"I suppose that would be undignified. He'd never let me forget it, either." Picking up a piece of bread, Yami took a bite. /Have you learned anything useful?/
/No chance. Shimon woke me and I've had people around ever since./ Kage shoved some grapes over. "Try these."
A knock at the door announced another servant's arrival. "The High Priest-" he began.
"He knows who I am. Go find something else to do." A tall form pushed past the nonplussed servant, kneeling at Yami's feet. "My Pharaoh."
"What are you doing down there Seto?" The words were out before Yami could think to stop them. "Get up!"
"As informal as ever, cousin." Seto stood, folding his arms. "But the days of informalities have come to an end."
"I'm not Pharaoh yet."
"On the contrary. Our people have seen you as their King since your father- his name be praised- took his last breath. Their hopes rest with the young ruler they've known and cherished all his life. You are the next Son of Ra, Lord of the Two Kingdoms, the bridge between Heaven and Earth."
"A bridge? How can I span the divide unless I'm connected firmly to both sides? My people don't need to see me as some unapproachable figure; they need to see me as part of their lives. Doesn't the word 'pharaoh' mean 'great house'? I'm their shelter, not a statue that stands out in the garden to be admired from afar."
Kage pretended to stifle a yawn. "How many times have you argued this? I lose track."
"You're not any help, Bakura," Seto shot back. "Encouraging him as you do. Creeping out of the palace at all hours in disguise, playing games and drinking with commoners in the back alleys, riding out into the plains or even the deserts beyond to explore or steal our treasures back out of the hands of the very thieves that took them to begin with, all at great personal risk to the Prince himself-"
"Excuse me, I didn't realize your name was 'Shimon'."
Silence.
Slowly the edges of Seto's mouth turned up; he burst into laughter. "I do sound just like him, don't I." He dropped into a chair, chose a goblet of wine, took a long swallow. "Still, the old man means well. More importantly, he understands the politics, the psychology, of power. It's not only for the sake of appearance, Atem. People need order, unity, stability. The patterns of ritual and respect between classes clearly delineate your role in their lives. It reinforces exactly what you said. You are the Great House that shelters them, set high above the troubles of life."
"If I'm set too high," Yami murmured, "I may lose sight of what I'm protecting."
"That will never happen. I know you." Seto leaned in and laid a hand on Yami's shoulder. "Your father, my uncle, was a good man, a good King. You, Atem... You will be a great king." He stood back up. "We can continue this later. It's time for you to proceed to the sanctuary. You'll have to wait with the other advisors, Bakura. Personally I'd rather have you with us, but..."
"You're worried about something?" Kage's gaze sharpened.
Seto didn't answer, not right away. "It's nothing," he said finally, "a night's foolish visions."
"Your visions are usually grounded in a little more truth than the rest of us, Priest Seto."
"Yes, yes, I know. Dreams sent from the gods. The only one whose visions of the future are more relevant than mine are the visions granted to Isis by the Millennium Necklace." Seto grumbled. "They should've named you Moswsnek, not Bakura. Your words are sharp enough."
"Your flattery is appreciated but unnecessary. I already have an excellent opinion of myself."
"Have you discussed these dreams of yours with her?" Yami asked pointedly.
"No," Seto replied reluctantly. "I didn't wish to trouble her with my nightmares. That's all they were, I'm sure."
"But they're enough to trouble you, aren't they?"
Seto glared blue daggers of death at Yami, who found the look more reassuring than threatening. "Very well, Atem, since you'll worry at me like a jackal over a bone if I don't tell you. I dreamt of shadows fighting in the streets. Of fire against the night, and screams. The Rod wept blood. The sands rose up and devoured your name, erasing it from everything in sight." He looked down. "These aren't the tidings you give to your beloved cousin, let alone your King, on the morning of his ascension. Forgive me."
"You've offered me no insult. I'd rather have the truth no matter how unpleasant." Yami rubbed his forehead. "These are indeed not the most pleasant portents, no. Let's hope they are only warnings to be vigilant and fears for the future, nothing more serious." Seto... forgive ME. Your visions are true, but the end of this tale has already been written. It would do me no good to try to change it now.
"The threat of war does still claw at our gates. Although we were able to use the Shadow Creatures, the beasts drawn from our ka-spirits, to drive back the first onslaught from the Theban nomarchs to the South, we still do not have sufficient armed forces to turn back a full-scale invasion. We must rely on the magic of the Millennium Items to tip the tide in our favor. I know it pained your father, the Pharaoh Akunamkanon, to use those items, but I never understood why. He would never make an explanation."
"I go to receive Amun-Ra's blessing, do I not? Perhaps, if the Lord of the Sun is willing, I may put that question to him and receive an answer." Yami stood. "Lead the way, Seto."
Silently the pair proceeded out the door and further into the palace, up flights of stairs towards the roof. How apt. We rise to meet the sun.
Yami looked all around as he walked, trying to take in everything. We had such hopes. We never thought our beautiful city would fall. I was sure I would live and die here. Surrounded by friends and family, buried with the proper rites, to rest in the tomb they carved for me.
I suppose I did fulfill part of that, didn't I. I did live and die here. Tch, how morbid. Not like me. Yami chuckled softly under his breath. I have better things to do... What is it chosen says? If you have time to complain you have time to do something about it. I must not become lost in these memories.
Seto stopped by a set of elaborate gold doors. "From here, you go alone. There is a fountain and pool- undress yourself and rinse off, then wait without putting your garments back on. Naked we come from birth to the world; today you are reborn as the child of a god, deity in your own right."
"How will I know when all is done?"
"Trust me. You'll know." A moment's hesitation, then Seto swept Yami into his arms. "Little cousin," he murmured.
"You act as if I were traveling far away, never to see you again."
"In a way you are. This is the end of our youth, both yours and mine. I saw you born, Atem. I watched you grow, and I, along with Bakura and Mahad and Mana, were your playmates. We all had our adventures together, and when I was named to the office of High Priest, it became my duty to oversee your spiritual education and to teach you the ways of the Diaha. Now you are become my king, my Pharaoh, who I will serve with all the honor and pride and devotion that is within me. But I will miss my childhood friend. Bakura's not the only one who thinks of you as a brother."
"He's still here, Seto. He will never forget you." Yami's grip tightened. "I swear to you, I will remember this, no matter how far the distance of time between us."
"Curious way to put it." Seto let go, bowed. "I'll wait outside here for you."
Moswsnek- from mosaw senek, 'sword tongue'
Some historical notes: kerosene and a means to refine it was actually first described in the 9th Century, although it was not commercially manufactured until the 1800s. The first simple steam turbine was described and probably invented by the Egyptian scholar Hero of Alexandria in the first century A.D. Therefore, I feel reasonably safe in concluding that clockwork, steam, and other such simple mechanisms could have been constructed in the period of the Pharaohs if one had a sufficiently talented genius... like Seto Kaiba.
As for the actual historical period, after doing a little reading, I decided to set Atem's time as somewhere near the end of the Old Kingdom. The actual Old Kingdom, which was the first historical period of unified government in Egypt, ended with civil and social unrest caused by the breakdown of the monarchy and a rise in power from the nomarchs, or Regional Lords (sort of like feudal lords in England's medieval times), accompanied by invasion from other countries around Egypt.
If Atem had survived, it's entirely possible that in his world, he would have been able to quell the insurrection and bring peace back to Egypt, thus prolonging the Old Kingdom. But if he had, I wouldn't be writing this story.