The Heart of the Nile: New Discoveries
As they approached the palace Inuyasha looked towards the east. Here he could see the grand stonewalls and pillars of the temple of *Ra. It was painted from floor to ceiling with hieroglyphics. The pictures depicted the history of his people and were elaborately decorated with nature scenes and various miracles from the gods. The bold colors of red, blue, yellow, green, purple, and black stood out against the cold white stone. The contrasts in shading and colors brought the images to life. Behind the temple was the expansion of the Nile River and the open horizon. Every morning, noon, and evening the temple worshipers would gather to watch the sun god Ra move in the sky.
With his appearance he'd bless the new day with his light and at night give them the chance to rest in peace under the moon. It was in this very temple 5 years ago that Inuyasha met his beloved bride. He remembered the day they first met as if it were yesterday. It had been an ordinary sunny day when he'd walking into the temple to worship. He remembered seeing the silhouette of a beautiful women picking lotus flowers out of the river along the back of the temple. She'd moved with such grace that he remembered thinking to himself that she had to be Ra in human form. The sun at that time had been setting making her vision aflame with red, gold, and vibrant pinks. The fiery glow made her dark shoulder length haircut as it gently blew in the wind reflect the most stunning shades of blues
When she turned around to look at him his heart had literally stopped beating in his chest for a second and the wind had been knocked out of his lungs. *Hathor had to of struck him over the head with a vase and he'd stood their like an idiot with his mouth hanging open in awe. Kikyo was the goddess of love personified and he'd been overwhelmed by her presence. Thankfully Kikyo took pity on him and broke the awkwardness by gracing him with an equally stunning smile. Only after speaking with her did he find out that she'd recently moved from a distant land to work as a priestess at the temple. After that day he'd spent all of his free time in the temple of Ra.
They became the closest of friends and after many moons of wooing and pursuing Kikyo he gained himself a loving wife. Before he left on his trip they'd made a habit of walking amongst the lotus flowers where they had first met. They even snuck into the temple once and made love under the heavens. It were those special moments with Kikyo that gave him the strength to finish his old man's work. Since Sesshomaru came into power 6 years ago, he'd become Sesshomaru's personal pack mule in finding the missing treasure. Sesshomaru used to do it for their old man but with him taking the thrown he no longer had the luxury of traveling across the land without the risk of assassination. With the new map in hand however, Inuyasha hoped these extended trips would come to an end so he could enjoy his life with Kikyo.
When they arrived at the palace gates Sesshomaru stopped their chariot so they could get off. Wanting to get their business over with they made their way to the papyrus wing. There they could discuss Inuyasha's trip in search of the treasure in peace. As they walked Sesshomaru orders for some servants to bring them lunch and for fan maidens to keep them cool while they spoke. When they walked into the wing the shaded pool in the center greeted them and summoned them to sit around its edges on the long floor pillows. After they were laying comfortable on the padded floor mats Sesshomaru opened the box and pulled out the map. As he spread it out on the floor he discovered a script in a foreign language on the back panel. There were also symbols that looked like water, mountains, birds, a gate, a compass and a circle. To add to the complicated design were red and black threads sewn sporadically all over the map.
"Do you know what these symbols and strings mean?" Sesshomaru asked.
After popping a grape into his mouth Inuyasha looked back at his brother and said, "Well of course I do! That's half the reason it took me so damn long to get back! I knew you would send me away if I didn't know!"
"You are correct. So how did you retrieve this map little brother?" Sesshomaru replied dryly before sipping his wine. As he looked over the rim of his cup with his amber eyes, the kohl paint framing their edges only intensified his hard stare. "Were father's notes of any use?"
"No! All the old man's notes did was take me in circles!" Inuyasha complained. "He had us going from Crete to Italy, to Spain, back to Crete, back to Spain, and then to Greece, followed by Israel just to end back up in Greece again! Mix that in with pirates, thieves, shipwrecks, cave explorations, crossing deserts, illnesses and storms... it was a nightmare! We almost died for a stupid treasure that we don't even know if it exists anymore. Knowing our luck someone's probably already got it and are keeping it a secret so it doesn't get taken! If it wasn't for us accidentally coming across a pirate town off of southern Greece we would have headed home moons ago." After taking a sip of wine Inuyasha continued.
"Won this map in a game of poker," he said with a smirk making Sesshomaru wrinkle an eyebrow. "The guy we won it from seemed pretty upset that we got it. We were told it let to the treasure but had no way to dispute it other than following it to its destination. I had Musa check it out anyway and he was able to uncover the path of the map. It conveniently lead us back here."
"Back here?" Sesshomaru questioned with a frown. "So what is next? Do you know where the map is leading and if it is tied to the treasure we seek? Who did you find to interpret this strange language and symbols?"
"Yes, yes, just chill out and let me finish would yah?! I'm getting to the good part! One of Musa's men recognized the symbols to be some type of ancient Greek. With no other leads at the time we traveled to the place he last remembered seeing similar markings. He took us along the coastline of Greece almost into the Aegean Sea. It was on the island of *Kythera that we found a sea witch by the name of Kaede. She was able to interpret some of the map and found the key to leading us back here. But get this! She is a descendant of one of the lost seamen aboard the treasure ship!" Inuyasha yelled.
If Sesshomaru hadn't of had years of practice in the art of maintaining a straight face he would have choked on his wine. The only visible response from his state of shock was the slight widening of his eyes.
"Who's to say she didn't deceive you in hopes of finding it for herself?" Sesshomaru asked cautiously.
"She most definitely didn't deceive us because she's nearly 60 summers old and is beginning to fade away." Inuyasha said sadly. "She said she wants to help us so she can finally visit her family's resting place. We found out during our stay at her village that no one else can read that script. It's even too ancient for most of them to read anymore. In other words she's our only hope. In exchange for helping she wants to be left with the ship to die with the remains of her kin. We've found her character to be very honorable and trustworthy. She's staying at the ports until you request to leave."
"Leave? You know this one cannot Inuyasha." Sesshomaru stated matter-of-factly.
Inuyasha quickly replied, "Ah, but you gotta! The treasure only answers to one master at a time. If you wish to rule over it you must go and claim it yourself. Otherwise it will not accept you as its master and we won't get the power."
"It only claims one master? You make it sound as if it were alive with thoughts and feelings. This one has never heard of a treasure with the ability to choose for itself," Sesshomaru scoffed in disbelief.
"Think about it Sesshomaru! It's a treasure that grants wishes. Who's to say such a powerful treasure couldn't be smart enough to choose its next master?" Inuyasha argued making Sesshomaru inwardly roll his eyes. "Kaede said the treasure has some kind of soul to where it reads the heart of whoever tries to find it. If the treasure doesn't like you it will remain hidden. Only if you are worthy in its eyes will it call you to find it. I guess there is some kind of riddle, spell or something that goes along with the treasure too. It imprints some kind of bond so only the master can rule its power. Kaede also said that this bond is why it was lost in the first place! The current master of the treasure wished to use its power against the greater good and ultimately the treasure turned against him. This is what caused his death. If we get ahold of it we'll have to be careful no one makes a bad wish. The more I learn about this thing the more I understand why our old man was so obsessed with it." Inuyasha finished by leaning back into the floor pillows. Seeing that his wife had fallen asleep he gingerly pulled her into his lap. Laying her head against his chest he lovingly ran his fingers through her raven hair.
"Agreed. So how did the witch know to come to Egypt?" Sesshomaru inquired.
Inuyasha extended his other hand that wasn't supporting Kikyo to take the map from Sesshomaru. As he folded the map into a star shape with eight points the random red thread woven throughout the paper created the image of a desert beetle. There was no denying that it was the Beetle of Ra by the Egyptian design. Around this beetle in a black circle was more foreign script. Sesshomaru guessed it was most likely the clue, spell or bond Inuyasha spoke about earlier. This new clue was what was needed to retrieve this treasure. Who knew where it would lead after that.
"The *beetle of Ra? Does that mean the next step is to visit the temple?" Sesshomaru asked in fascination.
"Yup. Only a matter of time before we finally finish this thing." Inuyasha said before yawning.
"Rest. You have much to regain before attending the temple tomorrow. Have Kaede summoned there before the sun rises. This one wishes to meet her and get this matter settled as soon as possible." Sesshomaru said as he got to his feet. As he walked out of the papyrus room the lounging couple snuggled closer together. It didn't take long for Inuyasha to fall asleep with Kikyo safely tucked against his chest.
(Later that night)
After the evening feast Sesshomaru walked towards the balcony at the back of his bedchambers. It overlooked the entire empire and could see the rising moon to the east as the sun set to the west. Currently the moon was high in the sky allowing him the chance to bathe in its rays. Being at the end of the day he pulled his long silver hair out of its braid. The long silver strands glistened in the moonlight giving him an ethereal glow. Being alone in the darkness and seclusion of his chambers was the one time of day he could relax. Here in solitude he could reflect over the future of his people and not worry about being bothered by nagging servants or pestering court officials. He loved his people and wanted the best for them but sometimes he wished the job wasn't so taxing.
His people knew him to be a strong and ruthless warrior that ruled honorably and justly. That meant of course that he'd had to work his butt off to achieve them. Only a few members of the palace knew of his softer side. He couldn't afford to appear weak to anyone else. Some of his favorite things to do were taking walks under the moon and reciting poems from the heart. He also enjoyed gardening and riding his horse along the river. Nonetheless he had to keep face with his people. He just hoped that gaining this hidden treasure would not only protect and provide for them but continue to give them hope and faith in him as their pharaoh. His family were believed to be descendants of the gods. He hoped he'd be able to prove them right.
[End of Chapter 2]
Authors Note:
Ra - the god of the sun, creator of life, orders, kings and the sky. Egyptians believed man was formed from his tears and sweat which is why ancient Egyptians called themselves his Cattle of Ra since the worked the land in the heat of the sun. In hieroglyphs he has the head of a falcon and a sun-disk resting inside of a golden cobra on the top of his head with the body of a man (shares similar characteristics the god Horus). At one point in history these two deities were combined as Ra-Horakht - meaning two horizons. Later in the New Kingdom era the god Amun joined Ra forming the name Amun-Ra. He is believed to be most powerful when the sun is at its highest point of the day (noon) and weakest at highest point of the night (midnight). In some texts he is described as an aging king with golden skin, silver bones and blue lapis lazuli stone.
Beetle of Ra - the god Ra is symbolized in many different ways (full-bodied ram, beetle, phoenix, heron, serpent, bull, cat, lion, man with the head of a beetle, ram or falcon). However the most common singular form is the desert beetle with a red sun-disk sitting between its front legs above its head. When Ra has the beetle head he is called Ra-Khepri. When depicted for the underworld he has the head of a ram.
Kythera/Kapsáli - this island is just northwest of Crete along the coast of Greece. Its very residential and private creating a relaxed atmosphere with secluded beaches and beautiful ocean Mediterranean views. There a a few Minoan ruins along the island to visit and various historical towns along the coast to visit.