Lion Head Mesa twenty-seventh

for the prince! other tags for ref!

senmut still sang the morning prayers to Ra, waking akashingo to holiness.

his status as erpa-ha gave him at last the status of wearing a bone charm around his own throat, an approximate disk stained red by frequent soakings in the first berries.

along with this, senmut now wore a rich piece of cougar-pelt draped regally over one shoulder, for this announced his status as high priest as well. @Akhtar might challenge him for the title later but for now the newly-made prince meant to hold both.

he met first with @Tuna and @Beatrix, reminding them to entertain the entourage which had come to their gates, but to be wary. smile. make merry. do as the Wife of Heaven bids. but keep watchful. anything which merits consideration, bring it to me. 

senmut had waited for their obeisance before sending them back to @Toula and making his way to the top of the mesa. there as the afternoon sun billowed high, he sent jawahir to bring @Harakhte.

from what he had heard, the prince was of good lineage, royal perhaps. enough to supplant ramesses? senmut meant to know this today, and listened for the step of the newcomer.

His time with the intended queen came to an end, and he could then return to his chambers to sleep. In the morning he woke before the dawn as a priest might; he heard the songs, and felt a thrill upon being reunited with something so fundamentally familiar, although it was broken up by the commentary of his advisor. His fellahin busied themselves with tidying the room and soon retired also.
When Harakhte had enough, he dismissed the crooked man and chose to disembark for a time. One of the resident fellahin (Jawahir) showed him to a stone balcony, where he could bask in the sun and allow the fresh air to soothe the beginnings of a headache before it could become too dire.
There, he saw the priest. It was best not to show weakness out in the open. Harakhte took one long breath before choosing to seek out the man who had, no doubt, called to the sun. He was young but not too young; almost athletic in build, likely from climbing the red stones each morning for prayer. Impressive, almost.
You sing your chants beautifully, offered the prince as a way of breaking the quiet of the morning.

"i am humbled to be the servant of the gods."

the erpa-ha inclined his head, that they should both sit upon a low couch of rich sheepskins taken from the steppes. he was straightbacked, sitting upon one end to observe the other prince.

"harakhte, son of ra-semerkhet and heir to the dunes of akhet," senmut said, repeating the words of the herald carried to him.

the akhet prince was handsome, though the high priest's eyes detected more than wolf. he did not comment upon this. "tell me of your lineage," senmut invited, as fellahin crept around them to lay out an easy meal of few meats and the first fresh-picked berries of spring, tart and blissful.

The priest knows who he is! But of course, his herald was loud and clear when he arrived; and no doubt the soothsayer was, even now, speaking of him to those that would listen, as if he were a god among men, truly.
As he settles among the furs, Harakhte takes a moment to gather the knowledge from the depths of his mind.
My father, the divine Semerkhet, has ruled Akhet for the entirety of his life. He was crowned as a boy when his own father—my grandfather— Ra-Sokar, fell ill and passed. Before that came Ra-Henu, and before that a generation of men holding the name Akhenaten, with various epithets. These he once knew, as he had been taught them all; but it was not important enough to Harakhte to recite each of them.
He took a breath, and studied the priest.
My mother took oaths to become a priestess, and yet she was always the favorite of my father. Her name is Bennu. And that was all he would say of the woman; she held importance to Harakhte, but in matters such as lineage, power, and potential marriage it was of little importance where his matrilineal line was connected. It was fortunate, as the prince did not wish to speak to her strange bloodline.
I am my father's only son. It will fall upon me to rule Akhet when the time comes — but I will also have the power to unify my land with that of my wife, and strengthen both of us. Should I be so fortunate. There he ended his telling, and waited to see how the priest might take the information.

it was a fine lineage. as the akhet prince spoke, senmut observed him, watching for any hint of mouth or eye that might bespeak deception. seeing none, he listened to these names and nodded once harakhte had finished his words.

"the young Wife to the Gods is the daughter of ramesses the second, granddaughter to seti, great-granddaughter of thothmes, who was known as The Bull in aswan. she carries the blood of khamenteru and merneptah, of the great royal queens bintanath and meritamun and even tuya herself. she wears that jewel in her own name."

"her mother was noble in her own right, suited for the divinity bestowed by pharaoh."

the erpa-ha, feeling that he had made a strong show of toula's unimpeachable bloodline, now spoke directly: "did you come here seeking a wife, great one?"

The priest knew the full lineage of those he served, and of course Harakhte listened attentively, closing his eyes in reverence between some names or dipping his chin ever so slightly. It was a long list of names; clearly the child-pharaoh was well-bred, and Harakhte knew that her age was of little importance in the grand scheme.
The question was quick to arrive, and Harakhte had a swift answer — an expectant air about him.
Yes. I came to meet one in particular— he spoke of Makono, and his eyes flashed carefully over Senmut; both of the girls, being twins, were of greater importance to Akhet. They were closer to child-bearing age. They would be fine wives, if they remained — and yet Harakhte had not met them, only the youngest of the brood, and that left him with questions.
Such things were not suitable to ask outright.
These gods, beloved and divine, can certainly be fickle. He jested carefully, wondering what the priest might say. Before the conversation could flow onwards, Harakhte took on a solemn expression. The invitation that was delivered to Akhet gave me much to consider. I only hope I can please the gods before they change their minds again.

makono would not have married, senmut thought to himself. but perhaps — without a brother — the priest tossed such thoughts away.

toula was another matter altogether, and he grew more suspicious of this polished cool courtier, who knew the laws, the lineage, and language of of one ambitious for a higher role.

he saw, perhaps, some shade of ramesses in harakhte.

"the gods are indeed fickle. i have learned not to question their will, no matter how they try my patience." a jest?

"which god or goddess is your patron, sphinx?" senmut inquired, gently stretching his limbs and taking a morsel of food.

A wry smile appears upon Harakhte's face, but he withholds his answer for a moment.
This is a test.
While the people of Ahket worship many, I have always been strongly connected to Bennu. This was not a lie in any sense; his mother was so named for the goddess, and he was wildly protective of that fact. It was better to announce this name and watch Senmut to see what he thought — rather than give the truth.
Giving the truth to an outsider was not welcome to those of the Eye, without proper initiation.
Lies with enough backing in truth were hard to see through, and Harakhte knew this.

bennu.

the sunbird. the feathers of creation. the ba of the sun god.

whom did harakhte fancy himself to be?

'"i arrive like the hawk. i come forth as bennu,'" senmut quoted. the cry of that creature had broken the world's silence. "it is a very ancient worship," he added.

more to this, he felt was right to assume, if not to ask. "come. we will go to the wellspring," he decided, a pastime as the sun grew hot.

Ancient. Yes.
They were old ways, many which had been lost to other families and other kingdoms. His was a pure belief.

Senmut invited him to another location and Harakhte took the invitation with a thin smile, a slight dip of his chin. His expression said, lead the way.

What of you? The sphinx would ask conversationally, dropping the austerity that had spread between the two of them. Yes, they were testing one-another, learning, but it need not be so one-sided. Harakhte was a curious man.

—It is a great honor to serve so closely to the divine, in this case, Toula.

"Amun has long been my patron. but now that i am High Priest, i must serve each one."

a contemplative curve of lips offered to the elegant courtier beside him, the man who might one day usurp what power senmut now possessed.

how he understood ramesses' paranoia, and that of seti before him, always waiting for a son to tear out the divine heart.

"take a meal with me, harakhte," the erpa-ha invited, and would lead the prince to the queen's throne room, in hopes of too involving toula.