Lion Head Mesa all we have is somewhere to begin

in knowing her mother had nothing to do with any nefarious plot, Toula had extended her palm out to her in amnesty. she prayed that she would come to hear it, and fear home no longer. the thought that her mother might be the last living family member she had left came to her more than once. it was Makono’s pyramid she worked tirelessly upon; nothing would have kept her sister from this place but death. 
and her brothers had likely found some other kingdom to rule, if not here. none of them had loved Akashingo in the same way she and Makono had. and while her love had always been softer, and sweeter, it had been thanks to Makono that it could be. while there was part of her that wondered—having only seen her father and the first Shabti in her dreams of the beyond—she then hoped that Makono, too, might find herself born again in the divine beings she created… or else, that she was entirely at peace. peace Makono had taken care to provide for her. Toula saw that now. 
and knew in the beyond, Makono would understand—now more than ever she needed what was left, the guiding voice of a woman who had not been born divine but had made herself such! 
her heart twisted in torment to know that he had not encountered her, but Toula knew that her mother did not mean to be found. if it were that easy, then any who wished to smite her would have—and she imagined her mother awaited this moment, where Toula could at last pardon her for things she had not partaken in. the conspiracy investigated, Toula was satisfied in the end result of her mothers innocence. 
you have done well, she said with a warm smile. furs were then lain out on the floor before her, and a meal placed in front of them. please, rest—and eat! I have some unfortunate news, Sphinx, that has truly broken my heart. your father… she breathed in, and then in her exhale she said, he is no longer of this world. her eyes watered as she spoke the words, and her voice broke to speak them to him. at once she rose and moved nearer to him, leaving pink marks where she stepped, to offer him a comforting embrace—as much for herself as it was for him, truly!