#also at the little room before the altar at the temple there's an old scroll on a table you can interact with

[snail-speed]

There's a predator cult out there

When Arizona enters Reine City in Chapter 1, you can go into a house where the reindeer inside complain about scary noises in their basement, and one of them gives you the key to the basement assuming you're the person they hired to take care of it.

If you go in there you're immediately trapped by predators, and you end up discovering the basement is part of a larger underground complex. Going to the right first leads you into a room with a doll that's described as "really old," and continuing has Arizona enter the Reine City sewers.

Continuing upwards leads you towards the Altar of Appetence, which proceeds to open and out comes a bear and several other predators. You do canonically defeat them, but going up to the now-closed altar and interacting with it has Arizona mention concern over the fact she can't wait around for it to open again.

Later on in the Temple of the Ancestors there's yet another one, the Altar of Esurience, which has Arizona battle a similar set of predators and causing the altar to close.

Now, the AoE, while out of place thematically, at least seems to match the stonework and color of the surrounding themple. The same can't be said about the AoA, which has the exact same style but in a modern sewer setting.

Here's my theory: someone put it there not too long ago, and the same thing probably goes for the one at the Temple.

Think about it, the predators were banished at the very least over a thousand years ago. Reine City on the other hand has no records of being as old as that. If the altars were from the time predators got banished, the reindeer building the sewer system would've stumbled upon the AoA and either moved it elsewhere for research/display (they have a large museum of history and art, after all) or deliberately destroyed/buried it, they wouldn't have left it perfectly centered and positioned in a large spare room.

Texas' story has accompanying images, and they show ungulates opening a dimensional rift in the sky to banish the predators, there's no mention nor depiction of them using the altars to accomplish this.

There's also the fact they have morbid names that only the players get to see. They're not "mysterious altar" or "strange rock" or even "????", they've got concrete titles revolving around hunger.

Their locations are perfect for maximizing the carnage predators will cause once they escape. The one under Reine City is accessed through the basements of civilian buildings, and flavor text in the game's official site mentions the Temple of the Ancestors is a popular destination for archaeologists, adventurers and grave robbers.

Outside of sheep dogs (which are definitely not behind this) and maybe Fred, there's no confirmation there's any group of predators that are still around in Foenum, which means that, whoever put those altars where they did, were definitely ungulates. For what purpose? Who knows, maybe to convince predators to give them power, or some fantasy version of ecofascism, or maybe just plain old doomsday cult-esque beliefs.

[dingoat]

The Boy in the Temple

[Guess I’m in some sort of writing zone? This came out of absolutely nowhere and features a whole lot of Sithy business that I don’t normally go anywhere near and a character that’s still waiting to be properly defined and backstory for the worst boy rather than the best girl, hahaha. Sometimes when the plot bunnies strike you’ve just gotta run with it, and apparently I just did for nearly 2k words.]

---

It was the last thing the Sith expected to encounter scurrying about the edges of the Dark Temple, a furious little presence of cold rage and purpose completely untainted by the madness that otherwise permeated the area. Even more surprising to discover was that the being was not only a perfectly ordinary human, but young and Force-blind to boot.

Immediately curious, he shifted the focus of his hunt to the boy instead, a wave of his hand directing his bogwing to tighten her wings and wheel higher into the soft drizzle of the sky, a perfectly unassuming silhouette against the Temple’s stone peaks. Dropping back a comfortable distance, the Sith allowed the Force to do all his work for him, observing the boy’s passage under arches and over jutting walls, stealthy as a hunting cat. He was… very plainly here for a reason, driven by something that ran deep and swirled passionately at his core. Intensely focused, but with a sort of callous disregard for his own self; the boy didn’t know if he would come away from this excursion alive, and didn’t quite seem to care.

He carried things, things that no regular human boy should be carrying, a scroll and a blade that glittered so brightly through the Force with ancient energy and carefully honed power that the Sith could read the engravings on the knife and almost make out the strokes of ink on the carefully rolled parchment. The boy treated them with care; unrolling the map only for brief consultations and guarding it against the rain with his body. He picked his way around a curved section of wall, textured with glyphs carved in glossy obsidian, ran his fingers along the scored stone until he found what he was after.

Then he uttered words that no regular human boy should know, and the stone shifted.

The Sith’s curiosity deepend exponentially.

He raised his hand and seized the stone, forcing the doorway to remain open even after the boy had slipped inside. He sensed the way the boy waited, first impatient, clearly expecting it to close, then no longer caring as he pressed on inside. The Sith followed, summoning his pet down to ground level to perch by the carved wall, swiftly weaving threads of the Force between the bogwing and the doorway and forming an easy anchor that he could access to let himself out again from the inside.

If it proved necessary. You never really could tell, with places like this.

The boy moved on, down a winding passageway with only a small handful of forks, pausing only once to consult his map, and being very sparing with his use of a small electronic torch to light his way. All the while, anger flowed from him, cold white anger stemming from a whorl of grief that filled the whole of him, making plain the shape of his body through the Force. He couldn’t have been more than fifteen years, lean and fit but still gangly with youth, and yet there was so much tension in his shoulders, in the clench of his jaw. If the boy knew anything of what slithered along the walls or crawled over his head, he gave no indication that he was bothered; he was either not remotely squeamish, or utterly oblivious.

The Sith was certainly not bothered, as he felt something with far too many legs crawl across his chest and carry on its way as he took a moment to lean against the wall, waiting for the boy to fuss his way over a selection of doorways.

The Sith didn’t bother to follow him into the chamber that eventually yawned in front of him; his vision through the Force let him know all he needed about the ancient text inscribed across the walls, the smooth stone chalice that sat on an ornate pedestal in front of the towering altar that took up most of the room, crowned with a shimmering obelisk. He also knew, plain as day, that the boy now trembled with something new. Nerves. Anticipation. And was that… a delicious little glimmer of hope?

He had wondered, at one point, if this were some new Intelligence recruit, set on some impossible training task. But that thought was cast aside as he realised this boy’s mission was intensely personal, and terribly private.

He judged that the boy must be a terribly resourceful individual, to have gained possession of the artifacts he held. Particularly the knife, which he now brandished, brimming with tension, over his outstretched left hand.

The Sith tipped his head thoughtfully, listening as the boy spoke, his lips and tongue rapidly forming unfamiliar words, a little clunky with his lack of true grasp of the language, but still… impressive. Very impressive, for such a superficially ordinary little being.

The Sith decided he’d seen enough, and pulled himself to his feet, stepping forward while clearing his throat before the blade managed to nick the boy’s skin.

The boy startled with a shout, and the ancient blade clattered to the ground. Yet his shock was rapidly replaced with blind fury, and after a split second of sizing up the Sith he launched, recklessly, ferociously, fists raised.

The Sith let him come almost within arm’s reach before twitching his fingers and catching up the boy around the throat, lifting him into the air without actually laying a hand on him.

“Who are you?” The boy shouted through his struggles, deliciously furious. “You’re not meant to be here, what are you doing here?”

The Sith couldn’t help but laugh. “I think of the two of us, it’s the one with his legs dangling in the air that has less claim to any right to be here. Who are you, skulking about a cursed temple with stolen items? I have to assume you have some idea of what you were about to do, but truly, do you have any idea what you were about to do?”

The indignation that soared through the boy was delightful.

“Leave me alone! I don’t care what you think, just leave me alone. I know what I’m doing.”

The Sith sifted gently through the Force and tutted softly. “You don’t care, do you? You’re not afraid of me. You’re not afraid of losing your own life here, are you?”

The boy glowered, and somehow came across decades older than he aught. But his silence stretched long, simmering with grief.

The Sith observed him thoughtfully. “You won’t succeed. Whoever it is you’re trying to bring back…”

The boy shouted again, something that was almost a wild animal snarl, and thrashed savagely in the constricting grip of the Force. He twisted and bucked, utterly heedless of the pressure around his throat, he kicked out and so very, very nearly clipped the Sith across the chin.

“A more volatile being than I might choose to kill you know, just for that. Or perhaps for your trespass, or your blatant theft.”

“So do it then,” the boy spat back with an acid tone, flushed with absolute disregard for his precarious situation, and an impressive wall guarding his thoughts, for one unable to manipulate the Force.

But it did little to protect against someone as skilled as the Sith. Pressing through that barrier was as easy as drawing breath, and the image that the boy held in his mind was breathtaking in its contrast to the ferocity and willfulness he projected outward. “She’s young, isn’t she? Younger than you. Or is that… oh, I see. That’s as old as she ever reached, isn’t it?”

The boy shrieked a wordless rage, jolting so savagely against the Sith’s grasp that he almost considered letting go just to see how far the boy would go. It seemed a pity, almost, that such a vibrant being should have to suffer a complete inability to perceive the lifeblood of the universe. That a boy filled with such passion and fury should be blind to his true shape in the world.

He waited until the tantrum died down before speaking again. He was in no hurry.

“Your little ritual would have attracted the attention of spirits quite happy to claim you and use you, with no intention of delivering what you seek.”

“So why don’t you help me instead? Why don’t you do something decent with your stupid magic, what the kriff is even the point of being able to do what you people can do if you don’t-” his words were cut short with a sharp choking sound and a gasp for air.

The Sith saw little value in even entertaining the boy’s sad little fantasy. But what he did enjoy was the boy’s spirit. His fury and his cunning, his resourcefulness and courage. What a useful life, this boy could have. What a career.

He summoned the blade to his free hand, pocketing it before gently prying the scroll from the boy’s belt. “You will leave this temple, and you will turn your thoughts away from this absurd ritual. You want nothing to do with the stuffy old dead beings that would rather turn your mind than deliver a glimpse of your lost sister.” He spoke the words with a sliver of influential pressure, but the boy’s manner remained fierce; no fog came to his mind to absorb the suggestion. It was unsurprising, really, that the boy was far too strong willed for a simple mind trick; so be it. The words would be offered as plain advice. “And one day, you’ll be grateful that I spared your life, and gave you the opportunity to find a way to seek out true compensation for those who brought her to harm. There is a great deal of solace to be found in artful vengeance. Death comes to us all, boy, there’s no need to invite it early.”

The boy seemed to be taking in what he said, and had calmed his struggles somewhat. But the moment the Sith let his feet touch the ground again, he launched once more, utterly foolish but still, in his own way, admirable.

The Sith flicked his hand and sent the boy crashing against the far wall of the chamber. “You possess the sort of tenacity and ruthlessness that could get you far in the Empire. I’m curious to see where this will take you in life.”

And what you might be able to deliver when I decide to cash in on the debt you now owe me.

He smiled to himself as he turned and left the boy to find his own way out. If he was truly resourceful, he’d find a way, and if not… then perhaps the loss would not be so great after all.

---

Some decades later, Keeper took in the caller ID on his buzzing comm, and permitted himself a long sigh before responding.

“Intelligence headquarters, how are we able to serve?”

The voice on the other end was young, fresh, and a little bit nervous. An assistant of some sort, then, or an apprentice? “My Lord requests the presence of your Watcher Five at  his earliest convenience, sir.”

“Watcher Five is currently on a rather well deserved leave of absence. I can arrange a meeting for him on his return, unless the matter is of some urgency? Might I request the nature of the appointment?”

A pause. “My Lord wishes to collect on a debt owed to him.”

Keeper drew his lips tight. He had a bad feeling about this. “I will be sure to inform the Watcher. If there is anything else we may be able to do…?”

“That is all. My Lord looks forward to the Watcher’s return.”

Keeper stared at his comm for a short while after the call ended, feeling an uncomfortable coldness in his guts. And then he began to dial out, suspecting that this might just be a matter that Five would appreciate some time to prepare for.

[ofcloudsandstars]

Day 4

Thursday started with an incredible dream. Its something I still don't know how to process yet but it was so clear and colorful and beautiful that I want to do something with the information.

I think what might have prompted the dream was me thinking of my life living in Glastonbury if I had the means to right away. Then thinking of the type of local magic/witchcraft I'd probably get into. That probably lead to the fascination with the local goddess Avalon and how nature and magic is personified through her. That lead to this beautiful dream that was really like experiencing watching an 8 hour long sailor scouts magical transformation sequence, but in my sleep.

This is solely my beliefs, but I believe that the divine or 'spirit' or in popular terms 'the universe' is something that exists in everything and within us, and that since it’s so immense and has so many qualities and attributes to it, you can understand that this all encompassing energy is made up of many types of vibrations or frequencies within it. These different types of frequencies or vibrations could be understood like 'chords' in a scale of music or like colors in visible light. People often experience these different frequencies as different deities, being fractions of the divine source and though they are all of the same source they all have different roles to play and different paths that can help us etc. instead of us just going to the whole energy of the universe we sometimes find ourselves seeking a specific 'chord' to help us learn a lesson. (Like for example if someone is looking for prosperity, instead of asking the universe, they might work with Jupiter, or give an offering to apollo or whatever they work with). Elaborating on this idea I feel like many cultures have experienced connecting with these different frequencies and personifying them in ways that served them in their communities. It’s why you have so many goddesses of love that are also goddesses of justice, so many gods of war and sex, deities of harvest and prosperity, of the ocean, of the sun and moon etc. The thing that makes these deities very distinct from each other is the context and relationship people of their communities and lands have created with them. (It's also why I really don't have sympathy for people looking to connect with gods in closed cultures cause its like.. you can either make your own connection to those divine frequencies or look in your own heritage and you will find it. The source is in all of us.)

Adding a read more out of consideration for people that are scrolling. Just more details of my dream and the day I had in Glastonbury! 

Anyway I think being surrounded by images of 'the goddess' (basically the divine or the universe personified by a goddess) was sitting in my subconscious and I got this beautiful sequence of faceless silhouettes of goddesses with auras of different colored lights representing different divine frequencies. You had the 'Eternal one' represented by a crystal prism that was the personification of all energy. She had a rainbow crystal aura of light. The following were just different ‘vibrations’ of her, like all of these were the same source but just 'fractions' of the source.

 There was one for every color imaginable and represented 12 celestial bodies (including planet x). It was all very high femme, yet gender neutral and kind of like this repeating messages that all these fractions of goddesses of different colors were apart of the eternal goddess but the eternal goddess was inside everyone as the universal traits of yielding passive and caring energy humanity needs to cultivate to survive. I won't go into detail of every color and their representation here as it's long, a lot of it is like intuitive though like you could easily see how the correspondences could easily fit into each other, but I am thinking about making a post about this in further detail. The only thing is that I am not sure yet what to do with the information. I am already happy working with the planets as they are but it seemed incredibly vivid and somewhat important. I'd love to do a kind of art installation of altars dedicated towards each one of them. It was really beautiful and so well organized in detail I think its worth making something out of?

ANYWAY

The rest of the morning was me going on and on about this dream until my friends were exhausted. Funnily enough we went to THE GODDESS HOUSE for some free healing sessions offered on Thursdays. The sessions were 5 pounds each suggested donation which we happily donated. The goddess house is like this old city council looking building with 3 huge rooms dedicated to a goddess?? Like my dream they were color coded but there were only 3. There is a green and white one (called the green goddess room) dedicated to Brigid, there is a purple dreamy one for Avalon, and a red one for Rhiannon. We waited in the green goddess room which had woolly shag carpets and candles everywhere (big imbolc aesthetic) until a priestess called us to come. I went in with my friend into the purple goddess room and there were two priestesses there and two massage-looking tables covered in purple velvet. In the center I noticed a little altar of little goddess statues each of different colors representing different elements and I got excited!! Cause it reminded me of my dream!! But before I could investigate a priestess asked me to lay down on the table.

She had an INTENSE and powerful energy. Like she was the definition of powerful crone but something about her was so beautiful you felt this rush of affection for her as if I wanted her to adopt me and we could live in her cottage in the woods that had chicken feet underneath it. She was probably at the end of her 60s with the soul of a 2,000 year old apple tree. Something about her was vibrant and powerful like she had dreamy twinkling blue eyes and long wavy fiery red hair and a blue crescent moon that was tattooed on her forehead just underneath her hairline.

I lied down on the bed and she asked me why I came. I said for healing??? and she was like ok but what do you want to heal?

So I was just there like.. Well life has been giving obstacles and I know more is to come so I'd like some strength to persevere through them please. And she chuckled and very gently said that she'll try her best in the 5 minutes time..

She then offered my knees a pillow and a velvety purple blanket. I felt very lovingly tucked in as if I was being put to bed. They asked us to close our eyes and then they did a prayer to the goddess Avalon to help heal us.

Y'all.. I cannot explain how UNPREPARED I was for what came next.. At first it was them gently humming and raising energy by my solar plexus. I did feel a rise of power there. But then she started talking in some TONGUES, some language of the deep earth of which I didn't understand. She was like whimpering and then rattling something around my body, I had no idea what, Then she was making these FEARSOME sounds of like roaring, and SNARLING! and growling as she got some powerful rattling percussion instruments to shake around my body. I was biting the inside of my cheeks cause some of the sounds she was making were so shocking that I was afraid of laughing cause it would kill the vibe but literally anyone in my life I knew that wasn't into witchy shit would have probably ran out of the door. When I was finally able to be more immersed and got over the shock, it was actually so incredible? The instruments she was using was creating a kind of tactile experience that I was starting to see streaks of light behind my eyes. I do have mild synesthesia but it was like watching lightning crackle into a ball above my head and around my aura protecting me. She whispered like she was summoning air spirits and shook things like she was summoning rain and a storm. I felt like a storm around me that was giving me a new armor. They then closed the ritual by twinkling bells around my head and using a feather to brush away something on my shoulders, crown and forehead. She brushed my shoulder and chest in this way that was gentle and intense like it felt soothing but it was with a force that left a gentle gust of wind rolling off my body. I felt like if any negative spirits were attached to me they were gone then lol.

It was really an incredible experience, like I felt so empowered by whatever the hell she did. Even part way when I was still going through the shock I was like damn even if they are making up these sounds or this language and going with it this is some 5 star improv like it was really an experience.

After the temple we went to this tea room and had afternoon tea and spoke to one of the locals there who was friends with someone in our group. She was the one who told us about how Glastonbury changed over the years. How in the 90s it was a bit more edgy and wiccan, in the 2000s it became more goddessy (but I think she was trying to say that had a bad edge too since it was a bit radfem) and now its turned towards the shamanic side and is about the local nature and power in the land. She said that different groups of magical cultures take over from decade to decade and now its going through this new phase which I find pretty cool.

Afterwards we went to a psychic meetup in this beautiful place called The Daisy Center. It looks like you are inside of an angel wing. Everything is white with fluffy white poufs everywhere and gold accents. We sat in the COZIEST lounge filled with big white poufy sofas with fuzzy white blankets to wrap ourselves in and gold pillows. There were huge crystals everywhere and tarot decks on this table around a huge crystal ball. The lady running the workshop had us go through this chakra opening meditation which was so dreamy we all embarassingly drifted off to sleep. We then pulled cards for ourselves, interpreted each others cards for 2020 and it left us with really good insight for the new year!!!!

[kabane52]

The Intermediate State in Revelation

Working on an idea concerning the biblical basis for an intermediate state of those who are eventually to rest in Heaven but need prayer and purification before they are ready. This is the one Catholic/Orthodox teaching which I have continued to have trouble finding a solid basis for in scripture, but as a believing Orthodox I've always firmly believed that it's there to be found. I'm pretty sure that this is what I've been looking for. This presumes a preterist reading of Revelation. See my post "The Intercession of Saints in God's Divine Council" for an exploration of Revelation as the foundation for the doctrine of the invocation of Saints.

The fifth seal of Revelation shows souls "under the altar" who ask "How long, O Lord?" They have suffered for the "witness they had born" in contrast to those who are slain later for the "witness of Jesus." This means that we are dealing with the saints of the old covenant, those whom Jesus spoke of when He spoke of "all the blood from Abel to Zechariah" coming on Jerusalem. In John 20, Jesus speaks of His "ascent" to the Father, fulfilling other passages in John where the Lord says that no one before Him has "ascended to heaven." Revelation 4-5 shows Jesus' heavenly ascent to the Father as high priest. This is the first time that a man has been exalted into God's throne-room. But the saints of the old covenant wonder why they are still "under the altar." The Bronze Altar is in the middle of the Temple Courtyard, and the Courtyard signifies the terrestrial realm in contrast to the stellar heavens that is the Holy Place and the heavenly throne-room that is the Holy of Holies.

They are given white robes, but no crowns. The robes are one piece of a two part priestly garment that includes crowns, and Jesus has just ascended as the heavenly high priest with a golden crown- the "seven eyes" of the Lamb is a quotation of Zechariah 3, where the high priest has a crown with "seven eyes" referring to the seven Hebrew letters in the words "Holy to YHWH" on the crown of the high priest. The entirety of Revelation enacts the Day of Atonement, which consists of a double ascent and a sending away of a goat to destruction. The first ascent is for the High Priest, the second is for the whole people. The first ascent is in Revelation 4-5, Jesus as High Priest. The second is in Revelation 20, where the saints of old and new covenants are enthroned in Heaven during the age of the Church (millennium), fulfilling the words of the Lord Jesus Christ in John: "I go to prepare a place for you, so that where I am, you may be also."

What is it that brings the saints of the old covenant up? The Day of Atonement is enacted through a series of sevenfold sprinklings which purify the creation and allow for heavenly ascent. In Revelation, the sevenfold sprinklings are signified by the seven bowls of wrath, which are filled with the blood of the saints (see above on Jesus' words about the blood of Abel). Once those are poured out on the Earth, the saints of both covenants ascend- the old covenant saints of Revelation 6 and the new covenant saints of Revelation 14-16.

Finally, Revelation corresponds blow by blow with the Divine Liturgy. In order:

1. The Little Entrance is when the priest first ascends to the altar, and originally the priest stood outside the altar before the little entrance. This is the first ascent in Revelation 4-5.

2. He brings up to the altar the Gospel Book- when Jesus ascends in Revelation 4-5 He then opens the book in Revelation 6.

3. The priest or deacon reads the words of the gospel aloud- the trumpets begin to blow, enacting the contents of the unsealed scroll.

4. The priest, having meditated on the scriptures, preaches them out. Revelation 10, St. John consumes a little scroll and then preaches forth their contents- the "seven thunders" that are hidden in Revelation 10 are unfolded by St. John in 11-13, signified by the seven successive "loud noises."

5. The Great Entrance brings forth the Gifts. This is signified by 14-15. The martyrdom of the saints is a harvest of Bread and Wine. Importantly, this is the liturgical moment where we commemorate those who have reposed.

6. The Liturgy of the Faithful is signified in 16-19, where the harvest that has been produced brings about its impact on the world, shattering Babylon, redeeming the saints, and communing the faithful in the "Marriage Supper of the Lamb" in Revelation 19:9.

7. The dismissal is in the rest of Revelation, where Jesus, riding on the White Horse, leads the redeemed saints out into the world to conquer it by the word of God. Having communed of the Holy Gifts, we ride out to transfigure the world with that strength.

So what do we see? We see that the blood which brings the saints up from the intermediate state to the heavenly court is the blood of the saints- indeed, the white robes identified in Revelation 6 are later called the "deeds of the saints." The liturgical correspondence provides a basis for the practice of commemorating the dead during the Divine Liturgy and praying for their sabbatical repose in God's heavenly throne-room and out of the intermediate state. The blood of the saints, joined to Christ, is the means by which the blood of Christ accomplishes its final purpose for those Saints in the intermediate state (you can even call it "purgatory" if that is appropriately qualified). The bowls of Revelation simultaneously signify the "bowls" of incense spoken of in the OT, identified with the "prayers of the saints", providing a theological elucidation of prayer for the reposed in light of the NT canon.

[doc-ravenbe]

Heroes of the Ossuary

The skies were awash in crimson, the red moon Dalamud was approaching ever closer to Hydaelyn, ever close to the continent of Eorzea. In the city-state of Ul’dah, the tension in the air was thick enough to be cut with a knife. The citizens were somber, the Immortal Flames had marched out to Carteneau, to aid the alliance against the imperial forces of Garlemald. The Arrzaneth Ossuary was now beholden to another beacon of hope. The Sultana had arrived and began to lead a prayer at the altar to Thal.  Rarakurzu watched briefly from the shadows of the hall before heading back to the deeper sections of the Ossuary. While the temple was home to the buried dead of Ul’dah it was also the home of the Thaumaturge Guild and contained many treasures. Tomes and tools of magicks, ancient histories, grimoires of myth and legend. This was Rarakurzu Ven Bebekurzu’s second home.

He stumbled a couple times, his breath smelling lightly of ale. Some of the other thaumaturges whispered rumors that he was drinking far more recently due to the end of days. He was drinking to keep the whispers out of his head. “Damn that bard,” he muttered to himself as the Echo flared into being with screams and random visions and then quieted. “Ever since he came here these visions have been acting differently, this is as bad as when Rambroes sent me that relic.” Rarakurzu rubbed his temples while plodding to the historical records. It was then the ossuary rumbled as if struck with a giant’s fist. Dust and rock began to fall from above as light filled the room. “Seven hells” Rarakurzu gasped before being knocked out.

He could swear he was in a different place now, armies clashing and fleeing from a red moon breaking open. No, it was hatching and from it came a being Rarakurzu had only read about in old tales. Bahamut, the Dreadwyrm. Was this what had caused the light? He thought. He saw an aged Elezen step forth as if to confront the elder primal. Rarakurzu was blinded again by light.

“Doc! Doc!” the nickname and rustling from the young hyur thaumaturge snapped Rarkurzu back to reality. “Are you ok? The place is going crazy!” Rarakurzu stood up. Aside from a bruise, and small cut on his eyebrow he was ok. He noticed the thaumaturge staring at him. Looking around he noticed the hallway was darkened. “Sorry, I still haven’t gotten used to your eyes glowing in the dark.”

“Forget about it. What’s happening?” Rarakurzu said as he looked around he noticed the guild master Mumuepo had started barking orders. The Sultana was still there, anger and determination were on her face.

“We just heard that a riot has broken out at Sapphire Avenue. Mumuepo is threatening to burn anyone that approaches.”

“And you call yourself a man of the cloth!?” it was the Sultana, “Our citizens are in the grip of fear. They but want for a voice of reason to restore them to their senses. Who among you will aid me?” Everyone there was silenced by her words. She was taking control of the crisis. He noticed the 5 siblings had volunteered along with Raubahn’s adopted son and old man Papashan. Rarakurzu was about to volunteer when he noticed several dark robes flying through the ossuary toward the back. There was another rumble, but he recognized the men. Mumuepo was following close behind them. Rarakurzu couldn’t hear them clearly but parts did ring clear.

“Take as much as you can, and we leave this place.” Mumuepo seethed. “The Sultana is creating a perfect distraction and I will not die here…”

Doc eyes flashed with anger. He knew exactly where they were going. Dragging the thaumaturge that helped him Doc minced little words “Boy, I need your help. Our guild master is about to leave the guild and by the look of his mean he’s doing more than fleeing with his robes and staffs. What’s your name?”

“Tobie.”

“Alright Tobie, gather some rope and have anyone you trust be outside the historic records soon and wait until you hear the screams.”

Tobie was perplexed but dutifully followed his orders. Rarakurzu dashed through the hallways as the lead deeper underground. Mumuepo’s men may only know the main entrance but there were 2 other ways in to the historic records. There was a slight grin on his face when he realized he could do an experiment as well. Darting through the funerary preparation room he gathered some death shawls. “Maybe its time to raise some dead to save this place.”

The historic records section of the Arrzaneth Ossuary contains many important documents.  Records of whom was buried, documents pertaining to the shinning history of Ul’dah as well as its dark truths.  It also contained rare books and trinkets the Order of Nald’Thal gathered. All of these would fetch riches more than any one Eorzean could dream. Rarakurzu waited in the darkness his Ven eyes able to see better in the dark than most folks or lalafells. He heard the heavy footsteps of three individuals. “Mumuepo’s men” Rarakurzu thought to himself. Having spent his time down here thanks to the guild master’s decision, Rarakurzu learned to listen for footsteps and their speed. Rarkurzu hid behind the counter. Waiting for the looters to enter.

“Thal’s balls! How can that desert witch see in here?” one of the looters muttered stumbling into a wall.

“Quiet you idiot! What if he comes back? The guild master mentioned he was knocked over and drunk after that whole flash of light.” Another looter, a lalafell, said. “We have to move quick and get as many books as we can. Simeon, do you still have the key?”

“Aye right here.” Simeon stuttered, he shifted uneasily in the dark. “Why can’t we light a torch here? It’s too dark and I can’t see beyond my hand. What if the rumors are true and he can raise the dead or summon vopidsent like the other Ven do. Thal’s balls let me be able to see.”

Rarakurzu smirked. He concentrated his aether through his staff into the gems across the room. Ghostly flames began to light the room.

“What in the seven hells?” the first looter said, his eyes widening in the now low-lit room. “Which one of you idiots did that?” The other two were silent, fear playing across their faces as they grew pale. Simeon backed towards the counter. Rarakurzu leapt at this chance. Before the Hyur knew it, there was a staff against his throat, growing colder as Rarakurzu channeled umbral aether to freeze into ice. Rarakurzu’s eyes glowed in the dark, one ivory and one blood red. The ghost flames exaggerated and twisted his stern smile.

“Hello boys and girls.” Doc said as Simeon whimpered. “I’m afraid the records hall is closed right now due to the commotion outside.” The other two looters drew their weapons, the hyur a pair of daggers and the lalafell a staff.

“Shit their eyes due glow in the dark.” The hyur said with a tremble.

“Stuff you mouth idiot.” The lalafell stammered out keeping her eyes on Rarkurzu. “We don’t want any trouble Doctores, just let us take the books and you won’t get hurt. We can even make so you get a split of the profit. This city is ending! Beasts and rioters are running in the street! Garlemald is invading! What do these dusty old scrolls and tomes mean to you?”

“Our past. Our future. It must always be protected. Besides all the books.” Rarakurzu said as ghostly flames lit up the rest of the room, “All these books are currently in use by our… older patrons.” Rarakurzu laughed as shrouded figures began moving through the shelves. The room began to grow colder

“He can summon voidsent.” The looter lalafell said as panic filled her eyes. The free hyur dropped his daggers and fell to his knees. The three looters began shivering. Rarakurzu focused back to Simeon and channeled aether into his staff again, this time focusing on lightning. Simeon sparked a little then fell to the ground knocked out but still breathing. Rarakurzu jumped down to the ground and approached the other two. His eyes glowing brighter. The other looters cowering and frozen in place as they screamed and then fell to sleep. More footsteps approached the records hall, Rarakurzu focused aether again and the ghost flames turned to normal lighting. Entering the room was Tobie, some thaumaturge guild members and one of the sultansworn. Rarakurzu smiled as they began to tie up the looters and carry them out. All three looters passed out but pale white as if they had seen the seven hells themselves.

A couple days later, Rarkurzu was helping the other guildmembers in restoring the ossuary. Yayake Yake was walking toward him with Pipin Tarupin by her side. “Doc, you guest has arrived.” Yayake said and then went back to the receptionist’s desk. Rarakurzu bowed and bade the Vice Flame Marshal follow him to the historical records.

“I’m sorry for not contacting you sooner.” Rarakurzu apologized, “but circumstances were a bit dire and I had to confirm something with Madame Dewlala.” He produced a key from his pocket. “I found this on one of the looters. They seemed to be keen to use it, I’ve been in this department of the Ossuary for some time and I recognized its purpose. Madame Dewlala confirmed that it was to financial records of the Ossuary and that is why she allowed me to contact you.”

“Why would these looters want with the order of Nald’Thal’s finances? And why call for me personally” Pipin asked.

“You’re the only person close to the Sultana aside from the Flame General and Papashan, and I fear she may need to see this.” Rarakurzu said, “In all my time here at the Ossuary, there was one room in the records I could not access. Where we kept the list of donations and contributions. Mumuepo was the only one that had access to this room. What I heard during the day of the Sultana’s visit and the riots. I felt the Sultana needed to know about what we’re about to see.” As the two lalafell approached the door, a shrouded figure began walking forward. Pipin drew his blade while Rarakurzu began laughing. “Seven hells. I knew I forgot one.” Rarakurzu stood before the shrouded figure and removed the cloth covering it. The Mammet underneath stopped and looked around before bowing and scurrying off. “Its funny how I’d always get angry when people with spit and attack over my heritage.” Doc said as he returned to the door. “This calamity that came upon us. Finally made those superstitions useful for once.”

The following days as the rest of the city state of Ul’dah was being rebuilt saw many turn of events. The Immortal Flames had returned many badly wounded and hurt but alive, including the Flame General Raubahn. It was during this time that evidence of corruption and embezzlement came to light in the Arrzaneth Ossuary, all helmed by its guild master Mumuepo. In the room Papashan and Rarakurzu entered, they found the list of donations to the Ossuary and a list of personal accounts belonging to the guild master and which books were the most valuable. As soon as the Sultana was informed of these incidents. She stripped Mumuepo of his title and standing in the order and instated the five lalafellin brothers who were part of her seven in calming the riots as the guilds’ new masters. The Sultana herself awarded Rarakurzu and several of the guild members with the title of Hero of the Ossuary for his efforts in protecting the historical records from looters and his part in exposing Mumuepo’s illicit deeds.

Before Mumuepo was escorted from the guild to his new home in the jail, he had one last visitor. Rarakurzu punched him square in the cheek. “You should be careful who you hire” Rarakurzu said, “I was too good at my job to let someone like you ruin our guild, our nation and the order.”

[dnd-drunks-n-debauchery]

Recap/highlight reel of Friday’s session

Brought to you by @nevergonnarollagain aka Cookie (16/04/2021)

The session picks up from where we left off last week; Rosania making the decision to go check out the mines to try and get the diamonds there instead after finding the jeweler's business style to be rather unsavoury for her liking. 

Most of the group stay behind at Hallow to look after Jayfice's body and get some rest, but Ned, Quint, Javier and Harmony all accompany Rosania to the nearest mountain to locate the mines.

As we approach a mining town near the mountain, Rosania pauses briefly to look at the sky. It's a calm day, weather wise. Blue sky, a few fluffy clouds, bright sun...so when lightning suddenly strikes about 200 feet ahead of them, creating a fairly large crater in the ground, naturally it catches everyone off-guard.

Quint lets out a scream but quickly collects himself, leading the way to go look at the crater. Rosania hurries after him while the others hang back a little, with Javier keeping just ahead of Harmony in case things get nasty.

As the group draw closer to the crater they spot a wood-elf approaching the crater from the direction of town. Quint calls out to them but they don't respond, and as Quint nervously scans the area he spots some giant spiders moving around. Rosania also looks around but doesn't register the spiders as her mind is on other things.

The elf walks right over to the crater and peers inside, only to suddenly get shot by a bunch of arrows. They fall over unconscious and the shooters are revealed to be two skeletons on the backs of skeleton horses. Two other skeleton riders accompanying the two who just shot the elf shoot at Quint and Ned, while the spiders come racing over with skeleton jockeys of their own who shoot at Javier and Harmony.

Quint is the first to react, shooting the closest skelehorse and rider with his crossbow. The spine of the skeleton snaps in half, but the ragged old t-shirt it's wearing prevents it from falling apart completely.

Rosania is next to take action, pulling out her wand and summoning the thorny whip which she swings at one of the spiders since it's closest to her. The spider dodges out of the way, however a quick glance at Quint is enough to determine that he's upset at her trying to attack it.

Rosania isn't the only one to notice how upset Quint is; Harmony, who seemed about to attack one of the spiders as well, catches sight of Quint's displeased expression and quickly changes target, instead shooting a beam at one of the skeleton horses and disintegrating it.

Javier stares dully at the monsters and casts Fireball at them, wiping out all of the skeletons and skeleton horses. The spiders survive but are half-dead, and Javier rolls his eyes and pulls out his fire rapier, activating it ready to fight.

Ned warily eyes up the situation and thinks for a moment, then casts Moonbeam. What looks like a giant eye opens in the sky above a couple of the spiders and shoots them with a huge beam that comes shooting out of the center.

The spiders panic and break formation, cartwheeling around everyone and stopping in front of each person.

Quint attempts to cast a spell to speak with the spiders, but they seem too panicked to listen to what he has to say. He notices the elf again and casts Spare the Dying, stabilizing them for now.

Rosania turns to the spider in front of her, gripping her wand tighter. She's not exactly a fan of spiders, so to have one this big standing this close to her was...unnerving to say the least. She manages to keep calm however, swinging her wand-whip again and this time landing a hit. The spider falls to the ground but isn't quite dead yet, and she reckons another blow would finish it off.

As much as she doesn't want to upset Quint, Harmony knows she doesn't really have a choice by now. She blasts the spider in front of her, killing it instantly. 

Javier glances quickly between all of the spiders. Since Harmony's already killed her spider, Rosania seems to have things under control in regards to her spider and Ned can handle himself, he runs over to Quint and attacks the spider in front of him with his fire rapier, finishing it off. 

Ned grabs one of his axes and swings at the spider in front of him, cutting its head in half. He spots the spider in front of Rosania and, realizing it's still alive, directs the moonbeam to target it instead. The beam delivers the final blow, and everyone relaxes a little.

Rosania stares down at the spider in front of her for a moment then silently puts away her wand, glancing over at Javier and Harmony as she does so. She's concerned about both of them, and despite having only been part of the group for a short time she can tell that something's not quite right with how either of them have been acting. 

Quint, meanwhile, turns his attention to the unconscious elf. Sure, they’ve been stabilized, but they need healing. He scoops them up in his arms and starts hurrying in the direction of the town they came from, and one by one the others follow him.

We walk into the town and there's no-one around. All of the windows and doors are shut tight. Quint calls out to announce our presence and one of the temple windows opens slightly, and the person inside asks who we are.

Quint explains that we mean no harm to the people here, and that we rescued the elf in his arms and brought them to be healed. The person at the window moves away and opens the door, although there's rope tied to the door so that it can be quickly pulled shut if needed.

We all walk over to the temple and head inside. As we do we notice that everyone in here seems to be elves, and that the one who'd been talking to Quint looks pretty old. Since Quint is a human and Javier and Rosania are both elves the elves who were here don't pay much attention to them, but they all seem pretty surprised at the presence of Harmony and Ned, what with them being a tiefling and a dwarf respectively.

The doors close behind us, and the room is plunged into nearly complete darkness. The only light is from a small handle-hole in the window, which isn't enough to properly see by. This wouldn't be an issue were it not for the fact that Quint has no darkvision what with being a human. He awkwardly asks if someone can light things up, and about a quarter of the elves immediately conjure various light spells. The room gets so bright that some of the elves have to dismiss their light spells.

The elf who opened the door asks Quint what exactly happened, and he explains that the unconscious elf was walking towards where the lightning had struck, looked in the crater and got shot by skeletons on skeleton horses. The elf sighs and comments that Avadele (the unconscious elf) was probably trying to pet the skeleton horses, and asks someone to go fetch a Truth spell scroll so that they can ask Avadele when they wake up. 

He leads Quint to the altar and has him place Avadele down on it. As one of the elves comes over with a Truth spell scroll, he heals Avadele and they wake up. As Avadele wakes up, the head elf casts the truth spell and asks them what happened. Avadele pauses for a moment, then responds by saying "There was a horsey and I went to go pet it, then lightning struck and big needles stuck into me. Then I was here." The other elves in the room exchange glances and roll their eyes, clearly expecting an answer like this.

Quint tells Avadele that they were shot, and they respond in confusion by saying they didn't see anyone with spell-shooters. Quint asks if they know what arrows are and Avadele nods, which is when they catch sight of the arrows which are still sticking into them. Before anyone can stop them they break off all of the arrow staffs, much to the horror of Quint and unsurprised looks between the other elves.

As a few of the elves start conjuring Mage Hands and using them to remove the arrow heads still embedded in Avadele, Rosania walks over to talk to Javier. She asks if he's ok and he just looks at her, then quietly says that he just wants Jayfice brought back to life. She nods sympathetically, then decides to go through with her plan and asks if they might need therapy after they come back.

Javier pauses for a moment, but tells her that aside from the missing leg and injured arm, theoretically they should be fine. Rosania explains that she's asking because she's not sure how traumatizing being dead would be, since she's never been dead before. Javier agrees, muttering about how he's never actually been dead before either. He tells her about a therapist he knows and tells her that if she's looking for therapy he highly recommends that one, and Rosania nods to herself and comments that "Therapy can be very useful" before walking away.

It's as she's walking away that she realizes Javier's wording. "If you're looking for therapy." She stops walking and blinks a few times, then turns and looks over at Javier, who's moved to the side and is currently sitting on the floor, leaning against one of the walls. Does he think she was trying to get therapy recommendations...for herself?

She rolls her eyes at the idea and turns away from him. She doesn't need therapy. Sure, a camping trip on her own to get over her feelings for her best friend that ended up being three years of isolation and only ended when she accidentally became a druid was weird, and turning into a...dinosaur, as Jayfice called it...every time she got extremely scared was probably a little concerning, but she was fine. Nothing another camping trip wouldn't fix, anyway.

As she reaches this conclusion, the head elf walks over to her and rests his hand lightly on her head. She realizes that he's just trying to heal her and allows the contact before silently pointing him towards Javier. She wasn't attacked during the fight so she doesn't need healing, and as soon as the head elf turns away she turns and walks towards Harmony.

She asks Harmony how she's feeling, and Harmony explains that she's feeling ok since the head elf healed her. Rosania nods and asks how she is mentally, and Harmony admits that she's a little shaken up after everything that's been going on, but is more worried about Javier. Rosania nods sympathetically and says "If you ever need to talk about it..." but trails off as she's unsure of what to say. Harmony thanks her for the offer and heads over to Javier, sitting down with him and running her hands through his hair as he snuggles up to her.

Despite neither of them watching what she's doing, Rosania feels it'd be a little suspicious if she just asked them how they were and not the others. She walks over to Ned and asks how he's doing and he tells her he's ok, and satisfied for now she walks over to ask Quint the same question.

Quint seems calm enough as Rosania approaches him, but when she asks how he is, the full gravity of the situation hits him. He starts panicking, rambling about how he didn't expect any of this to happen and asking why the fuck we even need diamonds in the first place. 

Rosania has no idea what to do. She can feel her own fear starting to bubble up in her chest, which only escalates as she wonders what the hell she's going to do if she turns into a dinosaur in here. Thankfully though, Harmony has also noticed Quint's panicked state. She quickly brings the group together and casts Calm Emotions, and a state of calm falls over everyone. Quint stops panicking, Javier and Harmony seem more at ease, Ned looks calmer than before, and Rosania feels pretty relaxed herself as the emotions just seem to dissolve. 

The head elf comes over to check up on us himself, and Harmony reassures him that we're fine now. Quint asks if we can stay here at the temple for tonight, and he responds by saying that if we're happy with sleeping on the pews since all of the rooms are filled up, then that's alright with him. 

Later that night, Rosania and the others start to make themselves as comfortable as they can on the pews. Rosania's mind is buzzing as she tries to relax, thinking over both Javier and Harmony's words. Since it seems that Harmony may share her concerns about Javier's mental state, she makes up her mind. As soon as Jayfice is brought back to life, she's going to get Javier some therapy, no matter what.

Satisfied with this conclusion she slowly slips into her trance, only to be jolted out of it again by a loud noise coming from outside. It's loud, and annoying, and...familiar. Her mind kicks back in as she tries to work out where she knows it from, and as the others start sitting up and looking around she realizes what it is.

It's a signal horn.

(cue dramatic cut to black with text that reads "To be continued..." since that's where the action ended)

[yourgodmoments]

The Book of Revelation Revisited 4 - Seven Seals

The apostle John has just been spiritually transported to God’s heavenly throne room, where He is able to look upon our Creator. This is a major shifting point in the relationship between God and man, because heretofore, no one was allowed to look upon His face except His Son. (Ex. 33:20; Jn. 6:46.)

However, the glory of God’s countenance is so overwhelmingly magnificent that John cannot describe it other than as a stunning rainbow, emitting from incomparable jewels, with accompanying flashes of lightning and peals of thunder. (Rv. 4:3 & 5.) Surrounding God’s throne was 24 other thrones, occupied by 24 ‘church elders’ - consisting of the 12 apostles of Jesus and representatives for the 12 tribes of Israel. The elders were prostrate before Christ in worship, bringing forth the prayers of the saints. for His consideration. (Rv. 4:10, 11.)

John also sees the ‘seven Spirits of God, representing the Holy Spirit in His complete fullness.

Then, the apostle shifts his gaze to God’s right hand:

And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and loose its seals?” Rv. 5:1, 2. NKJV

The scroll contains God’s final plan for redemption - the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It is written on both sides and sealed, denoting its completeness. There will be no further additions.

To John’s amazement and relief, the ‘one who is worthy’ turns out to be the ‘Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David - Jesus Christ who takes the scroll in the presence of the elders and of angels who worship Him:

“You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth.” Rv. 5:9, 10. NKJV

We see then that only the Son of God is worthy to carry out His Father’s plan for salvation. Christ is presented here as a ‘lion’ (especially to those who rejected Him), and as a ‘lamb’ (to those who have invited Him in their hearts. John further describes Jesus as having the appearance of a lamb who has been slain (to represent His death and resurrection); and having 7 horns and 7 eyes - symbolizing His divine power and complete amalgamation with the Holy Spirit.

Next, Jesus calls John to witness an overview of the nature of events which will unfold during the seven-year tribulation period. Jesus begins by opening the first four seals, which reveal the symbolic ‘four horsemen of the apocalypse. The first rider is interpreted by some to be the Antichrist (counterfeit christ), who is loosed upon the earth at the beginning of the tribulation.

The apostle Paul had also prophesied about this event:

…that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God… 2 Thess. 2:3, 4. NKJV

The ‘Day’ is the day of God’s wrath.

The second rider represents war - interpreted by some as a personification of a great ‘army from the north,�� said to be a coalition from countries that comprised the old Soviet Union and those populated by Islamic radicals.

The third rider signifies famine, and the fourth symbolic of death and disease.

When Jesus opens the fifth seal, John sees a vision of all who have been martyred for Christ, pleading for justice; but they are told to be patient a bit longer, so that our merciful God can use a little more time to gather in anyone who may yet choose Him.

The opening of the sixth seal reveals a preview of severe cosmological disturbances that will manifest when Christ returns to the earth.

Before the seventh seal is opened, we are privy to the first of three ‘interludes’ in heaven, where we can see the disposition of the saints during the various phases of John’s visions:

Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice…”Do not harm the earth, the sea or the trees till we have sealed the servants of God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed. 7:2 - 4. NKJV

What follows in a list of the 12 Jewish tribes of 12,000 each - all of which have been sealed by the angels. The ‘seal’ is the name of the Lamb and of God - the seal of salvation. (Rv. 14:1) Some interpreters see the 144,000 as a symbolic number of Jews who come to the realization the Christ is the Messiah, after they witness the rapture of the church of Christ, and watch God defeat the enemies of Israel in the final battle. Thus, like the church of Christ, the Jews are sealed as well. (Rm. 11:26)

John’s vision of the ‘interlude’ continues as he sees the appearance of an innumerable multitude of people from all over the world, dressed in white robes and worshiping the Lamb of God. (Rv. 7:9, 10.) One of the ‘elders’ explains who they are:

“These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore or thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Rv. 7:14 - 17. NKJV

Some interpret the multitude to be Gentiles from around the world that witness the rapture of the church, the defeat of Israel’s enemies by God, and the salvation of the Jews. In the face of all this, they too decide to embrace Christ. (Zech. 8:23)

This interpretation then, calls for an additional rapture, which occurs at mid-tribulation. It is another loving example of God’s mercy - giving His children a final chance to come to Him.

John’s vision shifts earthward to see how the inhabitants are faring at this time, and then it returns to Jehovah’ s throne room as Jesus opens the last of the seven seals:

When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of the saints on the golden alter which was before the throne. Rv. 8:1 - 3. NASB

Then the angel took the censor, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake. So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. Rv. 8:5, 6. NKJV

The seventh seal reveals the ‘judgments of the trumpets,’ which herald the coming of the cataclysmic events of the tribulations. From this scripture, we can take comfort in knowing that the prayers of the saints are ever-present before God’s throne.

The censer that the angel threw to the earth contains the prayers of the saints calling for justice to be served upon their persecutors. God is answering them through His imminent judgments on the ungodly.

Next time…

Goodnight and God bless.

[maryisis]

My 10 day Egypt Journey

Traveling to Egypt was a dream come true for me. I have been fascinated by ancient Egypt since I was a young girl and this fascination led into my adult years with more in depth studies into the awesome ancient sites. When the opportunity came to me to travel with a small group of 6 other highly intentional people with similar interests, I made it happen- in spite of the not so great financial situation I was in- and I am SO gratefulfor the support I received to help make it happen for me. In this blog I will share about the amazing places I visited in a VERY full 10 days and I will offer my own reflections about the experiences as well as some travel tip/advice for anyone else interested in making this “pilgrimage.” I say pilgrimage because we were venturing with intentions for connecting to the energies of the places, feeling a remembrance in our souls for these ancient lands. I will first say that having a guide for our trip was *essential*- it just wold not have been possible- A guide is needed for many reasons. Egypt is not the easiest place to navigate and travel solo- to have a guide that knows the language, culture and how to negotiate with officials in absolutely necessary. Our guide was so wonderful, just reach out if you are interested in hiring him! So let’s get started!

My journey began actually in the country of Turkey. This was also a dream come true- literally. I have had a number of dreams related to Turkey- involving certain names and places and also a deep sense of remembrance. So if you want to skip straight to Egypt scroll down a little bit. 

(*Travel side note: I had frequent flyer miles through United Airlines that would cover most of my travels but for some reason I didn’t have a enough for round trip to Cairo and back. So I figured out a way to utilize my miles to take me to Izmir, Turkey and then from Frankfurt, Germany all the way home and so all I had to to do was buy 2 connecting flights: from Izmir to Cairo and from Cairo to Frankfurt- which cost around $550 for both, yet allowed me two extra little adventures with some dear friends living in this places- Plus- WHAY NOT since I’m going all the way out there~.)

TURKEY~  I arrived in Izmir, a city of over 4 miliion, to open the arms of my auntie Julianne, who now lives there as music teacher at an international school. She absolutely loves it there and I can see why. She lives in a very bustling part of the city called Alcancak and has a cute apartment that has a rooftop-soon to be garden- that overlooks the city. Below on the narrow streets are many restaurants and clubs with delicious Aegean/Mediterranean/Middle eastern foods and music. As well as being a teacher, she sings in a band, and most of her friends there are musicians. The very first night after getting in we went out to see one of her friend’s bands and met up with her other good friend, Mira, who had just gotten into town from Lebanon. I won’t go too into detail of my İzmir adventures but just provide some highlights: exploring the old and colorful places of Izmir, visiting a coastal village & getting to swim in the Aegean sea (literal dream come true) at a lovely beach and also going to visit the ancient city of Ephesus (Efes). (See photos below) I would absolutely love to return to Turkey to explore more of this country that has very ancient roots- of which I am quite fascinated by what is known of  Anatolian and Thracian cultures. And the site of Göbekli Tepe dates back perhaps over 10,000 years ago, and is evidence of an advanced civilization- an inconvenient anomaly for many historians. One of the aspects I love most about traveling is connecting with other human beings on the way. The language barrier doesn’t even really exist, especially with “google translator!.” 

Ok! now let’s get on with the Egypt journey shall we?!

DAY 1- arrival in Egypt~

I arrived in Cairo around 10:30 pm and  was greeted by someone holding a sign with my name on it when I got off the plane, who quickly escorted me through customs and helped me through purchasing the Visa on arrival (which was $25). That was all very helpful. I’ll just tell you right now that to have an organizer for our group made our travels SO easeful and smooth and I highly recommend it, ESPECIALLY if you want to travel with a small group of friends. AND if you would like me to connect you with our amazing organizer and/or guide reach out and let me know. I was then greeted at the baggage claim area by our official organizer, Ihab, who informed me of the current wild weather conditions that turned Cairo into a chaotic traffic jam with floods and accidents. He showed me to my private vehicle and driver that would take me to my hotel- The Mena House (the historic hotel that is located right next to the great pyramids of Giza). What would have been a 30 minute drive was more like and hour and a half with all the crazy traffic. I counted about 8 big accidents with car pile-ups and gratefully I arrived to the hotel safely and was shown to my room to rest. I remember getting my first glimpse of silouettes of the pyramids while approaching the hotel and it sent electricity through my body. I was really here! My room mate Tara arrived around 2 am along with the rest of the gang. And we were up early for breakfast to begin our first day!

DAY 2- GIZA / SAKKARA / DAHSHUR - (accomodations at the Marriot Mena House- Cairo’s oldest hotel, situated right next to the pyramids!)

After our breakfast we were off on our first adventure, to drive about 40 km south of Cairo into the desert to the pyramid complex of Dahshur- the largest of which is known as the “bent pyramid.”The real name of this pyramid is “Sneferu is shining in the south” (or “Sneferu is shining”) because it was covered in a  polished Tura limestone. It is not exactly known why there was the “bend” in angle of the pyramid. These are some of the oldest pyramids in Egypt, dating back to around 2600 BC. We were able to go inside of the smaller pyramid located behind the “bent” pyramid, which is thought by some to be the pyramid for the pharoah’s wife, although it may have been for more ritual purposes that for an actual burial.  Even being inside this small pyramid was impressive in its construction. (good preparation for the following day). It only reopened to the public in July of 2019, having been closed since 1965. I was also able to go inside of the Red Pyramid, which was the first “true” smooth sided pyramid ever built. That is the one seen in the photo above and below, followed by photos of the “Bent” pyramid and its smaller nearby “satellite” pyramid, which we went into. Notice the puddles from the rain!! We felt blessed from the rains, which cleared the air and kept the dust down in the desert!

Seen above is a large altar structure that is on the east side of Sneferu’s “bent” pyramid. It is what is left of the the temple from this pyramid.

We then headed north to Sakkara, to Kind Djoser’s “step pyramid.” This pyramid is actually the oldest pyramid of all. It is believed to have been designed by high priest Imhotep for Pharaoh Djoser. Imhotep is believed to have been Djoser’s chief officials and is a very important person of ancient Egypt. He was eventually deified as the god of medicine and healing, possibly 2000 years following his death. His name translates to “the one who comes in peace.” Although the tomb of Imhotep has not yet been found, it is thought is may lie somewhere in Sakkara. This “step pyramid” of Djoser will be soon opened to the public, and we were blessed to have gotten a small peek at the entrance/bottom of the stairs leading into the pyramid. 

After this exploration and feeling a new and growing fascination with Imhotep, we had the opportunity to visit a tomb that was over 5000 years old. Again, we were there all by ourselves and it was really incredible, the amount of artistry that went into this tomb- with multiple rooms, all with intricately carved and painted walls.  Afterwards we went to the town of Sakkara to have lunch and then to a place where beautiful rugs are handmade of wool, cotton and silk. I was walking aroung this place with stars in my eyes...and yes I did purchase that special Isis rug!!  Side note: When got to Sakkara step pyramid, it was right around lunch time and there was hardly anyone there because of that, which was quite nice to enjoy this place without the hordes of tourists. It pays to have a good and knowledgeable guide.

We finally headed back to our hotel to rest for the following big day.....

DAY 3- We arose very early, to depart around 4:30 am, to the Great Sphinx. The hotel was very close by so it didn’t take long before we were at the gates, and getting through security to be able to have a private two hours with the Sphinx. We arrived and walked quietly under the stars and magical waning crescent moon, to the paws of the Sphinx where we assembled into a circle and Tara led our first group ritual there. We received an anointing and a very special ormus tincture and each had the opportunity to speak our magical words of intention for what we wish to resurrect in our being. As the ritual was completed the first light began to show on the eastern horizon. All was quiet and peaceful until the first rays of light shone upon us all, sealing in the magical essence of which we all imbibed. We walked in wonder around this ancient monument that was carved from the bedrock of this land, perhaps over 10,500 years ago. I could only imagine what life was like on the earth then and how humanity lived. To think that this structure was created that long ago, challenges the the linear technological advancement of humanity and that we are currently the most advanced civilization. What this monument possibly signifies is the last/previous golden age that existed on earth, in which lived people that were highly advanced, with great knowledge of our place in the cosmos. Some may even postulate with good reason that our ancient origins lie somewhere else, not on this earth and that humans received (and possible still do receive) extra-terrestrial technological guidance. The third photo down is a photo I took from between the paws of the great Sphinx, and you can clearly see the constellation of “Orion’s belt,” which is thought by many progressive historians, such as Robert Bauval, to be related to the layout the the three great pyramids on the Giza plateau. 

After this magical experience we departed and drove out onto the Giza plateau for a great overview of the pyramids, in the early morning light. It was again, a great time to be there, as it was before anyone was up- no tourists and vendors trying to sell you stuff. It was quiet and peaceful.

Seen above, is a photo of myself with the powerful, beautiful women I was blessed to travel with. Alia: a soon to be mother and awesome music producer and DJ, Kanna: a fully embodied ceremonial healing arts practitioner, Maya: an accomplished life coach & mystery school high priestess and Tara, a songstress, Vedic astrologer and visionary entrepreneur...

In the later afternoon we prepared to visit and enter the great pyramid of Khufu (also known by his Greek name Cheops). He was the successor to his father, King Sneferu. These massive pyramids are made mostly of very large limestone blocks. Within “Khufu’s pyramid” there are 3 chambers, which are made of a dark granite that came from over 500 miles away. The pyramids used to be covered in a smooth white casing of limestone mortar, which must have been quite a sight!  The original entrance to this great pyramid is on the north side, about 59 feet above ground level. However, it may have never really been an “entrance” as it was all entirely covered up and it wasn’t until 820 AD, when the Arab Caliph Abdullah Al Manum, in a pursuit of finding tomb treasures busted his way through the pyramid making a tunnel until he accidentally “found” the original tunnel “entrance” and then also discovered the other shaft tunnels leading to the different chambers. Even though this pyramid has been regarded at King Khufu’s tomb, no treasure and no mummies were ever found. Being inside this pyramid I marveled at the advanced architectural engineering required to achieve such exquisite and perfect construction. 

Our group had an exclusive, private 2 hours in this great pyramid. We entered at sunset from this roughly hewn tunnel below and to the right of the true and original entrance. Once through that we reached the original shaft which went downward until it met another shaft leading upwards (the shaft does continue going down to a lower chamber which we did not go to). It was quite the climb up the steep, narrow and remarkably high shaft (see photo). The first and middle chamber that you reach would be the Queen’s chamber, however we kept going up to go to the King’s chamber first. Finally we were at the top of the shaft and then had to hunch over low to get through a short distance of perfectly rectangular tunnel and then we entered the King’s chamber, a box like room containing an empty and partially broken granite sarcophagus. I was in awe. The acoustics in the room were amazing, every sound echoing and resonating and then perfectly resolving to silence. We assembled into our guided formation and began our ritual, guided by Alia and Shane. I won’t go into too much detail about it but I will share that we each had the opportunity to give/receive healing hands and toning, each taking our turns to lay down in the middle. A few of us, including myself, took the opportunity to lay within the sarcophagus for a some moments. My intention was to let die any aspects in my psyche that impede my evolution and highest purpose...and to resurrect myself newly empowered.

Most of our time was in the King’s chamber, but we also got to go inside the Queen’s chamber, which was smaller and differently shaped, more chapel like. Upon exiting it was rather surreal, there were many people waiting to get inside- it was a whole film crew, and one guy dressed as Napolean Bonaparte- to play out the tale of his time alone in the great pyramid. Thankfully our trusty guides prevented this film crew from barging in and disturbing our time, which they were definitely ready to do! 

Day4-The next morning we were up bright and early and off to the airport to take a short flight 425 miles south to Aswan where we would be boarding on the Mayfair Nile cruise. Our group just happened to be the first people on board the ship so we had a wonderful relaxing time dropping in and relaxing. Then that afternoon we went to Philae, Temple of Isis. We took a quick shuttle to a little dock and then a motor boat ride to the “island” of Philae, where the temple is. This island is actually located in the reservoir of Aswan’s low dam, which was constructed in 1902. This caused the waters to rise and the Temple of Isis, in its original location, began to get inundated with the rising waters. In 1970 the it was decided that the temple would be moved to higher land so that it could be preserved for future generations. This process took 10 years and was finally re-opened in 1980. Its incredible to think that this entire temple was moved stone by stone. The temple is very beautiful and the energy is enhanced by the surrounding water. This area is/was held very sacred by the ancient Egyptians and Nubians. Just across the waters you can see where the temple once was, on a cataract of the Nile River. This area is also believed to be the burial place of Osiris. The temple’s construction began sometime around 350 BCE, yet evidence suggests that temples honoring Isis existed in this area as early as the 6th century BCE.

 After walking around the temple complex and learning about it all from our guide I found a place where I would lead our group’s ritual. I chose a small side room that had at one time been either a healing room. I felt that in this small room we would be undisturbed and (hopefully) be unnoticed by the guards, as any form of meditation or ritual is forbidden in Egypt’s ancient sites. Without going into too much of detail of the ritual, I will just say that we each had the opportunity to speak our words of power and healing, with the intention of infusing our every cell of our body with this healing light, calling upon Isis to hear our prayers. Each prayer was sealed with a self anointing of the “sacred communion” blend I brought with me. Fortunately we were able to complete our ritual before the tourist police showed up. We dispersed and still had more time to wander in wonder and revel in the healing energies before departing back to the Mayfair cruise. 

Not too surprised that a new song came through that evening on the boat! We had a lovely group dinner back on the ship that night. Every dinner we took the opportunity to check in with each other, and we each had the opportunity to share our feelings/thoughts about the guided intentional inquiries. This definitely helped to keep a conscious and ceremonial container for our group as well as maintaining a sense of harmony and understanding of each other. 

Day5-The following day after breakfast we were off early to the Kom Ombo temple, which we were able to walk to from the boat from its new “parked” location. Kom Ombo is a unique temple because it is a double temple, in honor of two different gods: Sobek, the crocodile creation god and Horus, the falcon headed God. These two gods are thought to actually be rivals. The temple has a clear central meridian line that runs through it. It is thought that this temple was once a pilgrimage site for healing and perhaps childbirth as there are sections of this temple dedicated to Hathor (Goddess of fertility and motherhood) and Khonsu (Goddess of the moon). There are fascinating heiroglyphs of women giving birth and of “two spirit” individuals. In the far back walls there are very unique hieroglyphs: very first known representations of precise surgical tools. Some of these tools include suction caps, scalpels, bone saws, dental tools, medicine bottles, forceps, birthing chairs and forceps! After we took as much time as we could feeling the vibes of this interesting temple we did a quick walk through of the crocodile mummy museum close by, before heading back on the ship. 

When we got back on the ship we had lunch and it was quite the spread! Very elaborately carved vegetables and delectable platters of food! (see photos below) The ship took off further down the nile and stopped again where we got off again, this time in Edfu. To get to the temple of Edfu, known as the “Horus temple,” we took 10 minute ride in little horse drawn carriages! That was rather fun, and if my mind remembers correctly, I think it was my first time being in a horse drawn carriage! This temple is a very well preserved temple of the ancient world, perhaps due to the fact that until the late 1700′s it was buried in the drifting desert sands and silt from the Nile River. Excavation projects to uncover this temple began in the 1860′s. What is unique about this temple is it’s art, depicting the epic battle between Horus and Set (Osiris’s brother) as well as many different chamber rooms to many different gods. The central chamber to Horus / “holy of holies” holds a black granite shrine where the golden statue of Horus once stood. In front of that is a replica of the wooden barque (the original can be seen at the Louvre in Paris), which would have held the golden statue of Hathor on festivals and during processions. This temple had a lot to see in each room, it was quite astounding. What was hard to ignore however was how many of the faces of the gods and goddess where chipped away, from when Christianity was on the rise and all things deemed “pagan” were promoted to be destroyed.

After an enchanting time at this temple we headed back on our horse chariots back to the ship and then cruised down through the night to Luxor!  

Day 6- In the morning, We left the boat and embarked on an all day journey out into the desert to Dendara and Abydos- first to the Temple of Hathor and then to the Temple of Osiris- both absolutely stunning in beauty and energy.

Hathor is the Goddess of Beauty, Healing, Joy, Music, Femininity, Fertility and motherhood. She is the cow headed goddess and consort to Horus. This temple is considered one of the most beautiful temples, because of its detailed art that covers its walls and high columns. What was especially impressive was the prevalence zodiac art on the high ceilings. This was a place of healing also, and the tempe had its own large water reservoir next to it. There was a lot to see here, with many rooms and interesting and mysterious art depictions. Again we were blessed to experience this temple at a very quiet time, with not too many tourists. We had a beautiful ritual in a private back temple building, in which we were given the key to enter the locked door and we sat inside for an undisturbed time. I feel like we were in a building that was once for the temple priestesses to prepare for rituals in the main temple, almost like an ancient  “green room.” As you will see, many of the faces of Hathor on the large pillars were etched out and destroyed, but I did find some intact ones in the excavated pieces that lie in front of the temple. (see photos) Also seen at this temple is the god Bes, ancient Egyptian god of childbirth, fertility, sexuality, humor, and war, but served primarily as a protector god of pregnant women and children. He is regularly depicted as a dwarf with large ears, long-haired and bearded, with prominent genitals, and bow-legged.

After our beautiful, enjoyable (and very hot) time in Dendara, we continued on our long drive to Abydos to the temple of Seti (temple of Osiris). This is a place of great interest, as the Temple of Seti is thought have been added on to more ancient Osireon which lies behind it. There are various reasons for this theory. The Osireon was built at a much lower level that the temple of Seti and is constructed with MASSIVE blocks of stone. The whole appearance of it is actually very similar to the valley temple that lies in front of the great Sphinx. There are little to no heiroglyphs on the structures, the only markings that can be found interestingly are two flower of life painted symbols- which are very faint and hard to see, especially since there was no access to go into the actual temple area itself, we could only stand out on the perimeters.  Also there is water present at the base of this ancient temple, due to its closeness to the water table. It is thought that is temple was where the sacred rites of Osiris were practiced and that it was a place of healing and magic. Once again, our time at this site was blessed, we had it to ourselves! It was very quiet, in an almost eerie way. It was also very dark, and a very masculine energy, a stark contrast from Dendara. There were many bats prevalent here too. As you’ll see in the art, Osiris is depicted commonly a green color, since he is the God of the underworld as well as Resurrection. What color do you turn after you die? In the last photos you can see the Osireion, which is notably very different looking. Look how massive those blocks of stone are!

It was a long drive back to the Mayfair and I enjoyed the drive, watching all the scenery and waving at kids in cars and on the street. I also sang some songs, and led a little sing along in the bus.

That our guide Yasser (above) listening intently. :)

Day 7- Valley of the Kings/Queens. We checked out of the Mayfair Cruise on this day and checked into the Sonesta St. George Hotel, in Luxor, which is situated on the Nile. It was a really nice hotel. After we were checked in we headed out on our big day to the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Queen Hatchepsut. The Valley of the Kings is a vast necropolis located on the west side of the Nile in the stunning limestone and sedimentary rock high cliffed mountains.  There are 60 known tombs in the Valley of the Kings. what is incredible to consider is that they were put there for the purpose of never being found and disturbed! The monumental amount of work and detail goes into the building of these tombs left me feeling speechless. They are all located deep in the earth, and are ornately decorated along their walls. Most of the tombs were raided early on, yet even with what is left is awe-inspiring. The one very famous tomb is of “King Tut,” which was the one that had been found more recently than the others, and was still intact- All of the incredible treasures are now Cairo’s museum, so we didn’t even bother to go to the actual tomb, since it was empty and apparently the walls are pretty bare. One of most impressive of the tombs we did go into was of Ramses the 4 and 6th.

After exploring deep into about four of these massive tombs, we headed to Queen Hatchepsut’s temple and mortuary complex around in the next valley over. I am rather fascinated by this Queen, who was one two women who were pharoahs. She ruled possibly 20 years and was a well loved Queen who accomplished a lot for the benefit of her people. Although this is her mortuary temple, she was not buried here- she was buried in the Valley of the Kings. During the winter solstice, sunlight is able to penetrate the inside of the inner chapel, falling first on the chapel’s rear wall, and then moving across slowly to illuminate a large statue of Osiris. There is also an additional light box that allows a square of light to follow the temple’s central axis. As it travels along the axis, it first illuminates a statue of the god Amen-Ra, then a kneeling statue of King Thutmose III (her husband), and then finally a statue of Hapi the Nile god.I enjoyed this temple immensely, especially the portion dedicated to Hathor on the upper left side. Afterwards we went to the artisan village where people carve alabaster jars, statues and all sorts of things. Then we had a delicious Egyptian lunch overlooking the Nile river, with Luxor temple just on the other side. Then we went back to the nice hotel and chilled out, it was a beautiful sunset!

Day 8- Karnak and Luxor- Luxor is the arabic name meaning many palaces, and it used to be called Thebes by the Greek. It was at one time the most important political and religious center of Egypt. Luxor and Karnak temples are actually connected by a 1.7 mile avenue of Sphinxs, and there is a massive restoration project underway right now to clear this avenue to make it traversable again. Luxor was where the rise of the creator sun god Amun made the rise. Amun is depicted as a ram headed god. The worship of this almighty Amun which later became Amun-Ra, became a widespread yet it wasn’t until the rule of pharaoh Akhenaten that some major shifts started happening. He made some really big changes by banning polytheistic religion and instating a monotheistic religion of the worship of Aten. He had a new city built, Akhetaten, and abandoned Thebes as his capital. He also ordered the destruction of many polytheistic statue sites. When Akhenaten died in 1336 BCE, his son Tutankhaten (”King Tut”) took the throne, changed his name to Tutankhamun (1336-1327 BCE), and moved the capital of Egypt back to Thebes. He reinstated the old Egyptian religion and opened all the temples.  Being so very young, he was likely advised by his councillors to bring back the old ways to bring back the balance, the ma’at, which was ancient Egypt’s most important principle. 

Karnak is the largest religious temple complex in the world, covering 247 acres, its a  massive site with lots to see, with its giant obelisks (made of one single piece of granite!), over 130 huge pillars. Two hours was not really enough. It was built as a site for the worship of Amun but there are other temple on the site as well to the ancient mother earth goddess Mut, and to falcon god Montu.  Much of our time was at the small side temple to ancient creator, craftsman and healer god Ptah and his consort Sekhmet, the lion headed goddess of War, divine retribution and also healing. She is one of the most ancient and most fierce goddess that is called upon in times of war and in times of transformation Sekhmet was mentioned a number of times in the spells of The Book of the Dead as both a creative and destructive force, but above all, she is the protector of Maat (balance or justice) named “The One Who Loves Ma’at and Who Detests Evil.” We had a powerful group ritual, privately within this room with Sekhmet, (once again, we were given the key to the locked room) and we  amazingly had around 30 minutes, completely undisturbed, with which our guide exclaimed afterwards, ��that just doesn’t happen! You are very blessed!” I made a vow that day to let go of my tendency to fear and worry, and I layed it all down at the feet of Sekhmet. I could feel the burden of suffering that was lifted from that willingness to just let it go. Another area I enjoyed exploring is the far eastern portion of the temple, behind the sanctuary of Amun, known as the botanical gardens, which was built by Thutmoses III (husband of Queen Hatchepsut). It was an area open to the sky with low walls uniquely decorated with carvings of plants and animals. 

After visiting Karnak we went to a special Egyptian perfumery run by a man who has been working with the sacred essential oils since his youth. He was an intuitive fellow that could easily read peoples energy and suggest what oils would be most beneficial for them. We got an in depth talk from him about the oils and the ancient Egyptian roots of perfumery and then of course we all ended up purchasing some. Since I was the very last person to decide on which oil I wanted ( I wanted them all!!) I finally narrowed it down to Jasmine, which is supposed to be good for the solar plexus- but I was lucky enough to have gotten gifted a $50 bottle of the rose oil too (which of course I had really wanted!).

  That evening, after a beautiful sunset, Tara and I marveled at the view from our hotel balcony of the new waxing moon low in the sky, with Venus, Mercury and Jupiter all visible!  We went to the temple of Luxor to walk within its grandeur under the stars. This temple is also called “the temple of Man” as its massive layout, as seen from above, models the human body with its perfect geometry. Our last ritual was successfully carried out in the very back of the temple, which would be like the “crown chakra” of the body After the ritual was sealed we had time to wander and marvel at the massive palace like Luxor temple and soak up the energy of this living temple. An interesting detail inside this temple is a mosque that was built later, within the temple. I visited this mosque the next day and ushered in by an enthusiastic person and was shown the interior and how within the mosque walls are the giant pillars of Luxor temple with their ancient hieroglyphs. Inside the mosque are a couple old tombs of Sufi saints as well as rooms for worship. 

The following day we had a good amount to time to relax before heading back to the Aswan airport to fly back to Cairo. After arriving in Cairo we had a lengthy drive to get to the Four Seasons hotel, through crazy Cairo traffic. But we were stoked when we arrived! That was most definitely the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed in! Wow. We had a fun group dinner together in the Lebanese restaurant there, it was delicious!! Oh how I LOVE middle eastern food! The following day (Halloween!) we went to the Egyptian museum of Cairo, which houses many amazing treasures: countless statues, old relics, ancient jewelry and most impressive : the contents of King Tutankhamen’s tomb. It was there that we could also look upon his golden throne and many of his personal objects and most prized: the amazing gold mask that had been on his mummy- made of solid gold and inlay of lapis lazuli, obsidian, and quartz. It is around 2 feet long and weighs 25 pounds. What I found most impressive were his number of actual sarcophagi, I think there were like 5 giant golden boxes, one which fit into another. Also what was amazing to see was the stone box that held King Tut’s canopic jars- the jars that held his vital organs for the afterlife!!! After asking my guide Yasser, “Why is it that this King’s tomb was so extravagant?” and he answered- “They all were most likely like this, its just that his tomb was the only one found intact, and was not yet robbed.” This made me wonder- what has happened to all those stolen tomb treasures- treasures that were never intended to be touched or taken by anyone. 

After the museum we went to the Grand Bazaar of Cairo and had some shopping time. I didn’t do too much of that since I didn’t really have money to spend by this point! It was sure fun to look though! I didn’t have too much energy to haggle over prices, and I realized that really does suck my energy. Also, many of the store owners call out at you, asking questions like “where are you from?” in hopes to capture your attention. But most of the time they are really just trying to get you to come into their stores. A common tradition of hospitality is also offering you tea when you are in their store. I drank my fair share of tea, let me tell you ( in Turkey too)!

After the shopping bonanza we went for our last lunch together at a lovely place that overlooked a big garden area. There were many people there enjoying the day, especially many young school children, maybe on outings with their classes? I was actually starting to feel a little sad, knowing this was the end of our trip, but feeling very grateful too!

I departed early the next morning, back to the airport. I had three more nights in Germany, getting to visit with my dear old friend Aurora and her sweet family. What a contrast that was all of the sudden being in the clear cool air and magical forests! It was the perfect transition to returning home, where it was even colder! Well, its been a relaxing and reflective last few days integrating this big journey! Thanks for reading and following along! I am ever grateful for the support I received from loved ones to make this dream a reality! Would I go back? YES. If fact, I can recommend our amazing guide Yasser Al-Wahab, to anyone interested in making this sacred pilgrimage to Egypt, you would be in expert hands!

And here’s a few refreshing pics of Germany below! 

[centerfold-centifolia-blog]

When Athena first set foot in the throne room of Egypt, she could sense a flicker of divinty. Looking up from the merchant’s garb she was wearing and playing with, she saw golden columns and alabaster ceilings, skin the color of the ebony glistening in the afternoon sun, and honey eyes that cut through all the spices and silks and useless things, staring straight at her.

Despite her mortal appearances, Athena was a goddess, so she returned the look, enjoying what she saw.

Nefertiti was, in every single way, as beautiful as she had heard. Apollo, while on his chariot of fire, saw Egypt’s Queen Mother bathing in the Nile. “Limbs finer than marble,” he said. “And hair woven out of the darkest silk.”

When one of Poseidon’s storms crashed into the Royal Boat of Egypt, the bearded god contemplated the queen. “Tall,” he had reported. “A moving statue, almost the woman Adonis, but possesing none of his vices and all of his virtues.”

Aphrodite came then, disguised as a girl-child, and had served Nefertiti a fig. “Witty,” her sister told her. “Able minded and able bodied.” Then the goddess of love walked away with not so much as a wink or a knowing smile.

Athena could not hold her curiosity any longer. She traveled to Egypt, wearing a merchant’s guise, and here she was now, presenting her wares to the ruling family, as per tradition.

When it was her turn, Athena spoke of olive oil and wine, speaking the truth of creation easily, for is there was anything Athena knew best, it was how to make something work. She brought out tapestries woven by herself, with fields of golden wheat under the setting sun, burning gold and red, of women and nymphs dancing to song of forest satyrs, hair wild and feet looking as if they would move any second. She wove tapestries of the stars and the constellations, with her uncle Atlas carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, ichor— golden blood— seeping from his shoulders, his hands, his fingers, his eyes.

Nefertiti never looked away. Nefertiti never said a word.

She then had a walk in the palace gardens, unsupervised. It was simple enough to make it so that no one could see Athena, except for one particular person.

“Pallas Athena,” came a voice richer than liquor. “It was an honor to have you in my court.”

Athena did not turn around from the tree she had been studying. “The pleasure was mine Nefertiti. I hope you do not mind, as sovereign, my unexpected arrival.”

“Far from it.”

Athena turned around, holding her breath as she saw the features of Nefertiti closely. She had delicate bones, but a body so finely crafted it looked like stone. She looked like she could send an armada to sea with the flick of a finger. She looked like she could make a god fall on his knees in worship.

Good thing then, Athena thought wryly, that she was a goddess.

“I knew that you were smart enough to see through my disguise,” said Athena. She studied the way Nefertiti smiled, like a cat, a jaguar maybe.

“You spoke of olives as though you were its mother, and you wove tapestries of things only the divine know. Who else, aside from an immortal, would know how gods bleed?”

“I should have given you sparser clues,” said Athena, “if you found my identity that easily.”

“You sound impressed, Pallas Athena.” The lazy smile turned sharp.

“I am not,” she replied.

“I never said you were,” Nefertiti said. Athena gave Nefertiti her full attention, and millenia later she could still recall the lines under her eyes, the tiny dimples, they way her honey eyes looked on fire as the sun began to set. That was when Athena reminded herself that though Nefertiti may shine bright, all mortals burn out in the end.

    Nefertiti spent her days outside of court showing Athena around the library of Alexandra. It was a delight to indulge the goddess of wisdom with the scrolls she gaurded and collected ferociously.

She spent her nights inviting Athena to her private quarters, the ones she did not share with her husband. The deity looked amused at the suggestion, questioning if her husband would mind. Nefertiti had laughed.

“My husband and I are partners,” she said. “Not lovers.”

Athena smiled at her wit, but there was melancholy hovering there, at the edges of her grey eyes. Nefertiti wondered what her family life looked like.

Nefertiti had once been in bed thanking Ra for her blessings, the golden hair of Athena spilled in the pillows beside her’s, when the normally even voice of Athena came to her’s, sounding quiet and sombre.

“I was never a child,” she said. “I was born as I am now, adorned in full armour, out of the brain of Zeus. Hera despises the fact that I am not borne from her, and yet a daughter of my father.”

This is the moment that Nefertiti realises that she has a goddess in her chambers, has a goddess in her heart. Athena, for all her pain, does not cry, but Nefertiti embraces her divine lover and hopes that she can fill the hollowness inside of Athena for as long as she is able to.

   “You are on fire,” Athena whispers to her, once, after Nefertiti comes to her, lines of stress etched on her ebony skin, knowing that the elders and officials are making mistakes and exhausted by the measures she took to clean their mess.

“You are the light which they follow, whilst the rest of them are in the dark. Try as they might to prove themselves better than you, they will soon realise that it is a useless endeavor. You are greater than them, a blessing to these mortals.”

“But I am exhausted,” Nefertiti says. “When will the sun rise?”

When a minute goes by without Athena answering, Nefertiti looks up to see that her lover’s grey eyes are fixated on the mid-day sun. Pallas Athena does not look away from the blaze that could burn a mortal’s sight. Pallas Athena does not get injured from seeing the truth. Pallas Athena looks up, ever reaching, ever wanting more, forever understanding more than needs to be known.

Athena feels the honey eyes of Nerfertiti on her. She feels obliged to answer this intelligent creature beside her, if not as her lover, then as a scholar at the altar, praying for an epiphany.

“You are the sun,” she says. “The day you die is the day that your kind will know darkness, until another comes with the same inferno in them.”

   “May I ask you a question?”

They are in the banks of the Nile. Athena looks up from a scroll as Nefertiti sets some papyrus to the side, a thought passing by her that, for whatever reason, intrigued her more than the legal documents that demanded her attention. Nefertiti decides to take a risk, and indulge her curiosity, but Athena seems distant again, as if there were other suns calling her back home.

“It depends on the question,” Athena says. Nefertiti isn’t insulted by her lover’s caginess, since her lover is divine. Though she is a queen, she knows her place.

“The story of Arachne, is it true?”

“Which one?”

Nefertiti is almost surprised by the answer, but she supposes that the tongues of men are quick to talk but slow to check.

“A mortal woman wins against you in a weaving contest. Furious, you turn her into a spider.”

Athena is silent for a moment, and Nefertiti can feel her thinking. “It is strange, the tales priests weave just so that the masses will keep coming to the temples to worship and bring sacrifices.”

She sets the scroll to the side, her feet dipped in the cool waters of the Nile. “Arachne wove a tapestry that beat mine, for it showed everything she was; human. I could weave epics and ballads easily, but Arachne made the mundane beautiful, electrifying. I asked her what it was she desired most, and like a true artist, she desired to practice her craft for as long as Time exists. I granted her request.”

“You turned her into an immortal spider?”

“Immortal, yes. But Arachne is not really a spider. She works for me, you see. I taught her to weave tapestries out of dreams, how to create armour out of thread. She is, let us say, merely spider-like.”

Nefertiti listens to Athena with her full attention, drinking in knowledge like a babe does milk. The queen of Egypt wants to know everything, wants to understand what can be understood, wants to hold as much information as she can in her small little hands because what she has she can use, and she will use whatever she can to better herself and better Egypt.

But something is tugging her heart strings, and whenever Athena would speak to her, Nefertiti spends time memorizing the way her mouth moves just as much as she devours whatever Athena has to say.

“When you first came to Egypt,” Nefertiti says, “I was struck by your depiction of the god Atlas, the world under his feet but the sky on his shoulders.” Athena is looking at her with a peculiar gleam in her eye, so Nefertiti continues.

“The stars you wove seemed to shimmer, and I thought to myself that it may be finally possible to touch their light. But what captivated me the most was that although Atlas bled, his face was serene. I say this without the intentions of blasphemy that when I first saw his face, it reminded me of my husband’s, my father’s, the old pharaoh’s. It also reminded me of the old scholars I see in Alexandra, in the beggars outside the palace, and the sailors who would take me through storms. Athena, you made me see the human in the divine.”

The goddess ponders the mortal before her. She wants to say that she was never bitter about being bested by a mortal, that there was no point in Nefertiti trying to comfort her when she wasn’t hurt by that in the first place. But that would be rude and tactless. So instead, she tears her gaze away from Nefertiti, looking at the vast expanse of the Nile resting by her feet.

“While I was creating that tapestry, I took much time creating the darkness between stars. It was the most peaceful part of the tapestry to weave.”

Athena sighs, and though she hesitates at saying the truth that has been haunting her, she understands that Nefertiti trusts her, and that surprisingly, Athena finds herself trusting her back.

“As I wove the darkness, I wondered what it would be like to stop existing. To stop thinking and planning. There are times when I wonder what it would take for me to die. I plan my own demise, when there is nothing to keep me stimuated. There are days when I am tempted to test them out. But I stop, and gather my wits about me, because the sun always rises, and with it, so I shall. That’s what I tell myself, but Time wears me down thin, and I don’t think that I want to exist anymore. Nefertiti, I don’t want to live for five hundred more years, a thousand more years. It’s killing me.”

Athena is silenced by a kiss. She doesn’t want it, but she accepts it, because its easier to drown out her fears with the honey of Nefertiti’s mouth. They spend the rest of the afternoon with Athena’s head in Nefertiti’s lap, and the daughter of Zues takes turn sleeping and crying, while the queen of Egypt caresses her.

   She is back in Olympus, simply because it was impossible to stay in Egypt for as long as she has without any herm coming to her temples. Athena remembers the sad smile on her queen’s face, and it haunts her whenever she looks up at the stars. So Athena doesn’t look up, and bides her time by cleaning her own mess, waiting for the inevetible, never reaching out because she is a coward.

She drowns herself in war meetings and libraries, noticing the years passing by, so when Hepheastus comes up to her with the news that Nefertiti’s sun has set, Athena is not surprised. She’s been expecting it. But that does not mean that she feels nothing.

Athena grieves in her own way. She donates more scrolls to the library of Alexandra, she encourages Egyptian trade within the walls of Athens, and asks Thoth if a Greek deity could wade through the Du’at.

One more chance at goodbye, she thinks. But that one last chance is never given. Nefertiti’s soul has been recycled, and Athena wonders if she’ll ever see her lover again. Another part of her is uglier, selfish; it screams at her own self, raging in her breasts, demanding to know why Athena never mader Nefertiti immortal. She was not mine to keep, Athena thinks, remembering how her lover gazed at the Nile with reverence, how she would look at the throne of Egypt and be reminded at all the people who lived through her. Nefertiti was her’s to love, not to have.

The years pass, and the offerings to her temples are no longer meant for Pallas Athena, but Minerva. The Romans pray to a demure, virginal goddess. They think that, by taming the Greek gods, Greece’s power might be forgotten, hidden away in the memory of dying people. But Athena remembers who she once was, remembers that she was able to win wars and win the heart of a woman as beautiful as Aphrodite and as wise as her.

Alexandra is burnt, and she rages. Ares is called to hold her back, dark eyes wide in surprise at Athena’s indomitable wrath.

“They will die”, she screams, and she might as well be a serpent ready to swallow the sun whole. This is the first she has donned her ægis in what has felt like eternity, and Athena is out for blood.

“They will die,” Ares assures her, and he learns of another way he and his sister are alike. He sees the rage in her eyes and respects it, understands it; he has seen in mortals, right before battle, right before the end.

“They will die”, he says to her once more, “as all mortals die.”

  It takes her centuries to return to her old self. She has a group of women that do her bidding, all of them possesing a skill that rivals one of her own. Arachne is the first member and is now a crochety old woman, despite the immortality Athena gave her. Several others follow, and they gather information for her, create inventions for her, monitor the universe for her. Athena feels that she is grasping the stars for peace in her heart, but there is something in the past that holds her back.

Nefertiti’s soul had been recycled. Athena wonders if she’ll ever see her lover in another skin. With every passing century, she doubts she will, and hopes that in her second life, her lover will find the peace that seems to elude Athena.

Then a strange brown-skinned girl is brought to her, blindfolded. Her agents tell her that she was able to pick pocket the Tarot, a deck of enchanted cards that chooses only one master; they tell her that the child had been temporarily blinded by the Tarot, and their healer says that it was best that the child rest her eyes a few days. Athena nods, but does not fully understand. Later when no one was watching, Athena tries to touch them and her hand burns.

She lets the child stay by her side, and learns that the young girl has a gift for tongues. The girl abandons the dialect of her native tribe, a tribe that exists in a small Pacific island, for French, Italian, English, German, and Ancient Greek. Athena finds the girl drawn to politics, and indulges her. She starts to take a liking to this little child, Tala, whose name means star.

A few days past, and the blindfold comes off. Tala has eyes that shine like honey, and Athena knows. Nefertiti’s soul is in that child’s body, and Athena thinks that she should feel something, anything, but the romance has died down, and all that Athena really knows now is that she wants to teach Tala everything she can.

Tala grows to be tall and silent, never speaking unless spoken to, but Athena does not mind the way her ward keeps her thoughts to her self. She enjoys her company regardless, and Athena surprises herself by realising that she loves for Tala as a daughter. She sees Tala bent over a scroll, one saved from Alexandra, and imagines that maybe Tala could have been the daughter she and Nefertiti could have had.

Or maybe Athena, for all her godliness, is drawn to the soul of Nefertiti and Tala, is in love with the fire that burns in their minds and loves the way she doesn’t get burned when she stokes it.