Chương 1: A budding priest

A man walked up and down the main road of our village with a bell in his hand.

"Hear ye, hear ye! The Pharaoh, the god in human form, decreed that everyone has to be tested for arcane hearts."

We all flocked to the town hall. Normally, under the watchful eyes of the pharaoh, nothing much happens.

We got in line so we could go into the dark room. Most of the people left the dark room disappointed. They didn't have an arcane heart. That means they will have no chance of attaining eternity under God's watchful eyes.

God Anubis watches over our souls when we die, and on his scale, our hearts are weighted. If it's heavier than a feather, we will be turned back to living a life once again, forgetting what happened prior. So, there is no need to feel disappointed. Immortality and mortality are all representations of the blessings of the gods. They have to be respected equally. Death has no end.

The arrival of the palace's messenger is the most interesting thing to happen this month. Last month, Usurha and Oba fought over a girl named Menhit, and Oba put a nasty-looking scar on Usurha's face. They are both good fighters, so it was fairly exciting. Usurha went to the dark room and walked out triumphantly. I presume his luck was good. Then, after him, five people later, it was Oba's turn. He was not so lucky. He was a mortal with no chance of eternity. Usurha smirked at him, and Oba walked past him.

Man, I live for this drama.

Before long, it was my turn. The priest overseeing the ceremony was an old man with a kind face. He gestured for me to sit on the sand. I obliged. After I sat cross-legged on the sand, layer after layer of cloth that made up the small tent was closed. I was sitting in the pitch-darkness with the priest. I felt his hand touch my forehead, and energy flowed into me.

"Do not lie to me, boy. Do you feel it? Do you feel the divine power permeate through you?"

There was warmth, but it was not warmth. It felt both refreshing and tiring.

"I feel it, priest. I feel the divine power."

The priest must not believe me. He instructed me further.

"Try and guide the energy into the sands. Imagine it flowing down like water. "

My heart stirred in its cage. I remembered all the times I bathed in the Nylle River. The blessings of Hapi and Ma'at had cleansed all the dirt off my body and provided me with refreshment of body and soul. The foreign energies trickled down and firmly nestled themselves into the sands below.

A faint glow illuminated the tent to reveal the smiling face of the priest.

"Congratulations, boy. God chose you to be able to receive their blessings.".

I was given an insignia. I've been told this insignia allows me to attend the two-year priest training program. The one year in which the palace would give me resources to speed up my process of attaining eternity. The priest was excited. 18 was the perfect age for me to start the ascension toward becoming an eternal being. He told me that my body would be malleable at this age. I would also be able to sit and reason enough to learn the esoteric tomes of gods. The tomes provided extensive guidelines on how to utilize divine energy. Each tome belongs to a particular god.

By practicing the contents of a tome, one would find themselves under the covenant of its respective deity.

Most would fail along the way. People would die when practicing, get killed by rivals, or fail to meet the deadline for reaching the next stage in their path to eternity, thus dying of old age.

Pharaoh keeps priest numbers in check by not giving people opportunities to become priests frivolously. Thanks to him, the priests don't kill each other for meager resources. The large number of priests recruited meant only one thing. The pharaoh was preparing for war. Knowing that was the case, I asked the priest a question. "Are barbarians from the south attacking again? Or is it something different? Why is Pharaoh recruiting everyone he can get his hands on?"

The priest sighed. It was clear that the jig was up. The priests intended to keep aspirant priests in the dark about the impending danger to their lives.

"Our nation will likely be in a different world once again. If that doesn't happen, one or two adjacent hexagonal lands will disappear to welcome the new hexagonal lands in their place. We need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. You are a smart boy. Do you still want to be a priest of the gods?"

The duty called. I could refuse its call and live my life normally. I could die in obscurity. Or I could take risks with my life. I could do something and be someone.

"Yes, sir, I would like to become a priest."

The priest looked at me with an admiring face. It was how a man was supposed to live his life. I didn't cower and chose to take God's call seriously and risked my life. The priest had a lot of respect for that.

***

A week later, I took my insignia and my belongings from my home and left for the temple near the Great Pyramid. My parents were a bit against me doing this. My mother was very upset when she found out I might go to war with someone.

I went against her wishes. It's my life, and I'm the one living it. I'm not my father. I'm not my mother. I am me.

My father called me a dumb kid to my face. According to him, I was naive and weak. He insinuated that I didn't understand anything. No, I understand everything perfectly. I understand that if I don't take risks, I'm doomed to live a life of mediocrity. Just like my parents did.

I left home.

Between our village and the Great Pyramid is an arduous road. It's not necessarily safe. I have some money saved up, and I intend to join a caravan with it.

My parents come to see me off. He looked at the caravan I paid to help me cross the desert. He asked them to show him their credentials. They obliged, and it checked out. They were a trustworthy caravan company.

My father turned to me and said,

"Hey dumbass, you are traveling by yourself. What would you do if people you were traveling with decided to gut you for your coin pouch? Did you check their credentials?"

My father's disrespectful toward me. I loathe it when he gets like this.

"Yes, I did. Do you see the caravan over there? They have a bad reputation. That would happen if I went with them. And I'm inexperienced. I know that, but I'm not stupid."

My father got even more enraged. He mumbled something under his breath. I couldn't determine what he said, but I know it's nothing great.

He still kissed me on the forehead. Even though he's a bit crass, he loves me. I kissed his hand as a show of respect.

All in all, we separated on a good note. I know they don't resent me, and I don't resent them.

***

The master of the caravan I left in is a man named Nasim. He is a fat man. He clearly ate well on his mass amounts of wealth. When I said I was traveling to the capital to become a priest, he took a liking to me. We talked often during our long travel. He told me that profit was as exciting as a woman or a fight.

Nasim didn't need to work anymore. He worked because he wanted it.

"When you buy cheap and sell high, Sonny, you have attained the lifeblood of this worldly system."

He poured a pouch of gold on his palm and started laughing. A young lady, dressed in a in a rather skimpy outfit, poured delicious wine into his ornate cup. He responded by holding her on her chin and kissing her cheek.

He looked at me curiously.

"Would you like to become my underling, boy? You are smart and strong. I need men like you working for me."

Nasim faintly smiled. The woman, the cup, the coin, and even the fat. They were all weapons. Those were the weapons needed to conquer the hearts of men. I must stand firm in my convictions. I yearn for eternity. Wealth comes and goes. It's worthless when put against a long life under the loving watch of the gods. What's the point of amassing all that wealth when white bones on the shifting sands will be all that remains of me eventually? Sure, I might become a great man if I took him up on his offer. Such a possibility is nothing in comparison to the opportunity to become a demigod under the pharaoh. His offer is laughable.

All of a sudden, a squabble broke out outside the tent.