Pantheon - Kaki et Hiratsu (IC)

The crowded room bothered him. He wasn’t used to being around this many people, and the importance of this day was stressful enough. The imitation sandstone walls, evenly spaced with the symbols of the Gods, circled in the fifty or so men and women and made their numbers seem even higher by the proximity. It wasn’t helpful that everybody crammed in towards the center, avoiding the walls. To choose to stand too close to any one God’s hieroglyph was considered favoritism, and a serious social faux-pa. Even he knew that. Still, the small knot of people overwhelmed him, and he hung by the side between Sekhmet and Ma’at.

It was odd that he had been chosen to appear before the Gods today, he had never considered himself an exceptionally pious man. To be considered for a position as the disciple of one of the Gods was a great honor that he had done nothing to earn. Still, when the church summons you on behalf of the Gods, you don’t say no without very good reason. He wasn’t expecting children, and no God had set him a task, so there was no acceptable excuse for his absence. The Gods themselves might even have taken offence to his declining of the offer to attend.

Kerry Knox stood with the crowd, but kept herself to the outskirts, near Sekhmet's hieroglyph. She brushed a lock of her dyed hair out of her eyes, and focused on not taking the wallet of the guy near her. It would be disrespectful. No matter how easy it would be. Instead, she tried focusing on something else. It wasn't hard. Her attention had a habit of drifting, and soon latched on to a slightly familiar face. Her eyes narrowed. Calisto Delgado. How that kenes could be considered, she didn't know. At least Jake wasn't there.

Caleb stood nervously away from the crowd, which meant he had a very good view of exactly when they all stopped. Every person in the room stopped moving at once, except for one girl who jumped and spun around, hissing “Sekhmet sa’es!” under her breath. The room faded, while the symbols of the Gods seemed to glow with an otherworldly presence. Soon, all that remained was the girl and the hieroglyphs which shined and floated around them in the inky blackness.

A dry, hot wind spread across him, carrying the scents of countless battles, diseases, cures, protection, death, and fire. The wind moved past him, encircling him, but passing by without pause. A new wind started up, cool and gentle but warm and biting at the same time. This wind came from all directions, and left in all directions. Where the wind touched him, he felt feathers.
“You will seek out those who do not know my name, and will call forth the transgressors of the world to atone and follow the Ma’at.” The wind stung his eyes, but he found that he could not close them. The light from the floating symbols grew brighter, until all he could see was white.

Kerry couldn't see a thing. But she was able to feel. She felt the vast sands of a desert, the flow of a mighty river, and the clash of worriers. She felt powerful, and protected. Then the voice spoke, reminiscent of the roar of a lion.

Welcome my Chosen. It is your job to spread my name now, and to crush any who oppose it. Now go, with my blessing. And the presence of the goddess, while not truly gone, retreated.