Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or his characters, and have no right to it except as a long time fan.
Egyptian Embodiment
Chapter One: A Meeting of Light and Dark
Under the warm golden rays of the African sun sat a vast land of sand known as the Egyptian dessert. Running through the land was a major river known as the Nile, and it is in the valley along its floodplain that the Egyptian people lived and prospered under the rule of the Pharaoh and the gods of the land.
Under the reign of Pharaoh Hatshepsut the people lived in a time of peace and wealth. The most politically powerful woman in all of Upper and Lower Egypt was great for the land. She designed trade expeditions, restored foreign trading routes lost in wars, and oversaw many new and great building projects.
She was also good for the people; especially her female subjects. As a woman ruling the land she was a great inspiration to them. Her ascension showed them that they could be more than they were; being and doing things they thought impossible, and succeed at them.
It was in this environment, in the city of Asyut, that a young woman named Ikoris lived. She had long wavy black hair with blue undertones, warm light brown skin, and unique blue eyes. She was a high priestess who tended to the temple of Anubis, God of the Underworld.
In her capacity as high priestess Ikoris wore a white linen sheath dress down to her ankles held up by two straps, a gold sash around her waist, papyrus strap sandals, and a single gold band around one of her upper arms.
She walked calmly along the paths of her home city, smiling at her neighbors and enjoying the warmth and atmosphere of everyone going about their business. As she walked she moved further and further until the bustle of everyday life began to quiet and disappear.
Soon her destination became clear as a large shinning white building came into view. It was rectangular with the long length facing the path. Columns were carved into it leading up to the entrance. The path itself was clear with a series of large pillars decorated with painted depictions of the god Anubis watching the path, and between the pillars were fire stands that were lit at night to light the path.
The entrance to the building was a large open doorway with a pair of white obelisks taller than the building with hieroglyphs of the history of Anubis carved along their four surfaces.
Ikoris walked along the path, admiring the painted images of the god she worshipped, until she reached the building. She stepped inside into the shade, and walked until she came upon another opening, which led to a set of stairs that led down beneath the building.
She walked down the stairs, glancing at the torches that lit her way, and stopped as she turned onto a stone path. She removed her sandals and placed them in a space near the floor since entering the temple proper required bare feet, and continued down the path until she came to a longer set of stairs.
As she moved down the stairs she passed through a ten foot high six foot wide doorway that lead to a widening of the stairs as she entered the temple proper. On each side of the doorway her eyes were greeted by large floor torches lighting her way as she continued down the stairs and stepped onto the floor.
She began to move through the room taking in the four large statues of Anubis, the god standing tall with a dogs head holding a staff that looked like a large flail in one hand and the ankh symbol of life in the other, two guarding the stairway and the other two across the room at the sides of another doorway.
On the walls were beautiful paintings of Anubis performing the weighing of the hearts and attending to mummies. She always admired them as she moved through the room.
Ikoris passed through the doorway and walked down the hall, wall torches lighting her way as she passed rooms that had to do with the duties of the high priest and other priests. She paused at one door and entered to retrieve a satchel that she had prepared before leaving the temple the evening before.
She then walked toward the end of the hall where a large elaborate ornament door stood and turned away from it down a hall. That door lead to the private prayer room of the pharaoh and she had never seen the inside and didn't expect she ever would.
She silently greeted priests and priestesses as she moved passed them, listening to others go about their duties, until she came to another large door. This one she opened carefully and entered before she closed it quietly.
The room was large, lit by two large floor torches making it possible to see the depictions of Anubis painted on the walls around the room both in his dog form and in his human form with a dog head.
At the far end of the room, on a platform, stood a large shrine of Anubis. It depicted the gods dog form in a crouched relaxed position with his ears pricked up in alertness. He was black with gold lining his eyes in the way that all Egyptians lined their eyes, and gold lining the inside of his ears where on a mortal dog it would be pink.
Ikoris kneeled placing her satchel on the floor next to her, and calmly yet cheerfully greeted the god as if he were truly there before her.
"Good day my Lord Anubis. I hope your day has gone well so far, and that your duties have not given you any trouble." She said softly.
"It is bright out today and warm as always. Everyone I saw was in a good friendly mood. I only recently arrived at your temple and all is quiet as usual." She continued as she lit incenses.
"I hope you enjoy the smell and I hope it helps you relax as you go about your important duties." She added before she grabbed the satchel and pulled out a jug then a cup from the stand on the side of the shrine.
She poured the liquid in the cup then called on her power. Pure green light lit up her hands then moved to the cup and the liquid inside to purify. She knew he would need something better than what a mortal would drink so she made sure it was pure.
"Here is some purified beer for you my Lord to quench your thirst if you are thirsty. I hope my offer is agreeable to you." She stated as she placed the cup back on the shrine.
She then grabbed a second jug from the satchel and began to sprinkle purified water on the floor all around the room. When she finished she replaced the jug of water in the satchel and began to sing and dance around the room.
As she danced she called on her power, her body glowing with a green light, and began to send her power along the floor with her every step, through the air with every swing of her arms. She brushed her fingers along the paintings, her green power flowing along the images of Anubis and tracing them.
As her voice filled the air she hoped all the energy she was filling the room with and infusing into the images of the mighty god she worshipped would help to strengthen him and let him know he was not alone in his endless endeavors.
"I hope you enjoyed my performance, and I hope it helps ease your burden a little." She said when she finished.
She then knelt in front of his large shrine, bowed her head, lifted her arms up beside her head with her palms facing up and silently prayed, hoping her prayers offered the great god strength.
~~EE~~
In Duat, the realm of the dead, Anubis stood casually yet elegantly as he awaited the next soul to come to him. He glanced back to Thoth, his scribe, to see him finishing up his recording of the previous soul's result. That soul had been just light enough to qualify to move on to its heavenly existence.
Ammit growled, sounding more like a dissatisfied grumble, and he moved over to him and pet the top of his scaly head. The beast quieted instantly and leaned into his touch.
"Perhaps the next soul will have a heart for you. Be patient." Anubis told his devourer of the dead as he looked over his crocodile head, lion upper body, and hippopotamus lower body.
Anubis sensed the next soul approaching and gave Ammit a last pat before he moved back to his previous position and waited.
A few minutes passed and his sharp eyes landed on the figure of a small female child. He stepped forward and held out his hand to the child. The child stared up at him, clearly afraid, and he knelt down to her height.
"All will be well. I will be here to guide you the entire way." He said quietly. He knew that she would be moving on to a heavenly existence. He could usually tell just by looking at a soul what their fate would be.
The little girl nodded and put her small hand in his as he stood. He walked her over to the scale and watched as a copy of himself appeared and placed the child's heart on one end of the scale and a golden feather from the goddess of truth, Ma'at, on the other end.
The scale moved up and down before it finally settled, measuring evenly between heart and feather. The child made a happy sound and looked up to him. He smiled and nodded down at her.
"Congratulations." He said before he began to walk her pass Ammit and Thoth and to a set of elaborate golden doors. The doors opened slowly revealing a soft welcoming white light.
"Go on child." He instructed as he gestured toward the open doors. "There is no need to fear. There is no pain or suffering where you are going."
The child nodded and he released her hand and watched her walk pass the door and into the light where she disappeared from his sight. He waited for the doors to close, ensuring no soul exited or went through without approval, then returned to his post and waited for the next soul.
"Good day my Lord Anubis. I hope your day has gone well so far, and that your duties have not given you any trouble." He heard a soft feminine voice say and his ears twitched slightly.
Ikoris. He thought quietly, easily placing her voice.
Since she had become a priestess at his temple he had listened to her worship him and speak to him. Her voice followed him as he went about his duties weighing hearts and guiding souls to the afterlife. Her voice was always literally in his ear as if she was standing next to him whispering in his ears.
His attention had initially been drawn because she spoke to him as if he was there with her, telling him all kinds of things about herself and what she had seen and done before arriving at his temple each day. Then it had gone from just her speaking to him to being fascinated by the sound of her voice, and from there he began to wonder what she looked like and how she would react if he spoke to her.
Anubis listened to her singing as he watched a soul approach him. Her voice was beautiful and soothing, conveying a light, not just a lightness, that he rarely saw in his existence.
The soothing sound flowed into his ears as he weighed the heart of a young middle aged male. As the scale moved up and down he considered, by the string of words she was using from her current song, that she was making up the song as she went.
As the heart on the scale settled lower than the feather the copy of himself grabbed the heart and tossed it carelessly to Ammit, who caught it and devoured it as was his eternal job.
He then opened a portal with a slight gesture of his hand right next to the suddenly cowering middle aged man and firmly led him through it into his new hellish existence. He closed the portal and as he moved back to his previous position Anubis decided he wanted to meet the priestess Ikoris. He wanted to see her face and hear her talk to him face to face.
He looked around at his surroundings, seeing his faithful Ammit waiting for the next doomed heart, his scribe Thoth still recording the results of the man's weighing, and his copy standing next to the scale feather in hand.
His copy looked to him curiously, wondering what he would decide, and he blinked as the solution came to him.
He was a god and that came with certain powers. So he promptly split himself in two. One to stay and continue his duties, and the other to go to the mortal plane. He waved his hand to his side and a large portal opened up. He stepped through and silently touched down on a cool stone floor of his temple, the portal closing behind him.
He silently moved forward and stopped a few feet behind the kneeling form of the priestess who was currently worshipping him.
"Greetings my little priestess." He said, alerting her to his presence, and startling her.
Ikoris startled at the deep echoing voice that interrupted her praying, and quickly stood and spun around.
She saw a tall male standing not far from her. He had pitch black hair parted down the middle and extending down to his knees, pointed ears, golden eyes with no pupil completely covering where the whites should've been but with the usual black lining, and his skin was pale alabaster. He also had claws on his long fingers.
A single green stripe under each eye trailing back toward his ears, a single green stripe going from each ankle up the inside and outside of his legs, a green stripe traveling from his inner and outer wrist up his arm to stop beneath the black symbols, a symbol of Ra on his right bicep and on the left a symbol of a crossed flail and crook.
He wore a white silk kilt-like garment that went just above his knees with a golden over wrap attached to a green, gold and black beaded belt around his waist made of obsidian, emerald, and gold, dark green and black bands around his wrists and ankles, and a green, black, and gold wrap neck collar.
She knew the male was obviously a demon by his pointy ears, markings, and claws. She had only seen a few and most likely only knew they were demons because of her powers. What disturbed her more was the fact that she had no idea how he had been able to enter the temple let alone the room she was in without being noticed.
"Who are you?" She asked fearfully.
Anubis looked over his little priestess, getting a good look at she who had been worshipping him so uniquely. He took in her long wavy black hair with its blue undertones, her light brown skin, and unique blue eyes. She was dressed simply and yet it suited her.
She was an attractive mortal but what really made him catch his breath was her soul. He could see it clearly, lighting her up from the inside out, shinning brighter than any soul he had ever seen.
She is a brand new soul. He realized, but it only added to his fascination of her.
"You know who I am." He said as his eyes moved over her. "I am the one you have been speaking to for sennights and moons."
Ikoris' eyes widened as she realized he was the god Anubis, and immediately dropped to her knees and bowed.
"Please forgive my ignorance." She begged.
"There is nothing to forgive. Rise." He bid her.
"I have heard everything you have ever said to me, and this day I decided I wished to meet you and speak to you face to face." He stated as she stood.
Ikoris blinked her eyes wide in surprise. He had wanted to meet her, to speak to her. Anubis. God of the Underworld wanted to speak to her. Plain mortal that she was.
"Okay." She said and looked around. "I apologize for not being able to offer you anywhere to sit."
"It is no matter." Anubis said before he waved his hand off to the side.
She watched as two seats appeared facing each other. They looked like miniature lounge benches made of gold marble with black cushions.
Ikoris was in awe. She had never seen any seats like them before and couldn't even imagine what they were made of.
"Come and sit." He said as he gestured toward the seats. She hesitated a moment before sitting in one of the seats. She instantly gasped at how soft and comfortable the cushion was.
Anubis sat in the remaining seat and returned his gaze to her, taking in every detail of her being. From the number of times she blinked, her nervous movements, the sound of her heart beating, and the breaths she took.
"What should we talk about my Lord?" Ikoris asked quietly.
"Whatever you desire." He replied as he watched her. She instantly blushed and his golden gaze watched in interest as the color spread across her cheeks.
Ikoris tried to think of something but she didn't know what. He already knew everything about her since in between her duties she had told him everything.
"Can I ask about you since you know all about me?" She asked.
"You can ask whatever you desire." He answered, and she nodded and glanced at the images on the walls.
"You do not look as everyone thinks you do." She commented as she looked back to him, and he looked over at the images.
"You are right. Although my true form looks similar to the dog they like to portray me as." Anubis said thoughtfully.
"What do you mean true form?" Ikoris asked curiously.
"You know that I am a demon." He stated, and she nodded. "I am a dog demon. What you see before you is the form that makes it easier to perform my duties, but I am a dog."
Ikoris nodded her understanding as she gazed at him.
"How are you here? Do you not have things to do?" She asked curiously, wondering how his duties would get done if he wasn't there to do them.
"It is an advantage of being a god. I can be in more than one place at a time." He answered calmly, then decided to ask something he had been curious about.
"Do you only use your power when you are here in my temple?" He asked.
"Yes. What else could there be to use it for?" She said, and he blinked at that and made a sound of understanding.
"There is so much more you can do with your power." He replied before he began to explain about purifying demons and healing mortals, both demon and human. That if she was powerful enough she could even purify humans.
He then went on to explain that she could use her powers to make protective barriers, purify water, make her body stronger, enhance her senses, and so much more.
oOoEEoOo
Since that fateful day Ikoris' life had been much more interesting and fulfilling. Anubis had come to see her often, both in the temple and at her home, and had taught her so much. Especially about her powers. She had never felt more secure and complete in her life. It made all the difference to know the origin of her power and the extent to which she could use it.
Besides that he had taught her the true history of her people and just what the pharaohs had wanted the people to know. She didn't think less of the previous rulers of her homeland, but it helped her to understand why traditions were the way they were.
Her Lord Anubis had also told her of the places outside her homeland; informing her of the cultures, gods, religions, and learnings of those places. Sometimes he even took her to those places, disguising them to look as if they were born there so she could observe and learn unhindered.
With all those events and so much time spent together it was no surprise that Ikoris fell in love with the god, but what had surprised and amazed her was that her feelings were returned.
She had told no one about his initial appearance to her but the priests and priestesses that worshiped in his temple. They believed her, even though he never showed himself to any other and she never asked him to, and thought she was lucky and blessed to have been contacted by the god.
She also never told them about his continued visits to her or her feelings for him. That was not their business to know.
However, somehow his visit to her got out to the general public and it became widely known that she had been visited by a god, and her fellow citizens began to believe she was cursed. The people worshiped them but it was apparently a whole other thing to actually make contact with them.
Ikoris was on her way home in the late afternoon from her day worshipping her Lord at his temple when she noticed the quiet murmurs that she had grown used to over the past sennights becoming louder. She also noticed that the subtle glances she had been receiving were now glares and frowns.
She had a bad feeling, her powers were practically screaming at her that she was in danger, but what could she do? She couldn't stay in the temple indefinitely. She had to go home every day.
She also couldn't use her spiritual powers on them. Anubis had taught her well and she actually could use them, but if she did then that would make her situation worse. It was best if she simply ignored them and hurried home.
Ikoris did just that and closed the door behind her. She leaned against it with a sigh before she moved over to the soft raised bed that Anubis had provided her when he saw the mat she had been sleeping on.
She sat on it and took off her sandals and neatly sat them beneath her bed before she stretched out on her side. She sighed again and closed her eyes.
I wish the night could pass quickly so I can return to the temple that much sooner. She thought softly. But I also cannot help hoping my Lord will visit me this evening. Perhaps his presence will put me at ease.
She had just allowed herself to relax when her door was busted down. She jumped as her eyes snapped open. Next thing she knew she was being grabbed by rough hands and dragged from her home with people yelling and spitting at her. She was tossed into open space and severely beaten with hands and feet and occasionally pieces of wood.
"Why? What have I done?" She tried asking, but no one would answer her, just yelling that she was cursed and they didn't want her there dooming them.
She eventually understood through the pain that they were doing it because they learned that Anubis had visited her. She couldn't believe it! Of course she actually could considering the beating she was taking because of it.
Once they were done she was once again grabbed by rough hands and dragged away, past the temple she worshiped at, and out into the desert where she could just barely see the light from the city. They dropped her where they stopped and hurried away.
Ikoris moaned painfully. It hurt to breath and she instinctively knew she was dying. She was going to die alone out in the desert. No one would come looking for her, and no one would find her body.
I wish I could see my Lord again. She thought as tears slipped from her eyes, but then she reminded herself that she would see him. She would see him when he weighed her heart, but she wished she didn't have to die. She wanted to see him while she was still alive.
But I do not want him to see me this way. She thought sadly. She didn't have to see her reflection to know she looked terrible.
She closed her eyes and pictured her Lord, remembering the one time she had seen his true form. She remembered how large he was and how very soft his short dark fur was.
She imagined feeling his fur as she lost consciousness.
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(Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
-Hatshepsut was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the second historically confirmed female pharaoh, the first being Sobekneferu. Hatshepsut came to the throne of Egypt in 1478 BCE. Officially, she ruled jointly with Thutmose III, who had ascended to the throne the previous year as a child of about two years old. Hatshepsut was the chief wife of Thutmose II, Thutmose III's father.
-Ammit was a female goddess in ancient Egyptian religion with a body that was part lion, hippopotamus and crocodile—the three largest "man-eating" animals known to ancient Egyptians. A funerary deity, her titles included "Devourer of the Dead", "Eater of Hearts", and "Great of Death".
-Thoth was one of the deities of the Egyptian pantheon. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him. In the later history of ancient Egypt, Thoth became heavily associated with the arbitration of godly disputes, the arts of magic, the system of writing, the development of science, and the judgment of the dead.
-Asyut: Ancient Asyut was the capital of the Thirteenth Nome of Upper Egypt (Lycopolites Nome) around 3100 BC. It was located on the western bank of the Nile. The two most prominent gods of Ancient Egyptian Asyut were Anubis and Wepwawet, both funerary deities.