A/N: Figured since I had nothing to do today till later, better kill some time updating this! So without further adieu, here's the next chapter.
Eyes of Horus: The Eye of Thunder
Chapter One: Sekhmet
Since he knew the realm better than any god in the heavens, Raiden decided to start their search for the missing sun god in Earthrealm. Promptly after the conversation with the Elder Gods, Raiden teleported himself and the goddess of cats, Bastet, down to Earthrealm in a bolt of lightning, his regular means of transport. This form of transportation frightened the feline warrior. As soon as they reached the realm of Earth, Bastet let out a startled yowl and ran halfway up a tree. This action made Raiden chuckle a little, never before had he seen such a reaction from this, not even from the Earthrealm warriors who were teleported in such a way.
"Are you alright?" Raiden prompted, staring amusingly at Bastet. "Never before have I seen such a reaction before from just a simple teleportation."
He saw Bastet shoot an ugly stare at him before she jumped gracefully down to the ground. Her lips curled up into a half-snarl as she walked towards him. "I am fine!" she retorted. "I just wasn't prepared for it."
Raiden gave a slight nod and the cat goddess continued her speaking. "Where are we?"
"We are in Earthrealm," Raiden said with a simple arm gesture. He watched as Bastet's eyes widen in amazement as she stared at their surroundings. They were in a forest, standing on an old dirt pathway that had been used many times. The trees were tall and moss covered, showing their age marvelously to the world. Sunlight peaked in through the cracks the leaves let open and the light danced on the forest floor. The grass was green and wildflowers of many colors were laced in among the foliage. Many small wild animals were on the prowl, climbing trees and searching through the tall grass. Bastet tilted her head back to sniff in all of the smells that were new to her and she let out a purr.
"It's beautiful here," Bastet said contently. "I can just sit here and lay in the sun all day."
"As much as I would like to let you do that, we have important work to be done," Raiden said to the cat. "May I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Are you going to remain in the form of a cat?" Bastet gave him a puzzled look, making Raiden rephrase his language. "I mean to say, are you not going to switch your form into that of an Earthrealm human?"
Bastet looked down at her feline form. "I guess I can do that…I heard from one of the gods that some humans feel imposed when they are in the presence of a feline that is larger than one of their kits."
Bastet arched her back, as if she were to stretch, and let out a terrible yowl as she transformed into human form. In a blink of an eye, she had gone from feline form to that of a human. She looked at Raiden with the same green eyes she had as a cat and smiled at him, showing catlike fangs. The addition to her eyes was an odd marking painted around her left eye. She still wore the jewelry she had on in her cat form and her hair color remained a dark grey color. She stood up shakily but looked at the thunder god in complete confidence.
"Well, Raiden…I feel stupid. So I better look at least half decent."
"You look fine, Bastet," Raiden muttered. "Now let us get going before-"
"May I please find something to wear other than this?" Bastet said, gesturing towards the clothing she had on. The outfit made Raiden think of the time when the Ancient Egyptians were still around. She placed her hands on her hips and stared at him. "So I can blend in easier with the Earthrealm mortals, especially since I have absolutely no idea where we're at."
"I suppose so…" Raiden drawled out and with those words, Bastet ran off into the trees. "But do not be too long!"
Luckily Raiden only had to wait a few moments before the cat goddess came back in an entirely new outfit. Raiden could tell that this outfit was stolen from someone he guessed who was a thief. Bastet now wore a skin tight ensemble that showed her petite form. Her golden jewelry remained on her body. Now she looked like an odd god trying to match in with the Earthrealmers and this made Raiden laugh quietly.
"Keep laughing Raiden," Bastet growled at him. "At least I look better now."
"Have you no pride in your robes?" Raiden dared to ask.
Bastet shrugged. "I do. I just like a good change sometimes."
"I see then…now we shall be off."
The two walked down the path, Raiden in the lead with Bastet following a good distance behind. When he would look behind to check on the cat goddess, she would be looking around at something that caught her attention. Raiden could sense her curiosity as she gazed at everything the realm had to offer.
"You know, if you have any questions about Earthrealm, you are more than welcome to ask me," Raiden told her.
Soon Raiden began to regret what he had just said, for Bastet seemed to find very many questions that could be asked about the realm, including very simple questions.
"Are Earthrealmers all the same? Do they wander around like brainless drones and are controlled by a head sorcerer? Do they keep pets? Do they walk around naked?"
Being as polite as he was, Raiden did answer all of her questions, showing no annoyance at all as he spoke. But, as Bastet was about to ask another question, she stopped walking. Raiden stopped as well and looked behind him to see Bastet staring up at the leaves in the trees. Her mouth was open slightly and her eyes seemed to be focusing on something.
"Is everything well?" Raiden prompted, walking towards the cat goddess.
"I just heard my name being called…" Bastet answered quietly, not making eye contact with the thunder god. She pointed forward and looked straight ahead. "It came from that way."
Raiden looked at her in confusion. He had heard nothing. Bastet ran past him, bumping into him as she ran. Raiden ran after her, calling her name as he did. Soon, the two made it into a clearing that had a single large boulder in the field. Raiden looked around and saw nothing besides him and Bastet. But then, he felt a slight chill. Though the sun was out and it had been a warm day, he suddenly felt cold. The animals also stopped their noise making as well. The hairs on the back of his neck rose as he got into a fighting position. Bastet stared at the boulder, her human lips curling into a snarl.
"Finally you two decided to show up," Raiden heard a feminine voice growl. "I have been waiting so patiently for you. Especially for you, my dear sister."
A shadow jumped onto the boulder. Raiden narrowed his eyes to see the shadow more clearly and saw the form of a lioness on top of the rock. A lion? Raiden couldn't believe it. Lions did not live in this part of the world.
"Sekhmet…" Bastet whispered wearily.
The lioness transformed into a human form. She looked very much like Bastet but her hair was a lighter tone of grey. Her eyes were blue and her right eye bore the same marking as Bastet's left eye. She jumped down from the rock, gracefully like a cat.
"How long has it been, Bastet?" Sekhmet asked as she made slow strides towards the pair. "Six hundred years since we last saw each other?"
"You disappeared from our home, Sekhmet," Bastet answered, shocked that her long lost sister is alive and well. "We all thought you were dead…"
Sekhmet shifted her gaze to Raiden. "And Lord Raiden is here as well…what a wondrous surprise."
Raiden remembered the stories of when Sekhmet disappeared from the heavens. Many gods and goddesses were scared that a "god killer" was out and took one of the fiercest of goddesses down. It was shocking to see that Sekhmet was still alive and well. But, something seemed off about the fierce goddess. Though she was naturally a very fierce warrior, there was a different air about her. She'd never look at a fellow god with spite, as in the way she was doing now.
Sekhmet stopped walking and gazed at the two. A snarl came onto her face. "The Elder Gods had forsaken me!" Fire sprout in her hands as she glared at the two gods. "They left me here to die in this realm and no one had ever come to search for me!"
"Everyone was looking for you," Raiden retorted, feeling electricity come to his hands and preparing to attack if the angry goddess were to strike. "But we could not find you in any of the realms."
Sekhmet did not answer. Instead she threw the fire that had been gaining power in her hands at Raiden and Bastet. The two were able to evade the attack and Raiden retaliated with the electricity that was built up into his own hands. Sekhmet nimbly dodged the blow and transformed back into the form of a lioness. With one last bad look, Sekhmet disappeared, fading in with the foliage of the forest.
"My sister is still alive?" Bastet asked aloud. "I thought she died."
Raiden went over to the troubled cat goddess and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Come," Raiden said to her quietly. "We are near a village. We may rest there for a while."
Bastet gave a small nod and followed the thunder god out of the clearing.
Paritheikae: I'm glad that the concept of Egyptian mythology has peaked your interest. And thank you for the criticism. I re-read the chapter and figured "yeah, maybe I should've got rid of that." I can't wait for your future suggestions and stuff like that. And thank you for reading this!
A/N: Sorry if this chapter was kind of boring. But I hope Sekhmet will be an interesting character in future chapters. Anyways, here's the history lesson for you lazy researchers. Sekhmet is the Egyptian goddess of war and destruction. She is also a daughter of Ra and is considered by some to be a polar opposite of Bastet(Who is more playful and gentle). She is generally depicted with the head of a lion but, for the sake of this story, she will have two forms, lioness and human form.
With that being said, I think Sekhmet will be fun to work with as a force that interrupts and misleads our heroes.
As I said in the Prologue, please review and constructive criticism is always a welcome guest. Thanks for the read and stay thirsty my friends.