Conquer The Underworld

The Doors

               I opened my eyes. My hazel irises darted from side to side. The view that greeted me was unfamiliar. My body was surrounded by faded grass and daisies were scattered in the clearing in which I was laying. Sitting up, a piece of grass fell from my dark hair and landed in my lap. I stood up, brushing it and any more debris from my clothing. It wasn't much to look at; a loose top, the color of hazelnut, a gold-plated leather belt, and a white wrap-around skirt with the front open to show my dirty knees, along with simple brown sandles on my feet. To be honest, I wasn't much to look at in general. I'm 5'2" with tan skin and black hair. It's always tied into a low ponytail resting on my back, between my shoulder blades. Perhaps because of the misty atmosphere, I could've sworn I saw another person. Squinting, I saw that there's one more. And another-and another, and another! At this point, I'm running towards the figures. The images got closer and closer until I skidded to a stop, keeling over onto my knees. Dirt and grass were kicked up around me as I kneeled there, hands on the dusty ground. Breathless, I scanned the area. It was rather barren, despite the nature and such. The ground was a muted red color, like red mud, and the grass looked much more grey rather than green. Almost like dead grass except...this grass was silky smooth and shimmery. The daisies I had found earlier lay in patches, a striking yellow amongst the blurry atmosphere. The landscape seemed to stretch on for miles; I couldn't even see a horizon. Looking up, I saw that the sky was an incredibly pale blue color. Finally getting to my feet and brushing myself off, I received strange looks from certain people. It would make sense considering I came sprinting out of presumably nowhere. The people-now they were a sight. The crowds were certainly mixed. There were people with skin ranging from cocoa, to cinnamon, to roasted chestnuts. The clothing ranged from the purest of whites to the brightest of golds to the richest of purples. There were simple lower-class citizens dressed in no more than rags, and royalty adorned in jewelry and silks. The people ranged from short to tall, stick-thin to rather full, clean to dirty, it didn't matter. They were all humans, loitering there, waiting, outside a large set of gates.
               The sheer size of the gates was impressive enough. Looking at the structure, I assumed that the doors were about the same heights as the pyramids and about as wide as one, too. They were constructed out of gold and silver, with hieroglyphics etched deeply into their frame. Frustratingly, I couldn't read the letters. As a slave, I had no one as a role model and/or mentor. I decided that it was a simple message from someone (or something) that didn't need to be pondered on. Circumstances aside, this place is very unfamiliar. I'm not just saying that because of the fact that I can't remember anything. It's strange, to say the least; large golden gates situated seemingly in the middle of nowhere, people who appear to have nothing in common all gathered in one place, at the same time. Out if the corner of my eye, I could see a few more approaching. Without any reason in particular, my head started to hurt from thinking about it. The sudden voice that came from next to me didn't help much either.
               "Hey." I flinched. It was a boy-er, man, I should say. He was about a foot and a half taller than me, with caramel skin, chocolate brown eyes, and a pointed nose. He wasn't wearing anything except for his skirt, which reached down to his knees and was wrapped/pulled to the left. Brushing away one of his dreadlocks with one hand, he stuck out his free one, waiting for me to shake it. Cautiously, I did so. His big hands felt rough against my smaller ones.
"My name's Ahton. You looked a little out of place so I thought I'd help you," he said. Letting go, I eyed him carefully. He was a stocky man but he appeared to be on the young adult side, appearance wise. His posture was that of a nobleman's-straight yet relaxed. I also happened to notice a faint scar on his right eyebrow. The man(?) seemed to take my suspicious looks the wrong way since he quickly followed up with "Not that there's anything wrong with you or whatever. You're not offended, right? Yes? No?" He spewed this rather quickly. I didn't care at all if he offended me; it was sort of true. I was brimming with questions.
               "I'm Mesi," I responded. "Where are we? How old are you? What's your class?" The questions spilled out quickly. Even though it was risky to talk to someone like that, in case they were of higher class than me, I needed answers. This stranger better provide them, otherwise, I'm wasting my time. I wonder if time even ran correctly in this place. What or where this place was, too.
"Whoa, calm down, Mesi," he said. He crossed his arms, showing off the bronze bands on his forearms. They glinted at me, even though there wasn't a lot of sunshine. Well, maybe they were bronze. They could've been pewter or copper but some instinct told me it was definitely bronze. Oh boy. Don't tell me I'm going to get my memories back and find out I had supernatural metal powers or anything similar. Anyways, I apologized because I wasn't usually like this; curt and rude. I'm usually much more patient. However, every trait could be considered a guess. Losing your memories really is terrible. To not know who you are, what your identity is, it's extremely horrifying. What kind of person was I? Jarring myself out of those kinds of ideas, I returned to reality for Ahton to continue.
               "We're in the Underworld (the Duat), I'm 18, and I'm pretty sure I'm middle class. You see, I'm a scribe," he explained. I listened intently, although I stared at the gates the entire time, almost expecting something to emerge from them. Curiously filled me. I'd like to know what was behind those doors.
               "Now tell me about you," he said, which surprised me. He shook his hair out of his face, waiting for my answer. Locking his eyes on me, I could see that he was handsome in a rugged, nice guy sort of way. Don't get any ideas-I'm saying this as unromantic as possible.
"I, uh. Well, I-I'm a maid. For whom, it may seem ridiculous but...I don't know.." My head started to throb but I continued. "I'm 14 and I'm obviously lower-class to be a servant." Ahton studied me closely as I spoke. It felt unnerving. The scribe seemed to be studying my expression. He was about to tell me something, I could feel it. He was watching me to see how I'd react.
               "Amnesia. Most of the dead experience it. Not me, though." He paused. "You're so young. How did you die?" How I...died? The sentence hit me like a limestone block. I realized that I was dead. I'm a spirit. A ba. That sent me reeling. How did I die? I could feel my stomach twisting. My breathing got a little faster and my chest felt tight. My internal panic must have spread across my features seeing as how Ahton's eyes widened. Small beads of sweat formed on the sides of my face. I heard him suck in a barely audible breath.
               My theory was proven to be correct once he furrowed his eyebrows and bit his bottom lip after I replied "I don't know." He didn't get a chance to reply because a woman came up to us. She resembled Ahton in many ways. She was taller than the both of us, with Ahton's brown eyes and caramel skin, and her delicate braids were decorated with beads here and there, tied back into a high ponytail. She was quite beautiful, I have to admit. She had almond shaped eyes, thick lips, and a curvy figure. For some reason, I felt intimidated as she spoke. The woman had a lilting voice.
"Ahton, who's this?" She had a regal voice, that of a queen. The woman arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow. Ahton calmly explained, whilst I felt awkward being treated almost like a dog.
               "This is Mesi, a 14-year-old maid who has amnesia. She needs our help," he said. "Mesi, this is Nalina, my sister. She's 26 and a jeweller. Nalina eyed me up and down, gingerly shaking my hand. Her thin fingers practically wrapped around my entire hand.
"Nice to meet you. This is pleasant and all but the gates will open soon." She turned her head towards the oversized doors. I was about to ask her how she knew but halfway through my question, I received my answer. The hieroglyphics glowed like fire, the gates opened to reveal a single figure. It appeared to be a man, until I walked closer. He had the body of a human but the head of what appears to be a canine. A black jackal, to be exact. A soft golden glow surrounded him, though I wasn't sure if that was from the doors or his actual presence. Putting the pieces together, it only took me 30 seconds to see the reality of the situation. I couldn't believe it. It's-
"Anubis," I said with a hollow breath. Ahton and Nalina simultaneously nodded.
               "He should be our guide. I wrote and read about him," Ahton whispered, "you know, back when I was still alive." I figured as much, although I never did any reading. As I stated earlier about my illiteracy. Nalina was about to say something but a booming male voice cut her off. Anubis spoke to the crowd.
               "Welcome." His voice echoed across the broad landscape. "I am here to take you to your first destination." He paused for a low mutter through the crowds. There must've been, what, hundreds at least? Anubis continued speaking once the babble had died down.
"From then on, you will use what knowledge you have of the Underworld to traverse all the way through until you reach the final stage. There, your heart shall be weighed before a panel of judges. A panel of deities. If you are of a pure life, you will gain Osiris' approval and enter the afterlife. Otherwise"-the god narrowed his golden eyes-"you'll be fed to Ammit." There was a collective gasp among the people.
               The color drained out of Nalina's face and I heard Ahton's breath catch in his throat. I myself felt afraid. If I couldn't remember most of my life then I have an equal chance of getting devoured as well as going to the afterlife.
Once Anubis finished his short dialogue, he motioned for us to follow him through the gates. Shifting back into his canine form, he strutted through the gates again while leading the people in. I felt Ahton and Nalina link their arms through mine. My eyes met with each of theirs for a fleeting second. Even though we've known each other for a short amount of time, they seem to trust me. It was only fair that I trust them back. They did try to set me on the right track, after all. This decision could affect me in the future but I have a good deeling. We followed the crowd together, arm in arm. Blinded by the bright light, it suddenly came to me. Whatever we're going to end up doing--It's not like we each had a choice.
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A/N: So I just wanted to give the proper character name pronunciations.
Mesi; Meh-see
Ahton; Ah-tin
Nalina; Naw-lee-na (fuck it, just listen to this song, the chorus is how it's pronounced)