E is for Egypt

I apologize for falling behind with my stories. I'm going to the best I can to catch up. There are going to be quite a few mythology themed stories, and they're all building up to something bigger. The groundwork of the idea has been in my head for a long while, and the first story written in this universe was my story from last year, "Stormclouds and Chariots." The "A" story featuring Atlas may or may not tie into it, I'll decide later. Now, please allow me to shift your attention to Cairo in the early days of civilization...


The man stood casually in the shadows of the Cairo alleyway, leaning, unnoticeable, against the warm wall. He wore nothing but a white cloth around his waste and sandals. He was bald, and had darker skin, and there was a falcon perched upon his left shoulder.The man peered distractedly down the alley at nothing in particular, while the falcon stared intently down the busy main street that ran perpendicular. The street was lined with food vendors on either side, trying to pass their product off to the shoppers that filled always the markets at that time of day.



But the food and people were not what interested the man's falcon. The bird's fierce gaze was focused on the far end of the street, which opened into the sands of the desert, and then farther still out where there were hundreds of slaves dragging enormous stone blocks across the arid landscape, piling them to the heavens. The falcon watched intently, and though it was far away, it could see each glistening drop of sweat on their worn and beaten bodies.

A second man approached from the other end of the alley. He was tall, had pitch black skin, and red eyes. The first man turned and looked at him.

"Hello, son," said the first man.

"Hello, father," he said, looking at him irritably. "You could at least have the courtesy to look at me when I talk to you."

"Oh, settle down," said the falcon, turning its head and looking at its son. "You know how I like watching them."

"Yes, well, you have business to attend to. Some new god has asked an audience with you."

"What do they want?"

"He would not say."

"Well, Anubis, what did he say?"

"He only told us his name, and that you'd come when you heard it. He said his name was Zeus."

Ra smirked and went back to watching the workers. Anubis stood, waiting impatiently for a response.

"Father? What should I tell him?"

"Nothing. I'll tell him myself."

The falcon flapped its wings and soared into the clear blue sky above Cairo. As it rose into the air and out of sight, the man that it had been perched on crumbled to dust.