Lion Head Mesa third

set for the morning of aug 31, maybe @Gucci? can date it for anytime!

senmut did not miss another prayer.

he rose before dawn; he stood in velveteen darkness atop the mesa, watching as the sky began slowly to lighten.

and just before Ra set His Crown upon His Head, senmut began to sing, welcoming the god up from his bed and into his barge, to pole across the sky.

sometimes he would be a chariot. but today Ra rose gently, filtered through stormclouds upon the horizon.

gucci was wracked with concern, which was the usual state for him. having missed the meeting regarding tavina's outsider friend, the guilt was accentuated by the fact that he did not see the newcomer among the fellahin - meaning she got saddled with work even below a fellahin.

this new entry in the franchise of his worries saw the chihuahua up before dawn, and ascending up to the top of the mesa to briefly distract himself by watching the morning prayers.

there was a new hem.

gucci was not well acquainted with how these things went, so he stood awkwardly to the side while the holy man did... stuff.

when there seemed to be a prolonged pause, the neb gave a greeting bark.

"g'mornin', priest!" he grinned while approaching. "what're th' omens fer t'day?"

senmut performed a deep bow, though not a prostration. that was for royalty.

still his respect was deeply apparent.

"today i have been sent to bring up sacred water from the river. then i will meditate upon the goodness of Amun." he looked with great curiosity at the small noble but did not say anything else. why had he been created without height? 

gucci eagerly grinned and nodded - in the manner of a person concealing that the spoken information had bounced off their ears.

"ah see, ah see. father akhtar snagged a newcomer, n immediately saddled 'im wi' responsibilities." the noble shook his head and pouted in joking disapproval. "shame." then his conversational smile returned.

"so how long's ya been wi' us, priest?"

senmut laughed.

"i am to take all his hardest tasks, as he did for his own mentor before me." akhtar had earned his respect. "only since the end of last month. but i came from the same land as the high priest and the pharaoh himself."

his eyes were bright with intrigue. "how long have you been a noble here?"

"aah, now, ah ain't keepin' no calendar, but must've been midwinter when the pharaoh let me in..." gucci paused. had it truly been so long?

at what point did he stop hoping to be found?

"but ya say somethin' interestin' - those lands, what're they like? how's things goin' o'er there, minus their pharaoh?"

gucci, intent to keep this conversation long enough to fill time, laid down and crossed his forelegs, tail politely beating.

midwinter. so almost a year. how interesting, to see how gucci had climbed.

proverbially, of course.

"it is a rich place. there are twice as many servants and many stelae documenting several victories." he had learned not to speak in details. "trade is rich and there are whispers that more may be sent to akashingo."

his ears were politely turned forward. the former pet could not exactly map his human-given knowledge of the concepts, onto the unique ways in which wolves developed the same. his tail swept the fine layer of red dust.

"more? family, o' yours? ah mean," gucci adjusted himself. "mah knowledge o' the pharaohly peoples 's that they, uh, inherit titles n jobs fram their relatives. was there a, uh, heh, mister priest senior in your home?" asked with a long smile and cocked head, meant as more a joke than honest guess.

obviously, mister priest's father would've been a sir priest.

"more servants. more priests. perhaps even nobility."

senmut shook his head. "my father is only a labourer. he and my mother sent me to the palace because our life is hard." but he said so lightly, unashamed.

"i love the gods. they see this in me." the young man smiled widely.

gucci was charmed. a simple, honest reverend! 

he gave a bark of approval. 

"oh, and ah m sir-tain they've got a future 's bright 's th' sun fer ya!" he gestured at the rising metaphor.

 "how's it you was picked t' come 'ere? some tremendous achievement, or consistent quality?"

senmut smiled and bowed beneath the nobleman's praise. he too believed the gods would shape him, but he was modest enough not to speak his desires aloud.

"i was the youngest of eight," he said quietly. "they saw i took to the skies and the air more than the work, and they saw a chance for me to be more."

the noble nodded.

"perfectly relatable! ah, likewise, had been born b'neath a lucky star, n t' th' stars ah strived t' rise!" he would've pointed upwards for emphasis, had he the joints. "nawt a soul's been born fated fer dirt, as ah like t' say!"

"now, if ah ain't keepin' ya, wouldja mind educatin' this ol' heretic?" gucci grinned, thumping his tail.

not a soul born fated for dirt.

senmut was not certain he agreed but he certainly would not publicly part with the noble. "we have many gods, esteemed gucci. each god means something different, but they should all be known and observed. Ra is the deity of the sun. Amun is the deity of the unknown spark which creates life. Iset is the goddess of fate itself."

where would the man care to begin?

he raised a daintily gloved paw to his muzzle, thinking.

"...fer starters, ah'd like t'know wha' gives our royals, uh, a claim t' divinity." he looked expectantly at the young priest.

care to keep this quick? you can fade at any point ^^ 

ofc! <3

"pharaoh is considered to be a son of Ra. when he rises to be coronated, he assumes the role of Horus, Hawk in the Throne. through his status first as son of the gods and then his ascension to be Their speaker, he is made divine. and because he has often come from an unbroken line of divinity, it only strengthens his claim."

gucci nodded, even thought only about half of it had been understood fully.

"ah see. then, wha' happens t' 'im when he passes? actually, wha' happens t' all o' us?" gucci looked towards the valley of queens.

senmut smiled wanly. "our ka is sent to be cleansed and judged by Anubis and by Osiris. our heart is weighed against the feather of Ma'at, and if we are seen as pure enough, we walk forever in the Land of Reeds, reuinted with those we loved in life."

"but if we fail the weighing, the goddess Ammit devours your heart, and forever you must live in the Duat, a place of darkness."

eerie. but he was starting to see the shape of things.

"so, what must a pharaoh do t' go to th' good place? has that anythin' t' do wi'..." another glance at the serpent. "...th' gifts we leave th' dead wi'?"

"he must be fair in his work and dedicated to the gods," senmut said simply. 

"we prepare our dead with gifts for when they wake in the afterlife. riches may please the guards of the gate, yes."

the little noble head bobbed, ears bouncing, eyes pointed downwise. 

like a man in his sixties being explained some new trendy fad. n this guy, jay-zeus, wha's his stance on taxes?

"ah see, ah see. sah-" gucci looked sharply up. "wha' can be done, if there, if there ain't naw body? there some way ya, ya can, ya can bribe th' guards on 'nother's behalf?" 

despite the specificity of his question, gucci tried very hard to keep his face a stern mask.

senmut smiled. 

he felt he might now understand.

"if they were blessed before death, we may wrap an image of them and lay it to rest. or perhaps we offer sacrifices at the monument to their life. in this way, their path forward is paid and sanctified."

another nod.

"ah see." his little lips were a taunt line.

"if such, such times comes as ta have, aah, need fer holy person t' o'er-see said offerin's 'n' sacrifices..."

the little head looked away, across the red tower, to lands yet to be washed in morning's red.

then back at the priest, almost demure.

"could ah, call fer your assistence?" 

"of course, neb. your summons would be an honor."

he followed the line of gucci's gaze and then looked at the small man once more.

"do you have more need of me, noble one?" senmut's voice was careful.

"none, none as fer now." gucci near-muttered it, pupils in right corners, suddenly in dire need o' pacin' about while thinking his thoughts. 

he knew her so very briefly, but by gawd, was he ever gon let her slip his mind...?

his gaze lifted. the little noble beamed at the younger man.

"thank ye most kindly! ah hope y'stay wi' us a long while, hem. red spire needs young men such as yaself." 

the noble hurried away, dogtag clinking, his thoughts quickly turning to a grinding mill.

archive and use this for the everlasting trade grind <3