A/N: Dedicated to four lovely people: thanks to Ari-ko (chocolate-obsessed) and Hua-chan (celestial-fire-angel) for looking it over for me as well as being supportive in general. Here's love to Nenya-sama (Nenya85), whose awesome fics (which are also excellent character studies) have been hugely inspiring to me. Muchos love and adoration to my very favourite 'neechan, Wren-love (Jikkankakyoku, Wren Truesong), and some chagrin and amusement at her frantic studying.
I'm not sure what kind of response I'll get for Time Transcending, but I'm curious, being as this is my first work in the Yuugiou fandom. I'm hoping some of my readers from the Sailormoon fandom will spill over, and will say right here and now that I haven't abandoned my other fics yet. I'm finding it hard to get back up after Wren-chan had to put the pen down, but hey, maybe putting out a fic – any fic at all – on this particular account will help me get back into the practice of updating frequently (or updating at all).
Reincarnation and ancient past-lives are two things I adore in any story, and both the Yuugiou and Sailormoon fandoms possess such a theme, if it can be called that. The magick in Yuugiou is what I am more drawn to (summoner's magicks), as well as the love that transcends time, space and distance in Sailormoon.
I'll stop my blatherfest right here; I've yapped on too long, but I thought I'd say something to make up for my long absence. Reviews would be nice, and I'll do my best to respond to any questions you might have.
A disclaimer will be found in my profile. I hope you enjoy the story.
In Ancient Past
A Yuugiou fanstory by Arashinobara
Prologue – The Sands of Time
The Pharaoh Akunumkanon and his High Priest Shimon watched as a cold-eyed brunet bowed crisply to Egypt's young Prince whilst introducing himself. The crimson-eyed child attempted a haughty nod in return, but his posturing was ruined by his poorly-hidden curiosity in the older boy.
"You have chosen well," Akunumkanon praised, not taking his eyes off the young Priest-in-training. "Even my Puzzle reacts to his potential. He will make my son a good guardian, I think. We have found the First."
Shimon nodded his head very slightly to acknowledge his Pharaoh's favour. "Though he has seen only fourteen cycles, my apprentice is intelligent and possesses a cool mind even under duress; as well, Seth's proficiency with a sling has been to my benefit before. I thought my Pharaoh might approve of him."
"A young fighter, see? Even my son, who chafes at being shown to new people, is intrigued." Akunumkanon gave a rare smile as Seth unwound the sling from his belt at the young Prince's request. "Even his name reflects power. Named for the God of Chaos... yes, a good name."
"Some might think it a cursed one, my Pharaoh," Shimon said dryly.
"Those who think it are foolish. There can be no order without chaos; no light without darkness; no dawn without twilight."
"I am pleased my apprentice meets your approval, Pharaoh."
"No need to repeat yourself, my High Priest. Have his quarters transferred to the Inner Palace, that he may be at my son's leisure."
Unaware of the plans his Pharaoh and Temple-master were making for his future, Seth loaded another pebble into his sling at his young Prince's request. If he felt irritation at being ordered about like an entertaining animal, he did not show it. Instead, his eyes indicated faint surprise at his own pleasure in showing off for another person, and their appreciation of his skill.
Whirling the handmade weapon with blurring speed, Seth launched the shard of limestone he had taken from the ground high into the air. The young Prince of Egypt gasped in delight as the projectile was shattered by a second slingstone as it fell earthwards. "Wow!" he breathed. "How did you do that?"
"Timing is essential," Seth replied coolly, though his cheeks were darker than usual. "Also, mere limestone, though plentiful and dominant in this area, cannot stand against a stone blessed by Hapi himself." Seth walked over to where the dark, polished stone lay in the dry grass. "See? This is harder; less imperfect or flawed than the weaker cousin that preceded it."
"Hapi? " Atemu's red eyes were huge in his face as he stared almost worshipfully up at Seth, who shifted uncomfortably. "Did He bequeath them to you?"
"I gather all my stones from the banks of rivers; they are rare, and so I keep as many as I can carry, and retrieve those I have used." Seth held up the smooth, water-polished stone. "This one I took from the Nile; from Hapi. It has several brothers and sisters among my collection."
"Wow," Atemu said again. Seth's cheeks darkened again, and something stirred in his unusual eyes.
"I must go; I hear my Master calling me." The young priest-in-training bowed again before leaving the gardens swiftly on the heels of the High Priest. Atemu kept watching; the nine-year-old hoped perhaps that Seth might turn to see him before leaving his sight, but the young Priest failed to look back even once. Disappointed, the Prince murmured a short order for his slave entourage to accompany him as he trotted back to his waiting Father's side.
"It seems you have won over another admirer of your skill, young Seth," High Priest Shimon teased gently. "Our Prince seems quite besotted with you."
Seth's face remained as if carved of limestone, and he made no reply. Shimon shook his head mock-despairingly – he was known for his humour – and passed the turn to the Priests' quarters. Seth started. "Master?"
"Your quarters have been moved, Seth. It seems the Pharaoh approves of your temperament about his son. You will serve the Prince Atemu as guardian and companion until he is of age, or you are called away on the Journey," Shimon said briskly, turning down to enter a hallway unfamiliar to his younger companion. "I expect you to uphold your duties as my Apprentice, however; I have every faith that you will accomplish a perfectly enviable-to-others balance between your role as Guardian and Priest."
"Yes, Master," Seth said, more than a little dazed. "But I must protest this treatment; surely I am undeserving –"
"The Pharaoh wills it so," Shimon said, effectively ending the argument.
And so it began.
Shimon's teasing proved true; young Prince Atemu all but worshipped his stoic guardian, and though Seth would never admit it within the first twelvemonth, the Prince's steadfast enthusiasm and childish adoration amused and flattered him.
Where Atemu went, Seth followed silently, and the rare occasion Seth was called away, the younger would sulk. It would be to Seth that Atemu ran in tears, and Seth who soothed the Prince's anger or hurt with sympathetic silence and awkward hugs. It was Atemu and Atemu alone for whom Seth would lay his life down, and Atemu who held Seth's unshakeable loyalty.
Pain, pain in his ankle; no one had seen the asp, and it seemed no one would move, so shocked were they –
– But a sudden pressure at Atemu's knee had him look down to confirm what he already knew; Seth's kilt torn to strips; tight bandages to bind Atemu's leg firmly so that the poison would be hindered in its insidious spread...
...and the young Priest kneeling naked before his Prince to bring his mouth to the blackened wound. The first long draw hurt, and so did the second and the third, but Seth spat poison from his mouth and continued to suck it from the wound and his Prince's blood until he could taste only copper and there was no more of the bitter taste.
It was known throughout the land that a silent young man dark of hair and tall of build held the Prince's unwavering favour, and that the royal loved the elder boy dearly, though the Priest Seth was as cold as his eyes.
Atemu huddled miserably in the doorway, and Seth, his eyes heavy with sleep, lifted his thin sheets and patted the space next to him in invitation. The Prince gladly accepted, slipping under the linen sheets and curling into the curve of the other's body, whereupon they both fell asleep.
When Atemu woke in the morning, he knew he would find himself alone in bed, and Seth watching Ra's first rays. The Prince would join the Priest in his contemplation, and later both would be scolded soundly by Shimon for impropriety, but the Prince never minded, and the Priest only pretended to listen.
The years passed. Ra rose and Ra set, and the Darkness plaguing Egypt continued to linger, though it was held stubbornly at bay by the power of the seven Sennen Items. Prince Atemu's twelfth birthday neared, and with it, the day he would be initiated into the Realm of Shadow.
The darkness pressed in on him, and he struggled to breathe. Moments later, another mouth covered his own, breathing both air and shadow into his burning lungs. The dizziness subsiding briefly, Seth opened his eyes to meet his ka-monster's implacable gaze. "You aren't ready," the look in Dios' eyes read clearly. "Why have you come?"
"I seek to be strong," Seth answered hoarsely. His throat was dry, his mouth drier. "I seek the strength your Realm offers."
Dios didn't answer, instead leaning forward seal his lips over his master's as the poisonous shadows pressed closer once more.
Seth had since been in the Shadow Realm countless times, Dios his constant guide and companion. It had taken a full moon-cycle until the young Priest's soul had been able to stand the Realm's terrible, crushing power for any length of time, and another four until he had been able to draw freely upon Shadow Magicks without the penalty of ill-health. Until he had gotten used to rationing his energy and resisting the Realm's insidious presence in his mind, Seth had returned to his room in the early hours of the morning in a state of complete exhaustion. Much to his chagrin, Atemu had begun to wait up for him two weeks into the 'training'.
He was silent upon returning from the Temple, and hardly dared breathe whilst passing the door to his Prince's room. Exhaling loudly as he slipped into his chambers, Seth crumbled against the closed door, his chest rising and falling shallowly. That night's excursion into the Shadow Realm had drained him considerably, and it had taken the High Priest Shimon's power to bring both himself and his apprentice back from the darkness.
A small creak had Seth's head snapping upwards in alarm as someone – who could it be but Atemu? – jumped from the bed and crossed the stone floor hurriedly. "Seth? Gods, Seth!" Small hands ran carefully over a heaving chest, and the young Priest peered hazily through sun-streaked bangs so that dark blue eyes met the Prince's crimson ones. "Are you hurt? I ramble foolishly; of course you are injured... Where does it pain you, my friend? Seth!"
Seeing Atemu was frantic with worry, Seth attempted to sit, though his limbs trembled violently. The air whooshed from his lungs, his attempt thwarted as Atemu pushed him back into a lying position. "My Prince...?" he paused to blink away the blackness threatening his vision. "You should not have waited."
"I've been wondering where you have been going away; I worry for you, Seth, when you come back so worn."
"It is not my Prince's duty to worry over a humble Priest, but the Guardian's way to watch for the Prince. Cease your vigils; there are those who have noted the dark night-circles under your eyes, and question me."
Atemu bristled immediately. "Who are they, these insolent fools who trouble you? I will tell them –"
"My Prince. Leave me be, I beg of you, and sleep; Ra smiles upon the sands in but three hours."
The eleven-year-old stood, an expression of profound hurt crossing his young face. It was quite obvious he was desperate to help his idol in any way he could. "But I cannot leave you so...?"
"If you love me as much as you say, sleep and rest your eyes. Tomorrow we go to Hapi for the festival; perhaps we will find some of his rare stones?"
Atemu kissed Seth's brow tenderly, and the Priest's cheeks darkened in embarrassment. "If you promise to make me a weapon like yours, I'll do as you say," Atemu smiled, his face lighting up in childish excitement.
Seth covered the younger boy's hand with his own before sliding it away and trying to stand. "Bribery, my Prince? Whatever shall Egypt do with such corruption in her Bosom?" Seeing the hurt and anger in the other's face, Seth remembered his Prince was unused to being teased. His exhaustion was obviously having negative effects on his judgement. "Very well. Just sleep." Shuffling over to his bed, he shed his kilt and lay down carefully. "I hope you will forgive me if I do not escort you back to your own chambers."
When he failed to hear Atemu leaving the room, Seth opened his eyes in inquiry just as he felt a small body slip under the blankets to curl up against his. They had slept together before, but the last time had been over a year ago, and Atemu's decision was entirely unanticipated. Seth's mouth formed a small 'o' in surprise, but by the time he opened his mouth to object, Atemu's breathing had evened out, the boy sleeping soundly.
In spite of himself, Seth's mouth curled up into a tiny smile before he wrapped an arm protectively around his charge and drifted off to sleep.
Atemu showed little trepidation at the prospect of entering the Shadow Realm in spite of seeing first-hand how its darkness affected even Seth, whom he viewed, with all the natural faith of a child, as the strongest of the strong. His eagerness to touch the Shadow disturbed and confused most who knew him, most of all Seth, but it was there.
Night after night, Atemu would demand tales of Seth and the other Priests' ventures in the Realm of Darkness, seeing in his own mind the power that its creatures held. By day, he would study the scrolls of the Shadow Games, which revealed to their readers the weaknesses, strengths and penalties that the Realm's monsters possessed and demanded.
The young Prince of Egypt told no one of the dream that haunted him both in wakefulness and sleep; the dream in which he held a shattered puzzle and his soul burned in its sundering.
A dream in which the Gods themselves cursed him, when they named him King of Games.
A/N: Thanks for reading.
You Might Want to Know That...
...'Blessed by Hapi' is basically another way for Seth to say 'They're water-hardened pebbles from the Nile'. Hapi (Hep, Hap, Hapy) was the god of fertility and the Nile, among other things.
...Dios was the High Priest Seth's first ka; in this context, the ka is the duel monster who best represents a person.
Just to Verify:
Atemu is five years younger than Seth.
They do not know they are cousins.
Shimon found Seth living half-wild out in the desert.
Uh... reviewing would be nice? Thanks again to Ari-ko, Hua-chan and Nenya-sama!
– Arashinobara (Nimbirosa)
