Lion Head Mesa rekhyt

"@Sethnakht," ramesses said as they walked outside the palace. the day was cold but not icy, and snow fell softly upon the edges of the red land, not quite chilling the sand. "there may be need to expand akashingo before long," he told his son. 
behind them, fellahin quietly shadowed the royal pair. "another year, perhaps."
then makono and sethnakht would come of age.
"tell me how your studies are going," he invited next, lapis eyes turning upon the boy.

Prince of the Crimson Land, son of the great Pharoah Ramesses, and his queen Treva. These titles paled in significance to the one he carried deep within his heart. Twin of muat-riya. 

The drifting snowflakes settled in his fur and he watched them mingle with the grains of sand. His ears kept angled in the direction of his father to show he was listening but Sethnakht always seemed deep within his own world of dark thoughts. A thinker, not a fighter. Wise Sethnakht, unfeeling Sethnakht. Prince Sethnakht.

Would it ever be that he was just Seth?

He walked beside the Pharaoh today, careful to keep a few paw steps behind the older man. Always careful. Even since he was just a pup he had a way of understanding things others did not say, and he studied what they did. The fellahin behind them were almost silent. They too understood where they must stay. Not just behind them in the physical body, but in every other aspect. Like worms groveling in the dirt beneath the proud wolven feet. Disgusting.

Another year. Sethnakht did not miss the meaning behind this. He made the decision then to be bold today. "If I could spend every waking moment studying, I would, father." Something in his eyes gleamed. "I have learned of an ancient tradition in recent days. One to keep bloodlines pure."

The youth said no more. That was enough. He thought Ramesses cunning enough to read into it. Perhaps he was not. Perhaps Seth was the only damn wolf with any brains in this forsaken place. The thought amused him to no end.

ramesses laughed, swift and pleased and rich. "yes." that the boy did not aspire to the throne but the seat beside it made the man wonder, but there was yet time. 
"i will announce it at the end of this year. we will have another celebration."
there was yet time for many things to change inside and outside akashingo.
the proud serpent river was not so far ahead. "come. we will swim," he decided when they had come to the shore. he waved the servants off to set up what they had brought; mats on which they might later eat, and provisions themselves.
"the cold is good for the blood and tightens the muscles." it was often how he had kept himself honed still in approaching his middle years. 
ramesses dove gracefully into the serpent's welcoming embrace, breaking the surface with a brisk gasp.

His words were met with laughter. Laughter. Was Sethnakht a fool? Did he exist for his father's amusement?

The youth caught himself, eyes downcast in hopes Ramesses would not see the fire that blazes there. His divine father was the Pharaoh. Everything that existed within the Mesa was his to control, to use. Seth was included in that. One day, if all went well, he would no longer be the prince of the crimson lands but the king of them.

But wise Sethnakht had been correct. It was intended for him to wed Makono. Was that what he yearned for? Was consort good enough? Before he had time to gather his thoughts and respond, the sun-in-flesh that was his sire was slipping like a fish into the shining waters.

It must have been freezing! But even the aspiring prince was not so much of a fool to deny the god's chosen. Stepping closer to the soft waves, pebbles shifting beneath his paws, he dipped a tentative foot into his reflection. Without giving himself time to doubt he plunged head-first into the serpent.

At once the cold seeped into his bones, but Sethnakht did not return to the surface. He basked in the water for some time, allowing the gentle current to move him as it willed. Perhaps the prince may have stayed under a little too long, he could imagine the fellahin and his father fretting over their lost prince.

Finally, a small head broke the surface, breathing in lungfuls of air as he watched Ra burn brightly above him. Seth was alive, but he had never felt so until now.

ramesses had faith in the gods and that his son would again rise. and so he did. the man swam in long strokes along the river, their servants moving along after. a stone jutted from the current and here he set his spine, the waters continuing to move past him, chest-deep.
"it is true that you must father a divine heir, in your father's name. in your name. but that does not mean you are bound only to the hawk-in-the-nest." surely he had seen his father with one lovely fellahin or another close to him, whispering, laughing.
theirs was a world of men and of wolves. makono had little footing in that regard. "indeed, it is your right to begin gathering a harem once you are named consort. the sons and daughters will be noble, not divine." only pharaoh could bestow divinity. only a pharaoh could birth it.
sethnakht's freedom would not be so for makono. the paternity of a pharaoh's son must never be in doubt.

When the young divine had breached the surface and basked in Ra's glory he had searched for the worried face of his father, but instead found the man swimming calmly towards a jutting piece of rock. If I disappeared like Siptah, would he care then? I am your only son you fool.

But then Sethnakht was forced to release his childish anger and allow himself to be opened to Ramess's holy words. As his father spoke, the amiir waded into shallow waters nearby, sprawling out on his side to allow the water to wash over his fur and chill him. Could he ask his burning question now?

"But what if I do not want a woman?" Seth had asked his scholars a few times if he would be allowed to follow what he wanted in terms of attraction. So far, he had only found himself admiring the forms of men. The only female he had ever thought worth pandering to was his Toula. "I know I must wed [size=small]Sōzokujin[/size], though I wish it was muat-riya in her place." He grumbled. "But must I take other women? Why can I not, say, take the company of Senmut?"

He did not know it yet, but Sethnakht would grow to be a lover of many women and men too, so the question was rather moot in the end.

the regal brow arched but ramesses possessed no true judgement of his son. it was well-known that such bonds were forged true, and good for the blood as well.
and yet a consort could not be found wanting. 
pharaoh leaned to face sethnakht now. "i know you favour toula. it is the bond between you. she speaks of her divine brother in only the most loving terms."
"it is not forbidden to take men as your own lovers. but none of your wants must interfere with your duty to produce a son of pharaoh."
there was nothing against him wedding both if he wished, though ramesses felt toula might be well-suited to live as a divine noble in another land. but sethnakht did not exist to have his dreams denied, only fulfilled. 
the priest! "i am quite certain that senmut reacts to nothing aside from the gods," pharaoh jested.

For a terrifying heartbeat, Sethnakht was sure he had made a mistake. But upon further searching of his sire's face there was no judgment and no anger there. The youth's shoulders released their tension, and he found he enjoyed conversing freely with his royal father. Perhaps this did not need to be the game of mental gymnastics he had anticipated.

To hear of how his soul spoke of him thrilled the boy to no end, lazuli eyes blazing brightly with uncontained love for his mirror image. "Of course not, father. I understand my duty." The sun shone down on them both then, and even Sethnakht could not help but marvel at the way it made the water glitter like a thousand gems around them.

The divine prince gave a light chuckle at Pharaoh's words on the topic of Senmut, averting his gaze in a flustered manner. "No, perhaps not." It was true that Seth had admired the priest from afar, or in his lessons, but he had never entertained the idea of approaching him.

"Father..." He thought best how to ask. Curious Sethnakht, always full of burning questions. "Can you teach me to be as you are? Cunning, always one step ahead. I want to be able to make my foes squirm with just words." Maybe he was being too bold outrightly asking the gods chosen like this. The prince made a mental note to speak to their sesh Tavina. It was about time he learned another trade. Poison.

good. then there was no more to say on the matter, though ramesses suspected that when the royal children came of age, there might be more dramatics to parse. 
to sethnakht's question, pharaoh gestured that they should swim up the river and come out onto the bank. he shook himself and then stood steady beneath the vigorous toweling of one servant, the other dedicated to doing the same for his son.
when the fellahin had retreated, ramesses walked to where they had set up leaf-matting for the divine ones to sit upon. "then you must learn to discover someone's weakness. let us say, for instance, we had never met, but you spoke so sweetly of your sister. i might begin to ask possessively of her, to prod you, to see if you will rise to anger."
"part of knowing how to weave conversation is to veil your own heart from such attacks." he sat down, then reclined to an elbow with a sigh of pleasure, lazuli eyes watching the cold serpent move beyond.

The flowing water around him had started to feel almost tepid as he grew used to the cold, but his father had made it clear he wished to eat now, so the divine prince forced himself out with a shiver. The familiar prickle of annoyance filled him as fellahin dried him off, despite being a royal Sethnakht was averse to being touched. In fact, he pulled away now quite sooner than he should of, fur still a little damp as he settled across from the Pharaoh.

His blue eyes settled somewhere in the distance as the topic of his apparent weakness was bought up. Seth was not surprised precisely, of course, he realized his divine sister would be a hindrance in the face of enemies.

"I see." was all he uttered for a long, quiet moment. During this, he allowed himself to look upon Ramesses truly. Perhaps he wanted to peer inside that ever-ticking brain of his. "Is it your wish for me to be consort to Makono?" He asked suddenly, eyes narrowing as he studied his father's face for any sign of deceit. Of course, Sethnakht had a long way to go before he could tell if someone as cunning as the Pharaoh was lying so brazenly. It had bothered him for a while, that his father was seemingly so happy to allow the natural order of things to be disrupted, a woman stepping over her royal brother.


If it turned out that Ramesses allowed this breaking of tradition, it would no doubt make Sethnakht's ambitious harder to achieve. But it would not stop him.

sethnakht had always been a studious child but now ramesses saw his mind were turned to other things. to his future, for one, and now the curiosity in pharaoh lurked down to suspicion.
ramesses had learned not to trust a son and that was because he had been a son not worth trusting, not when he sensed seti's weakness.
the eyes were peerless in veiling his own emotions. "my wish is for each of my children to be settled into whatever roles Ma'at seems fit to place them. even pharaoh's desires are overlooked to please the gods."
sethnakht should not forget it.
ramesses watched the river flow. "it does not need to be your want, my son, only your responsibility." their wants did not matter when it came to shaping a dynasty. "an heir legitimizes a pharaoh. once the throne is secured, a pharaoh might be more apt to grant what you want."
ramesses alluded as always to the crown prince. would sethnakht realize this wisdom was also for him?