Chapter Text
When Horus touched down at Seth’s encampment, servants were cooking a meal of some kind. The smell of roasted meat filled the air. They looked at Horus in surprise, and then gestured him again to the tent.
Horus dismissed his wings and walked over, calling within, “Uncle?”
After a while, Seth replied, “…You really came back?”
“Yes, Uncle. You told me to.”
There was a muffled noise and Seth said, “Fine, get in here.”
After Horus pushed back the tent flap, he saw Seth sitting at a small throne facing the tent entrance. A small table was set up nearby, piled high with various fruits and other snacks. Seth plucked a fresh grape and brought it to his lips. A papyrus scroll rested on his knee.
As Horus watched, he recalled one point in the fight yesterday where he’d seen a flash of Seth’s upper face under the headdress. Bright red eyes, hungry for bloodshed, over a wide, sharp grin. He was paler than most people Horus knew, similar to Hathor and Thoth. But where both of those gods lavished themselves with scented oils and pretty clothes, Seth seemed almost uncaring about his appearance. According to Nephthys, when he’d lived at the palace, he collected boats, trophies, armor, and filled armories full of fancy weaponry… but this tent was rather bare, but for a few plants. The gold and the headdress were part of his being a god, but perhaps not fully meant to show off, and his shendyt was rather plain. He was unscathed because he was good at what he did, not because he feared blemishes - Horus could remember the way he hadn't bothered to wipe blood and detritus off himself during combat. Even the luxuries here were just… what was due his station. No servants fanned his face, or played music for his entertainment. He was alone in the near-silent tent, with naught but papyrus scrolls for company.
Horus doubted Seth was used to a certain level of deprivation. Even though it wasn’t lavish, he still had servants making meals for him, a finely made tent, a nice cot, and someone had to keep those torches going… But there was an odd… thinness to this place. And it felt deliberate. His chariot and weapons almost had more adornment to them than he did. He seemed to care more about how fine the details on his sand crocodiles were, than how much he personally drew the eye. The place made him seem... small.
Even during the daytime he lay in his tent, sleeping, with the flaps shut. Alone. A mortal would have done so to conserve energy and move only when it was cooler, but Seth didn’t have to worry about that. But it made sense when his life consisted mostly of… only leaving when he had to deal with enemies. Egypt wasn’t under assault at all times these days.
These were all things Horus thought of in moments. Horus had the gift of perception and insight, from his own godhood and decades of harnessing the keen senses he’d been borne with, where he listened and watched everything about him with a depth and patience mortal children lacked. Though the ideas seemed to come from nowhere, he’d learned they were more often true than not, and usually gave him an edge in interactions with others. Seth hadn’t given him much to work with the previous day, but Horus’ powers were always stronger in the daytime.
Horus barely knew the god seated before him, but maybe he was getting somewhere in figuring things out.
“You live away from everyone else who is not your handful of servants,” Horus said, looking around, as if some minor god might pop out of the tent fabric or the floor at any moment. “Why?”
“Perhaps I like the quiet,” Seth replied.
When Seth didn’t elaborate, Horus commented, “That cannot be all.”
“Well if the King of the Gods says so,” Seth replied, mockingly, “then clearly there is some ulterior motive. Perhaps I am plotting with Nut to overthrow you, and only out here can we communicate undisturbed.”
Horus smiled. “Grandmother dotes on Isis and I. If she wanted to overthrow us, I doubt she’d need you to do it.”
"Oh to be caught out by my own nephew," Seth replied sarcastically as he considered the fruit bowl again.
“You enjoy taunting me,” Horus suggested.
“One must pass the time somehow.”
Something happened to make him leave the palace, Horus thought. And his uncle was not doing the best job of hiding that.
While Horus considered his next question, Seth asked, “Was that all?”
Horus noted Seth still didn’t offer a seat for his guest, let alone his pharaoh. Isis would have yelled and called lightning to destroy the tent if she knew. But Horus returned to the main goal of this visit, as Seth seemed uninterested in other matters, “Would you tell me of my father?”
“No.”
Horus blinked, surprised at the continued stonewalling. “But yesterday you said you’d answer me.”
“I said come back and ask me your questions. I didn’t say I’d answer them.” Seth ate another grape. After he swallowed he added, “Besides, “no” is an answer.” He smirked. “Your mother taught me that one.”
“So why tell me to come back if you had no intention of answering in a way that matters?” Horus asked. He’d been slow to anger once he obtained his godhood, but even he was being tested.
It seemed like everything Seth did was meant as an insult. And Horus was more and more the fool for letting them stand.
Seth studied him for a moment, then replied, “I wanted to see just how much like… him you are.”
Horus blinked at that. “My father?”
“Of course.”
“And… your assessment?”
Seth tilted his head. It reminded Horus a little of a cat considering prey. “You walk like him, a bit. And your smile… you have nearly the same smile, though yours is… softer. Osiris was almost always a bit haughty about it, like he knew more than you did – and he had the right of it – but you seem more… genuine, I suppose.”
Horus wondered if that was a compliment, since Seth’s disinterested tone didn’t make it sound like one. Perhaps Seth was calling him stupid?
“Your build, of course, is quite similar,” Seth continued, “though your jaw, I think, is from your mother. And your demeanor is…” He pondered a moment. “It is a mix of both of them, I think. Perhaps more Isis at the moment. But also not like her.”
“How so?”
Seth snorted. “She’s a trickster. I don’t sense that from you.”
Horus bristled. “My mother is not a trickster.”
“Oh?” Seth smiled. It was a bit patronizing. “It’s hardly an insult. But did she not tell you how she won your father’s throne for him?”
“…No.”
Seth snorted. “Odd. What, did you think Ra was happy to just hand over rule of Egypt to Osiris after attempting to ensure that our parents didn’t produce the next pharaoh?”
Horus watched Seth, wondering at how willing he was to chat now. “I… hadn’t considered it.”
Seth considered him, then said, “Hmph, well… Ask her sometime. It’s not my story to tell.”
“Why wouldn’t she tell me?” Horus wondered aloud, mostly to himself. His mother wasn’t always honest with him about things, but he had no other response, and felt like he needed one.
Seth seemed a bit surprised. “Well… it’s not like the story is unknown. I’m sure someone else around the palace can tell you, if she won’t, for some reason. Nephthys knows, at least.”
"Thank you for telling me about it," Horus said. Even this little bit was more than he'd had before. His powers always struggled around his mother, but then again, he'd always trusted her to tell him what he needed to know. She would test his cunning at times, but she was open with her knowledge. She wanted him to be strong, and wisdom made him so.
Seth shrugged.
Horus tried to imagine Isis and Osiris planning something together, let alone how to unseat Ra, and struggled. He was only used to his mother planning things, and couldn't quite picture them in the same room, speaking of their future. “I wish I’d… known them together,” Horus said, feeling oddly sad. “Knowing my father on his own would be enough, but… I wish I could see them together. She loved him, deeply. And so many respect him.”
Seth leaned back and ate some more grapes and didn’t respond to that.
“Do you miss him?” Horus asked.
He noted Seth’s fingers twitched before he reached for another grape. “No. I do not.”
“Mother said you loved him.”
“…I did. Once.”
“What changed?”
Seth ate another grape, slowly.
After a while, when Horus realized Seth was not planning to respond to the question, he asked, “Did you kill him?”
Seth swallowed and then snorted. “No. But you have no reason to believe me, do you?”
“I do not. But I don’t think you’re much of a liar.”
Seth grinned. “You’re too trusting for a pharaoh. Your parents are better at sussing out lies. Well… your father was, anyway.”
“I am still young and learning,” Horus replied. The continued insult of not offering him a chair, so that he had to stand before the other god like a servant or a recalcitrant child, was definitely pointed. Or Seth’s unsubtle hint to leave. But it was all right, Horus could keep standing. And yes, he could demand recompense for Seth for all these insults, but he found Seth’s refusal to bow to him fascinating, still. The mystery of Seth’s relationship with Osiris stayed his hand as well. He would see the thing through, anyway. “Mother is a good teacher.”
“I imagine.” Seth waved a hand and a chair finally materialized out of the sand.
Horus looked at it, wondering if he should trust it. At any point, Seth could turn it into a weapon – and Horus was not able to turn into sand as his uncle was, or plants, like his father. And he didn’t have his mother’s gift with magic. Seth could even simply dissipate it, to make a fool out of him.
Dared Horus trust it? Dare he refuse and see what Seth was like when angered?
He walked over and sat, looking at Seth. “Thank you, Uncle.”
Seth scoffed. “A word to the wise, nephew: a half-truth can be far more dangerous than an outright lie.”
Horus considered that as servants walked in and carried in a larger table and a meal.
Horus had not planned to eat here, but he accepted Seth’s sudden apparent hospitality – perhaps Seth was grudgingly attempting to be a half-decent host at last – and they ate in relative calm. Seth asked about what Isis and Nephthys were up to, and Horus discussed recent petitions from some farmers and merchants.
The food was good, and Seth was a polite eating companion. And he did not do anything to Horus’ chair.
The servants came in to clean everything out.
“Why are you investigating this now?” Seth asked, looking at Horus with a hard gaze once the servants were gone. “It’s been nearly three decades. Surely if older gods than you haven’t figured it out, any clues are long gone.”
“I have a sharper gaze than many,” Horus replied. “I feel I might see something they did not.”
Seth snorted and leaned back in his chair. “I don’t know who killed your father. Though given his power… there is a relatively small pool of candidates. Though perhaps larger than I know. I am not so familiar with the rest of our pantheon as I might be.”
“You think it was a god?”
“I cannot imagine it could be anyone else. And not a demigod, either, unless they were very powerful. Osiris was a politician who spent most of his time in court, yes, but he was the god of life itself. He had only to think it to kill you.” The corner of Seth’s mouth twitched. “My first guess would be Ra, for she had motive and the power. But Isis would have stopped her, and if Ra had killed Osiris, she would not keep it secret. …Probably. She works in mysterious ways.”
Horus nodded.
“But I have been away from court for longer than Osiris has been dead. Perhaps people change. Perhaps people gain new abilities, new needs. Who can say?” Seth gazed towards the tent flap, which was open, to allow in a breeze and a view of the desert outside. “Much can be hidden behind closed doors.”
“You know something,” Horus said, wondering what half-truths Seth was sharing even now.
“No,” Seth replied. “I do not. Osiris was my brother, and I’ve known him nearly all my life… yet I felt I knew him less at the end of his life than I did at its beginning. Let alone who might have wished him ill.”
“You disliked him.” It was obvious every time Seth spoke of him.
Seth’s mouth quirked ever so slightly. “It would not do to dislike the King of the Gods.”
“You dislike me.”
“It’s not the same. You’re strong, but you don’t hold the same power over life and death that Osiris did.” Seth waved a hand when Horus opened his mouth, “Oh, you have your own abilities that go even beyond his, that much is obvious. But it’s not the same.”
Horus frowned at him. “You can see what my powers are?” He was still learning them. Even Isis didn’t know them all.
Seth snorted. “Sort of. For starters, you stink like Ra does, in a way Osiris never did. Osiris smelled like plants and dirt. You… smell like burnt soil, ozone, and hot wind. Which is how Ra smells. I assume some of your abilities are sun-based.”
Horus’ eyes widened. Even Isis didn’t fully know about those. Horus avoided using them, given how dangerous they could be. “You are incredible, Uncle! Your skills continue to impress!”
Seth scoffed. “Stop being so shocked by small things! I am a warrior: I’m trained to gather as much information as I can about potential opponents.”
“You think we are enemies?”
“…I do not know what we are,” Seth replied. “But you are annoyingly relentless.” Seth stood, stretched, and walked out of the tent.
Horus got up and followed him.
As Seth got in his chariot, Horus asked, “Is it another army?”
“Yes. Though a smaller one.”
“Do you need help?” Horus asked.
“I didn’t need help last time,” Seth replied, sternly. “And I don’t need it now. But if you wish to come along and stretch your court-spoiled limbs, be my guest. There are plenty of enemies to go around, and my soldiers always enjoy spectacle.” Seth called out, “Ha!” to his sand crocodiles.
Horus summoned his wings.
This time, Seth led them to a large encampment of human Egyptian soldiers, who cheered when Seth appeared, and cheered even louder when they saw Horus in attendance.
Horus was a bit… nervous to be fighting with a human army. He’d gone hunting with mortals before, but he’d never led them into battle. That was Seth’s arena.
Horus distracted himself by watching Seth quickly take command of the situation and lead the group forward, with the human generals quickly falling in line behind him. They didn’t even seem that bothered by Seth’s winged sand crocodiles. Horus assumed it was his usual way to charge into battle.
The battle itself was a bit underwhelming compared to the previous day, though Horus focused a bit more to protect the humans.
Today they fought a mix of unfamiliar creatures with wolf features and human mercenaries, which Horus assumed was the reason Seth was making use of the humans at all today. They stood some chance of survival against other humans.
Seth mostly stuck to regular weapons, though he abandoned his chariot at one point and took to flying, running, or sliding around the battlefield on his sand, leaping on unsuspecting enemies with a roar while his soldiers cheered him on. Later he regained his chariot, raised his bow, and simply shot at scores of enemies as his sand crocodiles charged onward, faster and with better accuracy than any mortal could strive for, with his huge black arrows knocking foes down en masse.
Horus used the wind to knock enemies together, then dove in and cut them down with his sword, or crushed skulls with his fists and legs. Enemies shot arrows at his wings, which were an easy, large target, but the wind kept most of them from striking true, and even when they did hit, Horus shook them off, his healing quickly restoring them to normal. He called the sunlight to blind the enemy archers, and dove amongst them to send them scattering in alarm.
The humans acquitted themselves well, clearly trained to stay out of Seth’s way when he was after something, and they grouped together to face what few more-than-mortal enemies Seth and Horus left alive for them to kill. They made quick work of the mortal enemies, and were otherwise organized and efficient, from what Horus could see.
Horus wondered, as he saw spearmen facing a line of enemies, moving in a dance he realized resembled Seth’s work of the previous day, how much Seth had taught all these humans. And what he was like when the more open god Horus had seen earlier was willing to spend so much time with others.
It seemed a lifetime and yet no time at all before the last of Horus’ enemies fell, and he looked around as the humans began cheering. Horus found Seth, who was back on his chariot as the humans surrounded him, waving their weapons and calling his name.
Horus was surprised to hear some of the humans calling his name as well. He knew the humans respected him, and his temples were well cared for, but it was another thing to hear people he’d fought beside in combat cheering him.
He was additionally surprised to see Seth supervising the transportation of the wounded to the medical tents. Though Seth could not heal, he could see the injured were taken away properly. He even stayed back with the priests and other soldiers who looked after the dead, though the dead were small in number.
Seth said nothing to him as all this occurred, and Horus simply watched, not knowing what else to do.
Finally, Seth turned his chariot away and headed back into the deep desert, with soldiers still cheering for him as he left.
Horus flew at his side, unwilling to break the silence between them now, but wondering what his uncle was thinking of.
“You acquitted yourself well, today,” Seth eventually said, his arms crossed as the crocodiles steered themselves, likely under his will. Horus wondered if the times he needed reins were when he needed to feel more physically in control of something, much like how Horus himself often just preferred walking when he could fly, to anchor himself somewhere.
“It was an honor,” Horus replied. “And a privilege, to again watch you fight.”
“If you pay too much attention to others fighting, you will start to lose your own battles,” Seth replied.
“I am working on my battlefield awareness,” Horus replied. “It is impossible to be unaware of the God of War as he plows through enemies, though, even when I am facing the opposite direction.”
Seth snorted, but Horus did not feel any anger in it.
For a while they traveled in silence again, until they returned to Seth’s tent and servants.
As Seth stepped off his chariot, he looked at Horus. “You’re going to come back tomorrow, aren’t you?”
“I would like to, if you will not answer my questions again.”
“You still believe I killed Osiris.”
“I believe you have answers to my questions concerning him, even if you don’t realize it, and I value the advice you’ve given me about the situation.”
Seth scoffed.
“And perhaps, Uncle, I am coming to enjoy your company.” Horus smiled, and noticed the slight twitch at the corner of Seth’s lips. It wasn’t all playfulness: for a time, during their meal and when Seth had been discussing which gods could do what, Seth seemed like a pleasant enough companion, and like someone Horus could enjoy being around.
And Horus had the personal impression he was already wearing the other god down. Isis said it was a fault of his, usually with fondness.
Seth shook his head. “You are like your father, now, you know.”
Horus felt a small thrill at that, but also wondered why Seth didn’t make it sound like it was a compliment.
After a moment, Seth sighed and said, “But you are not him, as well.” The slight twitch in his lips seemed a bit more like a contented smile at that.
Why do you seem happy that we’re not so similar, Uncle? Horus wanted to ask. But it was getting late, and he didn’t want to push his luck with whatever new space they’d found.
“Very well,” Seth continued. “Return again tomorrow, if you must.” He went back into the tent.
When Horus returned home, he recalled Seth’s advice, and sought out his mother. “How did you depose Ra?”
Isis blinked, then snorted. “Seth told you?”
“He told me you did it, but not how. He said it wasn’t his place to explain.” He hadn’t thought Seth was lying, but it was… odd to have confirmation that Isis had kept such a thing from him. He was Pharaoh, and only the fourth to hold that position.
Half-truths, indeed. Or simply... avoiding explaining things.
“He was right.” Isis sighed. Then she walked over to a nearby couch to sit down, patting the space next to her.
Horus walked over and sat at her side, watching her.
“Your father was not Pharaoh the minute he came of age,” Isis began. “Ra held on to power, despite the prophecy that Osiris was meant to become Pharaoh. Your father said that Ra would give it up in time, but we are gods – long-lived and covetous – and Ra has never given up anything that wasn’t forced from her. And… she was not always a stable ruler, particularly as she aged.”
Horus had only met Ra on a few occasions. She definitely seemed… more chaotic than other gods. But when you were the source of life on Earth and commanded the sun, perhaps that was warranted.
“And…” Isis continued, “I was perhaps impatient for your father to be in power.” She smiled. “Queen is a nice title.”
Horus huffed a laugh.
“So I tricked Ra into telling me her true name, which gave me power over her. Then I told her to give up her rule and leave the earth. And she did. And thus, your father finally became Pharaoh.”
“Incredible.” Horus watched his mother for a moment, seeing more than he’d seen before. “Why did you never tell me?”
Isis shrugged. “It is an old story, and I don’t think on it much. Ra doesn’t visit often, and your father is gone, so… it doesn’t even come to mind.”
Why did Seth emphasize it? Horus wondered. “Seth theorized that Ra could have killed Osiris, but that it was unlikely because you’d have stopped her. Now I understand why.” A true name gave you absolute power over someone. Horus was surprised Isis hadn’t abused it even more. Though when the one in your power was the God of the Sun…
Isis snorted. “Indeed.”
“He thinks it was a god, though. No one else would be strong enough.”
“He spoke much with you this time?” Isis looked at him thoughtfully.
“Yes,” Horus replied. “I think he is more welcoming… or perhaps simply realized that if he talked to me, I’d leave faster.”
She laughed. “Either way, I’m glad you are getting somewhere.”
“Did you have any theories on who it was? All these years and you’ve never said.” He’d asked many a time. And stopped because it pained her to remember Osiris’ murder.
“There are many gods in our pantheon,” Isis replied, “but few who would have been able to outdo my spells. But they had alibis or no reason to go after Osiris.” She sighed. “Which means there is possibly someone out there who is stronger than I, with a grudge, at least against Osiris, and I do not know who, or one of those stronger gods was just good at hiding their tracks.”
“This is as dangerous as I thought, then,” Horus said. “We could be attacked at any time…”
“In 28 years they’ve done nothing else,” Isis said. “I think their ire was directed purely at Osiris. So we are likely safe. But do not think I have not spent all this time working hard on my own powers. I am stronger than I was even then, and I was quite strong already. Nephthys has worked with me to help, and now that you are here and have your godhood, we are better prepared for whatever comes.” She reached out to lightly caress his right cheek and smiled.
Horus smiled back, still uncertain. It seemed he had confirmation of his worst fears… It was one reason he’d tried to figure this out in the first place - that the killer could still be out there, waiting to strike again - but he hadn’t thought it might be a god on Ra’s level. If it was Seth, there were steps he could have taken, based on Maat’s notes and consultations with Thoth. But if it wasn’t a member of their pantheon, all of whom would have had no apparent reason to harm Osiris, what if it was some unknown foreign god? How could they even begin to figure out that person’s powers, let alone to defend against it?
Which led him back to Seth, who guarded Egypt’s borders. Who could and should have spotted such an invader before they made it past Egypt’s borders, and made an attempt to stop them. Though Horus chided himself. Seth did not kill all who arrived at Egypt’s shores. Only enemies. And if this enemy was stronger even than Isis, or made themselves unassuming as they crossed over… perhaps Seth hadn’t even known. Though it was hard to think of an enemy even his uncle couldn’t face, given all Horus had seen of him in combat.
He’d talk to Seth about it tomorrow.