Naaghai Lowlands iron & eye

attn: @Thutmose @Siatum @Rashepses <3 this pair are within earshot, just where the serpent turns into the dahozhoni meadow!

the two mazoi trailed the serpent river. khusobek, rejuvenated after a final enjoyment and gluttony of wine, was pleased to be out beneath the hot air, marching toward lands unknown.

the great mesa did not fall away easily behind them in its largesse. "i am told one of the mazoi is in senmut's bed," khusobek grunted to @Zaahira with an amused look that suggested he was not the one mentioned. "most princes have tastes not so lowborn."

a snake slithered across their path, scales of emerald and golden fire catching the sunlight in a flat glitter.

Zaahira did not know the last time she had left Akashingo's border.
It was odd, beyond odd. The landscape ever similar and yet so foreign, vast; largely empty, and burning with the unforgiving scorch of late summer.
But the position of jodai rested upon her shoulders. And even if it didn't, she would have gone anyway at the noble request of her Queen.
Even with the growing crowd of ever miserly sphinx now under her watchful eye; or rather, she in their's.
A mazoi? gossip, she supposed, was one way to take a feeble mind off of the back-breaking swelter. Amused, her eyebrow flicks upward. there are only so many of us. Do you have any idea? because it certainly was not her.

The prince had spoken of another land for the queen - an outpost, of sorts. Siatum did not care for these things. If he must travel to the south, he would. Wherever Rashepses would go, so would his princeguard. 

The man saw two travellers. They would all be unfamiliar to him. The wolves of Akashingo might have shared culture, but their names and their faces had not become important yet. 

Siatum trotted at a distance behind the Mazoi. One red ear was pricked, the other splayed to catch the sound of any who might approach. His pace drew him nearer to the others until he was just within earshot.

"so it is not you, then," khusobek grinned, a gleaming mouth filled with spikes. "it can only be the one brought to him by that man who has gone. i forget his name now, but hers is legend."

bemused. "i did not take him for a man able to perform in such a way." but the ruddy ears flicked, and khusobek used a sidelong vision to assure himself that he and her were not alone.

"do you know that one?" he rumbled to her, ready to unsheathe his strength should the moment call for it. khusobek continued his walking for now.

There may as well have been a car crash inside her head, as the violent clash of metal was all she heard as the name hit her ears.
Legend.
Legend?
She swallows, dryly. Yes, I know her, in some way, she thought her a friend. Maybe not anymore. Or maybe this didn't even matter. To Zaahira's knowledge, those of Akashingo bedded each other and simply never spoke of it, right? Perhaps it was not political—
Or perhaps it was.
She was the one who helped me escape Greatwater. the shadow belonging to the guard of the sphinx goes unnoticed as her ears fall to the sides of her skull. What could Senmut want with her? And, her tongue flicks out serpentine in a show of stress, eyes narrowed and scanning to ensure what she says next was not heard by anyone else's ears. what does that mean for him and the Queen?

Legend had helped the woman escape from a place called Greatwater. She carried conflicted feelings in her words. Of greater interest, she asked what Senmut might want with the wolf called Legend. 

And then she asked what that might mean for Senmut and the queen. 

Curious, thought the princeguard. His distance was maintained. The ruddy male had not turned to address him yet, but Siatum did not think that he would let them be trailed for much longer. 

Until he did, the princeguard continued to listen. To watch.

zaahira had not noticed the stranger, and khusobek was intrigued by how badly it seemed his fellow mazoi had taken this revelation.

"it means nothing for he and the queen. it means he favours legend, for now. it means he is a man, and if he becomes pharaoh, it is even more likely he will gather concubines and lesser wives. pharaoh sires a dozen sons, and they fight bitterly while their father ages," the crocodile went on, enjoying this lurid retelling of an ancient pattern.

"he names his firstborn son the crown prince, and henceforth a target is on the back of that royal head," khusobek chuckled, kicking a gleaming stone across terrain that was starting to shift into sand. "the sons fight and die and only one will inherit the kingdom after their father expires. all so ugly, but the queen will learn to share her husband. after all, she is his Divine Wife, and should she become mother to a new pharaoh, she will be Dowager Queen."

"but none of this concerns us. we are mazoi. if we are lucky, we will enjoy a peaceful regime. if we are not, we will die in battle. and what do you choose, friend?" khusobek called out, turning finally to address their follower with hard eyes.

What Khusobek describes to her is a patriarchy. A patriarchy not unlike ones she'd heard of in tales of old — nothing quite so archaic in the modern age.
And nothing like the Akashingo she knew; the Akashingo she had come to love.
And what of female pharaoh? a better question: why was Toula herself not crowned? What if she were to bear no sons? I hardly think Akashingo would fall in that case. a hint of snark, though not in malevolence. I heard of Makono. The Queen's sister. Was she not pharaoh?
And maybe on Zaahira's part it was ignorant, but from what little she gathered of Khusobek, he came from a place of old guard. And there was one thing beloved Toula was not.
Her gaze finally falls upon their red-tipped watcher. Silent, still, with hardened eyes and heavy feet. The one who came with that Rashepses guy, she thought, if she recognized him right. And what did he care about all of this?

A female pharaoh! 

Siatum’s lip curled into a sneer. Only a woman would speak such a silly thing. What baseless dreams did this Mazoi have that women could hold such power? Were it not so revealing of his thoughts, the princeguard might have boomed in laughter. 

Rashepses would like to hear these things. 

Women could be queens, but the seat of pharaoh was meant for a man. Siatum already crossed this Mazoi from his list of possible travelling companions. She might have been amusing to have with them, but her delusions did not sit well with the red-pointed guard. 

When the question sounded from the sharp-toothed man, Siatum smirked. 

Choose? The Gods have chosen for me. I follow their word and their guidance has made me princeguard to Rashepses. I need no choices beyond this. 

And that was that.

to catch the crocodile's eye might have meant death before. but khusobek was now only a guardian in service to a queen, one to whom he did not know there was a blood-relation. the lowborn son of concubine and seti, unheard, unseen brother to ramesses and hatshepsuun.

"makono was indeed pharaoh, as is the regent who sent me to her holy niece. pharaoh hatshepsuun." and his eyes rested upon the man, and then he looked deliberately toward zaahira.

"we serve prince senmut and the queen." that too, the end of his words. khusobek did not ask for an introduction, but turned and strode onward, eyeing the edges of the long-trailing meadow.

If a female pharaoh was not unheard of, why must there still be emphasis on the men?
Bitterly, her tongue presses to the roof of her mouth and it is held. The rant of the princeguard is heard and falls upon her ears like the scratch of nails on a chalkboard.
Loyalty solely to Rashepses here, she thought, under the domain of the Queen, was unbecoming. But this she would not say directly. The Queen's faith in her rested upon her ability to look these insolent men in the eye and guard them, perhaps even with her life.
And for Toula, she would do anything.
We are headed for an outpost, yes? she turns to Khusobek then; she knew, somewhat, where they were going, but her eyes burn and beg for a change of subject. I am eager to see it.
And perhaps, after that, she would say nothing more, for the new sands awaited them.

Prince Senmut and the queen had their loyalties. Siatum would not conceal the smugness that crossed his features. 

And what a good dog you both are to those more important than you.

They would serve well. The princeguard did not think that they had any promise for more than what they had already become. Mazoi seemed to have a great deal of pride for so little. While this was amusing, Siatum couldn’t help but reflect on his concerns. 

The queen of Akashingo was unknown. Rashepses said that she was beloved, that she was not foolish. Siatum would not be convinced until she had proven her worth to him. Until then, only the royal prince of the riverlands mattered. And Siatum would see him crowned Pharaoh.