100 years before the birth of Horus
3900 B.C.
Isis squeezed her husband’s hand. “Usir,” she cooed. “It’s finally the Festival of Raising Heaven.”
Usir squeezed back. “I know, my love. Set and his wife are coming up from the south for it.”
Isis smiled. “It’s my favorite time of year! The temple being all decorated, the intricate clothes and crowns, the sounds of celebration in the streets, the prayers, it's all just so beautiful! Have the ships from the other planets in the empire arrived?”
Usir nodded. “Hundreds of thousands of our citizens across the empire are pouring into Wen Kroy for the festival. It’s the most people we’ve had for the festival in years. People from Gevenus, Keleshan, Silacarro, Ecriri, Levis, Ketera, and Chanohiri took ships to Thera for it. Unfortunately, the space shuttle inhabitants for the documentation of the Ceron system, Dadus system, and Photh system couldn’t leave the shuttles uninhabited for long enough to come. I believe they are stationed at Ceron 1FX, Dadus D25, and Photh 4 right now.”
Isis nodded. “That was mentioned when we were going over the plans for the festival. Did the care packages we sent arrive at the shuttles yet?”
“They did,” he answered with a smile. You should read the messages they sent in thanks! They were incredibly thankful that their Pharaoh and Queen remembered them on this great festival.”
~ ~ ~
Isis, Set, and Nephthys adjusted their veils. Usir pulled his head wrap tighter before placing the Atef crown on his head. It was bowling-pin shaped with a gold disk on top trimmed with ostrich feathers. He wore a gold-embellished light green kilt. A white shawl sat on his shoulders under a gold collar. He took his place a step in front of Isis, who was wearing the vulture crown. It was a golden vulture with its wings draping down the sides of her head. It shined against the black of her veil. She wore a white beaded dress over a white halter top and mini wrap skirt. Over that was a transparent teal shawl and transparent teal waist-wrap. Set and Nephthys stood behind her wearing cobra diadems over their veils.
They processed through the crowd gathered in the temple to the courtyard. In the center was an almond-shaped tree with large, round fruits on it. Usir approached the tree. He pulled a knife from his belt and cut a branch off the tree. He raised it above his head. “The tree of life, our Ished tree, is a gift from the royal ancestors. It is a token of their good fortune and a symbol of the gift of life that the sun gives us every day. Tomorrow, we will renew the blessing of the Wedjat eye and the favor of the Pharaoh’s line. For now, we celebrate!”
The crowd erupted into cheering and poured out onto the streets. The royals looked at each other and walked back into the temple. They would not participate in the celebration, but would be in the temple praying for the Ancient’s guidance on behalf of the people.
~ ~ ~
Usir rubbed his eyes as he pried himself off the temple floor. Set and Nephthys were already gone, most likely preparing for the day’s rituals. He rolled over to Isis and gave her a kiss. “Good morning, my love.”
Isis rolled over. “Good morning, dear.” She pushed herself into a seated position. “The rituals begin in…four hours,” she said, glancing at a nearby water clock.
Usir strained his head to look out the window to a small courtyard and the giant sundial. “Then we should probably start getting ready.”
Usir and Isis wrapped robes around themselves and adjusted their hair wraps. Royals were forbidden from showing their hair in the temples, so they slept with it wrapped in linen. They walked hand in hand out of the temple for the large tent erected outside. After a few hours, they emerged in full royal regalia.
They wore outfits and complemented each other and had on matching makeup. Isis wore a long, flowing tulle veil that seemed to mimic hair under the vulture crown. Usir had his hair tightly bound on his head in long strips of linen under the Atef crown.
A crowd had gathered outside the temple, waiting to process into the temple after the royals. A man waited just outside the door. Usir gestured to his brother who was waiting near the temple with Nephthys.
As soon as they were lined up like yesterday, they slowly processed towards the temple. As each of them entered, the man announced them. “Pharaoh Usir of Nun, king of Thera. Great Wife Isis of Nu, Queen of Thera. Prince Set of Nun, Crown Prince of Thera. Princess Nephthys of Nu, Crown Princess of Thera.” Then the crowds entered the temple behind them.
The royals entered the royal mortuary temple courtyard. Usir walked up to the Ished tree. A servant handed him the branch he cut off the tree yesterday and scurried away. Another servant handed him a pestle and held a mortar in front of Usir. He placed a few of the fruits from the branch in the mortar and ground them up with the pestle.
Another servant came up with a Wedjat eye charm. It was a carved gold eye with sweeping kohl liner with hooked liner underneath and a thin eyebrow. He raised a Wedjat eye charm above his head for a second before pouring the fruit juice into the charm.
He held it in front of his chest. “Oh Ancients who have gone before us, royal and not, bestow your wisdom upon us and pray for our continued life on this planet and the others in our empire so that we can be a light shining through the darkness. May the fruit from your holy tree renew the favor of the Pharaoh’s line bestowed upon people through your sacred symbol, the Wedjat eye.”
“May the Ancients bless us always from the Duat,” the crowds chanted in response. “Long live Pharaoh and the Great Wife!”
Usir morphed into a giant Bull. Isis followed in suit and morphed into a Kite. Set then morphed into the jackal-like Sha. Nephthys followed by morphing into a hawk. Then the crowd followed the royals and morphed as well. They all erupted into roars and screeches, announcing the completion of the rituals for the Festival of Raising Heaven.
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*note* Technically, the festival of raising heaven fell around January in the Egyptian calendar, but the Therans don’t celebrate all the festivals the Egyptians did and they did not necessarily have the same dates.
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