"Yeah, now what?" asked Alex, upon seeing the scene in front of him.
Evie looked down at her son.
"I'm not sure. We are 200 leagues outside of what was Thebes, so…I'm not sure."
Everyone groaned and flopped down onto the sand. Well, everyone except Aredeth.
"Wait. I knew we would be arriving soon, so I took the liberty of using Horus." He said, holding out his arm for the falcon.
"But," began Rick "I thought he was killed by that guy…oh…um, Loch-Nah! That's it! Ya."
Aredeth shook his head.
"No, he was not killed, only injured. His primary flying feathers were broken, but he was found by one of the other Med-jai and he re-grew them. I was very lucky."
The warrior whistled and the twelve leaders of the Med-jai rode over the sand before them.
"Lahum danya naruse (note: am making up, so don't hurt me if I say a curse in Arabic)" the group said.
Aredeth repeated the sentence and bowed.
"They are here to see the children, and if they really are the gods we believe them to be. You may be sure through your own experiences, but, we need to be sure. Everyone under the age of twenty follow me!"
And everyone under the age did.
They followed Aredeth over to the eldest man, and stood before him.
"Young one," he said, motioning toward Catherine, "Come here."
She nervously stepped up. The man took her chin in his hand and looked past her glasses.
"This one…is two sided, but they are about to combine. One is strong, enough to overpower the other when needed, but keeps itself bound. I am not sure if this side is the one needed, but it will show itself soon."
He let go and turned to Alex, repeating the same thing. This continued with Mirella and Marcus. Aredeth was trying to hide a smirk.
"He's only guessing. He says that when he doesn't know." He whispered into Catherine's ear "At least he got it right this time."
Then the twelve men got back on their horses and rode away, leaving a pile of material.
"Oh, I see they've left us a tent. Now, how many days until the day of war?" said Evie.
Rick counted on his fingers, muttering to himself. "Umm…about…two?"
"Okay. Then let's set up camp."
*****
The next morning, the Med-jai had returned, dropping off a parcel of food. Catherine crawled out of the tent and smelled breakfast cooking.
"Hello everyone. What's on the menu?"
"Bacon and eggs." Evie answered.
Catherine sat down on the sand and gratefully took a plate of food.
"So, I've been thinking. What if this isn't true?" she asked
Evie looked shocked.
"Well, the ancient scroll hasn't been wrong yet."
"Ya, whatever. And I'm the Easter bunny." Replied Marcus, crawling out of his sleeping bag.
Catherine glared at him, but then yawned. "I suddenly feel very sleepy"
"But you just woke up!" cried Evie, "It's only 7 o'clock in the morning!"
But still, they continued to lie down on the sand and sleep.
They woke up about half an hour later, but Catherine had changed. Their eyes were brown.
Catherine stood up and stretched. 0
"Thoth, I believe it is time to begin the preparations." She said in Egyptian.
Marcus nodded and stood up. Catherine whistled three times, and Horus landed on her outstretched arm. She whispered in his ear, and he took off.
By now, Evie had dropped the frying pan and was madly shouting for Rick to come out and watch. The hawk returned and with him came the leaders of the tribes. They had no idea what was happening, and just riding toward the camp. They halted and eldest dismounted and walked over to Catherine.
"Welcome, leader of Med-jai. I believe you were expecting me." She said. Oddly enough, he could understand her. He bowed and looked down on the girl.
"So the time has begun for war."
Ma'at nodded.
"I want you to call all of your men for battle, and to begin camp here as soon as possible. Thoth, I believe you will show them armor when all are ready."
Thoth nodded, while the O'Connell's watched.
"How many men are in all of your command?" Ma'at asked.
"Three million."
"Thoth," she said, turning to her husband, "Please supply armor for three million men."
Thoth nodded and turned to the empty sand dunes.
"I command the desert to bring forth my armor!" he shouted.
The ground suddenly shook, the sand rippling away from a central point. A huge stone building rose up from the ground, decorated all with stone.
Thoth turned to Evie.
"Nefertiri, you and the Med-jai have been made the armor of the second on command. You may enter first, and it will be shown to you."
Evie and Rick both walked over to the building, The twelve leaders following them.
Alex and Mirella walked out of the tent.
"Woah! I never knew that was there!" said Alex.
Ma'at whipped around and glared at him. Somehow, he and Mirella cowered and crawled back into the tent.
The group followed the gods over to the building and entered. There were three large storage rooms and a lobby. To the left and right of them were fourteen suits of armor, and sixteen swords.
"Nefertiri, Med-jai, here is your protection." Ma'at said, motioning to two sets.
The armor was magnificent. Each piece looked to be plated with gold, and engraved with a feather and writing set. They fit perfectly.
"Leaders, you may find one million sets in each room. Do not worry about the height of the shelves the armor is on, you only need to clap and point, and they will descend. For all to come down, you raise your hands and clap three times."
The Med-jai nodded and went in to inspect the armor.
"Oh, and your suits are here." Thoth added.
*****
"Evie, you know, you look good in armor." Rick muttered, as they walked out of the building.
Everyone was dressed in his or her protection and the Med-jai leaders rode off to call their men.
"Thank you. I've never worn it before."
"You should wear it more often." Rick grinned.
Evie rolled her eyes and turned to Ma'at.
"When will Seth and Nepthys show up?" she asked.
Ma'at grew stony.
"They will show in time, though their camp will be on the opposite end of the battle field. Their troops will show at the time of battle, and if I am correct, I know what troops he will select."
*****
When all were back at camp, they met Seth and Nepthys. Thoth had to hold Ma'at back from attacking Seth from the beginning, with Nepthys holding him back from the same thing. Evie did her "Now play nice, children" speech, and both calmed down, giving each other dirty looks and baring teeth.
Nepthys sighed angrily.
"Seth, I believe we must begin our true looks."
Seth blinked and bit his tongue. He made a sound like 'alright' and mentally begged to shout insults at his enemy, but stayed silent.
Ma'at went first. She sighed and tried to relax as much as she could, letting her head hang down and body go limp while standing.
A purple light began to shine like an aura around her. She stretched out her arms and raised her head. A shining white band of light flew up over her face, and over her hair, making her appearance more Egyptian (including black hair), and a white ostrich feather stand up on her head. The band continued down her back, wrapping around her arms and torso, making them darker and the beginnings of a white linen dress at her torso. The band finally circled around her legs and continued to her feet, leaving a trail of linen down to her ankles, where it disappeared.
She shook her head a little and spoke.
"Is this better?"
Rick stepped forward.
"Ma'at, aren't you supposed to have wings?"
The goddess looked over her arms.
"Oh, well, just a minute."
Ma'at held out her arms again, and bent her hands down. Out of each wrist grew a two and a half foot group of feathers, some of which fell into a fan pattern. After this, more feathers a bit more than half that amount grew out of the backs of her arms and shoulder blades.
Ma'at stayed silent, and walked next to Thoth.
Seth stepped forward and the identical ceremony was performed on him, only he was given the head of a black anteater with rectangular ears.
Thoth and Nepthys had the same, though Thoth had the head of an ibis, and Nepthys had a bowl on top of a box on her head.
Ma'at's rage was building so much, she couldn't help but blurt out something.
"Why don't you go have another affair with Isis! Get her drunk again, go on! And why not kill Osiris while you're at it!"
Seth flew at Ma'at.
"Well, I kind of couldn't do that now, could I? I'm castrated, you pig!"
"At least I didn't have my spouse run away to actually HELP somebody!"
" So that means he never helped anyone before?"
"No, he's helped people before, I just haven't had him run off!"
"He'll never be as powerful as I am! He just writes, and is UNDER Osiris! I make all people quake under sandstorms!"
"I haven't killed anyone yet, have I?!"
Thoth sighed and held is forehead in his hand.
"Ma'at!" he said firmly.
"What?"
"Just let them go to the other side and leave him alone. No flying over and shouting insults either."
Ma'at hung her head, while Seth made a face and was dragged off by Nepthys.
Evie looked down at her son.
"I'm not sure. We are 200 leagues outside of what was Thebes, so…I'm not sure."
Everyone groaned and flopped down onto the sand. Well, everyone except Aredeth.
"Wait. I knew we would be arriving soon, so I took the liberty of using Horus." He said, holding out his arm for the falcon.
"But," began Rick "I thought he was killed by that guy…oh…um, Loch-Nah! That's it! Ya."
Aredeth shook his head.
"No, he was not killed, only injured. His primary flying feathers were broken, but he was found by one of the other Med-jai and he re-grew them. I was very lucky."
The warrior whistled and the twelve leaders of the Med-jai rode over the sand before them.
"Lahum danya naruse (note: am making up, so don't hurt me if I say a curse in Arabic)" the group said.
Aredeth repeated the sentence and bowed.
"They are here to see the children, and if they really are the gods we believe them to be. You may be sure through your own experiences, but, we need to be sure. Everyone under the age of twenty follow me!"
And everyone under the age did.
They followed Aredeth over to the eldest man, and stood before him.
"Young one," he said, motioning toward Catherine, "Come here."
She nervously stepped up. The man took her chin in his hand and looked past her glasses.
"This one…is two sided, but they are about to combine. One is strong, enough to overpower the other when needed, but keeps itself bound. I am not sure if this side is the one needed, but it will show itself soon."
He let go and turned to Alex, repeating the same thing. This continued with Mirella and Marcus. Aredeth was trying to hide a smirk.
"He's only guessing. He says that when he doesn't know." He whispered into Catherine's ear "At least he got it right this time."
Then the twelve men got back on their horses and rode away, leaving a pile of material.
"Oh, I see they've left us a tent. Now, how many days until the day of war?" said Evie.
Rick counted on his fingers, muttering to himself. "Umm…about…two?"
"Okay. Then let's set up camp."
*****
The next morning, the Med-jai had returned, dropping off a parcel of food. Catherine crawled out of the tent and smelled breakfast cooking.
"Hello everyone. What's on the menu?"
"Bacon and eggs." Evie answered.
Catherine sat down on the sand and gratefully took a plate of food.
"So, I've been thinking. What if this isn't true?" she asked
Evie looked shocked.
"Well, the ancient scroll hasn't been wrong yet."
"Ya, whatever. And I'm the Easter bunny." Replied Marcus, crawling out of his sleeping bag.
Catherine glared at him, but then yawned. "I suddenly feel very sleepy"
"But you just woke up!" cried Evie, "It's only 7 o'clock in the morning!"
But still, they continued to lie down on the sand and sleep.
They woke up about half an hour later, but Catherine had changed. Their eyes were brown.
Catherine stood up and stretched. 0
"Thoth, I believe it is time to begin the preparations." She said in Egyptian.
Marcus nodded and stood up. Catherine whistled three times, and Horus landed on her outstretched arm. She whispered in his ear, and he took off.
By now, Evie had dropped the frying pan and was madly shouting for Rick to come out and watch. The hawk returned and with him came the leaders of the tribes. They had no idea what was happening, and just riding toward the camp. They halted and eldest dismounted and walked over to Catherine.
"Welcome, leader of Med-jai. I believe you were expecting me." She said. Oddly enough, he could understand her. He bowed and looked down on the girl.
"So the time has begun for war."
Ma'at nodded.
"I want you to call all of your men for battle, and to begin camp here as soon as possible. Thoth, I believe you will show them armor when all are ready."
Thoth nodded, while the O'Connell's watched.
"How many men are in all of your command?" Ma'at asked.
"Three million."
"Thoth," she said, turning to her husband, "Please supply armor for three million men."
Thoth nodded and turned to the empty sand dunes.
"I command the desert to bring forth my armor!" he shouted.
The ground suddenly shook, the sand rippling away from a central point. A huge stone building rose up from the ground, decorated all with stone.
Thoth turned to Evie.
"Nefertiri, you and the Med-jai have been made the armor of the second on command. You may enter first, and it will be shown to you."
Evie and Rick both walked over to the building, The twelve leaders following them.
Alex and Mirella walked out of the tent.
"Woah! I never knew that was there!" said Alex.
Ma'at whipped around and glared at him. Somehow, he and Mirella cowered and crawled back into the tent.
The group followed the gods over to the building and entered. There were three large storage rooms and a lobby. To the left and right of them were fourteen suits of armor, and sixteen swords.
"Nefertiri, Med-jai, here is your protection." Ma'at said, motioning to two sets.
The armor was magnificent. Each piece looked to be plated with gold, and engraved with a feather and writing set. They fit perfectly.
"Leaders, you may find one million sets in each room. Do not worry about the height of the shelves the armor is on, you only need to clap and point, and they will descend. For all to come down, you raise your hands and clap three times."
The Med-jai nodded and went in to inspect the armor.
"Oh, and your suits are here." Thoth added.
*****
"Evie, you know, you look good in armor." Rick muttered, as they walked out of the building.
Everyone was dressed in his or her protection and the Med-jai leaders rode off to call their men.
"Thank you. I've never worn it before."
"You should wear it more often." Rick grinned.
Evie rolled her eyes and turned to Ma'at.
"When will Seth and Nepthys show up?" she asked.
Ma'at grew stony.
"They will show in time, though their camp will be on the opposite end of the battle field. Their troops will show at the time of battle, and if I am correct, I know what troops he will select."
*****
When all were back at camp, they met Seth and Nepthys. Thoth had to hold Ma'at back from attacking Seth from the beginning, with Nepthys holding him back from the same thing. Evie did her "Now play nice, children" speech, and both calmed down, giving each other dirty looks and baring teeth.
Nepthys sighed angrily.
"Seth, I believe we must begin our true looks."
Seth blinked and bit his tongue. He made a sound like 'alright' and mentally begged to shout insults at his enemy, but stayed silent.
Ma'at went first. She sighed and tried to relax as much as she could, letting her head hang down and body go limp while standing.
A purple light began to shine like an aura around her. She stretched out her arms and raised her head. A shining white band of light flew up over her face, and over her hair, making her appearance more Egyptian (including black hair), and a white ostrich feather stand up on her head. The band continued down her back, wrapping around her arms and torso, making them darker and the beginnings of a white linen dress at her torso. The band finally circled around her legs and continued to her feet, leaving a trail of linen down to her ankles, where it disappeared.
She shook her head a little and spoke.
"Is this better?"
Rick stepped forward.
"Ma'at, aren't you supposed to have wings?"
The goddess looked over her arms.
"Oh, well, just a minute."
Ma'at held out her arms again, and bent her hands down. Out of each wrist grew a two and a half foot group of feathers, some of which fell into a fan pattern. After this, more feathers a bit more than half that amount grew out of the backs of her arms and shoulder blades.
Ma'at stayed silent, and walked next to Thoth.
Seth stepped forward and the identical ceremony was performed on him, only he was given the head of a black anteater with rectangular ears.
Thoth and Nepthys had the same, though Thoth had the head of an ibis, and Nepthys had a bowl on top of a box on her head.
Ma'at's rage was building so much, she couldn't help but blurt out something.
"Why don't you go have another affair with Isis! Get her drunk again, go on! And why not kill Osiris while you're at it!"
Seth flew at Ma'at.
"Well, I kind of couldn't do that now, could I? I'm castrated, you pig!"
"At least I didn't have my spouse run away to actually HELP somebody!"
" So that means he never helped anyone before?"
"No, he's helped people before, I just haven't had him run off!"
"He'll never be as powerful as I am! He just writes, and is UNDER Osiris! I make all people quake under sandstorms!"
"I haven't killed anyone yet, have I?!"
Thoth sighed and held is forehead in his hand.
"Ma'at!" he said firmly.
"What?"
"Just let them go to the other side and leave him alone. No flying over and shouting insults either."
Ma'at hung her head, while Seth made a face and was dragged off by Nepthys.