The Egyptian Gods and The Ten Plagues of Egypt

Chapter 6: Nephthys

Day 8

The moment all angels had departed with their fallen one, Nephthys came to the battlefield with Anubis. Looking at all the corpses lying on the ground and floating on the river, she sighed. "This is tragic," she said as she squatted and rubbed the face of one of Anat's archers.

"It is indeed tragic, mother," Anubis agreed. "But it's not the time to mourn their death. Their bodies and blood are not visible to the humans' eyes. However, the flesh and blood are still polluting the river and its content. We have to clean everything before the activities resume."

"You are right, my son. I've been planning to do that. But I'm going to wait for Hapi and Anuket first."

Anubis nodded. "In that case, I shall give the fallen one a proper burial," he said; simultaneously his canine-headed-scepter materialized in his grip.

Anubis raised the scepter and chanted a spell. Soon linen emerged from the back of every corpse; swiftly the material wrapped the entire body. When every single one of them had been completely covered, Anubis chanted the spell that made the bodies on the ground fly towards the river and levitate on the surface. Before chanting the next spell, he turned to Nephthys. "To be buried beneath the soil of River Nile is an honor. Even though their souls have permanently lost their consciousness, their bodies would be visible from the Nile in Aaru."

"Rather than buried in honor, it will be better for them to not lose their life in vain."

"You cannot do anything to change Lord Geb and Lord Horus' decision," Anubis said. Shifting his focus back to the river and the mummies, he said, "I shall now continue the burial process."

Anubis chanted the next spell. Slowly all levitating bodies descended. Together with those floating on the river surface, they all drowned into the water. Nephthys could see the soil of the river then made holes for each body. Before long, every single one of them were properly buried.

Hapi and Anuket arrived not too long after the burial process had finished. Hapi was the god of annual flooding in the Nile, while Anuket was the goddess who controlled the ecosystem of the River Nile. The two of them and Nephthys immediately walked to the side of the river. After their staff materialized in their grip, they started chanting the spell to fix the polluted area. Before long, the river and everything inside it was fully restored, as if the war never took place in the first place.

*****

The sun had shown up on the horizon. Some of the human soldiers were updating those who would take the next guard shift, while some others were already on their way to either the palace or their houses. The shepherds were tending to their cattle, the farmers were preparing to manage the land, and the fishermen were setting their boat. Others like the artists, craftsmen, bakers, hunters, slave traders and more had also begun to fill up the empty street; they also were about to resume their daily activities. As far as Nephthys could see, everything still ran normally like the days before. If only the war lasted longer, or Nephthys and the others water deities were too late in restoring the river, then commotion would surely be imminent.

Nephthys was walking in the harbor when she saw seven Hebrews lifting big wooden carts on their shoulder; they had to carry them out of a boat. Like other gods, she considered these slaves were crucial for Egypt development, as their people outnumbered the other races. Nevertheless, after Yahweh's message, she did not want to retain these assets anymore. The war the night before convinced her even more that these people should just go as soon as possible. But her parents, Lord Geb and Lady Nut, would definitely disagree with her. Her only hope now laid on Horus, her nephew who was also the rightful king of the gods. She hoped that after joining the war and witnessing the catastrophe with his own eyes, he would come to his senses, and would decide to just surrender to Yahweh.

"What are you doing, sister?" Isis suddenly ruined Nephthys' trains of thought.

"I'm just looking at these slaves," Nephthys said. "If only from the beginning everyone had agreed to release them, the war yesterday didn't have to happen."

"What has happened can't be changed," Isis said. Pausing momentarily, she spoke again. "Speaking of which, we would like to discuss the war. Let's return to Aaru now."

Nephthys was immediately made aware that close to Isis was a chariot and one of Horus' soldiers as its rider. "What do you think we will discuss?" she said after looking back at Isis. "Do you think they will decide to surrender?"

Isis sighed. Without having to hear her next words, Nephthys could already guess the answer to her question.

"Father was furious when he heard that a mysterious angel managed to deliver defeat to our troops," Isis said. "While Horus hasn't said anything about the next move, I'm pretty sure he will do anything to make Horus not surrender, if he intends to surrender."

Nephthys sighed. "Even Lord Shu and Lady Tefnut would not be able to change their own son's opinion."

"Yes," Isis said. "Let's just return now. I've been looking for you for quite some time, so everyone must have been waiting for quite some time too."

Nephthys nodded. She and Isis then went to the chariot. The rider flogged the horse attached to the vehicle, and the animal began to trot through the crowd. At one point, the horse and the chariot started to sink, as if the ground was no longer solid. As they kept moving, they kept descending, until darkness was surrounding them. Before long, they came out of the darkness, levitating above the landscape full of mountains, meadows and other natural objects. They had just arrived at Duat.

It was still mid-day; hence some souls were still crossing the realm towards The Hall of Ma'at. While it still needed quite some time before Apophis resurrected, its demons still roamed the land, making the souls have to be careful at all times. Blessed those who could afford The Book of the Death, that it may help them repel these enlarged animals. For those who could not afford it, Nephthys could only wish that they could hide themselves, so that these demons would simply leave without devouring them.

"I imagine hundreds of souls will roam the realm if Yahweh is angry," Isis suddenly said.

"Maybe we could use that reason in the discussion later?"

"I'm not sure father will listen. Once again, he will also convince Horus to keep fighting."

"We still have to try."

Isis nodded, but her lips were sealed.

Moments later, they arrived at The Hall of Ma'at. The chariots descended at the back of the building, as Isis and Nephthys would enter into Aaru through the back entrance. Crossing the fields of reeds in Aaru, they headed straight for the palace.