Surprisingly, there were quite a few people around for the middle of the week, but Daniel didn't care. This way he could blend in much better. At first he planned to stay at base overnight, finally getting some work done. If he wasn't sleeping, he wouldn't have nightmares. His plan had fallen flat when Janet decided that he really should get some rest. He had tried to argue, but with Janet he could have tried arguing with wall. Jack, coincidentally walking in on their argument, hadn't been any help either. First, he wouldn't risk getting on Janet's bad side and then he was on her side for once. So Jack had driven Daniel home, but the archeologist had no intention of going to sleep. Instead he left the apartment to wander around bit. Rich's bar wasn't terribly far away, perhaps he could go there for a drink?
There hadn't been a trace of Chel the last two weeks, at least none Daniel had found. But then he had spent one of the two weeks off-world making nice with some alien culture and having discussions with Jack about 'rocks'. Perhaps Chel had believed Rich and gone to Egypt to look for him? Okay, it wasn't very likely, but altogether possible. Perhaps. If he was lucky.
When he was honest with himself Daniel had to admit that he didn't believe that Chel would give up so fast. The man was the epitome of stubborn, how else would he manage to hold a grudge so long.
Daniel sighed deeply. It still hurt. Those hateful words from the man who had once been his closest friend, his brother in everything but blood. Being called a traitor by him without having a real chance to deny the accusations.
//Without having a right to…//
Getting frustrated he kicked at a stone lying on the sidewalk. It didn't help much. How could this man still hold such a power over his feelings after six-thousand years? It wasn't fair. Why couldn't Chel move on?
//… why can't I simply hate him?//
He had never stopped hoping to win Chel back, even after this fateful meeting in the crumpling ruins of the palace...
//… Alone in the hallway. Chel, the sword clenched in his hands, attacking viciously, nothing but hate and anger in his dark face. He himself stumbling back, trying his best to avoid the blows, for he has no weapon to defend himself with. At the same time he was trying to reason with his one time friend.
"Chel, please listen to me! Hear me out!"
But Chel has no intention to listen. Another furious swing sent him stumbling back, tripping over a piece of rubble, loosing his balance. White-hot pain shot through his ankle.
"You betrayed us all, Da'yell! What was your price for giving them what they needed? Was it worth all those lives?"
The cynical words hurt more than the multiple small injuries he was already sporting. He felt like crying, like screaming, anything to get through Chel's loathing.
"Please Chel!", he whispered in a broken voice, unconsciously trying to back away, "I didn't betray them, I swear. Please believe me brother…"
"I'm not your brother, traitor! Now you die!"
Chel lifted the sword in a graceful motion, looking him directly in the eyes. He still couldn't believe this was happening, couldn't bear that look from the face of his friend.
The sword started to come down and he braced himself for what was about to happen. But it never happened. A blinding flash of blue-white light stuck Chel in the middle of his chest, closely followed by another. Chel's wide eyes fixed on him, before he collapsed lifelessly to the floor.
He turned slowly. Behind him a tall figure stepped out of the shadows, a grim look on his face…//
Chel never listened to him after that. For him it was confirmed that his best friend had turned them over to the enemy. How could he not from his point of view? So Daniel had run from him instead of fighting. If he let it come to a fight, one of them wouldn't survive it.
One of his later students, who knew about the story had once said, 'you're too loyal for your own health and sanity, my friend.'. Perhaps he had been right. The same fidelity that kept him from killing Chel was what drove him to look for his Sha're when there was nearly no hope of getting her back.
Aimlessly wandering along the streets, looking at shop-windows without really seeing anything, Daniel continued to muse about which fate brought all this together at the same time. First his returning memories which made startling clear why he had understood the language of the Goa'uld so fast, why he had been able to understand what the cover-stone was really about. Then the Tok'ra who brought back other not so pleasant memories of a past better forgotten. And now Chel had to catch up with him. Just another thing that would have been better staying in the past than haunting him in the present.
Suddenly the strong presence of a quickening washed over Daniel, startling him out of his thoughts. Letting his gaze roam around him his eyes locked with the gaze of a man on the other side of the street. For an unbearably long moment they just looked at each other, frozen. Then Daniel broke the spell by turning around and running. He didn't care where to as long as he got away from here. He didn't turn to see if the man followed him, but he was sure of it.
A gnawing fear rose inside him. He would recognize that face everywhere.
Chel had finally found him.
************************
The day had started rather well for Jack and so he was in surprisingly good mood when he reached Daniel's apartment block. That changed the moment he came to Daniel's door, which was standing slightly ajar. Jack hadn't a good opinion about Daniel and home-security, but he knew that even he wouldn't do something so careless.
Carefully Jack started pushing the door open. The apartment behind it was in a mess. Nothing new, but this wasn't Daniel's normal organized chaos, it looked as if there had been a fight in here. Things lying around scattered and broken, a table overturned. A truly bad feeling started to rise from the pit of Jack's stomach. For a moment hundred different scenarios flashed in his head and none were pleasant. Had there be a burglary? And where was Daniel?
A loud shattering sound from the direction of the bedroom sent Jack spinning around. Carefully he started moving towards the room, cursing himself for leaving his weapon on base.
"Daniel?" Jack called when he was at the door. Only silence answered him. Cautiously he reached for the door-handle, but suddenly the door was swung open, sending Jack stumbling back a few steps. Before he was able to react, a man rushed past him, and out of the apartment. Jack didn't even get the chance to get a closer look at the man. For a moment he debated with himself if he should follow, but then decided against it. Daniel was more important.
"Danny?"
A bit afraid of what he might find, Jack stepped into the room. It wasn't looking any better here than in the rest of the apartment. The shattering noise he had heard had come from an overturned shelf, it's contents lying scattered on the floor. Daniel was leaning against a wall, a dazed look in his eyes. Slowly he slid down in a sitting position, the rapier of his rapier still clutched in his now limp right hand. He was pale as a ghost and breathing fast and shallow, but seemed thankfully unhurt. Now he was starting to shake, still looking straight ahead without seeing anything.
"Danny? Are you okay, buddy"
Jack was kneeling in front of his friend now, trying to get through the obvious shock. Gently grabbing Daniel by his shoulders Jack tried to meet Daniels eyes. It took a moment before Daniel registered that he wasn't alone any more. Still slightly dull eyes turned towards him:
"Hey Jack…"
"Daniel, what the hell happened here?"
Daniel didn't answer right away, but tried to get his breathing under control. Jack waited patiently, even if he was starting to feel his knees rather painfully.
"A… break-in… I think."
Helping Daniel to his feet, they made their way over to the bed. Daniel was still fighting to calm himself down. He couldn't believe that Chel had managed to surprise him like this. If it hadn't been for Jack he would probably have lost his head. He was out of practice, definitely. Chel had burst into his apartment the same moment as the feeling of the quickening had washed over him and before he knew what was happening he was engaged into a fight for life and death. Damn it! After his run in with Chel last night, he should have known that the man would show up at his place sooner or later. He just hadn't expected that it would be so soon.
//Admit it, you didn't expect such an attack at all. You've grown soft!//
Taking a deep breath, Daniel's resolve grew. He wouldn't give Chel another chance like this, wouldn't let himself be so damn startled. Finally looking up Daniel registered that Jack was on his Cell-phone, obviously to the general. He cringed. Jack may have saved him more or less, but he was also going to make one hell of a fuss about this incident. But then, who wouldn't who didn't know the whole story?
"You okay there, Daniel?"
Jack's concerned look shook Daniel's determination never to tell his military friends anything whatsoever about his Immortality. It would be much easier to explain this whole mess to his friend if he knew all the facts.
"I'm fine. Just had a good scare."
"Uh huh."
Jack obviously didn't believe the first part of this statement, at least not completely. Of course not. One minute ago Daniel had still been on the verge of a panic attack, how could he be 'fine'.
"I called the base, Hammond excused us both for the day. I'm going to call the police now."
"No!"
Jack looked positively puzzled. Not the puzzled look he displayed when he pretended not to understand something he or Sam where trying to explain something scientific to him, it was real confusion.
"What do you mean, no?"
Sighing deeply, Daniel looked his friend directly in the eyes:
"It wouldn't be much use. You should know that the police won't spend too much time with a simple break-in, and I can't tell them much. I don't think I could identify him, whoever it was."
Okay, this was a lie, not even a very good one, but the very last thing he needed were some police sniffing around here. Police had this nasty habit of always finding exactly what you really didn't want found out. Knowing his luck some overeager wannabe detective would find his sword and just coincidentally tie it in some way to the mess that hunter caused a few weeks back.
Jack looked a bit sour, but seemed to see the logic in Daniel's statement, even if he really didn't like it. If he had his way, whoever dared to violate Daniel's home shouldn't get away so easily.
"Are you sure?"
Daniel nodded resolutely.
"I'm sure. Nothing happened, so there is no reason for a panic."
Jack's look clearly indicated that he still wasn't too happy with Daniel's decision, but had no idea what to say against it. Experience had taught him the hard way that when the archeologist had set his mind on something it was difficult to impossible to persuade him that his idea wasn't the best. The man was nearly as stubborn as Jack himself, perhaps even more so.
"Then at least let me help with the mess in your apartment. And I'm sure that Carter and Teal'c will show up here sooner rather than later."
A small, grateful smile appeared on Daniel's face, but Jack didn't miss the determined look in Daniel's eyes either. He thought it was because Daniel wouldn't let this affect him, wouldn't let himself be anything but fine like always. But the truth was that Daniel had decided something else. The mention of Sam and Teal'c had brought a conviction forth inside him that this time, he wouldn't run from Chel. He was tired of this game of cat and mouse they had played throughout the centuries, high-time that it stopped once and for all! Yesterday he had already decided that he was far too fond of his life here with his friends and his work at the SGC to simply pull a disappearing act, and now he was sure that he wouldn't go. Not this time.
*********************
It had taken them most of the day to get something akin to order back into Daniel's apartment. Like Jack had predicted, Sam and Teal'c showed up quickly, both worried about what they heard. Of course they offered to help. At some point Janet showed up no less worried than the rest of SG-1. She took Daniel aside to ask him what this was about. Jack had mentioned on the phone that he had found Daniel with his sword in hand and now Janet wanted to know if the Colonel had interrupted a duel. Daniel didn't tell her much. He was reluctant to give any information about what had happened this morning. Chel certainly belonged to a chapter of his life he wasn't to keen to tell about.
The whole day Daniel expected to feel Chel's presence every moment, but it never happened until the next morning. Jack had picked him up, with a muttered comment about what he would do with this car of Daniel's he had something to say. The suggestion was rather rude, but Daniel didn't really care. He liked his little (old) car and when it was in the shop, he had Jack to drive him.
They were already in the car and on their way, when Daniel suddenly felt it: the quickening of another Immortal. Not good. A hopefully subtle look around showed him nothing, but the feeling wouldn't go away. A Immortal was near them, and stayed near which could only mean that they were followed.
"What's the matter, Danny?"
Okay, so the look around had not been subtle enough for Jack not to notice.
"Nothing, just a bit nervous."
Jack glanced over at his friend, while trying at the same time to keep his attention to on the road. Daniel was telling the truth, he was nervous, but why. He kept looking over his shoulder and into the review mirror, as if he was expecting to be followed.
"Daniel? Something wrong?"
"No, it's nothing. Just seeing ghosts."
Jack threw a look in the back mirror himself. All he saw was the normal inner city traffic. Daniel was still shifting nervously in his seat, but Jack couldn't discover the reason. His friend didn't look like he was going to say what was going on, and the highway wasn't the right place for the obligatory discussion that would be necessary to get Daniel to talk. So Jack decided to postpone the talk to later. Perhaps Carter would help him.
*********************
"Please explain to me again why the Tok'ra are so damn interested in these particular rocks?"
Daniel glared at Jack across the table in the briefing-room. Long ago the suspicion had formed that Jack was saying 'rocks' instead of artefacts on purpose just to annoy the hell out of him. And he had success with it.
"It is easy Jack. The artefact seems to be some kind of diary-device. We just don't have the technology to open it, but the Tok'ra have. And they seem to know who wrote it. It would be a great help for us, if we could get our hands on the records of some Goa'uld."
"Do you think they would let us keep it, if it could be helpful?"
"… I don't think so…"
It was clear that Jack didn't like the Tok'ra very much. Daniel couldn't blame him for it, even if he had other reasons to dislike this resistance movement. Much more valid reasons.
SG-11 had brought back something from their last mission that looked suspiciously like some Goa'uld device. Daniel had been sure that he knew what it was, but this particular information sadly belonged to the ones still buried inside his head. As much as he tried, he simply couldn't recall correctly what this device was. He could only decipher a part of the inscription even if something constantly irked his memory about the damn thing. Finally the little he had been able to find out had made General Hammond contact the Tok'ra for help. Surprisingly their allies had agreed immediately to come which made Daniel immensely suspicious about their real motives. He didn't trust the Tok'ra a single inch.
Klaxons sounded through the base, announcing a gate traveler.
"Do you think this could be our special friends?"
Daniel shrugged. Since no SG-teams were off-planet it was either the Tok'ra or another unwanted visit from some system-lord. In Daniels opinion either wasn't very good news.
"Come on - lets take a look!"
Jack was already halfway through the door and didn't wait for Daniels reply. Daniel thought about it for a short moment, then followed his friend. The observation-room was the normal efficient chaos. Lieutenant Simmons was just announcing that the seventh symbol was encoded and a minute later he said that the Tok'ra code was coming through. On General Hammond's order the iris was opened and the shining light-blue of the wormhole was revealed. The flickering light illuminated the whole gate room giving it a slight mystical look.
Moments later two people emerged from the gate. Daniel immediately recognized them. Selmac and Lantash or Jacob and Martouf. A little relief started to well up in Daniel. At least these two were people he partly trusted, but still. Every time he looked at Martouf, he kept seeing a another person. Another man he had thought he could trust. Another mistake in a long line…
"Doctor Jackson?"
Daniel jerked out of his memories, looking into the smiling face of General Hammond.
"Are you all right, son?"
A smile appeared on Daniel's face as he nodded. Every time the General called him son, he had a hard time not to show his amusement. If the man only knew.
"I think Selmac is going to want to talk to you about your findings concerning this artefact as soon as possible."
"Of course"
Again Daniel nodded, then left the observation room to find the two Tok'ra. Not that he was particular keen to meet them, but it couldn't be avoided.
When Daniel finally found the two, they had already found his office and the artifact. Their excited behavior made it obvious that they knew what this device was. The question now was if they were willing to share.
"Their in there?"
Daniel tried hard not to flinch as Jack laid a hand on his shoulder completely unexpectedly. How did this man manage to sneak up on him time and time again? Was he really so out of practice, or was it simply Jack's training? Whatever it was, it was damn well unnerving.
"Yes, and I think they know what this device is about."
Jack looked at the slightly ajar office door as if he was trying to hear what was being said inside, but unlike Daniel he couldn't understand the language.
"No use standing out here, is there? Let us go into the Tok'ras den!"
Jack's hand had never left Daniel's shoulder and now he was steering his friend gently through the door. Neither Selmac or Lantash seemed to care that they weren't alone anymore, but talked on. Daniel and Jack shared a short look before the Colonel finally interrupted the conversation:
"I take it you know what this thing is."
"Yes, we have a suspicion."
It was Selmac who answered and if he was startled by Jacks interruption in any way, he wasn't showing it. Both Daniel and Jack had a hard time hiding their discomfort at hearing this typical Goa'uld tone of voice.
"From what I could decipher, this device holds the notes of the Goa'uld Djeheuty."
"Thoth?"
"Yes… that is the name he took later."
This time it was Martouf who spoke, seemingly surprised and not necessarily pleased that Daniel knew this little detail. Jack, realizing this, tried to hide his smirk. But his amusement vanished nearly instantly.
"Hold on! Don't tell me, we're going to have to deal with another snake?"
"I'm sorry Jack, but it is entirely possible. The location of this particular Goa'uld was unclear after the rebellion on Earth."
Jack looked very uncomfortable at Selmac's words. The prospect of having another Goa'uld joining the galaxy-wide game of hunting down the Tau'ri wasn't something Jack liked to think about. Worse, if no one knew where this snake was, it could mean…
"Does this mean, this guy could still be on earth like Hathor?!?"
"…Yes…"
"…No…"
Selmac and Daniel spoke at the exact same moment. The human General/Tok'ra stared at the archaeologist in surprise, who looked at the floor, his eyes vacant, not really seeing anything.
"Daniel?"
Daniel didn't react to Selmac's question, just kept staring straight ahead. Jack really didn't like this particular expression on his friends face. He had seen it before. One night when Daniel was staying at his house, after the mess with Nem, he woke up in the middle of the night because of some nightmare. Daniel hadn't wanted to talk about his dream, but this look had been in his eyes, this look, as if he was desperately trying to keep something locked inside his head.
"Thoth is dead…", Daniel finally whispered seemingly unconscious to the people around him. Jack fixed his friend with an intense glance, but his voice was gentle when he asked:
"What are you talking about?"
Daniel didn't answer, just stared into space. Now Lantash tried to get something out of him:
"Doctor Jackson, what do you know about this Goa'uld?"
This finally brought Daniel out of his thoughts. Startled he looked up, finally realizing that he hadn't been alone. Looking from face to face he also realized just what he had said. Not good!
"Umm… In the caves on Abydos, there were a few legends concerning the rebellion against Ra and what followed. Thoth's fate was described rather graphically."
"And what was this fate?" Now Jack wanted to know the whole deal, even if he already had the feeling that Daniel wasn't telling the truth. Not even close.
"Well, you could say that Ra wasn't very amused about the rebellion and, like it is the mentality of the Goa'uld, he needed a scapegoat for the whole disaster: Thoth. From what I read, there wasn't left enough for even a sarcophagus to heal"
"Well that is reassuring." Jack muttered, "Is there a special reason why Ra would elect this Thoth to be the assigned scapegoat?"
"You know that Ra prohibited reading and writing, because he made it responsible for the human resistance. In the Egyptian mythology Thoth was the god of wisdom and the moon. After the legend he is also the one who invented the art of writing. I think he introduced the written word to us Ta'uri since he is also described as the patron-god of scribes. That would be all reason Ra needed to declare Thoth guilty, don't you think?"
Jack nodded. It sounded logical. As long as they wouldn't have a surprise run-in with this snake he didn't really care how the galaxy had been relived of this parasite. But he didn't really buy Danny's explanation why he knew about this Goa'ulds fate. Something about the way Daniel had told about Thoth's manner of death hadn't sounded like he only knew it from a cave-wall. It sounded… personal, the way Jack would tell people about Ra's death.
Jack didn't listen to the short discussion that followed about the possible future use of the notes. Perhaps he should, but he couldn't concentrate. His thoughts circled around yet another mystery concerning Doctor Daniel Jackson.
Selmac had thoughts of his own, when he was going towards his temporary quarters in the mountain. He didn't trust Daniel's explanation either.
Something was wrong. He didn't tell the whole truth!
I have the same feeling. But why should Daniel lie to us?
No accidental spectator would have suspected that Jacob Carter and his symbiote Selmac were conversing. Everything was happening in their head.
I have no idea. The way he reacted to the mention of Thoth… it was as if he was remembering something very painful
But what? Daniel only knows about Thoth from the earth mythology, and if I remember the little bit I learned about this, he was always described as one of the good gods…
But he wasn't
Before Jacob could question Selmac about this cryptic statement, the Tok'ra showed his host old memories, from the time when Ra had held court on earth. However Thoth had earned the reputation of being one of the good guys, it wasn't justified. Not by a long shot.
That isn't pretty, Jacob thought diplomatically to his symbiote. It was an understatement. A big one.
No, it isn't. More so, because we thought for some time that Thoth was on our side. He wasn't. He nearly ended the Tok'ra before the resistance had truly begun.
We both know that, but Daniel couldn't possibly know something like this. If I understand you correctly, even among the Tok'ra this isn't common knowledge. So the question is still, what upset Doctor Jackson so much?
We know that Daniel is well aware how far he can trust earth mythology concerning the character of the various gods.
Hathor!
One name. It was enough. Neither of them knew the whole story, but the little bits they had heard were more than enough. Combined with Selmacs knowledge about Hathor they had a pretty good idea what had happened to Daniel when the SGC had been taken over by the Goa'uld queen. It couldn't have been pretty.
The remarkable thing about this incident was that Doctor Jackson had seemed to shrug off the consequences pretty fast. Unusually fast. At least this was what Sammy had told him. She had chalked Daniel's fast recovery up to Colonel O'Neill, who had offered his hospitality for the week after the whole mess. And Jack wasn't saying a word about what had gone on between the friends that week and Jacob didn't want to be to nosy.
It could be the reason, but I don't think so… why do I have the feeling that you are holding out on me?
Selmac's 'voice' sounded very thoughtful when he answered.
I agree with you that Doctor Jackson seemed to take it to… personally. There is a possibility, even if I don't think it to be true
What?
Some old stories among the Tok'ra. More legends than actual records. About a race which lived eternal. Sometimes there they called themselves Godchildren or Nem Ankh. It is said, that some of them helped with the resistance on earth
Eternal life?
So says the legend.
Daniel Jackson, Immortal? Ridiculous!
With this the topic was closed for Jacob. It maybe wasn't so hard to think of Daniel in the environment of ancient Egypt, but he couldn't see the young archeologist surviving in such violent times.
*********************
The storage-room was nearly completely dark. The only light came from under the closed door, a small ray of brightness shining into the black room.
Daniel sat huddled into a corner of the room, staring into the darkness. This was his favorite hiding place, for there were no cameras installed on the walls. He hated the feeling of being watched all the time.
No one knew about his preference for this room, no one but Jack. But thankfully his friend had kept quiet about it. Daniel always came here when he needed to think, or simply wanted to be alone for some time. Just like now.
The moment he made the connection between the artifact and Thoth, the memories which had lurked at the edge of his mind had rushed back into his mind and suddenly he understood what it was about this artifact what had unnerved him. He had known what it was, had seen it used so often, that it was strange that he had forgotten about it.
Thoth. Ancient god of wisdom and his personal nightmare among the Goa'uld. Sometimes he wondered how in seven hells this snake had managed to get such a good reputation. This creep was even worse than Ra. With Ra at least you knew after ten seconds that the sun-god was evil. With Thoth it wasn't so easy. The guy had been a textbook turncoat, loving to play different gods against each other.
Daniel closed his eyes, trying to block out the pictures which were chasing themselves through his mind. Faces, voices, places and the memory of his own feelings, all thrown together without any order. He had been afraid of Thoth the very moment he had first seen him, much more afraid than of Ra. And for a very good reason.
Leaning his head back, Daniel took deep, calming breaths, eyes still closed. And he remembered.
#####################
The court of Ra, supposed god of the sun and boss of the System Lords, was a lively one. A steady coming and going of other Goa'ulds, Jaffa and humans gave this place an even more colourful appearance than it would have on its own. Most of the Humans present, though, were slaves. Just like himself.
Da'yell was kneeling not to far from Ra's throne, head bowed, hands folded into his lap, not moving and generally doing his best to be invisible to those around him. It wasn't so hard to manage, since everyone seemed to think it beneath their dignity to even acknowledge a slave. Unless they had any demands towards them. Involuntarily a shudder ran through Da'yell. It wasn't in his nature to be still and follow orders, but he had learned very fast that it could have painful consequences to defy his new masters.
He missed Chel. Missed their talks and good natured teasing he had grown so used to. Here he felt terribly alone. The last time he had seen his brother had been when their little group of survivors had been dragged to the slave-auction. He and his brother had been forced to watch how one by one the people they had sworn to protect with their life were sold off into a unclear future. Chel would be sent to the quarry for work. 'Look after yourself, brother. We'll find each other again, I promise!'. That had been his last words towards Da'yell, before he had been dragged away. Da'yell had looked after him and had sent a desperate prayer to the god's he had once been told to pray to, to protect his brother by choice. Finally it had been his turn to stand on the block. Da'yell had been afraid, deadly afraid, but had refused to show it. These people, who- or whatever there were, maybe could maybe take away his freedom, but he refused to let go of the little bit of pride he harbored inside in him. So he had stood there, thinking that it couldn't get any worse, and then it had gotten worse. Before the bidding had a true chance to start, one of those armored demon-men had approached and taken him away. Everyone around cowered in fear from this being and a distant part of Da'yell's mind asked if anyone had ever seen what hid underneath the falcon-masks. The more conscious part of his mind was occupied completely with being terrified. He hadn't long time to wonder, for suddenly he was brought to his knees with a harsh word in a language he didn't understand. Hesitating he finally dared to peek up and glanced into the face of a boy, clothed in rich garments, draped with gold and gems. If this hadn't clued Da'yell into the fact that this was someone important, then the complete and utter arrogance in the eyes of this boy would have done it. Whether or not he was really important, he himself believed it. Then the boy spoke and this unearthly voice send violent shivers down Da'yell's spine.
"Yes, you will please us… Jaffa, kree!"
And Da'yell was dragged away for 'training'. Later he learned that the boy was supposed to be a god. The great sun-god Ra. Da'yell had absolute no idea about the belief system of these people, the names of their gods meant nothing to him, which angered his 'trainer' to no end. And angering this bulky and not very intelligent man, was very dangerous for ones health. The injuries healed fast, not even leaving scars behind, but the remembrances of the pain inflicted wouldn't leave so fast. Either the man wasn't clever enough to register that his victim was healing faster than it should be possible for a human, or he just didn't care. And Da'yell was more than thankful for his ability to heal, or he probably wouldn't have survived the first moon of his capture. He surely gave this sadist a good source of entertainment.
But were these beings truly gods? The things they did with everyday ease were wonders to him. Also what the servants of these gods could do gave them the appearance of something way more powerful then normal humans. And the gods themselves? The moment Da'yell had first seen the glowing eyes of his new master and heard the eerie sounding voice, he had been reminded of the stories he had heard as a child. Stories of cruel and powerful demons, escaped from the underworld. The description certainly seemed to fit. But gods? They had the power and certainly the attitude, but still the doubts wouldn't leave Da'yell alone. Something inside him simply refused to believe these creatures to be gods. He couldn't explain why, but something just seemed to be wrong about them.
In the beginning Da'yell had resisted against the complete submission that was required from a slave, but he stopped fast enough. Sometimes it was better to go with the force instead of against it. So, while outwardly he displayed the picture of a man with a thoroughly broken spirit, inwardly he was observing and waiting for a chance. When he finally had been send to the court Da'yell had started to accumulate knowledge again. Knowledge was power, and power over his situation was something he desperately needed at the moment.
The life at Ra's court gave him the perfect opportunity to learn more. He just needed to listen to the various people around. Since everyone ignored him most of the time, they didn't think about what they were saying in front of him. Of course they also thought that he couldn't understand the language, and this was their first mistake. It had taken some time, but step by step Da'yell had started to understand the words better and better. And he wasn't showing it. Sadly, the written words were an different matter entirely. Unlike Chel, Da'yell knew about the concept of writing, had even learned to write when he was still young, but it was still hard to figure out what how the pictures were related to the words. He had figured out some of them during the last moons, but was far, very far, from really understanding it.
Loud voices from the great doors brought Da'yell out of his thoughts. Carefully he peeked up, not daring to raise his head. Two of the armored demon-men, Jaffa, Da'yell reminded himself stepped into the hall and swiftly fell to their knees in front of Ra. They were wearing different helmets than Ra's Jaffa, so they belonged to another god. He didn't recognize the image right away, some kind of bird. He had seen it before, that was for sure, he just couldn't clearly remember where.
After the Jaffa another man came in, walking proudly, a haughty figure, not clothed in the armor/dress that Da'yell had learned was typical for these gods when they traveled, but in high closed robes decorated with gold and silver threads running through the fabric. The man was tall and very thin, without looking haggard. The face, as far as Da'yell could see, seemed young and smooth, but the mans hair was white, like from a old man. Da'yell wondered who he was and what he wanted here. In one graceful motion the man bowed to Ra, his eyes remaining downcast, waiting for the supreme god to speak to him.
"You have returned", Ra said in his best I'm-the-ruler-here voice, "What can you tell us?"
"My Lord Ra, I'm happy to report that my mission was a success."
Even with the eerie sound the voice sounded oily, and Da'yell felt himself reminded of some merchants he had to negotiate with once.
"Good, tell me! But first… slave! Refreshments!"
That was his cue. As gracefully as possible Da'yell stood up from his kneeling position, once again thanking his gods for his fast healing, or his knees would have been pretty stiff by now. He filled two cups with wine, ignoring his own thirst, and brought them over to the conversing gods. Like protocol demanded, Ra received his cup first, then his guest. During the whole time Da'yell didn't raise his eyes once, his still relatively long hair hiding his face from the prying, glowing eyes. Finished, he wanted to return to his place but a hand at his upper arm held him back. He stood still, trying to remember if he made some mistake and was to be punished now. The god who was holding him grabbed his chin, forcing him to raise his face. The next moment he let abruptly go, and Da'yell hurried to get out of reach. The short touch had sent uncontrollable shivers down his spine.
"Beautiful"
The smile Da'yell caught in the corner of his eye did nothing to still his fears. Something told him that this man would be trouble for him in the near future. Outwardly he stayed impassive as best as he could while he was trembling inwardly.
"He is indeed, isn't he Thoth? But now tell me what you have learned about my wayward child!"
Thoth, so that was his name. And now Da'yell remembered where he had seen this bird-symbol before. One of the scribes at the court wore this symbol as a medallion around his neck. Said it was the symbol of his patron-god, the god of wisdom and writing. Somehow he had thought this god a bit different than this. The way Thoth had looked at him…
"…at the moment Tefnut will stay at Nubia, believing she is safe. I was able to persuade her that I'm completely on her side in her dispute with you."
Da'yell listened up when he heard this name. In the last few months the name had only been spoken behind hands. As far as Da'yell knew she was Ra's daughter and she and her father had very different opinion on many things. That was the reason why she had fled the court together with her lover. Ra wasn't very happy about this, or so Da'yell had been told. So, was Thoth a spy for Ra?
"And what is she planning?"
"At the moment, nothing. She is gathering her forces and trying to decide what to do. Her little movement has nothing but a fancy name at the moment.
Ra looked at Thoth for a very long moment, then a very pleased smile appeared on his boyish features.
"I'm very pleased with your progress. You will return to my child and continue to observe her. I want to be informed immediately if she plans something."
"As you wish, my lord"
Thoth bowed again. Ra continued smiling, and made the gesture for Da'yell to come over. He was afraid of what was to come.
"I have seen your interest in this one. He shall be a acknowledgement of your services to me."
Da'yell felt as if his heart would stop. Shock let him forget his fear for a moment and he looked up. Thoth was looking satisfied, extremely satisfied, with himself. He looked at Da'yell with a smile that gave him the absolute creeps. Hastily he looked back to the ground, unconsciously starting to shake.
"I thank you, my lord… Jaffa!"
Thoth made a gesture towards his Jaffa, who stood up immediately and moved over to Da'yell and griped his arms. Thoth gave another order, Da'yell didn't understand for he was much too terrified to think clearly. He was dragged away from the hall before he had a chance to get his thoughts back together again. The last thing he saw before he left was a cruel smile on Thoth face.