Desert Umbra

State of Possession

I realized quickly that I was not going to get through this book very fast. So, I decided that I would need to read only the relevant parts of the chapters. I skimmed the index and got to work happily finding the information I was looking for. Set was certainly a rebellious Egyptian God. His original reign was over the desert, storms, disorder, and warfare. I wondered if this was why I enjoyed rain and storms, glancing at the tattoo on my wrist. Later in the New Kingdom Set was considered a maker of discord and strife, identical to my namesake, Eris. Some of the pharaohs even used him in their names, such as Seti I, Seti II, and Setnakht. They thought of him as the protector of Ra, God of the Sun, the creator himself. Ra had gifted Set a dagger, which was in two pieces. One part is a ruby representing everlasting health. The other was obvious to protect Ra. He used this in his many endeavors such as one of the times he killed Apopis the enemy of Ra. Later when the Europeans invaded Egypt Set was an outcast from the pantheon, thus making Set the new and more powerful enemy of Ra. This changed everyone's view of him, merging him with Apopis. Thus the ruby and dagger took on a different meaning, darkness, which is how he ended up recruiting Ahmanet.

I sighed, knowing this information was not as comforting as I would have thought it to be. But I was glad to have the knowledge, I closed the book and put it back inside my bag. I closed my eyes thinking about the goddess, Eris. She was the child of Zeus and Hera. She mostly just loved mischief, I remembered a story that used to be told to me at the orphanage, she wasn't invited to a wedding, but she showed up anyway. When at the after party she threw a golden apple with the words 'for the most beautiful' into the crowd, Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera all thought it was for them. This caused some issues between the three as Eris had hoped. Paris, the prince of Troy, offered to help them end the argument by being the decision-breaker. Each goddess tried to bribe him, Hera with power, Athena with wisdom, and Aphrodite with the most beautiful woman in the mortal world. Obviously, Aphrodite won. However, the woman she promised him was already married. Her husband wanting revenge for Paris stealing his wife, started a war to get her back. This became known as the Trojan War, which lasted 10 years.

Now for the last to ponder, Ahmanet. Power-hungry, much like Athena, on a quest to get exactly what she wants. She had even killed her family to reach immortality and greatness. But with a few wrong steps with those smarter than her, Set in particular, she let her desires cloud her judgment. She then became all-powerful, but before that transformation could be complete she was captured and mummified alive. Now she needed me to complete that task for Set to live in a mortal body.

"Oh hey, Winston." Rick's voice snapped me out of my thoughts about Ahmanet. I looked over my shoulder, seeing him walking towards us with Winston trailing behind him.

"You know O'Connell, ever since the end of the Great War there hasn't been a single challenge worthy of a man like me." I heard him babble, he normally gave this speech when he was inebriated.

"Yeah? Well, we all got our little problems today don't we Winston?" Rick pulled out the chair next to me as he replied, flicking Jon's ear to get his attention. The only way to shut Winston up was to get him through his memories as quickly as possible. Rick and I were all too familiar with this. He was one of the first people Rick introduced me to when we had first arrived in Egypt. Jon poured Rick a shot as I finished off my drink setting it down on the bar, gesturing for the barkeep to get me another.

"I just wish I could've chucked it in with the others and gone down in flame and glory instead of sitting around here rotting of boredom and booze." Winston finished up his story, patting the boys on the back. He really needed a hobby other than sitting around and drinking. I could visibly see Rick's annoyance set in. He looked as if he was ready to call it a day but knew there was more to be done.

"Oh well, back to the airfield." Winston let out a laugh spinning around and leaving us alone.

"Tell me, has your sister always been?" Rick started to ask Jon, shot in hand ready to throw it back. I received my drink, thanking the man and giving him a bill to pay.