The morning after the storm dawned clear and mercilessly bright. Ra's disk climbed unopposed, burning off the last puddles and turning the village into a steaming oven by the time the first cocks crowed. Kael-Ankh woke early, Spear of Montu already strapped across his back, its black acacia shaft cool against his spine despite the rising heat. The weapon felt alive—subtle vibrations traveling up his vertebrae whenever he moved, as though the lesser Montu echo inside it was eager to taste battle again.
He met the others at the palm grove behind the Bastet shrine: Senet with the Bow of Neith already strung across her shoulders, Meret twirling the curved khopesh of Bastet's Wrath with casual menace, Nefertari leaning against a fig trunk with her sistrum dangling from one finger and a lazy, satisfied smile that said she hadn't slept much after last night's shared celebration.
Ptahhotep waited at the grove's center, a low table of sun-bleached cedar spread before him. On it lay three small linen-wrapped bundles and a single sealed alabaster jar.
"Before you train with these gifts," the elder said, "you must understand what you carry—and what you must become."
He unwrapped the first bundle.
Inside rested a small bronze falcon head—life-sized, eyes of polished obsidian, beak sharp enough to draw blood if mishandled. A faint solar corona shimmered around it when the light struck just right.
"This is the Eye of Horus – Restored Replica," Ptahhotep explained. "Not the god's true wedjat eye, but a ritual copy made during the New Kingdom by priests who still remembered the old ways. Horus's vengeance rituals were never simple bloodletting. They were acts of restoration through righteous fury."
He lifted the bronze head carefully.
"The myth begins with Set's treachery: Osiris murdered, body dismembered into fourteen pieces scattered across Kemet. Isis gathered thirteen; the fourteenth—his phallus—was devoured by a fish. Horus, born of Isis's magic, grew to manhood in hiding. When he confronted Set, the battle lasted eighty years. Set tore out Horus's left eye; Horus castrated Set in return. Thoth healed the eye with magic and spit, restoring it whole. That restored eye—the wedjat—became the symbol of healing, protection, royal power, and measured vengeance. Not blind rage. Precise retribution."
Ptahhotep placed the bronze head on the table and traced its outline with a finger.
"The rituals to invoke Horus's vengeance were strict. The priest or warrior fasted three days, bathing only in Nile water drawn at dawn. On the fourth dawn he stood facing east, naked except for a white linen kilt. He anointed the left eye socket (or a symbolic eye) with myrrh oil mixed with falcon blood. Then he recited the forty-two names of Ma'at while holding a feather in the right hand and a miniature spear in the left. Only then could he call the Eye's Striking—channeling solar vengeance through a single, perfect thrust or shot."
He looked at Kael.
"You already carry the fragment. This replica will help you master the ritual form. Without discipline, vengeance consumes the avenger."
Kael lifted the bronze head. It was heavier than it looked. He felt Horus's Gaze fragment pulse in response—hot, focused, approving.
System Notification – Ritual Aid Acquired
Artifact: Eye of Horus – Restored Replica
Type: Training Focus / Vengeance Conduit
Effects:
• +30% resonance growth speed for Horus's Vengeful Gaze
• +15% stability on Eye of Horus – Striking invocation
• Ritual Requirement: Must perform full 42-fold Ma'at recitation before first combat use each day (failure = 50% invocation power reduction) Resonance Boost Applied: Horus's Vengeful Gaze → 11% → 19%
Next, Ptahhotep opened the alabaster jar.
Inside rested a single papyrus scroll, edges frayed, sealed with black wax impressed with a djed pillar.
"The Book of Breathing – Osiris Fragment," he said reverently. "Not the full Book of the Dead, but one of the rare resurrection papyri copied in secret during the Late Period. It contains the true words Isis spoke when she reassembled Osiris."
He broke the seal.
The scroll unrolled to reveal tight columns of hieratic, interspersed with vignettes: Isis kneeling over the reassembled body, wings spread; Anubis performing the Opening of the Mouth; Horus presenting the restored eye.
"The resurrection myth is the heart of Kemet's hope," Ptahhotep continued. "Osiris, good king, tricked by Set into lying in a coffin that fit only him. Set sealed it, cast it into the Nile. It washed to Byblos, grew into a tamarisk tree. Isis retrieved it, hid it in the marshes. Set found it again, tore it apart. Isis searched, weeping, gathering pieces with Nephthys's help. She fashioned a new phallus of gold, used magic to conceive Horus. With Anubis's aid she embalmed Osiris, wrapped him in linen, performed the first mummification. She breathed life back long enough for conception. Osiris became lord of the Duat—dead yet alive, judge of souls, promise that death is not the end."
He touched the vignette of Isis's wings.
"This scroll holds the Breath of Restoration spell. Speak it over a fallen ally and you may stabilize them long enough for Isis's Veil to heal mortal wounds. But it costs dearly—part of your own Ka."
Artifact Acquired: Book of Breathing – Osiris Fragment
Type: Legendary Tome (Resurrection Rite)
Effects:
• Invocation: Osiris's Rekindled Breath
• Cost: 45 Heka + 10% max Heka Capacity (temporary drain, recovers over 24 hours)
• Effect: Restore a mortally wounded ally to stable condition (stops bleeding, restarts heart, seals major trauma) for 300 seconds—enough time for full healing invocation
• Flavor Text: She who gathered the pieces now gathers breath. Death bows before love. Resonance Boost: Isis's Veil of Mending → 15% → 27%
Kael felt the weight of the knowledge settle into his Ka like cool stone.
Ptahhotep closed the scroll.
"Study it. Memorize the words. Use it only when there is no other choice."
He then revealed two more items from a hidden compartment beneath the table:
1. The Djed Amulet of Stability – a small backbone-shaped pillar of green faience strung on gold wire. Effect: Passive +20% resistance to dismemberment/fragmentation curses; once per day can stabilize a collapsing structure or broken bone (allies or self). Mythic Origin: Symbol of Osiris's spine, reassembled by Isis.
2. The Was-Scepter Fragment (Purified) – a short rod of polished carnelian topped with a stylized animal head (Set beast), but the red chaos aura had been ritually cleansed to white-gold. Effect: +15% command presence & morale boost to allies within 10 cubits; can disrupt minor chaotic heka constructs once per day. Mythic Origin: Originally Set's symbol of dominion; purified by Thoth's priests after Horus's victory.
Kael took the Djed amulet and hung it beside the lotus. The Was fragment he handed to Ptahhotep.
"Keep this. You'll need it when we descend."
Training began in earnest.
Kael drilled with the Spear of Montu—thrusts, sweeps, parries—integrating Horus's Striking beam at the apex of each strike. Senet practiced at range, arrows finding knots in palm trunks with eerie precision. Meret danced with the khopesh, turning playful spins into lethal arcs that left afterimages in the air. Nefertari shook her sistrum in counter-rhythm, sonic waves clashing with Meret's strikes for mock combat drills.
By late afternoon sweat poured off them all. They broke under the shade, sharing water and dates.
Senet leaned against Kael's shoulder, bow across her lap.
"I never thought I'd hold Neith's own bow," she murmured. "It sings when I draw it."
Meret wiped sweat from her brow, khopesh resting on her knees.
"This blade wants blood. But only the right blood."
Nefertari stretched like a cat in sunlight, sistrum dangling between her breasts.
"And I still prefer claws. But I'll shake this rattle when you need chaos scattered."
Kael looked at each of them—Senet's quiet strength, Meret's fierce joy, Nefertari's wild devotion.
The bonds felt deeper now: not just pleasure, but shared purpose, shared risk.
He reached out, touching each woman's hand in turn.
"Whatever waits in the Duat," he said, "we face it together."
They nodded—silent agreement.
Ptahhotep watched from the grove's edge.
"The path opens tomorrow. Rest tonight. Study the scroll. Tomorrow we descend."
Kael spent the evening memorizing the Breath of Restoration—forty-two lines of ancient poetry, each word heavy with resurrection's promise.
When the stars emerged, he lay on the rooftop with Senet curled against his left side, Meret against his right, Nefertari sprawled across their legs like a possessive cat.
No words were needed.
Only the quiet certainty that they would not let each other fall.
System Note – Pre-Descent Status
Heka Capacity: 180/200 → 200/200 (rest & bond resonance)
Horus's Vengeful Gaze Resonance: 19% → 31% (ritual practice)
Isis's Veil of Mending Resonance: 27% → 38% (scroll study)
Dawn tomorrow.
The Duat waited.