Celestial Voyage

The great Pyramids of Egypt. One of the most recognizable places on the world now called Earth. A symbol of the great pride for the Egyptian people and something that all not native to the land believe to be otherworldly. Massive mountain like structures that reaches the skies and are kissed by the glorious sun every passing day. What are they for? Why are they in Egypt? But more importantly... who made them? If you truly wish to hear of this story, get comfortable, mortal, for this will be quite the long one...

Millions and millions of years ago, long before recorded history and centuries before the birth of Man, there was space. And in this space existed beings with greater technology than anything you have today. There are no words in any of your... primitive human languages to describe the magnificence of these people but there was one that came somewhat close. It was uttered by your ancestors everyday. God. Quite the title. The Lord of Life and our creator was Ra. Much like how the Sun is the source of warmth and life for you mortals, Ra is the source of life for us. He is a being beyond description... however we are not. We had discovered a small little place in the cosmos and Lord Ra, with his infinite wisdom, decided to create life once again. This time instead of making marvelously durable and truly intelligent beings of indomitable will and power(I would say “not to brag” but i’m not one to lie. I am blatantly bragging here)Master Ra created beings of flesh and bone, of blood and spirit. They were simpletons but had a will much like ours. However passion without direction isn’t… wise. Not in my eyes at least but Ra is Master. I do not question him. These… Mortals were rather interesting but lacked much in true intelligence so many of my colleagues and I gifted them with information on how to truly tame the world around them. Anhur taught them war, Bastet gifted them Cats, Neith taught them tapestry and weaving, and I taught them how to write. Many other of my friends and family did other things to help them all get through their day to day lives and soon the mortals worshipped us for our aid in the creation of their home. They told stories that were honestly quite true. The myth of Set and Horus? True. The myth of Osiris’ sarcophagus cut into pieces and tossed across the world? True. Many tales of Mythology are true. I may have told a few mortals of our adventures and tales.

Lord Ra cared for everyone that existed in the land and it was truly a beautiful land to be apart of. All of the deities loved the world of man and Man loved us. The time that followed after this was a time of great peace and prosperity for humans. Several very long years of nothing but the best for people who needed it and I must admit there was an amazing swell of pride In my heart when I saw how well things were going for the mortals and how I had a hand in that. But nothing could compare to the amazing display of loyalty from the humans and the faith they had in us. They prayed to us every day, They blessed our names and made sure no one spoke ill of us, they made sacrifices to us even! Ha ha ha! I… I honestly don’t know how to handle this kind of information. It is truly and interesting thing to see how primitive uneducated beings react to things they do not understand. I took the time to study humankind for much of the time that my comrades and I spent here. I payed close attention to all of you and everything you did. I monitored the construction of buildings and culture, the creation of labor and with them the better creation of a society and the blessings they gave us. I saw mankind use these vast amount of people to attempt the construction of three massive constructs that they dubbed “Pyramids”. They needed people. They needed resources. They needed power… So we helped them.

It was truly a sight the next few days. I watched diligently as I was hooked on what the Mortals were up to. Their designs were impeccable and immaculately drawn and they wished for it to be made so precisely. Nothing could be a centimeter off. They made it in our honor and the dedication they gave to it was nothing short of spectacular. You mortals today could learn a thing or two from your ancestors. The pyramids served whatever purpose the mortals wanted it to. I did not ask and they did not say, preferring instead to keep it a secret. I respected that… For a day before I started probing the minds of people and found out their true purpose. What were they? Ha ha ha. I’m not telling. Can’t tell you everything about the ancient world. Makes the world less interesting if I tell you everything. But they were truly a beautiful sight in their prime. The Pyramids gave the people great honor and made my colleagues happy to be praised so… But then it all had to come crashing down.

The world grew older. Times changed and evolved. People changed and evolved. Even the Gods changed and evolved. Master Ra had grown older, his body weaker and his mind more erratic. He was aging and the world did so too. The mortals aged and began to lose memory of much of the graces we gave you and lose your care for us. You all began fighting amongst yourselves. You all started wars, violence, dissent, unfairness, deceit, famine and death. The land became tainted. The sands became coated in blood and bodies lay strewn across the land. The world went from a wonderful one to a terrifying one. It was… I was sickening. As the years passed I saw many a great person I knew fall lifeless on the dusty deserts and there were so many people that were not ready for the throne of the land you all called Egypt yet people took the troubles and became corrupted by them. Noble men and women changed and the commoners were forced to deal with it all. They had to suffer through the rulership of madmen or in some cases have them killed because they willed for impossible things. But then… Then it got even worse.

You mocked us.

You began to hate us. The very beings who gave you order and civilization, the very beings who clothed you and protected you and taught you to protect yourselves, the very beings who gifted you with knowledge and made you just a little closer to perfection incarnate. And you DARE mock us?! Your ancestors were fools messing with beings who had powers far beyond their own. Information outclassing them. We were greater in every sense of the word… and you turned on us. I remember the pain that coursed through my heart, the anger that swept over my very core, the malice that formed in my soul. I gathered my comrades and they too seemed quite annoyed with the Humans and their disdain towards us. Lord Ra had gathered us together together five main people to do the job of wiping your kind from the face of the planet. My beautiful feline sister Bastet, The illustrious weaver Neith, The powerful and proud Anhur, The guide of the Sun Khepri and myself. The great and wise mediator Thoth. Lord Ra looked at us from his celestial throne and frowned.

“Greetings my children. I’m sure you have questions as to why you are here.”

“We know there must be a good reason, Master Ra,” I said calmly. Ra’s eyes burned a bright and powerful red as he clutched arms of his throne, his claws digging into the metal.

“The humans. They have grown unruly and spit at our names,” He said simply. Neith’s eyes widened.

“Many of them even see fit to rebel and pick up arms against us. They think they can turn their backs to us and nothing will come of it? They have another thing coming. I have a request of all of you and it is very important.” Everyone tuned in closely and there was a violent silence that overcame the heavens.

“I need you five to kill the humans. Every last one of them.” All of us were shocked but Neith was shocked more so than the rest of us. From my observations she had become quite attached to the lives of the mortal race and saw them as something like children. It was with this love and affection that she spoke up.

“Wait Master Ra!” she cried.[I didn’t cry, Thoth! I spoke loudly.]Ignore that. Neith is being her usual emotional self.(Ow! Stop hitting me!)Back to the story! Master Ra looked at her with a curious gaze and awaited her response to his orders.

“I would never turn against you or my kind, but I do not believe that the race of man should be punished so heavily for such a thing.

“I say that the punishment is fair as can be! They should learn that resentment breeds consequences,” Anhur butted in.

“But genocide? It’s too much! We have had many a being turn against us for a day and we have not had them killed. We trusted for things to sort themselves out and they did. Remember Osiris and Set? Set killed Osiris and Isis brought her husband back, they had Horus and he brought things back to order. Things fixed themselves and Thoth’s book proves it! You need only read from his pages to see I speak the truth!” I looked at my book and remembered documenting that fight. It was strange. Set and Horus tried to prove their dominance by… mating by one another. In a way. They both tried to get their seed on the other and in the end Horus won and I helped clean him up. Truly an odd tale I recorded.

“How can we be so sure that they will fix themselves here as well? You forget that Osiris was no ordinary man. He was a child of one of our kind. As was Isis and Horus. They were not Man but rather something greater. So of course they sorted things out. They were more civilized,” Bastet purred. Neith wasn’t giving in so easily however.

“They are a primitive race brother. They are prone to forget things very easily.” Neith interjected, trying to bring some form of civility to her snarling brother Anhur.(You were snarling and you know it!)

“Thoth taught them writing and record keeping. He taught them a great many things and they take these things for granted and blame us for their inability to do the simplest of things!” Bastet yelled.

“But committing genocide on a species we have spent much time and energy on is not the way to go! It is going too far in response to too little.”

“You’ve seen just as much as I have all the terrible things they have done, sister!” Bastet glared at her taller sister with eyes red with anger.

“They abuse Anhur’s gift and fight for trivial things and slaughter innocent people, creating meaningless wars and harming hundreds of people. They abuse Thoth’s gift and use their intelligence to hurt and belittle others.” she continued.

“They have misjudged their place in the cosmos and abused their gifts from their masters. What they have done to us is inexcusable.” Anhur stepped in.

“They are young! Give them a second chance!” Neith pleaded specifically to Master Ra.

“They have been given far too many!” Anhur yelled.

“They haven’t been given enough chances! Master Ra please. I urge you to reconsider. You said yourself once that they are a primitive and cannot take care of themselves. We can’t punish them for that!”

“Children must be punished, Neith. Much like Master Ra does for us.” Anhur stabbed his spear into the ground and walked menacingly over to Neith who stood her ground and growled much like he would in times of war.

“You are not Master Ra and do not try to be him! We interrupted these mortal and made their lives incessantly complex by gifting them weapons and pets and knowledge and writing! We are at fault! We are the ones to blame!”

“So you are saying we shouldn’t have gifted them these things in the first place?” I asked.

“Exactly!” She answered.

“So you’re saying we should take it back?”

“Yes! Wait no! I mean-”

“In your eyes these gifts are not worthy to be held in the arms of Man. They take knowledge and abuse it. They take strength and misuse it. They take our names and soil them, make us synonymous with dirt! Mock us and laugh at us! Do you encourage this, sister?” Neith opened her mouth to speak but mulled over my words and instead hung her head in silence. There was no defending disrespect.

“Then it is settled. The world has become nothing short of a failed experiment… and is one that must be destroyed.” Anhur and Bastet agreed while Neith averted my gaze. I walked up to her.

“I trust your loyalty remains with your family… yes sister?” She looked up at me with silent sorrow and nodded. I knew Neith all too well to know that when she doesn't speak, it's never a good sign. But this time I didn't care. We had a job to do.

"This is something that must be done... no survivors. None. You hear me?" I commanded. They all said yes and left to the portal of the heavens. I looked towards master Ra and he nodded at me, a silent show of appreciation for making his job all the easier. I remained and watched as the skies above the mortal world began to darken and my comrades left the heavens to bring about an end to the world we helped create. I simply stayed a watched, opening my book and documenting down every precious detail of everything I saw happen...

*****

Star Lancer

He roared the great bellowing roar of a king, enough to shake the steps of the temple at his feet. Mortals trembled, collapsed beneath that mighty sound. Across the gathered crowd he let his gaze pass, wordlessly chastising each. They averted their eyes. That knew their crimes. They did not yet know the punishment.

I admit that Neith had a few points about the mortals but Thoth and Bastet made more sense. These creatures need to understand the might of their Gods. They praised us constantly and we gave them everything. But then they wish to spit on our names, they make us seem like the simpletons. They chastise us! Inconceivable! I let this rage take over my very core as I launched my spear through the sky, piercing through the air and when it landed it created a massive explosion that demolished the earth and house nearby. The mortals screamed in fear and ran away. My roar forced many of the brave fighters to their knees and I summoned another spear in my hand, tossing it at the temples the mortals made to worship us. They don't know fury until they've seen mine!

"Behold!" I shouted, raising my golden spear high. "Judgement is upon you!" With the speed of the wind itself, I unleashed a barrage of spears onto the mortal plane, strong bursts of power and alien energy that decimated everything surrounding it.

And the world began to end...

*****

Star Tamer

Even as fire rained about her, Bastet tore through the helpless mortals. Burning, smoking, cinders charred the sky. A horizon seared red by Ra’s angry eye.

Truly a sad story to tell. We give you everything you need to be ever stronger and ever closer to perfection and you’ve shunned us. Ha ha ha… How amusing. With the luminescent blue whip in my hand, I swipe at the sky and mortals scatter away from me, my pets chasing after all who believe they can escape. I care not. I am simply enacting revenge on those who have turned their backs on me and my family. No mercy will be shown. I have none left to give… But then again… Something felt wrong about this. The screams, the death, the cries for help, the blood on my hands… my hands… My heart began to race. This felt so wrong. All of the fury and frustration that overcame my heart moments ago was now replaced with uneasiness. I felt sick to my stomach. This was what Master Ra wanted correct? Surely there was a reason for this. There had to be a higher purpose… Right? I no longer know. I feel so very lost and in the midsts of this, an old woman comes up to me and gets on her knees…

Hands empty, palms upward, the crone knelt.

“Would you had known,” she seemed to whisper, “that we loved you as only children could.”

No other sound. The furious masses raced in slowed stillness. Molten rock scratched the heavens in silent screams. In that moment, Bastet heard nothing but the lament of her lost child.

“What have we done?”

*****

Star Strike

Too far, she realized. But too late. They had gone too far. Their world, a jewel of sand apart. Since this world’s birth, Neith had strung the loom of fate, plucking strings at a whim. Glorious and terrible, she demanded fear and loyalty to stretch a mortal’s string but a moment longer. Now, while the world burned and the ods slaughtered the Faithful like sacrificial beasts, she watched the threads fray of their own accord.

I feel sick. I have that feeling in the pit of my stomach that one would normally get when they do something they know is wrong yet do it nonetheless. The mind doing everything it can to sway you in favor of this dark turn of events you helped create while your body desperately tries to distance itself from the hellhole. My entire body feels as delicate as snow. I can feel every painful urge of sensitivity and I hear constant ringing in my ears but the more I listen… That is not ringing. It is screaming. People screaming. It is the cries of many a wary soul calling, begging, pleading for forgiveness. This feels so wrong. This is not right. Every second that goes by more and more people suffer and I am to blame. If only I could convince my family that this was wrong. If only I could sway their hearts and minds. If only… If only I had the guts to rebel. I have been alive longer than you might believe. I am older than civilization. I was there at the beginning of it all - Me and my family all were and we had Master Ra there to guide us through everything. He has never done a single wrong thing to or for us. I trust him with my life. But this… I feel doubt in his judgement for the first time in a millenia. I feel anger towards him. I feel utter hatred in my heart towards the being responsible for my creation. I have never felt this way before. Is this normal? Is it normal to question and even hate your master? Is that why you rebel against us? You find our rule trivial and unhelpful? Are we punishing you for doing what we do not have the nerve to? Oh Gods. This is not right. This has gone too far. I cannot bear this any longer! I can’t!

The world was dying. Unbidden, a tear slipped from her eye. It was too late now. There was only one merciful choice. Golden armor fell away from her, exposing her skin. Nerves raw. Now she could feel.She drew a hand across the entirety of the loom. Every living soul in the world. She cut them all. Without her armor, she felt everyone one.

*****

Star Eater

Memphoris, their lost world, still smoldering. Blackened beyond recognition from Ra’s scorching gaze. From the Gods’ endless slaughter. Neith had ended it all. A pocked and empty rock where once life had been.

What fools. Not the mortals, though they did commit a foolish act. No, I speak of my family. My comrade Anhur slaughters indiscriminately, his anger only satiated with the blood of the weak and screams of the frightened. Bastet’s heart pull at her to stop her murder yet she faithfully serves the twisted orders of Master Ra and prefers not to think. Only act. Neith is torn into two different people, the woman she wants to be - faithful and headstrong who follows the order of the being who gave her life - and the woman she truly is - one who cares deeply for every living creature that has, does and will exist and the connection to them all. She struggles to find a balance in her very core being and just when I thought she would change and show her true caring side… she gave in and aided in the end of this world. I am so very disappointed in my family. You may ask “What are you doing to protect the world then? You judge yet do nothing different.” To that I say… Indeed. I do nothing different. I would have rebelled if I had an ally but it is clear that they are all very devout followers of Master Ra. I feel sorrow in my heart for this. I had hoped my family would grow and change, become more than just servants. Become greater than simple followers… It seems I had thought wrong.

Khepri stared, eyes dry, at the desolation their rage had wrought.

“What are we now?” he cried to the eye. “That we have none to worship us? That there are none to love us? What kind of Gods are we?” Ra’s eye closed and all light went out. When it opened again, it glimmered with grief. “One last time,” Khepri agreed, shedding his golden armor. “I will bring night to this world.” Beneath his feet, he turned to the planet. And without his armor he felt every broken crag, every scorched cit, every mortal grave. Khepri rolled Memphoris into the Eye.

*****

Star Scribe

Gathered now were all the Gods, bereft of their golden impervious suits, exposed to the pain and suffering of all things. Together they witnessed the last moments of their glorious world tumbling into Ra’s melting gaze. As the Horizon split asunder, as the rock boiled to lava, Thoth extended a hand. He drew from their world the memory of every soul. Every moment of living joy, every cry of a newborn child, every gnashed tooth of bitter frustration, every laugh of lover’s mirth. His long fingers beckoned these thin streams of power like fireflies in the night. The danced across the blackness of space and into the empty open book on his lap.

And so the story begins to draw to a close. This rather long story is ending and you have learned something different today perhaps. There are beings greater than you out in the infinite cosmos. We have come to this world and aided in its greatest construction and eventual destruction. We exist centuries before you and have seen many a things in that time. The home you call Earth is little more than a distant descendant of Memphoris, the world we created. There are a great many similarities and a great many differences… But the greatest difference in my eyes would have to be you all. The one reading this. Many of your kind have forgotten of us. They have truly abandoned their faith in us in favor a being said to be even stronger than Master Ra. One who can walk on water, turn water into wine, raise the dead and can be reborn after death. He sounds awfully familiar however. I remember tales of someone doing those very things… Was it Horus? I cannot remember…… strange how my memory fades at this time. Tell me… Do any of you still worship us today? Do any of you believe in us any longer? Or have your eyes truly shifted elsewhere? Have we pushed you away forever? Have our actions made us untrustworthy? If so then… I am sorry. I apologize on behalf of my people and my Master. We knew not what we had done. We acted emotionally rather than with reason and as one who embodies reason, I have failed you all.

Page after page was filled with all the wonders of the world that was lost. The secrets of life and love and regret and hope, bound within his tome. “We will never forget,” Thoth swore. As the last of Memphoris burned away, Thoth slowly closed his book of secrets.