(Drum Roll) Ta-da! Yes, like the ancient mummies of Egypt in those old corny Hollywood flicks, this story has seemingly come back from the dead! Then again, how could we ignore all of your wonderful death-threats? So, we put our heads together and here's your chapter! We hope you like it! Thank You all for the numerous reviews! We will try to update more!
Chapter 8: Challenge of the Divine
Underneath the smoldering glare of the white hot sun, the city was actually quite lovely. Few strategically placed walls towering over the more fortunate stalls of the market cast desirable shade-pools where a small animal or child could be seen resting. The dirt of the beaten path between booths was a husky tan, which contrasted beautifully with the luscious colors of wares which sometimes teetered in stacks for display. And above each son-star drenched smiling face, the sky was cloudless and aqua.
The beautiful coloring itself would have brought a smile to your face.
If your vision was based on the spectrum of light, that is.
Du'gret squinted at the heated colorations of the faces staring in wonder and grinning at him, finding it difficult to read these creature's expressions. He could detect in their attempted good posture and sudden alertness the awe and respect directed towards his party, however. Even the smallest ones (how tiny they were!) reclining among the shadows or scampering around in play would practically stand at attention or pause, immobile at his approach.
Du'gret grinned. It wasn't half bad being a "God".
And from the chatter and laughter erupting continuously from his father and friends, he could tell he was not alone in his reverence for the notion. He returned his attention to their conversation, tuning out the noise from the booths.
Presently, Neferti was discussing something with Kat'rin, the others momentarily silenced in anticipation for more "Ooman enlightenment".
"Well, I suppose it's because we're gentler, more understanding…and great housekeepers!" Neferti looked up with a chuckle. She was thoroughly enjoying the interrogation.
Kat'rin looked down at the small, happy face of the female ooman. She was still curious as to why the females of this particular species let the males run the show, or what the attraction was, that the males would prefer such weak, soft-spoken counterparts for mating and raising their children.
"And the children require an immense amount of attention in matters that most men don't enjoy…"
"Such as the feeding, cleaning bit?"
"Exactly."
Kat'rin nodded mutely, piecing together the complicated relationship scraps of the species. Actually, the mother-children role was quite similar among the two cultures, certain unnecessary attachments excluded. But the delicate nature and physical makeup of the females was strange, alien. They were like children themselves, in stature. And they were expected to govern their offspring with such un-daunting demeanors?
"You also appear to mate for a lifetime." Ani'de commented. And how short that was….
"Yes. Mostly. Well, it is aimed for, eventually."
Du'gret grinned, catching her meaning. A little voice in the back of his mind was wondering aloud just how….interesting...it would be to explain this whole fiasco to the females back home. It certainly was a hunt like none other.
"My lords!"
The Yautja paused at the now-familiar title, glancing in the direction of the voice.
One of the vendors was hailing them from a booth not far to the right of the path. He grinned toothily at them, motioning with his hands at his stock. A slim, middle-aged woman stood beside him, prying her child's hand from her hair and smiling shyly while an older child drummed a twig of some sort at her feet.
The man raised a handful of fruit from the stall, and held it out to the approaching hunters.
"If it pleases you, my Gods, help yourselves to my wares. They are but mortalfood, but ripe and delicious ones at that."
Du'gret could smell the delicious, nectar smell of the fruit, enticing in the dry heat of the day. He smiled in return at the man and woman (although it was hidden behind his mask) and accepted the fruit. His comrades did the same.
The Yautja continued through the market, surprised at the hundreds of different items available. Hun'ette and Sen'tre had almost managed to purchase a large predator creature, a leopard Neferti called it, but luckily Grentou'se caught on to their antics before they could do something stupid.
"Ah, the stadium," Pharaoh Seti said with a smile as they approached a large oval stadium. "All the great races are there; would you wish to see one?" The Yautja agreed, not really knowing what these "races" were.
Ramses was struck with an idea. The Gods would probably be bored with a regular race, but what about one with them participating in it?
Walking up to Neferti, he whispered his request into her ear. There were races going on already and the racers would jump to give up their place so the Prince and one of their gods could race.
Neferti smiled and turned to speak to Anubis.
"My Lord?" she asked. Anubis focused his attention from the arena to Neferti.
"Yes?"
"Prince Ramses wonders if you would wish to partake in a race with him."
The Yautja were surprised and intrigued; Du'gret racing against the young Prince? It would be quite an interesting event. Plus, Du'gret would never lose any physical contest.
"Of course; I accept," Du'gret answered to Ramses who beamed.
As the Yautja were lead though a series of hallways and stairs inside the stadium, they had yet to glimpse the inside. The Pharaoh said they were being lead up to a higher section to watch the race.
"What is this…'chariot race'?" Grentou'se asked Du'gret. He was pretty sure he had an idea of what it was, but he wanted to see if his son knew what he had gotten himself into.
"I'm not quite sure, but if one of these oomans can do it, I think I can." Du'gret shrugged, "How hard could it be?"
They finally came to a landing and were lead through crimson curtains and the Yautja got their first look at the stadium center.
It was oval in shape, the raceway wrapping around a center made of pillars and statues of the gods, though they could still see over them to the track on the other side. The entire stadium was partially filled and filling, being the word had spread that Prince Ramses and the god Anubis were to race.
Currently, two racers were in their final laps. At one point, one must have hit a ditch of some sort causing the chariot to bounce and throw the driver roughly to the ground where he skidded to a halt, unmoving.
The Yautja all turned to look at Du'gret. It seemed his curiosity had gotten him into trouble again.
Du'gret was both excited and nervous about this "race". The chariots they were racing look excessively rickety to him, but he didn't mention anything; they may be the best they had. The stadium was still impressive from the ground floor the large statues and pillars in the middle colorfully decorated for the occasion. He noticed now there was a large wall, carved with designs like the rest of the place wrapped around the center to prevent any wreckage into the statues.
He was told that the race was to be twelve laps around the track. Du'gret hoped those twelve laps would be relatively uneventful.
There was even more of a problem with the fact that Du'gret had never raced before. Carefully watching the racers preceding them, he picked up on the basics quickly: snap the reigns to get the creatures to move, pull back to make them slow, and hold on.
The creatures themselves were large, strong beasts, graceful and powerful and the oomans had placed feather decorations upon them, the colors marking the rider.
Once he and the Prince Ramses II were set up for the race, Du'gret's heart began to pound as if he was ready for a hunt. He glanced at Ramses to see him removing many of his metal adornments, leaving mainly his loincloth, sandals, and golden arm bracelets on.
Du'gret glanced up at the crowd which already seemed to be in a frenzy, even though the race had yet to begin. The large ooman crowd cheered for both contestants, some chanting the young prince's name, the others were cheering for their god.
Suddenly, the Pharaoh stood and called for the race to begin. The crowd quickly quieted. Du'gret could see his father and the rest of the clan sitting beside the oomans. Ani'de gave a hand side for luck and Du'gret knew he'd need all he could get.
A thought stirred in Du'gret's head; should he seriously try to win, or allow the young prince to beat him? Losing was not something any Yautja enjoyed, but would beating the Leader's son disgrace the prince?
Before Du'gret could think any further, the Pharaoh raised his hands above his head and clapped, the noise echoing in the tense silence and drawing the crowd's attention back to the racers. With a loud shout, the race began.
Neferti watched from Queen Tuya's side as Anubis and Ramses started, both racing quickly out of starting area, the horses leaping and galloping as fast as possible, Anubis on the inside, Ramses on the outside.
Neferti knew exactly who she wanted to win, but she could tell the rest of the royal family was torn; they wanted their son to win, but would it be wise to not take the side of the god?
Neferti continued watching the race; knowing Ramses, he may have a few surprises for Anubis.
Du'gret kept a steady pace with Ramses, knowing the creatures pulling his chariot would be tiring less quickly because he was on the inside of the track. Surprisingly the chariot was much smoother than he thought it would be, with the occasional lurch from a bump.
"Lord Anubis!" Ramses called over to Du'gret. "I believe we desperately need to change the paintings and carvings of the gods, don't you!"
Du'gret smiled at the thought of a picture of himself and the clan being carved upon the walls of the ooman city. "Someday, yes!" Du'gret shouted back.
Ramses smiled mischievously at Du'gret. "Why not now!" Ramses shouted, pull the reigns of his horses causing them to turn, bringing his chariot around and running into Du'gret's and then knocking Du'gret's chariot into the wall. Sparks cascaded from the metal wheel scraping against stone.
Du'gret quickly pulled his chariot away from the wall and regained control of it. "You could have killed me!" he shouted both surprised and angrily at Ramses.
"You're a god, my lord! You are immortal!" Ramses shouted back. Du'gret blanched at those words. True, Yautja were more durable than oomans, but he could still get hurt if any metal stabbed through his heart.
"Besides, I thought the gods enjoyed a harder game!" Ramses added.
Du'gret glared at the young Prince. So this is a game, nothing more; a game where bending the rules was acceptable. Tightening his grip on the reigns, Du'gret called back to Ramses, "It is fun you wish? I shall grant it."
Pulling as he had seen Ramses do, Du'gret urged his chariot over to ram Ramses. However, Ramses had been expecting the god's retaliation and pulled back hard on the reigns slowing and causing Anubis to move past him and to the outside of the track.
Ramses was surprised as he now raced on the shorter inside side of the track; he would have thought Anubis would have seen this coming.
Grentou'se watched the race with much interest. He was proud his son was doing so well out of instinct.
His brows rose with surprise as the ooman prince rammed into Du'gret's own chariot. He could see his son turn to the ooman, most likely protesting cheating. Grentou'se had noticed the ramming incident seemed to be accepted among the oomans; acceptable it seemed.
He watched with surprise as Du'gret retaliated and was tricked into moving into the outer lane of the track. The ooman was a clever one indeed, predicting how his son would react and taking advantage of it.
Grentou'se leaned back in his seat and smiled; his son hated to be tricked and this was only the third lap. This was going to get interesting.
Du'gret cursed silently when he realized where his anger had got him. He was going to have to get in front of the prince if he was to win the race.
Du'gret tried to move past Ramses only to find that Ramses moved in front of him, no matter where he moved.
Suddenly, a hidden bump nearly jarred Du'gret from his chariot. The only thing that kept him on was his death grip on the reigns.
Glancing back, Du'gret had his mask zoom in on the bump. It was nearly invisible. Suddenly, an idea sprung into his head.
Continuing for three more laps, making sure he stayed behind Ramses, Du'gret memorized where the bump was exactly. It was about a fourth of the way into a lap, about in the middle of the track.
Du'gret quietly held out the next few laps staying contentedly behind Ramses. Then, during the final lap, Du'gret made his move.
Pretending to try and pass Ramses, Du'gret positioned himself perfectly with the bump, Ramses copying him exactly.
Du'gret smiled as Ramses' chariot jerked and shuddered as it hit the bump, slowing. Du'gret moved his chariot away from the bump, missing it and passing around Ramses.
Ramses, skilled at racing, was able to recover from the bump faster than Du'gret had. He just managed to catch up to Du'gret as the finish approached. The two riders urged their horses on trying to get ahead of the other.
The judge watched carefully as the two chariots raced across the finish. Even if he could have taken a photo and analyzed it down to the point, it would still show that Prince Ramses II and the Great God Anubis tied.
"That has been the biggest challenge I have ever had for so many years!" Prince Ramses exclaimed as he approached Du'gret who took a shaky step off of his chariot. Ramses bowed his head once he was in front of Du'gret, "Thank you for the privilege to race against you, My Lord." Looking around to make sure no one was listening, Ramses added in a whisper, "And my greater thanks to you for allowing me to tie you in the race."
Du'gret laughed and placed a clawed hand on Ramses's shoulder, "You were quite a challenge as well." Really, Du'gret thought. "You will make a great Pharaoh." Ramses positively beamed at the compliment.
Suddenly, the door to the track opened and the royal family and the Yautja exited, approaching the two racers.
Seti pulled his son into a hug and praised him for such a great race and against one of their gods!
Du'gret was also surrounded by his clan, each asking so many questions he had a hard time keeping track of them.
Grentou'se calmed the students and asked his son, "Did you let the ooman tie you, or did he equal you in the race fairly?"
Du'gret smiled and shrugged, "What do you believe?" he asked back. His father gave him a suspicious look, but let the topic fall.
"I can't believe that ooman hit you with its chariot!" Ani'de said, surprised.
"I'm surprised that I managed to hold on when he did," Du'gret answered. He continued to explain how he tricked Ramses into hitting the bump, which Ani'de laughed at.
Neferti approached Anubis and bowed, "Congratulations my Lord for the race. It was one of the most exciting I've seen."
Anubis touched her shoulder and smiled. Neferti was about to continue when she noticed something odd, "My Lord! You are bleeding!"
Du'gret glanced at his forearm to see a small wound bleeding. It was not much, but it stood out significantly to the oomans.
Their gods were all powerful and immortal; they could not bleed.
Cliffhanger… I'm so good at those! We hoped you liked it! Please review!