You enter the Path of Anubis. This room appears different than other parts of the temple. It seems to be a repository of scrolls & tablets. A library it would seem. On the northern wall is a scene of horrible destruction, chaos in a land unfamiliar to you and yet....

A lone figure, that of a woman with black hair, a feather on top of her head, dressed in Egyptian styled raiments. She seems to be enraged at the chaos around her.

You turn to the western wall and see that the wall itself has a shimmer to it. Its strange movement makes you feel a little off balance and you decide to carefully investigate.

As you step near the wall you hear an all to familiar *click*. Freezing once again in your tracks you listen to a strange sound, not like the stone grating on stone, but something intangible.

You glance over your shoulder, towards the north where you came from and see a lone figure sitting in the center of a swirling mass of chaos, resting comfortably on what looks to be a plush pillow sitting atop a pedestal.

Confused, you step closer to see the figure is that of an old man dressed in some sort of ceremonial garb. As you draw nearer, the man's eyes flash open. You freeze under the piercing gaze of icy blue eyes. His stare drives you to your knees. When you look up, you find that you are sitting upon a purple, velvet pillow and the old man is now smiling intently at you. You look around to see the chaos swirling about you. It is as if you were in the eye of the storm.

"Yes, yes indeed. You are worthy." He smiles as you scan your surroundings only to find that you are the only other person here.

"Why have you come here child?" Bristling at his remark, you open your mouth to speak but his gaze silences you. "I meant no offense" he smiles, "for we are all children to the Mother." He chuckles at your confusion. "Forgive an old man's ramblings. You truly know not of what I speak. Therefore I will enlighten you."

He nestles down even more into his golden pillow. "I will tell you of a time before our Mother..." As he speaks, you feel yourself transported to another time and place. "This land, OUR land, was once in proper balance. By balance I mean the natural order between good and evil. Ma'at the goddess of truth, order, balance makes it so. Without Ma'at the Universe would return into Chaos." He sighed. "Each has its place in our world. Even evil. Think of the scales, balanced with evil to one side and good to the other. Everything in equal measure. If you remove some of the good, the scale is tipped towards evil, if you remove some of the evil the scale is tipped towards good. Balance. But if you remove all the good, then all that is left is evil."

 "In regard to our land, if evil were more prevalent, it would corrupt and poison it, making it unsuitable for life." He raises his hand to stop you from speaking. "Now say that the situation were reversed and there were nothing evil in the land, only good. You would think that it would be idyllic. But people become lazy, taking things for granted. They no longer know what it is like to work hard for something. They lose site of what is important. You must have darkness in order to see light."

 He turns and reaches for a goblet you hadn't noticed before. Handing you one, he takes a sip and smiles. "You have probably never considered it that way, have you?"

 "As I said before, our land was in balance, but as is the way of things, it was not meant to be. You see, for everything we do has an effect on this world and those around us. Much like a stone tossed into a pond, the ripples are sent across the pond affecting everything it comes in contact with."

"A great cataclysm struck at the very heart of the land. No one knows exactly what caused it. The Clerics say it was a punishment from the Gods, the Druids say it was nature herself, striking back at man & his cities. They may be right. Whatever the reason, it happened & devastated the land. Many wars ensued, turmoil was everywhere & at the end of those long, terrible wars, there arose an evil so great. Referred to as "the many", they slaughtered the weak & defenseless, terrified the innocent, giving the land unto Chaos." As the old man paused to take another drink, you find yourself angered at the injustice by the hands that caused such pain & suffering. Wishing that somehow, you could help right those wrongs.

"I see the fire burning in your eyes. Calm child, I have more to tell." Clearing his throat, he begins again..

"But in spite of all that happened, there was one who would rise up- defying the unjust & save this land from its spiral into destruction." Your eyes widen in anticipation. "Yes, Ma'at, our Mother. Enraged, she raised up her blades, 1 white, 1 black, screaming for all to hear through the carnage wrought by the evil plaguing the land. 'I can bare the injustice no longer, balance must be served. Hear me! For I AM Ma'at, Spiral Dancer, bringer of truth!' and with such rage, fires burning in her eyes she looked about her at the carnage and said matter of factly 'Care to dance?'." From that time she set about to rid the land of the corruption that engulfs it. Seeking to return her beloved balance back to the land."

"Others heard of her cause and took up arms beside her. The Spiral Dancers were born." They traveled throughout the land, fighting for balance, striving to return order."

"As time often does, it moved on. Ma'at had a daughter, Ma'Kheru which means 'the word of truth'. Born of the Mother and raised by truth she strives to bring back the order that her Mother had established. Under her Mother's watchful eye she trained, studied, watched. She started the Order of Ma'at to continue on the Path her Mother had set before her. But once the order became established, Ma'at disappeared. No one knows what happened or where she went. Some believe she ascended into the ranks of the Gods, forever watching over her children & waiting for the day when her daughter will join her."

You lean back and stretch. Time has flown by and you still hunger to learn more. The old man chuckles to himself at your interest. "If you desire more knowledge, there are some scrolls that will tell you more about the Order and its history." He points to a stack of scrolls. Your gaze follows his hand and as you turn to thank him, you find yourself standing outside of the spiraling chaos with the old man still inside. He smiles and vanishes.