Star of Abydos by Cleo the Muse
Rating: G
Genre: General
Warnings: Mention of cannonical major character death(s)
Episodes: Anything up to and including Meridian, minor foreshadowing of Full Circle.
Synopsis: Six years in the life of an Abydonian.
Status: Completed as of June 5, 2004
Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate, it owns me (eg).
Star of Abydos
"Not great is he who can alter matter, but he who can alter my state of mind."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson, "The American Scholar"
When Adara was a child, her tribe would make the journey across the sands every other season to pay their dues to their god. Her mother would lead the mastadge carrying their tent and few possessions while her father--as chieftain--would head the train. They then left the grasses of the riverside and traveled for many days before reaching the stone village, Nagada.
After the day's toils were over and the mining caravan returned to the shelter of the city's walls, the people would gather around their cookfires to eat and exchange information. One fire remained burning long into the night, for it belonged to Nagada's chieftain, Kasuf. On most nights, the chieftains of the assembled tribes would share news and discuss trade, but every Fifth Night was for the children. They would flock to Kasuf's fire after their meals and chores were finished, and the Good Uncle would tell a story--often one with a lesson to it.
Then, during Adara's eleventh year, a traveler came to her tribe's cloth village by the river and told them they would not need to come to Nagada for Ra's dues ever again: Ra was dead. Ripples of shock passed through the tribe, and Adara's father invited the messenger to tell how Ra's death came to pass.
And so the traveler told them--without any embellishment, as Kasuf had commanded him--how a group of strangers came through the Chaapa'ai at Ra's temple and made the journey to Nagada with that season's workers. One of the strangers wore the symbol of Ra around his neck, leading Kasuf to believe he was a representative from the sun god.
When Ra came to collect his dues, he was angry with the tribes of Nagada for having welcomed the strangers. He sent his chariots to attack the city and captured the visitors. With the aid of Kasuf's children Sha'uri and Skaara, the strangers fought their way free. At the mines, the one called "Oneer" killed one of the Horus Lords, showing Kasuf himself that Ra's mighty servants were not so different from themselves. Together with Sha'uri, Skaara, and the youth and assembled workers of the season, Oneer, Danyer, and their companions defeated Ra's warriors and destroyed the false god's great palace. Ra was no more, and all of Abydos was free.
Adara's tribe rejoiced with Kasuf's in learning of the marriage of Sha'uri to the stranger Danyer, who stayed when his people left so that he might teach the people the writings Ra had forbidden them to learn. Two of Adara's brothers returned with Kasuf's messenger so that they might learn the lost secrets and teach them to the tribe upon their return. They also took gifts for Danyer and Sha're (the marriage-name Sha'uri had chosen) as tokens of the tribe's gratitude for their freedom.
Just a little over a year later, Adara's brothers returned to the cloth village with terrible news: Oneer came through the Chaapa'ai to take Danyel (the correct way to say his name, the younger brother, Mishan, explained) back to their own world, but while they were in Ra's hidden chambers, another false god came through the Chaapa'ai. Many Nagadans were killed, and Sha're and Skaara were taken. Danyel left with his people, vowing to return in a year's time with his wife and brother.
"All mourn with Good Kasuf," finished Ebron, the elder of Adara's brothers, "for he has lost both his sons and his daughter."
Little changed for the tribe after that, for the mastadge herds stilled moved and the water still flowed in the river. The seasons came and passed as Adara became a woman, and she was content with her way of life. Through the lessons of Ebron, Adara learned to read and write their own language, and learned much of the spoken language Danyel's people used. News still came from Nagada, bringing word of the burial of Sha're and the return of Skaara.
"Daughter, I feel good news in the wind," Adara's mother said the day of her daughter's eighteenth birthday. "Many marriage offers has your father received for you, and many are good matches. Still, I believe the best is yet to come." As the chieftain's wife, Adara's mother had quite a reputation as an oracle, and her husband often heeded her advice. He delayed accepting any suits, and before the end of the moons' cycle, a courier had brought to them the written offer of Skaara, son of Kasuf.
And so it was the very next week that the tribe made the journey from the river to Nagada for the first time in nearly six years. The betrothal of Adara of the River to Skaara of the City was greeted with great cheer by the four tribes gathered in the city that night. It was as the times of old, but the spirit was lighter, for the Abydonians were free, thanks to their friends among the Tau'ri. The celebrations lasted the whole night through, and continued on past dawn.
Skaara was in the middle of a story involving a large quantity of "moonshine," when Adara's mother pulled her aside. "Daughter, I fear ill news before sun-down," she whispered. Adara, too, became afraid, but dared not tell her betrothed of her mother's prediction.
The sun had barely passed its zenith when murmurs raced through the assembly of tribes. Word spread to Adara's father, whereupon he gathered up his robes and walking staff. "The Tau'ri have returned," he announced to his family. "I will go to Good Kasuf to learn what news they bring." Not long after his departure, a great silence began to fall across the city. Anxious and fearful, Adara stepped forth from the shadows of the cloth house, and was met by Skaara, his eyes full of tears.
"My brother," he said in a broken voice. "My brother Danyel is gone."
Adara gathered him in her arms and wept with her betrothed as the cries of mourners filled the air around them.
Eight cycles of the moons later, the traditional betrothal period of Skaara and Adara was completed, and their marriage would soon be held. Skaara wished to invite Danyel's friends O'Neill, Carter, and Teal'c, and Adara agreed she would be pleased to finally meet them. The same eight cycles also marked the end of the mourning period for the fallen hero, Danyel. As was tradition, the time of sorrow was to be ended by a great feast, which would be held in Nagada.
All eight tribes arrived in the city for the great celebration of the life and death of Abydos' most beloved son, and all agreed it was the most magnificent festival any had ever witnessed. As the betrothed of Skaara, Adara was invited to sit beside her husband-to-be at the fire of the chiefs.
"Not even the Feast of Victory could compare to this," remarked the chief of the Tribe of the Stones, who had been a part of the battle which ended the reign of Ra.
"This is truly the greatest feast we have ever honored," agreed the chief of the Tribe of the Wind.
"Danyel is missed, but his spirit lives on," said Adara in the language of the Tau'ri, and silence befell the chiefs.
After a long moment, the chiefs again took up their old ways of sharing news at the fire of Kasuf, and Adara and Skaara finished their meals quietly. As they stood to take their leave of the fire, Kasuf stopped them. "My Son and Good Daughter," he began, "go among the children and tell them tonight is Fifth Night, then join the circle at the fire. Go now."
Tears sparkled in Adara's eyes as she remembered the old tradition. At eighteen, she would actually be too old to be a part of the children's circle, but Kasuf had bid her and Skaara return. In askance, she turned to her betrothed, who raised and lowered his shoulders in a gesture he'd learned from his Tau'ri friends. "I know not what story my father plans to tell this night," he admitted, "but we must make haste if we are to spread word to the children."
A candlemark later, the children of the eight tribes and Skaara and Adara were gathered in a great circle three rows deep around the fire of Kasuf. Many of the youngest had never before sat at the fire of Kasuf, but the elder children knew that the stories told on Fifth Night were the best stories of all. Kasuf sat for a great time without speaking, and one child ventured to ask, "What story will you tell us, Good Uncle?"
"Tell us of the Lost Mastadge?" asked a girl.
"I wish to hear the Defeat of Ra!" declared a boy.
Kasuf held one hand up for silence. "The story I tell you this Fifth Night is one which has never been told to anyone of any tribe. Six seasons ago, I had the privilege of expanding my family from a son and a daughter to include a second son. A son not born beneath the sun of Abydos, but a man whose heart belonged here the same. It is his life we honor tonight, and it his life we will continue to honor each day of our own lives."
The chief of the City rose to his feet and began to walk around the fire as he began to speak, beginning with the arrival of Danyel and his companions in Nagada. He admitted to the grief of losing his wife in Ra's attack of vengeance, and the despair he felt at the destruction of the city. And then he shocked them by telling them what O'Neill had told him.
"Ra's warriors took O'Neill and Danyel into the great palace, and made then kneel before Ra. But O'Neill refused to do so, and attempted to fight his way free. One of the False One's guards turned his fire-stick upon O'Neill and fired it." Many of the children gasped at this. "But the blast did not strike O'Neill." Many more sighed in relief. "Instead, Danyel placed himself in front of his friend and was slain." The sudden silence was as the calm following a fierce sand storm.
Kasuf stopped his pacing. "When morning came, and Ra brought O'Neill and his people forward to be killed, Danyel was once again alive, and fired the first shots which began our rebellion."
"How, Good Uncle?" asked the boy who'd asked to hear the Defeat of Ra. "If he was dead, how then was he again alive? Was not Ra a False God?"
"Danyel did not give up," Kasuf answered at length. "And that is why he was alive that morning. Ra was defeated, and Danyel lived with our people and taught us a great many things in the time he had with us. But then my daughter and son were stolen by another False God, and Danyel pursued the enemy through the Chaapa'ai.
"His death at the weapons of Ra was but the first death my Good Son endured in his battle against the False Gods. O'Neill told me of at least three more times over the next two seasons when he believed my Good Son to be dead, only to find him alive again. A part of Danyel died when Sha're was killed by the same blast which destroyed the demon which possessed her, but he was strong. Soon he brought Skaara home again, and renewed my hope in his battle against the demons."
Adara squeezed her betrothed's hand, and smiled when he responded in kind. Yes, there was always hope.
"My Good Son endured many trials," announced Kasuf, pacing in the opposite direction. "Many deaths, many dangers, did he face. He once gave his life freely for a man he barely knew, simply because he believed it to be the right thing to do, and in so doing, gave his life to make Abydos free. And his life was restored."
He nodded to Skaara. "My son and I received terrible news from O'Neill eight cycles past. In their journeys through the Chaapa'ai, O'Neill, Danyel, Carter, and Teal'c have seen and done many things. They have defeated many false gods, including the one who took my son and daughter. They have faced great danger, and passed through it greater for their experiences. But eight cycles ago, my Good Son gave his life to save the people of a far distant world, and they shunned his sacrifice. They laid false charges upon his shoulders. Soul burdened and body broken, my Good Son died."
Kasuf stopped again, and looked once more to Skaara. "My pain was great at his news, and my son fled the house in his grief. He did not hear the rest of what O'Neill told me, and have not told any. Now I tell you, so that all will know." He smiled around the circle.
"Death is but the beginning for a spirit as bright as Danyel's. Death has never held him back before, and it is not even now. I was told that as Danyel lay dying, O'Neill had a dream which seemed to be real, for he'd been awake at his friend's side just a moment before. In this dream, he saw Danyel, whole and healthy. My Good Son asked his friend to let him go, and as only a friend could, O'Neill agreed. He asked those who were trying to heal Danyel to stop, and Danyel died."
A smile crossed Kasuf's lips. "But even as he died, my Good Son's body was transformed into pure light, a radiant reflection of the beautiful spirit which led our people to freedom. Nothing remained of the broken shell Danyel's body had become. His body, his spirit, had become one with the great stars."
Skaara's hand tightened about Adara's, and she turned to see his eyes containing tears once again. "Danyel has not left us," he said in trembling voice. "It is as my betrothed has said: he is missed, but his spirit lives on."
"His spirit lives on," agreed Kasuf, tears now in his own eyes. "Children, when you look to the stars each night, remember the one who came to this world from the stars, who is now a great spirit. Remember that the light of each star is but an example of the soul of the one who freed us from the False One, and who restored our written language to us. Remember, also, that he restored our hope. Look to the stars and remember Danyel."
As one, the children gathered around Kasuf's fire looked up, searching the night sky. Adara, too, looked up, not knowing what she sought, but expecting some sign. Just as she began to feel disappointment, a single star high above flared brighter.
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