Chapter 10

Another sleepless night.

The sun peeked over the horizon and straight into his eyes. With an annoyed groan, he squinted against the morning. And it suddenly lit up the landscape, as far as the eye could see. Orange and red sunlight blazed across the grassy plains and stained the sky. The stars were now dim in the new light of the sun, barely visible.

He rubbed his face. It hadn't been a pleasant night. Nor had his experience at the palace of Bastet been. With a curse, Set stood and checked the pocket of his coat. The once large bag had shrunk and shrunk until it was hard to tell that it even held anything inside.

It was a grey, sooty material. And when mixed with water imbued with the powers of magic, whatever one created would come to life. Set took barely a handful, which depleted half of what he had left. When the bag was sealed and placed safely back into his coat, his free hand went to his water skin. As his hand moved away from the hole, so followed the water, gripped in his magic.

Soot in one hand, water hovering above the other, Set closed his eyes. The lines round his left thickened and extended until the markings returned. When it opened, the glowing eye on his forehead appeared once more. His now golden eye peered down at the soot. And again he cursed.

It was a unique creation. Only Marik knew how to make this stuff... and I'm almost all out. Then, Set let the water surround his hand. He swirled the water until it resembled molding clay, then began shaping. Set shaped it into a crude, bird looking abomination.

He'd never been much of an artist. Set removed his hand from the creature and it solidified. When it looked up to him suddenly, he said, "Bring me the circlets."

And it flew away. With a sigh, his eye closed and the markings faded. Set's eyes opened again, which mirrored the summer sky. There weren't any clouds. I must move forward. Regardless of his pace. And I know just where to go.

Barely a few miles away, a shore separated the land from the sea. Set made his way toward it. The expanse of the sea amazed and soothed him to his core. But, at the same time, it filled him with unwanted memories of the past. And unwanted emotion.

With a sigh, the small, blue yo-yo rested in his hand once more. He muttered to himself, "Might as well get started," and stepped out onto the water.

At a rather leisurely pace, Set walked atop the ocean, slinging the yo-yo mindlessly. It would be a while before he got to where he wanted to go. It's fine, though... I must give him time to get the lantern. Once he has what he wants, he'll have no qualm with me anymore. But, dammit, if these memories wouldn't leave him alone!

They all came too fast, like a blur. A woman in the desert, an argument... He had grabbed for a glass bottle and swung it. Set staggered, making sure to maintain his balance. "Dammit..."

One eye closed and his Eye returned, and with it, the euphoric apathy for this world. I can't falter here. My mission shall come to a close soon and then life will return to normal. He kept walking, his troubling thoughts now pushed to the back of his mind by the weight of ancestral intellect and experience. Sweet relief that he relished in.

Slowly, the orange blaze dancing on the water glimmered with the late morning, and then finally faded into blue as the sun rose higher and higher into the sky. Set had pondered intently the idea of using the rest of the magic soot to make something to fly him to his destination, but decided not to waste the last of his supplies on laziness. Relief filled his senses when he began to be able to see the ocean floor. Sunbathed sand parted beneath his feet. The shore stretched either way, as far as he could see.

To the left, cliff faces. To the right, lush, verdant forests. Both his eyes opened, bliss parted from him. Best not to give away my intent just yet, he thought. Set headed to the forests.

It wasn't thick as he'd imagined it being. In fact, as he saw, there was a well-worn path to the shore just ahead. Set made his way to it and head left down the path. Set had always favored the sandy dunes of his home over the vines and thorns of the forests. Grunts varying in volume escaped his lips as he swiped branches away from his face.

But, mere minutes from leaving the shore, he hears grunts not his own. Set froze in place and lowered himself. It was the voice of a child. The faint clash of steel rang out, too. He made his way through the brush and fallen leaves.

The wood line gave way to a grassy hilltop overlooking one of the cliffs above the beach. "Shit," Set hissed.

It was a kid. A human kid, and he was fighting a thestral. The boney abomination had him cornered against the cliff edge. The boy was being inched closer to the edge. Set was forced into action.

As he leapt forward, the boy fell over the edge with a shriek of fear. Set reached out with his power and grabbed up the as much ocean water as he could. The water caught the boy just a few feet from where he had fallen. The thestral turned its hungry gaze to Set. It made its way toward Set slowly.

That gave him the opportunity to push the boy back onto solid ground. "Hey there, fella," his voice was calm and smooth, "You must be pretty hungry to be going after humans, am I right?"

The thestral cocked its head slightly, as if to understand what Set had just said. The ocean water was rising up over the cliff face at Set's command. Suddenly, multiple fish were being funneled into the very end of the water shaft. The fish were dumped in front of the equine creature. It's attention was captured.

It sniffed them cautiously. Never breaking eye contact with it, Set made a 'come hither' motion to the boy. All the while, he spoke, "Yeah... I understand being hungry, fella-"

The thestral glared at him and whinnied. Set's look turned confused, "What? Are you not a fella?"

The answer he received was a nicker. "Fine, fine," he then mumbled, "Smartass, intelligent, glue makin' bitch."

Set sighed and turned to the boy, "You alright, kid?"

The boy in question was on his ass, staring at the thestral, shaking, "Kill it!"

She looked up at him and glared. Set seemed to notice. He sighed, "No."

"Why not?" the kid growled, "It deserves it anyway!"

"She was just hungry," Set then looked down on the boy, narrowing his eyes, "Who are you, and what are you doing out here in her forest?"

"My name's Howell. Killing her was supposed to be my trial-" Howell's hand suddenly flew up to his mouth.

Set merely raised an eyebrow, "You're training to be a guardian."

"You know about them?"

His eyes rolled. This boy... is terrible at keeping secrets. "Of course, stupid," Set said, "I'm a scholar from the southeast. My village's guardians have become inadequate and I am to study in other communities to create better training methods. Your village 'round here, Howell?"

Howell got up off the ground. "Yeah," he began struggling to fix his mess of black hair into a tight topknot, "Follow me."

As they were making their way to the wood line, Set felt something nudge him. It was the thestral. "You got your food, I didn't kill you, what else could you want?"

Her eyes, an unusually clear blue for a thestral, flickered between the two and she nickered. Set deadpanned, "You're not coming with us."

Howell snapped around, "Like hell she is!"

She gave Howell a tired look. It screamed 'You tried to kill me, I almost ate you. Get over it.' Howell turned back around with a huff, crossing his arms. "Come on, mister scholar. Let's just go."

The thestral nudged Set again, looking into his eyes hopefully. He paused, hesitated. It was already over. Under his breath, he muttered, "Fuck me..." then louder, "Alright, Thestral, come on with us. Hopefully his villagers won't kill you as soon as they see you. That would suck."

She gave what he could only guess was a smirk. Gleefully, she trotted up next to Howell and gazed down at him. "Shut up," he said without looking.

The three of them made their way into the forest. Set hid a satisfied smirk as Howell took them to the well-worn trail he had been on before. He'd have found them with or without the kid's help. From the pocket of his coat, he produced his yo-yo. Up and down it went, Set took in some much needed fresh air.

Still, he couldn't reveal his guardian status to this child. At least, not yet, and only if the conditions are just right. At the same time, heaviness filled his heart. It was annoying. It's all for the Divine; just a little longer and everything can be normal again.

It was all he ever told himself these days. But, as many times as he reassured himself of it, he still doubted. Thankfully, Howell pulled him from his thoughts. "So, why'd you let her live?" he asked.

Set kept yo-yoing as he answered, "As a guardian, your job is not to conquer nature, nor is it to immerse yourself in it. You know your place in nature and you exist in that place, peacefully. Some animals must die for food or supplies, others must be helped. This thestral was merely following that order. Y'see, sometimes, nature needs to be given a little instead of taking so much."

"So..." poor Howell was trying to wrap his head around it, "A guardian is supposed to... help animals?"

"No. It's far deeper than that. You'll realize your purpose before the end of your life."

A pause from Howell before he asked, "Who are you?"

"Call me Set," he replied.

"Like the god?"

"Yes. Like the god," he allowed a breathy chuckle and returned to silently slinging his yo-yo up and down.

The leaves made for good white noise as they were tossed to and fro by the wind. When had it become this windy? There weren't any birdsongs floating in the air, which was odd for this time of the year. But, if this place was the place Set was hoping it was, he'd expect no less. As the afternoon went by, clouds drifted in and quickly blocked the sun.

Set glared up at the sky and silently prayed that they'd get to Howell's village before any rain fell. Soon, blurred building tops came into sight, surrounded by a wooden wall. When they approached it, it was easily more than twice even the Thestral's height. Either side of the massive gates had guard towers with men looking down at them. "Howell, who's this wi-" he caught sight of the Thestral, "Divine save us! Howell Ross Jenkins, what the hell have you brought that thing back here for?!"

Before Howell himself could answer, Set cut in, "I'm a scholar from the far eastern desert village of Kh'al. I stopped him from killing this Thestral."

"And why would you intervene?"

"He was going to be killed. Furthermore, I'm here to study your practices," Set responded.

The man up in the tower eyed Set cautiously, then made a motion to someone behind him. The gates opened up, dragging the ground noisily as it went. Awaiting just beyond it was a young woman, her piercing brown eyes set straight on Howell. She had darker skin than either of them. Set's thoughts were along the lines of, Shit! What tanning bed does she go to?

She walked up to them, and somehow managed to ignore Set completely. This woman had clearly never heard of a haircut. She had black hair, like Howell's, that went all the way down to her ass. It may have been longer, but it was in a complex French braid. One look at the Thestral and her eyes were on Howell in a look that screamed, 'Seriously?'

Howell twiddled his thumbs, stuttering, "I'm sorry, Rose... once you feed her, she's... kinda nice, I guess."

Finally, this Rose spoke, "That's not the point. When it's hungry, it's one of the fiercest beasts in the world. You were supposed to prove yourself by killing it."

"And how, might I ask," Set spoke now, "Is he to prove himself to be a guardian if he's trained to simply kill everything in his path?"

Rose narrowed her eyes, "If we can't kill anything worth a shit, we'll be killed ourselves."

Ooh, I like her. "Interesting logic. Flawed, but interesting no less," he held out his hand, "I am Set. Who might you be."

She took it and shook, "Rose."

"Say," Set looked around, "Is there an inn where I can stay? I'll be here for a while."

"No," she said.

He chuckled uneasily, "Well- erm- what about some sort of accommodation?"

"No."

Set stopped slinging the yo-yo. "Then, what am I to do until my business is done?" his eyes narrowed.

Rose fired back, "And what is your business here?"

A sneer spread across Set's face, and he crossed his arms. There was static in the air as they stared each other down. "Perhaps," he said, "If you would accommodate me, I could tell you."

His smile widened as Rose looked ready to kill him. Howell, who seemed to be only a little shorter than her, laid a hand on her shoulder, "He saved my life. Please, it's only right."

Rose faced him, "He's set dishonor on our family by interfering with your trial!"

"And you'd rather me dead?" he snapped.

Both of them paused. "One week," she turned to the gatekeepers, "Kill the Thestral."

Set frowned, "To the stables. She's an innocent animal-"

"That almost killed my brother," Rose said.

Set continued, "Because you people were starving her."

Rose's hand met with her face as she sighed, "Are you willing to take responsibility for it?"

The thestral made her way to his side, warily eying them all. Set laid a hand on her side, "Chill out. She's a horse, not a friggin' kid."

Nothing else was said. Rose just turned and started walking. Howell followed, and Set soon left the thestral in the hands of the gatekeepers to follow. The walk was short, their home being not far from the gates. Rose ushered Howell into the house and shut the door behind him.

Her eyes bored into him, "I don't know what your game is, but you're not a scholar."

Set, in a rare moment of sincerity, placed his hands on her shoulders. "Rose, I can't tell you here and now," he flashed his Eye to her, "But, please trust me. I'm on a mission that requires some... espionage."

Rose, a startled look on her face, nodded.

My God, I am so sorry for how long this took. But, I ran into trouble properly introducing this new setting and hit a wall for a while. A good friend who took the time to read and get invested in this story helped me write and even designed Rose, so you can thank her for getting me out of my funk. Next chapter we'll be seeing more of Amun and co. Until then, ja ne!