When Horus awakened, he found himself lying in bed with two women. They both were beautiful, but Horus didn't care. He was a god, the king of gods. He could do whatever he wanted, could claim whatever he wanted. So, every day, he made use of his birthright. And day after day, it felt emptier.
His big falcon head twitched from left to right as he got a glimpse of his surroundings. A big room. Walls out of giant sandstones. A bed made out of wood and straw, the best in the whole of Egypt. Servants on each corner of the room, stony statues made alive by magic and blood. Just a wink with his hand, they would do as he ordered. Bring him wine. Women. His sword. They would kill for him or die. Just a wink and one of them would go on and snap the neck of those women or do with them whatever Horus would order. He had done that already many times, but even their screams lost their interest to him. Instead, he called for his clothes. A long tunic made out of silk and a linen loincloth. He stood still as the stone giants laid the thin fabric around his naked body. As they finished to his pleasure, he left the room without glancing back. More of the giants stood on the way from his chamber to the throne room, motionless. They were the magic guardians of his temple, his household.
As he passed through the door at the end of the hallway, four humans suddenly appeared by his side. All of them wore masks shaped like falcons and bronze blades, so-called chepeschs, the traditional weapons of the temple guardians. They were the only humans allowed inside the palace walls, a freakish, cultlike organization of soldiers, raised since birth for their servitude towards the gods. They were not much more than a sick joke of the gods, not strong enough to bear an actual thread towards their enemies but an entirely devoted guard fulfilling their purpose as mere arrow lining. If they bought the gods a mere second to unleash their power, they performed better than any of the gods expected. But they were nice to have around, showing the mortals that it was possible to live a good life right beneath the feet of the gods.
With a sight, Horus twitched his neck around, just like the animal who lent him his head, then he entered the throne room. The whispers of the other gods died in the same instance. His throne was up a few steps, but none of those steps were made for ordinary men. With each step towards It, Horus grew in size until he was way bigger than his company. With gigantic steps, he got up the stairs and rested on the throne. Two statues moved and gave him his instruments of power, the massive doubled crown of upper and lower Egypt and his curved sword and flagellum. He crossed the two weapons in front of his chest as the great, red and white crown with its golden ornament was settled on his head by grey hands. Commonly, this honor was performed by his two trusted generals, the lioness goddess Sachmet and the cat-goddess Basted, who were his left and right hand. But both of them were in the north, leading a bloody crusade as the spearhead of his army against the savages there. And as he didn't want to assign another god to his side, his stony servants had to perform this task. His herald, the great ibis-headed god of wisdom, Toth, announced his presence.
"All are kneeling in front of Horus, the sun warming the Egypt lands, growing our empire and burning the rotten flesh of our enemies.", he screamed in his deep voice. The other gods, four of them, went on their knees without hesitation. None of them seemed happy but did not dare to resist the orders. When he had enough of their grim faces, Horus lowered his weapons and nodded so that they could raise their eyes from the floors. The first and biggest one was Seth the red, the desert and chaos goddess. His skin was hellish red like the desert's deep sands, and his head was that of his self-created pet, the Seth-animal. It was a strange being with an indescribable head. Once, Seth was the first warrior of the former sun-goddess Re and defended him on his journey through the night before his eternal enemy Apophis now, he was no more than a slave to Horus, who forced him to remain on the sun barque, the vehicle of Ra which traveled through the cycle of day and night, life and death. He rebelled against Horus's father, Osiris, now the king of the underworld. By tricking him, he slaughtered him and chopped him into pieces, but Horus defeated him with a lot of effort and the help of his mother, Isis. Afterward, she tried to revive her husband but ultimately failed sort of. Osiris lived – but not really. He couldn't exist in the mortal realm. Instead, he turned to be the king of the underworld, judging the souls of the deceased.
The next one was Osiris's faithful servant, the jackal-headed Anubis. He may be the son of Seth, but there was no love between the two of them. His pale skin was decorated with the jewelry of a death priest, for he was the goddess of death rites. Many thought of him as a mere pushover, not able to stand his ground against his father nor his lord. Many tried to rob him of his position but learned quickly that an entity able to liquefy the organs of a deceased could also do something similar to a living being. After a few duels, he was feared by most of the gods and mortals. The third one was Sobek, the gigantic crocodile-headed goddess of the mighty river Nil. Water streamed down his face and body, never to meet the ground because he was the spring of all rivers and streams. He was also a mighty warrior and, back in his short time of rule, a general of Seth due to his skills. The only problem was that Sobek was way more muscles than brains. He might be able to best most gods in a duel of strength, but his tactics were simple and crude, so a little feint or a simple trick could dupe him without him noticing. He was a good choice as a champion but the worst for a general. A lesson learned the hard way for Seth. Still, he was an entity respected by most gods.
The fourth one was Ash, another falcon-headed goddess of the western desert. At first glance, one could maybe mistake him for Horus but would quickly notice his mistake. While Horus had two glowing eyes, one of the golden fires of the sun, the other, lost to Seth but replaced by the moon goddess Chons after he lost a bet, of ice-cold silver. Ash instead had two grey-colored eyes, and he lacked the intimidating aura of Horus. He wasn't even one of his mightier gods, just a more unimportant guardian of the dessert, a former subordinate of Seth, a drifting remnant of the war between uncle and nephew. A simple pawn amid the great game of the mightier goddess.
The first one Horus had to call was Seth. To get under his eyes, he must have had a crucial message to deliver. With a nod, he ordered him to step forth. Seth's cold eyes watched his nephew closely as he stepped forth.
"The nightly attacks of the sun-eater are getting stronger. We are not sure how long we can keep it at bay. Each night, we suffer more and more horrible wounds, and it gets closer to its destiny. We need aid in these dark times. More god, mightier ones who can defend the sun, our life, and power."
"I will think about it, uncle. But you seem to be in good enough shape to fight a few battles in the nearer future... dismissed."
For a second, Seth glared at the pharaoh, but then he gave up, bowed his head in resignation, and stood back. The second one who had to be heard was Sobek, so Horus signaled him to step forth.
"Oh Horus," the crocodile-god began with a voice sounding like he was not really used to speaking, "Great misfortune is happening to our lands. My children are flooding the rivers with their dead bodies, blood, and pus running out of their eyes and nose. I can't tell what's happening to them, but the omens are bad. I hope you, in eternal wisdom, can grant us help. If not, I fear, the water in the whole country will be poisoned, and many people, and maybe even some gods, could die."
"I promise to send help to this urgent matter as soon as possible. So, fear not and do your best to prevent the extinction of your child.", Horus replayed. On the outside, he was strict and emotionless, but inside, fear's cold hand grabbed his throat. Was it a coincidence that the sun-eater grew stronger while Sobek's children, the warriors of the water, defenders of the lifeblood of the Egyptian empire, were dying like flies? But he still had to hear the messages of the other two Supplicants. Anubis had to be the next emissary of his father, Osiris. As the jackal-headed man stepped forth, the torches lighting the throne room flickered, and everything seemed a bit darker than before.
"Horus, oh almighty Pharaoh. Dark omens are appearing everywhere. The spirits of the dead are whispering, some even moving around in terror. Each night, they crawl into the river's waters, running through their lands, trying to embrace a bit more of the hope-spending light of Ra. My king is unsure what they are afraid of, but I think it must be the sun-eater after hearing what Seth and Sobek said. The serpent rises from its prison, covered in shadowy flesh and night-dark skin. Each night, we can feel the tremble of its attack against the sun barque even in our halls. I had to warn you on behalf of all that exists, both in your realm and in ours. When one of them falls, the other will be doomed as well. The sun MUST be protected."
Horus nodded, and Anubis stepped back, knowing his point was made and the king of gods had understood. With this, he made room for the last of the gods, Ash. The falcon-headed protector stepped forwards, and just now, the other gods saw that he was deeply wounded. Golden blood dripped from his side, leaving a visible mark on the ground. His dark eyes twitched in their socked as he nearly fainted.
"Raiders… At the western border… killed… two of my brothers… dozens of humans… I barely survived…", he mumbled. Horus's eyes glared widely open. Raiders weren't something new, but never were they able to kill a god, not to mention two.
"Who?" he barked at Ash while his hands grabbed the armrests of his throne so hard that the metal was bent, and he nearly jumped at the wounded.
"Who would wield power to kill two gods, as powerless as your lowly creatures may be?"
"Shadows..." Ash gasped. Then he collapsed. Thot moved forward to try and heal him, but he was way too slow. As soon as Ash touched the ground, the dying man disintegrated into his namesake, ash, and dissolved into tiny particles. A gentle breeze blew away his remains while the other gods watched with a mixture of horror and anger.