In a part of the Underworld known as Paradise, or as Aaru to the ancient Egyptians, a beautiful palace sat in the middle of a spacious, wondrous land filled with reed fields. All around, a gentle wind blew across the endless land, and the reeds seemed to dance to a secret music of the gentle breeze. Dotted among the reeds were small ponds and lakes, and in the lakes, medium sized boats with crisp, white sails glided lazily across the crystal waters that reflected the sapphire blue sky.
The bright sun, which just rose from the east, gracefully shined its light on this serene land that was made when time began by the ancient gods. All around, the souls of those mortals who led a good life and passed the Test Of The Feather Of Truth by Ma'at were sailing, hunting, or simply enjoying the day, leading an ordinary, fulfilling life, much as they did when they were alive. Geese, ducks, and many other birds flew across the ancient sky, and oxen, sheep, deer, and goats were being herded and guarded by men and women. The souls of children that unfortunately died as a result of disease, malnutrition, or sadly abuse now ran happily among reeds playing games with one another, not even knowing or caring they were no longer among the living.
The royal palace of the rulers of this land, Isis and Osiris, stood like a beacon of hope and serenity off in the distance on the small island of The Field Of Offering, and most of the light of the sun shined down on it as if it wanted to show everyone that this was indeed a place of peace, tranquility, and hope. But for right now, there was no peace or hope in the heart of the beautiful queen of this land. Nervously, Isis walked into the throne room of the palace after bowing her head to the guards. After living here for so many years, she was so used to the elaborate design and decoration of the Throne Room, she barely acknowledged the beautiful wall paintings, the soft white pillars, or tables upon tables of gold, jewelry, and weapons that were placed all over the expansive room.
She barely saw the huge map of the Underworld that was hung right over the king's throne, or meticulously crafted statues made of onyx that lined the walls. Right now, her eyes were only on the figure that sat upon the throne, his eyes blank and staring off into space. With a sad sigh, Isis walked on across the run, and climbed the three steps to the platform where her and Osiris's throne sat. When she reached him, she gently took Osiris's cold hand in her own, and stared into his glassy, cold eyes. "My Husband, I am back," she whispered, gently rubbing his hand. But it was to no avail...no emotion or reaction changed the blank expression on his slightly green colored face...not even a blink of his eyes.
Despite the rich, smooth cotton robe he wore, his white crown, and broad multicolored necklace, the King Of Aaru was still barely more than a puppet, often times not speaking for days upon end. His skin was a slight green, signifying his partial resurrection from death, and his eyes, which were once bright with merriment, intelligent, and energy, were now blank and cold, and often stared into nothing, as though trying to listen for something. Slight tears filled Isis's eyes as she knelt down on her knees, still holding his hand, and reached up to touch his cold face with her right hand.
"I have sad news. The powers of Set had been freed, and Ma'at, Toth, Anubis, and I are doing all we can to find it, and reseal it before it heads back to Set. We have even enlisted the help of a mortal girl. With her help, we will defeat Set, and we might even find your soul again!"
She smiled softly, looking deep into his eyes, hoping by any hope that his would get some sort of reaction. But after long moments, the half-dead king only continued to stare off into space, his chest barely moving with the shallow breaths he took. Then finally, his eyes flickered, and he turned his head slightly to the woman kneeling by his side. He nodded once, and in a cold, barely audible voice, said "Yes," and turned back his head to the position it once was.
The queen gasped shortly, knowing it was his first word in weeks. But then sadness filled her heart, as she also knew it could be weeks again...maybe months or years, before he spoke again. Taking a deep breath, she squeezed his hand once more, pleading within her heart that he would move again, say something again, but like many times before, he remained cold, unmoving. The goddess's heart began to break once more as she remembered so long how it used to be; she remembered how Osiris would talk lovingly to her, how he would softly kiss her on the lips and make her feel that everything would be alright. She remembered their wedding, and how he looked at her like there was no other person in the world but her. She remembered when they would walk outside among the people in ancient times, and how the sun would shine off his dark skin, and how the people would cheer for his kindness and handsomeness.
Now, all of that was gone, and she barely recognized the...person, if she could call it that...before her. "Oh Osiris," Isis whispered, as she took his hand in both of hers. She was about to say more and plead for his help, when a soft, young voice rose in the throne room.
"Mother! You're back? How did it go?" In a shimmer of sunlight, a young, slightly muscular figure walked to her and Osiris. On his head was the familiar ceremonial mask of the falcon. Isis smiled softly as she watched the young man reach up and take off the large mask. Before her stood a handsome young man looking no more than 16 or 17 years old, with skin as dark as his father's once was, and his black hair braided back in long cornrows that reached to the middle of his back. His chest was bare except for his golden broad necklace, and he wore golden arm bracelets on his triceps and forearms.
He wore the traditional Egyptian kilt around his waist, and golden bracelets adorned his ankle and muscular calves. He would be considered physically perfect by all...except for his right eye. In one of the many, bloody battles against Set long ago, the young man's right eye was ripped out by the evil god as he laughed insanely. Now on its place was a smooth, pearl-like stone that resembled the moon. By magic, it allowed him to see just as a normal eye would.
Isis nodded, and turned her head to face her son. "Yes, Horus, we have already begun our plan to stop Set. It will be a difficult battle, but I'm sure we'll be able to win..."
"So you'll let me fight too!" said the young God of the Sky. "Mother, you know I can fight! I've battle Set before, I can....I can..."
"No!" Isis let go of her husband's hand and stood up. "I can't risk that again! We almost lost you last time. Don't you remember what he did to you the last time you tried to fight him?"
Unconsciously, Horus reached up and gingerly touched his false right eye. He frowned with annoyance at it, then glared up at his mother. "Which is why you HAVE to let me be a part of this! I hate him, and I want revenge for what he did to me and Father!!" The young man turned to look at his father sitting on his throne, a tear misting in his left eye. "I...I barely know Father, and I've never seen for myself what kind of man he was. Set must pay, and he must pay by MY hands! I will kill him, I swear!"
"And then what, Horus?" whispered Isis, "You take revenge on Set, and then what? Will you turn into a monster like he did? Will you like killing so much, that you won't stop doing it once you've killed him?" She looked down at her son, sadness in her eyes. "Has revenge come to mean so much to you, that you care for nothing else? Not even me?"
That quieted the young god, and after a moment, he looked shamefully on the floor. Isis smiled softly at him. "Set will pay for his crimes, I promise you this. But for right now, you must stay here and help rule in my place, like we spoke about. I know you father would have wanted this." She looked back at her husband for a moment, then back at her son. "Will do you this for me...Heru?" she asked softly, calling him by his true name.
The teen god was quiet for a moment, then he looked back up at her angrily. "Fine, I'll back off now. But don't expect me to wait too long! And when it's fine for Set to die, I will do it!" He turned and ran out of the room, his sandaled feet echoing through out the empty halls.
"Horus!" Isis yelled out. But it was too late, he was gone. She sighed and knelt back at her husband's side, taking his hand in her own. "He's too much like you used to be, my love. But I'm so afraid his eagerness to shed blood will be his downfall."
But the king remained silent. That was when the sadness overtook her, and laying her head down on her husband's still lap and wrapping her arms around his waist, Isis sobbed, her heart breaking once more like it did a thousand times before for the husband she once knew, and the troubles that would soon come in the battle against Set.
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Tari rushed about in her room, trying to find her black sneakers while pulling on her cream colored tee-shirt. Her father had wakened her earlier that morning to tell her that the special guests he had invited a few weeks ago to the dig site would be coming today, and he wanted to be there early to greet them. She begged her father to tell her who the visitors were, but he refused to say, saying that it would be a nice visit and she would have fun.
She finally located her sneakers, and after jamming them on her feet, she checked the bathroom mirror once more to make sure her braided hair was in place in a ponytail, then rushed out of the apartment to her father waiting downstairs in his jeep. Excitement rushed through Tari as she imagined what kind of day this would be. From since she got here, there had been strict rules against trespassers and visitors to the dig site, as it had not officially been open to the public yet. Well, at least I'll see some new faces. It was getting kind of boring seeing the same people everyday! Tari thought to herself as they drove in the early morning sunlight.
She was also excited that her father would let her be a part of the presentation and helper to the visitors. She now felt like she was officially part of the team, and it filled her with a sense of belonging and accomplishment she hadn't felt in a long time. She just prayed there wouldn't be any trouble....
They soon reached the dig site, and were greeted by Sajid and taken to where the rest of the excavation team waited for them. Tari looked with wide eyes at how much the dig site and grown and changed since just a couple of days ago. More antiques and artifacts were cleaned and set up for display, and parts of the digs that led to holes where the mastabas were had been blocked and tapered off to keep anyone from wandering off there. Banners and signs to show what artifacts they had and what they were used for now flanked tables. Water stands were everywhere, and there was even a large table stand that had souvenirs for sale. "Wow, this is SOOO cool!" Tari breathed out, completely impressed.
"I had a feeling you'd like it." her father smiled. There were so many things we found, that I knew I knew I had to share at least some of it to anyone who might be interested. Most things I couldn't show yet, of course, but what we have here should still be a big hit." He turned to her and gave her a soft smile. "The visitors should be here soon. Why don't you go with Sajid and help greet them when they come. I still have a few things to check out."
"Sure Dad!" With that, she rushed off to join the big, Sudanese man as he helped put the finishing touches on some of the tables. She helped label the ancient artifacts, put up signs, and arranged pieces of furniture, toiletries, and papyrus that somehow survived the thousands of years underground. "A very well done job, Mistress," said Sajid when she was done, placing a hand on her shoulder.
She smiled up at him, and just then, a medium sized brown bus pulled up off to the distance, to where there was not as much sand as in the dig site to damage the engine. The door opened, and out poured a train of grade school children in uniform being lead by teachers.
"No way! A school is coming here?" Tari asked in amazement. Sajid chuckled and nodded his head. "Your father thought you enjoy showing around some children from the nearby school. He was afraid you might be a little homesick for your family back home, so he brought some visitors to keep you busy." He winked at her.
Tari rolled her eyes and shook her head. True, she was becoming a little homesick, but unknown to her father and Sajid, there was something much more at stake and important that missing her family on her mind. But still, she appreciated her father for trying to help her feel comfortable here. She saw him watching her out of the corner of her eyes, and she waved to him in appreciation.
But whether he waved back or not, she never knew, as she was then nearly overrun with children ranging from kindergarten to 3rd grade, each smiling and eager to see the strange new objects their teacher had told them about.
She greeted the teachers as best she could despite the noisy, surrounding children, and with Sajid's help, managed to get the children in order and to the table stands to see all the objects that were found after many months of digging. What most surprised Tari was how diverse the children were; some of them were Egyptian, but some of the other children were obviously from other, neighboring countries. A few spoke with distinct Iraqi or Iranian accents, and a few more others still spoke in their dialects from Afghanistan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and even Hebrew from Israel. There were even children from Sudan and Lebanon. But despite all that, Tari was amazed to be around so much diversity and languages. They're so cute! Tari thought happily to herself.
One little Palestinian first grader girl with long, brown hair and dimples shyly tugged on her shirt. When Tari bent down to her, she asked. "Miss! Are you...you..American?" The child's brown eyes shined brightly.
Tari giggled and ruffled her hair. "Yep, as far as I know!" she answered. The child giggled, and unable to help herself, Tari picked her up and softly hugged her, as she reminded her so much of when her sister Jessica was at that age.
The morning seemed to pass by quickly as Tari and Sajid showed the school children and teachers around, carefully explaining the findings and what they meant to the ancient Egyptians. Despite their young ages, the children actually listened and seemed interested in what everyone on the excavation team had to say. To Tari, it had been a perfect day, and nothing seemed to go wrong. She was just giving a piggyback ride to a little Iraqi kindergarten girl with beautiful pigtails when she felt a tremor under her feet.
Everyone stopped in their tracks as the tremors gradually got stronger. Cautiously, Tari put down the little girl, and as the child ran back to her class and teacher, a sinking feeling ran through out Tari's body. Oh no, not again, please! she silently prayed.
But that prayer went unanswered as a dark mist suddenly burst from the ground right in the middle of the dig site in front of the children. The school children all screamed in terror as the black, shadowy mist slowly came together and formed the black creature that Tari fought before.
When it formed, the creature roared loudly at the cowering children and people. Shouting, the teachers gathered as many of the children as they could with them and dashed away into the tents that were dotted along the dig sites.
Tari watched in horror as one child fell, and with his chest heaving, he looked up with wide eyes as the creature bore down on him. The little boy screamed in terror and covered his head.
"Dammit!" yelled out Tari. She desperately looked around for something to hide in so she can change. She finally rushed to an empty tent off to the side behind her. As soon as she ran in, she felt the anger flowing through her veins as she prepared to change. "There's no way I'm letting that mongrel hurt any of those kids!" With determination in her eyes, she crossed her arms over her chest in an "X", and yelled "Powers of the ancients, I summoned thee!"
Immediately, she felt the power rush through her body as it gave her the strength and courage that she so needed to protect these children. When it was done, she rushed outside.
The black creature was just about to snap its jaws on the helpless child when a figure landed protectively in front of him. There was a bright flash of red light, and as before, a crystallized red shield was covering Tari and the little boy, flinging it back a few inches. The shadowy creature grunted in pain for a moment from the shield, and it backed away slowly. Tari looked down on the trembling boy with concern. "Are you okay?" she asked.
The little boy nodded, and then began to sob softly. The creature began to growl loudly, and Tari yelled "RUN!" Without being told twice, the little boy got up and rushed to his waiting teacher. The middle-aged woman looked at Tari gratefully, glad that she was able to protect the child.
With the child safely away, Tari stared down the monster. "Alright, time for you to go down...this time, permanently!" She closed her eyes in concentration for a moment, and her sword appeared in a bright flash, ready for battle. Tari and the creature rushed at each other then, and just as it was about to reach her, she jumped high into the air in an expert front flip. As she was coming down, she slashed her sword down hard and impaled it into the back of the monster. It screamed loudly in pain and went down in a heap on the sandy ground. Immediately, Tari rushed forward and dragged out the sword from its body.
Like before, the wound began to slowly close. "Damn, I forgot about that!" Tari said, backing away slowly. She then remembered how Isis had used her powers to blast him back. If she can do it, maybe I can too! Tari hoped. She closed her eyes once more in concentration, and raising her free hand, imagined herself gathering energy to defeat this foul creature. Please, if you can hear me, I need power, to protect these children! The bracelet with the snake figure glowed red, and immediately after that, her hand glowed as a massive about of energy began to collect.
The creature got up, and turned to glared evilly at Tari. Then with a loud roar, it snapped its jaws and made a rush for her, intending to end this once and for all. But just then, Tari's eyes snapped open, and she thrust forth her hand. The fire-like energy shot out like a blast of flame, and it engulfed the monster completely. The whole area was filled with pain-filled howls as the black creature writhed and rolled around on the ground. When the energy power faded, patches of holes were all over it, as though pieces of it had burned away. It staggered weakly before collapsing heavily to the ground.
"YES!" yelled out Tari. She let her sword disappear back into her bracelet. "If I can do it again, maybe I can destroy it once and for all!" She raised both hands and prepared to call forth the power again....but instead, she felt something cold and slimy on her legs. She looked down and gasped in horror as she saw a green and yellow snake wrapped itself around her long legs. The snake squeezed, and Tari fell down on the ground with a painful grunt.
The large snake continued to crawl up her legs to her waist and chest, all the while squeezing harder and harder. When it reached her face, it flared its hooded head and hissed in laughter. "Not sssso fast, Missssy," it hissed out, its eyes glowing red.
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To Be Continued...
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