Lady Hatshepsut

With each step I took deeper into the tomb, the darkness felt ever so slightly deeper. This darkness was not mundane, and I had a feeling that neither the echo of my steps nor the smell of the dank cave was present anymore because of it.

It wasn’t long before I felt my boots step into water; what was a mere puddle ten steps prior has now reached above my ankles. These were the waters of the Duat, the underworld built by the first God of Death and the Afterlife – Apep, the Darkness Dragon – for his deceased believers. The duties of maintaining it were taken over by Lord Anobus during the Celestial War, then inherited by Lady Amn with his passing. More specifically, this place is a branch of the Duat with special properties to hold the souls of Pharaohs from ages past, in preparation for a times like these.

‘Now, if only I can find that boat…’

The water would only grow deeper and deeper as I walked further into it, and the moment the very last hair atop my head was submerged beneath it, my soul would be lost forever. No magic was going to allow you to fly over the water or swim and float through it; the only path forward was through the Mesktet, a barely visible, faintly glowing enchanted barque said to float where the water was knee-deep, patiently waiting to carry those who brave the trials of the underworld to the river’s end.

“Oww!”

No sooner than I wished to find the Mesktet, my forehead crashed into its hull. Rubbing my forehead and wiping what was absolutely splashed water from the river off my eyes, I put my hands on the barque and lifted myself once I found a foothold.

The barque shook lightly as I got on it, and within moments I managed to feel around for the paddle.

***

Unlike the Line River, the waters of the Duat were gentle and slow moving. It didn’t take much effort to move upstream. I don’t know how long I’ve been paddling away from the shore, but it had to have been a few hours.

“When will I reach the river’s end…?” I sighed.

“That depends on if you can anthher my quethhhton.”

I flinched in response to the voice with a serpentine-like lisp, which shook me out of my reverie.

I couldn’t see the speaker, but I had a sneaking suspicion that I knew who they were. It was never confirmed what exactly this speaker was nor what it’s relationship to the Dragon of Darkness was, but passing through this Guardian’s trial was a necessity all the same – like any of the others.

“What ithh thhe color of life?” the Guardian asked.

The insidious beast’s his was mere inches from one of my ears, but its shallow breaths struck the other silently. I took a deep breath and answered with confidence in the thousands of years of tradition handed down straight from one of my predecessors to the next.

“Chaos, my sister.” I answered.

A moment of silence later, the guardian answered.

“Thhhhhh. Welcome. Home.” It said before it faded.

A short distance ahead of me, the sound of steel gates opening somehow echoed through the darkness, and the water gently rushed to push the Mesktet ahead.

‘One gate down, twenty more to go.’

I always knew this journey was hazardous and not to be trodden down lightly, but this just reaffirms why hardly anyone among the living other than the divine undertaker made this trip.

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

***

“Lighter than a feather, heavier than the mountain.”

“…You may pass.” The gruff voice said before fading away.

Twenty-one trials and twenty-one correct answers later, I finally made it past the final gate and its guardian. With each gate passed, the waters of the Duat grew ever so slightly faster, going from a gentle, slothful stream in the beginning, to a roaring, bucking tempest that rivaled even the most furious oceans.

Fortunately for me, the distant light of flames flickered in the distance, signifying the location of the final trial. Unfortunately for me, this was the part of the trial I had no control over. It also just so happened to be the most dangerous.

As I passed the final gate, the river’s flow slowed to a crawl, and I continued to paddle until the barque came to a sudden stop. No matter what I did, it would move no more, signifying the end of its duties.

I jumped off the Mesktet, where my legs sank exactly knee-deep into the water, and I slowly waded my way out of the Duat’s river to where the fire flickered. With each step forward, the darkness retreated, and before long, a room within the cave stood before my feet.

Hugging the walls were precisely forty-two limestone statues, each depicting one of the Assessors of Mett. Unlike beastmen, who looked mostly human but with the addition of beast features like rabbit ears or falcon wings, the Assessors of Mett – like most other guardians – were true fusions of man, beast, and monster. Even though not one of the statues moved, much like the Guardian of the Gate, I felt their heavy gazes upon me.

In the middle of the room was a ramp with a flat platform at its end. Directly ahead of that ramp, one arm of a massive scale was close enough that you needn’t even jump to get on it. This was literally the scale that was going to decide my fate.

Beyond the ramp and the scale was the seat belonging to the Judge of this court. That judge is Lord Osiris, who took on the appearance of a middle-aged man with green skin and white robes. He has reached the same heights of power and divinity that the Seven enjoy today, but due to his role as the Judge of the Dead and the Arbiter of Rebirth, he willingly shrouded his own presence from the world in secrecy; all in the interest of eliminating all undue influence on his judgements. His physical presence before me can only mean that my station as Pharaoh warrants permitting me to witness his existence.

Sitting near his feet was Ammit, the widely feared Devourer of the Dead. She had the head of a crocodile, the forelegs of a lion, and the hindlegs of a hippopotamus. The Lesser Goddess of Soul Devouring has earned her notoriety for good reason, and unlike Lord Osiris, had no reason to hide.

Few things can bring true death to any soul, like breaking a particularly restrictive soul oath, but the Devourer of the Dead was the most reliable way of putting a permanent end on any soul.

Pharaoh or peasant, living or dead, god or mortal; all who stood before this court would be judged, and those found wanting embraced their end one last time to her jaws.

“Pharaoh Hatshepsut.” Lord Osiris said.

“Take your place in court; by today’s end, I shall determine what the weight of the sins in your heart deserves.”

I nodded wordlessly and walked to the side, where the ramp began. I walked up the incline, and when I reached the top and faced the scale, I turned left to look to Lord Osiris. Satisfied, Lord Osiris spoke.

“I hereby declare the beginning of this trial.” He said.

“Pharaoh Hatshepsut. I presume you know what comes next?”

I nodded, then turned to face the leftmost Assessor of Mett, the one who was on my left-hand side as I entered the room for the first time.

“Lord Far-Strider, I testify that I have not spoken a falsehood to my peers.”

The first Assessor of Mett’s body glowed, and his eyes never left my own.

“Pharaoh Hatshepsut, you have not committed the sin of lies. You are innocent.” He said, quickly losing interest in me and turning back to the wall. His body was quickly petrified, before his body collapsed into sand where it stood.

I gulped.

“Lady Fire-Embracer, I testify that I have not committed robbery against my peers.”

***

“Pharaoh Hatshepsut, you have not committed the sin of blasphemy. You are innocent.” The Serpent Who Brings and Gives said, before collapsing into sand.

With that, the final Assessor was gone, and the first phase of the trial was complete.

“Forty-two assessors, you have faced, and forty-two assessments, you have passed. O Pharaoh, it is now time to weigh your heart against the feather of Mett.” He said.

A seat with armrests, much like a stone throne, emerged next to me.

“Take your seat, O Pharaoh.” Lord Osiris asked.

I nodded and did as he asked.

Despite the scale’s presence being physical, its function was entirely magical in nature. It is through this seat that my consciousness would be ejected from my body; there was no other way to weigh my heart and the sins it held otherwise.

As I took my seat on the stone throne and laid my arms on its armrest, stone buckles emerged from the seat to physically bind me to it. A whirlpool of mana began gathering directly behind my back, then I felt a push, and my vision faded.