Rosewater Oasis hudjefa

Return

A flame returned to the desert, guided by brother serpent until familiar dunes pulled him towards the cenote. He was half-expecting a warm welcome, but as he arrived to peek over the rock's edge not a soul could be seen. "Baba?" he called out, paws sliding in windswept sand as he descended the slope to the twin pools. There was no reply. "Mama?" The air became quieter still the further he ventured into Muat-Riya's blue halls. Tiye's chambers were empty, as was the sesh's medicine room - even the mazoi caves were devoid of life. Worry quickened his steps. "Baba?!" A voice nearby, just around the corner; the boy raced to greet them before realising it had only been an echo of his own naivety. They were gone.

The boy ran as he'd never ran before, paws churning red sand as he flew towards Akashingo in search of answers. They would be there, he told himself, they would all be there. Khusobek, Inji, even Safiya would be waiting to scold him. But as he neared the towering mesa, the scent of wolves was stale. Heart swooping, the boy stepped shakily to where the light disappeared into the catacombes, only to find his path blocked by an impassable rockfall. "No no no.." his paws dug panicked into the rubble, "no!" No matter how fast he moved each stone, another swiftly took its place. 

It was in blind terror that he checked every entrance, each one telling a similar story. A crushing weight collapsed his legs beneath him; exhausted, the boy pressed his head to the tomb of Akashingo and cried out in anguish. The restless souls of the dead clawed at his skin, whispering for him to join them. He prayed he could. 

Awakening

"Get up, boy." Time was a blur. His ears flicked. Confused, he lifted his head to where the sun peaked through the cloudbank and illuminated the mesa in fiery light. The voice was coming from within. 

He could hardly disobey, staggering to his paws in mournful obedience. Ghosts hissed and bit at his feet. "Do not fear. I will guide you." And the boy knew what he must do. 

Mud streaked his face from a snowmelt puddle. There were no bodies to embalm and so the boy shovelled sand into the shell of a turtle for Imsety to guard the liver. Half a coconut was next, representing the lungs for which the ape-headed Hapy looked after. A bowl-shaped leaf and a hollow stone for Duamutef and Qebhseneuf were filled with more sand, ensuring safe passage for the lungs and the stomach. His body shook, would this even work?

Finally, the objects were moved to a shallow cave along with gifts of desert mice and herbs to ease their journey. Pebbles were collected, one for each soul that had once called the twin palace's home. And once everything was in place, the boy's haunting cry echoed across the flatlands, calling the dead to their final resting place. He hoped, at last, they would be at peace.

Something shifted within him that night as he slept among the ritual stones. His Ba - Kheti - an invisible twin separated from his mortal frame would remain to tend the dead. His Ka - Akhre, the spirit of Ra - would travel with him.

When the boy awoke it was with renewed strength, emerging into the light to look upon the desert. "Follow the sun," the spirit commanded, and he did.

Arrival

Akhre mirrored the passage of the sun as it moved from east to west, pausing to quench his thirst and rest beneath the stars when night fell upon the world. Hunger was an afterthought (adjusting to life on the surface was hard!), but as the sky bled red on the third day, he found what he was looking for. 

He stumbled towards the mirage's glittering water, each step sinking deeper into sand as tiredness crept upon him at last. Whomever would find the spirit would be met with a boy wandering the dunes in delirious prayer, all the while the child within slipped into peaceful dormancy.

this got away from me... @Samirseti