The Sands of Time

"Now I don't feel so guilty" Nour said with a chuckle. Madu woke up, and stretched a bit before turning his attention to his food. Masika woke up not long after, and had some wine before eating.
"Morning, everyone."
"Morning. So, we're heading straight for the temple today." Nour nodded.
"Yes. Ammon needs to begin his training as soon as possible."

Ammon's head lifted at his name and swallowed down his food before he took a drink of water. "What will I learn first when we get there?" He couldn't help but ask.

"The same thing the rest of us learnt: the truth. How humans were created, and what happened to the gods" Nour explained. She looked up at Ammon with a small smile before she looked to her brother, then back to Ammon. "After that, you will learn which gods are allies, which are enemies, and which gods are dead."

Ammon nodded his understanding and finished packing his things away before he stretched out and waited for the others. "When do we plan on leaving?"

"In the next hour or so. The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll arrive at the temple" Nour explained before finishing off her breakfast. She gathered her things, and started packing up while Masika and Madu ate quietly. Nour headed outside to her horse, and packed everything away before she studied the sands and the winds.

Ammon joined Nour outside, packing up his things into the saddle bags of Saba, who snorted in anticipation. He didn't like to be stationary for too long. He and Ammon both would be on the road for days at a time, so it was only natural that the horse would have gotten used to moving around a lot.

Once Madu and Masika had finished their breakfast, they quickly packed up their things before joining Nour and Ammon outside and loading their stuff onto their horses.
"Is everyone finally ready, and does everyone have everything" Nour asked as she set Nuru on her shoulder before climbing onto her horse. Madu and Masika nodded before hopping onto their horses.

Ammon whistled, gripping the reins of Saba in one hand while the other hung at his side. He was whistling for Juni, who had gone missing during the morning. No barking response. Ammon's heart dropped for a moment and he whistled again, the pitch a little more high pitched than normal. Where was that dog? Somewhere over the distance, a soft bark could be heard and it was getting closer. Ammon relaxed and swung up into the saddle, gripping the reins as Saba tossed his head into the air. From over the rise came Juni with a soft limp to the canine's stride. Usually that was normal for him as he usually picked something up or injured his pads somehow. But this was different. Ammon frowned when Juni got closer and studied the dog's leg. Nothing seemed out of place but still...Ammon didn't like the feeling he got. He patted his leg and immediately the dog came beside Saba, ready to go.

Nour led the way through the desert, following the shifting sands. Eventually the group came to a stop at the ruins of a temple, a small village not too far from the temple. Nour hopped off her horse, and headed into what was left of the temple while the others unloaded the horses. Nour prayed to Seth's golden statue before she cleansed the statue. She would open the doors to the true temple once the others arrived.

Ammon dropped off the saddle once they arrived and unburdened his faithful steed before tethering him near one of the troughs that was there. Saba bent his head and, with a snort, dug into the water for a drink. Juni soon followed the horse and Sanai dropped out from around Ammon's neck to join the three in the water drinking. Making sure his animals would be okay, Ammon went up next to Nour and knelt before Seth's statue in tribute.

"My mother was a priestess here when Madu and I were children. When the Greeks arrived, she hid us away in the inner shrine. They destroyed the temple, killing anyone in their way, all for this" Nour explained sadly before gesturing to her staff. It made sense now, why she hated the Greeks so much. Madu and Masika joined the two, dragging everything behind them. When everyone was ready, Nour rose to her feet, and drove her staff into the base of Seth's statue. The ground trembled beneath them before it parted, revealing a long black staircase. "When you find Anubis's relic, and his first temple, you will have access to his halls."

Ammon looked up at Nour and then down at the staircase, curious but afraid, which was a normal reaction of all new Champions. "Am I to travel alone?" He questioned, raising his eyes once more upon Seth's Champion and wife.

Nour shook her head, and smiled at Ammon. His reaction was actually kind of adorable.
"You will not travel alone, Ammon, I will be with you" Nour said with a warm smile before she lit a torch, and approaching the stairs. Madu and Masika set up their mats and pillows before they started their sparring session. "Please, come with me, Ammon" Nour said softly before leading the way down the stairs.

The walls were made of cold black stone, strange golden symbols lined the walls. As they walked, Nour would light any torch that they came across, the glow seemingly bringing the golden markings to life. The stairs seemed to carry on for an eternity, but they eventually ended in a massive room made of the same black stone from the stairs. The room was filled with hundreds of scrolls, artefacts, treasures, armour, and weapons. In one corner of the room, there was a large bed with fine silken sheets, and a multitude of pillows. In the centre of the room, there was a pedestal on a raised platform, a strange light emanating from an orb on the pedestal. The light seemed to fill the room with a soft light, but Nour still lit the various torches.
"Welcome to the halls of Seth, my home" Nour said happily.

Ammon walked around the room once he'd come off the stairs, his eyes lifted to the ceiling high above them. He was in awe of what was around him. His lips formed the word wow, though no sound came from his lips. Ammon didn't noticed he'd wandered over to where the armors sat until his head came around to behold the armors. At this sight, his eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped, though still no sound came from his mouth.

Nour pulled some herbs from a pouch, and prepared a special tea for Ammon as she watched him wander about. She smiled when she saw him studying the various armor sets she had gathered, and a few that Seth had provided. Perhaps the most spectacular sets of armor in the room was modelled after Seth himself, and a set that had glowing accents but it was a bit bigger than the average human. When the tea was nearly ready, Nour added some crushed blue lotus, and waited for the tea to finish brewing. Once the tea was ready, she poured some in a cup, and handed it to Ammon.
"Drink this, it will help you with what's about to happen" Nour said softly, "Then take a seat on the platform."

Ammon studied the tea for a moment once it had been handed to him and then looked up at Nour. He seemed cautious at first but lifted the cup to his lips anyway, his hands trembling as the liquid drained into his throat. Ammon walked to where Nour had indicated and sat down, placing the cup off to the side. He wasn't sure what would happen now, so he just waited. Then his eyes grew heavy and he was forced to close his eyes.

A bright light shot out of the orb, hitting Ammon's head. The light imparted its knowledge on Ammon.
The precursors, the creation of humans, the war, the destruction of the precursors, the mixing of humans and precursors, the solar flare, and human history up to that day. It was quite a lot to take in, and it even took Nour a while to recover when she went through the process. Nour watched Ammon closely, and was quickly joined by Seth who arrived in his true godly form.
"Do you think he can handle it all, Sands of my heart" Seth asked curiously as he watched Ammon. Nour nodded, her eyes never once leaving Ammon.
"He needs to, Hepiti."

Ammon's body shivered and jolted with each new thing that popped into his head, which felt close upon exploding. A few moments later, a cry was ripped out of his lungs before he fell silent, the memories settling finally, contained within his body. Slowly, the effects of the herbal mixture Nour had given him faded and he was able to open his eyes, though his vision was foggy at first.

Nour rushed to Ammon's side with some cold water, carefully bringing the bowl to his lips. She knew it was a lot to process, learning so much in only a few minutes.
"Ammon, are you alright? How do you feel" Nour asked curiously. She was concerned for him, she knew how much pain the process could leave a human in. Seth watched on from a distance, waiting for the information to settle. He didn't want to push Ammon too hard too quickly.

Ammonia didn't speak for a long while, simply sitting there drinking from the bowl Nour had brought him. After a while, he sighed and looked up at her, his eyes still glossed over from the experience. "I'm alright," he managed to breathe, his voice hoarse.

Nour let out a sigh of relief when Ammon said he was alright, and sat down beside him as she rested a hand on his shoulder.
"That is all we will be doing today, Ammon. You deserve a break after that" Nour said in a comforting voice before giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. Seth stepped out from the shadows, looking at Ammon with golden eyes.
"She is right, you have done well today, Ammon. I am... proud" Seth said with a smile.

Ammon could only nod at the both of them and smiled when Seth declared himself to be proud. It was odd, though. A god proud of a weak mortal? It was definitely a little odd, though he said nothing.

"The last three we did this to... well, they died. It is not for the weak, and you are not weak" Nour said with a small smile before making more tea for Ammon. Seth sat upon an ancient throne, and studied a rather strange looking tablet. "I will be meeting with Hathor, Bes, Taweret, Meskhenet, Khnum, Thoth, and Amun tonight." Seth almost choked on his tea when he heard the list of names as he knew the were all connected to pregnancy and childbirth in some way. He leapt off his throne, raced to Nour, and scooped her up in his arms, laughing happily.
"Are you sure" he asked excitedly.
"Not yet. They will let me know tonight." The two seemed really excited at the thought of a child.

Ammon watched the two with a small smile before he laid himself down on the ground. It felt cool to his burning skin and soothed him to close his eyes. When he did, he began to break into a sweat and it almost seemed as though something had hold of him. In reality, he was being dragged through what he'd just seen once again.

Nour poured some more tea for Ammon, and slowly made her way to his side. She knelt down beside him, holding out the cup of tea for him.
"How are you feeling, Ammon" Nour asked, her voice soft and warm as she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. She provided a comforting presence, something she felt Ammon needed.