time, then turned to a subordinate.
"Go to the Oracle," he said. "See if this man tells the truth."
The priest nodded and hastily left. After the passing of several minutes, which seemed to Kha to be several years, the priest finally returned, his face pale, trembling.
"It--it's true!" he stammered. "The god Thoth has told me so himself!"
The people in the crowd murmured again, if that was what the sound could be called. They seemed to be arguing. The High Priest held up his hands to quiet them, then said, "I'd like everybody who is to my front right, from there to there, to go gather all of the belongings they need and can carry. When you're done wait outside the gates. And don't panic!"
The city residents obeyed but did so in a rush, trying not to panic. After them the rest went in groups to gather necessities and evacuate. The High Priest accompanied Kha on his way out, and took hi arm as he climbed back onto his donkey. Kha turned to look at him.
"I wish to thank you for warning us," he said. "You're saving many lives."
"I'm just doing what I was told to," Kha replied. "I have to leave now. I just pray that I can save many more."
Kha traveled to city after city and village after village. His poor little donkey was quite tired by the time his roundabout trip brought him to Memphis. [Note--I'm not as positive on the name of this particular city, but I believe one name of it is "Het-Ka-Ptah." Another name, of which I can't recall the Kemeti spelling, means something like "White Walls."] He might even have crossed the river several times but he was so exhausted he didn't remember. [Note--my understanding of Egyptian geography was even lousier back then than it is now. I'm pretty sure he had to cross the river to visit the cities of Heliopolis, Hermopolis, and Memphis each. What's more perplexing here, though, is--how did he cross the river?? And if he did then how can he POSSIBLY not remember??] The gates of Memphis were open already for some reason, and though it was night he could see the statues of Ptah, Sakhmet, and Nefertum, the patrons of the city. He started to doze, and the donkey was so weak and disoriented that it didn't know where it was going, so they came closer and closer to a little drop-off ledge, heedless of what was about to happen. Suddenly the donkey gave a jerk and a bray, and Kha snapped awake.
A soldier had dashed around in front of the confused beast and pulled one of the reigns [sic], which had slipped from Kha's hand, to the side, thus averting what could have been a minor disaster. Kha was about to thank him, but what happened then left him momentarily speechless.
"Kha! It is you!" the soldier exclaimed. "How long has it been? Get down from there! You look starved!"
Kha blinked stupidly, trying to clear the haze from his eyes. "Who--are--am I--"
"Kha, it's me!" the soldier said with a laugh. "It's Bek! Don't you remember me?"
He was going to say he was sorry, he didn't, when he did. Bek. That was the name of a childhood friend of his, before he'd joined the priesthood. Bek had joined also, but was dispelled for his behavioral problems. He had been rebellious against the High Priest and his rules, and after his removal had tried to talk Kha into leaving also and joining the army, which seemed much better to his wild mind, but Kha had decided to stay. After that he had not seen nor heard any more of him.
"Bek?" Kha said. "I--I forgot all about you."
"That doesn't surprise me!" Bek said. "Get off that poor donkey. You're coming over to my place for some food."
Kha did not decline. Nor did he wish to. Bek helped him down and they--plus the donkey--walked down the street until they came to Bek's house. It wasn't too small, as small as one might expect, and though it wasn't very grand either it looked comfortable. Bek tied the donkey not too far away and fed it, then led Kha inside, talking all the while about how things had been for him.
"Being in the army isn't as bad as you may think, Kha," he said. "You would be perfect. Only for your nature. You're not the fighting type."
Kha snorted, thinking of Tu and himself rolling in the dust, at each others' [sic] throats, but said nothing.
Bek served his old friend some food, then sat down across from him, staring at him intently. "What brings you here anyway, Kha? You live miles away in Heliopolis. [Note--yes, by now I realize the stupidity of using a word like "miles."] From the look of it you've traveled even further than that." He grinned. "It wouldn't be a mission of mercy at the will of some god, would it?"
"As a matter of fact it is," Kha replied, eating.
Bek laughed. "Oh, you're a good one, Kha! You really had me going for a minute there."
Kha looked up at him blankly. "Had you going on what?"
Bek's smile vanished. "You aren't joking, are you?"
"I never said I was," Kha said, resuming his eating.
The soldier leaned back, a pensive look upon his face. "You really believe all that junk they tell you at the priests' college?"
Kha looked up again, but this time he was angry. "Now I see you for who you are. Tu must have come here already. In that case I'll leave."
Bek grabbed his friend's hand as he stood up. "What? Tu? What does he have to do with this?"
Kha sighed and sat back down, then began on his earnest speech for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. "I had this dream. In it I saw fire, fire everywhere, and a great horned lioness. There was also an eight. We're going to be destroyed, Bek! We're all going to be killed unless we flee to the Delta!"
He had taken Bek's shoulders and shaken him at some point during this narrative, and Bek was staring at him almost as if he were a madman.
He didn't believe him.
Kha let go. "You don't believe me!" he exclaimed, going towards the door. "I should have known you wouldn't, what with the way you always--"
Bek again caught his hand. "Kha, wait! It's not that I don't believe you. It's that I can't believe you."
"Then I'll stop wasting your time--"
"You are not wasting my time!" Bek shouted. This outburst was so unexpected that Kha was struck dumb, unable to move. Bek closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then let it out and said, "What I meant to say is that I don't understand you. You suddenly come in here and start raving about a dream. You make no sense. If you and I both calm down, maybe you can get something through."
Kha nodded. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so angry. It started when the sun didn't rise. Do you remember that day?"
Bek nodded also. "I do. Go on."
"That day I went to the Oracle of Thoth in Hermopolis," Kha continued. "I went there to ask a question, and went away with two answers..."
By the time Kha finished his story it was well into the middle of the night. All through it Bek listened carefully, once in a while interrupting to ask a question, such as, "Are you certain it told you that?" or, "What did you see, again?" or, "Did he really say he was Khenti Amenti, or maybe could you have heard him wrong?" Kha put up with Bek's questions as patiently as he could, knowing he was only trying to make certain of specific points of the story, and Bek in turn did his best not to throw in an incredulous exclamation or two. When he had spoken his last sentence, Kha sat and waited for Bek's reaction.
Bek was silent with thought for several minutes, then raised his head. "You're absolutely certain that all of this happened?"
"I swear it, Bek," Kha replied. "I swear by Ra."
That was all Bek needed to hear. "Well! If you would have said that earlier maybe this would have been over sooner. I know you. You'd never make a false oath by Ra. I'm with you now. What do you say we do?"
"We have to warn all the people of Memphis that we can," Kha said. "Two can do it faster than one."
"Three could do it even faster," a soft voice offered.
Bek stood and went to a doorway covered by beaded strings. He parted them a little and exclaimed, though quietly, "Kawit! I didn't know you were here." He parted the strings further and led a young woman--she looked to be barely past her teenage years--out. Kha stood up.
"Kha, this is Kawit," Bek introduced. "Kawit, this is Kha."
"I heard," Kawit said. She nodded at Kha, who sat. She spoke very softly. "I want to help."
Kha was wondering why this young girl was seemingly hiding in Bek's house, but did not want to be impolite. He started to thank her when Bek interrupted.
"You know you can't do that," Bek said. "Somebody might see you again. Then you know what would happen."
Kha frowned, puzzled. Was she in some sort of trouble? But Kawit shook her head.
"No one around here knows me, Bek. That's what I've been telling you. I don't need to hide anymore."
"That's what you said last time!" Bek persisted. "Right before they came back and found us."
"'Us'!" Kawit echoed. "You see? That's you included."
Kha cleared his throat.
The two glanced at him, startled, then dropped their argument. It turned out that Kawit had won. So, without much further explanation, they set out through Memphis to spread the word.
As the sky grew cloudier so the stars couldn't show, Khenti Amenti, crouched on a high crag overlooking the flatlands, could make out the dim forms of scores, of hundreds of people, walking, riding, or in the case of the very young being carried across the plain. They were the faithful, trekking to the distant Delta. Only they knew there would be no sunshine today, in fact maybe even no sun for Ra had turned his back upon the majority of mankind. But he had not turned his back on them, at least not yet. They traveled for several days, and were well into the north by the time someone looked one morning and saw that the red dimness given off by the sun was not in the east but in the west.
"Look! Look!" he cried. "Over there! On the horizon!"
The people slowed their long, straggling train and gazed in the direction of his shaking hand.
The light was not that of a backwards sun, or the moon or a shooting star.
It was the light of fire.
The dazed onlookers shifted their eyes to the south. The glow was there also. They fancied they could even hear the screams of the tortured and dying within those doomed cities.
Then they really did hear the faint flapping of huge wings. After a moment, one man shrieked and broke from the train, dashing towards a small town which lay several hundred yards to the east. The flapping grew louder and the wind stirred.
The man never made it. Just as he was about to reach the settlement a huge stream of fire shot from the blackened sky and enveloped him in one bright, leaping mass. The man howled in pain and the others screamed to see a gigantic lioness with broad wings, curved black horns, and glowing coals for eyes swoop out of the darkness with a terrible roar. But she did not bear down on them. She aimed instead for the town, its little mud-brick houses and stick figure people the targets. A flood of flame consumed the town in an instant, the living torches screeching and running about in their agony. Khenti turned his head. He prayed Kha wasn't in that town. The train of horrified onlookers could only continue on their wearisome journey, though with an obvious increase in speed.
Khenti Amenti, still hoping against hope they would all make it yet knowing many wouldn't, turned into a wolf and shuffled away into the underbrush.
Kha was aware, when he saw the fire in the south, that Khenti Amenti's word was true. He himself hoped only that the other part of Khenti's promise could be kept. Kawit knew her way around better than he did and led the way, though Bek was still acting oddly, as if he regretted letting her come. At length they came to a small settlement. Bek, now suddenly wanting to help, offered to warn the people while Kha and Kawit waited outside the village. In truth Kha sensed he did not want the villagers to see Kawit, but neither the priest nor the girl offered complaint, so he went in alone.
Kha inspected Kawit out of the corner of his eye. She, sensing his scrutiny, turned and smiled apologetically.
"You must forgive Bek and me, we do carry on so sometimes," she said.
"I've noticed," Kha replied. "I was just meaning to ask you, what--I mean, why--well, Bek's just acting so--so--"
"Unlike himself? I understand," Kawit said. "He has every reason to. At least he says he does. You see, I'm not really supposed to be with him."
"You are in trouble?" Kha asked, unable to hide the slightly worried tone in his voice.
"Yes and no. Let me explain. I used to live in a town not too far from the southern desert land, where once an army came through. Your friend Bek was with the troops. I suppose you can imagine what feelings went on between us?"
Kha shrugged slightly to indicate his assent.
"Anyway, my father didn't like your friend Bek very, and the army's general didn't like the idea of us being together, so we sort of--"
"Eloped?" Kha asked, amazed that Bek, old wild and free, disobey-the-priest-and-join-the-army Bek, would do such a thing. Even eloping with a girl so young seemed against Bek's better nature, if he possessed one.
Kawit nodded.
"You mean he deserted also?" Kha added.
The girl nodded again and continued, leaving Kha as bewildered as ever. "As you can tell, he became somewhat skittish after that. Nowhere we go are we safe, even if we've never set foot on that land. No place can we stay for too long, even if we've never so much as touched one grain of its sand."
"I can't disagree with him, what with your father and his general after you," Kha mused. "I suspect you've been discovered once?"
Kawit nodded again. "Once only. And that was when we tried to return home in disguise. My father got the soldiers after us and we had to run again. So now he insists that I hide all of the time. We usually stay in Memphis, where we're welcome, but I still keep close to the house. I think he--"
She abruptly stopped talking, as Bek was returning. He stopped, looked over his shoulder, then continued. Several moments later a small group of people, consisting of an old woman, a middle-aged man, a younger man, a mother with a baby and two little children, and a teenage girl and her brother, perhaps an extended family, emerged after him.
"Tu's somehow been here," Bek said. "Hardly anyone here believes me, except these people. The head of the family, the husband of the woman with the children, was a priest of the nearby temple. He was killed not too long ago. I suppose it's because of him that they're coming."
"I have no way of knowing who you are," the woman holding the baby, with the two children hiding behind her legs, said, "if you're educated or ignorant, a wise person or a fool, but I must tell you that no matter how learned you are you can't know all the feelings of my heart, be they those of a mother or a wife. I don't feel guilty for my husband's death, for I know he's now in a much better place than we are. It's not for him that we go. It's for what we believe in."
Bek hung his head, mildly embarrassed by the brave woman's speech, but Kha knew time was quickly slipping away and the wrath of the terrible Hathor would soon be upon them.
"Let's go," he said. "The Delta isn't very far away but we've still got a long way to go."
The others gathered together and started out, several boys in the town jeering after them and the dull glow of the burning cities at their backs.
The god Anubis, half-brother of Horus, did not like the dying and destruction. It was he who brought death, that pale, glittering dust of eternal sleep, to everyone below, and having to do so to such a great number of people horrified even him. So one afternoon, as the slaughter still raged on, he went to Ra's palace to speak with him.
Of course Ra was still there, having left his boat moored in its port for several days past, refusing to let the sun rise. Anubis caught sight of him walking down a hall, the same hall in which he had been bitten by the magic snake, and quickly dropped to his knees. Ra halted, staring at the young god with mild surprise.
"What is it you want, Anubis?" he finally said.
"I ask permission to put a question to you, God Ra," Anubis replied.
"Permission granted," Ra said, and Anubis stood, his head bowed slightly to denote his profound respect for the sun god. Still, the fact that he stood without permission to do so told Ra that he was about to challenge his authority, and he waited to see what that challenge would be.
"I ask of you why this carnage can't be stopped," Anubis said, daring to let his eyes meet those of Ra, but with his head still bowed. He wasn't about to risk that much. "Those people who are fortunate enough to escape Hathor's fury are instead drowning in the blood spilled by their neighbors. Do this many people really have to die?"
Ra's eyes narrowed but Anubis didn't look away. "You are quite intelligent, Anubis, more so than many could ask to be, but you cannot understand everything. These people need to be taken care of before they destroy everything, even themselves."
"I didn't know you could be so hypocritical," Anubis suddenly said.
Ra's eyes, before narrowed, now opened wide. "What did you call me?" he asked incredulously.
"I said hypocritical," Anubis replied plainly. "You state that the mortals need to be stopped so they don't destroy themselves. Then you go and destroy them anyway. So what difference does it make whether you take care of them or not?"
Ra was furious. "You have no right to speak in such a way to me. You don't know the mortals the way I do. They didn't come from your tears. [Note--reference to a creation myth which calls humans the tears of Ra.] They weren't created to be like you. Neither were they created to destroy all that has been made by me. Their own destruction is of little loss but I'll not tolerate them ruining everything else. I won't make that mistake." He turned and stormed away, saying as he went, "Believe me when I tell you this, Anubis. I won't allow them to ruin my works or my world. I raised the wall and I will be the one to knock it down!" [Note--yes, you are hearing strains of REM's "World Leader Pretend" right there...]
After many misadventures the long train of Kha's followers--indeed that was the name later peoples would give them--reached the Delta and entered the swamps. Many of them had already been visited by Anubis, picked off by robbers, wild animals, starvation, and sickness. The damp surroundings didn't help any, and though the world was in twilight it was still quite dark because of the clouds raised by Hathor's smoke, roiling thickly in the sky. Strangely, wherever they seemed to go, a faintly glowing light, undiscernible [sic] and unfindable yet there, went with them, lighting the way. Thoth, unable to show the moon through the thick black smoke, had chosen instead to keep the mortals' trail lit by his magic. Kha realized this as they stopped to rest in a shaded part of the swamp, and prayed to the god for help. Those who were still alive were afflicted by cold and hunger and were huddled miserably together in groups. Even Bek did not feel well, and was helped to walk by the faithful Kawit. The old woman who was with the family Bek had warned had knowledge in healing plants and herbs, and hobbled about slowly, placing some moss here, rubbing a root there, while Kha sat and watched. It was the fifth day, he knew, since Hathor had come. The time passed slower than ever now that they weren't running. After a while, Kha became tired of listening to the coughing of the adults and the crying of the babies, and stood, stretched his sore legs, and went walking to the edge of the swamp where the land grew harder. He stopped and took a deep breath, then let it out, thought a bit, and then turned to go back to the others.
He was met by a sharp blow to the side of his head and fell to the muddy ground, his mind reeling and lights dancing before his eyes. Blood was pouring from his nose, and he would have thought the situation familiar enough when a voice from above startled him even more.
"How do you feel now, you miserable wretch?" the voice sneered. "I hope the pain's so great you just stay and rot there. This should serve you for condemning me to the pits of the Duat!"
Kha, his hand to his nose to try to stop the blood flow, turned his head as much as he could. The assailant was Tu, a look of triumph on his face. He had Kha exactly where he wanted him, and Kha knew that.
But Tu did not want his moment of triumph to end yet, and instead gave Kha a hard kick in the side. Kha could do nothing but moan and curl up with pain.
"This serves you right for threatening me with the snakes of the Underworld," Tu hissed, kicking Kha again and again, "And this serves you for what happened with the High Priest. And this," he exclaimed, raising a big rock over Kha's head--
"Hey!" Kha never thought Bek's voice could sound so sweet. Bek tore from the swamp towards Tu, who dropped the rock and ran--for Bek still had his sword from the army. This delay and the shock he had experienced finally allowed the battered Kha to stand and stagger forward slightly. He was going to shout something to Bek when what he saw shocked him into silence again.
Overhead, far above Bek and Tu, loomed a dark, monstrous shape.
A winged lioness!
"Bek!!" Kha screamed.
Bek and Tu stopped dead in their tracks, raising their eyes to the sky. Bek immediately turned and ran back. But Tu was paralyzed with fear, unable to do anything but stare at the descending lioness. Her mouth yawned open hideously, and Kha found himself running, running as fast as he could toward the terrified priest.
A burst of flame shot forth directly at Tu. Kha pushed him to the side so quickly though that only the hem of his robe was singed and they fell upon the earth. But Tu was screaming in agony for some strange reason, and Kha couldn't figure out why. He pried Tu's hands from his eyes and looked at him; then, still noticing nothing wrong, put his fingers before Tu's face. Tu simply continued screaming, heedless of Kha's actions. Kha shivered, knowing what that meant.
He'd gone completely blind.
"Tu, stand up," Kha said, trying to help him to his feet. As soon as he did, however, Tu shoved him roughly to the side and, still shrieking, stumbled away, his hands to his now sightless eyes. Kha started after him but Bek held him back with a shake of his head.
"Let him go," he said softly. "I can't say he deserves it but there's nothing we can do for him now."
Kha bowed his head and let the tears flow.
"What a sad ending," Duamutef sighed.
"I've never heard such a sad story," Hapi agreed.
"Not everything in life is wine and roses," Khenti Amenti replied, placing his head on his forepaws.
"Khenti, did Tu ever get better?" the falcon boy, Qebusenuef, asked.
"And what about the others?" Duamutef added.
Khenti yawned. "I suppose I could tell you the third and last part of this story, on one condition."
"What's that?" Hapi asked.
"That I choose the next story," the wolf answered.
"It's a deal," Imseti said.
"Does this story tell what happened to Kha?" Qebusenuef asked.
"How did Ra stop Hathor's rampage?" Duamutef asked, using her name instead of "Mother" for politeness.
"It has something to do with Thoth, doesn't it?" Hapi mused. "You said something about him."
"As a matter of fact, you're right on the mark," Khenti said. "Thoth was sent to help the mortals who still survived after the slaughter. But before Ra decided on this he had the more pressing problem of somehow putting an end to the killing itself..."
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