Edge of the World by Meta Wizard | World Anvil Manuscripts | World Anvil

Chapter 4 (Rough Draft)

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∈Temple of Omet, Chiros, Emuniah Empire∋

 

High Priest Sa'eed Sa'chet sat quietly in his lavish quarters within the temple to Omet, the hidden aspect of the Dual God Omec. His room contained a mosaic depicting a retelling of the Birth of the great city of Chiros, the seat of power within the Empire of the Emuniah Great Houses. The wonderous beauty of the mosaic always struck Sa'eed, intricate detailed markings that reached from floor to ceiling. Looking closely you could read the tale if you were fluent in the ancient Heirglyphic text of the First Children. Though peering at the whole of the text that covered the wall you could see the artistic depiction of the Dual Gods Omec and Omet standing high on the top of Mount Chiros overlooking the fledgling tree that the city would one day be built around.

The same tree still stood in the outer courtyard of the Seat of the Phaorh. It was a magestic sight to behold its thick trunk more wide than some houses. The giant canopy that it formed spreading and reaching wide like the long arms of the Pharohs Empire reaching across Amunarr. He often spent time in contemplation under the shade of the might tree. If the legends were true the tree had stood more than four milennia planted before the ascension of the Gods, when they still raised and cared for the first children that Amun-Ra created to rule and inhabit the lands pulled from the Chaos of the Nuun.

Sa'eed often contemplated the nature of his chosed God of service. Omet, the hidden God, was the lost aspect of the Dual god, the part that remained hidden and worked in concert as well as independantly of her brother aspect Omec the wandrer. He himself was much like Omet, he had a hidden purpose, a side to him that was in line with the Ometic doctrines but one that was also his alone something independant of the other High Priests of Omet. Ometic teachings encouraged secrecy, independance, and the subtle arts of subtrifuge as was the way of Omet. 

Sa'eed knet down and began to utter the prayer of thanks to Omet thanking the God for blessing his endeavors and inquires into the teachings of the Alchari Mystics.

Ometic teachings, like the teachings of most other Deities within the Amuni faith, were supportive of the arts of the Channels. In fact the traditions of Amun-Ra aspoused the imbuement of humans with the power of the Gods Flower as a gift from the creator of all. The teachings spoke of a time when the other Gods sought to obscure the noble art of the channels from humankind prefering to keep the powers laiden in the non-living. Amun-Ra went to war with the Gods over this and victorious gave the secrets to the Amuni people entrusting their sacred use and protection to the High Priests of Amun-Ra. To this day in fact the secrets of the Gods Flower were still maintained and protected by the High Priests of Amun-Ra who enducted, trained, and maintained strict control over the art of the channels within the Emuniah Empire.

The Alchari Mystics on the other had preached another side to the story that fascinated and captivated Sa'eed. The Alchari agreed that the Creator, Amun-Ra God of the Sun, had given mankind the secrets of the Gods Flower. They deviated on a single point of contention. They taught that Amun-Ra had not entrusted this sacred knowledge to the High Priests but to all of the Gods creation. They believed that every man and woman alike whether direct descendants of the First Amuni Children, or the tainted ones, the children that intermixed with the other races created by the first gods.

It was a bold and scadalous belief that was pused underground in the Amuni society that was tightly controlled by the High Priests and Pharohs that all pledged their lives to the God Amun-Ra.

Sa'eed knew all too well the dangers of the Amun-Ra Priesthood. Their callous treatment of the lower ranks of society. The brutal way that the Channelers of Ra assasinated the dissenters within the Empire. It was the death of his sister that had shown him first hand the brutal nature of the Channelers of Ra. 

Surely the divine Creator, the Father that conjured the world from the Nuun by his will to existance, the blessed Sun that bathed the fields and sustained the boutious empire of his descendants. Surely such a being did not desire the brutal suppression of his children. To Sa'eed it seemed that the modernity of the Amun-Ra Priesthood had twisted and deformed itself from the ways of the Divine Creator. Instead of seeking peace and building a world for the creation of their God they instead forsook that divine duty and sought for power over his creation instead.

Sa'eed finished the prayer and raised his bowed form from the ground so he rested on his knees in from of the awe inspiring mosaic. He uttered a prayer of thanks to Nut, godess of the earth, before leaning and kissing the stone floor. Quietly standing he walked over to the door of his personal chamber and peered into the hallway beyond. 

A small stone carved into the face of a Great lion with a full mane of hair was fixed into the intircate carving of his door. It was one of the many service Shades that controlled the Channels of power that ran throught the temple. 

"Sacred Watcher," Sa'eed said "I wish to not be disturbed for a time." The Lion head came to life its mouth moving as it spoke.

"Thy will be done holy one." The Shade said. At its words Channles of power in the door moved, the soft golden motes of light traveled to the doors handel and a click sounded as the lock fit into place.

Now certain he would not be interupted he walked over to the chest that sat at the foot of his bed. Another Lion Head was afixed where the lock would be.

"Sacred Keeper," Sa'eed said "Open the way that the secrets of Omet may be seen." 

"Your words are accepted Holy one." The Lion Shade said, the chest clicked and the lid rose a few inches resting there. Sa'eed slipped his fingers in the crack and lifted the lid.

In the corner of the chest sat a ragged pair of cloths that a street urchin might wear living on the streets, a necklace with a single stone carved into the Heiroglyph for father, and a small iron dagger, memories of his youth and of the time before he joined the Ometic Priesthood. He touched the stone before turning to the books that consumed the majority of the space within the chest. He fingered the books reading the titles on their spines before it landed on 'Alchari Don Mythica'. He grabbed the book pulling it from the neatly ordered rows within the chest.

He flipped through its pages until he found the one he sought. The Alchari text was written in the common hand used by the lesser ranks of society for day to day functions, it was nothing as fine as the sacred Heiroglyphs that was used by the priesthood. Sa'eed found a certain efficiency to the script, one could be so much more precise in the meaning and usage of the common text, it didn't have the multi-leveled interpretations of the Sacred Heiroglyphs of the Amuni Priesthood texts.

It was beneath one of his stations to be seen using the text but the secrets the book held were worth the risk to his reputation and station in his mind. He read through the page to refresh the words of the spell in his mind. He reached into the chest grabbing the dagger.

Dropping to one knee he hiked up the robe of his Priesthood, then he raised the hem of his undergarment revealing his upper thigh. He made a small incision into the skin of his thigh and blood began to drip from the wound. Cupping his hand he squeezed the wound gathering a small pool of the blood in his hand. Then he pulled his undergarment over the wound and let his robes fall.

Cupping the small amount of blood he smeared it on the wall speaking the words of the spell as he did so. At the last word the blood began to move sinking into the stone wall. The Image of Omet and Omec as one began to move coming alive before him. Sa'eed dropped to the floor showing his god the deference he knew the divininty deserved.

"Oh holy one, I have followed your instruction. Praise be unto you." Sa'eed said in the mantric tone of prayer.

His God had long ago, long before his induction into the priesthood, come to Sa'eed. Whispering secrets to him and guiding his hand. Sa'eed was convinced that the God was the reason he had survived what happened to his family all those years ago for that was the day he had first heard his whispers.

"You have done well my child." Said the Divine Mosaic on the wall. Its mouth moved but no sound came forth. Instead the words arose within Sa'eed's mind filling him with awe and a feeling of deep power and knowning. The face of the God shifted, turning from showing both aspects to only showing the aspect of Omet, god of mysteries.

"With this your soul is bound to me, blessed servant of the Gods. Your training is progressing well I see." Said Omet, now with a feminine voice to her words. Sa'eed bowed lower overwhelmed by the pleasure he felt as servicing his God.

"Yes Holy one, your teachings and guidance bless me daily." He bowed again before the image touching his head to the floor.

"I have a new task for you my most blessed servant." She said.

"Yes, anything you ask Holy one, it is my honor to serve you." Sa'eed said still overcome with the sheer awe he felt. A few tears trailed from his eyes as her presence filled him.

"You require more knowledge if you are to free the secrets of the Channels of power. To unearth these secrets for the world you must seek out the Channeler named Eros, his powers come from the heretical line of the Norns. He holds the knowledge you seek, by study and disection of him you will move closer to fulfilling Amun-Ra's sacred blessing." She said.

"It will be done, most mysterious one, it will be done." Sa'eed said, his head still rested on the floor in prostration to the divine figure above him. His tears of joy dripping onto the floor.

"Summon my form again when you have the knowldge hidden within him. I will be watching over and guiding you as always my most favored servant." She said and the face of the God shifted again returning to the dual aspects of Omet and Omet. As they did, their form solidified returning to the Mosaic from before.

Sa'eed lay there knelt in prayer for some time. He repeated the words they had spoken to him again and again. Eros, heretical Norn, holds the secrets of the Channels that would free all mankind. It took some time for the euphoric awe and divine sense of purpose that filled him to fade enough so that he could stand again. He felt slow and languid, as if he had run all the day and had finally found a moment of respite. He mopped the sweat from his head with a rag and cleaned off the bloodied dagger tip before burning the rag and returning the book and dagger to te chest at the foot of his bed.

 

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

 

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