Shades of Panic
AbeoUmbra
Disclaimer: Haven't we been through this before? Once more, with feeling this time; I am not the creator of that which is for your viewing pleasure – and thus I make this unto you, the fans – for self gratification, and without fee –bows with a flourish-.
Hanic: Forgive her; she's obsessed with Shakespeare for the moment (blame Susan Cooper and her "King of Shadows") hey – don't give her that look, -wags her tail, poison-end and all- Shakespeare is rumored to be gay, and with the way he writes some of his boys – we wouldn't be surprised, would we Abeo? – giggles are heard and a small squeak of 'I love Pan!'- Anyway…Enjoy the fic…-nuzzles baby bunny protectively- Oh, I almost forgot…Thank you for the cream Shade Dancer-chan! And the muse-treats were yummy hoshi-tachi-chan!…- purrs- And if you want to feed the scorpion half, I'd love scarab beetles and grasshoppers'…-small whimper of protest is heard from authoress; Hanic grins evilly, baby bunny (must name the lil' one soon…suggestions?) blinks cutely up at 'mommy' Hanic-
I was going to continue the votes till 5th chapter; however, Death (aka Ardeth Bey)/Harry is pretty muchundisputed, fear not for those of you who voted else where – there shall be flirting, much heavy ' flirting' just because I think Death being jealous is hot. 'Sides Imhotep's being dead never slowed him down much in the movies.
7/9/11*baloney changed to balcony my thanks to Satsukifujin!
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Immortal Sleep Till The 'Dead' Do Wake
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Death watched- it was one thing to lose his temper in the Immortal realm – in one of their havens; it was quite a different matter to lose it while in the mortal realms. Nature protested such uncontrolled emotion, and the between of Immortal and mortal realms crossed.
Here, he kept it under tight reign, ready to flee to the Immortal realm if his emotions threatened his control.
Death could see into the natures of mortals – and Immortals, occasionally this swayed him from taking a mortal, more often then not though, it simply wasn't their time to die. Everything had a time which it would cease to be, most accepted this – few knew the exact time they would crease to be.
None of that kept him from seething as Imhotep openly watched his mate. Brought attention to him from other priests; the priests of the living-'gods', and by consequence – the future-wife of Seti - Anck-su-namun.
She was an opportunist in love – but not with Seti, with his High Priest, Imhotep. The High Priest did not love her, though he did not fear to use her as a way to gain power.
To pave the way for his reign, for Anck-su-namun had a gift – untested, but there. Death did not doubt that Imhotep saw it as well, while Nefertiri could see into the past; Anck-su-namun could see into the future.
This alone would be enough for Imhotep to seek to bring her back from the dead.
Death knew she and Seti would die tonight- and that Imhotep would risk bringing her back – and fail.
He did know that Harry would be soul linked to the High Priest.
Death did not know how though…
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Harry slept in the room he had awoken in. Three days had passed since the death of Seti, and Nefertiri's trap for him was set and waiting in Hamunaptra, all they had to do was wait. And waiting, Harry knew, was the most difficult part of the task.
The night Imhotep and his priests were captured; Harry lay asleep in his bed. Behind the back of Nefertiri, her priests of the "living" gods plotted to ensure that Imhotep stayed dead – cursed by the Hom-dai, or not.
One of their priests, planted among those to curse Imhotep – planted a feather of a hawk – a lock of Harry's hair entwined, into the bandages wrapped around Imhotep. They knew it would degenerate, and sink into his very being- linking Harry to him.
In Harry's room, they preformed a spell that he would not wake – and stole him away on a caravan bound for Hamunaptra. In the dawns light, they would tell their new queen the stranger had wondered away in the night of his own free will, and they had lost him.
Death despised lies, and vowed to see their afterlife experience was an unpleasant one. On swift wings of the night, Death followed, keeping watch as they went about tasks he could not interfere in.
Mixing the blood of Imhotep and the blood of the hawk the feather had been taken from, and a drop of the mixed blood was made to fall into Harry's mouth.
The hawk was given to Horus; to ensure his mother (Isis) and fathers (Osiris) favor of the bonding – and that Harry would remain untouched by age until Imhotep awoke.
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Ardeth Bey watched a man walk into the desert, to face certain death rather then what lay behind him, Hamunaptra – city of the dead. Where evil slept, and where his dreams lured him.
He denied those dreams such – of going into the dead-city, of finding something he had lost long ago. Something that made his soul ache – yet something he could not always picture. Sometimes, he thought it was a boy, other times…
Ardeth shook off his thoughts as one of the people he led asked if they should follow the American, to ensure the kill.
He did not know why – but he spared the man.
Instead, he and the rest of the Ma-jei returned to their camp.
Three years later… he dreamed….
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He was darker, more sinister. If he was mortal – they would have called him evil for lack of understanding. Egypt grew dark around him, nightfall- and his power was more aware under the moonlight.
He watched, hidden by shadows – by a veil mortals wouldn't hesitate to call magic. But it wasn't – it was his very essence. He watched in fury as a man approached a woman, kissed her – bringing Death, himself – to her.
Smudged the scared markings, touched her. Rage bubbled along the surface as he watched. He was not angry at the woman – but the man, he would gladly rip his soul apart.
Beyond them- on a balcony stood the daughter of one the most powerful men in this land, beside her…his rage and fury melted away, leaving hopelessness – and a familiar ache.
"Harii." He heard his name, spoken by the girl beside him. He buried his resentment – he knew he had a task. Suddenly, a man swooped into the room- he was the girl's father; the woman's future-husband, the ruler of this land.
He saw the woman's marking smeared, questioned her, only then did he die by his own sword. The girl on the balcony cried out- the sacred guards entered, and saw their master dead at the woman's feet. She died. The man ran away…
All mortals left the room. Only the dead remained – and their souls. He took them to his realm – let them find their afterlife.
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Ardeth cried out as he awoke, drawing the worried glances of his companions. He answered their worried inquires mindlessly, caught on the realization of what he had dreamed. A realization of what something beyond him had been trying to warn him of…
'He', Ardeth realized – the Dark One whom he had shared the ancient past with, had been Death – the Death. Ardeth decided to go visit an old friend, someone he hoped would give his nightmare – no, vision, peace.
The next morning – he and two others set out for Cairo.
"Ah, Ardeth – I'm glad you've come when you have. We've a bit of a problem." The curator of the museum that kept more secrets then it showed; spoke to him – even as he came out of hiding.
Ordinarily arriving at someone's home or place of work without notice would be punishable; the Ma-jei who worked to keep the city, and those of them who worked to keep it from the public, saw it as a game.
Nonetheless, Ardeth tilted his head, and Dr. Bey smiled, continuing the conversation.
"It concerns one of my librarians, she's a clumsy child, as you can see from my library, yet…her brother seems to have stumbled onto a map to Hamunaptra, and the key." Ardeth narrowed his eyes – his mind raced, the key had been lost three years ago – around the same time that…
….that he had let that American live….
"Did you retrieve it?" Ardeth asked, yet he knew the answer – Dr. Bey would not be so worried if he had had the key, all they would have to do would track the girl and her brother and scare them away from the city.
Now, they had to retrieve the key – without letting them onto what they had. Dr. Bey shook his head in denial, then Dr. Bey watched as Ardeth and his men raced to the prison.
There, they had received disturbing news from a prison guard who was also a Ma-jei. A librarian and her drunken brother had arrived, claiming to be missionaries; they had struck a deal with the warden for the man, O'Connell, who Ardeth had spared.
Already they were on there way to the city. More disturbing, so were some other Americans – claiming to have another man (this one Ardeth hadn't known lived) who had been to the city of Hamunaptra.
Hundreds of thousands of years of protecting the city, and only now – when Ardeth was leader, did it seem to be facing certain discovery. Relentless, that night they planned an attack to retrieve the key…
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Okay, soul-links, and soul mates…shall be explained from my point of view, yes, you have your own point of view –you are most welcome to share it. This is just the one I have – and the one you'll have to endure while reading this fic….
Soul-Link: The Ancient Egyptians believed in three 'aspects', if you will, of the soul.
The Akh ("the luminous effective spirit of the deceased, capable of interacting with the living" –quoted from the glossary of "What Life Was Like: ON THE BANKS OF THE NILE. Egypt (3050-30 BC)" ).
The Ba ("depicted as a human-headed bird; the essence of an individuals personality that manifested itself to others." –quoted from the glossary of "What Life Was Like: ON THE BANKS OF THE NILE. Egypt (3050-30 BC)" ).
And, the last – yet by far not the least, the Ka ("the life force of a person or god; the ka of a dead person had to be fed and sheltered, duties that fell to a ka priest" –quoted from the glossary of " What Life Was Like: ON THE BANKS OF THE NILE. Egypt (3050-30 BC)").
Some say five, rather then three- but for the life of them they can not come up with the Ancient Egyptian names for them other the English names, 'Name' and 'Shadow', leading me to believe this is a misunderstanding of the depictions on tomb walls on their part. I think, the Akh, was sometimes pictured as a shadowed man-like figure surrounded by light, or the Ka…? Whichever…
So, with a Soul-Link, and creative fic-writing 'license'; I'd like to think that if the Egyptians had a ritual of this sort (which, I'm fairly sure –they did not) it would link Harry's and Imhotep's Ba; which would change as the person did, and thus, could – in theory, be broken. Do not attempt this ritual it is made-up, and hawks are an endangered species!
Soul-Mate: You're destined love; that special love that's written in the stars….and takes about as long as a stars birth and death to find. Immortals have an easier time of it – but not by much. In such a partnership you are equals, and have the possibility of 'mind-reading' each other. The 'joining' of all three soul aspects, Death already has both Harry and his Ka joined, Harry's Ba was linked with Imhotep, and as for the Akh, well, it is part of the final process of being joined with a Immortal (I refuse to give hints this time)…