Thence we Issued Forth to See Again the Stars

In the center of a patch of white lilies glistening in the omnipresent sun, Dante stood. Beyond the lily patch in every direction ravaged frothy and violent waters, further drenching Dante's crimson and cream tunic with each splash. Dante gazed upon the sun, entranced by the immense power it radiated. The sun spake, "Lo! I am Khepera at dawn, Ra at high noon, and Tum at eventide." Bewildered, Dante watched as the sun became encircled by a mighty serpent, who sat upon a giant figure, bearing clothes of gold and the head of a falcon. Other gods began to rise from the violent waters, all with the heads of animals. Mountains erupted from the sea and with them came bountiful land mass, shaking the entire earth with grotesque force. Dante succumbed to the earthquakes, falling from the white lily patch into the turbulent sea.

Dante awoke, coughing up water onto his already drenched tunic. He found himself upon a raft crafted from papyrus and reed that rocked steadily with the rhythm of the river. Across from him stood a man much taller than him with the head of a crocodile, poling absentmindedly and effortlessly against the current.

"Foreigner! Not quite ready for the Duat, after all, are you? Good! I was getting lonely,"

said the crocodile man, who chuckled heartily, revealing rows upon rows of sharp teeth engraved with hieroglyphs. Sensing Dante's discomfort, the man continued,

"Nek! Where are my manners? Welcome to Egypt, my friend! I am Sebek-Ra, god of the Nile. What land do you hail from, stranger?"

Dante leaned over the side of the boat and spit the last of the river water out.

"I am Dante Alighieri of Florence. I have a divine duty to learn more about this land."

Sebek-Ra made a face that Dante assumed was a grin.

"Well, you are in luck, Dante of Florence! Let me share with you how this world came to be. Come close and sit, my friend. Let us see Egypt."

Dante took a seat next to Sebek-Ra.

"Let me tell you perhaps the most important story we have here, Dante. This is the story of Osiris, of Set, and of Horus. Gods, not unlike me, who at different points held in their hands this great land and transformed it, for better and for worse. We start with Osiris. He was born to greatness, and greatness he brought to our Egypt. Osiris brought with him the great forms of law, which civilized our country. He brought with him the teachings of agriculture, which fed our country. He carried with him the faith of his people, which was widespread and canonized with holy living and the erection of astounding temples. He spread all of his greatness around the world, leaving his beautiful and wise wife, Isis, to tend to Egypt in his absence."

As they rode down the Nile, they passed several pyramids, but one had a form quite unlike the others.

"Sebek-Ra, I apologize for interrupting but you must tell me: Why is that burial temple leveled like that?"

Sebek-Ra glanced at the landmark.

"That is the resting ground of the great Pharaoh Djoser. He lived long ago, before it was customary for our pyramids to have sheer faces. Do not be mistaken, though. Djoser's pyramid is just as winding and complex as the others like it. That is a good eye you have, my friend. I shall continue now, if it so pleases you?"

Dante nodded his head.

"When Osiris returned to Egypt, he was met with conspiratorial intent. His traitorous brother Set trapped him in a chest that became his coffin, and the men and women of Egypt wept. Set took this opportunity to lay claim to the throne, throwing Egypt into disorder and disarray. It was like this for a long time, and Egypt remained restless and agitated by the absence of the great Osiris. But Set had not won just yet! There was a son born to Isis and Osiris, the glorious Horus! He would lead Egypt out of the orchestrated chaos that beset the land upon Set's arrival! He saw through Set's deceit and waged war for years against the traitors that formed the backbone of Set's army. Finally, he stormed Set's temple and challenged him to a fight to the death for the throne. Horus fought honorably at first, but Set resorted to dirty tricks and robbed Horus of one of his eyes. In a retaliatory fit of rage, Horus emasculated him before grabbing Set's fox face by the snout and ripping it from from his body, laying rightful claim to the kingdom once more. Horus ruled as justly as Osiris, repairing Egypt and preparing it for the Pharaohs to come."

Sebek-Ra had begun to tie up the boat. Dante stood unsteadily.

"Where are we now, Sebek-Ra?"

Sebek-Ra grinned again, baring all of his teeth.

"This, my friend, is the city of Alexandria. I hope you have a sweet tooth, dear friend! Let us find some kunafa to satiate mine and I will tell you the odd story of Thoth. I bet you cannot guess how he was born!"

Dante and Sebek-Ra walked confidently toward the inner city markets, their clothes drying in the radiant aura of the sun.

Author's Note: In this story, Dante will roam through a vaguely Ptolemaic Egypt (that will in reality be portrayed anachronistically in order to fit my artistic vision, rather than portrayed as historically accurate as possible) with the crocodile god Sebek-Ra as his guide. Sebek-Ra's connection with the Egyptian waters, specifically the Nile, gave me the idea to have Dante's journey through Egypt be executed as a boat ride down the Nile. In the beginning, we see the creation of the world as envisioned in Egyptian mythology as Dante is teleported to Egypt. After he witnesses all of this, he faints and is awoken by Sebek-Ra, who invites him on his boat and tells him the stories of his land while they appreciate the views. Those stories include the rise and fall of Osiris as well as my own sourceless rendition of Set and Horus' battle for kingship. I'm writing the author's note before I write the story so depending on how difficult it is to write this story, I may end up reusing (or retiring) the boat-ride style expository frame present in this story. Like the majority of my writing, I'm primarily concerned with world-building through descriptive imagery and am hoping I can do justice to ancient Egypt!