Finsternia wrote:Apophis
"Oh? The Pyramids still remain? As expected, they wanted to preserve the Sheut of their greatest rulers. Sadly, as you have said, there have been grave robbers who ransacked the ruins for... anthropological reasons." The God of Chaos chuckled ominously. "Magnificent, magnificent. That way their souls will never find rest." A person's state of body during burial and the burial site itself is extremely important for the Ancient Egyptians. Their possessions, servants and other necessities are transported with them into the Du'at, the metaphysical reflection of the world and the Egyptian Underworld. Burial sites also offer canvases and depictions of one's life during their mortal days and, if one is wealthy enough, a personal Book of the Dead to combat the many demons of the Du'at, Apophis himself, and to envision one's journey to everlasting peace. Finally, the mummification of one's body is to preserve the human body into the so called ideal form, as once the Du'at and the mortal world unites once more, the dead shall regain their essences of life and mystical power and reinhabit the perfect vessel that is their long dead bodies. Archeologists and noblemen have doomed many lives into nonexistence due to their cultural greed and want for discovery years before.
"With the Egyptian Pantheon being buried underneath the sands... It is surprising that some like Osiris still lives. The divine existence of the Gods lay upon the five parts of their souls and two, their images and their names, are lay manifested upon the world. Many have their names forgotten, their faces erased from books and murals... I believe you haven't seen the downfall of a God, have you Xavier?" Apophis looks deep into the eyes of the Throne of Battle, his golden eyes showing profound dark wisdom beyond the countless years that the Angel has even lived through. "Gods live for eternity and once their worship ends, Ra experienced it once, it is a slow degeneration, countless milennia of thirst and hunger, exhaustion of power that you might as well be a child with no hands nor feet. It is a state of malnutrition, a state of dehydration, a state where you can only beg to die but cannot, until your life is forfeit. I believe you know Osiris' wife. Isis, the Goddess of Magic, such a fair Goddess who wielded great power. Sadly, dear Xavier, Osiris' wife's true name isn't Isis... I remember her name well but not the world anymore. She is only remembered by what the Greeks called her and even then... That name is already dessicated and trampled upon. Ah, she no longer guards the Solar Boat of Ra... She can no longer do so in her great agony and slow death..." While his voice sounded mournful of the state of the Great Goddess, Apophis' face only showed great delight and sadistic pleasure from the thought. The Sun never dared shine its light upon the two, especially upon Apophis, as a small cloud always obscures its light. "Fair Aset, farewell great foe."
Zagreus
The Prince of the Underworld sheepishly smiled as he grabbed a cookie out of Persephone's bunch. "Aw shucks mom, that's only when I come home from visiting my cousins." Being personally tutored by Artemis and Ares, mostly if the other Olympians would find time for Zagreus, the young God would go on for countless days or even months without proper bath in the wilds and in the fields of battle within his counsins' divine domains and palaces. He could remember the time when Ares brought him into a battlefield within his personal dimension wherein the battle between Troy and Greece has been reinacted by the shades of the greatest warriors to ever grace Earth. The Prince returned home to the House of Hades, all covered in grime and blood with a smirk on his face. One could only imagine the shock in Persephone's face, the mix of dismay and pride in Hades' eyes, and the fainting of his sisters' on the royal carpets. It took several days to get rid of the stench of blood off the Prince but it was remedied when his uncle Poseidon invited him over his domain and the salty sea washed the scent away.
'The sharks were annoying though...' Zagreus thought as he munched through the cookies, one by one. As expected, Persephone's cookies were as fresh as ever, made from the best produce that her gardens within the Underworld could provide. It still felt warm to the touch and the boy could only sigh in delight, feeling at home inside the small clinic with his mother. He waved his hand at Persephone, as if trying to wave away his mother's worry. He grabbed another set of cookies. "No, no mom. I didn't get injured this time around. I guess I have to thank the old man that just escaped earlier. The busy atmosphere at home made security tighter and fewer rogues to handle. It also made the place livelier and that's saying something!" He laughed jovially to his own joke and he stuffed his face up with the cookies. "Ah mom, you making all these tasty cookies just makes my training harder. You always come home with cakes from Grandma Demeter... Not that I am complaining or anything but your son needs to keep his physique ya know!" He laughed once again. The young God stayed silent for awhile, enjoying a few moments of silence and solitude with his mother, before perking up. "...There's someone getting close mom. Living, if I'm right. They might have gotten injured from the skirmish outside."
Xavier
The Throne could not help but feel a creep down his spine, as he heard Apophis softly rejoicing over the ransacking of tombs. He kept an unblinking eye on him as he spoke, watching his subtly malevolent expressions. Sure, he was very knowledgeable about Egyptian burials and ceremonies, but with that knowledge came a cruel understanding of the fragility of the soul. In Egyptian mythology, a soul needed its earthly possessions in order to be comfortable in the afterlife. Nobody lended their goods to a poor soul, as far as he knew, and even worse, a poor soul had to find ways of its own to combat that demons that awaited it in the afterlife. "...So...once you get to the afterlife in your pantheon...you're just...on your own, I suppose?" he questioned.
His real concern came when he heard that gods could decay if nobody believes in them. Their images...and their names... He knew his own God existed of His own, and His name was indeed who He was. Yet He could not see how the lack of memory of a god or goddess could utterly destroy them. He frowned. He had indeed seen the downfall of gods, however, and he listened as Apophis explained how a god could die. The description was horrific, and sounded like agony. Even Isis, Osiris's wife, was currently suffering from this condition, according to the chaos god. Yet Xavier could not help but raise an eyebrow. "...So...what you're saying is...if people forgot your name and who you were...then you would be subjected to the same thing?" While he spoke, he took to remembering a name Apophis had spoken.
Aset.
Persephone
"Well that's fine, but you should be more careful! If you got hurt, I would have to bandage you all up, and you wouldn't be able to train for quite some time!" Persephone warned, frowning. Like any good mother, she did worry when her son went on his training trips and came back looking like he had gone to war. A smile came back to her face, however, as he mentioned her cookies. "I am glad that you like them! Next time I'll ask your grandmother to make another cake! Maybe for Saturnalia. In the meantime, Who did you say was hurt?"