Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh isn't mine. If it was, I'd be as rich as Seto Kaiba himself. (Well, probably not, but you get the idea…)
Summary: Now serving as the newly coroneted Atemu's High Priest, Set meets someone he met during the reign of Akunumkanon and puts into plan another one of his infamous 'Operations'. But as he works to make his plans succeed, an evil darkness arises that threatens to destroy the world around him.
Author's Note: Raja Yah, the name of Neith's Ka, is actually the name of the mystical king of tigers in Sumerian mythology. And if you don't like Seto/OC or OC fics, don't flame. If you do, welcome. This is what it is, after all. Something that sprang up from the depths of my imagination due to too much time, a pen and a pad of paper. There is a plot, and this begins several years after events that happened before, which will all be revealed in future chapters. I hope you enjoy it, and please leave me feedback and any thoughts you may have about my work. And I hope you all enjoy the reformatted chapters that I've changed. And here's a small glossary of terms:
Hem Ntjr (Tepey) – means High Priest, which is Set's position.
Per A'a – Pharaoh.
Netjer - the Gods of Ancient Egypt.
Bast - another name for Bastet, the cat-headed goddess who originally was associated with the sun before Greek influences associated her with the moon.
Kemet – the actual names the Ancient Egyptians used for their kingdom. It means the Black Land.
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Chapter 1: The Reeds, The Lotus And The High Priest.
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Neith sighed in relief as the lukewarm waters of the sacred river came up to her waist, the tepid water refreshing her body. It was so lovely and relaxing, and it was just what her weary body needed before a long day's work in the service of her Goddess.
Who'd have thought I'd become the leader of my temple? Only few women have ever been ordained by the Per A'a, she thought, contemplatively.
The priestess continued to wash her arms with the river water and covered herself with perfume. After all, divinity and being close to the Netjer was attained through cleanliness. She was only sixteen, yet the young Per A'a himself, Atemu, had given her the highest position in the Cult Of Bast. Maybe it was because of the golden point she wore around her neck, and the power of spirit that it represented. Still, it could have been because of the dying wish of her father. She missed him and his guidance. At least he could now find peace in the Afterlife.
After Neith had passed the test, she had been ordained. She could remember her ordination, and the pair of cold blue eyes that had been watching her from the shadows.
Neith then shivered in the pool, unaware of those same blue eyes watching her at this very moment from the stairs leading from the temple. They had been so frozen to the world, yet they had seemed to watch her with a burning passion, belonging to one the same age as herself. This mysterious blue-eyed young man had fled after the ceremony, yet she felt as if she had met him before.
Yes, I have. He's Set, one of Atemu's priests. I think that's his name, if I remember correctly, the young priestess murmured to herself.
She could still remember the day when she had first encountered Set and his fellow priests and priestess, Isis, Karim and Mahaado.
As a young girl having just finished a magic lesson and her duties, Neith had been playfully taunting Isis and Karim, who she had seen kissing in what Isis and Karim had thought was a well-secluded area. Akunumkanon had come to visit the High Priest of Per-Bast, her father, and had brought the young trainees along with him and Akunadin. Isis had been playing at the bottom of the tall dwelling, whereas she had been playing on the roof.
As they used to say, pride always came before a fall.
That had been the first time Neith had seen the young blue-eyed boy, and his Ka, Dious. But never again would she play around at the top of houses. The armoured Ka had flown towards her, for she had fallen from the roof, but the boy had discovered that his help had been unneeded as her own Ka saved her. Up until then, only a few people had seen her Ka, Raja Yah. They had been Akunumkanon, her own father and that old Priest who had the Sennen Eye. They had been impressed, especially her father who had cried on and on that it was an honour the Great Goddess Bast had given his daughter a feline Ka. Akunadin had also been impressed.
I wonder what he thought. It's so hard to tell people's true feelings, the priestess thought, folding her arms as she walked forwards a few steps. At least he found it interesting enough to offer me training at the royal palace. It was an honour, one for which I am in his and my father's debt.
The water of the sacred lake seemed to warm, the place eerily silent save for a man's deep chuckling.
A man? What was a man doing here? Never mind that! What was anyone doing here?
"Well, well. What do we have here? I never knew lotuses were in season, nor that they bloomed so early," the man's voice said, elegantly.
Neith whirled around, coming face to face with Set himself.
For several seconds the two gazed at each other in silence. From where she was standing, Neith could see the smirk on Set's face, his arms crossed across his chest. Nor did it help that she was looking at him from a particularly low angle.
"Hem Ntjr! Oh my gods! I'm so sorry! It's umm…" she squealed, surprised.
Neith's embarrassment finally got the better of her as she dove behind the tall reeds for cover.
The priestess's face was bright red, much to Set's amusement. Through the reeds she could see him talking to himself, piles of his clothing suddenly dropping with a thud to the floor. What on earth was he doing? Neith closed her eyes and listened to the quickening sound of her heartbeat, trying to put it all out of her mind.
"Relax, Neith. Besides, it's not as if I haven't seen a naked woman before," Set said, his voice echoing around the pool they were in.
Oh my gods! Set's here, and he's seen me naked! Neith thought, opening her eyes and peering through the slits of her fingers. He isn't there. Where's he gone? Still, he does look pretty – forget that, girl! He's seen you naked!
"Come on out, Neith. I don't bite, hard," she heard Set's voice echo mockingly.
The sound of moving water came from somewhere nearby as Neith heard him move through the lake. Was he doing this on purpose? If she went out, she risked losing any remaining dignity she had. She would also have to go through the whole ritual all over again. If she did not, she risked annoying Set, who happened to be her superior. Offending those above her was not an option. It was a no-win situation.
"Umm, okay. But only if you promise not to look."