Chapter Text
Seth
Anubis raised his head slightly to Maat, his shoulders straight and firm. There were murmurs in the court still, with the other gods wondering about how different Anubis looked now, being shocked that he finally ascended, and that the rumors about him were true. “That night I felt unwell and slept poorly. I had dreams that someone was chasing me, and at one point I felt like there was a great pain in my chest.” He touched the pale skin there.
Seth imagined Osiris sneaking into Anubis’ rooms for this, or using his vines to creep through the sleeping palace, and the idea made him nauseous. He wanted to rip the amalgamation of the god spectating to pieces.
“But I couldn’t wake up,” Anubis continued. “Eventually, the pain went away, and I did wake up. I later discovered that Osiris was dead, Isis was gone, Mother was isolating herself, and Father was king.”
“You didn’t see Osiris attack you?” Maat asked.
Anubis shook his head. “No. I went to sleep normally, alone.”
Seth imagined Osiris waiting for the right moment. How much had been planned in advance? Had Sekhmet only shown up because she knew Osiris had decided to target Anubis? What if Seth hadn’t visited Osiris that night? Would he have woken in the morning to Anubis dead? The though made him even angrier and he worked to control his breathing. They’d trusted Osiris, and left Anubis vulnerable. I left Anubis vulnerable, Seth thought.
“How did Osiris come to use your body to travel around the land of the living?” Maat asked.
Anubis bowed his head. “During Father’s reign, I despaired, and took my own life.”
Seth clenched his hands together. He’d pushed Anubis to this. By hiding the truth and pushing him away. Anubis didn’t look at him now, but Seth didn’t need Anubis to do anything to feel the shame.
“I traveled to Duat,” Anubis continued, “and spoke with Osiris. He listened and gave me solace, and I promised to work for him as best I could. When I returned to the land of the living, I was able to serve as his vessel as he pleased.”
The idea still made Seth’s skin crawl. He couldn’t imagine letting someone else into his own body like that. Even Horus, territorial as he was, even at his worst, hadn’t done such a thing. Seth was still himself: marked by Horus’ actions, and Maat’s spell, but his own person, all the same. Maat’s spell was a vice of sorts, but nothing more. He’d have destroyed himself before going through what Anubis did voluntarily.
“And this caused injury to your body?” Maat asked.
Anubis nodded. “In the beginning I thought it was just a noble sacrifice to help end my father’s tyrannical rule, and to help my uncle… But it grew worse over time. The last time, I wondered if I would survive.”
Seth had destroyed the armrests of his throne with his fingers, but he stayed seated. He’d still left Anubis so vulnerable, like a fool.
“Did Osiris ask permission when he used your body?” Maat asked.
“The first time, yes,” Anubis said. “To introduce me to the concept. But later… he’d approach me without warning and take over before I could agree, and I’d later wake up somewhere new, not knowing how I got there, and sometimes having vague memories of what he did while controlling me. I grew afraid of him and what he was doing. But I went along with it. I’d agreed, after all.”
Seth wanted to say, “You were a young demigod! He was a full god and your uncle! What choice did you have? It’s not your fault!” But it was not his place. He was proud of Anubis, though, for standing up for himself, in front of the court. He wondered if Anubis was afraid. He didn’t seem to be. Seth almost snorted as he thought, He’s faced Horus, I doubt he’s scared of anything or anyone.
Osiris, for his part, kept his expression neutral, simply gazing ahead, though he at least wasn’t attacking anyone. Seth wondered if he had ever cared about hurting Anubis. Seth imagined Osiris hadn’t even once felt anything for the younger god.
“Thank you,” Maat said. “You may—”
“Wait,” Anubis said, making her pause. “I wish to say something, before I leave.” He glanced around the court with a glare, ignoring Osiris. “Seth is my father, regardless of biology. He raised me. He protected me. I am his son and shall always be so. And I am proud of that.”
The scales didn’t even twitch.
Seth’s eyes heated, and his throat felt thick. Anubis… He didn’t have to say that. People would whisper about it, and say that Anubis was in league with Seth now. It could go very badly for him. He should focus on protecting himself.
But Seth was still happy Anubis had said it, and in front of everyone…
Anubis bowed his head to Maat. “That is all.”
Maat nodded at him and said, “Very well. You may leave the stand.” As he did so, she turned to Isis. “Isis, would you come to the stand?”
Isis breathed in and stood up before walking down. She didn’t look at Seth or Horus as she went.
Seth knew that anything could happen here, but Isis had no reason to screw things up. She wanted justice for everything that had happened, too. In recent days, she’d spoken to him in private about her bitterness towards Osiris, even once saying, “If Maat doesn’t make him suffer, I will.”
You hurt her, Osiris, Seth thought, gazing down at the empty stand. Now you’ll pay for it. He looked forward to it.
She ignored Osiris, too, passing by him without a single look.
Osiris’ expression was still neutral as he gazed at her. It was almost like he didn’t care at all about what was happening, beyond observing it.
On the stand, Isis stood firm, with her papyrus staff at her side. Her jewelry glittered, and her gaze was sharp. She stood alone, but proudly so.
There was a clunk sound and her heart appeared on Maat’s scales. Maat gazed at Isis coolly and said, “Isis, tell us what happened on the night of usurpation.”
Isis breathed in deeply, and began, “Before I ran into Seth after he’d killed Osiris, I was asleep in my chambers. I had a dream that Anubis was hurt, and so I awoke and went to see him, to see if he was all right. I didn’t know if the dream was a vision or just a worry, since he and Seth sometimes got rough when they sparred.” She shut her eyes briefly, as if recalling easier days. “I found Anubis in his bed with a bloody hole in his chest, his ka floating above his body, and he was dying.”
There were alarmed mutters around the court, then. To hear Anubis talk was one thing, but to hear Isis admit as much was another.
Seth glanced at Anubis, who had returned to stand behind the thrones. Khnum was at his side, leaning against him. Anubis looked calm enough now. He’d heard all their stories enough times, there was nothing shocking. But it was strange to be talked about so much. Seth hoped Anubis never had to experience such a thing again. I’ll ensure it, he thought. Even as he had to listen to a whole trial dedicated to his failures in the past, and he didn’t want to think about going back under Maat’s spell to restrict his abilities after the trial was over. But Osiris was still being secretive, so Seth had no idea what could happen. He’d be ready, all the same.
“I worried there were intruders,” Isis continued, her eyes open and gazing firmly ahead at Maat. “So I tested the wards on the palace, since I used to maintain them. But none of them were broken, and I couldn’t find sign of any intruders. Then I went to go find Nephthys, Seth, or Osiris, to find out what was going on. One of them had to know. And then I ran into Seth.” She breathed in deeply before continuing, “I told him Anubis had been injured, and I’d healed him, and asked if Seth knew who’d attacked him, since Seth seemed prepared for a fight, and it was so late.”
Seth recalled how full of rage and pain he’d been in then. He’d have fought anyone if they offered the slightest pushback. Unfortunately, he’d run into Isis first, and everything had gone wrong. He’d run through the event too much in his mind that thinking of it now just made him tired, but he told himself he’d get through this.
“Seth told me that Osiris had hurt Anubis,” Isis said. “That Osiris and Nephthys had betrayed us. That Osiris had attacked Seth. And that Osiris and Nephthys had been together behind our backs.” She bowed her head. “I was overwrought and confused. But I asked what had happened when Osiris attacked Seth, because clearly they weren’t together at this point. Seth said that Osiris was dead, and when I asked how… his response seemed to indicate that Seth had killed him in self-defense.”
There was more chatter around the court.
“I was horrified,” Isis continued. “I couldn’t believe such a thing was possible. That Osiris could attack Anubis or Seth, that Osiris and Nephthys could be together, or that Seth had killed Osiris. In my distress, I believed Seth was lying to me, and that Seth had been the one to attack Anubis, perhaps out of rage over what he believed with Nephthys and Osiris. When Seth explained that he’d learned about Osiris and Nephthys from Sekhmet, I even began to believe that Ra was manipulating all of this from the shadows, perhaps as revenge for being overthrown in the past.”
Ra made a scoffing sound, but didn’t move from her throne. Seth imagined she was getting a kick out of it all, and Sekhmet definitely liked inciting chaos, but he had kept far from both goddesses over the years. He didn’t think their fingers were in too much of what had happened.
“I called him a monster and told him to stay away from me,” Isis said, ignoring Ra. “I fled, and took Anubis from his room and went to Nephthys. I planned to warn her about Seth, and what happened with Osiris and Anubis, and was going to ask her to come with me to flee from Seth.” She grimaced. “Nephthys confessed to giving Osiris the power of life in exchange for his seed. I was furious and attacked her. I left Anubis with his mother, and fled Heliopolis on my own.” She breathed in deeply. “I wanted answers from Osiris, believing Nephthys and Seth couldn’t be trusted, and Osiris of all people would be honest with me. So I revived him in the Nile and spoke with him. He insisted that Seth attacked him unprovoked, because Seth wanted the throne for himself. He said that Nephthys was desperate to have a child for Seth, but was unable to bear children, and so Osiris helped her bear Anubis. But Osiris said that he didn’t expect Seth to get so upset about it.” She looked up at Seth, her expression still grim, and continued, “And because I still loved him… I believed his version of events.”
The scale remained balanced. More whispers filled the room, with comments like, “So Osiris really was a liar!”
Seth gazed back at Isis, knowing all this, and unsure if she gazed at him to be reassuring or what. She looked away eventually, which was a relief.
Maat asked, “And before you spoke with Seth that night, you had no knowledge of Osiris and Nephthys’ deal about Osiris’ seed and the power of creation?”
Isis shook her head, and her expression grew furious. “I had no such knowledge. If I had known…” She breathed in deeply. “I don’t know. Things would have been different.”
Seth wondered about that might have been world, where they knew about Nephthys’ actual desires, where they’d talked about what was happening with Osiris before everything went wrong. Seth didn’t think they could have saved Osiris, but…
He sighed and glanced at Horus, who was watching Isis below. How much hurt wouldn’t have happened, all the same? Seth thought. Though, maybe we’d have hurt each other worse. He knew it wasn’t worth wasting time imagining things, but he’d heard all this so much, his mind couldn’t help but wander a little.
After a moment, Maat said, “Thank you, Isis. You may be seated.”
Isis’ heart disappeared from the scales, and she breathed in deeply, before walking off the stand and back up to the thrones. She ignored Osiris again. Eventually, Isis sat back on her throne, gazing ahead. She still seemed firmly focused.
“Osiris,” Maat said, her tone harsher. “Step up to the stand.”
Osiris gazed up at Seth instead, ignoring Maat. The vines of his faced twitched a little.
Seth frowned down at the gruesome sight. Now your filth is laid as bare as the monstrosity you walk in. Everyone had heard it, from three witnesses speaking with their hearts on Maat’s scales.
When Osiris didn’t move, Maat said, “Osiris,” her tone full of warning.
Osiris looked up at her, seemingly unbothered. “I think I’m done with this charade.” Thick green vines exploded from the ground, rising towards Seth specifically, as screams filled the air. The vines met a wall of wind and sand, blocking them off from the area where Horus, Seth, and Isis sat.
Horus stood up with his right hand raised for the shield. He glared down at Osiris, his falcon headdress shining.
Isis stood at his side, her expression furious. Her magic sparked around herself.
Seth’s sand spikes had cut off vines that emerged from behind them, and he was currently channeling sand through the stone at their feet to block the vines Osiris was burrowing through the stone there. Seth had sensed the vines only moments before they moved, and moved his sand to cut them off, only just in time. That asshole was using all this time just to grow those damn things, he thought. He doubted Osiris ever planned to comply. He just wanted the chance to get close to Seth, without Isis’ wards barring him from entering.
Seth recalled that Osiris might have wanted to get at Anubis too, and so Seth glance at Anubis, who held his heka staff up before himself in a guard position, while Khnum stood at his side with water churning around their feet.
At least he’s fine, Seth thought in relief, before looking back at Osiris.
“Osiris!” Maat yelled, her voice echoing through the chamber as more gods screamed. “Stop this!”
Blazing heat struck out at the vines before the shield, and Seth turned his head away, but kept his senses in the sand, to keep an eye on things.
“We’re in the middle of your trial now, Osiris,” Ra said, her voice calm, but loud. “You have very little ground left to stand on at this point, don’t you? None, to be honest, given you’re not even here.” Her white smile shone through the dust and fading heat haze as her attack faded away. “If you can’t uphold your dignity as a god until this trial is seen through, perhaps Maat’s judgment will come early.” Her golden eyes shone. “Or be unnecessary.”