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“Evening, Lord Ausir.” Djehuty didn’t turn around as Ausir came in, the rustling of the god’s robe on the ground the only noise to indicate his presence. Finishing his notes with a flourish, the hieroglyphs glistening on the papyrus, Djehuty faced his guest. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Ausir, ever stately and serene, smiled warmly. “I’ve been told that you won’t be coming to the party? It’s supposed to be quite the celebration, if my wife is to be believed. She wouldn’t let me see the preparations.” His laughter was soft and easy. Djehuty merely inclined his head, affirming the association, his long bill nearly touching his navel.
The godking shook his head, a hand gesturing as he spoke. “You should come. It would do me great honor to have you join us.” Keen eyes catching the final passing of Ra through the window, Djehuty turned back towards his table.
“I have much work to be done, my Lord. You know this as well as I.”
Ausir’s hand was warm and firm on Djehuty’s wrist. “All the more reason you come. It is an important night.” When Djehuty looks at him again, there is the slightest hint of sorrow behind those ever joyful eyes. “I would not want you to miss it.”
Gently but firmly, Djehuty pulls his arm away, eyes staying locked together with Ausir’s. “I know what the night will bring. Seeing it with my eyes will not make it any better a view.” There’s a hardness in his tone that can’t help slipping through, an edge sharpened with pain that knowledge so often brings. “Enjoy yourself, my Lord. I will be here.”
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“You promised to serve and protect him. Do you turn your back on us now, when he needs you most?” Aset, tears still on her cheek even as her teeth were gritted in anger, pleaded before him. In front of her, the severed torso of her beloved husband and pharaoh of the gods, sat nestled in the sand.
Djehuty found it hard to look at her, with a piece of Ausir’s body in his sight. His voice shook. “I cannot help you. If this is the will of Cycle, then I will not change it.” It had been tough to keep his duties since the morning after that fateful evening he last spoke with Ausir. Set’s actions had shaken the Ennead to its core, none of the gods knowing what would come next.
Including Djehuty, who had not been able to keep his duties in the following days. What he did not see with his eyes, he knew in his mind, such was his nature. But he’d been unable to help himself from neglecting his daily writings which normally clarified the presenting knowledge. His sight was blurry.
“This is NOT the Cycle!” Aset screamed, standing from her kneeling position. “This is that beast’s doing, trying to change how the wheel turns. He will bring us all to ruin if we do nothing!” Her eyes crackled with soul fire, a wind whipping around her as the Duat reacted to the rage of the goddess.
Djehuty stood still, unafraid. She was powerful- but even her domain did not reach his. After a few moments, the calm came again with her tears. “If you will do nothing, show me what I must do. Let me take action.” It was nearly a whisper though it echoed within Djehuty’s ears. What she asked for was not right. But…perhaps.
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She came to him again, leading behind her the falcon-headed child who’s Ba shown like Ra that he had known she would bring. Ausir was not with them, but Djehuty had now had time to grieve. It did not hurt so much.
“I introduce my son, Heru,” Aset spoke proudly, head high and hand on the boy’s shoulder. The child’s falcon eyes were sharp, focused entirely on Djehuty as they approached.
“You remind me of your father.” The words came unbidden to his tongue, staring into those eyes. Ra glowed behind them, showing a glimpse of what would come- the god he’d be one day, with Djehuty standing behind him. How would be unclear. But the why? The why was always the same.
As the three turned to walk together, Aset spoke eagerly of Heru’s bright future as she hoped it would be. “When he’s ready, he’ll claim the throne and all will be right again. Set can return to the far deserts and rot for all I care,” she said imperiously, fists clenched. “I will ensure it.”
Djehuty did not meet her eye as she glanced at him. He couldn’t see that, not yet. One day though. “I am honored to serve,” he bowed to the boy, who looked as though this were exactly how things should be.
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Sweat dripping down his brow, Djehuty spoke slowly and clearly, voice joined with his peers in a chorus. “We seal you, Evil Day. From the first to the last, the dawn to the dusk, as Ra passes above and below. So long as we will it, bound you shall be.”
The jar seemed to shiver one last time, then sat still as the hieroglyph ring faded away. Aset dropped to her knees on the other side of the circle, shaking and sweating, her sister taking her hand.
Djehuty’s eyes sought Heru to his right; the young god was heaving, his eyes boring into the jar as though he could still see Set standing there. Gathered storm clouds were slowly dispersing, what was a torrential downpour becoming a gentle shower. As the last of Set’s power was dispersed, there was an odd feeling in the air of the Duat; a lack of spice that so often came with the presence of the warrior god.
The space was solemn. Under Ra, they had decided to do this together, to seal away one of their own. Deprive him of his divine power, remove him from the world, from his followers. In order to truly give the right to rule over to young Heru. Not all of the gods had agreed, but enough of the powerhouses were present to make it happen.
Djehuty had seen the outcome of the day; that didn’t make the doing easier. He held no hate for Set- truly, he held no hate for anyone. But the punishment did seem to fit the crime, and the Cycle continued. It also felt like an equally deep loss within the Duat. To handle Set’s duties, many would have to step forward.
This was not a victory, but a grim action born of necessity. Funnily enough, Set would have probably understood that more than most. Turning, Djehuty offered a firm hand to Heru, helping him stand tall. A heavy burden was passing to him now, and he would need guidance and support.
“We are here with you, my lord.”
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Two thousand years since red eyes had appeared in his dreams. Two thousand years since sealing the jar. Two thousand years of countless days wondering when Set would return, and now Djehuty had his answer. The dream was intense and heated, the most exciting thing he’d felt in who knows how long. A rare smile graced his sweat beaded lips in the bedroom of the loft suite he generally lived in on the mortal plane. It was schooled quickly back into the cool, collected features behind square glasses he usually sported. The fleshy humanoid face was so much more expressive than that of an ibis, but he managed.
Of course, he would inform Heru of the need to regain possession of the jar immediately. It wouldn’t prevent the jar from opening, but his lord didn’t need to know that. Not knowing for sure what the Cycle had in mind was riveting- humans could be interesting, but they were also strangely predictable.
But now, Set would be back and so too would come chaos. The thought nearly gave Djehuty goosebumps. Something he’d never been able to get through to Heru was that the Cycle did not mean things always went smoothly, fairly, or perfectly. Set’s purpose had always been in the shaking of the Cycle, whether he himself or the other gods realized it or not. A heavy burden, as Djehuty well understood.
As he exited the loft and made his way to Heru’s office, the smile came back. He knew some, but not all, and the excitement of the tilt to come before returning to balance was the best ride to be on.